Christopher Holley

ROI ROI ROI The key here is to reasonably account for the contributions made by partners....the big discussion is 'sourced versus influenced'. However, when you find teams fighting more about attribution and action, you've hit a breaking point. "Lifetime value of a customer" maximizes the value of a partner ecosystem. • Revenue Attribution: Track partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline and closed-won revenue by quarter. • Integration Adoption & Retention Impact: Show how integrations correlate with renewal rates, upsell, or TTV improvement. • Campaign ROI & Ecosystem Coverage: Demonstrate efficiency of co-marketing and strategic value in plugging product gaps.

A mass market product is the goal of any company. Partner integrations compliment that, but should never divert the 'bigger picture' (much in the same way the customer-specific development shouldn't derail the larger product plan). Like any ROI discussion, a realistic biz plan is key. This should also tie-in with your cross functional allies (in the earlier question). Bottom line, a good integration idea with broad business value is as valuable as many functional line items. • Create a Review Board: Use a formal process (with Product/Eng leads) to score integrations by impact and feasibility. • Rank Integrations by Tier: Distinguish strategic from opportunistic; assign dev effort accordingly (partner-built vs. internal). • Fund a Partner Engineering Pod: Avoid burdening core teams — use a dedicated unit for scalable partner support and QA.

My view has always been that the success of a partner program requires executive buy in from the CRO or head of sales. The AEs are their army. They will 'fight' where their leaders send them. If an CRO/head of sales won't include you in oppty reviews, planning, etc, you have a problem. I have always positioned partners as 'force multipliers' - more sellers/influencers, etc to lighten the workload on AEs while increasing their productivity. • AE-to-AE Mapping & Joint Planning: Pair reps across orgs and run territory-level co-sell sessions with named contacts. • Provide Playbooks & Attribution: Give reps clarity on how partners help close deals and ensure they get quota credit. • Watch for Red Flags: Sales ignoring partners, unclear ownership, or lead poaching signal breakdowns requiring immediate correction.

I'm a big believer in the 'rule of three' so here are the most important in my opinion • Partner Briefings & Battlecards: Deliver short-form content (live or recorded) on who each partner is, what problem they solve, and how they map to customer pain points. • Cross-Functional Enablement Events: Host quarterly “Partner Days” or bootcamps with live demos, win stories, and roundtables across Sales, Product, and CS. • Role-Specific Training Tracks: Tailor sessions for sales (co-sell strategy), product (integration value), and success teams (retention levers). Punchy, effective 'bite sized' enablement works best...you will not keep their attention for long periods of time.

This can vary with the size or real world power positions in a company, but 'money talks and BS walks' so biz results and non-financial successes (call it 'enlightened self interest') are the way to go! • Show Business Impact Early: Launch a quick-win partner pilot that influences revenue, customer retention, or roadmap extension. • Tie to Department Goals: Translate partner outcomes into KPIs that matter to Sales, Product, and Marketing leadership. • Use Champions: Activate functional allies to carry the message internally and report real wins to their leadership.

No surprises here...sales and marketing are the most important. Product, customer success are the longer term pieces for an efficient program. • CRO & CMO: Drive pipeline contribution and marketing alignment; both must commit to field execution and joint GTM plans. • CPO & VP of Customer Success: Product ensures integration feasibility and roadmap fit; CS drives adoption and retention outcomes. • CFO & Legal: Control budgets, payout terms, compliance, and mitigate contractual risk in scaling partnerships.

This is a very company specific situation. If 'time to value' is the alpha strategic goal for a calendar year, then integrations, components, etc are extremely valuable and will have full executive support. If you are in 'survival mode', looking to close any deal, then you won't get any traction with non-revenue initiatives...it's just a fact of live. However, like most Partner issues, ROI, long term client value, lower cost of sales are the key arguments to senior leaders. Lowered churn is also very effective due to the enterprise valuation of ARR plus the fact that a SaaS contract renewal is much more profitable than the original sale. For non-revenue integrations - • Frame Integrations as NRR Drivers: Use data to prove integration adoption reduces churn and accelerates onboarding. • Tie to CS and Renewal Metrics: Equip CSMs with integration playbooks and track NRR, TTV, and upsell impact. • Incentivize Post-Sale Value: Use SPIFFs or performance metrics to reward customer success and expansion driven by partner tools.