Introduction
As an ISV Partner Specialist (IPS) your mission is to engage prospective ISVs and Build Partners, developing opportunities to co-create and embed IBM AI Software into a Partner’s commercial solution offerings. You understand the Partner’s solution and GTM strategy and develop value propositions which encourage the Partner to embed IBM AI Software into their solution. With a focus on the full lifecycle of Build with IBM activities, you create opportunities to close Embedded Solution Agreements and define a business model which meets the needs of the Partner and IBM. Once established, you’ll introduce the Partner to IBM’s go-to-market benefit program designed to accelerate the Partner’s GTM, generating new revenue sources for IBM and the Partner.

Your Role and Responsibilities

• Naturally skilled in developing and cultivating professional relationships, you’ll establish trusted advisor relationship with your Build partners.

  You’ll engage their interest by using interactive discussion techniques, use cases, and success stories that relate IBM’s software strategy to their business needs. You’ll use this as an opportunity to educate them, to uncover their relevant objectives or technical barriers to achieving their goals, and to identify and qualify additional sales opportunities to embed IBM Software.

  Your primary responsibilities will include:

• Constructing Business Cases with Design Thinking: Utilize design thinking, architecture, developer principles and competitive insights to create business cases that illustrate to partners the value of integrating IBM Software into the products or solutions they offer to their clients.

• Enriching Partner Engagements with IBM’s Capabilities: Enhance partner engagements with IBM’s extensive capabilities to co-create solutions and collaborate with Partner Technical Specialists to develop compelling minimal viable products (MVPs) that result in investments in IBM’s software or SaaS solutions.

• Effective Management of Partner Activities: Employ project management, strategic communication, partner and market insights, sales tools and territory planning to effectively manage activities with your partners.

Required Technical and Professional Expertise

• Demonstrable client-facing, deep technical subject matter expertise.
• Proven discipline and attention to detail with the usage of sales management and recording systems, and expectation setting/follow up.

• Expertise in Sales Territory Planning: Demonstrate expertise in sales territory planning, attracting and recruiting new partners, and stakeholder management that results in the successful development and delivery of joint business growth plans.

• Excellence in Relationship Building: Exhibit palpable excellence in building and nurturing professional relationships with key stakeholders, both externally and internally within IBM, achieved through effective listening and candid communication.

• Hands-On Sales Experience: Possess hands-on sales experience with a proven track record of forecasting, exceeding sales quotas and effectively managing partnership relationships.

• Ability to Identify Partner Motivations: Show a provable ability to identify and understand what motivates software partners, finding synergies and co-creating value-adding solutions.

Preferred Technical and Professional Expertise

• Experience with IBM Software Products: Possess experience of working with any of IBM’s Software products, with a particular emphasis on Watson AI offerings (training across IBM’s Software product suite will be provided).