SafeBreach, the leader in enterprise security validation, aimed to simplify the complexity of managing their partner program. Their previous platform created a heavy operational burden, making it difficult for both internal teams and partners to collaborate effectively. By switching to Introw PRM, SafeBreach found a solution that was easy to implement, easy to manage, and easy for partners to use.

A Simple Solution to Complex Challenges

Before adopting Introw, SafeBreach faced several recurring issues:

1. Managing partner access was time-consuming.‍
2. Deal registration caused friction for partners, and setting up deal forms was not user-friendly.‍
3. Content updates were cumbersome, often needing IT support to make changes.

The SafeBreach team knew they needed a simpler, more intuitive platform that could eliminate these roadblocks without sacrificing functionality.

Why SafeBreach Chose Introw PRM

What stood out most about Introw was its focus on ease of use. Unlike other PRM tools that require extensive training, Introw’s platform is intuitive and ready to use from day one. Deployment was completed in just hours, and the integration with Salesforce was seamless.

Here’s what made the biggest impact:

1. Easy Access to Partner Portal
   • Introw syncs all partner related contacts automatically from Salesforce.
   • This approach saved SafeBreach’s channel team significant time and effort managing partner accounts.
2. Bi-Directional Salesforce Sync
   • Salesforce remained the single source of truth, with deal registrations and updates automatically syncing between systems.
   • Partners could register deals directly through a public form or via the portal, linking their submissions to CRM records without manual intervention.
3. Flexible Content Management
   • SafeBreach’s team could update partner resources without IT assistance, ensuring sales materials were always current.
   • Introw allowed for global content syncs while also enabling custom content for specific partners, enhancing the personalized experience.

“Introw has been a breath of fresh air. It doesn’t require hours of training videos or extensive onboarding. The platform is well-designed, intuitive, and ready to use right away.” Joe Wilckinson - Channel Director

The Results: Simplified Partner Management

Since implementing Introw, SafeBreach has drastically reduced the operational burden on their channel team. Partners now enjoy a frictionless experience, from onboarding to deal registration. Introw has been a game-changer, making it easy for partners to log in and access resources.

SafeBreach’s deal registration process has also improved significantly. Partners can register deals directly through the portal or via a public deal registration form, with all submissions automatically linked to their accounts in Salesforce. The two-way integration ensures that both SafeBreach and their partners have real-time visibility into deal statuses.

Why Introw Stands Out

The consistent feedback from SafeBreach’s team is "ease":

• Easy to deploy: Introw was up and running in hours, not days.
• Easy to manage: Intuitive deal form builder that integrates with Salesforce and flexible content management.
• Easy for partners: Eliminating friction in deal registration and resource access with off-portal collaboration.

Unlike more complex PRM solutions that require extensive customization and training, Introw provides out-of-the-box functionality that delivers immediate value.

“The Introw team has been incredibly supportive. They’ve taken feedback seriously and even implemented changes we suggested. It’s been a great experience.”

Final Thoughts

SafeBreach’s experience with Introw PRM highlights the importance of choosing a platform that prioritizes usability and efficiency. By making partner management simple, SafeBreach can now focus on building stronger partner relationships and driving mutual success.

If your team is looking for a PRM solution that’s easy to use, easy to manage, and easy to integrate, look no further than Introw PRM.

What is a PRM?

Partner Relationship Management (PRM) is a software platform designed to help businesses streamline, optimize, and enhance their relationships with partners. These partners might include resellers, referral partners, strategic partners, integration partners, distributors, affiliates, or other entities in a company’s ecosystem. A PRM platform allows companies to centralize tools and processes to improve communication, collaboration, and performance within these partnerships.

Key functionalities often include deal registration, partner onboarding, content sharing, performance tracking, and communication tools. By integrating these capabilities, PRMs help organizations scale their partner programs efficiently, ensuring mutual growth and alignment.

Why Would You Need a PRM?

Businesses increasingly rely on partner ecosystems to scale their reach, reduce customer acquisition costs, and boost revenue. However, managing a network of partners using traditional tools like spreadsheets, emails, or disparate systems quickly becomes inefficient and error-prone. Apart from that Partner Deals Have a 32% bigger deal size and 2.8X higher win rate.

While some partner-related data may be housed in your CRM, inviting partners to access your CRM directly is not a viable option for reasons like security, data complexity, and usability. Instead, a PRM bridges this gap, providing partners with a user-friendly platform tailored to their needs while syncing seamlessly with your internal systems.

Here’s why investing in a PRM matters:

1. Scalability: A PRM grows with your ecosystem, accommodating additional partners and ensuring smooth operations even as complexity increases.
2. Transparency: Provides clear visibility into partner performance, deal status, and revenue contributions.
3. Efficiency: Automates repetitive tasks like onboarding, reporting, and resource distribution, reducing administrative overhead.
4. Partner Engagement: Enhances satisfaction and productivity by offering intuitive tools and resources that make it easier for partners to succeed.
5. Data-Driven Insights: Empowers better decision-making with analytics that highlight high-performing partners and pinpoint areas for improvement.

For any organization aiming to maximize its partner strategy, a PRM is a crucial investment.

How to Start Looking for the Right PRM?

Choosing a PRM that aligns with your business goals and partner strategy requires careful planning. Here’s how to get started:

1. Define Must-Have Features

Look for essential features such as:

• Deal and/or Lead Registration: Transparency and management of partner-led sales and opportunities.
• Performance Tracking: Tools to monitor and analyze partner contributions and performance.
• Content Sharing: A central repository for marketing materials, pricing guides, and training documents.
• Communication Tools: Real-time collaboration and updates.
• Integrations: Ensure seamless integration with your CRM and other essential tools.
• Bonus: Look for PRMs like Introw that also integrate with partner-centric tools like Crossbeam, Slack, and Zapier.

2. Involve Stakeholders

• Collect input from sales, marketing, and partner management teams who will use or benefit from the PRM.
• Engage with current partners to understand their needs, challenges, and expectations.

3. Align on Timeline

• Some PRMs require significant implementation time, often taking 4–6 months or more. Align on your desired go-live date and evaluate vendors based on their ability to meet your timeline.

Key Differentiators to Look For in a PRM in 2025

Time to Value:

Traditional PRMs often require months for implementation, modern PRMs like Introw can be set up in minutes, minimizing delays and accelerating ROI.‍

• Opportunity Cost: Every day without a PRM is a lost chance to engage effectively with your partners.
• ‍Development Costs: Long timelines often mean higher costs for IT resources.‍
• Business Changes: Extended implementations can result in outdated systems before they even go live.‍
• Usability: Complex implementations exclude partnership managers from co-creating the platform, making it less tailored to their needs.‍

CRM Integration at the Core:‍

There’s a clear shift happening. Modern companies have their partnership data in their CRM.

That’s why a PRM should use your CRM as the single source of truth.

• ‍2-Way Sync: Syncing data bidirectionally between your CRM and PRM. Mains use cases:
  • Syncing partner data
  • Syncing deal data
• Beyond Deals: Modern PRMs should support collaboration on leads, support tickets, and more.
• 1-Click CRM Integration: Avoid wasting development resources—choose a PRM with effortless, 1-click CRM integration.
• Bonus: CRM Copilot - look for PRM’s that support in-CRM functionalities.

Partner Engagement Beyond Portals

• Partners are not living in your PRM - they often have their own priorities. Make sure you can keep partners top of mind without needing to login to the PRM every single time.‍
• ‍Updates via e-mail and/or Slack: Features like email or Slack notifications keep partners updated without requiring them to log into the portal.‍
• Off-Portal Collaboration: Look for PRMs that enable interaction from tools partners already use. For instance, Introw allows partners to reply to automated emails. These replies are captured in the Introw PRM & your CRM.‍

Free Trial Availability‍

• Don’t buy before your tr(u)y. Make sure you can properly test the solution before committing to it.

