Solutions Partner Program Rules of Engagement

Every solutions partner is assigned a PDM, your primary contact at HubSpot for strategic planning, training, performance monitoring, issue resolution, identifying growth opportunities, and onboarding in addition to the following: 

• Business Planning: Creates business plans for joint initiatives, pipeline development, opportunity management, and business growth. Analyzes the partner’s total install base (IB) and works with them to understand commissionable opportunities. 
• Partner Relationship Management: Develops partner solution strategies, builds cross-functional teams, and fosters critical relationships at the C-level. Aligns with internal resources such as service consultants (SC), solutions engineers (SE), and customer success teams (CSM), to support partners on their IB strategy. 
• Enablement: Ensures partners have access and awareness of HubSpot programs (betas, new accreditations, etc.) and connects them to pitch decks, training, and assets to support the sales and positioning process. 

Note as both HubSpot and our partners grow, we may need to reassign a different PDM to work with you. Reassignments are not made lightly; we take measures to reduce the frequency with which any partner is assigned a new PDM.

GSs are on HubSpot’s direct sales team and are assigned a geographical sales territory. They function as your day-to-day sales partner and are incentivized to collaborate with partners on all deals.

GSs can support the following:

• Works with partners on a communication strategy, roles, responsibilities, and a closing plan for each deal
• Collaborates with partners to close business
• Leads HubSpot demos when necessary
• Creates and sends quotes as agreed with the partner and customer 
• Supports partners in attaching Proof-of Involvement (POI) to each deal. 

Once you’ve registered a deal, the correct GS will automatically be assigned to your deal based on geography and segment. Please utilize the deal registration functionality to connect with the correct GS.

Solutions partners and providers sell HubSpot software in order to solve for their clients, grow their services businesses, and earn Revenue Share.

Eligibility & Commission Rates

• Familiarize yourself with our deal registration rules and two sales motions described on this page to ensure proper involvement in and credit on eligible sales.
  
• Upon the successful close of an eligible sale:
  • Solutions partners will receive 20% Revenue Share for up to three years, as well as Sold MRR credit that counts toward your partner tier on the value of the subscription for specific product lines sold.
  • Providers will receive 20% Revenue Share for up to twelve (12) months.
  • If the customer terminates their HubSpot subscription, the Revenue Share is also terminated.
• Eligible sales include most prospect sales, cross-selling new product lines to existing customers, and up-selling Starter customers when no other partner is receiving credit on the Starter deal. You can also earn Managed MRR credit toward your tier for customers that you continue to service. Please note the acceptance or rejection of the deal as an eligible sale is at the discretion of HubSpot, and will be determined prior to the close of the relevant deal.

Proof of Involvement

• Please also be aware that in all scenarios, a client-signed Confirmation Link is required as proof of your involvement (POI) in the sale in order to be eligible for Revenue Share and Sold MRR credit. For solutions partners, the client-signed POI Confirmation Link is also required to waive onboarding for a customer in most scenarios. The POI Confirmation Link is automatically generated and attached to the shared deal from quote creation with subscriptions matching the quote. When that quote is updated, the auto-generated POI will also be updated. Your POI Confirmation Link can be manually created in the partner portal and added to the POI section of the shared deal record if there is any problem with the auto-generated POI.
  
  
• Finally, please note that the Partner Admin permission set allows a Partner access to perform services in the Customer’s portal at no additional cost to them or you. You may be granted Partner Admin access, but this is at the sole discretion of the Customer.

Communication

Partners are expected to communicate on deal progress within a timely manner via the approved shared deals communication platform. This is to ensure all teams remain aligned and to enable a positive customer and buying experience. In general, we expect response time to be within 48 hours (consistent with our internal standards), with some reasonable exceptions (see below). We expect a partner to articulate an understanding of BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) and give a meaningful update on progress toward close. Failure to provide this will be considered a breach of these Rules and may result in removal from a deal.

Onboarding Requirements

Partners should provide the services as outlined and agreed with the customer and/or HubSpot, and in line with the HubSpot Solutions Partner Program Agreement. You should not in any circumstances misrepresent the characteristics of your services to suggest they comply or may comply in the future with HubSpot's agreed-upon standards or Customer requirements if they do not.

