Ecosystem-Led Growth: Revolutionizing Your Go-To-Market Strategy

Jul 31, 2024

This week our host Brandi Starr is joined by Jill Rowley, Chief Growth Advisor at Stage 2 Capital. 

Meet Jill Rowley, a trailblazer in the world of B2B SaaS with over 24 years of experience. From her tenure at industry giants like Salesforce, Eloqua, and Marketo, to her current role as Chief Growth Advisor at Stage 2 Capital, Jill has been at the forefront of go-to-market innovation.

With a passion for customer-centricity and a keen eye for industry trends, Jill introduces the game-changing concept of "near bound" strategy, emphasizing the power of collaboration and partnerships in delivering unified solutions to customers.

In this episode of Revenue Rehab, Brandi and Jill dive deep into the evolving landscape of buyer-seller relationships, the crucial role of the Chief Partner Officer, and actionable insights for implementing a near bound go-to-market strategy that drives growth and customer success.

 

Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers:

Topic #1 The Power of Partnerships in Go-to-Market Strategy [07:15] "I believe that every company needs to have an ecosystem strategy, a partner strategy as part of their go-to-market," Rowley emphasizes. She proposes the need for a "chief partner officer" who "should have an equal seat at the go-to-market table" and be responsible for "understanding all of the data around partners" and "the different partner motions."

Topic #2 Navigating Risks and Ethics in Partnerships [18:42] Rowley highlights the importance of transparency and trust in managing partnerships, especially when a company is "building capabilities that could be competitive to partners." She stresses, "You have to be very transparent with the partner in terms of your roadmap and your intentions," and "if you aren't transparent, and the partner finds out later that you've now built a competitive product, that's going to erode trust."

Topic #3 Implementing a "Near Bound" Go-to-Market Approach [31:56] To start implementing a "near bound" go-to-market strategy, Rowley advises companies to "be very deliberate in terms of which partners you're going to start with." She suggests "assessing the health of the partnership" regularly and emphasizes the importance of "doubling down on trust and transparency." Rowley concludes, "The company that's going to win is the company that makes their customer successful. And if that means they're successful, because your partner did something amazing, celebrate that."

So, What’s the One Thing You Can Do Today?

Jill's 'One Thing' is to be deliberate about incorporating partnerships into your go-to-market strategy. "Look at your current go-to-market strategy. Look at your current tech stack. Look at the data that you have today in your CRM. And then look at the white space. What is missing? What partners can you bring in to surround your future customers in a way that helps them achieve their desired outcomes and helps you achieve your business outcomes? Be very deliberate and intentional about the partners that you choose to work with. 

Buzzword Banishment:

Jill's buzzword to banish is "prospect". She dislikes this term because it promotes the wrong mindset, focusing on the seller's perspective rather than the customer's. Jill believes that using more customer-centric language can help shift the dynamic and improve the buyer-seller relationship.

Links:

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