Solutions Partner Program Sales Rules

Every solutions partner is assigned a CAM, who is your primary sales contact at HubSpot. Your CAM can assist you with sales coaching, your go-to-market strategy, and with co-selling HubSpot software alongside you.

Each CAM works with a group  of solutions partners, and carries a monthly HubSpot software sales quota. Deals you sell with your CAM contribute to your CAM’s quota attainment each month.

Please note that as both HubSpot and our partners grow, at times we may need to reassign a different CAM to work with you. Reassignments can happen for a number of reasons, such as your CAM taking on a new role at HubSpot, or to rebalance the number of partners each CAM works with at the start of a year. Reassignments are not made lightly, we take measures to reduce the frequency with which any partner gets reassigned to a new CAM.

A GS is on HubSpot’s direct sales team. GSs are assigned a geographical sales territory, and can either sell directly to prospects and customers, or collaborate with partners to sell HubSpot software, as described in more detail in the sections below.

Solutions partners sell HubSpot software in order to solve for their clients, grow their services businesses, and earn revenue share.

As a solutions partner you should familiarize yourself with our prospect domain ownership rules and the four sales motions described on this page to ensure proper involvement in and credit for any sale. Upon successful close of an eligible sale, you will receive 20% revenue share, as well as Sold MRR credit that counts toward your partner tier, on the value of the ongoing subscription for specific product lines sold.

Eligible sales include most prospect sales, cross-selling new product lines to existing customers, and up-selling Starter customers when no other partner is getting credit on the Starter deal. Post-sale, you can also earn Managed MRR credit toward your tier for customers that you continue to service.

Please be aware that in most scenarios a client-signed Confirmation Link is required as proof of your involvement in the sale in order to earn revenue share and Sold MRR credit. The Confirmation Link is also required to waive onboarding for a customer in most scenarios.

Domain-based Sales Ownership Model: HubSpot uses a domain (i.e., company website URL) ownership model to determine who can sell to a given company and the sales motion they should follow. Each domain in our database represents a prospect or customer company and can only be owned by one partner or one HubSpot direct sales rep at any given time. The majority of the prospect domains in our database are unowned at any given time. 

GSs, are each assigned a geographical territory from which they can prospect and sell. Within that territory, GSs are allowed to hold a small subset of prospect domains in their ownership, giving them priority rights to sell to those domains. This subset of domains is called the GS’ “capacity” or “domain capacity”. A GS may take ownership of any prospect domain that falls within their territory at any time, provided that a) the domain is not already owned by another GS or solutions partner, and b) the GS has room in their capacity for the domain.

Solutions partners, like GS, are each assigned a domain capacity, meaning they have a limit on the number of domains they can own at any given time. Unlike GSs, solutions partners are not assigned to a geographical territory, which means that as a solutions partner, you can take ownership of an unowned prospect domain in any geography via the domain registration process (sometimes referred to as lead registration). If you attempt to register a domain that is not currently in our database, your registration will add the domain to the database and assign you ownership of that domain.

To Register a Domain, follow these instructions to use the Lead Registration section of the company’s contact record in your HubSpot portal. Please note that HubSpot will only accept registrations that indicate that you have a business relationship with the entity. Registrations should include the client's personal contact information, such as name and email. Information that appears to be impersonal or fake is considered invalid. If you attempt to register a domain that appears to be invalid, you will receive an Invalid Data message. Once you have successfully registered one or more domains, you can view and manage domains in your capacity using the capacity management tool found under the Partner drop-down menu in your HubSpot portal.

To Register a Deal, follow these instructions. Deal registration is another way you can register domains. When you create a shared deal through deal registration, the system automatically attempts to register the domain for that deal to you. If the domain is available, it will register the domain to you and the deal will be created as a channel sale. If the domain is not available, the shared deal will still be created as a partner collaboration (if a HubSpot direct sales rep owns the domain) or as a best partner wins deal (if another partner owns the domain). Please note that rules around tier credit and commission eligibility do not change with deal registration; those rules are still based on domain ownership.

Domain ownership determines your prospect sales process. In general, as a solutions partner you are eligible to sell HubSpot software to most HubSpot prospects, with only a few exceptions. Eligibility specifics as well as which sales motion you follow will depend on who owns the domain of the prospect you wish to sell to. We'll review those sales motions in more detail in the next section.

A Channel Sale takes place when the prospect domain was either not yet in HubSpot’s database or was unowned in HubSpot’s database and you (the partner) have taken ownership of it via domain registration. As the owner of the domain, you can own the sales process. You may lead the software sale and work with your CAM as needed to close the deal. 

When you successfully register a domain, the domain is automatically placed in your CAM’s ownership within our internal CRM. As long as the domain remains registered, it will remain CAM-owned and will not be accessible to our direct sales (GS) team. However, please note that another partner is able to pursue the same client via the Best Partner Wins sales motion. In the event that the other partner sells the deal instead of you, that partner will receive the Sold MRR credit and revenue share, as explained below.

