The primary purpose of lead generation and management is to identify prospects who have a pain point that a specific product or service can fulfill. Entire armies of marketing personnel and libraries of marketing content are optimized to find and educate prospective buyers who may be interested in a company’s solution. This has become a combination of art and science in direct marketing, but when it comes to generating leads through a partner network, it requires more tools and more attention. This is where partner relationship management (PRM) software comes in. It helps vendor organizations manage the complexity of distributing content to their partner base, training them properly and managing them to close the leads that are provided to them. There are two primary ways this can be done:

In addition to addressing these two primary types of lead generation and management scenarios I have mentioned above, partner relationship management (PRM) software also needs to address channel conflict resolution across multiple partners pursuing the same opportunity. This is typically done with deal registration applications built into a partner relationship management platform. We have discussed deal registration in other articles, so I will not go into that here. However, I would like to make one additional point: Sales is a performance game. The best strategy in lead management strategy is to focus on high-performing partners and either give them leads (vendor-led) or co-generate leads with them (partner-led). This will yield much better results than randomly giving leads to partners who may not be well-qualified to sell and close opportunities for the vendor. We will explore this dimension in more detail in other articles about performance management.

As we adopt more and more digital tools in our lives—at work, home and school, and while travelling away from home—silently but surely we are rebuilding how we work, live, learn and enjoy our leisure. Partner relationship management (PRM) software is no different. Partner management has existed since commerce existed in pre-historic times, but over the past few decades, with the adoption of digital tools and digitization of commerce, more and more companies have focused on automating their channel management and partner relationship management activities. In this article we will explore how we can manage the partner base remotely and globally using state-of-the art partner relationship management tools.

Here are the core activities we need to engage in to build and manage a channel remotely:

To run an effective partner recruitment program, an organization needs to have profiles of the kinds of partners that they want to recruit. Target profiles can be created by researching existing partners’ firmographic profiles and/or establishing capabilities the organization needs a potential partner organization to have—characteristics like certifications, regional coverage, go-to-market sales models and so on. Once this target profile has been created—a process we call partner profiling—then the recruitment journey can begin.

If a prospective partner is interested, they may apply and go through a simple or a comprehensive review process to be registered as an authorized partner to sell the organization’s products. In case of captive distribution, this could be a franchise model where a partner has to pay to play, but in other cases—e.g., agents, or resellers and distributors—they may qualify to join for free, based on certain selection criteria. This is the next key step in partner relationship management—figuring out who you want and how to recruit them—and all of these activities, or certainly most of them, can happen remotely via a state-of-the-art PRM tool.

Each of these onboarding steps can be fully digitized. For instance, a partner can receive an email stating that their preliminary application has been approved, and now they have to log in to a portal to sign an agreement. This agreement can also be fully digital. If an exception needs to be made, documents can be signed offline and uploaded into a partner account manually as well. After an agreement has been signed, the partner has to go through a set of online training courses. These courses can again be linked to various tracks—e.g., a marketing track, sales track, technical track or service track. This is how personalized content can be delivered remotely to partner employees in a focused way for onboarding. After training, business planning is conducted in collaboration with the partner’s management team. This entire process can be digitized and achieved remotely via a partner relationship management platform, like ZINFI’s Unified Partner Management (UPM) platform.

For most companies selling through the channel, enablement also includes some level of lead distribution and management. It is critical to have a system that can automate—and remotely distribute and manage—leads to and from partners. In organizations where there are significant opportunity overlaps in the channel, a deal registration program can reduce channel conflict and increase partner satisfaction. An integrated approach to lead management and deal registration is always critical to streamline the core focus for partner recruitment and onboarding, which is revenue generation. In addition to providing content and sharing marketing tactics, a good partner relationship management platform will allow a vendor to efficiently manage lead distribution and deal registration remotely and digitally for a distributed network of channel partners.

Performance management in a remote and distributed world not only requires a PRM-like digital platform, but it also requires the entire channel workflow to be automated end-to-end. Without automating recruitment, onboarding, enablement and other core activities, and without the ability to integrate digitized sales data into a seamless dashboard, it is impossible for organizations to determine what is really going on in their partner network in real time. That’s why a partner relationship management platform like ZINFI’s Unified Partner Management platform is required to enable remote partner management—so organizations can digitize these activities and track them dynamically, but also to  weave them together into an analytical “power tool,” allowing them to take their channel performance to a much higher level.

