Partner Elevate’s team have spent years helping Microsoft partner channel businesses grow +30% year on year. With this knowledge and understanding of our ecosystem, we know there are four areas of performance that Microsoft partner businesses fall into.
We know that the bell curve is just as real with understanding performance of Microsoft Partners as with any other area of performance.
So, considering these four areas of Partner performance in a bell curve model, we can visualise what we know about the state of your business.
These Partners have highly variable performance that is more often down than up. The business is run by blind activity day-to-day, and leaders are struggling with what activity will truly make a difference. These partners are stuck because of fear and ignorance, and they believe the myth that being a Managed Partner will solve their problems. The truth is that you first need to be a great businessperson with a great business to be one that Microsoft will be interested in.
After you realise that you have to be a great business first, you move into the amber zone. Businesses in this zone are what we call People Pleasers. Instead of carrying weight in a specialised area within the ecosystem, they are what we call “commoditised generalists” – doing as much as possible to just break even, and diluting their relevance to Microsoft. The key to moving swiftly through the amber zone is knowing Microsoft’s game that you’re playing, so you are well placed to play it strategically.
By knowing the game, you begin to see untapped potential for what you could be doing better. You become quietly confident in in your ability to take decisive action, and you have a unified approach - which gives you predictable control of your business. The key for businesses with untapped potential is not just knowing the game, but having a game plan to execute against, and not get stuck behind the ‘good enough’ line.
The truth is that Microsoft loves winners and innovators, not businesses that are complacent or settle. Here, you can realise exponential growth for your business. You become the expert in a specific area and that makes for a really ‘happy business’. What we see at this stage is these businesses recognise the need have Elite Play.
Keep an eye out for our upcoming blogs in this series which explain how by using our 9 key accelerators - you can move your business forward and become a go-to solution provider for Microsoft.
If you want to learn more right now, download our eBook - it explains all this and much more.