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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Alex Buckles Partnerships POV: 5 Operating Rules
For broader industry context, see Partnership Leaders’ practitioner community. What Does Alex Buckles Think About Partnerships? Short answer: Alex Buckles’ partnerships work is grounded in one operating belief, partnerships is a measurable system, not a relationship motion. I run Forecastable, an independent third-party professional services firm that designs partner-led GTM systems for B2B SaaS companies, […]
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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 Manager Salary: What to Pay and Why
What is a partner manager salary? Short answer: a partner manager salary is the total compensation (base, variable, and equity) paid to the person who recruits, activates, and drives revenue through a company’s partners. There are now two structures in market for this role. The legacy structure pays a relationship-coordination hire on a 70/30 to […]
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VP of Partnerships: What the Role Is and When to Hire
What is a VP of Partnerships? Short answer: a VP of Partnerships is the senior leader who owns the partner revenue motion (strategy, team, and the partner-sourced number) and represents partnerships in the company’s revenue leadership. In 2026, the role is a revenue role, not a relationship role, and it should be hired and held […]
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Chief Partner Officer: What the Role Is and When to Hire
What is a Chief Partner Officer? Short answer: a Chief Partner Officer is the C-suite executive who owns partnerships as a primary go-to-market motion, sitting on the leadership team and accountable for partner-driven revenue at the board level. In 2026, the role exists at companies where partnerships is not a channel but the channel. A […]
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Alliance Manager: Role, Scope, and How to Hire One That Closes
An alliance manager is the person who owns the operating relationship with a strategic partner: the joint motion, the joint pipeline, the executive cadence, and the deal-by-deal field execution. The role is not a single role; it’s a spectrum from co-sell ops to strategic alliance lead. Most alliance manager hires fail in the first 18 […]
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Channel Manager Job Description: A Template That Predicts Hires Who Hit Quota
A channel manager job description that just lists “manage partner relationships” predicts a hire who underperforms in the first 18 months. A channel manager JD that names the producer-consumer ratio target, the partner-attached pipeline expectation, the operating cadence the role will run, and the compensation tied to revenue outcomes predicts a hire who hits quota. […]
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Alex Buckles
AI Partner Manager: What It Actually Automates and What It Can’t
An AI partner manager is software that automates the operational layer of a human partner manager’s job: tracking partner activity, surfacing co-sell opportunities, drafting partner communications, capturing attribution, and producing executive-ready reports. It does not replace the human relationship-building work, which is irreducible. The defensible model: AI handles the 60 to 70 percent of partner […]
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Head of Partnerships: The 2026 Role, Scope, and Hiring Guide
Head of Partnerships in 2026: what the role does, when to hire one, how to structure the role, and how to run a hiring process that doesn’t miss.
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Alex Buckles
Channel Marketing Agency: When to Hire One, How to Pick One in 2026
Channel marketing agency in 2026: when to hire one, how to evaluate one, the four practical agency categories, and the pitfalls that kill engagements.
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Alex Buckles
Partnerships Agency: What They Do, When to Hire One, How to Pick One
Partner agency in 2026: the four practical categories, when to hire one vs. build in-house, and how to evaluate without falling for the credentials slide.
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Alex Buckles
Building the CRO-CPO Relationship That Drives Revenue
The CRO-CPO relationship works when the CRO treats partnerships as a revenue motion and the CPO treats partner pipeline as a forecast. Both sides need a shared operating cadence: weekly partnership pipeline review aligned to the weekly direct forecast call, joint accountability for partner-sourced ARR targets, and a Co-Sell Alignment Specialist running the operational layer between them.
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