Kelsey Aina

Let me cut through the fluff and give you what actually generates pipeline, not just vanity metrics. The consistently reliable plays: Joint webinars with a twist: Standard webinars are oversaturated, but here's the formula that works: Target a hyper-specific pain point, limit it to 30 minutes, and make 70% of the content a live demo or case study walkthrough. The title format that performs best: "How [Customer Name] achieved [specific outcome] using [Your Solution + Partner Solution]." Real customer, real results, real demo. These generate 2-3x more qualified leads than thought leadership webinars. Caveat: Thought leadership is great but only if it is tangible, valuable and can relate back to your product without overpitching it. Co-created industry reports: Partner with 2-3 complementary vendors to survey your shared customer base about industry trends. You share the research costs, everyone gets to use the data, and you co-promote the findings. Reports with original data earn media coverage and become year-long lead generation assets. I've seen a single well-executed report generate 500+ MQLs over 12 months. Solution bundles with dedicated landing pages: Create a specific offer—"The Complete [Use Case] Stack"—bundle your solutions with special pricing or extended trials, build a co-branded landing page, and drive traffic through both partner networks. The key is making it time-bound (30-60 days) to create urgency. This works because buyers prefer integrated solutions over point products. Account-based co-marketing (ABM): Identify 20-30 shared target accounts, create custom content addressing their specific challenges, and orchestrate coordinated outreach. This might include direct mail, custom video messages, or executive briefings. The ROI on ABM co-marketing is dramatically higher than broad campaigns because you're focusing resources on accounts already warm to both brands. Integrated marketplace campaigns: If both companies are on AWS/Azure/Google Cloud marketplaces, create a campaign specifically targeting marketplace buyers. These campaigns convert higher because the friction to purchase is lower. The underutilized goldmine: Customer co-case studies with active promotion: Most companies create case studies and let them die in a PDF. Instead, turn one customer success story into 10+ assets: written case study, video testimonial, blog post series, social media snippets, sales one-pager, webinar featuring the customer. Then both partners promote across channels for 90 days. One great story, maximum leverage. What doesn't work anymore: Co-branded whitepapers that are thinly veiled product pitches, un-gated blog posts (gate your best content), and generic "lunch and learn" events. These generate volume but not velocity. Start with the 80/20 rule. Pick the two activities above that align best with how your ICP actually consumes content. Invest properly in those—quality over quantity. Each quarter, measure cost-per-MQL and MQL-to-opportunity conversion rate for each activity. Double down on what works, kill what doesn't. I've seen companies run 15 mediocre co-marketing campaigns versus three excellent ones. The three always win.

Having helped to dozens of executive teams seeking partner investment, I can tell you they care about exactly three things: growth, efficiency, and risk mitigation. Here's how to speak their language: The metrics that unlock budget: Partner-influenced revenue as percentage of total revenue: Executives want to see the trend line. If partner-influenced revenue is growing faster than direct revenue, that's your proof point. Show that you're at 20% today with a credible path to 35% in 18 months, and you'll get attention. The magic threshold in most B2B companies is 30%—once partners represent a third of revenue, they become strategically critical. Customer acquisition cost (CAC) comparison: Show that CAC for partner-sourced customers is 30-50% lower than direct-sourced. This is usually true because partners cover pre-sales costs, but you need to prove it with data. Even better, show lifetime value (LTV) is comparable or higher—that partners bring quality, not just volume. Sales efficiency ratio: Revenue per sales rep with vs. without partner leverage. If your direct reps closing $1M annually can close $1.5M when actively working with partners, that's a 50% productivity gain. Executives understand leverage. Market expansion velocity: Can partners help you enter new geographies, verticals, or segments faster than hiring direct teams? Show the math: Partner path to $5M in APAC costs $500K and takes 12 months. Direct path costs $3M in hiring and takes 24 months. This resonates especially with growth-stage companies. Win rate improvement: If deals involving partners have a 40% win rate versus 25% for direct-only, that's powerful. It suggests partners provide credibility, reduce buyer risk, or solve integration challenges. The risk mitigation angle executives love: Revenue diversification: Executives lose sleep over customer concentration risk and channel dependency. A mature partner ecosystem reduces reliance on direct sales and spreads risk across multiple go-to-market motions. Competitive moats: Strategic partnerships create barriers to entry. If you've built deep integrations with industry leaders, emerging competitors can't easily replicate those relationships. The narrative that ties it together: Numbers matter, but story matters more. Frame it this way: "We're at an inflection point. We can add 10 direct reps for $2M and potentially generate $10M in new revenue with high execution risk. Or we can invest $1M in partner program scaling—dedicated resources, improved enablement, co-sell incentives—and activate 50 partners who collectively represent $20M in potential pipeline with distributed risk. Both are important, but the partner multiplier is 2x more capital efficient." Tangible takeaway: Create a one-page executive brief updated quarterly with these six metrics, each showing current state, trend, and comparison to industry benchmarks. Add one customer story showing how a partner-led deal closed faster, bigger, or in a market you couldn't reach directly. Present this in business reviews even when you're not asking for budget—you're building credibility for when you do ask.

