Types of Channel Partners
- Value-added reseller (VAR) / Systems Integrator (SI): Partner typically sells, implements, and services. End customer contracts with reseller; reseller ‘buys’ from vendor.
- Referral/affiliate/marketplace: Partner sends you leads. End customer transacts with vendor (though marketplace would be with marketplace); vendor pays commission to affiliate. Vendor implements and services.
- Sample referral partner agreement
- The benchmark for referral fees is 10% to 15% of the initial closed deal value. There is no fee on renewals. To keep things simple, tiers are not common.
- Original equipment manufacturer (OEM): Partner sells the vendor’s (OEM’s) solution as their own.
Partner KPIs
- ARR (total; net new – split by new accounts & expansion; NDR & GDR)
- Account Funnel (leads, registrations –> opps, pipeline –> win rate, ACV, sales cycle)
- Cost (overall & per partner; CAC incl. MDF & internal staffing to support partner program)
- Partner Funnel (signed up/enrolled; activated/authorized; actively selling – $x in last y mos; # partner reps who have registered deal, closed deals)
- % Exclusively
- Engagement: Partner portal logins / usage
- Partner NPS
- Account NPS/CSAT on deals sold/services by partners
- Time to first sale (for first x sales or $y of sales)
- Completion/certification rates
Partner Relationship Management (PRM) Evaluation Criteria
- Campaign Management
- CRM Integration
- Customizable Collateral
- Deal Registration
- Enablement
- Language Capability
- Lead Management
- LMS Integration
- Market Development Fund (MDF) Management
- Onboarding
- Partner Visibility of Activity Analytics
- Through Channel Marketing Automation (TCMA)
Cloud Marketplace Software & Services
(*) Recommended
Partner Relationship Management (PRM) Vendors
G2 grid for Partner Management
(*) = recommended
- Affise
- (*) Allbound
- Channeltivity
- Crossbeam
- Everflow
- Impact
- (*) Impartner
- Magentrix
- PartnerLinQ
- PartnerStack
- Reveal
- Vartopia
- Zift Solutions
- Zinfi
Resources
- The State of Partner Ops and Programs 2022 (Hubspot; gated – requires contact info)
Footnotes
1 This is an Insight Partners portfolio company. The editor of this page is employed by Insight Partners.