Wouter Moyaert

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Commission is the fuel that keeps channel partners engaged, but it can also be the fire that burns time and trust if the plan is unclear. The goal is not to create the most clever plan. The goal is to create the plan that partners understand instantly, finance can audit easily, and RevOps can scale without heroic effort. What follows is a practical blueprint to get there.

Why commissions break (and how to avoid the classic pitfalls)

If you have ever rebuilt a commission plan after a quarter of disputes, you know the pattern. Ambiguous rules. Manual exports. “My spreadsheet says…” debates. Partners lose confidence, partner engagement dips, and your team wastes time adjudicating edge cases. The fix is fewer, clearer rules and a commission plan that your partner ecosystem can see, understand, and verify in real time.

The aim is a commission structure that rewards partners based on outcomes you can measure, pays reliably, and scales as channel partners grow. That starts with picking the right model for each motion, then wiring payouts to the same CRM properties that drive your partner program dashboards. With a CRM-first PRM like Introw, plans, calculations, and partner-visible payouts run off live data. That cuts disputes and accelerates commission payments.

The three commission models that cover most partner programs

Different motions need different incentives. Keep it to the three that match how partners sell your company’s offerings.

1) Referral (influence or assist) — simple and fast

When to use: the partner introduces qualified opportunities and your team closes.

Commission plan: percentage based commissions on first-year ARR, commonly 10 to 20 percent, paid on collected revenue. Exclude services and one-off fees if margins are tight. For low ACV, offer a flat fee to keep admin light.

Why it works: easy to explain and verify. In Introw, define the plan, attach it to partner-sourced deals, and show expected commission inside the shared pipeline so partners stay engaged.

2) Reseller (transact) — margin with guardrails

When to use: the partner transacts, invoices, or bundles your product.

Commission plan: a tiered commission structure tied to sales volume and product mix. Offer higher rates on high margin products. Add accelerators for hitting quarterly sales targets, and set caps to protect unit economics.

Why it works: rewards effort and risk, and aligns with how resellers forecast revenue. When rules reference CRM fields you already track, calculations are accurate and auditable.

3) Services or implementation (attach) — pay for outcomes

When to use: the partner delivers onboarding, integration, or managed services around your product.

Commission plan: milestone-based payouts, for example a percent at go live and another percent after CSAT hits a threshold. For expansions, add a small recurring kicker to reward partner performance that improves retention.

Why it works: focuses behavior on value delivery, not just signatures. It also keeps commission programs aligned with customer success.

5 Design principles that keep partnerships and finance happy

A strong commission plan balances motivation, operational efficiency, and trust. Use these principles as the spine of your strategy.

Principle 1: Plain English eligibility and one source of truth

Publish who gets paid, for what, and when, in a single page inside your partner portal. Define a referred customer, accepted registration, qualified status, and the exact event that triggers commission payments. Calculate from CRM fields only. With Introw, expected commissions are visible on the deal card, so partners have real time dashboards without exports.

Principle 2: Pay on cash, not hope

Cash collection milestones prevent overpayment and clawbacks. Pay the first tranche after the initial invoice is paid. Pay the next tranche on renewals or usage thresholds. Introw supports fixed amounts, deal percentages, and recurring commissions, and shows the same values in partner views to foster trust.

Principle 3: Fewer tiers, clearer signals

If you use partner tier levels, let tiers amplify, not replace, your core plan. For example, Registered 10 percent, Select 15 percent, Elite 20 percent. Tie tier changes to performance based incentives such as a rolling four quarter sourced revenue plus CSAT, not subjective judgments. Manage tier data in your PRM so commission rates are applied consistently and calculated accurately.

Principle 4: Reward behaviors that lead to revenue

Not everything needs cash. Use small percentage bumps or one time flat fee bonuses for actions that reliably lead to wins, such as the first qualified meeting, completion of enablement, or co marketing that generates opportunities. Save larger percentages for booked and collected revenue to protect commission payouts and margin.

Principle 5: Automate end to end to kill disputes

Manual commission management is where errors creep in. Automate property mapping, calculations, partner visible statements, and approvals. Introw turns the workflow from partner invoices to finance into one path, with visibility for partners and RevOps.

A simple, scalable commission framework you can launch in 30 days

You do not need a giant spreadsheet or a six month project. Use this four step plan.

Step 1: Pick one structure per motion

• Referral: 15 percent of first year ARR on collected cash
• Resell: margin bands, for example 15, 20, 25 percent, based on quarterly volume
• Services: milestones, for example 40 percent at go live and 60 percent after CSAT reaches a set value

Keep exceptions rare and time boxed.

Step 2: Map the math to CRM fields

Define the properties that drive the calculation: ACV, term, SKU, partner type, deal source, collected revenue to date. In Introw, attach these to a commission plan. The module calculates per deal and shows partners the expected commission in the same shared pipeline they use for collaboration.

Step 3: Publish the plan where partners live

Put the full commission plan and FAQ in your portal. Include screenshots of the partner visible commission widget so there is no mystery. If you enable the Introw AI Agent, it can answer partner questions about their tier, commission plan, or eligibility at any time, which reduces back and forth.

Step 4: Close the loop with Finance

Align payout cadence, set a dispute window, and ship a standard commission statement export for Finance. Introw streamlines statements so your operational efficiency stays high and commission payments are predictable.

How Introw’s commission module works

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If you want partners to trust your plan, the experience of creating, calculating, and paying commissions has to feel obvious. In the demo, Introw shows exactly how that looks in practice, end to end, without spreadsheets.

You start by defining a commission plan on top of your CRM data. Pick the motion and trigger (for example, “Closed Won” in your sales pipeline, or earlier milestones like “Demo Completed”). Choose the payout type: a fixed amount per event, a percentage of sale (calculated from deal amount, MRR, or total contract value), or recurring schedules that taper over years. Save the plan and attach it to partners so every eligible deal calculates automatically.

When it is time to pay, you generate a commission statement like a credit-card statement. Introw pulls in all deals that met the plan criteria for the period, shows the calculated commission per deal, and lets you add details such as a PO number and finance contacts. One click creates a PDF statement you can send to the partner’s finance team and your own. Status flows are built in: Pending Partner Invoice, Pending Approval, Approved, and Paid. Once paid, those deals will not appear in the next statement, so you avoid double counting.

Partners see the same truth you do. Inside their room, a commission dashboard breaks down Expected commissions on open deals, Scheduled amounts you have acknowledged, Pending items waiting on their invoice, Approved amounts ready to invoice, and Paid history by period. Partners can upload invoices directly against a statement and track progress without asking your team for updates.

The net effect is clarity. Plans run off CRM fields, statements are auditable, and both sides see the math on every deal. That is the kind of experience that turns commissions from a monthly debate into a predictable, trusted workflow.

Want a commission engine partners actually trust?

If you are ready to ditch spreadsheets and make commissions a growth lever, see how Introw’s commission module configures plans, displays earnings to partners, and automates payouts from your CRM. Request a demo and ship a commission plan your partners and Finance will love.

We’ve seen that there are 3 potential ways to manage your partners within HubSpot: custom properties, company association & custom object association. Before implementing a partner portal like Introw we advise to map your partners in your HubSpot. 

In this blogpost we’re going to focus on revenue attribution so we’re looking at the object “Deal” in HubSpot. If you also want to attribute contacts, leads, companies,… to partners, you can use the same approach.

Custom properties

How does it work?

1. Create a custom deal property
   • Step 1: Go to settings —> data management —> properties
   • Step 2: Create property:
     • Object type: Deal
     • Group: Deal information
     • Label: This is up to you to decide, we've gone for "Partner". Click "Next"
     • Field type: If you’re sometimes working with multiple partners on a deal, we advise going for “Multiple checkboxes.” If there is always a maximum of one partner per deal, go for “Dropdown select.”
2. Add your custom property to your view or your teams view (this will allow you to easily select the right partners from the left side panel)
3. Attribute the right partner(s) to the right deals

‍What are the pros?

✅ Easy and fast set-up

✅ Possible with all HubSpot plans

✅ Easy to create revenue reports

What are the cons?

❌ Every sales person should have this custom property in their view

❌ Not possible to navigate directly to the partner company

Company association (with association label)

How does it work?

1. Create a custom association label between deal and company
   • Step 1: Go to settings —> data management —> objects —> deals —> associations
   • Step 2: Create association label:
     • Objects you’re associating: Deals-to-companies
     • How many labels do you need? A single label
     • Create one called: partner sourced (for deals that partners have sourced)
     • 💡 Optional: You can create another label called: partner influenced (for deals that partners have influenced)
2. Associate the partner company to a deal and select the label “partner sourced” (or partner influenced)
3. You can do this by associating an (additional) company to the deal; add company

What are the pros?

