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

• (*) Tackle
• (*) Workspan¹

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.