How to make partnerships more predictable?

Something that can be frustrating for partner managers during planning & forecasting is the unpredictability of partnerships. When you’re just starting out and don't have insight or control over another, external business, it can be tough to commit to a number. So how do we combat this and make ourselves more predictable?

Track the right data

Partnerships revenue is traditionally hard to predict, but there are other indicators of potential revenue, pre-leads.

- How long do your partners take to onboard?
- How long after launching do you typically see revenue?

By tracking different, more partner-specific metrics, you can identify the factors that influence your revenue earlier. By understanding the levers you can pull to impact partner success, you can impact your eventual outcome.

Focus on KPI's that move you closer toward your predictable revenue goal.
Often, partner managers only have one KPI: Partner sourced revenue. This is the end goal but without other KPIs along the way, it's often difficult to see, let alone demonstrate the progress in partnership programs.

Therefore, especially in the early days of a program, you should be using additional KPIs (tip: only possible when tracking them, as above;)) in order to ensure that you can see and communicate your progress and make improvements as needed.

Some non-revenue KPIs (If you want more KPI specific tips, Greg Portnoy and Chris Murray had a great session on this recently with Partnership Leaders):

- How many customers (and how much revenue) can be impacted by partners in the coming quarter?
- How many marketing activities did you do with partners?
- How many of your partners have been properly trained or enabled?
- In the case you’re already seeing some revenue come in from partners, how big are those deals, and how quickly did they sign?
- How much revenue did you generate for your partners, and how can you increase this next quarter?

These KPIs will all help down the line to increase overall partner sourced revenue.

Bottom line: If you can’t show partner-sourced revenue growth straight away, make sure you focus on the other benefits and the KPIs that are leading you toward that eventual revenue growth.

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If you’re looking for help on developing your partner strategy or making your partnership revenue more predictable, reach out to the partnership consultants at Partnership Advisory for help!