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A Guide to Multi-Tier Distribution

Teresa
Teresa
  • Updated

Purpose Statement

This article is intended to describe the Multi-Tier Distribution functionality to Allbound Users.

Introduction

Multi-Tier Distribution (MTD) is available for customers that have Multi-Tier Distribution in their Allbound contract. Allbound's flexible Multi-Tier Distribution solution allows multiple partners on a deal to accommodate: 

  • Distributor / Partner (reseller) model
  • Technology Services Broker (TSB) / Sub-Agent model
  • Master VAR / Sub-VAR model
  • Other two-tier models.

Multi-Tier Distribution configuration is performed by both the Vendor and Allbound. During implementation, the Allbound Implementation Team will guide the Vendor through the configuration, however, some configuration options can be edited at a later time by the Vendor.

 

What is Multi-Tier Distribution?

In simple terms, Allbound's Multi-Tier Distribution allows you to:

  1. Create associations between Partner companies, whereby you can then
  2. Add two partners on a deal, and
  3. Automatically grant Deal Visibility and send Notifications to the Second Partner on the deal.

Existing portal features can be extended to support segmentation between the Partner and Second Partner:

  • Custom dashboard experience for Second Partners using dynamic groups
  • Custom notifications for Partner and Second Partner using Partner Journey Automation

Note: This article uses the reference Second Partner to indicate the second partner in your two-tier distribution. In your portal, your Second Partner may be a Distributor, Agent, TSB, Master VAR or any other name of how you refer to your second partners.

 

Partner Associations

With Allbound's Multi-Tier Distribution, associations between Partner Companies allows for partners to only work on deals with other partners that they are authorized to work with. There are two types of associations available:

  1. Partner Contracts: creates static associations between partners by syncing partner associations from CRM to Allbound
  2. Rules: creates dynamic associations between partners by using rules to determine which partners as associated with each other. Rules can be based on any Company object field with a static list of possible values, such as a dropdown or multi-select field.  

Account Type 

A new field labeled 'Account Type' has been introduced on the Company object to support Multi-Tier Distribution Partner Associations. For customers with Multi-Tier Distribution, up to three Account Types are supported. 

Account Type Description Example
Vendor The company record of the portal owner is automatically set to Vendor and cannot be edited Vendor
Partner

Default value for all companies

Editable though not in use at the moment

Partner or

Primary Partner

Second Partner

Editable

Required for Multi-Tier Distribution

Enter a label that describes the two-tier partner

Distributor or

System Integrator or

Agent or

TSB or

Secondary Partner

Each company record must have the correct Account Type set. In order for the CRM integration to work, the Account Type must always be set in the CRM and synced to Allbound.

 

About Partner Associations

  • Allbound supports many-to-many associations. For example:
    • One partner to many distributors
    • One distributor to many partners

partnerAssociationsModel.png

  • Allbound only supports a single association type per portal: Partner Contracts or Rules.
  • Once configured, the Multi-Tier Distribution association type cannot be changed without an Allbound Support ticket.

Partner Contracts-based Associations

With Partner Contracts-based associations, the Vendor sets which Partners are associated with which Second Partners, based on partner contracts or partner agreements that they have with each other. The diagram below uses 'Distributor' as the second partner to illustrate the contracts between all partners. 

partnerContractsModel.png

  1. In the CRM, for each applicable Partner company record, select one or more Second Partners (for example, Distributors)
  2. Static associations between Partners and Second Partners are synced from CRM to Allbound via the integration
  3. View the synced Partner Associations on the Company record > Associated Partners tab

tempContractsAssociations.png

Rules-based Associations

  1. Create rules to define which Second Partners should be associated with which Partners
    • Use any field on Company Admin form that has static list of values: Company Name, dropdown, etc
  2. Associations between Partners and Second Partners are dynamically created
    • Data integrity is important!
  3. View the dynamic Partner Associations on the Company record > Associated Partners tab

rulesAssociatedPartners.png

 

Regardless of association type, the companies displayed in the Associated Partners table will be the companies that are available for selection in the Deal Registration form. Use this table to confirm that your Rules or Integration is properly configured.

 

Using Dynamic Groups to Segment by Account Type

Groups (specifically dynamic groups) are used to segment partners for unique user experiences that include:

  • Custom Dashboards
  • Restricted Content Visibility

Now that all Second Partners have the new Second Partner Account Type set, you can create a dynamic group to segment all users that belong to Second Partners (Distributors, Agents, etc). 

dynamicGroupDistributor.png

Once a dynamic group is created based on the Second Partner Account Type, you can restrict access to Content based on this group. For example, you can upload a Distributor Pricing Sheet and restrict group visibility so that only Distributor Users can view the content.

 

Deal Registration with Two Partners

Now that Partners are associated with Second Partners (e.g. Distributors), during Deal Registration two partners can be selected on the deal.

Partners Registers Two-Tier Deal and Selects Second Partner

When a Partner registers a deal, they will see an additional field to select the Second Partner on the deal. The Second Partner dropdown will be populated with all companies associated to the current logged-in user's Company.

dealRegFormDistributor.png

Note: If the current logged-in user's Company does not have any Associated Partners then the Second Partner dropdown will not be displayed on the Deal Reg form, since there are no options to select from.

