A referral partner introduces qualified leads to a vendor and earns a commission when the deal closes, without carrying the sales cycle or owning the customer relationship.
A referral partner is a low-touch channel partner who identifies and refers qualified opportunities to the vendor. The vendor's direct team runs the sales cycle, closes the deal, and pays the referral partner a commission or spiff.
The partner signs a lightweight referral agreement, submits leads through a referral form or PRM, and the vendor tracks attribution. When the deal closes, the partner is paid a percentage of the deal value or a flat fee.
Referral programs are the fastest partner motion to launch and the easiest for non-sales partners (consultants, accountants, agencies) to participate in.
A referral partner does not transact; they hand off the lead. A reseller carries the transaction and often the customer relationship.
Channelo covers deal registration, MDF, tiering, training, and analytics in one place, across programs at every stage of maturity.