About Introw

Introw is revolutionizing Partner Relationship Management for the modern business landscape. Introw empowers companies to streamline and scale their partner ecosystems with cutting-edge tools that deliver immediate value.

What Sets Introw Apart?

• Short Time to Value: Go live in minutes, not months, minimizing delays and reducing opportunity costs.
• CRM Integration at the Core: Real-time, 2-way synchronization ensures that your CRM remains the single source of truth.
• Comprehensive PRM Features: From deal registration to content sharing, Introw offers all the essential tools to enhance partner engagement and productivity.
• Flexible Collaboration Options: Partners can engage with your program through email, Slack, or other tools they already use.
• Proven Success: Trusted by businesses worldwide, Introw helps organizations unlock the full potential of their partner ecosystems.

With Introw, managing partnerships is not just efficient—it’s transformative.

Conclusion

Selecting the right PRM in 2025 isn’t just about ticking feature boxes; it’s about finding a platform that aligns with your strategic goals and scales with your partner ecosystem. Modern PRMs like Introw, with their quick implementation, seamless CRM integration, and robust features, offer the agility needed to thrive in today’s dynamic business environment.

Investing in the right PRM is an investment in your partners—and your company’s growth.

Looking to integrate account mapping data into your PRM?
Introw leverages Crossbeam's overlap data to identify opportunities and share them with your partners instantly.

What is Crossbeam?

Crossbeam is a Partner Ecosystem Platform (PEP) that empowers SaaS companies to replace cumbersome spreadsheets with a streamlined system to identify overlapping customers and prospects in their partner networks. This approach is commonly known as "account mapping."

In simple: You connect your CRM, your partner connects their CRM. Crossbeam identifies overlapping data. Example: Your company has Acme Corp as a prospect, your integration partner has Acme Corp as a customer. Crossbeam will uncover this for you allowing you to ask for an introduction or intell about Acme Corp.

In 2024, Reveal and Crossbeam merged, creating a network that now connects over 30,000 companies, including Stripe, Intercom, HubSpot, and many others.

What is Introw?

Introw is an innovative Partner Relationship Management (PRM) platform designed to make managing partnerships easy, efficient, and impactful. It allows businesses to create and manage a partner portal in just minutes, with features like:

• Automated Deal and Lead Registration: Streamline workflows for registering and tracking deals all integrated with your CRM.
• Tiering and Commission Management: Automate partner tiers and commission payouts to encourage better engagement.
• Partner Enablement: Keep partners up to date and top of mind by giving them access to the right sales material and sending them announcements on autopilot.
• CRM Integration: Introw integrates seamlessly with platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot, keeping your CRM as the single source of truth.
• Real-Time Alerts and Nudges: Introw enables instant partner engagement via email and Slack, ensuring partners stay informed and motivated.

Unlike traditional PRMs, Introw starts from CRM data, and is set-up in literally minutes instead of months.

Why and How Does Introw Integrate with Crossbeam?

The integration between Introw and Crossbeam brings the best of both platforms together to enhance partnership collaboration and revenue potential. Here’s how it works:

1. Seamless Connection: With just one click, Introw connects to Crossbeam, automatically matching your partners from both platforms.
2. Streamlined Opportunity Sharing: Use Crossbeam's overlap data to identify opportunities and share them with your partners instantly through Introw.
3. Automated Deal Attribution: Deals sourced through Crossbeam's overlap data are automatically attributed to the appropriate partner in your CRM.
4. Real-Time Partner Engagement: Introw uses Slack and email to send timely updates on deal status or CRM changes, ensuring partners are always in the loop and engaged.

By combining Introw’s advanced partner management tools with Crossbeam’s powerful data-sharing capabilities, this integration creates a highly efficient system for driving partnership revenue and fostering collaboration.

Learn more and get started with the integration by creating an here.

Alternatively, schedule a 1:1 call to learn more through a personalized demo.

This milestone reinforces our mission: leveraging CRM-data as the single source of truth for partner collaboration.

Introw is helping over 1000 HubSpot users to launch a partner portal in minutes, all integrated with their CRM. This has resulted in an increased partner revenue & engagement for HubSpot customers (see Sandsiv case study).

Benefits of the HubSpot Integration

Certified integrations reflect a strong investment in product quality and customer experience, ensuring users can unlock greater value from their HubSpot workflows. Partners can collaborate in real-time on deals and get real-time updates, while resellers can even manage their own deals without needing a HubSpot account.

🪄By connecting HubSpot to Introw, all partner data sitting in HubSpot will come to life in no-time:

• You'll be aligned with your partners by collaborating on deals in your partner portal. Comments are being pushed as notes in your HubSpot.
• You'l be able to sync partners from HubSpot directly to Introw
• You'll be able to push form submissions (become a partner, support request, lead form & deal form) directly to HubSpot.
• Add other dynamic CRM-views based on HubSpot objects to your shared space (contacts, companies, leads or tickets)

Next to this, Introw integrates with contacts, product, quotes and more in order to keep HubSpot as the single source of truth for data management.

Introw Copilot in HubSpot

The HubSpot Copilot enables the partnership, sales, and marketing teams to seamlessly collaborate with their B2B partners directly within their CRM. Watch this short video to see how the Copilot workflow operates.

Laurens Lavaert, CTO at Introw, adds, “HubSpot has been an exceptional partner. Achieving certification on their marketplace reinforces our dedication to helping businesses streamline partner collaboration. With Introw, nearly 1000 HubSpot users are already simplifying their partner collaboration, and we’re excited to help thousands more maximize their success.”

HubSpot’s App Partner Program continues to grow its ecosystem of top-tier integrations, offering users powerful tools to expand their reach and streamline their operations.

Connect HubSpot to Introw now

1. Create an account via: https://rooms.introw.io/signup
2. Connect your CRM
3. See the magic in action 🪄

About Introw

Introw is a partner relationship platform (PRM) that lets you launch a personalized partner portal in minutes—fully integrated with HubSpot (& Salesforce). Whether you work with resellers, referral partners, distributors, or implementation partners, Introw streamlines collaboration and boosts engagement without the hassle of traditional portals.

The world of partnerships is evolving—and for the better! Data has become the cornerstone of modern partnership management, transforming how partner managers make decisions, build relationships, and drive growth. Today’s partner managers don’t just maintain connections—they leverage data to uncover insights, optimise processes, and unlock new opportunities. When I started, I was navigating spreadsheets and tracking relationships through CRMs like Pipedrive and HubSpot. Today, the focus is on integrating those systems into a single source of truth, creating transparent, frictionless experiences for partners that foster long-term success.

This shift is a game-changer for managing and scaling partnerships. I’m Eva Fayemi, Co-Founder & CEO of Bond Agency, and I’m excited to share how data is reshaping partnership management.

1. Companies start with CRM Data

For most companies, CRM systems are the starting point for managing partnerships. These systems provide key data on sales interactions and performance, but integrating partner-sourced data can be a challenge. While it's better than nothing, simply tracking data isn't enough—it's crucial to define a partnership strategy first.

At Bond Agency, we help clients identify their partnership goals and align them with broader business objectives before optimising their CRM or introducing tools like Introw. A common challenge we see is companies not tracking which partnerships contribute most to the bottom line. We guide them in mapping partner journeys, attributing engagement, and tracking conversions in the CRM. This clarity leads to improved decision-making, better tracking, and growth.

