Channel Readiness Quiz

Is your business ready to launch a channel partner program?

Scaling your business through channel partners has several advantages, from increasing revenue and profitability to driving brand awareness and customer loyalty. To strengthen your chances of launching a successful program, it's important to understand whether your organization and the market you operate in has the characteristics and capability sets required. Don't start investing without understanding what's needed to drive success. Find out if you’re ready today by taking the Channel Partner Readiness Quiz.

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Internal readiness

Market attractiveness

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Internal readiness

Market attractiveness

Internal readiness

These next few questions will help you determine if your organization’s internal readiness. Be realistic about your capabilities when answering these questions to get the most value from this tool.

What is your annual recurring revenue (ARR) range?

1 / 12

$0-20M

>$20M

Do you have a clearly defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to help partners target the best customers?

2 / 12

Yes

Back

How many reference customers do you have?

3 / 13

>20

0-20

Back

Have you established an Optimal Partner Profile (OPP) that represents characteristics of the partner that is best suited for your organization?

4 / 12

Yes

Back

Do you have clear product marketing messaging and positioning that resonates with your target buyers?

5 / 12

Yes

Back

Can you successfully demonstrate the ROI and growth potential to a prospective partner looking to understand more about joining your program?

6 / 12

Yes

Back

Do you have executive alignment in addition to the budget necessary to invest in and successfully support the channel?

8 / 12

Yes

Back

Have you established clear rules of engagement as well as roles and responsibilities between your Inside Sales, AE, Channel, and Partner reps across the entire sales cycle?

9 / 12

Yes

Back

Do you have the appropriate people, processes, and tools in place to support partners pre, during, and post-sale?

10 / 12

Yes

Back

Do you have sales and technical enablement resources that are both easily shareable and understandable available for partners to take advantage of?

11 / 12

Yes

Back

Would partners agree that your pricing strategy allows for both a competitive price tag for customers as well as an attractive margin for partners?

12 / 12

Yes

Back

How long do you and your leadership team expect it will take to show positive ROI from your channel investment?

7 / 12

12-24 months

< 12 months

Back

Internal readiness

Market attractiveness

Back

Internal readiness

Market attractiveness

Would partners agree that they already have sufficient solutions in your product class today?

6 / 6

Yes

Back

Are there more than 5 competitive products currently in your market competing for partners’ attention?

5 / 6

Yes

Back

Do your primary competitors have successful partner programs in place?

4 / 6

Yes

Back

Are there different partner models (e.g., SI, VAR, OEM) available to your product class?

3 / 5

Yes

Back

Does a partner ecosystem exist in either your existing or your potential target geographic markets?

2 / 6

Yes

Back

Market attractiveness

These next few questions will help you determine if your organization’s market attractiveness. Be realistic about your market environment when answering these questions to get the most value from this tool.

Are there exclusive contracts in place with your competitors and key partner prospects?

4b / 6

Yes

Back

Have you received inbound inquiries and/or interest from potential partners?

1 / 6

Yes

Back to Internal Readiness

Internal readiness

Market attractiveness

Yes

Back to Internal Readiness

Back

Yes

Back

Your results:

Investing in an indirect revenue source is a cross-functional effort that requires significant time and resources. Without the necessary readiness factors and capabilities in place, partners may not be set up for success, meaning you may sabotage your efforts. Heavy competition and existing partner program saturation could also impact your efforts. To succeed, you should take a careful look at the market dynamics and where your niche or sweet spot is when it comes to partnering. Focus on being different, not necessarily better.

5 points

Overall score

Internal Readiness Score +

Market Attractiveness Score +

Congratulations! You are well on your way to channel readiness. So what’s next? Start by looking at questions you didn’t answer “yes” to, and set up a clear strategy to get to “yes.” Your market appears to be ripe and ready for partnerships. With momentum on your side, the time to launch your program is now.

Discover the tools necesary to building a better partner program by following the 6 easy steps outlined in Insight’s ScaleUp Partnerships Handbook.

Access our exclusive step-by-step guide to building and optimizing a successful partner program with Insight’s ScaleUp Partnerships Handbook.

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Internal Readiness Score

Additional work may be needed in order to ensure you have properly prepared your business for investing in a channel program.

Internal Readiness Score

Congrats! You are internally ready to invest in building out a partner program. The hard work doesn't stop here though. Ensure you are continually optimizing your capabilities and direct/indirect collaboration to ensure sustainable channel success.

Market Attractiveness Score

Your market is in a good place for investing in a channel program. There are several attractive attributes that are working in your favor. If you’re internally ready, now is an opportune time to invest.

Market Attractiveness Score

Investing in and building out a partner program may be more difficult right now due to the current market dynamics and competitive environment. More readiness and validation work is recommended before you decide to dive into a channel program investment.

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