How to Measure Partner-Sourced vs. Partner-Influenced Revenue
Build a clear, auditable attribution model for your partner ecosystem. This page defines partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue, outlines the required data and SLAs, and gives you a turnkey framework to calculate, de-duplicate, and report results with confidence.
Direct Answer
Partner-sourced revenue is closed-won revenue from opportunities created by a partner (e.g., deal registration or partner referral)—the partner is the origin of pipeline creation. Partner-influenced revenue is closed-won revenue from opportunities created by you where a partner materially advanced the deal (co-sell, technical win, POC, procurement access, integration required). Measure both by (1) tagging opportunities with source and influence events, (2) enforcing stage-based SLAs and date/time stamps, (3) de-duplicating with first-touch for sourced and multi-touch with influence thresholds, and (4) reporting on pipeline, win rate, ACV, and cycle time for each motion.
Definitions & Guardrails (Use These to Avoid Disputes)
The Partner Revenue Measurement Playbook
Stand up measurement in weeks with this ordered sequence. You’ll get consistent tagging, cleaner pipeline, and trusted partner reports.
Define → Instrument → Capture → Validate → Attribute → Report → Govern
- Define taxonomy: “Partner Type” (ISV, SI, VAR, Cloud, Agency), “Motion” (Sourced, Influenced), “Influence Role” (Tech Win, Deal Access, Implementation), “Influence Event.”
- Instrument systems: Deal registration form (PRM), CRM fields & required picklists, activity types, partner contact association, and document links.
- Capture signals: Auto-create opps from approved registrations; log influence via activity subtype (e.g., Partner: Tech Validation).
- Validate & de-dupe: First-touch = sourced; allow multiple influence events; apply lookback windows; auto-reject duplicates.
- Attribute credit: Sourced = 100% creation credit to the registering partner. Influenced = split by count or role weighting; store in a junction object.
- Report & QA: Dashboards for pipeline, win rate, ACV, cycle time by partner, partner type, motion; weekly “unattributed opps” audit.
- Govern: Monthly partner council reviews disputes, funnel leakage, and ROI; adjust incentives, MDF, and co-sell rules.
Partner Revenue Measurement Maturity Matrix
| Capability | From (Ad Hoc) | To (Operationalized) | Owner | Primary KPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxonomy & Fields | Free-text notes | Locked picklists for Source/Motion/Role; required at stage change | RevOps | % Opps with Valid Tags |
| Deal Registration | Email-based intake | PRM-to-CRM with dedupe & SLA; auto-create opps | Partner Ops | Approval Time, Duplicate Rate |
| Influence Logging | Unstructured activities | Standardized “Influence Event” subtypes w/ attachments | Sales/SE Leadership | Influence Events per Won Deal |
| Attribution & Credit | Manual spreadsheets | Automated sourced vs. split influence credit with lookbacks | RevOps | Dispute Rate, Time to Resolve |
| Reporting & ROI | Channel-only bookings | Motion-level pipeline, win rate, ACV, cycle time, CAC-payback | Finance/RevOps | ROMI by Partner/Type |
| Governance | Ad hoc reviews | Monthly council; MDF tied to sourced+influenced performance | Ecosystem/Revenue Council | Sourced & Influenced % of ARR |
Client Snapshot: Ending the “Who Gets Credit?” Debate
A SaaS client implemented PRM-to-CRM registration, standardized influence events, and a simple role-weighted split. In 90 days, they increased partner-sourced pipeline by 38% and reduced credit disputes by 72%. Next step: use the eGuide to standardize definitions across marketing, sales, and partner teams, then baseline maturity with the assessment.
Want the full operating model, templates, and dashboards? Start with the eGuide, then benchmark your org’s readiness with the maturity assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Operationalize Partner Revenue Measurement
Get the definitions, fields, and dashboards to measure partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue consistently across teams.
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