Protip: Ensure your sales team is aligned on reporting partner-sourced leads. Create internal documentation and calls to keep everyone on the same page for seamless reporting across teams.

2. Increasing Revenue and Engagement

Growing revenue and boosting partner engagement are top priorities, but these goals can be time-consuming and difficult to track. Modern partner managers balance engagement and tracking more efficiently through technology, automating key processes and logging communication touchpoints with partners.

For example, one of our clients used to spend hours tracking partner engagement manually. After integrating their CRM with automation tools, they gained a dynamic, real-time view of partner contributions. Automated alerts and insights allowed their team to respond quickly, increasing partner engagement and revenue from key accounts.

Protip: Track whether partners open onboarding materials like sales brochures or marketing resources. This helps identify where additional support is needed for smoother, more effective onboarding.

3. More Transparency Through Data Means Better Collaboration

A common issue partners face is a lack of transparency. Without it, trust erodes, and partnerships can’t thrive. Tools like Introw are changing this dynamic by providing greater transparency. It connects CRM data with partnership management, offering a platform that tracks key metrics, aligns partners on pipeline progress, provides content, and monitors engagement.

This transparency empowers partner managers to track the entire partnership ecosystem while giving partners visibility into their performance. When everyone is aligned with clear data, collaboration becomes more efficient and impactful.

The future of partnership management is data-driven. With tools like Introw, partner managers can unlock new insights, improve collaboration, and drive faster, more efficient growth. Companies that embrace this will lead the next era of partnership management.

About Bond Agency: Since 2020, Bond Agency has been helping B2B tech and SaaS startups accelerate growth through strategic partnerships. We specialise in strategy development, execution, and providing fractional partner teams, focusing on scaling businesses in the EMEA and USA. With a diverse network of affiliates, tech integrations, and B2B influencers, we’ve delivered impactful results across industries including hospitality tech (e.g., Unicorn Mews), MarTech (e.g., Hotjar), and SaaS (e.g., Revenue Hero).

Join the conversation in our Slack community, The Nearbound Club, where tech founders and partnership leaders drive innovation in the partnerships space.

Visit: www.bond-agency.io

SANDSIV, an AI-driven leader in Customer Experience Management (CXM), faced challenges with partner communication and collaboration. Referral partners were frustrated by the lack of updates on their leads, while reselling partners struggled with pipeline alignment and deal collaboration. By implementing Introw’s personalized partner portal integrated with their CRM (HubSpot), SANDSIV achieved a 30% increase in partner adoption and improved collaboration within weeks.

What were their challenges?

To keep referral partners informed about the status of leads, SANDSIV relied on manual updates & outdated spreadsheets, causing significant time loss. For solution partners and resellers, there was a lack of alignment on the sales pipeline and no opportunities for collaboration on deals.

In general, partners did not have a central place to collaborate on deals, pipeline & strategy.

How did Introw help overcome these challenges?

SANDSIV evaluated numerous PRM solutions and chose Introw for its emphasis on partner experience. Within a single day, SANDSIV set up a personalized partner portal. This provided their partners with instant access to the deals they had influenced or sourced.

Introw's partner portal transformed the experience for referral partners, providing real-time updates on deal statuses. This inspired partners to send more leads, knowing they were always in the loop. For solution partners, Introw brought pipeline alignment and the ability to collaborate on deals. With Introw’s 1-click HubSpot integration, Sandsiv is able to keep HubSpot as their single source of truth, while improving the partner collaboration.

How to become a SANDSIV partner?

SANDSIV is an innovation leader in Customer Experience Management (CXM) enterprise solutions. With its cutting-edge end-to-end CXM software solution, SANDSIV empowers businesses worldwide to deliver differentiated customer experiences and foster long-lasting customer loyalty. The company’s commitment to excellence and innovation has enabled it to expand its partner program and establish a world presence that is constantly growing.

Go to https://sandsiv.com/partner-program/flex-partnership/ or send an e-mail to partner@sandsiv.com to join their partner program.

About Introw

Introw enables companies to launch a personalized partner portal in minutes, fully integrated with your CRM. This ensures alignment on pipeline, content, and strategy. Key features include deal collaboration, deal and lead registration workflows, asset sharing, mutual action plan creation, automatic deal updates, and more.

We’ve seen that there are 3 potential ways to manage your partners within HubSpot: custom properties, company association & custom object association. Before implementing a partner portal like Introw we advise to map your partners in your HubSpot. 

In this blogpost we’re going to focus on revenue attribution so we’re looking at the object “Deal” in HubSpot. If you also want to attribute contacts, leads, companies,… to partners, you can use the same approach.

Custom properties

How does it work?

1. Create a custom deal property
   • Step 1: Go to settings —> data management —> properties
   • Step 2: Create property:
     • Object type: Deal
     • Group: Deal information
     • Label: This is up to you to decide, we've gone for "Partner". Click "Next"
     • Field type: If you’re sometimes working with multiple partners on a deal, we advise going for “Multiple checkboxes.” If there is always a maximum of one partner per deal, go for “Dropdown select.”
2. Add your custom property to your view or your teams view (this will allow you to easily select the right partners from the left side panel)
3. Attribute the right partner(s) to the right deals

‍What are the pros?

✅ Easy and fast set-up

✅ Possible with all HubSpot plans

✅ Easy to create revenue reports

What are the cons?

❌ Every sales person should have this custom property in their view

❌ Not possible to navigate directly to the partner company

Company association (with association label)

How does it work?

1. Create a custom association label between deal and company
   • Step 1: Go to settings —> data management —> objects —> deals —> associations
   • Step 2: Create association label:
     • Objects you’re associating: Deals-to-companies
     • How many labels do you need? A single label
     • Create one called: partner sourced (for deals that partners have sourced)
     • 💡 Optional: You can create another label called: partner influenced (for deals that partners have influenced)
2. Associate the partner company to a deal and select the label “partner sourced” (or partner influenced)
3. You can do this by associating an (additional) company to the deal; add company

What are the pros?

✅ Easy and fast set-up

✅ Scalable

What are the cons?

❌ Not possible with all HubSpot plans

❌ Not easy to report on in HubSpot

Custom object association

How does it work?

1. Create a custom object
   • Step 1: Go to settings —> data management —> objects —> custom objects
   • Step 2: Create custom object:
     • Object name - singular: “Partner”
     • Object name - plural: “Partner”
     • Primary display property: “Partner Name”
     • Property type: Single-line text
2. Associate the right company object to the partner object in order to have all the right data connected
3. Associate the partner object to a deal

💡 Optional: Create association labels on this custom object to differentiate between for example partner influenced and partner sourced

What are the pros?

✅ Good for organisations with larger amounts of partners

✅ Scalable

What are the cons?

❌ Not possible with all HubSpot plans

❌ Not so easy

‍‍

Conclusion

To wrap up, there are 3 ways to manage your partners in HubSpot: via custom properties, via company association and via a custom object. 

Introw supports all methods :).

‍

What is Introw?

Working with resellers, referral partners, distributors,...? Keep on reading! Introw is a partner relationship management (PRM) platform allowing you to collaborate with your B2B partners in shared spaces integrated with HubSpot. 

One space to be aligned on pipeline, enable partners with content and track engagement.

✅ Partners don't need to login to a portal

✅ Simplifying B2B partnership collaborations

Partnership data lives in the CRM, so we’re leveraging that to the fullest with our native and 1-click HubSpot and Salesforce integration.

With that, we’re not only elevating your B2B partnership experience, we’re elevating the experience of your entire partnership team.

Request a demo now.

‍
Install the HubSpot connection here.

