Learn/Partner, Channel & Alliances

Open the pipeline

Partner, Channel & Alliances

Sell with and through other companies: resellers, consultancies, marketplaces and technology partners.

Entry bar: MediumUsual entry: after several years in sales or at a partner firm$159k–$326k/yrtypical posted pay

Looking at openings? The partner sales page lists the employers hiring now, their posted pay and every open role.

The job in plain terms

Partner, channel and alliance managers build revenue through other businesses instead of selling to every customer directly. A channel manager recruits and runs resellers, distributors or managed service providers who sell the product to their own customers. An alliance manager works with consulting firms and system integrators who recommend and implement it. A technology partner manager works with companies whose products integrate, often through cloud marketplaces. The common thread is that your customer is the partner, and your number is the revenue they help create.

Where the week goes

Recruit partners that already serve the customers your company wants, and agree the terms of working together
Train partner sellers and give them what they need to sell: pricing, demos, deal registration and support
Build joint pipeline through co-selling, joint campaigns and introductions between partner and direct sellers
Resolve conflicts over who owns a customer, and keep deal registration rules fair and clear
Track partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue and review it with each partner regularly
Work with product and marketing teams on integrations, marketplace listings and partner programs

Three moments from the job

Recruiting a regional reseller

Your company wants more mid-sized customers in the Southeast. You find an IT services firm with two hundred clients in that segment, show its owner the margin and the support they would get, run a training session for their four sellers and register their first two deals within the quarter.

A channel conflict

A direct AE and a partner both claim the same prospect. You check the deal registration date, confirm the partner registered first with a real opportunity, explain the rule to the AE and agree a plan in which the AE supports the partner on the deal and gets credit under the overlay policy.

A joint plan with a consulting firm

A large consultancy implements your product for three clients a year. You build a joint plan with their practice lead: target accounts, a shared case study and a training day for their consultants, with a quarterly review of the pipeline it creates.

Who does well in it

Sellers who enjoy building relationships with businesses rather than individual buyers, who think in terms of incentives and who are patient with results that take a few quarters to show. Many partner managers were AEs, account managers or consultants; some come from the partner side, having sold or implemented the product themselves.

You will probably like it if

You like working out what makes a deal worth it for another company
You are comfortable influencing people who do not report to you
You can balance the interests of partners and your own direct sellers fairly
You think in programs and quarters, not single deals

Requirements on most postings

Several years in sales, account management, consulting or a partner organization
Understanding of how resellers, distributors or service firms make money
Comfort negotiating terms such as margins, discounts and referral fees
Travel for partner meetings and events in many roles

Skills managers hire for

Partner recruitmentProgram and incentive designCo-sellingConflict resolutionPartner enablementPipeline attribution

How people get hired into it

1From an AE or account manager seat: work deals with partners and learn the deal registration and co-selling rules from the inside
2From a reseller, consultancy or integrator: use your knowledge of how partners decide which vendors to back
3Learn the difference between partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue and how your target companies measure each
4Prepare a short plan for recruiting and launching one partner, with a ninety-day target, to use in interviews
5Ask in interviews how partner revenue is credited and whether your quota overlaps with direct sellers

What outsiders get wrong

Myth: Partner managers do not carry a quota.

Reality: Many do, measured on partner-sourced bookings, partner-influenced revenue or both. How that revenue is credited is one of the most important questions about the role.

Myth: Partners will sell your product once they sign up.

Reality: Most signed partners do little until someone trains their sellers, brings them deals and shows them the money. Recruiting is the easy part; activation is the job.

Myth: Partnerships are a marketing function.

Reality: Some alliance work is close to marketing, but channel and co-selling roles are sales roles with pipeline and revenue targets.

Base, variable and OTE

Open partner sales postings that publish their pay sit mostly in $159k–$326k/yr right now. The middle figure is $198k/yr, read across 276 openings with a stated range. Most US postings state the base; where a posting gives OTE as well, its role page shows both.

Partner sales: pay, employers and openings Pay across every sales role →

Questions candidates ask

How is a partner manager measured?

On revenue the partners bring: partner-sourced bookings (deals a partner found), partner-influenced revenue (deals a partner helped win), and leading indicators such as active partners, registered deals and trained partner sellers. Ask exactly how a deal counts as partner-sourced, because the definition decides your attainment.

How is partner sales pay split?

Usually a base plus a variable on partner revenue, with a mix between an AE's and an account manager's. Overlay roles, where you earn on deals a direct seller also gets credit for, are common; read the crediting rules. The OTE guide explains split credit and how to evaluate the plan.

What does the partner manager interview look like?

Expect questions on partners you have recruited or grown, a case on launching a new partner or fixing a stalled one, and a discussion of channel conflict. Some loops ask for a written partner plan. The sales interview guide covers presentations and case rounds.

What should I check in a partner sales posting?

Which partner type the role covers (resellers, distributors, consultancies, technology or marketplace partners), whether the quota is sourced or influenced revenue, and whether base and OTE are both stated. The board lists 533 partner and channel roles today.