When you think about sales automation, the first thing that comes to your mind is the word “revenue.” Yes, sales is all about generating revenue by closing deals from the leads that marketing generates. That’s pretty much what a CRM does. CRM takes a bunch of leads that the marketing automation system feeds it, and then allows the sales team to nurture those leads in a systematic way through various sales stages like discovery, qualification, demo, trial, review, agreement, purchase, renewal and support. Sales managers can run various reports across their sales representatives and determine who is most effective, what is working and what needs changing. Automation also allows the elimination of repetitive tasks such as sending out a reminder to a prospect or offering sales collaterals or coming up with automated pricing. There are multiple use cases that a Salesfsorce-like CRM system can address, and its functionality can be extended by using a large number of applications available in Salesforce AppExchange. Some of the standalone applications that plug into Salesforce address other aspect of sales and marketing needs, including rewards, incentives and analytics. This is where ZINFI’s partner relationship management (PRM) comes in.

ZINFI is an AppExchange-approved PRM application provider. While Salesforce also lists a few other PRM applications, unlike those other applications ZINFI’s PRM features an architecture and user interface that closely follows the logic of a CRM system. This allows a seamless flow of data flow back and forth between a Salesforce-like CRM and ZINFI’s PRM. 

Let’s explore three core connection points in more detail here:

The core benefit of having these workflows separated for direct sales (on a Salesforce-like CRM system) and indirect channel sales (on ZINFI’s PRM platform) is to eliminate dependencies on various parts of the organization. When you have dedicated infrastructure for channel sales in a mixed sales environment, you give significant autonomy to the channel sales team without relying on the direct sales team to make changes to adapt to channel sales requirements. This is important not just from a leads management, deal registration or incentives management perspective, but also from a compliance perspective: Remember, leads now need to stay on two separate “islands” due to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We don’t have time here to explore emerging data privacy requirements in detail, but you can think about it like the separation of church and state. You need to create two different infrastructures which can seamlessly connect and speak to each other but can be run independently.

Now, in addition to these core connection points between CRM and PRM, there are many other areas where the two systems can share data, including business planning, contracts management, learning management, configure-price-quote (CPQ) and more. We will explore these connection points in other articles. There is one additional point I’d like to make, though: Connecting a PRM to a CRM makes your life simpler, not just because your direct team can use a Salesforce-like CRM while channel sales uses a PRM—but also because you can address additional workflows in PRM that are difficult to manage on a CRM, such as through-channel marketing automation (TCMA) or partner sales management activities. We will explore these workflows in further detail in other articles.

I hope this article gives you an overview of how a Salesforce-like CRM system can connect to a partner relationship management (PRM) platform in order to maximize the core strengths of these different tools. While in principle there are a lot of similarities between them, each is purpose-built for a specific set of functions. Integrating them allows them to work together like butter and toast.

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Integrating your CRM with a Partner Relationship Management platform is fundamentally about data unity. Many companies operate with separate systems for direct sales and channel sales. Your direct sales team lives in a CRM like HubSpot, managing customer data.

Your channel team, however, works within a dedicated partner platform. This separation creates information silos that hinder visibility and create inefficiencies. Without a connection, you lack a complete picture of your entire sales landscape.

Data must be manually transferred between these disconnected systems. This process is slow, prone to errors, and wastes valuable employee time. It delays lead assignments to partners, which can result in lost sales opportunities.

Furthermore, it becomes nearly impossible to track a lead’s journey accurately. You cannot see if a direct sales lead eventually closes through a partner. This lack of visibility makes reporting and forecasting incredibly difficult and unreliable.

An integrated approach solves these problems by creating a single source of truth. Data flows seamlessly between your HubSpot CRM and your Partner Relationship Management solution. Everyone in your organization gets a 360-degree view of customers and partners.

This connection automates critical processes like lead management and deal registration. When a new lead enters HubSpot, rules can automatically route it to the right partner. This happens in real-time, improving partner responsiveness and sales velocity.

