When it comes to partner training, most organizations can tell you who finished the course and what their score was. But here’s the real question: Did it move the needle on sales?
That’s the core of a recent panel discussion featuring:
They tackled one of the most pressing topics in partner enablement today:
How do you measure the impact—and the ROI—of channel partner training?
Let’s walk through what they shared.
Start with Layers of Measurement
Brett Strauss kicked things off by framing measurement at three levels:
- Individual Learner Performance – Are partners completing training? Are they just scraping by, or are they mastering the content? This helps assess if learners are engaged and capable.
- Partner Organization Engagement – Zooming out, Brett emphasized looking at training completion and performance at the partner org level. For example, if a partner has 15 salespeople and only 2 have completed training, that tells you something about their level of commitment.
- Sales Impact – This is where things get real. “They might ace the test,” Brett noted, “but if sales haven’t improved, something’s wrong.” He stressed connecting LMS data with real sales numbers from PRM systems to draw a direct line between training and revenue growth.
Make the Value Explicit
And here’s where it gets interesting. Brett shared a powerful example: some companies can now say, “If you complete this course, you should expect a 4.3% increase in sales.”
That kind of data-backed statement isn’t just good for internal validation—it motivates partners. When training is clearly tied to performance, it becomes more than a box to check. It’s a revenue lever.
Build Your Strategy with the End in Mind
Dan Montgomery picked up that thread, urging companies to avoid jumping into training programs without a measurement strategy in place. “You’ve got to define what success looks like—before you launch,” he said.
At Oracle, Dan had a team dedicated to analyzing training outcomes at scale. The key? Systems that made it easy to track, correlate, and refine based on what was (and wasn’t) working. And just like Brett, he emphasized the importance of being able to adapt content in real time based on partner feedback and performance trends.
Link Leading and Lagging Indicators
Jeff Campbell rounded things out by talking about the bigger picture. He distinguished between:
- Leading indicators like training completion and quiz scores (which reflect partner commitment), and
- Lagging indicators like revenue growth (which reveal training effectiveness).
The magic happens when you can connect the two. That’s when conversations with senior leadership become easier—and more impactful. “You’re not just justifying training anymore,” Jeff said. “You’re showing that it drives revenue. And that’s when leadership is ready to step on the gas.”
Final Takeaways
This panel made one thing clear: training metrics matter, but only if they’re tied to business outcomes. Here’s what to remember:
- Completion rates and scores show engagement, not necessarily impact.
- True ROI comes from measuring training’s influence on partner performance and sales.
- You need the right systems—and strategy—to track that full journey from content to customer win.
- When partners see real value, they’re more likely to buy in. And when leadership sees revenue results, they’re more likely to invest.
Want to move your training from checkbox to bottom-line impact? Start with a measurement strategy that proves it.
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