Unlock Your Success: The Importance of Becoming a Certified Partner

Commitment-based partner programs are the best option for MSPs as they offer benefits such as increased revenue, faster sales cycles, greater operational efficiencies, and better discounts and benefits on their vendor's products. However, the traditional offering of performance-based partner programs is a common practice in the technology industry. These programs set sales quotas or specific metrics that partners must achieve to unlock additional benefits. The bad news is that such performance-based programs can create stress or challenges for your business. For a better understanding, let's see how do performance-based partner programs work? 

The disadvantages of performance-based partner programs 

Other key aspects of your business could be overlooked if these programs solely focus on sales. While they can be beneficial, they also have downsides that are worth bearing in mind: 

1. Short-term focus risk:

It is not advisable to adopt a mentality that only considers the short term or to make decisions driven by the need to meet quotas that have been set by the vendor because long-term strategic investments, such as developing new skills or pursuing broader market opportunities, may be neglected as a result. 

2. Lack of flexibility:

Setting inflexible rules and goals does not take into account individual characteristics and challenges, not to mention market and economic dynamics that can fluctuate. For example, if you are operating in a specific geographic market or have a focus on a particular customer niche, it’s harder to meet the overall sales goals set by the program. 

3. Over-reliance on sales:

Partner programs are in no way intended to be punitive. The idea is to help all partners, through guidance and objectives, to grow their business. If sales are the only indicator of your success, other key aspects can be overlooked, such as the quality of customer service, customer satisfaction and retention, and the development of long-term relationships. Focusing too much on sales can detract from creating long-term value for customers and strengthening your business reputation. 

Benefits of certifications in engagement-based programs 

To overcome the downsides associated with performance-based partner programs, there are companies that offer other types of programs that include technology, training, and additional benefits that can help you scale your business. For instance, the WatchGuardONE partner program, which enables you to differentiate your company in the marketplace and provides high-quality security solutions to your customers through a wide range of specializations and certifications. By taking part in this program, as an MSP you can strengthen your position in the industry and deliver added value through technical knowledge and specialized expertise in WatchGuard solutions. Getting certified on this partner program delivers benefits such as:  

1. Revenue growth:

Upon completion, additional WatchGuardONE product specializations tend to increase your revenue. It's not just about cross-selling; WatchGuard’s Unified Security Platform is built for this kind of performance and WatchGuardONE specializations are an integral part of its design.

2. Faster sales cycles:

When you earn WatchGuard product specializations you can sell more efficiently, cross-sell more effectively, and close deals faster.  

3. Operational efficiency:

With a technical certification you can onboard new customers quicker, solve problems with greater ease, and manage more customer accounts. 

4. Discounts, benefits, and increased margin:

Increasing WatchGuardONE specializations unlocks an incredible universe of discounts, sales promotions, and other sales and marketing benefits that come with the higher levels of the program, which not only increases margins significantly, but equips your entire team with an extensive arsenal of marketing resources when you go to market. 

If you would like to learn more about WatchGuardONE partner specializations and certifications, and learn about technical certification exams, visit the following link: Partner Specializations and Certifications.