This is one of the hardest situations in partnerships because it's often emotional—there's history, relationships, and sometimes friendship involved. But I've learned you need to treat it like a doctor diagnosing an illness: care deeply, but stay clinical. The diagnostic phase: First, understand the root cause. Partner performance drops for a few predictable reasons: Your product or program changed: New competitors, pricing shifts, or program changes that made your solution less attractive Their business shifted: They got acquired, changed strategic focus, or found a more lucrative partnership Market dynamics: Their region or vertical hit headwinds unrelated to your partnership Relationship entropy: The champion who drove the partnership left, and the new leadership doesn't have the same commitment Capability gaps: Markets evolved, and they lack the skills or capacity to compete effectively Schedule a candid conversation—not a QBR with slides, but a real discussion. I usually say something like: "I've noticed our partnership isn't generating the results it used to, and I want to understand what's changed from your perspective. I'm not here to judge—I'm here to figure out if there's a path forward that makes sense for both of us." The intervention options: Option 1 - Reinvestment (if the partnership is strategically valuable): Sometimes great partners hit rough patches. If the relationship is worth saving and the root cause is addressable, double down temporarily. This might mean dedicated enablement, co-selling resources, or even financial investment through increased MDF. Set clear milestones—"We'll invest X for 90 days, and we need to see Y results." Ensure it is specific, measurable and time-bound. Option 2 - Pivot the relationship: Maybe they're no longer viable for net-new sales but excellent at services or customer success. Or perhaps they should transition from global to regional focus. Redefine the partnership around what they do well today, not what they did well two years ago. I've salvaged many relationships by narrowing scope to areas of mutual strength. Option 3 - Graceful transition: Sometimes partnerships run their course. If the diagnosis shows fundamental misalignment, it's better to transition gracefully than let the relationship slowly decay. Offer to help them offload existing customers to other partners, honor existing commitments, and leave the door open for future reconnection. I've had partners return 18 months later after resolving their internal issues. Option 4 - Performance improvement plan (the hard conversation): For partners with significant contracted commitments or tier status they're not earning, you may need a formal performance plan: "Here's where you are, here's where you need to be, here's the support we'll provide, and here's the timeline. If we don't see progress, we'll need to adjust the relationship." This sounds harsh, but most partners respect clarity over ambiguity. The philosophy that guides my approach: Think of partnerships like gardens, not machines. Some plants thrive for years, others bloom for a season then fade. Your job isn't to keep every plant alive forever—it's to maintain a healthy, diverse garden. Putting all your energy into reviving a dying plant means neglecting 20 healthy ones. That said, loyalty matters. If a partner invested heavily when you were small, and they're struggling now through no fault of their own, there's moral weight to supporting them. But loyalty shouldn't mean indefinite subsidy. I reccomend you create a "partnership health score" that you review quarterly—combination of revenue trends, engagement metrics, and strategic alignment. When a top-tier partner drops below a certain threshold for two consecutive quarters, trigger the diagnostic conversation. Don't wait until the decline is irreversible. Also, maintain what I call a "comeback file"—partners who've left or declined but where the relationship ended positively. Check in with them annually. Markets change, companies change, and sometimes timing is everything.

