In today’s sales landscape, if your company has a vast partner ecosystem and your sellers aren’t engaging with partners daily, you’re missing out on significant opportunities. With 6 – 7 partners influencing each buyer and customer, it’s critical that your sales team’s is connecting with these influencers to source, influence and accelerate their deals. Partner relationships have evolved into the most vital components of a winning go-to-market strategy.
For the next-generation sales leader, integrating partnerships and co-selling into your core competencies is essential. However, rallying your sales team around partners is no easy task — and it begins with you. You can start immediately by emphasizing the importance of partners in every deal and stop praising the lone-ranger sales reps.
But the most crucial step in driving productive engagement with partners is tracking the right partner KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).
Why Tracking Partner KPIs Matters
When done right, partnering and co-selling become the linchpin of a successful sales strategy. Partners open doors to more accounts, drive larger average contract values (ACVs), and more loyal customers. If your team isn’t at the top of the leaderboard, it’s time to revisit the fundamentals. Focusing on these key KPIs can help you and your sales teams maximize the potential of your partner ecosystem:
- Partner Conversations per Account: How many conversations are your sellers having with partners on each account? How regularly are sellers talking with partners? Is this happening regularly over time, or all at once when your seller needs something? This metric ensures consistent partner engagement across the board.
- Leads Sent to Partners: Are your teams sending leads to partners? This KPI reflects the collaborative nature of your partnerships and helps build reciprocity.
- Conversion Rates of Leads Sent to Partners: What is the quality of leads being sent to partners? This KPI reflects the quality of leads being sent to partners. The more leads your partners convert, the more leverage you’ll have with leaders at the partners’ organization when you need leads or help accelerating a deal.
- Partner-Sourced Pipeline: How much of your pipeline is sourced directly through partners? This demonstrates the tangible value partners bring to your sales efforts.
- Partner-Influenced Pipeline: Track the portion of your pipeline that partners have influenced, which can highlight the indirect-yet-critical role they play in closing deals.
- Average Deal Size: What’s the average deal size of closed/won deals involving partners? Larger deal sizes often indicate the strategic advantage of co-selling.
- Deal Velocity with Partner Involvement: How quickly are deals closing when partners are involved? Faster deal cycles often result from well-coordinated partner collaboration.
- Co-Selling Win Rate: What is your win rate when co-selling with partners? This KPI is a direct measure of the effectiveness of your collaborative sales efforts.
Next-generation sales leaders know that partnerships have crossed the chasm from optional to a necessity to hit your numbers and maintain market leadership. By focusing on these KPIs, you’ll both focus your sales team on engaging with partners, and set them up for a successful year leveraging the full power of your partner ecosystem.