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How Marketing Development Funds (MDF) Requests Work With Allbound (Integrated With Salesforce or Non-Integrated)

Jenna
Jenna
  • Updated

Purpose: 

This article goes over the MDF section of Allbound, how it's used, and how to integrate the MDF requests from Channel Partners in Allbound with your Salesforce. MDFs can be integrated or standalone in your Allbound portal. 

 

About Marketing Development Funds:

Market development funds (MDF) are a resource that a vendor grants to its indirect sales channel partners to help the channel with sales and marketing programs. The fund may be monetary or knowledge-based. Marketers within channel partner companies use market development funds to support a range of initiatives. Channel partner companies may use market development funds to increase local awareness of their brands. Specifically, partners may use MDF to purchase radio spots, fund webinars, purchase booth space at a trade show or launch a marketing event.

Market development funds or partner funds are long-term investments for your business that can help you cut costs and raise profit. Think of these programs as enablement tools to help you drive value for your partners and grow revenue for your company with the side benefit of strengthening your partnerships.

 

How MDF Works With Allbound:

In order to utilize this function with Allbound, your Customer Success Manager (CSM) must first turn this feature on for you in your portal (this access varies based on your package/plan with Allbound). 

To get started with Allbound MDFs you will need to work with an Allbound specialist. If you're implementing Allbound, please contact your designated implementation specialist. If you're live with Allbound, contact your Customer Success Manager. If you don't know who your main point of contact is, you can simply email help@allbound.com. We do not recommend making changes to your MDF form without help from a specialist, especially if you are integrating with Salesforce.

There are 7 mandatory fields that CANNOT be deleted or edited in your MDF form, which are as follows. The label of the fields can be slightly altered, but the API database key CANNOT be changed or removed, as it will interfere with how the MDFs are rendered in the MDF table in Allbound.

  1. CRM ID (only relevant if integrating)
  2. Submitter
  3. Status
  4. Date Of Activity
  5. MDF Request Title
  6. Amount Granted
  7. All hidden POP patchback fields (only relevant if integrating)

Once your form is to your liking and you're ready to view it in the MDF section, you must go back to your Allbound settings via the cogwheel icon in the top right corner of your Allbound portal. Select, Account Settings. Select, Forms in the left side menu of the Account Settings menu. Then, select your completed MDF Form in the MDF Request form dropdown picklist and save your selection. (If you're integrating with Salesforce this step will be completed for you by your integration specialist.)

Next, you will need to grant access to yourself and other users of Allbound who will need to access the MDF section and submit MDF requests. Please follow the instructions in the article below.

Granting Access To Request MDF

If you are not integrating with Salesforce, you will want to setup your MDF Approvers. The Approvers will be admins of your Allbound portal that should be managing the MDF requests. 

 

Steps to add an MDF Approver (non-integrated MDF):

Go to the gear icon located to the right of your profile name
Scroll to Users
Search for the users that will need MDF Approver permissions
Click into a user profile of your choosing

Under Administrator Permissions, check the box for MDF approver
Hit the blue save button found in the upper right-hand corner

Follow the above steps for each user who needs MDF Approver permissions.

 

How Partners Submit An MDF:

When a user has access to the MDF section, they will see the MDF icon on the navigation bar. 

When they navigate to MDF, they will be able to submit a request by clicking the "+ Request MDF" button in the top right corner of the MDF page. 

Once an MDF is submitted, the table will begin to populate with requests. Non-admin partner requesters will only be able to see their own requests, and requests from members within their associated partner company. MDF Approvers (portal admins with approver access) will be able to see all requests. 

For more details and images on the MDF section of Allbound, please review this article:

How To Use MDF

 

Integrating Allbound MDFs With Salesforce:

First, you will need to determine what Salesforce object the Allbound MDF Form will need to integrate with and the fields from the form that need to map to the fields on the Salesforce side.

Second, you will need to develop the flow of each MDF request. To help you strategize and develop your integrated flow, please make sure you have the answers to the following questions before working with the Allbound Integrations Team.

  • Confirm that approvals will be preformed in Salesforce, which will sync approval status back to Allbound. This is the best practice.
  • What is the next step after a new MDF request is submitted by a partner user? Who will be the first person(s) to review the request, and what changes will be made in this next step?
    • Will the changes in this step come from the Salesforce side and sync back to Allbound, or will the changes be made to the MDF request in Allbound and sync the updates to Salesforce?
  • When will the requester need to upload POP files (Proof of Performance)? How many POP files will be required for each requester to upload?
    • As a best practice, we recommend having users upload POP files after Approval.
  • At what point is the MDF closed and no longer needs to sync updates to or from Allbound and Salesforce. 

Finally, you will need to work with an Allbound Integrations Specialist to configure and test the integration with you. This is not an overnight process. This project takes a few weeks depending on the amount of fields and flows that need to be mapped with Allbound and Salesforce. To get started, reach out to help@allbound.com

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