PMA B2B Partnerships Glossary

Version 1 · Published November 2026 by the PMA B2B Council

The PMA B2B Partnerships Glossary defines 36 terms that matter most in B2B partner programs, from partner types to pipeline stages to the metrics used to measure them. It was written by the Performance Marketing Association’s B2B Council, a group of practitioners from advertisers, agencies, networks and platforms, and every definition is platform-neutral. Use it to align partner agreements, onboard new team members, or compare programs on the same terms.

Scope

This glossary covers terms specific to B2B partnerships. General affiliate marketing terms, such as CPC, CPM, CPL and publisher types, are defined in the PMA master glossary. Where a term appears in both but works differently in B2B, the entry here adds an “In a B2B context” note and links back to the master glossary.

A note on terms: “Advertiser” means the company running the partner program, matching the PMA master glossary. Some reseller and channel programs call it a vendor. “Partner program” covers every partner type, not only affiliates.

Partner Types

Affiliate Partner

Promotes an advertiser one-to-many, to an audience it has built through content, reviews, comparisons, newsletters or communities, and is paid on the leads, signups or sales that promotion produces, usually tracked through unique links or codes. That one-to-many reach is what separates an affiliate partner from referral and channel partners, who generally promote on a one-to-one basis. In this glossary, it is also the catch-all for partners that do not fit a B2B type below, such as publishers, creators, influencers and ambassadors. Sub-types are defined in the PMA master glossary.

Referral Partner

Introduces a specific prospect from its own network, one-to-one, and hands it to the advertiser's sales team. Paid, one time or recurring, when the referral reaches an agreed milestone, such as a qualified lead, an opportunity or a paying customer. Does not sell, implement or support the product.

Agency Partner

A marketing, digital, creative or SEO agency that recommends, implements or manages an advertiser's product for its own clients as part of the services it already provides. Most agencies refer those clients and leave billing with the advertiser, earning a referral commission; some also resell under a separate agreement and earn a margin. Their weight comes from influencing tool choice across a whole client roster, not a single deal.

Solution / Consulting Partner

A services firm (systems integrator, consultancy or implementation shop) that implements or optimizes the advertiser's product as part of a client engagement. Often measured on deals influenced and customer retention rather than direct referrals.

Channel Partner

Umbrella term for any third-party company that helps an advertiser sell, deliver or support its product outside the advertiser's own direct sales team. Referral partners, resellers, VARs, distributors, MSPs and systems integrators can all sit under it. Technology and alliance partners are usually treated as separate types, because their value is not resale or referral.

Reseller (incl. VAR)

Buys the advertiser's product or licenses and resells it to the end customer at a margin, and usually owns billing. A value-added reseller (VAR) bundles its own services on top, such as implementation, support or customization.

Distribution Partner / Distributor

The aggregation layer between the advertiser and a network of resellers, VARs and MSPs. Does not usually sell to end customers directly. Handles logistics, credit, consolidated billing and recruiting partners at scale.

Technology / Integration Partner (ISV)

A software company whose product integrates with the advertiser's. The value comes from joint customers, marketplace listings, co-marketing and co-selling, not from resale. Most technology partners are independent software vendors (ISVs): companies that build and sell their own software.

Managed Service Provider (MSP) / Cloud Service Provider (CSP)

An MSP runs and manages technology for its customers on an ongoing basis and often bundles an advertiser's software into a monthly service. A CSP provides or resells cloud subscriptions, typically through a major cloud provider's program, such as Microsoft's CSP program. Both often own the customer relationship and billing.

Strategic Alliance / Alliance Partner

A large, executive-sponsored partnership, usually with a major platform or global systems integrator. Includes a joint go-to-market plan, shared revenue targets and sometimes joint roadmap work. Peer to peer, not reseller-style.

Program & Motion

Co-selling

Advertiser and partner work the same opportunity as one team, agreeing up front who owns the relationship, who leads each stage and how credit is split. In practice that means joint account plans, introductions into the buyer's organization, and joint calls or demos. Usually starts with account mapping, in which the two sides compare customer and prospect data to find overlapping accounts, often through a data-sharing tool so neither side hands over its full CRM.

Co-marketing

Joint marketing by advertiser and partner (webinars, content, events, case studies, campaigns) to build demand for both. Cost and leads are split as the two agree. Not the same as co-branding, which puts both names on a single asset or offer; the master glossary defines co-branding in its affiliate landing-page sense.

Channel Sales / Indirect Sales

Channel sales, also called indirect sales, is the motion of selling through channel partners rather than the advertiser's own direct sales team, and the revenue that motion produces.

Partner Manager

The person responsible for an advertiser's relationships with a set of partners: recruiting and onboarding them, enabling them, planning joint activity and tracking results. In an affiliate program the role is often called affiliate manager and centers on recruiting partners at scale, managing offers and commissions, and monitoring compliance. In a channel program it is often called channel account manager and centers on fewer, deeper relationships, joint business plans and the deals partners bring.

Partner Marketing

The marketing function that supports an advertiser's partner program. It markets to partners (recruitment campaigns, enablement content, program communications) and through partners (campaigns, assets and offers that partners run to their own audiences). Co-marketing is one activity within partner marketing.

