2020 has been a year of evolution for the Five9 global partner program. The company has refreshed its pool of master agents, as well as its reseller partner agreement terms; and identified key partners they were keen on growing with.
Now, the leading cloud contact centre provider has moved forward to the next step: taking its partner ecosystem to the next level.
“The ‘next level’ to us means doubling down on our commitment to enabling our partners to build an innovative and holistic offering,” explains Jake Butterbaugh, Vice President of Global Channel Sales at Five9 (pictured, above).
“We want them to understand what it means to position and deliver a complete Five9 solution set, and to be there as the customer gets to experience and implement the Five9 platform. Our focus is on trying to help our partners get to that stage and bring a best in class product to the market”
Channel Goals for 2021
Five9 has an ambitious set of goals when it comes to its 2021 channel strategy.
Other than the focus on helping their partners get to the next level, they also want to provide them with what they term a “frictionless” experience working with Five9.
“The idea is: we want our partners to be able to interact with us in an easier, simpler, cleaner way,” says Butterbaugh. “We’ve identified the areas in which we can be more efficient with our partners, and we aim to improve in those areas to give them the smoothest working experience possible.”
Another important goal for Five9 is to enable and empower partner excellence.
“What it really comes down to is education and awareness. We want to make sure that we continue to share all the greatness that Five9 has with our partners, as we’ve continued to scale over the last couple of years. Our goal is to arm our partners with the necessary information so they can effectively articulate and successfully position our solutions to our joint customers.”
What Does This Effectively Mean for Five9 Partners?
There are a few things Five9 is doing in 2021 to make sure their channel goals are met, leaving their partners empowered and satisfied.
First, the company is to launch new solution bundles later this year, which according to Butterbaugh, “are going to make a lot of people’s lives simpler.”
The bundles are based on consumer research done by the company and therefore are accommodated to customer needs. By making them available to partners, Five9 hopes to help them sell more easily and efficiently.
Five9 is also launching a new partner portal – which is really exciting news for its partners. The company has enhanced its existing portal in 2020 but is now investing in a more thorough portal that will officially launch in mid-2021.
“Our partners are going to see a lot more automation, better reporting and better access to information,” shares Butterbaugh.
The new portal will also allow Five9 the chance of linking more directly to the partner portal of recently acquired global IVA leader Inference Solutions. This brings us to the next thing Five9 is doing to empower partners: helping them make use of the new Five9 IVA capability.
“Partnerships have always been key to growing and expanding our customer value,” says Fred Watkins, VP of Five9 IVA Business Development, and former Senior VP of Business Development at Inference Solutions.
“We’re excited to join Five9 and to work together in helping our diverse network of partners create truly differentiated offerings, pull through more sales, and demonstrate the future of AI-powered self-service”
Last but not least, Five9 has also recently acquired a new workflow automation solution, which the company made sure to combine into its overall partner ecosystem.
“When our partners use this tool, on behalf of their customers or in conjunction with their customers – they’re able to identify new workflows and new ways to get to better business outcomes,” explains Butterbaugh.
Expanding the Five9 Partner Ecosystem
2021 has just begun, and Five9 foresees a bright future for their partner ecosystem. After some significant growth in 2020, the company seeks to widen its partner relationships even further.
“We are definitely on the hunt for more partners; the right partners, who will truly help us deliver on our customer value promise,” declares Butterbaugh.
“We are truly excited to help partners looking to build repeatable business models with us. If you are one of those partners, or an existing partner looking to take advantage for some of our new capabilities – reach out to us – we’re ready”
