Top 8 KPIs for Building a Channel Ecosystem

By
Bruce Christian
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CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE

By Joe Golemba

Accurate data must play a pivotal role in building out a successful global channel ecosystem. It’s the “hardwire” for a successful program. Your team should understand the necessity of incorporating data into everything you do because it’s what fuels the success, and buy-in of the entire program. Data is what justifies your spend, and it dictates each strategic move you make.

But to build a strong channel ecosystem, teams need to measure it effectively and it starts with knowing how the buyer thinks and identifying the top KPIs to track.

Know How Your Buyer Has Changed

The cloud has changed how people buy and implement software. It’s never been easier to find what you need and get it going. This is why B2B buyers are now acting like typical consumers; doing their own research, comparing opinions, looking at reviews, and asking their friends (or partners). Buyers are looking into what they need and are aware of what they want. This makes partners, consultants, and all influential parties more valuable than ever for channel ecosystems.

The latest buying strategy is a collaborative approach. Collaboration at scale is demonstrated as buyers tap their network and pursue buying decisions through a communal lens. Also referred to as a bear hug strategy, it’s more important than ever to have multiple touchpoints and circle an account, like a hug. By collaborating with partners throughout the prospects buying journey, we can share insights, relationship information, processes we’ve learned, what works and what doesn’t, etc.

The data around multiple touch points and which partners are connected will elevate your success rates. But how does one track these modern partner ecosystem KPIs?

Keep these data-driven KPI’s in mind as you define and execute your own bear hug strategy:

  • Type (e.g., System Integrator, Hyper Accelerator, ISV, Strategy, 3rd party Analyst, etc.), and number of partners involved in an opportunity, role they play, and the value add of each
  • number of implementations completed by your system integrator partners
  • End customer NPS (Net Promoter Score) of your partners and your partners’ implementation

Filter Through The Noise

But to identify the top KPIs, you need to filter through the data you don’t need and keep your end goal in mind. Data that is tied to results needs to be prioritized. Working with your partners and consultants, regionally and globally, and keeping in mind the key decision makers in the buyer journey will help you all be successful, especially when you document what works and just as important, what doesn’t work, for each account, increasing the likelihood of future success.

Here are the top KPIs for building a channel ecosystem that focuses on Sales Velocity = number of opportunities X Deal Value X win rate/Length of sales cycle

  • Bi-directional leads (opportunities from partners to us and from us to partners)
  • Leads converted, throughout the sales funnel, to opportunities and close
  • Duration between leads converted to opportunities (Understand the why and how to improve!)
  • Opportunities by type, by region, by sales stage
  • Win rate
  • Size of deals (with vs without partners)
  • Length of sales cycles (with vs without partners)

Accountability

Once KPIs are implemented, ensure the team is on the same page about monitoring them on an ongoing basis. Accountability helps increase sales velocity, displayed above as the number of opportunities X deal value X win rate/length of sales cycle. Once you clearly define the data that matters internally, you help your team lean into the metrics that bring you closer to closing deals.

Global channel ecosystems are not built overnight but are strengthened through collaboration, communication, and measurement alignment. The future of B2B buying is not done in isolation, it “takes a village” and once channel partners see that they are on the same team, develop joint trust, and successfully work together, they will find improved results and success.

 

Joe Golemba is vice president of ecosystem and partners at Pricefx. The Advantage Pricefx Partner Program provides strategy partners, systems integrators and independent software vendors with go-to market support, training, and resources to grow additional revenue streams with its pricing platform.

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE