Play: Partner onboarding
The partner onboarding play
What does good partner onboarding look like?
The short answer
Good onboarding gets a partner to a first real opportunity, not just through a portal signup. Give access and contacts in week one, enable the sales and technical people separately, agree one target account together, and check progress at 30, 60 and 90 days. No opportunity by day 90 means onboarding stalled.
The steps
How to run it
Week one: access and people
Hand over portal access, pricing, deal registration and the names of the people the partner can call.
Done when The partner has logged in and knows who to ask for help.
Weeks two and three: enable both sides
Run sales enablement for their sellers and technical enablement for their engineers. One session rarely serves both.
Done when Their sellers can pitch it and their engineers can demo it.
Week four: pick one target account
Choose a real opportunity together and work it side by side.
Done when There is a named account, an owner on each side and a next meeting.
Day 30, 60 and 90 checkpoints
Review pipeline, blockers and next steps at each checkpoint. Adjust the plan instead of waiting for the quarterly review.
Done when By day 90 the partner has at least one registered opportunity.
Watch for
Where this play goes wrong
- Counting a portal login as onboarding.
- Training sellers and engineers in the same room with the same deck.
- Letting the first checkpoint slip, which quietly signals the partner is not a priority.
Where PartnerBOT.ai helps
- Ask for an onboarding checklist shaped to your program and partner type.
- Track the ramp against the plan with the partner scorecard.
- Generate a partner playbook the new partner can follow on their own.
Questions
What channel managers ask about this play
How long should partner onboarding take?
Aim for a first registered opportunity inside 90 days. Longer ramps usually mean the partner was not qualified for commitment during recruitment.
What belongs on an onboarding checklist?
Access and contacts, deal registration training, pricing and quoting, sales enablement, technical enablement, a first target account, and scheduled checkpoints.
Who owns onboarding?
The channel manager owns the outcome. Partner operations can own access and admin, but someone has to own the first deal.
Cross references
Use with this play
Glossary terms
Next play: Partner business plans
Try it on your next partner call
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