The Ghent-based tech start-up Introw, already helping dozens of companies to unlock partnership sales, raises €1M to create "Digital Partnership Rooms"

Early-stage fund Pitchdrive leads the €1 million round in Introw, joined by vetted angels such as Pieterjan Bouten (Showpad), Ewout Meyns (Hubspot) & Dieter De Mesmaeker (DataCamp).

Young entrepreneurs Andreas Geamanu (CEO), Laurens Lavaert (CTO) and Simon Van Den Hende (AI Engineer) founded the company in early 2023 together with “Netlog-maffia” serial entrepreneurs Lorenz Bogaert, Toon Coppens, Nicolas Van Eenaeme and Vincent Verlee.

They are on a mission to make partnership collaboration easy by allowing partners to collaborate in shared spaces. 

"There is only 25% adoption on current partner relationship management (PRM) solutions. With Introw partners don't need an account which results in up to 80% partner adoption," says co-founder Andreas Geamanu.

The founders saw the challenges sales teams faced when trying to collaborate with B2B partners.  Driven by these challenges, the founders set out to bridge the gap and forge a new path for B2B ecosystem sales.

”We saw a huge drive in the founders to solve a pain they had experienced personally. Combining the technical (AI) expertise with B2B sales expertise will be a magical potion that can lead to a huge shift in the way companies work with partners today” Wim Derkinderen at Pitchdrive.

With the help and expertise of these experienced angel investors and Pitchdrive, Introw will use this funding to convert warm leads into deals worldwide. Introw is onboarding new users every day.

Sign ups are open at introw.io

Introw conducted a research on 2024 comparing the partner-attributed deals with non partner attributed deals.

In today's hyper-competitive business landscape, partnerships are becoming increasingly vital for driving revenue growth and scaling operations. Recent research on 2024 deals reveals compelling insights into the impact of partner-attributed deals compared to non-partner deals, shedding light on why partnerships are more crucial than ever.

Key Findings from Our Research

Introw detected that partner-attributed deals significantly outperform direct sales (non-partner) deals in two critical areas:

1. Higher Deal Size: Partner-attributed deals boast an average deal size that is 32% higher compared to non-partner deals.
2. Higher Win Rate: The win rate for partner-attributed deals is 2.8 times higher than for non-partner deals.

Interestingly, our research showed no significant difference in the sales cycle length between partner and non-partner deals.

What These Numbers Mean for Your Business

These findings underline a fundamental truth: partner ecosystems are revenue multipliers. Here's why:

• Increased Credibility: Partners bring an added layer of trust and credibility to the sales process, which can be crucial in closing larger deals. Customers are more likely to trust recommendations from partners they already have a relationship with.
• Access to New Markets: Partners can open doors to new opportunities and markets that may have been difficult to penetrate independently.
• Improved Win Rates: With a win rate that is nearly three times higher for partner-attributed deals, it's clear that partnerships are a critical factor in improving sales outcomes.

How to Leverage Partners for Maximum Impact

Based on our findings, here are three actionable steps your business can take to maximize the impact of partner-attributed deals:

1. Invest in Partner Enablement: Equip your partners with the right tools and resources to succeed. This includes training, co-marketing initiatives, and providing them with access to your sales collateral.
2. Leverage Partner Relationship Management (PRM) Software: Platforms like Introw can help streamline partner collaboration, track deal attribution, and measure partner performance.
3. Align Incentives: Ensure your partners are motivated to bring deals to the table by offering competitive incentives and fostering a mutually beneficial relationship.

Conclusion

The numbers don’t lie: Partner-attributed deals are larger, more successful, and just as fast to close. Companies that prioritize building and nurturing their partner ecosystems stand to gain a significant competitive advantage.

If you want to see similar results in 2025, now is the time to invest in your partner strategy. Platforms like Introw can help you get there by simplifying the way you collaborate with partners and driving better outcomes. Schedule a demo here or get started for free. 

What is Introw?

Introw unlocks partner revenue by eliminating the friction of partner collaboration. Companies working with resellers, referral partners, distributors, or implementation partners use Introw to seamlessly share sales materials, collaborate on customer data, and drive partner engagement—all integrated with their CRM.

Most businesses struggle to grow because they try to do it alone. But the fastest way to scale is together. Enter co-selling.

This blog explains everything you need to know about co-selling, why it works, and how to dominate it.

Co-selling occurs when two businesses collaborate to sell a product or service, combining their efforts to achieve larger goals faster. 

It's not just about splitting revenue—it's about leveraging each other's strengths to win over a shared audience. 

If you tire of working alone, it's time to think bigger. Find the right partner, structure the deal, and see what happens when you stop competing and start collaborating.

What is co-selling?

Co-selling is a b2b partnership with a sales-driven approach in which two or more companies work together to position and sell integrated or complementary solutions to a common customer base. 

This method maximizes market reach, improves customer experience, and drives mutual business growth.

The partners or companies must create a co-selling agreement for this co-partner relationship to succeed.

Let's find out what a co-selling agreement is:

Co-selling agreement

It is a formal, legally binding contract to establish the framework for collaboration between companies engaged in co-selling. 

The co-selling agreement outlines sales coordination strategies, lead management protocols, financial incentives, and customer engagement guidelines to optimize the joint marketing, promotion, and sale of their products and services to a shared customer base.

This agreement specifies the co-selling rights on who owns what, who does what, and how you both win. 

Now, let's have a look at some examples to make the co-selling  concept even more transparent:

What are co-selling examples?

Identifying complementary solutions

Co-selling is most effective when products complement each other naturally, creating a more compelling customer value proposition. 

HubSpot and Introw collaborate in selling their products or services because their offerings complement each other, benefiting sales teams.

• HubSpot provides tools for lead management, helping sales teams track, organize, and nurture potential customers.
• Introw specializes in automated outreach, helping sales teams reach prospects efficiently through computerized emails, follow-ups, and engagement.

Since sales teams need both—effective lead management and automated outreach—these two companies co-sell their solutions together

Dropbox and HelloSign are bundled workflows—users can store, access, and sign documents in one place. By solving pain points with a bundled solution, co-selling partners make adoption simpler and customer retention more powerful.

Integrating the Products (Optional but Powerful)

A well-integrated product experience can turn a co-selling partnership into a must-have solution. For example, Zoom's Slack and Zoom integration allows users to start video calls directly from Slack, eliminating extra steps and reducing workflow disruptions. This seamless experience boosts adoption, increases user engagement, and strengthens the business case for both products. When aligning their tech stacks, co-selling partners improve usability and drive deeper customer loyalty.

Aligning Sales & Marketing Teams

An integrated product experience can make a co-selling relationship a requirement. Take Slack and Zoom—integration enables users to start video calls directly from Slack, without extra steps and workflow disruption. This simplicity drives more adoption, gets more users involved, and makes the business case for both products even more compelling. Co-selling partners enhance usability and create customer loyalty by harmonizing their tech stacks.

Leveraging Partner Ecosystems

Cloud marketplaces like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud provide SaaS vendors with an in-built audience and trust benefit. By co-selling within these marketplaces, partners gain instant credibility and enterprise customer access. For example, a security SaaS vendor co-selling on AWS guarantees its security solutions are AWS-hosted application-optimized, making them more straightforward.

These alliances eliminate sales frictions, reduce deal cycles, and grant access to larger contracts that would otherwise be harder to achieve.

The difference between co-selling and reselling

Although they might seem similar, the significant difference between co-selling and reselling is who owns the customer and manages the contract.

Co-selling occurs when companies collaborate, split the effort, and share the rewards. While the company still manages the contract and owns the customer, it receives help closing the deal faster and more effectively.

