How Hosting Companies Empower Agencies Through Effective Partnerships  🔗 **Source:** [How Hosting Companies Empower Agencies Through Effective Partnerships](https://share.snipd.com/episode/a2cf814b-873f-46d2-b35b-2c2228b4af8a) ## Highlights - **Pay Agencies Ongoing Commissions** - Do offer ongoing commissions and discounts to agencies instead of one-time referral payouts. - Agencies told Keri they need predictable revenue from hosting sales and cheaper initial purchases to make partnerships viable. Transcript: Keri Samaha Absolutely. So we looked at our own customer base and asked the agencies that have been with us for a long time the things that they're looking for. So, you know, we kind of pitched a couple of ideas to them that they weren't kind of really interested in. And then we just refined our program from there so that we were actually giving them something that they wanted. So a lot of programs kind of maybe have this like referral or like affiliate-like system where you just kind of get this one-time payout. They don't want that. They're not charities. They need to make money. ([Time 0:03:01](https://share.snipd.com/snip/57828d21-b051-487e-97f7-f76016c95038)) - **Agencies Refuse To Be Beta Testers** - Agencies avoid beta or untested services because recommending them risks the agency's reputation. - They prefer tried-and-true hosting and only want new features bundled once those are stable. Transcript: Keri Samaha Absolutely. Like, maybe some of the things that we were pitching to them was would you want to be like, if we were rolling out a new service or something like that, that they could then resell to their Clients. So that could be risky for them is, oh, do you want to be in a beta program? Do you want to be testing all of these features? They're like, no, that kind of puts my reputation on the line. You know, I, you know, I have to make a business. I'm not kind of here to do QA for you, but I need something kind of tied or tried, tested and true. ([Time 0:05:07](https://share.snipd.com/snip/bc89f780-87da-4c1b-8a12-f61e03d26deb)) - **Agency Reputation Hinges On Hosting Reliability** - Agencies recommend hosts because their reputation is tied to site uptime, speed, and customizable environments. - Support expectations vary: some agencies want white-label control, others need the host to handle technical support. Transcript: Keri Samaha I mean, yeah, I'm the agency responsible for getting your website online. So is the site going to stay up? Is it going to be fast? Do you have optimized hosting environments? Can I customize it to the way my agency likes to do that with the server? So those are some of the things that I would want to look for with a recommendation. Also the support. So some of the agencies, they want to have it white label and keep that support. They want to be the ones offering the support. ([Time 0:06:23](https://share.snipd.com/snip/ea7f9122-fdb2-445c-b405-bd6347614b67)) - **Own Mistakes And Fix Them Quickly** - Do treat incidents case-by-case and be willing to admit fault and make it right to preserve agency trust. - Keri says if the host is at fault they work to correct it; agencies may compensate clients when issues are their own. Transcript: Keri Samaha I mean, as a former agency owner and then working at a hosting company, every situation is unique. You know, like, did the customer go into WordPress and press update and break the site or install the plugin? Yes. Is that the hosting provider's fault? No. You know, but was there maybe some unexpected downtime? You know, maybe there's a natural disaster at a data center or maybe there was a migration required because, you know, sometimes a hard drive does fail. It's rare. But, you know, sometimes you need that unexpected migration to happen or what have you. So it's going to depend on what that situation is. But, you know, if we were at fault, whether it was like egregious, in most cases, it's not that or it's just something very simple. We will. Yeah, we'll say, yeah, we did that, but we want to make it right. And let's work on the different ways that we can make it right. ([Time 0:07:58](https://share.snipd.com/snip/84ee144d-3de5-4339-9e83-95a4cd689ead)) - **Give Agencies A Directory For Warm Leads** - Do include a partner directory and lead referrals as core benefits to agencies seeking pipeline growth. - InMotion will list agencies and funnel leads to them, helping agencies break into new geos or niches. Transcript: Keri Samaha Yeah, so again, at the beginning, it was just like, how can I kind of earn money? You know, I am charging my customers, but how can I maybe make a little extra on top of that? And then how can I make my initial investment kind of smaller with that discounted purchase? Another thing that they were looking for was we're going to offer a partner directory listing. And so that gives the agencies visibility and it's going to create a lead funnel for them. So, you know, it's it can be hard to break into new markets or geo locations and you need to keep your pipeline open. You need leads coming in. So that was something that really resonated well with a lot of these agencies. So, so we'll have that. ([Time 0:09:48](https://share.snipd.com/snip/569fc02f-0385-4034-ae7a-d11372786e81)) - **Let Agencies Signal Their Niche Skills** - Do let agencies self-describe niche skills and filter by CMS, industry, or capabilities in your directory. - Keri plans filtering so agencies can show WordPress/Drupal skills, membership or FinTech focus, and get matched accordingly. Transcript: Keri Samaha Absolutely so we want to be able to have, you know, filtering criteria so the agencies can say, hey, I, you know, everybody does WordPress, but I also do Drupal, or I can do these different CMSs, I can do mobile apps, or I serve these very specific niches like FinTech, or maybe we work with like, or membership-based people, they really know what those customers want and They can speak their language and then they can find that agency partner in the directory and submit that recommendation too. Adam Weeks You can make that recommendation because you get to know that agency. Absolutely. And just like the agency is wanting to make sure they can trust their hosting partner and their reputation is on the line for that, it also goes back the other way where you are making a Recommendation to maybe you have an existing website, the client's on there, they lost their old agency or they don't like them. Hey, this agency, this didn't do a great job for us. We're looking