Pipeline & Key Events

Lead

A person or company that has shown interest (form fill, demo request, referral) but has not been qualified. In a B2B context, a lead is the start of a multi-step sales process, not a finished conversion, so lead payouts usually depend on qualification criteria (see Qualified Lead). See master glossary: Lead, CPL.

Qualified Lead

A lead that meets criteria the advertiser and partner agreed in advance, such as company size, industry, the contact's role or a confirmed buying need, and so counts toward the partner's credit or payment. The criteria belong in the partner agreement, so both sides check each lead against the same standard. Not the same as an MQL, which uses the advertiser's internal marketing criteria and may not be shared with partners.

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

A lead that meets marketing's criteria for fit (company size, industry, role) and engagement, and is ready to pass to sales. When MQLs are payable in a partner program, the criteria should be shared with partners up front.

Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

A lead that sales has reviewed and accepted as worth active pursuit, usually after a discovery call.

Sales Qualified Opportunity (SQO)

An SQL that has become an opportunity in the CRM with confirmed need, budget and timeline and a forecasted value. A common stage at which partners are credited or paid.

Closed-Won

A deal marked won in the CRM because the contract is signed or the purchase is made. Commonly the event that triggers revenue-based commission in B2B.

Deal Registration

The process by which a partner claims a specific opportunity by submitting the prospect's details to the advertiser for approval. Approval gives the partner protected credit for that opportunity and the right to earn on it if it closes. Most common in reseller and channel programs. It keeps other partners and the advertiser's own sales team from working the same deal. Approved registrations carry a protection period, usually sized to the length of the sales cycle. Some advertisers require the partner to have met the prospect before a registration counts. Not the same as Signup / User Registration, which is a prospect creating an account.

New Paying Customer

A partner-referred account that has made its first purchase or payment, as opposed to a signup or trial. One of the most common conversion triggers for B2B partner commissions.

Signup / User Registration

The point at which a prospect creates an account with an advertiser, for example by registering for a free plan, a trial or a demo environment, without paying. In many partner programs it is the first tracked event, but it is not a sale. Not the same as Deal Registration, which is a partner claiming an opportunity, or New Paying Customer, which requires a first payment.

Free Trial

A free trial gives limited-time access to the product before the prospect decides to pay. Freemium (ongoing free access to a limited version) is defined in the master glossary. Partners are often paid on conversion to paid, not on trial starts or free signups.

Average Deal Size

The average value of closed-won deals over a period: total closed-won deal value divided by the number of deals. Depending on how an advertiser records deals, it can include one-time fees and multi-year totals, so the basis should be stated when programs are compared. In partner programs it shows whether partner-sourced deals are larger or smaller than direct ones.

Average Contract Value

The average annualized value of a customer contract, excluding one-time fees such as setup or services. A three-year contract worth $90,000 has an ACV of $30,000. Unlike Average Deal Size, which reflects the full value recorded for each deal, ACV puts every contract on a one-year basis, which makes it easier to compare with ARR and to set partner commissions.

Churn

Churn is customers or recurring revenue lost to cancellation or non-renewal in a period, measured as a count or a rate. In a B2B context, churn directly reduces recurring commissions and is the usual trigger for a clawback.

Pipeline

The total value of open, qualified opportunities at a point in time, usually counted from SQO onward. Partner pipeline is the portion that is partner-sourced or partner-influenced.

Revenue & Value Metrics

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

Predictable subscription revenue normalized to a month. Excludes one-time fees and services.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Predictable subscription revenue normalized to a year, often MRR multiplied by 12. The headline number for most subscription businesses and a common basis for partner commissions and goals.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), B2B context

Total sales and marketing cost to acquire a new customer. In a B2B context, partner CAC should include commissions, MDF, partner team cost and tooling so it can be compared with direct CAC. See the definition for CAC Payback Period below. 

Lifetime Value (LTV), B2B context

Total gross margin a customer is expected to generate over the relationship. In a B2B context, it is driven by relationship length, expansion and churn rather than repeat purchases. Partner-referred customers often retain differently from direct ones, so LTV is worth measuring by source. See master glossary: LTV.

ARR:CAC

New annual recurring revenue won in a period divided by the acquisition cost spent to win it. A ratio above 1 means each dollar of acquisition cost brought in more than a dollar of new ARR in the first year. It is less standardized than LTV:CAC or CAC payback period, so the formula should be stated whenever it is reported. Useful for comparing partner channels with direct sales on the same basis.

LTV:CAC

LTV:CAC divides lifetime value by acquisition cost to show whether a channel creates value efficiently. Calculating it separately for partner-referred and direct customers shows which channel acquires customers more efficiently.

CAC Payback Period

The number of months it takes to recover the cost of acquiring a customer: CAC divided by the monthly recurring revenue that customer brings in, often adjusted for gross margin. A shorter payback period means acquisition spend comes back sooner. It answers the same question as ARR:CAC and LTV:CAC, but in months rather than as a ratio, which many finance teams find easier to plan around. Calculating it separately for partner-referred and direct customers shows which channel pays back faster. Partner CAC should include commissions and partner team costs, as described under CAC.

Suggest a term

This is version 1, and it will be updated. To suggest a new term or a correction, contact the PMA B2B Council at yourboard@thepma.org.