Discounting

Partners should not discuss or commit to software discounting with the customer before aligning with and getting approval in writing on the discount from HubSpot. Any discounts communicated to Customers without Hubspot’s approval in writing will not be honored.

UGJ on Incentives

Offering incentives, such as kickbacks, rewards, gifts or other items of value to HubSpot representatives for information, engagement or communication (including asking representatives to communicate outside of approved channels) is strictly prohibited.

Review and Resolution

All program participants must respect and abide by HubSpot’s guidance concerning overall rules of engagement (internal or external).

HubSpot’s mission is to create a fully transparent co-selling culture with our partners, so in cases where you have been removed from a deal or an issue has arisen, the representative will be required to provide you with feedback on your removal from the deal. We expect partners to work collaboratively with representatives.

A history of repeat issues could result in termination from the program. Depending on the severity of the violation, consequences might include:  

• A warning notice (delivered by email)
• Loss of revenue share
• Removal of or a drop in tier level
• Inability to participate in special opportunities or events 
• Suspension from the program
• Termination from the program

Partners will be notified in writing via email if they receive a warning. We will only contact the primary contact for your account.

Feedback

Should you have any issues or feedback on a shared selling deal or process, you may highlight these in the post-sales survey or ask your PDM to raise a ticket with the Partner Operations team for investigation.

• Solutions partners and providers will use deal registration exclusively. 
• Deals should be registered once they are qualified. In other words, the deal should be registered once you have an established relationship and have identified a potential need for HubSpot software with the prospect.
• Every deal you register is automatically assigned to the appropriate GS, who will co-sell the deal with you. You will no longer have a capacity manager or a capacity limit.
• While working on a shared deal, partners are responsible for informing the GS about any updates or changes to deals and responding to GS inquiries within the required timeframe, as stated in the Communication, Onboarding Requirements, Discounting, UGJ on Incentives, Review and Resolution sections above. 

Transitioning to an overlay sales model in February 2024:

• As part of the deal registration process, HubSpot ownership of customer accounts, prospect accounts, and deals will transfer to GSs on February 1, 2024. You will be notified by the GS if an opportunity to collaborate on a HubSpot-owned deal or account is identified. Please respond to the GS within 72 hours of the first deal notification to confirm your desire to collaborate. If there is no response, the GS will assume responsibility and manage the deal on their own.
• Any domains registered before the full transition to deal registration on February 1, 2024, will expire naturally six months (180 days) from the registration date or three months (90 days) from the re-registration date. 
• Before they expire, you will still receive commissions for touchless purchases on domains registered. Once the domains registered expire, you will no longer receive commissions for customers that purchase touchlessly (without a sales representative's involvement).

To initiate a Partner Collaboration deal: 

• You must create a shared deal via deal registration, which submits a Partner Collaboration Request to a GS.
• You may pursue the deal in collaboration with the assigned GS, provided the GS approves your involvement. 
• The acceptance of this Partner Collaboration process is at the discretion of the GS and HubSpot. 
• Once approved, a customer-signed Confirmation Link is required, as partner proof of involvement (POI), to receive Revenue Share and Sold MRR credit upon close of the deal. Starting January 23, 2024, POIs will be automatically generated and attached to the shared deal, triggered from quote creation. If that quote is later updated, the POI will also be updated. If there is any problem with the auto-generated POI, a new one can be manually created and added directly to the shared deal under the POI section.

If HubSpot invites you to participate in a shared deal, it is called a “Do It For Me” (DIFM) sales process. 

A DIFM sales process occurs when: 

• A HubSpotter determines that a prospect would benefit from working with a partner. 
• If the prospect/customer agrees, the HubSpotter facilitates an introduction between the customer and one or more partners, typically via email. 
• A HubSpotter then adds the partner to the deal in HubSpot’s CRM, which creates a shared deal that syncs over to the partner’s pipeline in their primary HubSpot portal. 
• A customer-signed Confirmation Link is required, as proof of involvement (POI), for a partner to receive Sold MRR credit upon close of the deal.

