Channel Partner Collaboration

The worst move when a customer says they want to cancel? Jumping straight to a discount. 🤦🏻♀️ If they’re not seeing results, no amount of price reduction will fix that. Sure, if you're a skilled negotiator... a discount might save this renewal. But it's not going to save the next one. Because discounts don’t drive retention. Outcomes do. Not long ago, my team worked with a customer who’d been trying to get off the ground for 2 years. They were technically set up, but the product wasn’t delivering. Their team quietly started relying on spreadsheets and manual processes to plug the gaps. When renewal time came around, they told us flat out: We’re not renewing. The CSM offered a generous discount. The customer didn’t hesitate: No. They had already decided to move on. That’s when I stepped in to support the CSM, and followed a simple 3-step approach that changed everything: 🔍 Step 1: Reopen the conversation I asked: Is the original goal still relevant? They said: More than ever. Their business had grown and so had the problem. They were already evaluating new tools. 🗺️ Step 2: Propose a plan I offered to come back with a "path to green" plan, no commitment, no strings. Just: Let us show what we can do. They agreed. We came back with a clear roadmap to success, examples of similar customers, and even offered to connect them directly. Their response? Frustration that this level of partnership hadn’t happened earlier. But hope, because after talking to a customer in their industry, they believed the plan could work if we could execute. 🤝 Step 3: Secure commitment I asked: Do you have the resources to execute this plan? They didn’t. So we offered dedicated resources, free for 6 months, to support the rollout. They were thrilled. I closed with: If we deliver this plan and hit these goals, will next year’s renewal be a no-brainer? Their answer: Yes. One week later, the deal was signed. We added resources, but not a single dollar of discount. And a year later? - They achieved their goals - They became a promoter - They renewed with an expansion Huge win! So when a customer signals churn, don’t panic. Don’t lead with price. Instead: 🔍 Have a discovery conversation 🗺️ Propose a success plan 🤝 Secure a commitment tied to outcomes Only then talk commercials. Because the real win isn’t a discounted renewal. It’s a customer who sees value and wants to stay long term. 📩 Want to master the fundamentals that will 10x your CS success? Join 17k+ CS pros already subscribed to Unconventional Growth — [link in comments]. #CustomerSuccess #CX #CustomerExperience #CSM #RevOps

We built a zero-cost ad funnel that's scaling a skincare brand's ad account with 20+ whitelisting ads a month for free from their creator community. For the first 3 months we focused on scaling their creator-affiliate revenue above $10k/mo to offset the total cost of building a creator community. Here's the exact playbook we used: 1) Built a tiered creator affiliate program (VIPs, organic, and whitelisting partners) 2) Implemented performance-based compensation (product + commissions + bonuses) 3) Identified high-converting organic content for paid amplification 4) Established whitelisting partnerships with top performers The results: Partnership Ads (45 Days): - 1.16 blended ROAS across all creatives launched - Top performing ads hitting <$15 CAC - Consistent improvement in performance week over week But here's the kicker... Organic Affiliate (Same Period): - Generated enough direct revenue to completely offset all ad costs - 500+ tagged content pieces creating a scaled content pipeline - $10k+/mo in EMV strengthening their brand equity We're now scaling both the affiliate revenue AND the Meta ad account at the same time and it's completely self-funded. Instead of treating influencer marketing, affiliate, and paid social as separate channels, we integrated them into a single creator community ecosystem.

When someone tells me they need more partner leads, my first question is usually: Where is revenue actually getting stuck? Because “we need partners to send us leads” is often only part of the problem. Sometimes pipeline is slow. Sometimes trials are not converting. Sometimes customers are not seeing value fast enough. Sometimes renewals are at risk. And each of those problems needs a different partner play. If pipeline is slow, the right partner can help create trust earlier. They can validate the problem. Shape the requirements. Give the buyer confidence before your sales team is even in the room. If trials are stalling, the right partner can help customers see value faster. They can support implementation. Bring the use case to life. Help close the gap between: “This looks interesting.” And: “This is working for us.” If renewals are at risk, the right partner can help drive adoption. They can support customer success. Extend the value of your core product. Help the customer justify staying and growing. That is why measuring partnerships purely by leads sent is too limited. Leads matter. But they are only one part of the revenue journey. This was one of the reasons Basem Emera’s point in our recent webinar stood out. The opportunity is often not in building a long list of referral partners. It is in going deeper with partners who sit closer to the customer journey. That is where the leverage is. Because the best partners do not just introduce you to customers. They help customers move forward. This is also where partner marketing needs to grow up. It should not only be about launching campaigns at the top of the funnel. It should help activate the right partners at the moments where revenue needs momentum. Pipeline. Trials. Renewals. Expansion. So the better question is not: “Which partners can send us leads?” It is: “Where are customers getting stuck, and which partners can help move them forward?” That is when partnerships stop being treated like a channel. And start becoming part of the growth system.

