Episode 68: Automating Revenue Generating Partnerships with Rob Rebholz

In this episode of the Howdy Partners Podcast, host Will engages with Rob Rebholz, the founder of Superglue, to explore leveraging automation to drive revenue in partnerships. Rob shares insights from his experience in building partner ecosystems and emphasizes the importance of treating partnerships as a science rather than just an art. They discuss the challenges and opportunities in co-selling, the role of relationships in partnerships, and the impact of automation on partner-led growth.

Takeaways

• Partnerships are less of an art and more of a science – building scalable partner programs requires a structured approach and processes.
• The key to successful partnerships lies in efficient and revenue-focused strategies, especially when managing partnerships as a founder.
• Overcommitting and spreading oneself too thin can be a major mistake in the early stages of building a partner ecosystem.
• Automation in partnerships can streamline processes, enhance prioritization, and enable proactive engagement with key stakeholders.
• The challenge in partnerships lies not in the technical setup of automation but in understanding what aspects to automate for maximum impact.
• The core of co-selling success is aligning multiple parties involved and orchestrating different tasks to create a more scalable co-selling motion.
• Hard results from automation in partnerships can include significant increases in partner engagement, sourced deals, and overall revenue within a short timeframe.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Guest Presentation

02:30 Background and Experiences: Rob's Journey to Founding Superglue

08:15 Lessons Learned: Building Scalable Partner Ecosystems

14:45 Efficient Revenue Generation: Challenges for Founders

21:10 Role of Relationships: Beyond Partner Managers

28:00 Automation in Partnerships: A Prime Benefactor