A unified system also prevents channel conflict. With shared deal registration data, you can avoid multiple partners or your direct team pursuing the same opportunity. ZINFI’s Deal Registration Management module ensures clarity and fairness for all parties involved.

Ultimately, this integration is essential for scaling your channel program effectively. It provides the foundation for consistent processes and reliable data. This structure empowers you to manage a growing partner ecosystem without increasing administrative overhead.

HubSpot is a powerful CRM for managing direct customer relationships. However, it lacks the specialized tools needed for complex channel partnerships. A dedicated Partner Relationship Management platform extends HubSpot’s capabilities for the indirect sales world.

PRM systems provide a secure portal specifically for your channel partners. This portal centralizes all the resources and tools partners need to succeed. It includes access to marketing materials, training courses, and sales playbooks.

Partner enablement is a core function that a PRM solution offers. You can deploy comprehensive training and certification programs through a Partner Learning Management system. This ensures partners are knowledgeable about your products and sales processes.

Channel marketing is another area where PRM excels beyond a standard CRM. These platforms offer tools for co-branded asset creation, social media syndication, and email marketing. This empowers partners to run effective marketing campaigns on your behalf.

For instance, ZINFI’s Email Marketing Management solution lets partners easily launch campaigns. They can use pre-approved templates that maintain brand consistency. This level of support is not native to a CRM like HubSpot.

Incentive management is also a critical component of a strong channel program. A Partner Relationship Management platform automates the administration of complex incentive programs. This includes Market Development Funds (MDF), rebates, and sales commissions.

These advanced financial tools are crucial for motivating partners and rewarding performance. Managing them within HubSpot would require extensive customization or manual workarounds. A PRM handles these tasks efficiently, linking incentives directly to sales performance data.

Finally, a PRM platform provides deep analytics on partner performance. It goes beyond simple sales numbers to track engagement, training completion, and marketing activity. This comprehensive view helps you identify your top performers and areas for improvement.

In essence, the PRM system acts as a specialized layer on top of your CRM. It transforms HubSpot from a direct sales tool into a comprehensive channel sales engine. This synergy allows you to manage your entire partner lifecycle effectively.

Connecting HubSpot to a Partner Relationship Management platform requires a clear, strategic plan. Following a structured process ensures a smooth and successful integration. The first step is to clearly define your goals and objectives.

What specific problems are you trying to solve with this integration? Are you focused on lead routing automation, unified reporting, or improving partner engagement? Having clear goals will guide your entire implementation strategy.

Next, you must choose a PRM solution with robust integration capabilities. Look for a platform that offers a pre-built, native connector for HubSpot. This significantly simplifies the setup process compared to building a custom integration.

Once you have selected your platform, the next phase is data mapping. You need to decide which data objects and fields will sync between the two systems. Common objects include contacts, companies, deals, and activities.

You must carefully map the fields from HubSpot to the corresponding fields in the PRM. For example, a “Deal Stage” in HubSpot might map to a “Sales Funnel Stage” in the PRM. Accuracy in this step is crucial for maintaining data integrity.

After mapping, you will configure the synchronization rules and workflows. Determine the direction of the data flow for each object. For instance, new leads from your website might flow from HubSpot to the PRM.

Conversely, deal updates from partners in the PRM should flow back to HubSpot. You can use a tool like ZINFI’s Workflow Management to build these automated processes. Defining these rules prevents data conflicts and ensures consistency.

Thorough testing is the final and most critical step before going live. Create test records in both systems to verify that data syncs correctly. Test all your defined workflows, such as lead assignment and deal updates.

Involve key stakeholders from your sales and channel teams in the testing phase. Their feedback will help identify any issues with the user experience or process logic. When choosing any core business system, it’s wise to consult expert analysis. For example, Gartner provides valuable insights on CRM selection and strategy.

After successful testing, you can deploy the integration. Remember to provide training and documentation for both internal users and your partners. A successful integration requires technology, process, and people to be aligned.

A unified approach combining HubSpot and a Partner Relationship Management platform delivers powerful business benefits. The most significant advantage is establishing a single, authoritative source of truth. This eliminates guesswork and ensures everyone works from the same data set.

