Enterprise partnerships have become one of the most reliable sources of growth in 2025. A recent report shows that partners contribute to 58 per cent of the revenue that top sales reps generate. That’s a big number — big enough that every revenue leader should be thinking hard about how to track what’s working.
Yet it’s not as simple as watching revenue come in. Not all partners are equal and not every deal tells the full story. You need to see how partners help with customer acquisition costs, whether they’re keeping customers around longer and where they fit into expansion and upsell plays. These metrics can show where you’re getting the most value — and which partner relationships need more attention to thrive.
This article will walk through the metrics that tell you if your enterprise partnerships are built to last. From customer lifetime value to churn and expansion, you’ll find ways to see which partners create steady growth and which ones need a second look.
Why enterprise revenue leaders can’t ignore partnership KPIs
Partnership KPIs matter because they show how partnerships help a business grow in ways that other channels might not. When partners bring in new customers or introduce your products to new markets, they expand your pipeline. They also create new opportunities to sell more to existing customers, which is especially important for larger deals or renewals.
At the same time, strong partnerships can help you keep customers longer. A partner that offers valuable services or builds on your product can make your customers more likely to stay. But that only happens if you’re working with the right partners and tracking how well they’re doing.
Managing an enterprise-level partner program comes with challenges. You might have hundreds of partners, each working with different customers across multiple regions. Without measurable KPIs, it’s hard to see which partners are truly helping you grow and which ones need more support or a new method.
Clear KPIs give you a way to make sense of that complexity. They show you which partners are adding to your pipeline, helping you close bigger deals or improving retention. They also help you decide where to invest more time and resources so your partner program can keep growing alongside your business.
You might also like: The most talked about enterprise partner programs in 2025.
The must-track enterprise KPIs for partnerships
Enterprise revenue leaders know that the right partnerships can help them find new customers, sell more to existing ones and stay competitive in crowded markets. But tracking the impact of these partnerships takes more than a gut feeling — it needs data to guide decisions.
Customer acquisition cost and its impact on sales strategies
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the amount you spend to bring in a new customer. It gives revenue leaders a way to see how well their investments in sales and marketing are working, especially when it comes to enterprise partner programs.
Partners can help lower CAC in a few ways. They might share marketing efforts, bring in leads through their networks or handle parts of the sales process. For example, a partner with a strong reputation in a market can make it easier to build trust with potential customers. A partner who knows how to sell your product well can shorten deal cycles.
To track CAC in partner deals, start by including all the costs tied to partner activities, like commissions, co-marketing and partner support. Divide those costs by the number of new customer partners brought in. This way, you can see if partners are helping you spend less to get new customers.Â
CAC is a worthwhile metric to track for partnerships because it can clearly illustrate channel efficiency across an organization. This simple way of tracking CAC can help revenue leaders see which channels and partnerships are the best fit for their goals and where to put more resources for growth.
Monthly recurring revenue vs. annual recurring revenueÂ
Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) measures how much money you bring in from subscriptions every month. Annual recurring revenue (ARR) does the same, but shows the total over a year. For enterprise revenue leaders, these metrics show how predictable revenue is, which makes planning and forecasting easier.
Partners can affect these numbers by bringing in new subscription customers or expanding existing accounts. For instance, a partner that closes deals for multi-year contracts or longer-term renewals can make ARR more stable. A partner that helps you win deals with smaller businesses might boost MRR in the short term, but add up to larger ARR later.
It helps to break out partner-sourced or -influenced MRR and ARR from the rest of your revenue to see how partners are performing. This way, you can spot which partners bring in steady business, which are growing fast and where there might be gaps. Keeping partner MRR and ARR separate also makes it easier to compare different partner types or markets, so you know where to focus for long-term growth.
More like this: How PandaDoc grew monthly recurring revenue by 47% YoY with PartnerStack.