Think of partner adoption like a funnel with a heartbeat—you need to measure both flow and vitality. Here are the metrics that actually tell you what's happening: Early-stage indicators: Time-to-first-value: How long from signup until a partner generates their first lead, closes their first deal, or completes onboarding? If this exceeds 90 days, your program has friction. Portal engagement rate: Are partners logging in? Accessing resources? This is your canary in the coal mine—disengaged partners don't suddenly become productive. Certification completion rate: What percentage complete your training within the first quarter? Low rates mean your enablement is either too complex or not compelling enough. Mid-stage health metrics: Active partner ratio: I define "active" as partners who've engaged in revenue-generating activity in the last 90 days. Anything below 30% means you're collecting logos, not building a program. Deal registration velocity: Track both volume and trend. A partner registering one deal per quarter versus five tells very different stories. Partner-sourced vs. partner-influenced pipeline: Both matter, but know the difference. Influenced deals show ecosystem health; sourced deals show true partner commitment. Mature-stage outcomes: Revenue per active partner: Total partner revenue divided by truly active partners. This prevents vanity metrics from inflating success. Partner NPS: Survey quarterly. High-performing partners who are unhappy will leave you the moment a competitor offers something better. Co-sell attachment rate: In enterprise deals, how often are partners involved? This reveals whether your internal teams view partners as strategic or optional. Create a dashboard with these three tiers and review weekly. If your early-stage metrics decline, your mid-stage metrics will suffer in 60-90 days. It's predictive, not reactive.

I always start my partner relationships by getting a deep understanding of what their goals are and how they are measured. That will ensure I am giving the partners things they actually value and will prioritize because it will help make them successful, For most partners their biggest motivation is making money with less effort than alternative opportunities. Everything else is commentary. Here's the framework I use: What partners actually want: Fast path to revenue: They want to know exactly how partnering with you puts money in their pocket within 180 days. Not theoretical revenue—actual closed deals. Deal protection: They want assurance that if they invest time and resources, you won't swoop in direct or give the deal to another partner. Trust is currency. Enablement that respects their time: They're running businesses. Hour-long webinars on product features they'll never use? That's disrespectful. Give them modular, on-demand content they can consume in 15-minute blocks. How you deliver it: Segment ruthlessly: Create tiers based on partner potential and current performance, not just revenue. A small partner in a strategic vertical might deserve more attention than a large generalist. Build "success blueprints": Instead of saying "here's our partner program," show them "here's how three partners like you went from zero to $500K in annual revenue." Make it paint-by-numbers. Create quick wins: I always ensure new partners can achieve something meaningful in their first 30 days—a certification, a co-branded piece of content, a qualified lead. Momentum breeds engagement. Communicate ROI constantly: Monthly scorecards showing each partner their investment (time, resources) versus return (pipeline, revenue, MDF reimbursement). Make the math obvious. One analogy that's served me well: Think of your partner program like a gym membership. Most gyms sign up hundreds of members, but only a fraction show up regularly. The difference between a good gym and a great one isn't the equipment—it's the trainers, the community, and the visible transformations that keep people coming back. Your job is to be the trainer, facilitate the community, and showcase the transformations. Interview your top five partners quarterly and ask them this exact question: "If you could only do three things with us next quarter, what would drive the most value for your business?" Then build your engagement strategy around those patterns.

