Key Metrics Partners Should Measure for Success

80% of your partners are eating your time. This is the metric that needs to come back in style. RFY Partnership teams are drowning in data. Sourced revenue. Influenced deals. Pipeline velocity. But one metric from my Microsoft days cuts through the noise: Reach, Frequency, and Yield (RFY). It’s simple, powerful, and most teams ignore it. Here’s what it means. Reach: How many partners are actively engaged with your GTM. Frequency: How often they drive deals or integrations. Yield: The average deal size they impact. Together, RFY shows where your partnerships actually deliver. I once audited a partner program and found 80% of our “reach” (partner count) produced very little frequency or yield. We were chasing names, not impact. Refocusing on RFY and results followed quickly as we had laser focus on the right partners. Here’s how to modernize RFY for 2025: 1. Trim Reach: Cut partners who don’t engage your ICP or drive results. Quality over quantity. 2. Boost Frequency: Use analytics to track how often partners drive pipeline. No activity in 90-120 days? Requalify or move on. 3. Maximize Yield: Prioritize partners who impact bigger deals. Align them, co-sell with them to close deals faster. RFY isn’t just a metric. It’s math! It’s a blueprint for partnerships that win. What’s your RFY look like? Calculate it this week (partners engaged, deals per partner, average deal size) and share one insight in the comments. #Partnerships #GTM #Revenue

Partnerships have a honeymoon period. But you can't build a successful partnership strategy that way. A successful partnership strategy can't survive on starry-eyed excitement. It needs consistent tracking, review, and adjustment. Setting up a routine for regular partnership reviews helps ensure that every partner continues to contribute value and align with your goals. Here’s a straightforward guide to establishing an effective review cadence: DURING MONTHLY CHECK-INS: Monitor Engagement and Pipeline Health: - Partner Engagement: Are partners actively promoting your solutions? Monitor how frequently partners engage, share leads, or collaborate on content. - Pipeline Health: Review the current status of partner-sourced leads. Are they progressing through the pipeline or stalling? This provides a pulse on lead quality and pipeline velocity. (Pro Tip: Use CRM dashboards to quickly visualize monthly trends. A partner falling behind in engagement or lead generation can be flagged for extra support before the issue impacts quarterly goals.) DURING QUARTERLY CHECK-INS (Quarterly Business Reviews or QBRs): Assess KPIs and impact: - Revenue Contribution: Track revenue from partner-sourced leads. Are partners contributing to target revenue goals? Compare this against previous quarters to detect any patterns. - Deal Velocity: Examine the average time for partner-sourced deals to close. Faster deal cycles may indicate strong alignment with your audience, while slower cycles could highlight areas for enablement improvement. - Retention and Renewals: Review retention rates for customers acquired through each partner. Higher retention often suggests the partner is bringing well-aligned, high-value leads. (Pro Tip: Share a summary of the QBR data with the broader team and executives. Keeping everyone informed boosts alignment across departments and reinforces the value of your partnerships.) DURING ANNUAL CHECK-INS (Annual Pipeline Audit): Evaluate & adjust long-term strategy - Trend Analysis: Review metrics like partner-sourced revenue, pipeline growth, and retention over the year. Look for trends that show which partnerships delivered consistent value and which may need reevaluation. - Resource Allocation: Identify high-impact partners and consider how to deepen those relationships. This could mean exclusive training, co-marketing, or more dedicated support to further accelerate growth. - Forecasting and Goal Setting: Use annual metrics to set achievable targets for the coming year. Which partner types or industries contributed the most? (Pro Tip: Use insights from the annual audit to adjust your Ideal Partner Profile and refine your partner strategy. Trends from a full year’s data will guide resource allocation and pinpoint where to focus for maximum impact.) Anything you'd add?

Most partner teams are tracking the wrong metrics. Because what looks like momentum… often isn’t. Kaushik (Sharkdom™) asked me: “If you could only track one partnership metric, what would it be?” My answer? Partner-sourced and influenced deal velocity. That one number tells you everything: → Is this partner delivering high-quality opportunities? → Are they integrated into your sales motion, or just orbiting it? Because here’s the truth: - Velocity = trust. If a deal is stuck for 90+ days, something’s missing. Vanity metrics I avoid: - Logo count - Portal logins - Tier status Engagement is nice, but impact is what predicts revenue. Watch the clip below.👇🏼 What’s your North Star metric for partnerships? #Partnerships #GTMstrategy #RevenueGrowth #B2BMarketing Connected Revenue Partnership Leaders Pavilion