Partner-sourced leads are potential customer contacts or leads that have been identified and initiated by a partner. This typically involves the partner engaging in their own marketing efforts or leveraging their existing network to generate interest in your product or service.
How to calculate partner-sourced leads
The metric is a share. Count the leads a partner created, then divide by all leads in the same period.
Partner-sourced lead rate = partner-sourced leads / total leads in the period
A lead counts as partner-sourced only when the partner made first contact. The partner found the prospect through their own network or marketing and introduced your product, as Impartner's definition of a partner-sourced lead describes (impartner.com). A lead your own team found does not become partner-sourced because a partner later helped close it. That is influenced, not sourced.
Pin down three things before you report the number:
- Numerator. Only leads where the partner originated the contact. Tie each one to a partner through deal registration so credit is clear.
- Attribution window. Fix the date a lead is counted, usually when it is registered or first logged, and keep that rule the same every period.
- Period. Report the rate for one consistent window, month or quarter, so the trend means something.
A worked example
Suppose a company logs 400 new leads in a quarter. Of those, partners registered 60 leads where the partner made first contact. The partner-sourced lead rate is 60 / 400, which is 15 percent. If the same partners also helped advance 40 deals that the company's own team had already found, those 40 are influenced, not sourced, and they stay out of the numerator. Mixing them in would overstate how much new demand partners actually create.
Sourced vs influenced vs partner-generated
These three terms get used as if they mean the same thing. They do not, and counting them together inflates the number.
| Term | Who created the lead | Counts as sourced? |
|---|---|---|
| Partner-sourced | The partner found the prospect and made first contact | Yes |
| Partner-influenced | Your team found the lead, a partner helped move or close it | No |
| Partner-generated | A loose umbrella that often blends the two above | Only the sourced part |
Keep the line between sourced and influenced firm, because each behaves differently in the funnel. GTM Partners data, reported by PartnerStack, found a 46 percent higher win rate for partner-sourced deals and a 99 percent higher win rate for partner-influenced deals, along with an 11 percent shorter time to close on sourced deals (partnerstack.com). Both motions help, but they are not the same metric, and a healthy program tracks partner-sourced revenue and partner-sourced pipeline on the same clean definition you use here.
Frequently asked questions
What are partner-sourced deals?
Partner-sourced deals are sales opportunities that started with a partner rather than your own outreach. The partner found the prospect and made the introduction, so the deal is credited to them. A partner-sourced lead is the early-funnel version of the same idea, before the opportunity is qualified. See partner lead generation for how those leads get created.
Related
Related KPIs:
Related Terms: