Embedding a Story into Your Partner Value Proposition

Why does your Partner Value Proposition need a stellar narrative?

Building successful business partnerships is crucial for growth, yet establishing and maintaining these relationships can be challenging. Often, much effort goes into recruiting and onboarding partners, only to see them become disengaged over time.

Through my experience with Donald Miller’s 7‑step StoryBrand framework, I’ve seen its strong impact not just in buyer-seller dynamics but also in fostering B2B partnerships. This framework excels at creating engaging narratives that captivate your audience. It emphasizes making your partner the central hero of the story with your brand as the guiding mentor, helping them overcome hurdles and achieve their goals.

Your partners enter a partnership for their own reasons, not yours. If a partnership doesn’t benefit your partner, they lose interest and become unresponsive. To create an attractive partner value proposition that sparks commitment and leads to a profitable partnership, you need to tell and execute a story that makes your partner the hero.

To forge a lasting and profitable partnership, you must craft a value proposition that positions your partner as the hero—this narrative could be the key to sustained success.

The 7 Steps Framework

By applying this framework to create your partner value proposition, you can build a narrative that speaks directly to your partner’s needs, desires, and pain points. It shifts the focus from your company’s features and benefits to the transformative outcomes your partners can achieve through the partnership.

A Character…

Like you, your ideal partner is on a mission to survive and thrive in today’s competitive landscape. In the post-“Growth at any Cost” era, companies increasingly turn to partnerships as a means to achieve profitable or capital-efficient growth. They recognize that by joining forces, they can create synergies and unlock value that wouldn’t be possible alone (1+1=3).

Remember: Partners Are People! When developing your partner value proposition, it’s crucial to remember that your partner is not an abstract entity but a person—the decision-maker and team within your partner company. Partnerships are collaborative relationships that require more than just a signed agreement; they need leadership commitment and executive sponsorship to truly thrive.

By understanding your partner’s desires, focusing on the individuals driving the partnership, and demonstrating how your brand can support their growth objectives, you’ll be well on your way to creating a partner value proposition that resonates and inspires action. 

…Has a Problem…

Your partner may be facing various challenges that hinder their success. These can be categorized into three types:

External Problems

• Acquiring or retaining customers

• Expanding into new markets or customer segments

• Enhancing product offerings to stay competitive

Internal Problems

• Lack of resources or expertise in building successful partnership programs

• Leadership is experienced in transactional but not collaborative relationships

• Insufficient support systems for partnerships

Philosophical Problems

• Lack of alignment with partners’ values or mission

• Unclear purpose or role in the market

• Difficulty trusting others due to past experiences

• Fear of losing control or autonomy in partnerships

• Unclear priorities or conflicting goals

By understanding these problems, you can better tailor your value proposition to address your partner’s specific challenges and concerns.

…And Meets a Guide…

People, like your partner, seek out guides who understand their problems, demonstrate empathy, and showcase expertise in guiding them effectively towards a common goal. By positioning your brand as a trusted guide, you can build trust and credibility with your partner.

As a partner, they want to ensure they’re “betting on the right horse” and investing their time and resources wisely. They need reassurance that your brand is experienced in partnerships and operates with a partner-centric approach. They require support and enablement to succeed, and it’s essential to demonstrate a deep understanding of their needs and challenges.

By establishing yourself as a trusted guide, you can alleviate these concerns and create a powerful foundation for a successful partnership.

…Who Gives Them a Plan…

Your partner needs a clear direction to overcome their challenges. That’s where a well-structured partner program comes in — a program that provides a roadmap for success, guiding them through each stage of the partnership journey. By offering a plan, you demonstrate your expertise and commitment to their success, further building trust and credibility in your partnership.

This comprehensive program includes:

• Onboarding support to ensure a smooth start

• Training and enablement to drive growth

• Regular check-ins to address challenges and opportunities

• Access to exclusive resources and tools for continued success

…And Calls Them to Action…

The partnership program initiates a mutual onboarding process, where both parties work together to establish a strong foundation for their collaborative relationship. This extended call to action involves a series of coordinated steps, culminating in a joint action plan that sets the stage for a fruitful partnership.

Unlike a traditional sales transaction, this is not a single “call to action” but rather a collaborative journey that requires mutual commitment and effort. The true “action” begins after the partnership agreement is signed, as both parties embark on a 90–120 day onboarding process that sets the tone for a successful partnership.

…That Helps Them Avoid Failure…

By not participating, the partner may miss out on:

Key growth opportunities, leading to stagnation or decline in a competitive market

• Access to innovative solutions, technologies, or expertise that could enhance their business

• Valuable network effects, collaborative benefits, and joint value creation

• Increased revenue, profitability, and market share

• The ability to stay ahead of the competition and remain innovative

Adjust according to your product and scope of the partner program.

…And Ends in Success…

By partnering with your brand, the partner achieves a competitive edge, driving business growth, and success through:

• Accelerated innovation and time-to-market

• Enhanced product offerings and expanded customer reach

• Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty

• Increased revenue, profitability, and market share

• A strong, collaborative ecosystem that fosters mutual success

While over 80% of partnerships fail, a University of St. Gallen study (source: BCG Article) indicates that poor partner selection and lack of commitment account for about 75% of these failures. Success in partnerships is not just about how many partner you have, but how well you engage and inspire them to commit, participate, and collaborate. Using the 7 Steps StoryBrand Framework in your partner propositions is an effective way to deeply understand and address your partners’ business needs and challenges, highlighting your supportive role in guiding them toward success.

Join the Conversation

Found this framework helpful or have tips to share?

Have you applied the StoryBrand framework in ways that enhanced your partnerships? If you found this framework helpful, or if you have additional tips for applying it within partner value propositions, please share your thoughts.