The person may know how to develop partners, work with account teams and turn relationships into commercial opportunities. But much of the work depends on decisions and resources outside their control.
Hiring someone with the right experience does not automatically mean the organisation is ready to support the partner strategy it expects that person to deliver.
The Partner Manager does not control the entire sales process
A Partner Manager is often accountable for results that depend on people they do not manage. Progressing an opportunity may require an AE, technical resources, Product, Legal or commercial approvals. Those teams have their own priorities, targets and management structures.
Of course, an experienced Partner Manager should know how to influence people, negotiate priorities and deal with resistance. That is part of the job.
But there is a difference between overcoming normal operational difficulties and constantly compensating for an organisation that has not agreed how partners should contribute to its business.
Sometimes the vendor is not ready for the partner
When assessing a partner, I would look at its capabilities, customer access and willingness to invest. I think vendor readiness deserves the same attention.
Consider an illustrative example. A partner identifies a customer need but requires an initial technical discussion to establish if the proposed solution is viable. The vendor's presales team requires that viability to be confirmed before allocating resources.
The Partner Manager can chase meetings, but if there is no way to resolve that dependency, the opportunity cannot meet the qualification requirement.
Presales capacity is limited, so every introduction cannot justify a workshop. The Partner Manager should explain what is already known, what the customer needs and which technical questions remain unanswered.
The vendor then needs a way to decide if a limited scoping session is justified. Otherwise, it risks rejecting potentially credible opportunities because partners cannot provide technical answers that require the vendor's own expertise.
Revenue expectations need to reflect the starting point
An established reseller programme with active partners and qualified opportunities is different from a new programme where those foundations still need to be developed.
Both should have measurable objectives. But before assessing a new hire, I would agree what they inherited and what they are expected to change. That includes the quality of the pipeline, the readiness of existing partners and the support available from Sales.
As I discussed in A Partner Programme's Age Is Not the Same as Its Maturity, time in the programme is not necessarily a reliable indication of commercial readiness.
Revenue remains the objective in a partner sales role. Early milestones should demonstrate progress towards it, with an agreed review date and evidence of customer engagement. They should not become a permanent substitute for results.
Review the opportunity before judging the individual
None of this means an experienced Partner Manager should be excused whenever results are disappointing. Poor partner selection, weak qualification and unrealistic business plans can all contribute to failure.
A senior hire should recognise problems, make difficult choices and demonstrate what they have done to improve the situation. Saying that internal teams are not supportive is not enough.
For a stalled opportunity, I would examine what the Partner Manager actually did. Was the customer need properly qualified? What support was requested, and what information was provided? Who had the authority to approve the next step? How long did the decision remain outstanding?
If the Partner Manager requested resources without providing enough information, that needs challenging. If the request met the agreed criteria but nobody could approve it, leadership needs to examine that too.
A single delay proves little. But if similar problems keep appearing across credible opportunities, there may be something wrong with the operating process rather than the person managing the partners.
That distinction matters before deciding that replacing the individual will improve performance.
Leadership needs to support the decisions it expects
I would not expect senior management to resolve every disagreement. A senior partnerships hire may be expected to build the internal arrangements as well as develop the partners.
But that assignment needs a clear mandate and access to someone who can resolve decisions beyond the hire's authority.
If the business cannot provide the support the plan requires, leadership needs to agree which opportunities take priority or revise the scope and timing of the plan.
I previously wrote about how to hire a Strategic Partnerships Leader and the importance of matching the person to the commercial problem.
After hiring, the review needs to examine both what that person did and what the organisation enabled them to do.
If the same obstacles keep appearing across credible opportunities, replacing the Partner Manager may only change who is waiting for the next decision.