Reselling is when one company buys and resells your SaaS product to their customers. They make money off the margin, but they handle everything—the sale, the customer. You’re out of the loop, but they still pay you for your product.

This table will make it even more transparent and more distinguishable about co-selling and reselling processes and the role each party plays:

How to co-sell effectively using PRM software 

Select the right PRM software: 

Choose a PRM platform that aligns with your business needs and integrates seamlessly with your existing systems. Top-notch partner management software simplifies the complex dynamics of co-selling by fostering better communication, alignment, and operational efficiency, ultimately leading to more successful and profitable partnerships.

It offers the following features:

• Partner Onboarding: Simplifies the process of bringing new partners into your ecosystem.
• Deal Registration: Allow partners to register deals, ensuring transparency and preventing conflicts.
• Performance Tracking: Monitor partner activities and sales performance to identify top performers and areas for improvement.
• Communication Tools: Facilitate seamless communication between your team and partners.
• Resource Sharing: Provide partners access to marketing materials, product information, and training resources.

Define Clear Co-Selling Objectives: 

Establish specific goals for your co-selling initiatives. Whether it’s capturing more market share, entering new regions, or launching fresh products, you need specific goals. No vagueness. You must answer, “Who am I selling to?” upfront.

Co-selling always begins with account mapping. It involves digging into your partners' and your customer base to uncover the easy wins. Map out your account early because this will dictate your entire sales strategy, shape how you’ll enable your partners, and define the joint value proposition. 

When you develop your plan, you must make two critical decisions: what you will do and, just as importantly, what you will not do.

Identify and Onboard Suitable Partners: 

The first step is identifying potential partners who align with your business values and objectives. The onboarding process should be streamlined to ensure partners are equipped.

It's also essential to identify overlapping customers. Crossbeam helps you and your co-selling partner identify customers shared by both of you. Integrating Crossbeam with Introw allows you to visualize and act on these overlaps.

Once shared customers are identified, you can segment them for joint marketing campaigns, offers, and sales outreach to increase the chances of success in the co-selling process.

Sync your CRM data (HubSpot, Salesforce) with a trusted PRM platform to share lead and account information with your co-selling partner. This allows both parties to view and track shared leads or prospects, ensuring no opportunities slip through the cracks.

Provide comprehensive Training and Resources:

Equip your partners with training materials, product information, and marketing materials through the PRM platform. This will ensure they have the knowledge and resources to sell your products or services effectively.

Collaborate on Deal Registration and Management:

Encourage partners to register deals within the PRM system. This practice promotes transparency, prevents conflicts, and allows both parties to track deal progress collaboratively.

Use Slack to streamline communication between your sales teams and co-selling partners. You can set up channels in Slack to discuss specific accounts or opportunities, ensuring that both teams are aligned in their sales efforts.

When a co-selling action needs attention (e.g., follow-up tasks, closing deadlines), the PRM platform can send notifications to Slack, ensuring both teams stay on top of their responsibilities. 

A PRM like Introw connects with your CRM and allows you to collaborate with your partners on real-time deals. 

Monitor Performance and Provide Feedback:

Utilize the PRM software's analytics tools to track partner performance. Regularly review sales volume, deal closure rates, and customer feedback. Provide constructive feedback and support to help partners improve and achieve mutual goals

Foster Open Communication:

Communicate regularly with partners through the PRM messaging and collaboration tools. An open dialogue helps address challenges promptly and strengthens the partnership.

Use workflow automation to trigger specific actions when certain events occur (e.g., when a lead from a partner is added to your CRM or when certain conditions are met). Automating co-selling tasks such as follow-ups, meeting scheduling, or document sharing helps reduce manual work and ensures consistency.

When you and your co-selling partner need to share a document (e.g., a contract, proposal, or pitch deck), you can automate the process through integrations with tools like Google Drive, PDFs, and Loom.

Implement Incentive Programs: 

Design incentive structures within the PRM system to motivate partners. Incentives can include financial rewards, recognition, or access to exclusive resources, encouraging partners to prioritize your products or services.

Continuously Optimize the Co-selling Process:

Assess the effectiveness of your co-selling strategy regularly using insights from the PRM software. Be prepared to make adjustments to improve efficiency, address challenges, and capitalize on new opportunities.

Using Introw.io's integrations with CRMs and other tools, you can generate joint reports that provide insights into the success of co-selling efforts, track conversion rates, and analyze which types of joint outreach work best.

Set up shared dashboards for both teams to track co-selling progress and see real-time results. This will help keep both teams motivated and aligned with common goals.

Why is co-selling more critical now than ever?

Co-selling has become increasingly significant as businesses need innovative ways of scaling and growing revenue.

According to ZDNet, 84% of sales professionals say that partner selling impacts revenue more now than a year ago, and 89% of sales teams already engage in partner sales.

This strategy empowers businesses to push into new markets by sharing resources and networks, thus better-reaching non-consumers. 

As defined by Microsoft, co-selling has further improved the sales efficiency ratio, especially for Independent Software Vendors, who have more opportunities to accelerate growth through trusted cloud partners. As the sales environment becomes more complex, co-selling now offers a strategic advantage for them to pool expertise and speed up deal cycles.

Frequently Asked Questions FAQS

What is the meaning of co-selling?

Co-selling means two or more companies working together to sell a product or service, sharing resources and efforts.

What is the meaning of co-seller?

A co-seller is a business or individual partnering with another company to sell a product or service jointly.

What is the meaning of selling?

Selling is persuading someone to buy a product or service in exchange for money.

Conclusion

Co-selling is one of the main strategies that help companies reach more customers, increase growth, and work on comparative strengths. By teaming up with the right partners, companies can open new markets, make their sales processes easy, simple, and efficient, and further develop customer value.

Co-selling can be very effective with strategic planning, clear communication, and choosing the appropriate technology stack, which includes implementing PRM software. However, effective co-selling ensures stronger partnerships, better sales performance, and improved revenue. 

Contact us now to learn how our PRM software can streamline your co-selling process and help you succeed more!

Mastering channel management is not about working harder but working smarter. Here’s the blueprint to dominate your partnerships and scale effortlessly.

Strategy is the difference between a struggling channel and a thriving one. Follow these principles, and your revenue will explode.

These 10 proven practices will help you master channel management, from aligning goals and automating payouts to reducing conflict and driving partner performance. Let’s break it down step by step.

What is Channel Management?

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A channel is more than just a system. It's your gateway to reaching the end user with your product or service.

Going direct means handling every customer yourself. You aim to build one-on-one relationships and make every sale personal, but that can be challenging when you're trying to scale.

Channel partners offer you leverage. These intermediaries—resellers, distributors, or even giants like Amazon—help you reach more people than you could alone.

For example, instead of selling toothpaste tube by tube, you sell a pallet to a drugstore, and they do the rest. In the tech world, it's the same—partners move your product by introducing it to networks you haven't penetrated yet.

You need to manage the relationships with these channel partners that sell, distribute, or support products directly or indirectly to customers; this is called channel management.

“Channel management is the process of building, maintaining, and optimizing relationships with partners—resellers, distributors, service providers, and others who help deliver your products or services to end customers.”

Mastering channel management means building productive partnerships that are aligned with your business goals. Adopting the right practices ensures profitability!

Challenges in Channel Management 

When starting to manage partners, challenges or shortcomings could take any form, such as misaligned expectations, a lack of transparency, and difficulty maintaining engagement with them.

A few examples are:

Lack of alignment:

A SaaS company partners with resellers but doesn't align on sales targets or customer profiles, leading to conflicting priorities and missed revenue opportunities.

