What is PRM (Partner Relationship Management)?

Yesterday, I attended a seminar titled "Alliance Strategy 0→1" co-hosted by Sales Marker and Partner Prop.

Sales Marker is a highly anticipated startup in the Japanese B2B business sector. I also attended their recent "Intent Sales 2.0" launch event.

It was a large-scale event where actor Takumi Saitoh played the role of a user, while CEO Ogasawara provided explanations through live demonstrations.

For those wondering what Intent Sales is in the first place, please watch this video.

In this article, I will mainly introduce the story of Partner Prop.

The company is a SaaS provider offering tools to promote PRM (Partner Relationship Management). CEO Inoue, who spoke at the event, is a former Recruit employee.

What is PRM? What background and opportunities did they focus on to commercialize it? What specific challenges can the tool solve? These topics are explained in this Pivot video.

To briefly summarize the key points:

While the PRM market is well-established in the US, it remains untapped in Japan.

Direct sales are fine when starting a business, but after the growth phase, it is necessary to utilize partners to scale.

While tools are widespread in marketing (MA) and sales (SFA) fields, the alliance (partner) field remains a white space. There are not even any books on it.

The two major challenges are the lack of visibility into partner internal operations (such as individual progress) and immature programs to motivate partners.

They propose a new model called Partner-Driven Marketing.

They have introduced a system that utilizes gamification, where commission rates increase as partners complete quests (such as taking an onboarding program within 30 days of signing a contract).

Since traditional contracts where "there is no reward unless a deal is closed" do not motivate partners, they have introduced game elements by setting various milestones leading up to the goal and having them clear those stages.

After onboarding comes activating. Commission rates increase upon meeting conditions for the number of lead registrations.

Sales can be broken down as follows. Among these, controllable metrics (number of proposals per salesperson, win rate, number of partner companies, etc.) are visualized to lead to improvements.

This concludes the content discussed in the video.

At the venue, I heard many "off-the-record" stories, but I will pick out and introduce the content that seems safe to share.

• Within partner programs, motivating each salesperson is crucial.

• For sales personnel (at partner companies) who achieve set goals, gift boxes are automatically sent (in partnership with Gifty).

• To help partner sales staff experience success firsthand, there have been cases where companies were willing to operate at a loss, offering returns of over 50% for the first year only.

• Before expanding partnerships, build a track record of sales through resellers to use as persuasion.

• In the U.S., MDF (Marketing Development Fund) is utilized effectively. This is a fund that supports the marketing efforts of partner companies. With MDF, more flexible compensation structures are possible.

• There is no universal partner program that works for every company. It is essential to constantly review and adjust while operating.

PRM and MDF are also explained in detail in Ichiro Niwayama's book, 'The Science of Profit: The B2B Marketing,' so if you are interested, please read it as well.

Thank you for always reading. Your support is encouraging. I hope to continue expanding my interactions with all of you.

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