Are you getting the most from your Microsoft partnership? Following is a checklist to score your Microsoft partnership productivity.
Microsoft partnering resources replenish July 1 (for the new fiscal year), so rate in context of your activities since June of last year. For partner scorecard areas you don’t rate as well, consider where better alignment with Microsoft can yield material revenue results and adjust accordingly.
Note: this scorecard is designed for ISVs selling to enterprise customers (not B2C or SMB-targeted solutions).
Category/Score
1
3
5
Strategic AllianceManaged Partner StatusUnmanagedTele-ManagedManagedDX BDM AssignmentNoneUnnamedIdentifiedMPN Competency StatusNone1 GoldMultiple GoldAttend Worldwide Partner ConferenceNoYes, >10 meetingsYes, 10+ meetingsInvited to ISU/District KickoffsNo1 EventMultiple EventsMSFT Advisory Council ParticipationNoneInvitedActive ParticipantMSFT-Internal Webcast (e.g. Academy)None1 EventMultiple Events
Marketing ResourcesMSFT Marketing Funds Received0<$10K$10K+MSFT Sponsors Your EventsNone1 EventMultiple EventsMSFT Integration at Industry EventsNone<3 Events3+ EventsJoint Events – Customer FacingNone<5 Events5+ EventsYou Sponsor MSFT Industry EventsNone<3 Events3+ EventsCase Study Written by MSFTNone1 PublishedMultiple PublishedSocial Networking/Advertising SupportNoneSingle channelMultiple channelsOnline videoNoneVideo you promoteVideo MSFT promotesJoint Events – Partner FacingNone<3 Events3+ Events
Sales CollaborationCustomer Campaign Led by MSFTNone1 GeoMultiple geosCustomer Campaign Supported by MSFTNone1 GeoMultiple geosSell-To MSFT Reference WinNoneCan ReferenceReference + MarketingEPG Account Team SupportNone<5 AE/TS engaged5+ AE/TS engagedSSP/PSE Sales SupportNoneYes, <5 engagedYes, 5+ engaged
Product and Customer SupportDevelopment (BIF) Funds ReceivedNone<$25K$25K+Microsoft Consulting SupportNoRecommendedSupportedPre-Sales Technical SupportNone<3 Customers3+ Customers
How did you score?
If you scored over 70 you’re in good shape. You are probably a managed ISV tapping into of much of what Microsoft has to offer. Add a weighting column to represent relative value and focus on high value activities that you aren’t taking full advantage of.
If you didn’t score as well, you may not align with Microsoft’s top priorities (cloud and mobile) or perhaps aren’t investing enough in alliance management and marketing. Consider which activities represent the highest ROI and pursue those more aggressively.
Contact Competegy if you would like a formatted version of the Microsoft Partner Scorecard.