This sales motion is a referral from HubSpot and does not result in Revenue Share for the partner who is brought into the deal unless you are eligible and the deal qualifies for the Upmarket Referral Program (see below). All DIFM deals count toward your Sold MRR credit, but only Upmarket Referral Program deals are eligible for Revenue Share.

A deal is not eligible for Partner Collaboration or DIFM if it only contains HubSpot Starter products or if a product is already held by the customer (except in the case of up-selling a Starter customer where another partner is not receiving credit on the Starter deal). A deal must contain at least one of the following products in order to be eligible:

• Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise
• Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise
• Service Hub Professional or Enterprise
• Content Hub Professional or Enterprise
• Operations Hub Professional or Enterprise
• Other Hub-Agnostic Products (these products are each considered separate product lines for Revenue Share and Sold MRR credit. For example, Reports Add-on and Core Seats) 

If another partner also submits a shared deal for the same prospect/customer as you, that deal is subject to the “Best Partner Wins” policy: 

• Involved partners can simultaneously progress their sales process with the same prospect/customer. The prospect/customer should inform you if they’re assessing multiple partners, but for confidentiality purposes, the HubSpotter cannot. Note, HubSpot sales representatives are not allowed to share prospect/customer confidential information, including but not limited to whether or not you are in a competitive situation for the deal. Therefore, a HubSpotter will never share the names of other partners who are also selling on the same deal.
  
• Only one partner can receive sold MRR credit and revenue share in a single sales process. Sold MRR credit and revenue share are awarded to the partner who closes the deal as verified via a proof of involvement (POI) confirmation link signed by the purchasing customer. In rare cases where both partners receive POI from the client, credit goes to the partner delivering required HubSpot services. If both are delivering required services credit goes to the partner with services associated to the product line with larger MRR value (as determined by us in our sole discretion).

Upon the successful close of a deal that meets the eligibility requirements listed below, you will earn up to twelve (12) months of Revenue Share** of 10%, and Sold MRR credit on the transaction in recognition of your time and expertise dedicated to the sale. 

Upmarket Referral Program Partner Eligibility 

• This is an Optional Program (as defined in the HSPPA) and is available only to platinum, diamond, or elite tier solutions partners in good standing who are also CRM Implementation accredited. 
• HubSpot will consider exceptions to the accreditation requirement for partners located and selling in regions where the accreditation is not yet available (Japan, France, Latin America, and Spain).

Upmarket Referral Program Deal Eligibility

• A GS must provide the referral to the partner via email and record the Upmarket Referral Service on the deal in HubSpot’s CRM prior to deal close.
• New customer to HubSpot (not an upsell or cross sell into the HubSpot install base)
• Net new Professional or Enterprise level Subscription Services purchase
• Single-hub value of USD $5,000+ or multi-hub value of USD $3,000+
• A GS must attest to the partner’s involvement in the pre-sales process
• Proof of involvement (POI) confirming the purchase of partner services has been completed and signed by the customer at the time of deal close. This confirms the partner’s involvement in the deal and their obligation to provide services to the customer.

**Revenue Share under this Optional Program means an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of Net Revenue paid to HubSpot in the first twelve (12) months of the relevant Subscription Service purchase which you supported as a partner, as long as the customer’s relevant Subscription remains active during the entirety of these twelve (12) months. Revenue Share is paid as recognition of the partner’s role in the pre-sale process and is not dependent on the partner continuing to work with the customer after the sale. Please note that eligible partners are not guaranteed to receive Upmarket Referrals under this Optional Program.

Revenue Share is accrued monthly and paid on a quarterly basis. This payment will continue across twelve (12) months as long as the customer continues to pay HubSpot for the relevant Subscription and as long as you continue to be in good standing and continue to fulfill all your obligations as a solutions partner under the HubSpot Solutions Partners Program Agreement. 

Qualified Subscription Service for the purposes of this Optional Program means Professional or Enterprise level subscription purchased by or on behalf of a customer new to HubSpot. It must either be a single-product line subscription with a minimum value of USD $5,000 or a multi-product line subscription with a minimum value of USD $3,000.

Partners are eligible for Revenue Share and Sold MRR tier credit when upselling an existing customer that either purchased originally through them or purchased a starter product directly from HubSpot. Once credit is established, it is based on the full value of the product line at a given point in time. There are a couple of caveats to upselling.

1. Partners are not currently eligible for Revenue Share or Sold MRR tier credit for upselling (i.e., upgraded editions, additional seats) on previously sold product lines on which they have not previously established selling credit, except in the case of upselling a Starter customer to Professional or Enterprise and no other partner is receiving Revenue Share or Sold MRR tier credit on the product line. Partners are NOT currently eligible for Revenue Share or Sold MRR tier credit for upselling a customer from Professional to Enterprise.
2. Partners cannot receive upsell credit for upselling a customer on a product line that was previously purchased through a different partner. Once a partner has successfully established selling credit on a product line, that partner will automatically receive Revenue Share and Sold MRR tier credit on any upsell (i.e., upgraded editions, additional seats) for that product line, regardless of whether the partner was directly involved on the upsell deal. Note that the automatic nature of this credit is subject to change in the future if HubSpot releases updates in support of upselling.

Use this flowchart if you are a partner or provider involved in the upsell of an existing customer to determine if you will receive credit.

HubSpot requires proof of a partner’s involvement (POI) in order to grant Revenue Share and Sold MRR credit on any sale. All Partner Collaboration and “Do It for Me” deals require Proof of Involvement. This includes cross-sell deals with customers that you have previously sold to.

Partners demonstrate Proof of Involvement when a customer acknowledges their involvement with a signed POI Confirmation Link that is auto-generated when a GS creates a quote and adds a partner. The POI Confirmation Link serves two purposes:

1. Confirms your involvement in the sale of HubSpot software to the customer, and in so doing confirms your eligibility for both Revenue Share and Sold MRR credit. 
2. If you are waiving required onboarding for your client, the Confirmation Link (CL) verifies a) the client’s understanding that they are electing to use your services instead of HubSpot's, and b) that the services you will be providing are sufficient to cover onboarding requirements.

Effective January 23, 2024: The POI process will be automated. When a quote with a partner added is created by a GS, a POI Confirmation Link with matching subscriptions will be auto-generated and auto-assigned to the deal as Proof of Involvement. If that quote is later updated, the changes will automatically update the auto-generated POI. The POI confirmation link will then be automatically included in the customer’s checkout flow for the customer to confirm. By confirming the Confirmation Link, the customer is agreeing that the HubSpot products listed on it and/or onboarding, are the products being purchased. The prospect or customer can approve or reject the link with the click of a button. Should the customer reject an auto-generated Confirmation Link, you can create a new one in the Confirmation Links tab of your partner dashboard and add it to the shared deal record. You can then send the POI Confirmation Link URL to the customer to confirm. Learn more about how to create and share a Confirmation Link in this Knowledge Base article.

HubSpot requires product onboarding for specific products to ensure that customers are set up for success on the HubSpot software. A benefit of being a solutions partner is the ability to waive product onboarding for your clients if you are providing those services (please note that solutions providers are not eligible to waive onboarding for their clients). In order to waive onboarding, you must provide services sufficient to replace HubSpot’s onboarding services. HubSpot confirms that these services are in place and that the prospect or customer is opting out of HubSpot onboarding via a Confirmation Link. To waive onboarding for any deals you have not registered or for any customer purchase that requires onboarding, make sure the Confirmation Link specifies that you, the partner, will be providing the required onboarding services.

Upon successful close of a deal that meets the eligibility requirements, the Revenue Share is 20% of the monthly recurring revenue (MRR) subscription value of the product line(s) sold:

• For solutions partners, this is paid for up to three years. 
• For providers, this is paid for up to 12 months.

Revenue Share is accrued monthly and paid on a quarterly basis. For example, if you sell a Marketing Professional deal for $800 USD, you will accrue $160/month, paid out as $480 per quarter. This payment will continue as long as the customer continues to pay HubSpot for up to three years for the relevant Subscription, and as long as you continue to be in good standing and fulfill all your obligations as a Solutions Partner/Provider under the Solutions Partners Program Agreement.

For more information on Revenue Share, also referred to as Partner Commissions, please see this FAQ page.