for a new agency, and you're able to put your reputation on the line for them. Absolutely. Is there anything that, from the hosting perspective, you're looking at, are you looking at some of the portfolios? What do you do to be able to trust those agencies? Keri Samaha Yeah, I mean, we're going to vet certain criteria. They have to fill out an application form, and we'll do criteria, like vetting criteria there. And then for any of the ones that, I mean, obviously, you have to have a good looking portfolio. You don't want to be in a situation where like the Cobbler's kids, you know, like they don't have their own good looking site. That's important, but also the work that they are doing. So what they are featuring on their portfolio site. But with each of these agencies that get onboarded, like kind of the higher tiers outside of just that basic entry level one, they're going to have a dedicated partner success manager. So we're going to be able to understand everything about their business in order to intelligently make that recommendation. ([Time 0:11:32](https://share.snipd.com/snip/60b6a723-874e-4633-8683-0cdb39943221)) - **Vet Agencies And Assign Partner Success Managers** - Do vet agencies with an application, portfolio review, and higher-tier partner success managers for top partners. - InMotion requires forms, checks portfolios for quality, and assigns partner success managers to higher-tier agencies. Transcript: Keri Samaha I mean, we're going to vet certain criteria. They have to fill out an application form, and we'll do criteria, like vetting criteria there. And then for any of the ones that, I mean, obviously, you have to have a good looking portfolio. You don't want to be in a situation where like the Cobbler's kids, you know, like they don't have their own good looking site. That's important, but also the work that they are doing. So what they are featuring on their portfolio site. But with each of these agencies that get onboarded, like kind of the higher tiers outside of just that basic entry level one, they're going to have a dedicated partner success manager. So we're going to be able to understand everything about their business in order to intelligently make that recommendation. ([Time 0:12:52](https://share.snipd.com/snip/df928287-1649-481b-b5c9-9a8421bd903c)) - **Require Strong Portfolios To Earn Trust** - Do require agencies to maintain high-quality, up-to-date portfolios as part of partnering criteria. - Keri warns against agencies with poor sites; a clean portfolio signals competence and makes hosting referrals safer. Transcript: Keri Samaha You don't want to be in a situation where like the Cobbler's kids, you know, like they don't have their own good looking site. That's important, but also the work that they are doing. So what they are featuring on their portfolio site. But with each of these agencies that get onboarded, like kind of the higher tiers outside of just that basic entry level one, they're going to have a dedicated partner success manager. So we're going to be able to understand everything about their business in order to intelligently make that recommendation. Adam Weeks I love what you're saying about, you know, on their own website. I've worked with some agencies and they're wanting me to help them out with some stuff. And I went to their website. It's like, there are misspelled words on your website. There are dead links on your website. This isn't a good look. Keri Samaha Right? Yeah. Yeah. Adam Weeks Yeah. It's not a good look. And so yeah, first off, the agencies need to have best in class websites. ([Time 0:13:07](https://share.snipd.com/snip/e50fec32-815f-40f0-bd2b-ca5d506c0bfd)) - **In Person Meetings Build Two Way Trust** - Face-to-face meetings reveal tone, personality, and mutual trust that short messages can't convey. - Keri emphasizes in-person chats at events like CloudFest let partners understand each other's business and build two-way trust. Transcript: Keri Samaha Yeah, I mean, it's just you can only infer so much like tone or meaning through an email or a Slack message and everybody is busy, right? So sometimes you're back and forth and these messages and emails is just kind of short and succinct because you don't have a lot of time. When you get to sit down, it's you can actually understand who they are, where they're coming from, from their business, the thing that they're offering, and then just who are they as A person, you know? And can I, you know, genuinely trust them with, you know, parts of my business? And then can I can they trust me? It's so it's a two way street and you've got to have a mutually beneficial relationship as well. You just need that human element. ([Time 0:14:44](https://share.snipd.com/snip/61cfbfca-e9af-4bf5-a428-a8dd31455783)) - **Using Pop Culture To Break The Ice** - Keri used a personal interest (sci-fi movies) to create CloudFest icebreakers and hype for the server-throwing event. - She branded herself as Sarah Connor to mix business networking with playful, memorable in-person interaction. Transcript: Keri Samaha So I'm really, really excited about the server throwing championship. I just think that is so awesome. And then like, personally, like I've, I love movies and sci-fi movies and stuff like that. So, all right, let's kind of put those two things together. Let's be Sarah Connor from the Terminator and destroy this, you know, bare metal server as I throw it. And then, so people kind of can see that I'm excited about that. And, you know, I'm here for business, but I'm also here for a little fun. And then they can go, oh, the Sarah Connor thing. That can be a nice segue or a way to break ice when you're meeting somebody for the first time. Adam Weeks No, I love that. Yeah, it's it is that like you can get to know someone on socials to a degree, get to know your personality, humor, that type of thing. But now I'm going to actually get to see you throw a server. Yes. And that's just, you know, there's no excuse for that. Yeah, it's gonna be in person. It's gonna be great. And we were talking last night, we want to do business with people that we know, we like, and we trust. And having you throw servers, I know you better, I like you better. Trust if you can throw a server. Yeah, I mean, that's trust right there. Keri Samaha Right. I mean, I hyped it up pretty good. Hopefully I can get that thing pretty far. But if not, I had fun. And that was also kind of part of it. ([Time 0:15:49](https://share.snipd.com/snip/4399e882-d394-4d4a-bec2-86cb84e3855a))