Event Recap:

HubSpot Partner Kickoff 2022

Creating Customer Relationship Magic, Together

• Each tier will have one composite points goal made up of both sold and managed MRR, solving for flexibility in the way partners contribute to HubSpot. 
• We’re enabling equity across regions by moving from growth market partners to growth market customers. In other words, partners get increased credit for customers located in growth markets, regardless of where their business is located. 
• We’re updating the backend infrastructure so that partners will be able to see a detailed breakdown of what counts towards their tier and track growth over time.  

Between now and July 2022, we’re working to put the final touches on phase 1 of this new framework. The exact point thresholds and minimums will be reviewed with our 5 Global Partner Advisory Councils (PACs) in February and shared with all partners in March. This gives partners all of Q2 to prepare for the changes coming in Q3. As we set the thresholds, our goal will be to strike a balance between maintaining prestige and allowing room for partners to adjust to the new framework. 

Phase two will include a new approach for measuring customer success and knowledge. We’ll vet these concepts with our PACs in 2022, but they won’t launch until 2023 or later.

How does this change affect tier recalibration?

The short answer? It doesn’t. 

Recalibration will continue to use our existing approach. We look at the highest tier a partner achieved in the previous 6 months (using the previous tiering thresholds), and we credit them for that tier for the upcoming 6 months. 

For example: Let's say a partner has been achieving gold on the previous thresholds, but when we announce new thresholds in July, they don’t meet the minimums for gold. That partner would maintain their gold status from July 2022 through January 2023. In January 2023, we would look at their performance from the past 6 months as part of our bi-annual tier recalibration. If they have not been able to achieve gold on the new thresholds at any point in the previous 6 months, they would be moved to untiered on January 15, 2023. 

When will I know what the new tier targets are?

New points-based thresholds will be announced in March 2022, after being reviewed by the global PACs. 

In April, we plan on hosting a roundtable style event so you can learn more, dig into specifics and hear about why we made these changes. Sign up for the April roundtable waiting list here. 

How does the point system work?

Every tier level has an overall points goal, which in Phase 1, can be made up of both sold and managed clients. When partners or providers close a client, the value of their account is converted into points based on the sold points multiplier for the client’s currency. And when partners or providers manage a client, the value of their account is converted into points-based on the managed MRR multiplier for their currency. All these points add up to contribute to a partner’s tier. 

What is a “point”? What is it not?

In the new framework, partners will have a single, composite ‘points’ requirement, which can be made up through a combination of selling (sold MRR) and servicing (managed MRR). We’re still putting the final details on the exact value of a point, and on what those thresholds will be. Stay tuned for an announcement to the partner community this March, once we’ve collected feedback from our global PACs.

What is a growth market, and how is it changing?

In 2020, we introduced "growth market tiers", markets where HubSpot is just getting started and where we rely heavily on partners.  Eligibility was based on where partners were headquartered. In July, we'll shift to focus on growth market customers rather than growth market partners. This means partners will get increased credit for selling to customers located in growth markets, regardless of where the partner is located. 

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).

When will the new tier framework go into effect?

July 16, 2022.

Will there be selling minimums in the new point-based tiering system?

Yes. Selling is an important aspect of the program, and we want to incentivize and reward partners who are helping us reach new customers, and expand existing accounts.