Ask the Expert: Partner and Alliance Manager Compensation
Ask the Expert: Partner and Alliance Manager Compensation
Base Salary
A typical base salary for someone with 4-7 years experience is $65-75,000 depending on local economic market factors. For someone creating corporate partner strategies, product line partnerships and manages a diversified partner taxonomy, or in other words, has the skill to manage all types of partnerships, the number easily starts at $95,000 and continues upwards depending on experience.
Commissions
Commissions and bonus are paid when the partnership goals of the company carry a specific quota for the year and can be measured and validated. For example, a company desires to achieve $10M in revenues and partnerships must deliver 50% of this number. The individual contributor compensation receives commissions on the five million dollars, and has a bonus attached with exceeding this amount.
Where Sales and Partner Management Meet
For a partner manager to receive commissions or bonuses, it is best to use a sales compensation structure model. In the partner development world, commissions and bonuses (C & B) are typically provided for:
a) channel managers
b) strategic partner managers and
c) day-day partner managers
The scale and weighting is weighted in favor of commissions when the goal is to drive consistent revenues. Bonuses tend to be attached to strategic initiatives such as long term OEM (private-label), licensing or product oriented joint manufacturing agreements, or consulting practice investments. This ensures a proper balance between the strategic-longer and tactical-short term challenge that most partner managers face on a daily basis. If management does not equally equate commission and bonuses, the company will lose out on either side.
One Size Does NOT Fit All
The group could not agree on the best bonus or commission fees to pay. This is usually up to the CEO but tends to follow very closely with the commissions of a sales executive, if not a bit lower. Another rule of thumb: At the very least, salary should comprise no more than 60% of the total pay package if you want to really incentivize the individual. This is also the case if the product line and company are somewhat established (i.e. product has been on the market for a year or so). Otherwise, it’s nearly impossible for the manager to make any money above and beyond the base salary.
For more information on partner development topics and tools, visit www.bmginc.com, or www.MyBizHomepage.com/Education for free tools.
Ask the Expert Partner and Alliance Manager Compensation - To learn more about this author, visit Sarah Gerdes's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
As a general rule of thumb: the younger the company, the more weighted on bonus and commissions, whereas the more mature the company more weighted on the salary.
Base Salary
A typical base salary for someone with 4-7 years experience is $65-75,000 depending on local economic market factors. For someone creating corporate partner strategies, product line partnerships and manages a diversified partner taxonomy, or in other words, has the skill to manage all types of partnerships, the number easily starts at $95,000 and continues upwards depending on experience.
Commissions
Commissions and bonus are paid when the partnership goals of the company carry a specific quota for the year and can be measured and validated. For example, a company desires to achieve $10M in revenues and partnerships must deliver 50% of this number. The individual contributor compensation receives commissions on the five million dollars, and has a bonus attached with exceeding this amount.
Where Sales and Partner Management Meet
For a partner manager to receive commissions or bonuses, it is best to use a sales compensation structure model. In the partner development world, commissions and bonuses (C & B) are typically provided for:
a) channel managers
b) strategic partner managers and
c) day-day partner managers
The scale and weighting is weighted in favor of commissions when the goal is to drive consistent revenues. Bonuses tend to be attached to strategic initiatives such as long term OEM (private-label), licensing or product oriented joint manufacturing agreements, or consulting practice investments. This ensures a proper balance between the strategic-longer and tactical-short term challenge that most partner managers face on a daily basis. If management does not equally equate commission and bonuses, the company will lose out on either side.
One Size Does NOT Fit All
The group could not agree on the best bonus or commission fees to pay. This is usually up to the CEO but tends to follow very closely with the commissions of a sales executive, if not a bit lower. Another rule of thumb: At the very least, salary should comprise no more than 60% of the total pay package if you want to really incentivize the individual. This is also the case if the product line and company are somewhat established (i.e. product has been on the market for a year or so). Otherwise, it’s nearly impossible for the manager to make any money above and beyond the base salary.
For more information on partner development topics and tools, visit www.bmginc.com, or www.MyBizHomepage.com/Education for free tools.
Ask the Expert Partner and Alliance Manager Compensation - To learn more about this author, visit Sarah Gerdes's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
![]() | |
| |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
|
| |
| |||
John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
![]() | |
![]()
| |
![]() | |
|
| |
![]() | |
|
| |
![]() | |||||||
|
![]() | ||
|
| ||
![]() |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
![]() |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
![]() |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
![]() |
|
|
![]() | ||
|
Fortune Hunters
CBC Entrepreneur TV | ||
|
Write The PR
Press Release Builder | ||
![]() | ||
![]() | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||








Subscribe to Sarah's articles











