A New Vision for CX Partnerships: Insights from Zendesk’s Larry Head

Larry Head, Principal Partner Sales Executive at Zendesk, shares insights on building effective collaborations in customer experience.

With over 25 years of experience in technology sales and partnerships, Larry Head discusses Zendesk’s evolution from broad partner engagement to strategic selection, the impact of AI on customer support, and the lasting importance of human connection in meaningful partnerships.

Q: How has Zendesk’s vision for partnerships evolved from where you started to where you are today?

“It’s no longer just about volume; it’s about building meaningful partnerships that create value for both sides.”

A: It’s funny. When I talk to people about our partner program, I often think back to when I first joined four years ago, when the partner program had only been around for about a year and a half. Early on, there’s this natural inclination to just sign as many partners as possible—we used to joke that if you could fog a mirror, we’d sign you up as a partner. But we’ve evolved to be much more strategic. Our criteria for bringing on new partners have changed significantly. We’re more focused on finding partners with solid infrastructure, like a dedicated marketing team, a sales team, and a service practice.

Essentially, we’re looking for partners who want to build a service business around Zendesk. That means not just referral partners but those with technical resources and sales reps who act as solution-based consultants.

Q: What separates a transformative partnership from a purely transactional one?

A: Both types of partnerships play important roles in our ecosystem. Transactional partners provide value at the beginning and end of the sales cycle. For example, we work with major partners in the US whose customers spend millions on technology and appreciate consolidating their purchases through them.

What sets transformative partners apart is the additional value they bring. They help shape our go-to-market strategy by offering feedback on our roadmap and features that keep us competitive. They also participate in advisory councils, engaging with both our partner and sales leadership to share insights from the market.

Transformative partners act like an extension of our sales force but with a competitive advantage. Since many also work with our competitors, they provide valuable intelligence that informs our product development.

These partners also excel in integration expertise. In the CX space, businesses rarely rely on a single tool. Transformative partners understand how to connect platforms like Zendesk with HR solutions, ERP systems, and contact center technologies. They identify business opportunities we might otherwise miss, offering insights that drive smarter strategic decisions.

Q: Was there a moment early on that shaped how you think about building strong collaborations?

A: Early in my career, I realized what makes partnerships special is the opportunity to build deeper, long-term relationships. While direct sales reps also form great connections, their book of business can change drastically from year to year, often requiring them to start over.

Partnerships, on the other hand, offer more consistency. When you’re working alongside partners, pursuing opportunities, and winning business together, those bonds naturally strengthen. I’m still in touch with partners I worked with 20 years ago—that lasting connection is what I’ve always valued most.

Q: Are there any common misconceptions about partnerships in the CX space that you’ve seen play out over the years?

A: One common misconception is that selling licenses drives successful partnerships. While licensing can be an entry point, the most impactful partnerships go beyond that. They focus on building long-term customer relationships through managed service agreements, which is where real value lies, not in one-time commissions.

The strongest partners act as trusted advisors, offering tailored solutions that address the customer’s full tech stack. I know a partner who’s followed this approach for 30 years, maintaining customer relationships for two decades.

This mindset shift also highlighted a challenge. We often compete with Salesforce and ServiceNow, where deployments can take six to 18 months. Zendesk’s strength is in getting customers up and running quickly, often in weeks. For some large service organizations, that shorter timeline makes Zendesk less appealing (fewer lengthy implementation projects).

However, many partners value faster time-to-value, recognizing that customers want to see results sooner. The key is finding partners who share that mindset.

Q: How is AI transforming customer experience?

A: Everyone’s talking about AI—and for good reason. But at the core, customers still want what they’ve always wanted: fast resolution. With all the technology available today, the key is managing both sides of the experience.

How do you support customers who do not want to use chatbots and prefer to talk to an agent? And just as importantly, how do you empower those agents to make the same smart decisions you’ve built into your self-service options?

In our annual Customer Experience Trends Report, we found that 75% of CX leaders see AI as a force for amplifying human intelligence. But a surprising theme we’re hearing is that many customer support teams are being told, “We need to deploy AI,” but often, that’s all the guidance they get.

This creates a real challenge—those teams are left figuring out what that means, how to implement it effectively, and how to maintain customer satisfaction without driving up costs. That’s something I don’t think enough people are talking about.

There are companies that have figured out how to actively deploy AI “to create super agents”. One of our customers, Campbell Soup, is doing this, and I know we also talked about how your team at Hugo is doing the same. These companies are using AI to help agents be more informed about customers, suggest actions based on intent or sentiment, and even offer workflow recommendations. It’s not about replacing agents but supercharging them in a thoughtful way that helps enhance the entire support experience.

Q: What sets Zendesk’s AI technology apart from other solutions in the market?

A: We built our AI by analyzing billions of customer interactions within our platform. It’s designed specifically for CX, unlike some general AI tools that have a CX layer added on top. Our partners play a big role here, too. They’ll often tell us things like, “You might think your knowledge base is the best out there, but we also work with this other product, and here’s where they’re ahead.” That kind of feedback is incredibly valuable to our product team. Sometimes, our reps are so focused on selling our solution that they might miss those insights. That’s where our partners really add value—they bring an outside perspective we wouldn’t get otherwise.

Q: What’s the most innovative way you’ve seen a customer leverage Zendesk that others could learn from?

A:   One compelling trend we’re seeing is applying customer service principles to internal employee support (we call it employee service). A great example of this is a major motion picture company that integrated its workflow management systems with support tools to create a unified interface for managing employee onboarding.

It was a game-changer for them, given how often teams changed across films. This is one way organizations are thinking beyond traditional customer service applications to address internal operational challenges.

Q: What’s one way you think Zendesk’s partner ecosystem is making an impact?

A: One impactful way Zendesk’s partner ecosystem makes a difference is by acting as an extension of our sales force. Strong partners go beyond just selling; they provide valuable market insights, share competitive intel, and even suggest features that can shape future product development.

Interestingly, some of the most insightful partners also work with competing products, which gives them a broader view of customer needs and market trends. That kind of feedback is incredibly valuable. Every organization, Zendesk included, can sometimes get stuck in its perspective. Partners bring an outside view—one that’s neutral, shaped by real customer interactions, and often reveals insight we might not have otherwise considered.

Q: Looking ahead, how do you envision the evolving relationship between CX platforms, partners, and customers?

A: It’s difficult to predict what things will look like in three to five years, considering how much has changed in just the last three. In theory, AI should make technology deployment more plug-and-play, but partners will remain essential guides through this process.

At a recent CX show in Austin, seven out of ten booths were AI companies. That’s where partners provide real value—helping customers navigate this crowded landscape by determining whether a Zendesk AI solution or a third-party integration better suits their specific needs.

I think the need for human interaction with end customers won’t disappear, though. The “trusted advisor” role will likely become more important, not less, as customers face increasingly complex choices without the time to evaluate them all themselves.

Q: What advice would you give to companies looking to build stronger, more meaningful partnerships today?

A: Be selective. You need buy-in from senior leadership that revenue expectations for the channel might be slower than anticipated, but in the long term, it’s exponentially more beneficial than just signing up anybody.

Being selective means looking for partners with a dedicated sales team that will look for business for you and can properly qualify opportunities. Having a dedicated marketing staff is crucial.

When you consider the revenue split between licensing and services, I believe the service delivery side—pre-sales, implementation, delivery, and account management teams—actually matters more than just having strong sales capabilities. You could have an outstanding sales organization, but you’ll face customer churn issues if you hand customers off to a weak delivery team that doesn’t execute well.

Building solid service-related teams creates the foundation for a profitable, long-term business with reliable recurring revenue.