Attn Channel Partners: New Gold Standard Program Breaks Down Barriers to Align Incentives at Every Step of the Deal – Don’t Miss Out
Just 60 days into my tenure as head of worldwide channel sales for Forescout, I’m pleased to unveil our new Gold Standard Partner Incentive Program, which I believe reflects best-in-class practices for rewarding channel partners with cold hard cash when you bring your most significant deals to Forescout. Namely, we will pay channel partners up to $10,000 USD for closed deals worth at least $1 million in annual contract value (ACV).
Yep – We’re implementing some of the highest partner incentives in the cybersecurity industry to adequately reflect the value of the opportunities you bring us, so don’t miss out.
Forescout is well known as a leader in network security, including network access control and segmentation management, as well as OT security. But the attack surface is growing, and so are we. Today, the Forescout Platform also includes Forescout Threat Detection & Response, which can improve SOC efficiency by 450x with better detection and response to true threats. Partners who have taken the time to learn about our expanded platform, understand where we are the right fit for their customers and can introduce our capabilities to them are critical to getting the conversation started.
Partner incentive program components
The Gold Standard Program rewards partners monetarily at three stages:
- Opportunity identification
- Coordination and participation in customer demo or POC
- Closing of the deal and sharing of the win
The new incentives are available today in the U.S., Canada, UK, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. Phase 1 runs through the end of the calendar year, with additional countries and regions to be added in subsequent phases. For validated deals that meet our easy-to-understand program criteria, payout occurs at the end of each calendar quarter.
What makes this program the gold standard?
With more than two decades of experience as a channel executive for leading cybersecurity companies, I’ve had a hand in shaping many world-class partner programs and seen many more. There are lots of good programs out there that reward partners for opportunity identification, but that’s where the alignment generally ends. Both sides expect it to continue, but if there are no payouts until the deal closes it’s common for the sales teams to slowly drift apart. The inclusion of the demo is a key milestone. With three touchpoints, both sides are incented to remain in lockstep as we move through the sales process together.
To arrive at this program, my team reviewed dozens of cybersecurity channel partner incentive programs to understand the current landscape. And, of course, we asked our partners what they wanted in a program. Not surprisingly, we heard three things: make it easy to do business with us, easy to identify joint prospects and easy to get paid. Oh, and make the rewards reflect the deal value. We worked hard to ensure this new program captures those criteria. And, with the unprecedented $10,000 payout for the biggest closed deals, I believe we truly are setting the gold standard, as the program name implies.
Rewarding our lifeline
More than 95% of Forescout business is transacted through our channel partners – you are our lifeline. Our go-to-market strategy depends on you, and I’m determined to help ensure our partner practices and policies reflect that.
Earlier this month we rolled out a sneak peak of this new incentive program to several dozen channel partners in Pleasanton, CA, and received a raving round of applause. That was a first for me. When asked for honest feedback, one attendee said, “Forescout is truly onto something.” I tend to agree.
If you’re a registered channel partner and want to participate in the Gold Standard program, visit the Partner Portal or contact your local channel account manager or sales executive for program details and requirements.