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Partner Advisory Council Capabilities

An Advisory Council is a group of individuals consisting of stakeholders from selected partners, together with your partner management team, who meet to provide vital feedback on product evolution, program policies, market direction and engagement needs. A PAC acts as a linchpin in understanding key segments of your route-to-market and it also provides a customer view through an alternative lens. To understand how products, promotions and programs effect “the masses of partners,” PACs offer a great forum to gather a broad brushstroke of input.

Make the Most Out of Your Partner Advisory Council

A good understanding of business strategy and where partners play a critical role in the customer sales and services cycle is key in determining which partners (VARs, LARs, MSPs, SI, GSI, Distributors) and who from those partner companies should be represented on the council. Many companies make the fundamental mistake of including only their largest and top performing partners in their PAC: the PAC is not meant to be an affinity or recognition program. Participants should be chosen based on criteria determined from the company’s growth strategy.

“PartnerPath was vital to the development and execution of our Intel Premier Provider Board of Advisors. They provided an unbiased atmosphere where attendees could voice honest feedback and suggestions.
– Melissa Seeba-Soler, WW Marketing Manager

Description & Cost of Services Options:

(click on option to view details)


  1. Develop goals and strategies of Partner Advisory Council
    • Reasons to develop a Partner Advisory Council
    • Align the internal expectations
  2. Define Partner Advisory Council program, for example:
    • 1-2-day face-to-face council meeting
    • Two-hour web meeting quarterly, for the next three quarters
    • Regional or global PAC meetings
    • Timing and method for ongoing communications
  3. Recommend council structure and governance
    • How many partners
    • The types of partners
    • Level of individual that participates
    • Length of service for each company and individual on the council
    • Roles and expectations of the council members
    • Benefits to the council members for participation
    • Roles and attendance of the internal team
  4. Recommend measurements of success and key dependencies
Cost: $26,500   –   Lead Time: 3 months before event

  1. Create agenda – meeting topics and timing
    • Gather input from three key internal stakeholders
    • Interview three partner attendees for additional insights
    • Conduct survey with all partner attendees for agenda priorities
  2. Prepare partner attendees to set expectations
    • Develop communications on meeting agenda
    • Prepare attendees for any pre-work assignments
  3. Prepare internal attendees
    • Hold two web-based sessions to prepare the internal attendees on the PAC goals and rules
    • Develop the partner dossier
    • Assign pre-work to attendees
  4. Manage time and agenda during the meeting
    • Ensure presenters begin and end on time
    • Manage discussion, cross-talk and issues
    • Ensure breaks begin and end on time
  5. Lead partner feedback and discussion sessions
    • Approximately two one-hour sessions
    • Discuss and debate issues
    • Brainstorm potential solutions
    • Prioritize potential solutions
    • Prepare feedback for the internal teams
  6. Produce notes from entire Partner Advisory Council session
    • Topics discussed
    • Actions and commitments
    • Parked item / those not addressed
    • Specific names of partners discussing each issue is withheld (kept confidential)
  7. Executive summary of partner feedback sessions
    • Priorities within each feedback session
Cost: $24,800; Does not include travel costs
Lead Time: 4 weeks before the event

  1. Develop action plan
    • Activities and timeline
    • Resources and budgets
    • Key dependencies and roadblocks
  2. Present plan to executive team
    • Acquire approval and buy-in
    • Schedule event participation in executive sponsor calendars
  3. Develop participant invitations
    • Create messaging for internal sales and partner teams
    • Prepare online capabilities for event information and registration
    • Communicate via email to partners and account teams (several rounds)
  4. Manage registration processes
    • Work with partner account teams to finalize invitation list
    • Manage registration deadlines, reminders and confirmations
    • Notify sales teams and partner account managers of registered partners
    • Address all partner and field inquires
  5. Finalize event schedule
    • Finalize general session, break-out sessions and social activities
    • Develop schedule of events
    • Develop contact list – attendees and internal representatives
  6. Manage content
    • Work with marketing to build presentation templates
    • Manage presentation deadlines
    • Develop break-out session discussion questionnaires
    • Manage review of presentations through designated design contact
    • Design and prepare meeting binders
  7. Manage internal teams
    • Meet with teams to plan session and assign roles
    • Prepare each individual to fulfill their role
    • Prepare executive sponsors
    • Send final reminders of role and timing
  8. Coordinate attendee logistics
    • Develop event confirmation and reminders
    • Communicate schedule of events, meeting agendas and key questions
    • Notify of hotel confirmation information and directions
    • Update event website
  9. Event logistics
    • Develop and manage hotel rooming list
    • Manage meeting room set up
    • Arrange transportation between airport and hotel
    • Schedule and manage food: welcome reception, breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.
    • Plan and coordinate reception, dinner and any activities
  10. Event management
    • Manage day-of-event logistics
    • Manage last-minute changes, cancellations and substitutions
    • Address any concerns or issues within day-of event
  11. Follow-up
    • Build online evaluation pages and short-cut for participants
    • Create feedback evaluation for participants
    • Publish presentations and materials for download
    • Send thank you notes and next step reminders
    • Transcribe session discussion notes
    • Provide executive management summary of session input
    • Measure and report on success of event
Cost: $64,200   –   Lead Time: 6 months before event

  1. Determine effort and impact for the top eight prioritized issues identified in the PAC
    • Identify the expected future state of the issues
    • Plot effort high to low
    • Plot impact high to low
    • Discuss the trade-offs with internal channels teams
    • Develop consensus on one or two initiatives to tackle
  2. Create activity schedule (RACI) for the key initiatives
    • Activities and timeline
    • Resources and dependencies
  3. Develop and manage ‘tiger team’ to complete initiatives
    • Regular team meetings
    • Commitments, roadblocks and decisions made
    • Manage communications and progress reports
Cost: $46,700   –   Completion Time: 12 weeks
ePlus“Having a third-party moderator really allows for us to openly express our thoughts!”
– Mark Melvin, CTO, ePlus (VMware PAC member)

Why Outsource to PartnerPath?

  • As an outsourced organization, we are free of internal agendas and bureaucracies, releasing us to recommend the best course of action.
  • Our 25+ years of channel consulting experience ables us to make recommendations about how to effectively plan, build and manage channel ecosystems.
  • We are dedicated to reaching deep into channel issues and industry best practices. It's our job to  sift through the ever-changing and ever-growing number of partner models and make practical recommendations.
  • As meeting facilitators, we will:
    • Drive participation through the creation of a meaningful agenda
    • Entice unfettered feedback in an environment where attendees can provide honest advice without any concern of retribution
    • Encourage partner collaboration for better prioritization where partners collectively agree on needs
    • Provide unbiased direction by removing personal or group biases or agendas from council proceedings
    • Bypass bureaucracies – as an outsourced organization we are free to execute quickly
The result is enhanced partner relationships, improved programs, sound policies and increased sales. 

 

Partner Advisory Council Successes

cisco-logo-2019 f5-logo Cylance-logo Dell_Logo-2019 EMC2.jpg
Westcon Vmware-logo-2019 servicenow-logo-2019 NetApp qlik-logo

Listen to Didi Dayton talk about PAC work at Cylance.

servicenow-logo-2019“The information PartnerPath provided was valuable and helpful throughout the entire process. The feedback collected from our partners and shared prior was extremely helpful and strategic and the wrap-up/post data is critical to us as we drive initiatives forward. It will be (and has already been) used over and over in conversations with leadership and partners!”
– Rafael Contreras, Area Vice President, Global Operations, Strategy and Chief of Staff at ServiceNow
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