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Research paper · 2026
The State of Partner Programs 2026
What partner leaders at B2B SaaS vendors told us about recruiting, activation, co-selling and portal adoption — and what the programs that actually grow do differently.
- Recruiting is still the #1 headache — 39.6% of the partner leaders we polled named it their top challenge, ahead of activation and co-selling.
- Signed ≠ active. Most programs recruit faster than they onboard; the gap between "partner signed" and "first deal registered" is where growth stalls.
- Portals are bought before the operating model is clear — and adoption suffers for it. Growing programs fix the playbook first, then the tooling.
Free PDF · co-published by Cinna Mon Consulting and CinnaLab.io · no sales sequence, one email with the link.
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What's inside
A field report, not a vendor brochure. Built from a poll of partner leaders plus the patterns we see across the programs we design, run and host on CinnaLab.io.
— 01 —
The recruiting problem, quantified
Recruiting was the #1 challenge for 39.6% of the partner leaders we polled. We break down why: unclear partner archetypes, generic outreach, and programs that ask partners to invest before showing them a path to revenue.
— 02 —
Activation: where most programs leak
Signed partners who never register a deal are the norm, not the exception. We map the onboarding and enablement steps that separate an active partner from a logo on a slide.
— 03 —
Co-selling that sales teams actually use
Why deal registration gets ignored, how incentives and territory rules quietly kill co-selling, and what partner leaders do to get their own account executives to pick up the phone.
— 04 —
Portal adoption and the tooling trap
Partner portals are often bought before the operating model is defined — and partners vote with their feet. The chapter covers what makes a portal get used, and when a spreadsheet is honestly enough.
— 05 —
What the programs that grow do differently
Fewer, better-matched partners. A 90-day activation plan per partner instead of a generic welcome kit. Co-selling rules written down and enforced. Metrics that track partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline separately. And tooling that follows the playbook, not the other way around.
Who it's for
Founders, CROs and Heads of Partnerships at B2B SaaS vendors launching or fixing a partner program — from zero-partner founders to teams running a few dozen partners.
How it was built
A poll of partner leaders on their top challenge, interviews from our Diagnostic and Strategy & Build engagements, and anonymised patterns from programs run on CinnaLab.io. No vendor sponsorship.
Who wrote it
Cedric Le Rouzo, founder of Cinna Mon Consulting and CinnaLab.io, with 20+ years in B2B SaaS partnerships and 50+ partner programs launched.
Want to Know Where Your Program Stands?
Read the paper, then score your own program against the six dimensions it covers — the free assessment takes three minutes.