This unified view improves decision-making at every level of the organization. Sales leaders can see the entire pipeline, including direct and channel opportunities. Marketing can track campaign influence across all sales motions.

Another major benefit is the elimination of manual data entry and reconciliation. Automation handles the flow of information between systems, reducing administrative workload. This frees your channel managers to focus on high-value partner-facing activities.

They can spend more time on strategic initiatives like business planning with partners. ZINFI’s Partner Business Planning tools help formalize this process. This shift from administrative tasks to strategic work directly impacts channel growth.

A connected system accelerates the entire sales cycle. Leads are distributed to partners instantly, allowing for faster follow-up. Deal registrations are approved or denied quickly, avoiding delays and channel friction.

This speed and efficiency create a superior partner experience. Partners appreciate a streamlined process that helps them close deals faster. A positive experience is a key differentiator that builds partner loyalty and engagement.

Furthermore, unified data enables more accurate and sophisticated analytics. You can generate comprehensive reports that show the true impact of your channel program. It becomes easy to measure key metrics like partner-sourced revenue and program ROI.

You can also leverage advanced tools for predictive analytics. By analyzing historical data from both systems, you can forecast future sales more accurately. You can also identify partners who are most likely to succeed.

Detailed performance analytics becomes a reality with a unified platform. You can track individual partner performance against their goals. This data allows you to have more productive, data-driven conversations with your partners.

Ultimately, a unified Partner Relationship Management and CRM strategy drives revenue growth. It creates a scalable, efficient, and transparent channel sales engine. This allows your business to fully capitalize on the potential of its partner ecosystem.

ZINFI offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to manage the entire partner lifecycle. Our Unified Partner Management platform provides robust capabilities and seamless integration. This helps you build and scale a world-class channel program.

When you choose ZINFI for your Partner Relationship Management needs, you get access to:

ZINFI’s commitment to innovation in Partner Relationship Management ensures you have the tools to succeed. We help you automate processes, engage partners, and drive predictable channel revenue. This allows you to focus on building strong, profitable partner relationships.

No, HubSpot does not have a native, full-featured PRM module. It offers some basic functionality but lacks the specialized tools for complete channel management. Integrating with a dedicated platform like ZINFI is recommended for serious channel programs.

The main purpose is to create a single source of truth for all sales data. It unifies direct sales information from the CRM with indirect sales data from the PRM. This provides a 360-degree view of your business and eliminates data silos.

Yes, lead automation is a key benefit of this integration. You can set up rules in your PRM to automatically assign leads from HubSpot to the right partner. This is based on criteria like geography, partner tier, or product specialization.

A unified system provides real-time visibility into deal registrations. When a partner registers a deal in the PRM, that information is synced to the CRM. This prevents your direct sales team from pursuing the same opportunity.

Typically, you should sync core objects like leads, contacts, accounts, and deals. You may also want to sync activities and custom objects. The goal is to share all relevant data needed for effective sales and reporting.

A native connector is almost always preferable for integrating standard systems like HubSpot. It’s faster to implement, more reliable, and easier to maintain. Custom integrations are complex, costly, and should only be used for unique requirements.

A Partner Relationship Management platform automates and standardizes the onboarding process. New partners enter a workflow that guides them through contract signing, training, and portal access. This ensures a consistent and efficient onboarding experience for every new partner.

A unified system allows you to track all costs and revenues associated with the channel. You can attribute sales directly to specific partners and marketing campaigns. This enables you to accurately calculate the return on your channel investment.

Yes, a seamless integration dramatically improves the partner experience. Partners can manage all their activities within a single portal without manual processes. This ease of doing business is a major factor in partner satisfaction and loyalty.

Yes, a core function of a Partner Relationship Management platform is managing partner programs. You can define different partner tiers with specific requirements and benefits. The system can then automate access to those benefits based on a partner’s performance.

Sugata Sanyal is the Founder & CEO of ZINFI Technologies, a leader in Unified Partner Management. He has been a passionate advocate for the channel and channel partners for decades. His vision for ZINFI is to provide partner ecosystems with the tools they need to succeed.