A partner program that lives in isolation is a partner program that dies in isolation. You need a coalition, not a kingdom. The non-negotiable stakeholders: Sales leadership: This is your most critical relationship. If your direct sales team views partners as competition rather than force multipliers, your program will be sabotaged daily through a thousand small decisions. You need sales leadership to reinforce that partner-sourced deals count toward quota and that deal registration is sacred. Product/Engineering: Partners need roadmap visibility to plan their practices. More importantly, product needs partner feedback loops. Some of your best product insights will come from partners who see patterns across multiple customers. Customer Success: Partners increasingly own post-sale relationships, especially in land-and-expand models. CS needs to know which accounts have partner involvement and how to collaborate without creating customer confusion. Marketing: Co-marketing only works when both teams are aligned on ICP, messaging, and lead routing. Marketing also needs to understand that partner marketing operates on different timelines and economics than direct marketing. Finance: Partner programs have complex economics—rebates, MDF, co-sell incentives, payment terms. Finance must be involved early to create sustainable models and proper forecasting. The often-forgotten but crucial one: Revenue Operations: These folks control your CRM, your attribution models, and your reporting. If RevOps doesn't configure systems to properly track partner influence, you'll fight data battles forever. Get them involved from day one. Here's the governance structure that works: Create a Partner Advisory Council that meets monthly with 30-minute updates from each function. Keep it crisp. Use a shared dashboard everyone can access between meetings. And critically, give the partnership leader authority to make decisions within agreed parameters—collaboration doesn't mean consensus on every choice. Map your current stakeholders on a 2x2 matrix: high influence/low influence on one axis, high support/low support on the other. Anyone in the "high influence, low support" quadrant is a risk that needs immediate attention. Schedule monthly 1:1s with each stakeholder and come prepared with how partnerships make their goals easier to achieve.

I've guided a dozen companies through this decision, and here's what actually matters: The compelling reasons: Procurement friction elimination: Enterprise buyers can purchase through AWS Marketplace using existing AWS commits and procurement processes. This sounds mundane until you've lost a deal because procurement took six months to approve a new vendor. Marketplace transactions can close in days instead of quarters. I've seen this collapse sales cycles by 60-70%. Co-sell access: AWS has 3,000+ enterprise account managers globally who need solutions to attach to their infrastructure deals. When you're in Marketplace with co-sell status, you become "approvable" for their reps to recommend. This isn't automatic—you still need to enable their field—but the door is open. Consumption-based buying alignment: Many enterprises now have multi-million dollar AWS commits they need to draw down. Your solution becomes a way for them to utilize existing budget rather than requesting new budget. From a CFO's perspective, that's the difference between a quick yes and a lengthy approval process. The strategic angles many miss: Private offers: You can negotiate custom pricing, terms, and billing arrangements through private Marketplace offers. This gives you enterprise flexibility with Marketplace convenience. It's particularly powerful for non-standard deal structures. ISV Accelerate program: If you qualify, AWS pays you an additional percentage of revenue for transactions influenced by AWS sellers. This can be 10-25% depending on the deal type. That's found money for deals that might have happened anyway. Marketplace-as-proof: Being listed on AWS Marketplace signals legitimacy to enterprise buyers. It means you've passed AWS's vetting, integrated with their infrastructure, and committed to their ecosystem. That matters in competitive situations. The honest caveats: Getting listed is the easy part. Actually driving revenue requires investment—AWS co-sell enablement, joint solution building, field engagement. Budget for a dedicated AWS alliance manager if you're serious. Also, AWS takes 3-7% of transactions depending on your contract, so factor that into your economics. Before joining AWS Marketplace, identify 10 target accounts currently using AWS heavily (look at job postings, tech stack data, or simply ask your sales team). Estimate what percentage of your annual bookings could come from AWS-committed buyers. If that number exceeds 20%, Marketplace should be a priority. Start with private beta to selected customers, prove the motion works, then scale.