Inconsistent communication: 

A SaaS provider launches a product update but only informs a handful of partners. This leaves others unaware and unable to effectively communicate the changes to end-users, causing confusion and delays.

Poor feedback loop: 

When a SaaS company releases a new feature without consulting partners who interact directly with users, critical feedback that could enhance the feature's effectiveness and adoption is missing.

Inadequate training: 

A SaaS company onboards a channel partner but doesn't provide sufficient training on the product's features and benefits. As a result, the partner delivers poor demos and fails to close potential deals.

Because of the shortcomings in the partner relationship mentioned above, your business suffers from missed opportunities and inefficiencies. 

These strained relationships impact the success of your partnership and overall business performance. The right channel management solution eliminates inefficiencies, builds stronger partnerships, and aligns team efforts. 

Tools like Introw empower companies to take complete control of their partner ecosystems, whether by reducing knowledge gaps or tracking sales progress. Overcoming challenges is the key to mastering channel management. 

So, now we tell you the key to mastering channel management :

Optimizing every stage of partner relationship management (PRM)

Mastering channel management means addressing every phase of the partner lifecycle—recruiting, onboarding, collaborating, and growing. Each stage of PRM plays a critical role in ensuring your partners feel supported and empowered to drive results.

In this blog, we will discuss next-generation PRM software, which can address common channel management challenges at every phase:

We have identified the 10 key practices for mastering channel management :

10 Key Practices to Master Channel Management 

1. Define Clear Channel Goals
2. Choose the Right Partners
3. Invest in Partner Onboarding
4. Master channel management with PRM
5. Automate Manual Processes
6. Enhance Partner Communication
7. Create Regular Training Programs
8. Create Valuable Awards and Incentives for Performance
9. Monitor performance and  provide feedback
10. Amplify success through effective channel marketing and co-marketing

1. Define Clear Channel Goals

If you want your partnerships to thrive, clarity is non-negotiable. Your partner needs to understand exactly what you aim to achieve from the collaboration, and you should be clear about what you need to give in exchange:

Begin by specifying crystal-clear results, such as enhancing co-marketing activity, generating a targeted number of referrals, or growing revenue by a target percentage.

Set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

Andrew Huberman`s goal-setting advice stresses dividing goals into quantifiable actions and monitoring progress to stay on track and motivated.

This is where high-quality partner relationship platform (PRM) dashboards come into play. They turn your SMART goals into actionable KPIs and provide real-time monitoring of partner performance.

These dashboards monitor referral rates, pipeline contributions, and campaign engagement, ensuring you stay on top of progress while making data-driven adjustments.

So, you’re not just setting goals; you’re creating a system that keeps you and your partners accountable and aligned, ensuring that every collaboration moves the needle where it matters most.

2. Choose the Right Partners

Quality always wins over quantity in channel partnerships.

Most channel executives fall into the trap of signing up as many partners as possible, believing it will generate a never-ending pipeline of opportunities.

Scaling with dozens—or even hundreds—of partners often leads to chaos, misalignment, and missed potential.

The key to success is focusing on a select group of high-value partners.

This implies success is about targeting a limited number of high-value partners. Rather than diluting yourself too thinly, target four or five partners who share your objectives and whom you can deeply invest in.

These partners should be ones you can build strong, meaningful relationships with, whether they’re resellers, managed service providers (MSPs), or even global system integrators (GSIs).

Choose your partners based on the following criteria:

Willingness to invest:

Partnerships are much more fruitful when each side is engaged. Search for partners interested in investing time and resources into the collaboration, whether with training, joint marketing, or supporting each other.

For Example

HubSpot and Shopify have succeeded in forming a potent partnership based on a mutually invested interest to make the collaboration successful. It has, therefore, involved heavy investments in co-branded content, user education, and cross-promotion through webinars and events.

Ability to Scale:

A partner should be capable of growing with you. Whether that means having the infrastructure to handle increased demand or the resources to engage in long-term collaboration, scaling potential is crucial.

For examples

When Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016, it was one of those partnerships that could scale incredibly.

Microsoft had the infrastructure, resources, and global presence to expand LinkedIn's professional network into new markets, especially by integrating the tools within its suite of services, such as Office 365 and Dynamics.

On the other side, LinkedIn brought its social networking know-how and recruiting, enabling Microsoft to extend its offering with scalable and highly targeted solutions.

Complementary Strengths: 

Find partners who offer something you don’t have—whether that’s technical expertise, market reach, or customer relationships. The goal is to build a mutually beneficial ecosystem that strengthens both parties.

Example 

Apple and IBM formed a strategic partnership in 2014 to combine IBM’s deep enterprise software knowledge with Apple’s sleek, user-friendly hardware. 

This partnership leverages complementary strengths—Apple’s design and user experience paired with IBM’s enterprise capabilities—resulting in a powerful solution for businesses looking to modernize their workforce.

Alignment with Your Values and Goals:

A partner should complement your business objectives and align with your core values. They should have a proven track record in your market and, ideally, customers who would benefit from your product.

Chris Bittner, the senior director of global sales and channel strategy, discusses the ins and outs of channel management:

“When expanding into new geographies or seeking more excellent market coverage, choosing the right channel partners goes beyond just picking names off a list. This means looking for partners who already have established relationships with your target customers, promote complementary products, and are genuinely committed to promoting your solution as a natural extension of their offerings. “

Focusing on the right partners doesn’t mean rejecting opportunities—it means being strategic about where you invest your resources. With the right partners in place, you’ll unlock more tremendous potential for growth and success.

By focusing on SMART goals and selecting high-value partners, you lay the foundation for a channel strategy that drives measurable results.

3. Invest in Partner Onboarding

We cannot stress enough how important it is to invest in partner onboarding—not just money but time, effort, and resources. The more structured the onboarding process, the better your collaborations with your partner will be. 

The key to managing channel partners throughout their lifecycle is focusing on long-term success and adapting to the partnership's evolution.

While some companies may have a structured, rigorous onboarding process for new partners, others prefer to focus on ongoing enablement, especially those with established networks. 

For example, some businesses may have training, certification, and dedicated field support to ensure early success. 

As these partnerships mature, the goal shifts to maintaining capabilities that align with the company’s evolving portfolio, ensuring that partners continue to grow with the business. 

Consistency and long-term alignment are central to mastering channel management. 

As the lifecycle progresses, partners who demonstrate strong commitment and align with your needs will be crucial to the success of your channel strategy. 

This goes beyond initial onboarding—it's about nurturing the relationship and ensuring that both sides continue to invest in each other’s growth. 

Whether through continuous enablement or strategically reviewing performance, a partner’s success is intrinsically tied to your own.

Wouldn't you love to have all of this to be automated?

Automating partner onboarding 

Automating partner onboarding means using tools and technology to simplify and speed up the process of getting new partners ready to work with your company. 

The partner portal provides a centralized hub for training materials, resources, and onboarding workflows.

Recruit Partners Easily

Use a custom online form or webpage to attract partners. Interested companies can fill out a form that automatically collects their details for review, saving time compared to manual recruiting efforts.

Streamline Approvals

Automate the internal process of approving partners using tools for profiling, e-signatures, and quick communication. Instead of many back-and-forth emails, it all happens smoothly in one platform.

Train and Certify Quickly

Use apps to offer training programs online. Partners can access training videos or courses anytime. Once they finish, they are automatically certified, ensuring they’re ready to start working with you.

Track Progress and Goals

Dashboards and reports make it easy to see how partners progress through training or achieving goals. You can even reward partners who hit milestones, such as moving up in levels (e.g., from Bronze to Platinum).

TIP: Create custom badges for your partners. They’ll showcase them on their websites, boosting your brand’s visibility even further.