First, let’s briefly discuss what email marketing is and how TCMA-based email marketing tactics may differ from your direct email marketing efforts. We all know that email marketing was very likely the first digital marketing tool that marketers used, starting in the early 2000s. While we suffered through a plague of spam emails during much of that period—and even today a few of those spam emails get through the spam filters—it’s important to emphasize effective email marketing is NOT spam. Email marketing today relies heavily on obtaining end-users’ or target consumers’ email addresses through some sort of an opt-in mechanism, as opposed to various nefarious harvesting mechanisms that spammers use to collect or spoof email addresses. Once a proper prospect or buyer has signed up to receive emails from a provider, then and only then  can a marketer use that medium to reach out in an appropriate way. This kind general leverages some kind of a marketing automation tool that relies on text-based or HTML-based email templates. In most cases, these templates are highly customized to convey a set of news, messages and/or offers that is likely to attract the interest of the targeted audiences.

Now, when it comes to email marketing tools for TCMA-related activities, it is important to have several critical features that are not necessarily relevant for direct email marketing tactics. These TCMA-specific capabilities include:

In addition to these core five areas, other features that tend to be important in a through-channel marketing automation (TCMA) email marketing tool include things like multi-tenant capabilities, copying, editing, reviewing, tagging and searching. We will discuss these features in another article.

Before we take a deep dive into the specific activities that PRM software can automate, let’s discuss briefly how the activities tend to vary by company size.

The key to operating successfully in a focused or scaled or broad channel is understanding how your distribution strategy will ultimately support the growth ambitions of the company. For an organization with a niche product that has a relatively narrow focus, too many partners can create an over-distribution problem and make the product more difficult to sell. Therefore, before any PRM software can effectively automate and optimize channel activities, the organization’s channel strategy has to be closely aligned with the nature of its channel.

The critical factor in moving from a focused channel to a scaled channel and eventually to a broad distribution network is to have highly streamlined programs and an automation tool—namely, PRM software—that can effectively automate more activities as the organization’s business evolves. We know that automating a channel can be sequential: You start small and then build on your successes. This rule is most applicable to fast-growing companies. However, if your organization has already been around for a while and is already selling through a channel—focused, scaled or broad—you absolutely have the same opportunities to optimize effectiveness through automation by selecting the right set of tools.

Let’s review briefly what you can do for each of the three main channel types—focused, scaled and broad—by aligning your channel strategy, programs, policies and PRM software automation platform.

Before you embark on an automation journey using PRM software, make sure you vet potential vendors carefully. Your chosen vendor should have earned endorsements from leading analyst firms, received overwhelmingly positive reviews and generated positive feedback from its existing customer base. It should also offer a highly scalable and adaptable platform that can easily grow with your evolving channel needs. One thing you can depend on is this: Change is certain, and you always have to be ready to do more with less. A powerful, easy-to-use, highly configurable PRM platform is a critical tool for realizing this goal in real life.

I hope this overview has convinced you it is never too late or too early to start automating channel activities, provided you align overall business strategy, channel management activities and the right PRM software. Doing so will not only reduce waste but also significantly impact your return on investment—whether your channel is very focused or very broad or somewhere in between.

There are essentially two types of enablement involving collaboration with channel partners using PRM software: tactical and strategic. Let’s briefly address both.

With this as a framework, it’s time to consider some of the PRM software tools that can be used for both strategic and tactical enablement. These tools can address a broad range of activities related to partner life cycle management, including partner recruitment, partner onboarding, partner enablement, demand generation and partner management. In each of these areas, we can apply  both tactical and strategic approaches by using various PRM tools.

Now we’re ready to consider some of the PRM software tools that can help us with each of these activities and allow us to collaborate remotely:

I hope this overview has demonstrated that you can perform essentially every activity that’s necessary to enable partners both tactically and strategically while working remotely if you deploy a PRM platform. There are other benefits as well: Creating a state-of-the-art online collaboration platform can also significantly boost partner satisfaction and the productivity of your partner marketing teams. Instead of having to constantly log on to Zoom or other video conferencing platforms to have discussions with one partner or group of partners at a time, you can have your partner portal—powered by a state-of-the-art partner relationship management (PRM) software—do much of the work for you 24×7.

