The Success and Struggles of VARs & Resellers

Best Practices for Building a High-Performance Partner Sales Pipeline and Designing an Effective Commission Structure

The Value of VARs & Resellers in Vendor Growth

Value-Added Resellers (VARs) and resellers are the backbone of technology distribution, helping vendors extend their market reach, increase sales velocity, and provide crucial value-added services that differentiate solutions in competitive markets.

But despite the clear mutual benefits, working with vendors to build and close a consistent sales pipeline remains one of the biggest challenges for resellers.

Here’s what works well, what hinders joint success, and how the right commission structure and partner technology can drive incremental, consistent revenue for both vendors and their reseller networks.

The Challenges of Working with Vendors to Build and Close Sales Pipelines

While partnerships between vendors and resellers offer huge growth potential, the reality is that many VARs struggle with vendor engagement, pipeline visibility, and sales execution due to the following roadblocks:

Lack of Sales and Marketing Alignment

• Vendors often push out MDF (Marketing Development Funds) but don’t provide structured demand-generation support.

• No centralized lead tracking system makes it hard for VARs to know which leads are high intent.

• Marketing campaigns from vendors often fail to align with how VARs sell locally, leading to poor conversion rates.

Complicated Deal Registration and Approval Processes

• Some vendors overcomplicate deal registration, creating approval bottlenecks that delay sales cycles.

• VARs often face channel conflict, where direct sales teams override partner-led deals.

• Slow responses from vendors mean partners lose deals to faster-moving competitors.

Poor Partner Enablement and Training

• Some vendors don’t offer on-demand, self-service training, making it difficult for resellers to stay updated on new solutions.

• Lack of pre-sales engineering support prevents VARs from effectively pitching complex solutions.

• No AI-driven learning paths for partners mean reps take longer to ramp up and sell effectively.

Inefficient Partner Portal and Technology Limitations

• Many PRM (Partner Relationship Management) platforms are difficult to navigate and require too much manual data entry.

• Lack of CRM and marketing automation integration forces partners to use multiple tools, slowing productivity.

• No real-time attribution tracking makes it hard to get credit for co-selling efforts.

All these challenges lead to longer sales cycles, missed revenue opportunities, and disengaged reseller networks.

The Best Strategy for VAR & Reseller Payouts and Commission Structure

A well-structured compensation model is key to driving long-term reseller engagement and ensuring vendors get sustained growth from their channel programs. The best payout structure normally includes:

Tiered Commission Structure Based on Revenue Contribution

• Gold Tier (High-Performing Partners): 20-30% margin on new sales + renewal bonuses.

• Silver Tier (Mid-Level Resellers): 15-20% margin on deals.

• Bronze Tier (New or Low-Volume Partners): 10-15% margin, increasing as revenue contribution grows.

Performance-Based Rebates & Growth Incentives

• Quarterly growth bonuses for partners who exceed revenue targets.

• Renewal and expansion incentives for VARs driving long-term adoption of vendor solutions.

• Upsell and cross-sell multipliers for partners successfully bundling services with hardware or software.

Fast, Transparent Payouts

• Commission payouts should be automated to prevent disputes.

• Revenue share should be visible in real-time through an AI-driven attribution model.

• Net-new business incentives to encourage customer acquisition vs. just renewals.

A well-structured commission model ensures that VARs stay engaged, vendors see consistent growth, and both sides win.

Why Existing Partner Ecosystem Technology is Still a Major Roadblock

Even with advanced PRM platforms, the biggest challenge remains ease of use, automation, and data transparency. Many existing tools fail to drive real revenue impact because:

• They lack AI-driven attribution models to automatically track partner influence.

• Manual deal registration requirements create bottlenecks and lead to partner disengagement.

• No automated pipeline management means deals slip through the cracks.

• Limited integration with CRM and sales platforms forces VARs to operate in silos.

For vendors to scale their reseller programs effectively, they need a modern partner technology that allows for seamless collaboration, real-time deal tracking, and automated commission management.

How Barcada Helps Vendors & Resellers Drive More Revenue Together

Barcada is built to fix the inefficiencies that slow down reseller sales pipelines. Unlike traditional partner tools, Barcada provides:

• AI-Driven Revenue Attribution – Automatically track every partner touchpoint to ensure resellers get credit where it’s due.

• Real-Time Partner Pipeline Insights – No more waiting for vendor approvals—VARs and vendors see deal progress instantly.

• Seamless CRM & Sales Integration – Partners work within their own sales stack without switching between outdated portals.

Let’s Fix the Vendor-Reseller Relationship

Vendors and resellers have a huge opportunity to generate consistent revenue—if the right technology and compensation models are in place.

If you’re a vendor looking to build a high-performing VAR network or a reseller tired of dealing with outdated partner systems, Barcada is your solution.

Book a demo today and see how Barcada can help vendors and resellers drive revenue together—without friction.

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