In short, automating onboarding combines technology and automation to make the whole process faster, more precise, and more organized for you and your partners.

4. Master channel management with PRM tool

One of the challenges in channel management is juggling multiple systems and tools. 

A top-grade PRM platform can help you eliminate this complexity by integrating seamlessly with platforms you and your partners already use, such as:

• HubSpot and Salesforce: Keep CRM data as the single source of truth for collaboration and performance tracking.
• Google Drive and Microsoft 365: Share files effortlessly without duplicating work.
• Calendly and Loom: Schedule meetings or share video updates directly from the portal.

5. Automate Manual Processes to avoid channel conflict

Channel conflict may arise when partners accidentally register the same customers. And you’ll waste time chasing issues with manual updates and endless email chains. It’s messy, inefficient, and slows you down. 

A good PRM tool fixes all of that. It automates updates, sends notifications, and stops conflicts before they start by blocking duplicate registrations. Check out how automating the processes helps you channel conflict situations:

Automatic deal updates

Instant notifications about a partner's offer help keep all partners on track. Failure to manage effectively can result in a few partners claiming the same lead, which can be messy and hurt relationships.

Shares product announcements

Every partner knows when new products or features are launched, so no one is left in the dark. However, if multiple partners promote the same product to the same customer, confusion can occur, and the customer may be unsure who to trust.

Tracks partner revenue

Real-time revenue tracking means everyone knows exactly where they stand. But if commission rates or revenue sharing aren't transparent, disputes can quickly arise, leading to frustration.

Saves time and reduces errors.

There are no more manual updates or missed data entries—everything is automated. Still, without the proper structure, partners end up duplicating registrations, which wastes time and unnecessarily creates conflict.

More time driving, less time searching for results

Instead of going looking for documents, partners spend more time selling. However, if one partner misses some information the other uses to close deals, that's a problem.

6. Enhance Partner Communication

Consistent and effective communication is the foundation for building incredible relationships with your channel partner and, thus, mastering channel management.

When your CRM is connected to your channel management system, communication becomes much more efficient. 

• Sales reps, customer service agents, and marketing teams can access up-to-date customer information in real time, reducing the chances of miscommunication or missed opportunities. 
• Automated workflows can also be triggered to respond quickly to customer inquiries or pass them on to the appropriate team.

Integrating your CRM with channel management consolidates customer data from various touchpoints. It could be email, social media, in-person interactions, or web traffic, all into a single platform.

This creates a unified view of the customer, making it easier to track and manage relationships across different channels. It reduces the risk of duplicate efforts, helps provide consistent service, and enhances personalization.

Centralize and customize partner portals.

When your CRM is integrated with PRM  tools, customer interactions can be more seamless. 

A customer may start a conversation on one platform (e.g., email), and your team can continue it on another (e.g., live chat) without losing context. This cross-channel continuity builds trust and ensures that the customer receives a more cohesive, personalized experience.

A well-designed partner portal serves as the hub for all collaboration. It allows you to build a branded, centralized platform that includes:

• Videos: Share tutorials, product demonstrations, or marketing campaigns to keep partners informed and engaged.
• Documents: Provide sales guides, product sheets, and other essential resources in one easily accessible location.
• Next Steps: Clearly outline tasks or goals to guide partners through deal closures or campaigns.
• Real-Time CRM Components: Ensure partners have immediate access to up-to-date data and performance metrics pulled directly from your CRM.

7. Create Training Programs

Empowering partners with valuable resources and training programs when onboarding themm is the basic step to mastering channel management.

Your foremost duty is to equip the partners well with the necessary knowledge and tools. 

To strengthen your overall network, you need to have a streamlined training strategy.

With the focus on creating multi-purpose content for both internal teams and partners, make sure the content is concise, engaging, and, above all, easy to access!

Your partners need regular training to stay sharp. These sessions should deepen their understanding of your company’s vision and the products or services they’re selling.

But it doesn’t stop there—back it up with certification and testing. That way, you know they know how to generate leads and represent your brand correctly. If they’re not trained and certified, they’re not ready to drive results. Period.

Partner enablement and customer success expert Taunya MacDonald discusses how frequently you should train your partners. She recommends:

“ A blend of macro learning at the beginning, followed by microlearning to reinforce skills over time. Learning should be an ongoing process, with expectations for employees (and partners) to keep updating and proving their knowledge through certifications and continuous development.”

The training programs should empower partners with the following:

• Latest information, trends, and best practices: Monthly webinars are a great way to keep partners updated on current trends and strategies they can apply.
  
  
• New skills or enhance existing ones: Offering hands-on sales training helps partners improve their skills and boost sales effectiveness, such as negotiation skills.
  
  
• Access to resources to solve problems quickly: A knowledge base in the partner portal is an efficient way for partners to quickly solve problems and find solutions, reducing response time and increasing productivity.
  
  
• Access to content like Loom videos, PDFs, and Google Drive documents: Providing on-demand content in formats like Loom videos, PDFs, and Google Drive ensures partners can learn anytime and anywhere, making the training process more flexible.
  
  

With these tools, partners will have all the information at their fingertips, which would help them be well-informed and skill-enhanced and thus contribute to the partnership's success.

8. Create Valuable Awards and Incentives for Performance

Motivating partners with commissions and rewards is essential for driving performance and maintaining engagement. 

Partnerships thrive when both parties see tangible value, and incentives like commissions and rewards create a direct, measurable connection between their efforts and outcomes.

On the partner portals, partners can quickly see their current tier level, rewards, and upgrade requirements. This transparency encourages partners and prevents overpaying and missed opportunities by accurately monitoring performance against agreed-upon KPIs.

When partners know they'll receive a percentage of sales or bonuses for reaching critical milestones, they'll work toward your goals. You can choose a combination of 2 or 3 of the following partner incentives:

• Sales Performance Incentive Funds (SPIFs)
• Additional in-depth training opportunities
• Market Development Funds (MDF)
• Tiered commission structures

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• Exclusive incentives such as rebates and referral incentives
• Recognition events for top-performing partners

9. Monitor Performance and Provide Feedback

Now, the next step is measuring performance and providing feedback.

You should monitor your partners' performance quarterly or annually. The main reason is that you need to know their activities, contributions, and outcomes. This information helps channel managers make informed decisions. 

The data helps analyze performance and allows the identification of trends, strengths, and weaknesses, which can lead to strategic adjustments.

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Performance tracking is your GPS in the partner ecosystem—it shows you where you are, where you’re going, and the obstacles in your way. 

Regular feedback and transparency are essential. They ensure resources are being utilized efficiently, making it clear that every action is aligned with achieving your goals. 

When it comes to motivating partners, customizable reward models are crucial. Tailor your reward structures based on partner type and tier. Be crystal clear about how commissions are earned and paid out.

Keep your partners in the loop. By providing real-time updates on their rewards and payouts, you can ensure everyone is on the same page. 

10. Master Channel Management Through Effective Channel Marketing and Co-marketing

Our channel management strategy isn’t complete without strong marketing collaboration. Channel marketing and co-marketing efforts boost brand visibility and ensure your partners have the tools and resources to succeed. 

Aligning marketing with partners creates a win-win scenario that drives partner engagement and customer acquisition.

Generic, one-size-fits-all campaigns won’t resonate with diverse audiences. Instead, enable your partners to adapt marketing content to align with regional cultures and consumer behaviors.

Many partners struggle to find and nurture leads. By providing tools, training, and pre-qualified leads, you can empower them to succeed while keeping your brand at the forefront.

Conclusion

Without effective channel management, the broader PRM strategy will struggle to succeed. 