Before we begin, let’s just reflect for a moment on the intrinsic challenges that were already a part of channel management even before the pandemic damaged our economy and took away thousands of lives. We are all beginning to realize that, while managing a direct sales force is tough, managing an indirect sales force—what we all call a channel—is even tougher in times like these. This is due to the fact that resellers, agents, and other types of partners set their priorities primarily around cash flows, customers, competencies (employees) and competitors. So, while a vendor brand may be an integral part of their overall revenue plan, in the end there is always a broader (and more personalized) set of business objectives that drive any partner business. This is where the main conflict lies.

If, as I am suggesting, a partner business is not centered predominantly on a specific brand—that is, if the partner can exist without a specific product or switch it out with a different one—then brand loyalty is almost non-existent. (I realize this may not entirely be the case for captive brands or franchises, but the challenges of managing a franchise are more complex than those for a multi-product resale business or an outlet.) But whether we are talking about a captive or multi-brand channel partner, channel management is a lot more complex world than direct sales. So what can you do in times like this when resources are scarce and will possibly shrink more over the next 12–18 months—and when we are forced stay home and put channel events, trainings and various other activities on hold?

First things first – We all need to prioritize ruthlessly to remain profitable because the world is highly leveraged today. Burning more cash and hoping to get there is certainly not a prudent strategy with so much uncertainty in the air. Yes, some companies like Zoom, which was in a position to scale its data center’s capacity as its user load exploded, have thrived, but their investments scaled with their direct sales demand. When it comes to a channel business, it is crucial at times like this to focus on the producers versus the non-producers in your partner base. To do that effectively, you will need a partner profile management capability that is dynamic and gives you a dashboard that will instantly tell you which partners are winning, why and how you can make more partners win.

Second – We need to focus on selling and eliminating deal losses as fast as possible. This can only happen when you have a focused set of partners who care about your brand and are willing to learn and compete aggressively in the marketplace for every deal that is within their reach. To do that you have to make sure there is no channel conflict, and that means you must protect every deal that partners bring in and have trust in your support network.

Finally – Make sure your reward structure is crystal clear, and then put your money where your mouth is. Stay away from complicated training, enablement and incentive programs. The entire focus for the incentive program should be on motivating partners to sell more to make more. As a partner once told me, “Loyalty can always be purchased.” So, follow the money, provide a path to make it easy for partners to make money, and align all the incentives so there is absolutely no friction along the way.

To complete these three steps quickly and efficiently you need programs and people—but you also need a platform. You need software automation that allows you to profile your partners in a dynamic fashion to reveal who is selling, how much and why. You need to identify the next set of potential winning partners, rapidly roll out sales programs and train them fast. You also need to enable them with sales collateral and offer them meaningful incentives like market development funds, co-op funds and sales rewards. And you need to be able to do all of these things quickly and dynamically, 24×7. This can only happen if you augment your Zoom, Teams, Excel and other applications with a true end-to-end channel management and automation platform. This is the only way you can build a true virtual collaboration network overnight, drive up partner satisfaction and engagement and, yes, “purchase” loyalty—in a legal and friendly way.

The shift to remote work necessitates establishing a true virtual collaboration network to maintain high partner satisfaction and continuous engagement. This transition requires a centralized, end-to-end channel automation platform capable of driving communication and tracking partner performance efficiently, without relying on traditional in-person events or training.

The primary conflict arises because a partner’s business is rarely centered on a single vendor brand, resulting in minimal inherent brand loyalty among multi-product resellers. Partners are driven by their own business objectives, requiring vendors to effectively earn loyalty through superior incentives, timely support, and consistent value delivery.

To ensure profitability during uncertain periods, organizations must prioritize resources by focusing on high-value partners clearly identified as producers versus non-producers. This disciplined approach prevents unnecessary cash burn and ensures limited vendor resources are directed toward accelerating the most productive and successful sales pipelines.

Robust technology such as Partner Profile Management provides dynamic dashboards to quickly identify successful partners and their evolving needs. Mandatory Deal Registration systems protect partner-initiated opportunities, fostering trust and systematically eliminating deal loss and internal channel conflict.