How to Track Partner Performance Using Salesforce PRM

It was the end of May, and the sun was shining much like it usually does in Denver—bright and persistent. My partner and I, we were trying hard to comprehend our latest business conundrum. You know, one of those existential moments. We were drowning in spreadsheets, marinating in metrics, and yet somehow, everything felt murky. Numbers danced like bamboozling riddles across our screens, and any semblance of clarity felt light-years away. Then, in the midst of our Excel-induced migraine, like an angel offering an aspirin, there was this idea—why not tame the chaos with Salesforce PRM?

Setting Sail on the PRM Journey

Our voyage into the Salesforce Partner Relationship Management (PRM) realm wasn’t just an act of desperation—it was an epic adventure we embarked upon with equal parts trepidation and glee. There's something uniquely thrilling about diving into uncharted territories, armed with not much more than coffee and enthusiasm. We needed to track partner performance better, and this, we hoped, would be the map to untold treasures of insight.

Step 1: Prepare for Launch

We needed to begin at the beginning—like when you move apartments, and the first step is just admitting you’ve accumulated way too much stuff. With Salesforce, it was about getting PRM set up and customized to our needs. Sure, it's not as daunting as fitting a grand piano into a studio apartment, but it does require some intentional setup.

• Navigate to Salesforce Setup: We rolled into the Setup Menu, our dashboard to a new alliance. You’ll find it as soon as you log in, tucked away behind that charming little gear icon in the upper right.

• Set Up Communities: Oh, those Communities—the backbone of our partner dealings. In the menu’s search bar, we typed "Communities," and it was there, in plain sight. We selected "All Communities" and then mashed the "New Community" button like our lives depended on it.

• Select a Template: With so many templates—each offering its own set of bells and whistles—to choose from, it was like being in a candy store of cool options. We picked the "Partner Central" template because, well, it seemed nice and flashy and because another tutorial told us to.

• Publish It: Honestly, this part felt like naming our first-born child, which was only slightly an exaggeration. Once we had it all warm and snazzy, we clicked "Publish" and let our new community breathe life.

Getting it done was like finishing a long novel. Satisfying, dense, and applause-worthy if only our cats would understand the gravitas of the occasion. Our PRM landscape, now ready for action, required a partner or two to dance with.

Courting the Partners

Much like courting a significant other—emails, late-night calls, figuring out dinner plans—we needed our partners to not just join but to want to join. Our Salesforce PRM romance had begun.

Step 2: Bring in Your A-Team

Inviting partners was a diplomatic mission. We needed them on board and engaged rather than eye-rolling and dragging their feet to the signup page.

• Set Up Partner Accounts: We sauntered over to "Accounts" (not far from your regular navigation bar). We clicked "New," and under Type, we blushed a little when choosing "Partner." It felt like asking them to prom.

• Create Contact Roles: We were the maestros—setting up who would play which instrument in our symphony. Contacts were crafted under this account with defined roles, so everyone knew the part they had to play.

• Invite Partners to the Portal: It was all very royal-invitation-y. There’s an "Enable as Partner" button under the account setup that does the trick. Partners received their invites like little promises of prosperity wrapped in digital bubble wrap.

These interactions needed nurturing, like watering a bonsai tree—careful, patient, and ever so precise. It taught us the intricate dance of business romance.

Mining the Data Gold

It was here, this step, where our ravenous appetite for clarity began to be fed, not with porridge but with steak. We started mining. Tracking performance began to feel less like a manic puzzle and more like gentle detective work.

Step 3: Monitor Performance Metrics

Now that our constellation of partners twinkled in the darkened sky of the Salesforce dashboard, it was about unveiling the stories behind those stars.

• Custom Objects and Fields: This was like fitting the tiniest screws in an Ikea set. Important but often ignored. We created custom fields for data points unique to us because not everyone wants the same exact coffee order. Salesforce didn’t mind.

• Track: Dashboards and Reports: Like a cinema showing our favorite performance flicks. Reports were the lenses, metrics the screenplay, and dashboards our silver screen. Every visit was like pressing play on another discovery. The Reports tab houses it all. We built and customized with options that danced across the screen, all in the "New Report" section—simple as building a Lego fort.

• Leverage Einstein Analytics: If you want high school science to become relevant again, Einstein Analytics is where it happens. Complex data just started making sense, wearing tuxedos as they walked down our mind's red carpet, with insights that were both glamorous and useful.

A Performance Feedback Loop

Data without feedback felt like bread without butter. We found the necessity of dialogue, a tête-à-tête with partners that fostered growth and relationship building. Communication was—unsurprisingly—the soul of improvement.

Step 4: Engage in Feedback and Collaboration

Interconnectivity wasn’t just for tech; humans needed it too. Our partners, our trusted comrades—I say with sentiment—became integral.

• Automated Alerts: We got fancy with automation, setting alerts that skip across screens like happy little sprites. You can do this under Process Automation in Setup. Triggers pinged whenever specific data points needed attention—a drama-free way of staying informed.

• Chatter Communication Tools: Think of it as instant messaging but tailored for businesses who want to feel cooler about it. Our partners were able to collaborate directly within Salesforce—posting updates, sharing docs, and plotting world domination, in a friendly, bond-strengthening way.

• Feedback Surveys: It was like our Oscars, where partners rated their satisfaction, giving necessary critique for improvement. Salesforce gave us the capacity to build and distribute surveys. In Setup, we routed to Feedback Management—integrated surveys without breaking a sweat.

Reflect and Recreate

Remember our earlier partnership performance woes? Imagine wrapping each of them in a gift box, tying a neat bow, and realizing they're now valuable lessons, neatly solved.

Step 5: Continuous Assessment and Improvement

Stasis has no place here—only evolution. Inspecting what works and questioning what doesn’t became our strategy, like chess players revising each move.

• KPI Re-evaluation: Our key performance indicators felt dynamic, almost organic. We inspected them regularly (lest they stagnate), reassessing every few cycles from our Analytics Dashboard. The menu there always had something fresh.

• Celebrate Small Wins: You wouldn’t climb Everest and wait until reaching the summit to celebrate. Small wins with partners felt like healthy mile markers that demanded acknowledgment. Much like receiving a love note from our business crush—simple but delightful.

Our outcome? We did it—not alone, but together. Partners and technology morphed into a harmonious rhythm, guided by Salesforce PRM, creating a dance that’s effortless and beneficial for everyone involved.

Now, looking out through the window of our office on that early October morning, with the trees outside flirting between orange and yellow, we cherish how far we've opted into this wild ride and—most gratifyingly—the tangible progress made. Suddenly, PRM wasn't just an intangible business tactic anymore; it became a vivid narrative of numbers, people, relatable mishaps, and, oh, the occasional burst of humor weaved through the chapters of our shared success.

In the end, Salesforce PRM wasn't just about tracking partner performance. It was about rediscovering why we partnered in the first place: to create something valuable—together.