When a champion's advocacy starts producing deals, give it economics. The design principles, straight from the precedent: pay over time rather than in bounties, so the partner is invested in retention. Count managed accounts toward tier, not only sold ones, so rescuing a struggling account counts like closing a new one. Require certification, so the channel is competent by construction. Register deals, so early partners are protected while the cohort is small. And hold your list price, because a channel built on discounts trains the market to wait.
Begin white-glove with a hand-picked founding cohort and prove the economics before you scale the roster.
Bounty economics, and scaling before proving
One-time payouts recruit partners optimized for the close, not the customer — pay over time or expect to pay twice. And a program opened to all comers before the economics are proven produces a directory of logos and no pipeline. Depth first, then breadth.