What channel leaders need to know
- Behavior-based channel incentives reward specific partner actions, such as training, deal registration and lead follow-up, that build up to the finished sale.
- Because partners are balancing so many vendors and promotions, rewarding the finished sale only is too late to gain their attention.
- The strongest behavior-based channel partner incentive programs connect rewards to measurable engagement, pipeline progress and revenue impact.
Channel incentive programs work best when they reward the behaviors that lead to revenue, not just the final sale. Based on ITA Group’s experience designing incentive programs, we’ve found the strongest strategies influence behavior earlier in the channel partner relationship to achieve stronger participation, higher engagement and more profitable partner relationships.
The most effective channel incentive programs measure and motivate partner behaviors like training completion, deal registration, lead follow-up, cross-sell activity and customer retention efforts. That shift gives channel leaders more chances to shape performance.
Related: Top channel trends: Build behavior-based incentive programs
What are behavior-based channel incentives?
Behavior-based channel incentives reward partners for completing actions that increase the likelihood of a sale.
The specific behaviors are identified by program data and business priorities set during discovery sessions and business reviews, and are often tailored by partner role, geographic region or other segmentation category. Common examples include completing training, registering deals, following up on qualified leads, accessing sales enablement content or launching co-branded campaigns.
A practical test: If the behavior gives your sales team better pipeline visibility or helps partners sell with more confidence, it's probably worth considering for the incentive structure.
Why channel partner incentive programs should reward behavior before sales
Channel partners often represent multiple vendors, products and priorities, so your program must earn their attention long before the deal is finalized. Otherwise, your competitors who are rewarding presale behaviors will get to them first.
In short, the days of only offering transaction-based incentives are over because they reward channel partners too late.
Rewarding presale behaviors helps partners understand what to sell, when to engage buyers and how to move opportunities through the pipeline so they do more with your brand over time.
Examples of partner behaviors worth incentivizing
- Logging in to and actively using the partner portal tools
- Completing product training, certifications or enablement modules
- Following up on qualified leads and updating pipeline status
- Using approved sales and marketing content, demos and buyer journey tools
- Supporting renewals, upgrades, cross-sell and upsell opportunities
How behavior-based incentives improve partner engagement
Incentivizing activities tied to a defined sales process, such as deal registration, lead qualification or product demos, helps break through the clutter of information partners receive. The program becomes easier to manage because progress can be tied to known business actions instead of vague engagement goals.
It also gives vendors better visibility into partner behavior so they can measure what is working, identify where support is needed and improve the program over time.
Segment channel incentives by partner type and market
The same incentive will not motivate every partner. We recommend segmenting by partner role, maturity, region, market opportunity and business model before deciding which behaviors to reward. The most successful channel incentive programs are specifically tailored to the intended audience. It’s important to assess participants’ demographics to choose rewards that motivate them.
For global incentives, regional and cultural factors affect what is perceived as a valuable award, and combining awards with recognition elements (e.g., top-performer awards and leader/scoreboards) achieves greater success.
Offer a mix of tangible rewards and cash
A successful rewards program understands participants’ values and creates tools that motivate and inspire. Providing tangible rewards rather than cash creates an emotional connection since cash is an unemotional award that gets forgotten when spent like a salary.
For the greatest success, align individual incentives with your partners’ company-level incentives and business models. Points-based incentive programs are an effective part of a behavior-based incentive strategy because they give you the flexibility to reward small-but-important behaviors to encourage partner engagement at organizational and individual levels.
Related: Beyond cash: Creative rewards for a better sales incentive program
Channel incentive strategy best practices
- Start with the partner behavior you want to change, then define the reward.
- Use a mix of short-term incentives, long-term rewards, recognition and enablement-based motivation.
- Make earning opportunities easy for partners to understand and track.
- Segment incentives by partner type, maturity, role, region and growth potential.
- Measure program performance by behavior change, pipeline progress, partner participation and revenue impact.
Use motivation, recognition and awards to drive partner behavior
Today, business and market realities create an unprecedented opportunity for sales and marketing leaders to create channel value. Channel incentives need to keep partners engaged and motivated to drive demand and sell offerings.
By increasing partner knowledge and their capability to grow sales and market share, performance and relationships get stronger. This is the best way to positively influence behavior and achieve sales transformation.
It’s time to think differently about incentive strategy, make room for more than traditional partners and change the way you go to market with ITA Group’s Ultimate guidebook to channel partner ecosystems.