You may collaborate with your CAM on a channel sale using a shared deal.  

You attempt to register a prospect domain, but it is unavailable. The registration tool informs you that the domain is already registered by another partner.

You are actively pursuing a software sale to this prospect, so you may create a shared deal or reach out to your CAM to discuss next steps.

In this scenario you may continue to pursue the sale, but please note that you may be in a competitive deal. To initiate a Best Partner Wins deal, you may create a shared deal. If you choose not to create a shared deal, your CAM must log a deal on the company record within HubSpot’s own CRM, prior to the deal closing (this means that it’s up to you to inform your CAM of the deal so they can initiate this process on your behalf). Only one partner can receive Sold MRR credit and revenue share on a deal and in this case it will be whichever partner closes the sale, as confirmed via a Confirmation Link signed by the purchasing customer.

Please note the following rules associated with Best Partner Wins deals:

• Touchless purchases made on the HubSpot website or in-app (i.e., without a quote processed by a CAM or GS) are not eligible for Best Partner Wins. For touchless purchases on prospect domains, revenue share and Sold MRR credit will automatically go to the partner that has the domain registered to them.
• A Confirmation Link is required as proof that you have won the sale. 
• All Best Partner Wins deals must be correctly recorded by your CAM prior to close of the deal; credit will not be reassigned from the partner who registered the domain after the deal has closed.
• HubSpot reps are not allowed to provide you with competitive information regarding a Best Partner Wins deal, including but not limited to: which partner registered the domain, and whether or not you are in a competitive situation for the deal.`

You attempt to register a prospect domain, but it is unavailable. The registration tool informs you that this domain is eligible for Partner Collaboration.

You are actively pursuing a software sale to this prospect, so you may create a shared deal or reach out to your CAM to discuss next steps. 

In this scenario, a GS owns the domain. You may continue to pursue the sale of HubSpot software in collaboration with the GS that owns the domain, provided that the GS approves your involvement. To initiate a Partner Collaboration, you may create a shared deal which submits a Partner Collaboration Request. If you do not create a shared deal, your CAM must submit a Partner Collaboration Request on the GS’ deal record, prior to the deal closing (this means that it’s up to you to inform your CAM of the deal so they can initiate this process on your behalf). After logging the request, your CAM will put you in contact with the GS. If the GS approves the collaboration, you will work directly with the GS to close the sale.

The acceptance of this Partner Collaboration process is at complete discretion of the GS and ultimately, HubSpot. Once approved, a customer-signed Confirmation Link is required for you to receive revenue share and Sold MRR credit upon close of the deal.

Partner Collaboration Deal Eligibility

Not all deals are eligible for partner collaboration. Specifically, a deal is not eligible for Partner Collaboration if it only contains starter products. A deal must contain at least one of the following products in order to be eligible:

Eligible for collaboration (if the product line is not already purchased, except in the case of up-selling a Starter customer where another partner is not getting credit on the Starter deal):

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

Partner Collaboration Checklist

• The deal is eligible for Partner Collaboration (as described above)
• Your CAM requested Partner Collaboration from the GS, as recorded in HubSpot’s own CRM, prior to close of deal
• GS accepted and approved of Partner Collaboration request
• Confirmation Link has been completed at time of deal close

During an active sales process, a HubSpot direct rep (GS) determines that the prospect would benefit from working with a Solutions Partner. Provided the prospect/customer agrees, the GS facilitates an introduction between the customer and one or more partners, via email. 

This is a referral from HubSpot, and does not result in revenue share for the partner who is brought into the deal. To emphasize, you will not be paid revenue share on this type of transaction. However, we recognize that partners who are brought into deals with HubSpot’s direct team are often influential in closing the deal, and so we provide Sold MRR credit as recognition of the time and expertise dedicated to the sale. 

A GS may create a shared deal to invite you to sell the deal with them. As with Partner Collaboration, you should inform your CAM but work with the GS to sell the deal. A customer-signed Confirmation Link is required for you to receive sold MRR credit upon close of the deal.

Do Inbound For Me Deal Eligibility

The same deal eligibility rules apply as with Partner Collaboration.

Do Inbound For Me Checklist

• Deal is eligible for Do Inbound For Me (as described above)
• GS or CAM provided the referral to you via email and recorded Do Inbound For Me on the deal in HubSpot’s CRM prior to deal close
• Confirmation Link has been completed at time of deal close

As a partner, you can sell additional software product lines (see product line eligibility) to existing HubSpot customers and earn both revenue share and Sold MRR credit, regardless of whether you have sold to the customer previously. This means that:

• Multiple partners can each sell different product lines to the same customer at different times, and
• Partners can sell to customers that were originally sold by HubSpot without partner involvement

Always inform your CAM when you are pursuing a sale to an existing HubSpot customer. You also always have the option to create a shared deal. HubSpot assigns sales ownership of all customers to either a CAM or a GS, based on an internally defined set of rules. If you choose not to create a shared deal, your CAM will determine which HubSpot rep owns the customer domain, and based on that, which sales motion should be followed. In general:

• If the customer is owned by a CAM, you can work independently or with your CAM to sell the deal
• If the customer is owned by a GS, your CAM will submit a Partner Collaboration request on your behalf. If approved by the GS, you will collaborate with the GS to close the deal. Partner Collaboration Deal Eligibility rules apply.
• If you are referred by HubSpot into a deal involving an existing customer, it is a Do Inbound For Me referral. If you accept the referral, you will work with the referring rep to close the deal. Please note that you will be eligible for Sold MRR credit, but not revenue share.

