In an increasingly partner-led business landscape, enterprises must rethink how they drive engagement, enablement, and growth with their partner networks. Our client, a global leader in ERP, recognized this need and set out to modernize their partner engagement strategy, particularly around how leads were shared and tracked across their ecosystem.
Through a strategic collaboration and a phased technology implementation, we transformed a manually intensive lead routing process into a scalable, data-driven engine for partner growth—unlocking new revenue potential and significantly improving pipeline visibility.
The challenge: Old-fashioned and fragmented lead management
Our client’s systems were largely homegrown, designed for internal use, and unsuitable for enabling modern partner engagement. Tasked with accelerating growth through partner-led channels, a critical barrier stood in the way: their lead management process was entirely manual.
Lead sharing relied on individual sales reps working directly with individual partners. Decisions were made based on relationships and intuition rather than strategic alignment or data. This created a lack of visibility, inconsistencies in lead handling, and ultimately, missed opportunities for closing deals through the most capable partners. Our client needed to transition from ad-hoc lead passing to a scalable, intelligent, and repeatable model that could serve the diverse needs of their partner ecosystem while also supporting the company's broader growth objectives.
The average B2B deal now involves seven partners across the lifecycle. Coordinating this without a system is risky. ParTech keeps everyone aligned across programs, deals, and performance metrics.
Canalys
Phase 1: Understanding the current state and defining what success looks like
The first step in this transformation was an in-depth current state assessment. This included:
- Mapping the existing lead distribution process
- Identifying pain points, inefficiencies, and bottlenecks
- Evaluating the manual nature of partner engagement
From this foundation, we developed a comprehensive picture of what success should look like in a modern, partner-centric lead management system. This future-state blueprint emphasized:
- Intelligent matching of leads to partners based on data
- Standardized processes to reduce human error and bias
- Technology integrations that would support automation and scale
Phase 2: Identifying the right ParTech mix
With a shared vision in place, the next phase focused on selecting the right combination of ParTech platforms and tools. Given our client’s complex environment and the number of custom internal tools in play, the solution needed to be both interoperable and flexible for future growth. Key questions included:
- What platforms integrate seamlessly with existing home-grown or manual systems?
- Which solutions support enterprise scalability and governance?
- How can we future-proof?
Through this lens, a shortlist of best-fit tools was developed and evaluated against the business’s strategic priorities.
Phase 3: Phased implementation for scalable growth
With the technology selected, we moved into a phased rollout approach to ensure controlled implementation, measurable progress, and long-term success. This stage involved:
- Piloting lead routing capabilities with targeted partner groups
- Defining success metrics and building in performance tracking
- Iteratively scaling to broader partner segments
The phased approach created opportunities to test, learn, and optimize—ensuring the final system was both robust and tailored to their unique needs.
From manual to measurable
The results of this transformation were profound. Today, our client can:
- Track and manage millions of dollars in partner pipeline
- Route leads based on objective, data-backed partner fit, not guesswork
- Instantly measure lead performance, conversion rates, and pipeline velocity
- Scale lead generation across partner types and digital marketplaces—and remain compliant while doing so
The process is no longer dependent on individual knowledge or fragmented workflows. It’s data-driven, aligned to business outcomes, and built to scale. This modernization journey underscores the power of aligning strategy with execution, and technology with change management. By reimagining their partner lead process—starting with a clear definition of success, selecting the right technology, and implementing it in stages—they can be confident the right partners are engaged to close more business.
