In this program, your primary lead type will be top-of-funnel leads meaning they are showing interest through activities but are not necessarily a “please call me to take my money” form submission. The form submissions may come, but we suggest that partners selected for this program should be able to drive sales velocity by proactively engaging with leads as they interact with your content via emails, assets, and landing pages. Partners in this program will have selected prospects that meet their basic MQL qualifications, such as company size, vertical, location, and contact type before any campaigns are launched. When leads are generated in GlassHive, they will be from the pre-selected prospects that are now Leads because they have taken actions to click, read, and/or submit a form to your marketing content.

Sales-oriented (hungry)

Active/willing partner

Matching lead definition

Established sales process

This is obvious but still important to look for in a partner. Your partners are all in different stages in their business journey, and while all seem to be interested in generating more revenue, their actions are not always aligned. Because of the nature of the top funnel, you are looking for someone who isn't afraid to do some leg work. Granted, these will be leads that are engaging with your content, but that does not exclude them from the activities work required to convert a lead to a closed sale. Look for indicators that they are in a growth pattern and are tenacious or go-getters.

Quick note: You may be tempted to look for a partner with the highest volume in sales, but be cautious in many situations. High volume partners employ inside sales to manage the volume, and they are typically not hunters.

A lot of this program is a white glove, but it's no secret that you will need willing participants. Partners will have to answer a few questions, be ready to jump on calls and initiate a few requirements to ensure the program's success. While we have methods to mitigate and ensure a campaign release if a partner is not as cooperative, this is never ideal, and the results are usually similar. Look for a partner who has engaged with you and is open to communication. They should be excited to generate leads.

Quick Note: One requirement needed is DKIM (Domain Key Identified Mail); this requirement requires the partner to update their A record so that the partner authorizes emails sent from GlassHive. This greatly increases email deliverability and engagement in the program.

Ask your partner, “What is a lead to you?” “What is an MQL for you?” “Do you categorize your leads?” These are essential questions because they will let you know their willingness to engage in follow-up with the majority of leads in the program. Partners will get to select crucial qualifiers for their potential leads to ensure quality and incentivize partners to follow up. However, some partners may want to wait for specific action form submissions, being the most popular. While they do happen, we suggest that “working for a paycheck is better than waiting to win the lottery.” A proactive approach always yields better results. We recommend a robust follow-up process for leads that have generated one or multiple activities.

Ask a partner a few status questions about their sales process, like “What is your current process to convert a lead into a sale?” “How many activities, on average, do you find it takes to convert a lead?” “What is your follow-up process?” These questions go a long way to help you understand the sales maturity of a partner. You should be looking for consistency in their process and an emphasis on sales activity generation.

Quick note: The average lead requires 8-12 follow-up activities to convert it into a closed sale.