[GTM glossary](/glossary.txt) Sales partnerships

GTM Strategy & SaaS Metrics

# Sales partnerships

In short

Sales partnerships are formal relationships in which another company helps you sell. The partner may refer leads, co-sell with your reps, or resell your product, and in return earns commission, margin, or a shared pipeline.

The goal is access: new customers, regions, or buyer groups that your own team would reach slowly or not at all.

## Types of sales partnerships

* **Referral partners:** Introduce leads and earn a fee when deals close.
* **Resellers:** Buy or license the product and sell it to their own customers.
* **Co-sell partners:** Work deals jointly with your reps, often when their product and yours complement each other.
* **Technology partners:** Integrate with your product and promote the combined solution.

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## How to build one

### 1. Pick partners with the same buyers

Look for companies that already serve your ideal customers with a related, non-competing offer.

### 2. Define the deal

Agree on who owns the customer, how deals are registered, how payouts work, and what support each side provides.

### 3. Enable the partner

Give partners a clear pitch, demo materials, and a named contact. Partners sell what is easy to explain.

### 4. Track results

Tag every deal by partner and review sourced and influenced pipeline regularly.

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## A practical example

Say a data tool and an agency that builds sales processes serve the same mid-market buyers. The agency recommends the tool to clients and earns a fee, and the tool vendor sends implementation work to the agency. Both get deals neither would have found through cold outreach.

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## Common mistakes

* **No shared target list:** Without overlap on accounts, partners do not know whom to introduce.
* **Unclear deal rules:** Disputes over credit damage trust fast.
* **Treating partners as a quick fix:** Partnerships usually take months to produce pipeline.

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## Sales partnerships FAQs

**What are sales partnerships?**

Sales partnerships are formal agreements in which another company helps you generate or close deals, through referrals, reselling, or joint selling. The partner earns commission, margin, or shared benefit, and you gain access to customers you might not reach alone.

**What are the main types of sales partnerships?**

The main types are referral partners who pass leads, resellers who sell your product, co-sell partners who work deals with your reps, and technology partners who integrate with your product. Each differs in effort, control, and how revenue is shared.

**How do you start a sales partnership program?**

Identify companies serving your ideal customers with complementary offers, define roles, deal registration, and payouts, give partners simple sales materials, and assign a contact. Start with a few partners, track sourced pipeline, and expand once results are clear.

**How do you measure the success of a sales partnership?**

Track partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline, closed revenue, win rate, sales cycle length, and time to first deal. Also check partner activity, since inactive partners add management cost without producing deals.

Share term

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## More related phrases

* [Channel partner](/glossary/channel-partner.txt)
* [White label](/glossary/white-label.txt)
* [Referral selling](/glossary/referral-selling.txt)

## Similar phrases

* [Channel partners](/glossary/channel-partners.txt)  
Channel partners are the network of resellers, referral partners, agencies, and integrators a company manages as a program to extend its sales reach.
* [Channel sales](/glossary/channel-sales.txt)  
Channel sales is a model where a company sells through third parties such as resellers and agencies instead of, or alongside, its own direct sales team.
* [Partner-led growth](/glossary/partner-led-growth.txt)  
Partner-led growth is a go-to-market strategy where partners such as resellers, agencies, and tech vendors drive much of acquisition and expansion.
* [Strategic alliances](/glossary/strategic-alliances.txt)  
A strategic alliance is a formal agreement between two companies to pursue shared goals, such as joint selling or integrations, while staying independent.
* [Reseller](/glossary/reseller.txt)  
A reseller is a company or person that buys products or services from a vendor and sells them to end customers, usually keeping a margin on each sale.