Did your partnership peers adjust their key performance indicators (KPIs) and quarterly targets in 2022? Are you held accountable for more or less revenue, leads, and integrations relative to your peers?
In our 2023 State of the Partner Ecosystem report, we asked more than 500 partnership professionals about the KPIs they measure and their quarterly targets for each. We also compared the data from previous reports to observe year-over-year trends as the market shifts.
The December 2022 Pavilion Pulse Benchmarking Survey says that many sales teams reported under performance for 2022 as a whole, and 57% of sales leaders adjusted their revenue targets. However, more than 50% have higher revenue targets for 2023.
In contrast, more than 74% of our survey respondents in partnerships reported that they hit the goals tied to their KPIs at least most quarters. Similarly to their peers in sales, “partner-sourced revenue” targets decreased for most company sizes; however, “partner-sourced leads” targets predominantly rose.
Before we get to the most common KPIs and quarterly targets, we’d like to share some high-level insights for you to keep in mind. Consider this the amuse-bouche before the main course:
With the above insights in mind, let’s get started. Below, you’ll find on-average KPI targets by company size and the most common KPIs, ranked.
Skip ahead:
To note: In the below average KPI target calculations, we used the median compensation amount in the answered range.
Quarterly KPI Targets for the 10-49 Employee Size
At the 10-49 employee size:
Quarterly Targets for the 50-99 Employee Size
At the 50-99 Employee Size:
Quarterly KPI Targets for the 100-249 Employee Size
At the 100-249 employee size:
Quarterly Targets for the 250-499 Employee Size
At the 250-499 employee size:
Of note: The partner-sourced revenue target for the 250-499 employee size has surpassed $1 Million in quarterly revenue (nearly doubling since 2021). Additionally, the average partner-influenced revenue target at this company size nearly doubled (from $1 Million in 2021 to $2 Million in 2022).
The 250-499 employee size and 1,000+ employee size have the highest partner-influenced revenue targets on average.
Quarterly Targets for the 500-999 Employee Size
At the 500-999 employee size:
Of note: The average partner-influenced revenue target at this company size decreased by half (from $2 Million in 2021 to $1 Million in 2022). Companies at this size are held accountable for less partner-influenced revenue and partner-sourced leads than companies of neighboring sizes on average.
Additionally, this is the only company size where “integration adoption” ranks higher than “number of new integrations” as a KPI.
Quarterly KPI Targets for the 1,000+ Employee Size
At the 1,000+ employee size:
Of note: The partner-sourced revenue target for companies at the 1,000+ employee size has decreased from more than $4.5 Million in 2021 to less than $2 Million in 2022.
The Most Common Partnership KPIs, Ranked
Our 2023 State of the Partner Ecosystem survey asked more than 500 respondents about the KPIs they measure. Below, you’ll find a list of the most common partnership KPIs, ranked.
To note: The below rank order is representative of all company sizes.
#1: Partner-Sourced Revenue (direct attribution)
Partner-sourced revenue is direct revenue attributed to one or more partners who are 100% responsible for generating the lead. The deal wouldn’t exist without your partner(s).
67% of partner teams measure partner-sourced revenue as a KPI.
#2: Partner-Sourced Leads (Leads Generated by Partners)
Partner-sourced leads are net new leads generated by your partners. These ecosystem-qualified leads (EQLs) often come from channel partners through referrals or indirect sales, or from tech partners via lead swapping.
62% of partner teams measure partner-sourced leads as a KPI.
#3: Partner-Influenced Revenue (indirect influence)
Partner-influenced revenue is any revenue generated with any amount of influence from one or more partners. A few examples of partner-influenced revenue in action:
A note: Many partnership teams consider partner-sourced revenue a type of partner-influenced revenue — in both cases, a partner has a hand in the deal. However, it’s up to you and your team to decide if these KPIs should be mutually exclusive or not.
54% of partner teams measure partner-influenced revenue as a KPI.
#4: Opportunities Sourced by Partners
Opportunities sourced by partners are any “partner-sourced leads” that have progresed to the opportunity stage of the funnel.
53% of partner teams measure opportunities sourced by partners as a KPI.
#5: Opportunities Influenced by Partners
Opportunities influenced by partners are any leads not sourced by partners that have advanced to the opportunity stage with help from one or more partners. For example: Your AE learns that a prospect is interested in a product like your partner’s, and your AE and your partner’s AE team up to sell your joint solution/integration together, advancing the lead to the opportunity stage.
44% of partner teams measure opportunities influenced by partners as a KPI.
#6: Number of new tech integrations
The number of new tech integrations refers to the number of integrations you’re responsible for launching with partners each quarter.
22% of partner teams measure the number of new tech integrations as a KPI.
#7: Integration adoption
The integration adoption KPI refers to the percentage of your product users who have adopted one or more integrations. Specifically, partner teams track integration adoption by measuring:
20% of partner teams measure integration adoption as a KPI.
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The 2023 State of the Partner Ecosystem Report includes 60 pages of insights that can help you grow your partner program and advance your career. Including:
Get your copy of the State of the Partner Ecosystem Report below. Plus, join us for a webinar on February 14th at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT as Crossbeam CEO Bob Moore and VP of Content Sean Blanda discuss the findings and answer all of your questions LIVE. Register for the webinar here.
