Margot Mazur
HubSpot Manager, GTM Strategic Partnerships
This question is a bit like another question previously asked here, so I'll copy that answer in below. The TLDR is make sure your commission target is absolutely aligned with your overall goal, otherwise your partner managers will be working on something that doesn't mean as much to leadership, goals will be misaligned, and your partner team won't feel like their work is being valued.
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This really depends on your goals and there's no easy answer here. In the past, I've had my commissions tied to MRR because my goals were MRR focused. That drove me to create partnerships that would specifically encourage customers to sign up for paid plans, or free plans that would then be converted quickly.
Make sure you're super aligned on your goals and how partner managers will be trying to hit them. If commissions are tried to sign ups as a whole, for example, but leadership actually wants you driving MRR, then you might be misaligned as your partner managers will create relationships that drive free trials or free sign ups, as it's easier to get a customer in that way, but if the flywheel isn't making it easy for those free sign ups to convert, you won't hit your MRR goal.