SalesFUSION's Revenue-Sharing Partner Program Aims To Help Startups, VARs Succeed Together

The expanded partner program is designed to reward VARs and consultants that help spread SalesFUSION, which offers one of the only comprehensive marketing automation programs completely built on a CRM database, according to the company. The new commitment to VARs opens a multimillion-dollar revenue opportunity for resellers, said SalesFUSION, one of CRN's Top Emerging Vendors for 2013, in a statement.

"If we can help them be successful, they will continue to help us be successful," SalesFUSION CEO Christian Nahas said in an interview with CRN.

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The new program has four levels with escalating percentages of revenue sharing, ranging from 20 percent of the first-year revenues for the bronze level to 40 percent for platinum.

"If we're going to launch a real partner program, it's going to be the most compelling program in the space," said Bentley Hines, vice president of channels for SalesFUSION. "We feel like it's the most lucrative program in the market, in our market space today, in terms of the opportunities for our partners, especially on the reseller end, to grow a really nice business within their business."

Marketing automation has been booming, with revenues for 2013 expected to grow by 50 percent to reach $750 million, according to a study by Raab Associates.

SalesFUSION already has 65 partners globally as well as 15 to 20 that are resellers. Erik Tavenner, senior solutions consultant at Plus Consulting, one of those SalesFUSION partners, said in an interview with CRN that his company first turned to SalesFUSION because its customers were looking for a marketing automation program to help with their businesses. The partner program both added a financial benefit as well as opening opportunities for further sales with big-player CRM software integration, such as with SugarCRM, Saleslogix and Microsoft Dynamics CRM

"It's a tool clearly providing value to customers who are asking for it. There is some revenue model there for us. What it's doing is it's bringing us to a second round of engagement with CRM customers," Tavenner said.

Tavenner said he worried that as more partners came on board, his company would face additional competition for sales, but he said that loss would probably be counteracted by more sales through an increased awareness of the product. He said his company's clients can really benefit from marketing automation software as social media and online marketing becomes more popular, but many of them don't know yet where to start.

"There are so many microphones on the podium now that you have to know how to talk into. Companies come and say they want to do social media, but they don't know why," Tavenner said. "My issue had always been talking through all of these channels is like trying to shoot a shotgun in the air duck hunting, ... [and] SalesFUSION gave us the ability to be more tactical."

PUBLISHED Oct. 1, 2013