✅ Easy and fast set-up

✅ Scalable

What are the cons?

❌ Not possible with all HubSpot plans

❌ Not easy to report on in HubSpot

Custom object association

How does it work?

1. Create a custom object
   • Step 1: Go to settings —> data management —> objects —> custom objects
   • Step 2: Create custom object:
     • Object name - singular: “Partner”
     • Object name - plural: “Partner”
     • Primary display property: “Partner Name”
     • Property type: Single-line text
2. Associate the right company object to the partner object in order to have all the right data connected
3. Associate the partner object to a deal

💡 Optional: Create association labels on this custom object to differentiate between for example partner influenced and partner sourced

What are the pros?

✅ Good for organisations with larger amounts of partners

✅ Scalable

What are the cons?

❌ Not possible with all HubSpot plans

❌ Not so easy

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Conclusion

To wrap up, there are 3 ways to manage your partners in HubSpot: via custom properties, via company association and via a custom object. 

Introw supports all methods :).

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What is Introw?

Working with resellers, referral partners, distributors,...? Keep on reading! Introw is a partner relationship management (PRM) platform allowing you to collaborate with your B2B partners in shared spaces integrated with HubSpot. 

One space to be aligned on pipeline, enable partners with content and track engagement.

Partnership data lives in the CRM, so we’re leveraging that to the fullest with our native and 1-click HubSpot and Salesforce integration.

With that, we’re not only elevating your B2B partnership experience, we’re elevating the experience of your entire partnership team.

Request a demo now.

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Install the HubSpot connection here.

Introw conducted a research on 2024 comparing the partner-attributed deals with non partner attributed deals.

In today's hyper-competitive business landscape, partnerships are becoming increasingly vital for driving revenue growth and scaling operations. Recent research on 2024 deals reveals compelling insights into the impact of partner-attributed deals compared to non-partner deals, shedding light on why partnerships are more crucial than ever.

Key Findings from Our Research

Introw detected that partner-attributed deals significantly outperform direct sales (non-partner) deals in two critical areas:

1. Higher Deal Size: Partner-attributed deals boast an average deal size that is 32% higher compared to non-partner deals.
2. Higher Win Rate: The win rate for partner-attributed deals is 2.8 times higher than for non-partner deals.

Interestingly, our research showed no significant difference in the sales cycle length between partner and non-partner deals.

What These Numbers Mean for Your Business

These findings underline a fundamental truth: partner ecosystems are revenue multipliers. Here's why:

• Increased Credibility: Partners bring an added layer of trust and credibility to the sales process, which can be crucial in closing larger deals. Customers are more likely to trust recommendations from partners they already have a relationship with.
• Access to New Markets: Partners can open doors to new opportunities and markets that may have been difficult to penetrate independently.
• Improved Win Rates: With a win rate that is nearly three times higher for partner-attributed deals, it's clear that partnerships are a critical factor in improving sales outcomes.

How to Leverage Partners for Maximum Impact

Based on our findings, here are three actionable steps your business can take to maximize the impact of partner-attributed deals:

1. Invest in Partner Enablement: Equip your partners with the right tools and resources to succeed. This includes training, co-marketing initiatives, and providing them with access to your sales collateral.
2. Leverage Partner Relationship Management (PRM) Software: Platforms like Introw can help streamline partner collaboration, track deal attribution, and measure partner performance.
3. Align Incentives: Ensure your partners are motivated to bring deals to the table by offering competitive incentives and fostering a mutually beneficial relationship.

Conclusion

The numbers don’t lie: Partner-attributed deals are larger, more successful, and just as fast to close. Companies that prioritize building and nurturing their partner ecosystems stand to gain a significant competitive advantage.

If you want to see similar results in 2025, now is the time to invest in your partner strategy. Platforms like Introw can help you get there by simplifying the way you collaborate with partners and driving better outcomes. Schedule a demo here or get started for free. 

What is Introw?

Introw unlocks partner revenue by eliminating the friction of partner collaboration. Companies working with resellers, referral partners, distributors, or implementation partners use Introw to seamlessly share sales materials, collaborate on customer data, and drive partner engagement—all integrated with their CRM.