Customer lifetime value and expansion revenue growth
Customer lifetime value (CLV) tells you how much revenue a customer brings over their entire relationship with your business. Expansion revenue is the extra money you get from upselling, cross-selling or adding more products or services after the first sale.
Good partners can help grow both CLV and expansion revenue. When partners have strong relationships with customers, they can spot opportunities to sell more or upgrade accounts.
They can also act as trusted advisors, helping customers see value in new products or services. This makes it easier to keep customers longer and grow their spending over time.
To see how partners support long-term growth, it helps to link partner activity to changes in CLV and expansion revenue. If a partner’s customers are sticking around longer or buying more, that’s a sign the partner is adding real value. Tracking this can help you decide which partners to invest in and how to build stronger relationships that pay off over time.
Read more: How to calculate partner lifetime value to drive growth.
Churn rate and customer retention strategies
Churn rate measures how many customers stop doing business with you over a period. For enterprise revenue leaders, churn cuts directly into recurring revenue and makes growth harder to sustain.
Partners can help reduce churn by adding value in ways that keep customers happy and engaged. For example, a partner might offer a complementary service that fills a gap in your offering or provide local support that builds customer loyalty. A partner’s integrations with your product can also make it harder for customers to switch to a competitor.
To see if partners are helping reduce churn, track the churn rate for partner-sourced accounts separately from your overall churn. Look at customer feedback, usage data and renewal patterns in accounts where a partner is involved. This can show you which partners add stickiness to your product and which might need more support to improve retention.
The role of sales and marketing metrics in enterprise partnerships
For enterprise revenue leaders, tracking the obvious numbers — like MRR, ARR and churn — isn’t enough on its own. Strong partnerships rely on how well your sales and marketing teams work with each other and with partners. Without alignment, it’s easy for partnership efforts to stall.
MQLs and SQLs in a partner-driven pipeline
A good example is the flow from marketing qualified leads (MQLs) to sales qualified leads (SQLs). MQLs are leads that meet basic marketing criteria, such as downloading a white paper or signing up for a webinar. SQLs go further — they’re vetted by sales and show real buying intent.
Partners often help generate both. A co-branded webinar might bring in MQLs, while a partner-hosted demo can quickly turn a lead into an SQL. Tracking this flow helps you see whether partner activities drive real pipeline growth.
The handoff from MQL to SQL is another moment that matters. Some partners bring leads that look promising but never close. Others know how to turn interest into real deals. Clear reporting on these conversions helps revenue leaders see if partners are creating high-quality opportunities.
PartnerStack simplifies and automates tracking. It ties partner activities like webinars and demos directly to revenue. This gives you a clearer picture of which partners are helping the most.Â
Measuring partner impact on customer engagement
Partnerships also influence engagement after the first sale. Strong partners can help customers get more value from your product through integrations, add-ons or hands-on support that you can’t always offer yourself.
To measure this:
- Track usage or adoption rates for customers acquired through partners.
- Look at NPS (Net Promoter Score) or CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) scores for partner-driven accounts.
- Monitor upsell or renewal rates for accounts influenced by partners.
PartnerStack can show you which partner activities (like training, joint campaigns or integrations) drive deeper product engagement. These insights can help you support partners and find new ways to grow customer value.
Putting enterprise SaaS KPIs to work
Partnership metrics are always evolving. What works this quarter might shift as your customers and partners change. That’s why it helps to treat these KPIs as part of an ongoing process rather than a final answer.
Regular reviews of partner performance can show you new patterns — like a partner that’s great at sourcing first-time deals but struggles with renewals. Or maybe you’ll see how a certain partner’s integrations drive deeper product use.
Encourage your team to share what they see in the data and what they’re learning in the field. Small insights can lead to adjustments that keep your partnerships growing and aligned with what customers actually need.
The best partnerships keep teaching you new things. Stay curious about what the numbers show. Stay ready to adapt, so your partner ecosystem continues to support your business as it grows.
Read more: How partner managers are saving their credibility (and programs) with better reporting.