To master channel management, the organization needs to clearly define its channel goals and partner with the right aligned partners. Investing in effective partner onboarding and leveraging Partner Relationship Management (PRM) tools ensures streamlined processes and scalability.

Automation reduces inefficiencies, and advanced communication and continuous training enable partners to succeed. Recognizing performance through awards and feedback fosters motivation, and integrating robust channel marketing amplifies success. 

There is a need to monitor progress and consistently foster collaboration so businesses can build mutually beneficial channel ecosystems.

Channel partners provide a direct contribution to revenue growth and the increase of market share.  Contact us today for a demo on transforming your channel management with proven strategies.  

B2B partnerships are critical for businesses looking to expand their reach, drive growth, and deliver greater customer value. These partnerships come in various forms, from referral programs to reseller agreements, each offering unique advantages and challenges. Regardless of the type, successful partnerships require efficient collaboration, clear communication, and streamlined processes.

Let’s explore the key types of B2B partnerships and how leveraging modern tools like PRM software can address common challenges and ensure partnership success.

What Are the Types of B2B Partnerships?

B2B partnerships come in various forms, each tailored to drive mutual growth and revenue. From referral partners to resellers and beyond, these partnerships are critical in expanding a business’s reach. The internet often highlights affiliate marketing as a primary strategy for partnerships; however, companies can also leverage sales partnerships to create impactful collaborations. These relationships go beyond simple marketing tactics, fostering deeper integrations and aligning mutual goals.

Managing such diverse relationships effectively can be challenging without the right tools. This is where robust Partner Relationship Management (PRM) software like Introw becomes invaluable. Let’s explore the types of B2B partnerships so you can decide which approach is best for your business. 

Types of B2B Partnerships

How to Decide on Expanding Your B2B Partnerships

Deciding how to expand your B2B partnerships starts with clearly understanding your business goals and the value each type of partnership can bring. Evaluate your existing network to identify gaps or opportunities. For example, referral partnerships may be the best fit if your focus is lead generation. If market expansion is a priority, consider resellers or MSPs with a strong local presence.

Consider the industry alignment, resource requirements, and potential ROI for each partnership type. Tools like Introw’s PRM software can provide data-driven insights into partner performance and engagement, helping you make informed decisions. Ultimately, the key is to build partnerships that align strategically with your business objectives and offer mutual benefits.

Partnerships are a great way to expand your business. In 2023, the PRM market was valued at USD 1.3 billion, and by 2033, it is projected to reach USD 4.6 billion! After all, you can't do everything on your own. Partnering with others helps extend your sales force, broaden your reach, and create mutually beneficial outcomes.

The partners help businesses grow and reach more customers, and managing relationships can be very chaotic if done only on spreadsheets!

The bigger the network, the faster the growth.

This is exactly what a PRM system helps you achieve! 

Essential Functions of Partner Relationship Management Software

PRM (Partner Relationship Management) software is a digital workspace designed to manage relationships and collaboration between a business and its partners.

Stages of a partner relationship journey

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At first glance, this image might suggest that managing partnerships is as simple as choosing a partner, maintaining the relationship, and assessing performance.

While this approach might suffice for a small team of partners, scaling your business demands a more comprehensive approach. Here’s an insightful look at what the partner relationship management cycle could entail at scale:

1. Find the Right Partners: Identify and recruit partners who align with your business goals.
2. Get Them Onboard: Enroll and onboard them by sharing key information, tools, and resources. Tools like Introw provide out-of-the-box templates and onboarding tasks to automate this process.
3. Provide Training: Train partners so they understand your products, services, and how to succeed.
4. Enable  Their Growth: Help them manage their sales opportunities and generate demand in the market. Tools like Introw allow you to collaborate with partners on sales opportunities 2-way connected to your HubSpot or Salesforce. In this way, partners can only collaborate on deals they are working on. 
5. Measure Performance: Track results to see what’s working and where improvements are needed. Tip: Celebrate their achievements to keep them motivated and engaged. Tools like Introw provide you with a real-time dashboard tracking partnership revenue & engagement. 
6. Repeat and Refine: Continuously support and grow the partnership for long-term success.

Communication and collaboration throughout this journey are key. Stay in touch to share updates, answer questions, and build trust. 

What should you look out for when building B2B Partnerships?

The most essential element of PRM software is managing the entire life cycle of a partnership, from identifying the right partners to onboarding them and maintaining ongoing relationships.

A sound PRM system ensures that partners have access to all the tools, resources, and support they need to perform and thrive. At the same time, it tracks each partner's performance and impact to optimize collaboration.

PRM software provides invaluable tools to track partner performance. It enables businesses to identify top-performing distributors, such as the one who sold the most gadgets in a given month, and reward them accordingly. Additionally, it highlights partners who may require extra support, like referral partners struggling to drive leads. PRM systems often include tiering and certification features to enhance these efforts, ensuring that partners receive tailored support and recognition based on their performance and contribution levels. This structured approach fosters stronger, more productive partnerships.

Tiering 

Tiering categorizes partners into different levels based on performance, sales volume, or expertise. To reward their contributions, higher-tier partners often receive exclusive benefits, such as higher commissions or priority support. 

Certification

Certification is about ensuring partners meet specific standards or qualifications. For example, a partner might need to complete specific training programs or achieve a sales target to become certified, giving them credibility and a competitive edge.

By certifying partners, companies can ensure that the right resources are allocated to partners who will drive the most value.

Optional: Commission Automation

A PRM can handle this process rather than manually calculating and distributing commissions, ensuring that partners are paid accurately and promptly. 

Commission automation also reduces the risk of errors, making the entire process more efficient and transparent for the company and its partners. 

Tools like Introw allow you to create different commission plans for different types of partners. 

Partner Portal

An online platform where partners can access everything they need to succeed. This includes marketing materials, training resources, product information, and performance analytics. 

Imagine you’re a business that sells tech gadgets, working with 20 distributors nationwide. Instead of juggling emails, phone calls, and spreadsheets, PRM software creates a single platform where you and your partners—like distributors—can communicate, share updates, and resolve issues efficiently.

Partner Enablement

Partner enablement is about giving access to partners with the training, resources, and support they need to sell and promote your products effectively. This could include product training, sales tools, and marketing collateral. The more equipped your partners are, the better they can:

• Drive sales by expanding reach and growing the partner network.
• Improve customer satisfaction through more profound product knowledge.
• Build stronger loyalty and foster deeper relationships.
• Streamline the sales process with partners playing an active role in lead generation.

Deal & Lead Registration

PRM systems also often include deal and lead registration features, which allow partners to register their leads and deals in the system.

This helps avoid conflicts between partners, ensures fair compensation for closed deals, and provides insight into which leads generate the most value. It also helps track and manage the sales pipeline more effectively.

Mirko Buonerba, Partnership Manager at Sandsiv, emphasizes that PRM systems simplify processes, build trust, and turn channel partnerships into growth engines. Therefore, it is important to find the right tool for the right strategy. 

Look for a PRM like Introw that also allows off-portal lead and deal registration and integrates seamlessly with your CRM. This can increase submissions by 30%. 

Conclusion

Building and managing effective B2B partnerships is a cornerstone of growth for any SaaS business. By understanding the various types of partnerships and leveraging tools like Introw’s PRM software, you can simplify complex processes, enhance collaboration, and drive better results. Whether it’s tracking partner performance, streamlining onboarding, or engaging partners on their preferred platforms, PRM software equips you to scale your partnerships efficiently and strategically.

Ready to unlock the full potential of your B2B partnerships? Sign up for a demo of Introw’s PRM software today and experience seamless partner management firsthand.