Show Notes
One of the clearest themes from this conversation with Erica Hakonson is that partner strategy has to reflect where a company actually is in its lifecycle. Too many organizations copy a partner model that worked for someone else, without asking whether it fits their own stage, resources, or goals. Erica has lived this from multiple angles - advising partners inside the Microsoft ecosystem, running Maven Collective Marketing, and even founding her own ISV. “It really depends on what stage in your journey as a company you are.” For mature companies introducing a new product or service line, Erica recommends a controlled, pilot-style approach. A small number of well-chosen partners, deeply enabled, can tell you whether the model works before you scale it. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Startups face a very different reality. “From my perspective as a founder where we came with no partners and bootstrapped funding, it was the name of the game was how many partners can we get?” In that scenario, partners also function as marketing, air cover, and credibility. Volume matters early, with refinement coming later once patterns emerge. Why the Second Deal Matters More Than the First A recurring insight in this episode is that partner success is not defined by the first transaction. First deals can be accidental. Repeatability is what signals a real motion. “Getting that first sale is great but can be a fluke. It’s getting to that second sale that really means, okay, now we’re cooking.” That second deal proves several things at once - that sellers understand what they are selling, that incentives are aligned, and that the partner sees ongoing value. Without that, partner programs stall quietly, even if the pipeline looks healthy on paper. This is where enablement, compensation, and internal support intersect. Technical certification alone is not enough if sellers are neither confident nor motivated. “You could have someone technically trained inside of these partner organizations, but if the sellers don’t know what they’re selling and they’re not incentivized to sell, you’re going to have technically trained individuals and nobody’s selling.” Co-Sell Only Works When You Align to the Platform When the conversation turns to Microsoft co-sell, Erica emphasizes alignment over tactics. Partners that perform well are not guessing at Microsoft priorities - they are mapping directly to them. “It’s really just aligning year after year with what are Microsoft’s priorities, how are we aligning our solution playbook with their solution playbook.” Marketplace has become central to this alignment, especially as Microsoft increasingly expects transactions and quota retirement to happen there. “There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Microsoft wants to be a marketplace.” What has changed is not just visibility, but incentives. Field sellers can now retire quota through marketplace transactions, which fundamentally alters behavior. “The fact that they can retire quota in marketplace is a game changer.” For partners, this raises the bar on readiness. Listings, co-sell materials, customer stories, and transactability are no longer optional hygiene - they are how partners get discovered when a seller does not already know them. Making It Easy for the Field to Choose You Microsoft sellers are overloaded. Erica is blunt about what cuts through the noise. “Sellers are going to pay attention to the things that help them retire quota.” The partners who earn repeat introductions are the ones who reduce risk for the field. That means clear proof points, repeat wins, and disciplined communication. “If we have partners that are continually showing us they’re winning in this industry or they’re winning in this workload, we as leaders will share that out to our team.” Win wires, case studies, and consistent updates are not busywork - they are signals of reliabi
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At Sage FUTURE in San Francisco, I sat down with Dan Miller, EVP of Financials and ERP at Sage, to talk about how Sage is thinking about AI, ecosystem partnerships, and the future of ERP platforms. One of the clearest themes from the conversation was this: finance leaders are not resisting AI. They simply want transparency, accountability, and confidence in the outputs. For partner leaders, ISVs, and ecosystem builders, that creates a very different opportunity than the generic “AI transformation” messaging dominating the market right now. Dan framed it around trust. “What finance and operations professionals really want is confidence in the tools that they’re deploying are doing exactly what they are expected to do.” That requirement shapes how Sage is building both its AI capabilities and its broader partner ecosystem. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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At Sage FUTURES in San Francisco, Gretchen O’Hara delivered a clear message to partners: the market is shifting fast - and the opportunity is massive. But despite the noise around AI, one thing hasn’t changed. Partners are still at the center of how businesses win. “The channel is one of the most important things because our partners are the ones that have the deepest industry expertise and are closest to customers that can really solve their unique, unique business challenges.” AI may accelerate execution, but it doesn’t replace the need for domain expertise, customer proximity, and trusted advisory. In fact, it amplifies it. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.