PE M&A Activity ↑12.4%│Industrial EBITDA Multiples 7.2×│B2B Buyer Trust Index ↓31%│SEO Click-Through Rate ↓44%│LMM Deal Volume ↑8.1%│Sales Hire Failure Rate 67%│Organic Growth Gap 2.3× plan│PE Dry Powder $2.59T│PRESS: Ed Marsh at PE Operating Partners Summit│DEAL: Midwest controls automation acquired at 7.8×│PE M&A Activity ↑12.4%│Industrial EBITDA Multiples 7.2×│B2B Buyer Trust Index ↓31%│SEO Click-Through Rate ↓44%│LMM Deal Volume ↑8.1%│Sales Hire Failure Rate 67%│Organic Growth Gap 2.3× plan│PE Dry Powder $2.59T│PRESS: Ed Marsh at PE Operating Partners Summit│DEAL: Midwest controls automation acquired at 7.8×│
Samantha Gadenne on Making Industrial Parntership Marketing Work
Partnership marketing works. SaaS and tech have used it for years, and Samantha Gadenne provides practical insights for industrial manufacturers.
Ed Marsh
INDUSTRIAL REVENUE GROWTH
5 MIN READ
Integrating Industrial Manufacturing in Partnership Marketing
Samantha Gadenne began her career in the Land O'Lakes test kitchen. From there, she moved to selling machines in the agriculture process automation space and stumbled into partnerships as she worked to sell the global leads she received.
Slowly she developed a playbook for building effective sales and marketing partnerships, across another machine vendor, and then with a European software startup.
Her real-world experiences, including inspiring wins and frustrating failures, infuse her insights with actionable and relevant tips for industrial manufacturers who realize the way buyers buy is changing quickly.
Connect with Samantha for her periodic posts on building effective marketing partnerships.
Samantha Gadenne, Director of Portfolio Development at EIT Food, joins the podcast to talk about her experience implementing partnerships in the agri-food industry.
Samantha shares her insights and experiences in building successful partnerships and highlights the importance of:
being open, curious, and asking questions
set clear expectations, determine the mutual benefits for both parties, and establish a partnership framework
cultural differences in partnership approaches between Europe and the US
She explains that partnerships are a long-term investment that can expand resources and open doors to new markets and technologies. It is important to be intentional and proactive in building partnerships, rather than relying on passive collaboration.
Success in partnerships requires clear communication, regular meetings, and problem-solving. It is crucial to set expectations and address issues such as intellectual property and exclusivity early on.
Companies should allocate sufficient time and resources to partnerships, understanding that it may take time to see concrete results. She recommends starting with someone within the sales or marketing team who has a propensity for partnerships. Cultivating each other's audiences can be achieved through cross-posting, articles, newsletters, and trade shows. It is important to think outside the box and be open to partnerships with companies in different industries.
Takeaways
Partnerships in industry require being open, curious, and asking questions.
Setting clear expectations and determining mutual benefits are crucial for successful partnerships.
Pilot projects can help flesh out expectations and demonstrate the value of partnerships. Partnerships are a long-term investment that can expand resources and open doors to new markets and technologies.
Success in partnerships requires clear communication, regular meetings, and problem-solving.]
It is important to set expectations and address issues such as intellectual property and exclusivity early on.
The success of partnerships can be measured through various metrics, such as the number of clients, engagements, or revenue generated.
Companies should allocate sufficient time and resources to partnerships, understanding that it may take time to see concrete results.
Cultivating each other's audiences can be achieved through cross-posting, articles, newsletters, and trade shows.
Getting started with partnerships involves thinking outside the box, exploring opportunities with current customers, and having someone in the company who is passionate about partnerships.
Takeaway Quotes from Samantha Gadenne
"Partnerships today are going more in-depth and broader across organizations."
"Money talks. Show how the partnership can open up new markets and access new technologies."
Outline
00:00 Introduction and Background 03:01 The Journey of Implementing Partnerships 09:43 Insights into Middle Market Industrial Manufacturing 11:13 Understanding the Food Supply Chain and Agriculture 14:14 The Evolution of Partnerships and Preconceptions 16:08 Moving Beyond Indirect Sales Channels 20:27 Sharing Information and Creating Business Value 23:00 Finding the Right Partners and Ideal Partner Profile 25:41 Cultural Differences in Partnership Approaches 30:12 Key Elements of Effective Partnerships 32:02 Fleshing Out Expectations and Gaining Management Buy-In 34:04 Successes and Failures in Partnership Execution 35:39 Knowing When to Pull the Plug on a Partnership 37:32 Building Visibility and Showcasing Technology 39:14 Active Engagement and Communication in Partnerships 41:19 Addressing Intellectual Property and Exclusivity 45:15 Measuring Partnership Success with Metrics 49:16 Partnerships in Tech vs. Manufacturing 56:22 Staffing for Partnerships: Sales or Marketing 59:36 Resources for Learning about Partnerships
Take a Deeper Dive into Partnership Marketing and Nearbound Sales Motions
Partnerships are an important part of a nearbound marketing and sales approach to build trust and reach buyers in a Zero Click world.
Most complex industrial purchases must clear five separate buying decisions.
Decisions 2 and 3 determine whether a purchase happens at all — and most reps don't know they exist.
Most big-ticket B2B industrial forecasts are fantasies because they ignore those decisions.
Buying teams typically include eight to twelve people.
Reps need business acumen — not just product knowledge — to engage decision-makers early.
Ed Marsh
Ed was going to be an architect because he loved the nexus of engineering and design. That was before was going to be an engineer; before he graduated from Johns Hopkins; before he was an Army Infantry Officer (Airborne Ranger); before he set B2B industrial sales records; before he was partners with a German capital equipment manufacturer; before he founded a distribution/rep company for industrial products in India; until he decided that managing a business and employees wasn’t what he enjoyed. Now that Ed’s got all of that out of his system he runs a consultancy that helps US manufacturing companies grow by applying process excellence to business development – completing the full circle back to an engineering & design combination. His practice is built on a unique methodology which combines powerful digital marketing methodologies (a HubSpot partner) with his extensive international biz dev experience.
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