Please note the following rules associated with cross-selling to existing customers:

• All cross-sell deals must be accompanied by a Confirmation Link that confirms your involvement in the sale. You will not automatically receive revenue share and Sold MRR credit when a customer you previously sold to buys additional product lines -- the Confirmation Link serves as proof of your direct involvement in the cross-sell
• Touchless purchases made on the HubSpot website or in-app (i.e., without a quote processed by a CAM or GS) are not eligible for cross-sell credit.

Only one partner can receive revenue share and/or Sold MRR credit per deal. This is based on how our systems are set up to establish credit, which means that no exceptions to this rule can be made.

In the event that two or more Solutions Partners or Solutions Providers are involved on the same deal, priority for revenue share and Sold MRR credit will be decided by HubSpot based on the logic outlined below. Note that in all situations in which two or more partners are involved in the same deal, the partner receiving credit must secure a client-signed Confirmation Link as proof of their level of involvement on the sale.

Prospect Domain Registered by a Partner or Provider

In general, the partner who registered the domain will receive the revenue share and Sold MRR credit. The only exceptions to this rule are Best Partner Wins scenarios in which either:

1. The second partner is providing services while the registering partner is not, as evidenced by a Confirmation Link, or
2. The second partner is involved in the sale while the registering partner is neither involved in the sale nor providing services, as evidenced by a Confirmation Link.

Note that if the partner who registered the domain refers the second partner to help with selling or servicing, the registering partner will receive the revenue share and Sold MRR credit.

All Other Prospects and Customers

In general when two or more partners are involved in a sale -- as evidenced by two or more Confirmation Links -- to a customer or unregistered prospect, the logic for determining which partner/provider will receive revenue share and Sold MRR credit will follow as stated below, in the order stated below. HubSpot retains final discretion in determining which partner/provider will receive credit in all such situations, including but not limited to any situations not explicitly named below:

1. If one partner referred the other partner(s) on the deal, the referring partner takes priority for revenue share and Sold MRR credit, provided that the referring partner secures a Confirmation Link demonstrating their involvement in the sale.
2. If one partner is providing services (as evidenced by the Confirmation Link) while another partner/provider is not, and neither referred the other, the partner providing services takes priority for Sold MRR credit and revenue share.
3. If one partner was referred in by HubSpot (Do Inbound For Me) while another partner was not:
   • If the Do Inbound For Me referral preceded the involvement of the second partner/provider, then the referred partner takes priority for Sold MRR credit (Revenue Share does not apply for Do Inbound For Me deals)
   • If the Do Inbound For Me referral came after the involvement of a separate partner/provider, the partner that was involved prior to the referral takes priority.
4. If #1-3 above don’t determine which partner takes priority for Sold MRR credit and revenue share, then priority goes to the partner providing onboarding services on the higher-value product line subscription(s), as determined by MRR amount, and as evidenced by the Confirmation Links.
5. If none of the above rules determines which partner takes priority, then HubSpot will determine which partner will receive Sold MRR and revenue share, based on a review of the deal and at our final discretion.

When it comes to upselling, partners are eligible for revenue share and Sold MRR tier credit when upselling an existing customer that either purchased originally through them or 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.
2. Partners cannot get upsell credit for upselling a customer that 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 get credit.

HubSpot requires proof of a partner’s involvement in order to grant revenue share and Sold MRR credit on any sale, with the exception of sales to the partner’s own currently registered prospect domains. All Best Partner Wins, Partner Collaboration, Do Inbound for Me, and all sales to existing HubSpot customers require Proof of Involvement. This includes cross-sell deals with customers that you have previously sold to.

Partners demonstrate Proof of Involvement via a Confirmation Link that the partner sends to the prospect or customer during the sale. The 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, and 
2. If you are waiving required onboarding for your client, the Confirmation Link 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.

Client-signed Confirmation Links should be submitted to your CAM at time of sale, if not prior to the sale closing. Confirmation Links can be created, shared, and managed right in your partner dashboard. The prospect or customer can approve or reject the link with the click of a button. 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. One 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 own 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 prospect whose domain 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 services.

Upon successful close of a deal that meets the eligibility requirements, you will earn revenue share on the value of the sold subscription. The revenue share is 20% of the monthly recurring revenue (MRR) subscription value of the product line(s) sold, and is paid for as many months as the customer’s subscription for the product line(s) remains active. 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, and as long as you continue to be in good standing and fulfill all your obligations as a Solutions Partner under the Solutions Partners Program Agreement.

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