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I recently sat down with Ken Archer, SVP of Worldwide Channels at Genesys, to discuss the new Genesys Ascend Partner Program. During our conversation, he outlined the three keys to the success of any partner program: partner economics, simplicity and trust.
Ken’s role is new for him and Genesys. But the goal is clear: Align the global channel strategy with the corporate strategy in delivering Experience as a ServiceSM though an ecosystem of different partnerships. Here’s an overview of our discussion.
Three Keys to Partner Program Success
The Genesys Ascend Partner Program represents a new partner mindset — a starting point to building an ecosystem where partner advisory boards are our “guiding light.” And the first key to success is partner economics.
Partners need to reach into Genesys, make money and leverage what’s most important to them in the partnership. The partnership must be compelling from a financial standpoint.
Simplicity is another key to success and, as Ken said, it’s “the key tenant to the program.” Successful partnerships depend on the vendor making it easy to get things done. That’s why Genesys created a new partner portal — where partners can configure solutions, get price quotes and easily access required resources.
The final key to a successful partner program is trust. And that’s why Genesys is rolling out rules of engagement to the entire company’s sales organization and the partner community. Trust depends on “consistent and predictable behavior.”
Genesys also created a new Partner Engagement Manager role that aligns with channel managers and strategic alliance managers to support onboarding and provide the personal touch that’s critical in vendor/partner relationships.
According to Ken, the Ascend Partner Program is just the beginning of the journey. “It’s an exciting time to see the transformation that happens when a company believes in partnerships, from the CEO down, making it easier to light up key partnerships,” he noted.
To hear the full interview, listen to the podcast. And look for more of the Candid Conversations blog series, where I’ll share highlights of upcoming podcast episodes.
