Understanding the
HubSpot Solutions
Partner Tiers

* Growth markets are geographical areas in the world where HubSpot is just getting started, meaning that we have lower market penetration and in many cases we do not have a local presence in the country. Partners are critical to helping us develop these markets, but face unique headwinds that come with building brand equity in a new market. To solve for that inequity, we launched “growth market tiers” in 2020, and expanded those in 2021. We set lower tier targets for both sold and managed MRR for partners who are located in growth markets. In July 2022 we are improving our approach to growth markets by moving away from the location of the partner to the location of the customer. This means we're giving partners increased credit (2x points multiplier) for selling to customers located in growth markets, regardless of partner location.

The growth market customer locations include India, Latin America, North Asia (China, Mongolia, and South Korea), Southeast Asia (Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar [Burma], Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam).

** The elite tier is by invitation only, with additional requirements such as a minimum Customer Retention Score of 85%, a Customer Dollar Retention (C$R) score of greater than 85%, and a minimum of 100 certifications across your team. These criteria are subject to change, and all Elite tier candidates go through a manual account review process to ensure they are in good standing prior to an invitation to the Elite tier. If you’re nearing the Elite thresholds please speak to your account team to ensure you are in good standing, and to receive further detail about the Elite tier-up process and timeline.

The new tier targets go into effect on July 18, 2022. You can uptier based on those new targets with the August 15 tier run, but you will not be at risk of downtiering until the bi-annual recalibration in January 2023.

The current performance shown in your dashboard will depend on your progress toward the sold and managed points thresholds and the overall points total for a particular tier. However, your credited tier will not uptier until, at the earliest, the monthly uptier on August 15, and will not be at risk of downtiering until the bi-annual recalibration in January 2023. Your CAM or CC can give you more personalized information on how your tier will be affected by these changes.

No. As we shift away from MRR minimums to a points-based system, sold and managed minimums will remain the same until at least July 2023.

Moving away from the current overly prescriptive sold and managed MRR requirements to a composite points goal provides more flexibility for our diverse base of partners. Partners can earn points through a combination of selling and servicing, making the tiering criteria more equitable and creating a system in which different types of partners can succeed. Points also allow us to have a universal model that applies to all currencies and is no longer centered around USD.

If you were previously considered a growth market partner, the 2x multiplier won’t automatically apply to your points target. We are moving away from growth market partners to growth market customers, meaning that only sold and managed MRR from growth market customers will receive the 2x multiplier.

Current growth markets include all of Latin America, North Asia (including India), and Southeast Asia, as determined by HubSpot’s corporate geography segmentation.

North and Southeast Asia: Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Kong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar (Burma) Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, China/Taiwan, South Korea, Mongolia, and India

Latin America: any country/territory in the Caribbean, South American or North America (excluding Canada and the USA)

There are a few reasons for this change: 

• Selling is an important part of how we create long-term value for our customers. The quality of the sales process sets the tone for our customers’ ongoing relationship with you and how much they’ll grow with HubSpot.
• The vast majority of our market is still largely untouched. Nobody is better positioned to reach that market than you, our global solutions partners.
• HubSpot is going to keep on investing in product development, so there’s going to be more HubSpot software to sell.

When the new model goes into effect in July, downtiering (known as recalibration) will not occur for another 6 months, giving you time to work with your CAM or CC to create a successful strategy based on your areas of expertise and business focus. You may also use this time to develop the sales skills necessary to source and close new deals.

No. There will be no effect on partner commissions when moving between tiers. The only way commission would be affected is if you choose to move from being a partner to being a provider, at which point you would receive the same 20% commission rate but only for the first 12 months (instead of lifetime).