Vendors are interested in partners that are fully enabled.  Vendors institute many programs focused on enabling their existing and new partners.  After all, there is value in a channel if the partners are enabled to the point that they can produce sales, marketing and services value to the vendor at a lower price than the vendor can provide those services on their own.  Only when a partner is enabled is that possible.

The question is, "What does it mean to be enabled?"  How does a vendor know when a partner has reached the state of enablement?  How does a partner know that it is enabled in the view of the vendor?

As with any other business activity, it is wise to start with the end in mind.  If a picture can be painted of what it means to be enabled, a partner can then strive toward that state of enablement and a vendor can support the partner in reaching that state.

How are enablement goals established?  I suggest that vendors profile the "ideal" partner.  They should create a simple grid that includes rows of information describing characteristics of the ideal partner.  Next to each characteristic, the vendor can describe how the ideal partner looks or behaves in that category.  Using that same grid, new and existing partners can be assessed against the ideal.  From that starting place, an enablement plan can then be built.

This is not a complicated model and may even seem overly simplistic.  But truth be known, I have found more vendors than not that can point to an ideal partner profile that is documented and shared with partners.  If that doesn't exist, how can anyone understand with clarity what the goal of enablement is?

William Vanderbilt

wvanderbilt@innovativelearningchannels.com

+1 630 343 6261