Best Channel Partner Performance Metrics to Monitor

 

 

A channel program is an excellent investment these days. Given people’s ever-increasing interest in this industry, there is potential for huge returns. However, you need to put in a lot of work to get to the point where you make money. So keeping a close eye on your investment and managing it properly is crucial.

Some of the best minds in the business will tell you that you can’t manage what you don’t monitor; this makes KPIs (key performance indicators) super important. Here are some of the best KPIs that you can use to quantify partner program success. 

 

Active Pipeline Value 

 

 

The first metric you should look at is revenue. This KPI tracks the money being brought in by your partners and the players that they are leveraging to move the value up the chain to bring you more money. 

Understanding all the different players working on your behalf and having a clear view of how each one affects your bottom line is integral and something you should keep an eye on. 

 

 

 

 

 

Opportunities Per Partner

The number of opportunities each partner produces is another important KPI. It can tell you where to direct your resources. For instance, ask yourself how many different programs each partner is involved in. 

You could also consider how many people each partner recommended your channel to. If someone is getting you more partners, they’re bringing in more money which is excellent. 

Training Completion Rate

 

The training completion rate determines how many partners go through the training and start playing their roles. If a large percentage of your partners jump ship before they complete the onboarding process, there is clearly an issue with your channel program. 

If this KPI shows a troubling amount of people leaving in the middle of the program, you can introduce specific KPIs to troubleshoot the issue. If activation rates decline after you add a training module or after you introduce them to your expectations from them, then you can make adjustments accordingly. 

 

If an X type of partner falls behind in the onboarding process compared to a different kind of partner, Y, you may be failing to cater to X’s needs. In such a situation, you can either choose to make accommodations for them or focus on attracting more Y partners. 

Either way, you’ll be making your channel more efficient. 

 

Partner Satisfaction

 

Another type of KPI that you need is one that measures partner satisfaction. If your partners have issues with your channel, they’ll tell you, and you can make improvements. You can do this through a quarterly, bi-yearly, or yearly survey. 

Ask questions about things like customer care services, client outreach, etc. Make sure the issues you’re addressing are specific to your channel. 

This KPI is important because it ensures two-way communication and retains partners because they’ll feel like they’re being listened to. Moreover, it allows you to improve your channel and make it a more efficient system. An excellent channel system will likely attract more partners and improve your revenue. 

 

Deals Closed

 

Determine the number of partners that register for deals and partners that close deals. This can identify the phase of the customer journey that most needs to be improved. Conversion rates are great for companies looking to boost their revenue and efficiency. 

 

General Outreach Sales Metrics

 

If your company has a sales department, meaning if you’re selling any product, you should include several KPIs to keep track of how much effort is being put into pushing that product. Depending on your company’s structure, the specific metrics will change.

The metrics also change depending on your company’s individual sales processes, methodology, and strategy. For instance, if your business representatives only meet prospects they’ve come across at meetings and conferences, then initial contact to meeting rate would provide more accurate insight into their performance than if you used average email open rate. 

 

 

Even so, there are some general guidelines that you should follow. 

 

Email Sales

 

If you use emails to reach out to customers or prospects, you should use the following KPIs:

• Open rate 
• Response rate 
• Engagement rate 

This includes factors like how many people clicked on links you sent to them, attended webinars you sent or played videos included in the emails.

• Percentage of recipients who move to the next step

This means if you send an email asking people to sign up for a webinar, it keeps track of how many people completed that step and signed up for the webinar. 

 

Phone Sales

 

In case you call prospective customers, use the following KPIs:

• Callbacks 
• Number of people who agree to talk to your representatives (keep track of the total number called as well to get a percentage)
• Number of people who move on to the next step 

The next step could be coming in for an in-person meeting, signing up for a newsletter, etc. 

 

Conclusion

 

If measuring the performance of your channel partners feels like looking into a crystal ball where you’re crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, there is a massive problem in your company. You need to make some changes immediately. The first needs to be the introduction of KPIs.

These figures are important because they let you have readily available data and information regarding several different factors of your channel partners’ performance. You’ll want to choose an extensive range of KPIs. 

 

They will change depending on how sophisticated your program is, how long it’s been running, whether or not you have analysts on your team, how many analysts you have, etc. 

 

Even so, several performance metrics work for a range of channels. We’ve included a list of them in this article. Remember that this list will cover your bases. But if you have something super specific in your channel that isn’t in this article, feel free to include it as well. 

 

As long as you’re using everything we’ve mentioned, though, you’ll do great.