Nearbound Marketing: What It Is and How It Works
Demand generation that runs through partners by borrowing their trust, measured as pipeline.
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Forecastable's Education Center -- The best advice on building partner programs that produce forecastable revenue.
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Partner-Sourced Revenue: Definition and How to Track It
What is partner-sourced revenue? Short answer: partner-sourced revenue is closed-won revenue from deals a partner originated (the partner brought the opportunity, not just helped along the way). In 2026, it is the cleanest, most defensible number a partnerships team can put in front of a CFO, which is exactly why it has to be measured […]
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Editor's Picks
MDF Programs That Generate Real Pipeline (Not Just Activity)
Short answer: most MDF (Market Development Funds) programs in B2B SaaS waste 50 to 70 percent of their budget. The cause is structural, not size. MDF gets framed too narrowly as marketing money. It then goes to partners who will not run the activity that drives pipeline. The fix is a defensible MDF program that […]
Joint Demand Generation: How to Run Co-Marketing That Converts
Short answer: joint demand generation campaigns with partners produce 2x to 4x the ROI of solo demand-gen when designed correctly. They produce 0.5x or worse when designed wrong. The difference comes down to four design decisions. You need a shared ICP, a single accountable owner, lead-level attribution, and a structured handoff motion. Get those four […]
Partner-Sourced Revenue: Definition and How to Track It
What is partner-sourced revenue? Short answer: partner-sourced revenue is closed-won revenue from deals a partner originated (the partner brought the opportunity, not just helped along the way). In 2026, it is the cleanest, most defensible number a partnerships team can put in front of a CFO, which is exactly why it has to be measured […]
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Partner Pipeline: What It Is and How to Build One
The partner-attributed slice of your real pipeline, held to the same forecast rigor as direct sales.
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Partner Attribution: Models, Pitfalls, and Setup
Assigning credit when a partner sources or influences a deal, with a system finance can audit.
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Alex Buckles
The CRO’s Comp Model for Partner-Sourced Pipeline
Partner-sourced pipeline should pay AEs the same commission as direct deals with full credit, no haircut. Partner managers get separate quota credit from a different comp pool. This eliminates the zero-sum fight and prevents AE sandbagging of partner intros.
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Alex Buckles
How to Report Partner Pipeline to the Board: The Slide That Works
The board slide that works for partner pipeline reporting has three numbers and nothing else. Partner-sourced ARR with three to five named accounts. Partner-influenced velocity lift measured in days reduced versus direct deals. Partner-sourced conversion rate compared to direct. No combined “total partner pipeline” headline. No engagement metrics. No forecast. Three credible numbers a CFO […]
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Alex Buckles
Partner Attribution Models for B2B SaaS: The Defensible Default
Partner attribution in B2B SaaS comes in three flavors: partner-sourced (the partner originated the deal), partner-influenced (the partner participated in the cycle), and direct (no meaningful partner involvement). The defensible default for most teams is to track all three separately in the CRM, apply a 14-day attribution window from deal creation, and only allow one partner to be attributed per deal. Mixing these into a single number is what makes CFOs distrust the partnerships function.
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Alex Buckles
How to Set Partner Attribution Windows for Long B2B Sales Cycles
The partner attribution window is the time between a partner’s first deal-cycle action (intro email, joint discovery, executive ping) and when attribution gets locked in the CRM. The defensible default is 14 days from deal creation. For long enterprise cycles (180+ days), you can extend to 30 days, but anything longer turns the attribution system into a backdating game.
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Alex Buckles
How to Resolve Partner Attribution Disputes Without Killing the Deal
Partner attribution disputes kill deals when resolved late. Learn the three-step protocol to surface disagreements early, apply a written tiebreaker rubric, and escalate to a neutral reviewer—before the deal cycle matures.
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Alex Buckles
Multi-Touch vs Last-Touch Partnerships Attribution: What B2B SaaS Should Pick
Last-touch partner attribution credits a single partner per deal. Multi-touch credits multiple partners across the deal cycle. For B2B SaaS, last-touch is almost always the right answer because multi-touch creates compensation disputes, dilutes accountability, and produces aggregate numbers that no CFO can model.
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Build a Partner Pipeline Forecast CFOs Trust
Partner-sourced pipeline can be forecast with the same rigor as direct pipeline if you separate it from direct, apply a partner-tier conversion model, weight by stage and aging, and report a confidence band the partner manager owns. Skip any of those four and the forecast loses CRO trust at the first deal review.
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