Article · 10 min read

HubSpot's ex-VP of Channel Sales: How to Build The World's Best Channel Sales Program

David Shepherd · SaaStr Free Intermediate

First hand from the person who ran HubSpot's channel for a decade, with the four maturity stages and the argument that support, not incentives, is where nearly every program dies.

  • Splits channel programs into four stages (nascent, early building, late building, mature); copying Salesforce or mature HubSpot at stage one fails.
  • Three pillars: culture, incentives, support. HubSpot gave every partner two named contacts and unlimited free technical support.
  • New partner ideas were tested on a small regional group of partners before any wider rollout.
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It answers 6 questions

  1. How do I get a partner's reps to actually mention us in their deals?
  2. A reseller has signed. How do I make them actually productive?
  3. How do I stop my AEs from treating partner deals as a threat to their number?
  4. What does a genuinely best in class partner program look like up close?
  5. Which companies actually run the best channel programs, and what do they do differently?
  6. How do the best mid market SaaS companies use a partner flywheel instead of hiring more AEs?

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