What We Learned After Analyzing 1000+ Affiliate Programs: Over the past year, we reviewed more than 1000 affiliate programs across different verticals — SaaS, lead gen, e-commerce, and finance. Here’s what stood out. 1️⃣ Programs that pay per sale outperform lead-based ones by 40–60%. Why? Because affiliates care more about what you care about — revenue. Lead-based programs attract low-quality traffic and generate refund or fraud issues later. 2️⃣ 70% of manual payouts contain at least one error. Wrong amount, wrong invoice, wrong affiliate. And it never ends there — you have to chase affiliates for payment details, send reminders, wait for replies… It becomes an infinite chain of small tasks that drag for days. Automation cuts that to nearly zero and gives you your time back. 3️⃣ 8 out of 10 underperforming programs have unclear offer pages. No defined conversion event, unclear commission rules, outdated creatives. It sounds basic, but it’s the main reason affiliates never even start promoting. Give them insight into what works and how. Provide examples, clear instructions, and ready-to-use materials. If affiliates can start promoting in under 5 minutes, you’ve set it up right. 4️⃣ Top 10% of programs share one pattern: They respond to affiliate messages within 24 hours and share updates regularly. What paid off for many companies was creating a dedicated channel outside the platform — like a WhatsApp or Telegram group — if you don’t have capacity to talk 1-to-1. Communication = motivation. Those programs see up to 3× more active affiliates after the first month. 5️⃣ And finally — tools matter more than people think. Even the best software won’t fix a bad offer or unclear communication. But when the foundation is right, tracking, attribution, and payouts make all the difference. That’s where Trackdesk comes in — helping teams get visibility, automate operations, and focus on growing partnerships instead of chasing spreadsheets. Affiliate success is rarely random. It’s the result of clarity, structure, and consistency — applied every single week.

Most founders ignore affiliates. I used them to get Designrr’s first 10K+ users. Here’s the 4-rule framework that worked for me👇 1️⃣ Be generous with commissions Affiliates put their audience and reputation on the line every time they recommend something. If they can’t make enough money from it, they won’t push it. - For one-time products, 50% commission is normal. - For recurring SaaS, 30% is standard. You have to make the upside obvious. 2️⃣ Make sure your offer converts first Before I pushed affiliates hard, I tested paid traffic myself. Why? Because affiliates only stick around if they make money. If your funnel is weak: • Conversions dip • EPC (Earnings Per Click) drops • Affiliates stop sending traffic So before scaling affiliate partnerships, I focused on: > Tightening the offer > Fixing conversion leaks > Improving landing pages Affiliates amplify what already works. They don’t save broken funnels. 3️⃣ Give affiliates everything they need to promote Most affiliates don’t want extra work. So make promotion as easy as possible. I gave them: email swipes, ads, banners, hooks, and copy. For bigger affiliates, I’d even build custom landing pages for their audience. The easier it is to promote, the more likely they are to do it. 4️⃣ Build goodwill before you ask This is where most founders get it wrong. You can’t show up out of nowhere asking for a promotion. You need to give first. Before asking, I’d do something useful for them: - Send ideas - Help with strategy - Share their content - Make introductions - And if you have an audience - Promote them first. The best affiliate relationships always start before any promotion happens. That approach helped Designrr grow much faster in the early days. A good affiliate program turns distribution into a shared incentive. Most SaaS founders still underestimate how powerful that can be. --- Today, I'm building: → growthoptix.com: AI Driven Marketing Attribution Built for SaaS Growth. TL;DR: If you use Stripe or Paypal and run Ads, you need GrowthOptix. Also, if you're building in SaaS or AI, or just curious how it all works, follow along as I'll be sharing a lot of insights here.

