Getting the results you’re gunning for with your channel starts with incentivizing your partners in order to drive desired behaviors. Because we all work for money—at least on some level—this is most easily accomplished by paying your channel partners early and often. For example, you could pay them when they complete training and certifications, register deals, use your portal, or express loyalty to your channel. If you want to make your channel program stand out from the competition, you can also offer non-monetary incentives. With that in mind, here are some creative tactics you can use to incentivize your channel partners and encourage them to work harder for your program. 
4 Creative Incentive Strategies for Channel Programs
First, you’ll need to determine which partners are eligible to earn these incentives. How you decide to reward your partners is up to you. But, generally speaking, you will want to incentivize your top performers—those who are submitting the most deal registrations, those who are closing the most deals, and so on. Although the below list is by no means complete, it should get you thinking in the right direction.1. Encourage Their Professional Development
Research suggests that employees increasingly expect their jobs to offer them professional development opportunities. For example, a Gallup study found that 45 percent of millennials consider professional development to be “very important” when deciding what to do for work. Put on your thinking cap and try to come up with ways you can support your channel partners in their professional development journeys. For example, you might consider incentivizing your partners with HubSpot training courses, Google Ads certifications, Amazon Web Services certifications, or other training opportunities. It is an easy way for them to stay current on cutting-edge technologies that power today’s businesses.2. Support Their Personal Development
Although we are all trying to become more effective in our careers, we are also interested in developing on a personal level. Another out-of-the-box way to incentivize channel partners is by investing in personal development. For example, you might offer top-performing partners the opportunity to participate in cooking, art, or woodworking classes. You could also spring for gym memberships and yoga classes as well.3. Send Them to Conferences
Slowly but surely, in-person events are returning. If you know of an upcoming event that you’d love to see your partners attend, why not cover the cost of their admission? Of course, you’ll want them to sell your products while they’re there. But most people aren’t too keen on spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars to get to a conference. If you pay for your partners’ admittance every now and again, you might find that it is an easy way to keep them happy and engaged.4. Make Their Lives Easier
Nobody wants their jobs to be any harder than they need to be. Unfortunately, many channel programs are still relying on older technologies that simply can’t keep up with the velocity of the modern world. If you want to make your partners more dedicated to your channel program, invest in tools designed to make their lives easier. Of course we’re biased, but we believe that Vartopia is the turnkey channel solution that is capable of transforming the partner experience practically overnight. With Vartopia, your partners gain access to a powerful platform designed to make work easier for them. Vartopia delivers productivity gains to channel managers, making it a win-win for programs of all shapes and sizes.It’s Time to Incentivize Your Channel Partners!
At the end of the day, the right mix of incentives will keep your partners happy and encourage them to reach their full potential within your channel program. After all, wouldn’t you prefer working with someone who not only helps you pay your bills, but also helps you grow as a professional and makes your life easier? Request a demo of Vartopia today to learn more about how purpose-built channel technology can be one of the core incentives that enables your program to stand out from the rest.