Bringing in new partners is a way to expand market coverage and acquire net-new accounts, but they often need time to develop into revenue producers.
At Channelnomics, we field questions about best practices, partner strategies, and channel programs every day. In the “Ask Channelnomics” series, we answer some of the questions we receive most from vendors.
Question: We’re getting pushback from our leadership team about some of our newly recruited partners. These resellers and integrators haven’t yet started producing measurable revenue, and our executives are questioning their value and whether it’s worth keeping them in the program.
What’s the best way to show the potential of these early-stage partners while they ramp up, and how much time should we allow before expecting results?
Answer: Management teams often don’t understand why partners — new or existing — aren’t simply spending their days selling products and generating steady, measurable revenue.
The challenge of proving the value of a new partner before revenue materializes is a familiar one. Channel leaders frequently face scrutiny from executive teams that expect rapid returns on partner investments. The reality, however, is that the development cycle for new partners is rarely immediate — and value shouldn’t be measured by revenue alone.
Based on Channelnomics research and field experience, it often takes 12 to 15 months to fully develop a new partner into a contributor that has a material impact on net income. This includes an average of four to five months for recruitment, followed by six to eight months of onboarding, enablement, and ramp-up.
Then, for partners to reach a point where they consistently contribute substantial business to the vendor (beyond isolated transactions), they require additional time and investment.
In the early stages, it's essential to track and report engagement-based metrics that indicate a partner is progressing. These can include the following:
- Training and certification completions
- Participation in onboarding sessions or events
- Utilization of enablement resources
- Co-selling activities with vendor field teams
- Business planning sessions or readiness assessments
- Contribution to pipeline development, even if those opportunities haven’t yet converted to sales
- Revenue growth as a progression measure
Those indicators serve as a reliable proxy for future productivity. They help demonstrate that the partner is aligning with your business, investing in the relationship, and moving toward a revenue-generating posture.
And again, revenue shouldn’t be the sole justification for a strategic partner relationship. Vendors often work with resellers, integrators, and service providers for a range of reasons, including these:
- Technical capabilities that enable them to implement, support, or manage complex customer environments
- Relationships with complementary vendors that support multi-vendor or integrated solutions
- Access to strategic end customers that the vendor seeks to acquire, expand, or retain
In those cases, a partner’s value lies in its influence, service capacity, and ecosystem role — not just its transactional output. These relationships often yield greater long-term benefits through indirect contributions, such as expanded market access, faster time to value for customers, and lower support costs via partner-led services.
Ultimately, Channelnomics recommends creating a balanced scorecard that evolves with the partner’s lifecycle. Early metrics should focus on engagement and alignment; mid-stage indicators should track opportunity generation and technical capabilities; and later metrics should reflect revenue impact and profitability. Just as critically, leadership teams must agree in advance on the timeline and criteria by which partner performance is judged. Without that alignment, even the most promising partnerships risk being undervalued or prematurely dismissed.
Strategic partner development is a long game. Recognizing and communicating value in stages — beyond top-line sales — is key to building sustainable, high-performing ecosystems.
Vendors that adopt a structured partner development framework anchored in measurable milestones and aligned to business outcomes will be better positioned to justify investments, accelerate partner productivity, and unlock long-term channel value.
Check out these additional resources for measuring and reporting channel and partner value:
- Guide: Leading Formulas for Measuring Partner Value
- Webinar: Measuring What Matters in Channel Performance and Partner Value
- Blog: Taking Measure of Partner Value and Contributions
- Podcast: Taking Measure of Partner Value
- Analyst Note: The Unappreciated Value of Channels
Have more questions? Our analysts have answers. Send your inquiries to info@channelnomics.com. And check out other Ask Channelnomics installments in the Channelnomics Insights section.