Folks, words really matter. Every time you say "your contract is expiring," you're inviting your customer to reevaluate you. There's language account teams use in renewal conversations that subconsciously frames the renewal as a reset. A decision point. An off-ramp. And buyers respond accordingly. They get cautious, loop in procurement, and start asking about alternatives they weren't even considering 5 mins ago. The worst part is you're doing it to yourself. You wanna know what it sounds like and what to say instead? Well, fortunately Pamela Marsh broke all this down during a session she led for SA last week on Renewal Strategy & Risk Mitigation: No bueno: "Your contract is up in January." Bueno: "As you're building next year's capability roadmap, let's align on what we've delivered so far and how we evolve the program together." No bueno: "Let's review your adoption ahead of renewal." Bueno: "Where have you seen the most impact so far, and where else in the organization should we be expanding this?" No bueno: "Are you planning to renew?" Bueno: "As you evaluate your vendor landscape for next year, where does this initiative sit in terms of strategic priority?" No bueno: "We should discuss pricing." Bueno: "Let's align on the strategic outcomes you want funded for next year, then we'll structure the investment so it's easy for your team to request budget internally." Feel the difference? You betcha. The first set treats the renewal as something that might end. The second set assumes momentum and asks how to build on it. And that last swap is the gangster one. "We should discuss pricing" feels routine. But what the customer hears is "we're about to ask for more money." That verbal judo move Pam lays out turns you from a vendor requesting budget into a partner helping them secure internal resources.   Same exact conversation. Completely different power dynamic. This matters because renewal decisions get made in ROOMS YOU'RE NOT IN. Your champion has to defend your budget line against 6 other priorities. If the language you've been using all quarter frames you as a contract up for review, that's the narrative they carry into that room. A line item to evaluate. But if every conversation has been about evolution and strategic alignment, that's what they say when someone asks "do we still need this?" They don't say "their contract is up for renewal." They say "this is core to the roadmap we're building." The words you choose shape how your champion sells for you when you're not there.

Most people think more is better. More connections. More partners. More names on the list. But the bigger your roster, the less value you're getting per person. I've audited hundreds of relationship programs. And the pattern is always the same. Founders brag about having thousands of affiliates. Then I ask: how many promoted you last month? The answer is usually under 50. That's not a program. That's a database of strangers asking for free stuff. Here's what actually drives revenue: 1️⃣ THE 30-PARTNER RULE Most programs need 30 high-performing partners, not 3,000 inactive ones. Your top 10 partners will drive 80% of your revenue. Your next 20 will drive 15%. Everyone else is noise. Audit your program: who sent revenue in the last 90 days? If the answer is under 30 people, that's a quality problem. 2️⃣ THE GIVE-FIRST AUDIT Before you ask an affiliate to promote you, ask yourself: What have I done for them? If you haven't built trust first, you're just another pitch in their inbox. Spend 30 days adding value before you ask for anything. Track what you give vs. what you ask. If the ratio is off, fix it. 3️⃣ THE PROXIMITY TEST If you're the biggest name in your affiliate roster, you're in the wrong room. You want partners who are solving problems at your level or beyond. If your best partners are beginners, you'll get beginner-level results. 4️⃣ THE TIME HORIZON The affiliate who promotes you once is worth $10K. The affiliate who promotes you every quarter for 3 years is worth $500K. Stop optimizing for one promotion. Start building for recurring revenue. 5️⃣ THE MUTUAL ELEVATION PRINCIPLE If the relationship only benefits you, it's begging with a commission split. Before recruiting a partner, write down: "Here's what they get from this beyond commission." Ask them directly: "What would make this a win for you?" Build the relationship around mutual goals, not just your launch calendar. If you're sitting here thinking your program needs work, you're not alone. Most programs are built backwards. So here's what you need to do right now: Pull your affiliate roster and figure out promoted in the last 90 days. And circle the top 10. Then, think about the last time you personally reached out to them. You need to schedule 30-minute calls with your top 10 this month. No ask. Just: "How are you? What's working? How can I help?" Stop approving everyone. Start vetting for fit. Because you don't need 3,000 affiliates. You need 30 who actually care. What's one thing you know you should be doing differently in your business but keep putting off? Own it in the comments and make it happen! I break down partnership audits and relationship principles like this in the Four Rooms newsletter. Subscribe here to join today: https://lnkd.in/gUtCUYti ♻️ Repost this to show your network what quality over quantity looks like. And follow me, Amber Spears, for relationship strategies that prioritize quality over vanity metrics.

