FOUNDER’S GUIDE TO B2B SALES Channels – these are partners who sell your software They sell your software either standalone or as an embedded component in their software. They also “take the paper” on customer orders. Example • An international distributor in Japan • A software vendor who embeds your reporting solution TYPES OF ALLIANCES Technology Alliances These are ecosystem partners who build complementary products that customers use in conjunction with yours. Example • A data catalogue vendor’s relationship with Snowflake These typically involve co-marketing, salesforce education, and potentially, referral agreements. System Integrators These are services firms that vary from small, focused boutiques to large regional or global system integrators (SIs). Regardless of size, they make money in the same way — by selling services to implement software or transformation initiatives. Example • CFO Solutions (boutique), Slalom (mid-size), Deloitte (Big Four) These alliances typically co-sell relationships by joint bidding on projects with co- marketing. TYPES OF CHANNELS Geographic distributors Geographic distributors sell your software in a given region or geography, often on an exclusive or de facto exclusive basis. They are typically used to help you get started in a region where you cannot yet afford to build a direct operation. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) While the term dates back to physical manufacturing (e.g. putting my company’s compressors in your refrigerators), the term OEM is still used today in software, with the same conceptual definition: OEMs embed your software in their offering. These are long-term supplier relationships with a long sales cycle that hopefully result in a “design win.” The OEM then develops their product, ships it, and pays your company royalties which are usually a mix of prepaid and ongoing. These are called “white label” relationships when your product is rebranded. For example, NetSuite Planning for many years was a white label version of Adaptive Planning. SPRING 2023 .47