Partnership Director, a New Strategic Role
4 March 2008
Read by 1799 persons
Many companies are creating partnership director roles to expand their commercial offerings. This new profession is primarily aimed at those seeking a strategic role. Explanations with a specialist.
How did this partnership director role emerge?
The role has existed for about fifteen years in France: it originated in IT and new technology companies that needed to form partnerships with other manufacturers and software publishers to sell complex solutions. Today, the profession has spread to other sectors, including finance and consumer goods. The goal remains the same: to increase revenue, optimize sales forces by partnering with other distribution networks, or complement the commercial offering with other services. To do this, these companies need professionals capable of developing long-term relationships with partner companies. Today, there are approximately 5000 partnership directors.
Who are partnership directors?
They are mostly experienced former sales directors, key account managers, or development and marketing directors who know the intricacies of the sector, the company, or the market: 45% come from direct sales and 35% previously held marketing positions. It's interesting to note that it's either a full-time role (60% of partnership directors dedicate themselves to it full-time), or a part-time activity integrated into a sales or development role. These are strategic positions, most often reporting to the general management.
What is their roadmap?
It's both a strategic and operational mission: one must be able to conduct market research, find partner companies that will bring real added value, set up a project, negotiate contracts, but also organize marketing and communication campaigns. Today, the profession has become much more professional: the practices that work are serious, especially those concerning the evaluation and certification of partners.
How does one access these professions? Are they mainly internal promotions?
It can indeed be internal mobility, but not only: external recruitment is also common. In all cases, it is important to know the end customer, to have a good vision of the company, and a perfect knowledge of the inner workings of the sector of activity. But for the rest, this profession is acquired through experience: 80% of partnership directors train on the job. There is very little training in this field.
What should you know before considering such a role?
I would say that you need to have a very good commercial and marketing background. It's a profession that requires diplomacy, negotiation skills, and good interpersonal skills: you must convince the internal team of the interest of allying with a particular company, but also be able to forge long-term alliance projects with sometimes competing companies. It's a rather sensitive function.
Does this profession offer good career progression?
Yes. There is a very high turnover among partnership directors: they stay in this position for an average of only two and a half years! As with sales representatives, they often receive a job offer from one of their partners! In my opinion, it's also a good stepping stone to strategic management, general management, or business unit positions. Having managed partnerships allows you to acquire not only a strategic and operational vision, but also open-mindedness, which are, in my opinion, real "pluses".
March 4, 2008
Career Focus
How did this partnership director role emerge?
The role has existed for about fifteen years in France: it originated in IT and new technology companies that needed to form partnerships with other manufacturers and software publishers to sell complex solutions. Today, the profession has spread to other sectors, including finance and consumer goods. The goal remains the same: to increase revenue, optimize sales forces by partnering with other distribution networks, or complement the commercial offering with other services. To do this, these companies need professionals capable of developing long-term relationships with partner companies. Today, there are approximately 5000 partnership directors.
Who are partnership directors?
They are mostly experienced former sales directors, key account managers, or development and marketing directors who know the intricacies of the sector, the company, or the market: 45% come from direct sales and 35% previously held marketing positions. It's interesting to note that it's either a full-time role (60% of partnership directors dedicate themselves to it full-time), or a part-time activity integrated into a sales or development role. These are strategic positions, most often reporting to the general management.
What is their roadmap?
It's both a strategic and operational mission: one must be able to conduct market research, find partner companies that will bring real added value, set up a project, negotiate contracts, but also organize marketing and communication campaigns. Today, the profession has become much more professional: the practices that work are serious, especially those concerning the evaluation and certification of partners.
How does one access these professions? Are they mainly internal promotions?
It can indeed be internal mobility, but not only: external recruitment is also common. In all cases, it is important to know the end customer, to have a good vision of the company, and a perfect knowledge of the inner workings of the sector of activity. But for the rest, this profession is acquired through experience: 80% of partnership directors train on the job. There is very little training in this field.
What should you know before considering such a role?
I would say that you need to have a very good commercial and marketing background. It's a profession that requires diplomacy, negotiation skills, and good interpersonal skills: you must convince the internal team of the interest of allying with a particular company, but also be able to forge long-term alliance projects with sometimes competing companies. It's a rather sensitive function.
Does this profession offer good career progression?
Yes. There is a very high turnover among partnership directors: they stay in this position for an average of only two and a half years! As with sales representatives, they often receive a job offer from one of their partners! In my opinion, it's also a good stepping stone to strategic management, general management, or business unit positions. Having managed partnerships allows you to acquire not only a strategic and operational vision, but also open-mindedness, which are, in my opinion, real "pluses".
March 4, 2008
Career Focus