When a client of mine migrated from Universal Analytics to GA4, their affiliate conversions dropped by 60%. The project made me realize something. Most of us don’t know how we should be measuring affiliate campaigns while addressing fraud and incrementality concerns. Veteran affiliate experts Mike Currey (20+ years in digital marketing) and Lacie Thompson (founder of LT Partners) helped me get to the bottom of how to best measure affiliate campaigns. 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥—𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞? Affiliate marketing spans content partnerships, coupon sites, toolbar add-ons, employee benefits, card-linked offers, and loyalty programs. While affiliate platforms (Impact, Rakuten, ShareASale) serve as the source of truth for payouts, relying solely on their data gives an incomplete picture. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 Last-click attribution (although used as the standard) significantly undervalues top-of-funnel partners. For example, when Honey appears at checkout, it often gets full credit – ignoring the content creators who initially introduced customers to your brand. The solution can be to implement weighted multi-touch attribution that properly credits awareness-driving partners. 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 For content affiliates, conversion isn't everything. Quality indicators include: 👉 Percentage of new visitors 👉 Time on site 👉Pages visited 👉 Bounce rate (Smart brands often compensate content partners per qualified visit rather than just conversions) 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐱 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 Lacie had a great example of a recent MMM analysis that showed a $28 ROAS for affiliate marketing – while GA4 reported only $6. The key difference? MMM captured the full customer journey, revealing affiliate's true impact on brand discovery and consideration. 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 Fraud shouldn’t be ignored, since it’s a consequence of the “compensation” structure of affiliate. Guardrails can be implemented: 👉 Monitor click quality through affiliate platforms 👉 Assign partner-specific voucher codes 👉 Use compliance tools (BrandVerity, SearchMonitor) 👉 Implement voucher expiration dates The reality is that affiliate marketing's impact extends far beyond last-click conversions. By implementing comprehensive measurement frameworks, brands can properly value and optimize these partnerships. I’m sharing the full article in the comments!

Hope is not a renewal strategy. It’s a write-off in instalments. In service businesses, NRR doesn’t slip at renewal—it slips months earlier when no one is tracking value realisation, stakeholder engagement, or uplift readiness. Where it goes wrong (and quietly taxes ARR): 1. Renewals live in PDFs and inboxes. No pipeline, no owner, no clock. 2. “Health” = vibes. No product/service usage, CSAT/NPS, or exec sponsorship in one view. 3. Uplift is “nice to have”. Indexation/price reviews get negotiated away in the final week. 4. Delivery, Finance, and Sales don’t share a model—scope creep and unbilled work hide until churn. 5. No early warnings. You find out a sponsor left when the renewal goes dark. Architecture for renewal predictability (service-firm edition): 🔵 Common definitions (RevOps owns): • ARR (annualised), CARR (contracted, not yet live), MRR, TCV/ACV. • NRR/GRR by cohort. • Health = weighted score across value use, CSAT/NPS, support volume, exec engagement, payment timeliness, milestone delivery. 🔵 Data model (HubSpot as system of record): • Custom Object: Subscription/Retainer with fields: start/end, term, notice period, auto-renew, MRR/ARR, uplift %, fee basis, SLA, commercial owner, delivery owner. • Renewal pipeline (Deals) separate from New Biz. Stages: Preview → QBR → Proposal → Verbal → Closed Won/Lost. • Calculated properties: next renewal date, days-to-renewal, uplift value, risk level, expansion potential. 🔵 Process (make it proactive, not reactive): • Auto-create a renewal deal 120–180 days before end date; assign owner; start the plan. • Trigger QBR tasks with a Playbook capturing outcomes, value realisation, case studies, stakeholders, risks. • Enforce stage gates: no movement without required fields (term, uplift rule, proposed ARR, decision-makers). 🔵 Pricing & approvals (discipline beats drama): • Product/Services catalogue + rate cards in HubSpot Quotes/Line Items. • Pricing calculator (ARR/ACV/TCV, margin) preloaded; variance report vs rate card. • Approval workflows for discounts and uplift exceptions. 🔵 Integration (one truth): • PSA/Time (Kantata/Harvest/Float) → utilisation & realisation on the account. • Finance (Xero/NetSuite) → billings, on-time payments, uplift applied vs missed. • Ops Hub/Data Sync keeps IDs and definitions aligned. 🔵 Dashboards (live, not retrospective): • NRR/GRR by cohort and segment. • Renewal coverage (in £ ARR) by month/owner. • At-risk list (health score, sponsor churn, support spikes). • Uplift realisation vs target; expansion pipeline by product/service. • Revenue leakage flags: scope creep, unbilled time, discount drift. This is the baseline. Then you unlock the good stuff: renewal risk scoring, capacity-aware expansion, margin alerts at scoping, and attribution that ties channels to £ ARR across the full lifecycle—because your foundation finally supports it.