 

Second Partner Registers Two-Tier Deal on Behalf of Partner

  • Note: Coming soon - scheduled for release on 9/7/23

 

Second Partner Registers Single-Tier Deal

Even if MTD is configured for your portal, your Second Partners can still register single-tier deals, or deals that only have a single Partner. These deals will appear in the Pipeline Deals table with the Second Partner listed as the Partner Company, which is also known as the Deal Owner company. 

distributorSingleTierDeal.png

 

Notifications

In portals with MTD enabled, notifications can be used to alert the Second Partner that a deal has been created or updated and they've been tagged as the Second Partner on the deal. Notifications and deal visibility help provide transparency to all Partners involved and contribute to alignment between all tiers in the multi-tier distribution process.

Deal Related System Notifications

Deal-related system notifications can be enabled by navigating to Allbound Settings > Revenue Settings > Deal Settings. 

systemNotifications.png

If enabled, system notifications will be sent according to the user's company role and the business rules in the table below. 

Company Role Receives System Notifications? Comments
Partner Deal Owner

:check_mark:

only on update

Users don't receive Deal Created system notifications if they created the deal
Partner Sales :cross_mark:  
Partner Manager :check_mark:  
Partner Executive :cross_mark:  
Partner Account Owner (CAM) :check_mark:  
2nd Partner User that registered deal on behalf of Partner :cross_mark: Users don't receive Deal Created system notifications if they created the deal
2nd Partner User (if assigned) :check_mark:  
2nd Partner Manager :check_mark:  
2nd Partner Executive :cross_mark:  
2nd Partner Account Owner (CAM) :check_mark:  

 

Deal Related PJA Notifications

Partner Journey Automation (PJA) can also be used to send notifications based on workflow triggers. For deals, the following triggers are available:

  • User registered a deal
  • User updated a deal

PJA trigger filters, email recipients, and email merge tags have been updated to support sending notifications related to MTD.

Trigger Filters

Portals with MTD enabled have the following additional trigger filters available:

Object Field(s)
Deal 2nd Partner Display Label (e.g. Distributor)
Deal <2nd Partner Display Label> Company All company-related fields

 

Email Recipients

Portals with MTD enabled have granular user company roles separated by Deal Owner and Second Partner. The following additional roles are available:

  • <Second Partner Display Label> User - currently not available but planned for October 2023
  • <Second Partner Display Label> Executive
  • <Second Partner Display Label> Manager
  • <Second Partner Display Label> Sales

The screenshot below illustrates a portal where the Second Partner Display Label is 'Distributor'. 

emailRecipients.png

Email Merge Tags

Portals with MTD enabled have the following additional email merge tags available:

Object Field(s)
Deal <2nd Partner Display Label> Company All company-related fields

The screenshot below illustrates a portal where the Second Partner Display Label is 'Distributor'. 

pjaEmailMergeTags.png

 

Pipeline

When MTD is configured for your portal, you will see a new column on the Pipeline Deals table to indicate the Second Partner on each deal, if set. 

pipelineDealsTable.png

 

Deal Visibility

A key benefit of Multi-Tier Distribution is the ability to provide transparency to all partners on the deal. Deal visibility is granted based on a user's company role and the hierarchy outlined in the table below. 

Company Role Can View Deal? Comments
Partner Deal Owner :check_mark:  
Partner Sales :cross_mark:  
Partner Manager based on hierarchy  
Partner Executive based on hierarchy  
Partner Account Owner (CAM) :check_mark:  
2nd Partner User (if assigned) :check_mark: Currently not available but planned for October 2023
2nd Partner Manager :check_mark:  
2nd Partner Executive :check_mark:  
2nd Partner Account Owner (CAM) :check_mark:  

 

Reporting & Channel Insights

If Partner-level Channel Insights is enabled for your portal then your Second Partner's Pipeline view will aggregate all pipeline data for deals where:

  • the Second Partner is the Deal Owner (single tier deal where they are the Partner Company)
  • the Second Partner is the 2nd Partner on the deal (two-tier deals).

This allows for accurate reporting of all pipeline deals that the Second Partner is tagged on.

 

Required CRM Updates

Vendor Changes to CRM

To support syncing Multi-Tier Distribution related fields to/from the CRM, the Vendor must make the following updates according to their CRM.

Salesforce Updates

Association Type Action Object Field Field Type Comments
All Add Field Account Allbound Account Type

Picklist with values:

  • Partner
  • 2nd Partner Account Type (as configured in Allbound)
 
Partner Contract Associations only Add Field Account Associated <2nd Partner Account Type>

Multi-select picklist with values:

{a single value for every account that has Account Type = 2nd Partner Account Type}

 
All Add Field Lead <2nd Partner Display Label> Account Lookup  
All Add Field Opportunity <2nd Partner Display Label> Account Lookup  
All Update Lead > Opportunity mapping Map <2nd Partner Display Label> for Lead > Opportunity conversion n/a  
All Validate Data & Bulk Update Account Allbound Account Type n/a Ensure that all accounts that have Allbound Status set, also have Allbound Account Type set to a value
Rules only Validate Data & Update for Data Integrity Account All fields that are used in MTD Rules  n/a Ensure that all fields that are used in MTD Rules have accurate data since associations will be dynamically created based on these values

 

HubSpot Updates

Association Type Action Object Field Field Type Comments
All Add Field Company Allbound Account Type

Single checkbox OR Dropdown select OR Radio select with values:

  • Partner
  • 2nd Partner Account Type (as configured in Allbound)
 
Partner Contract Associations only Add Field Company Associated <2nd Partner Account Type>

Multiple checkboxes with values:

{a single value for every account that has Account Type = 2nd Partner Account Type}

Only used when MTD config = Partner Contract Associations
All Data Validation - Bulk Update Company Allbound Account Type

n/a

Ensure that all accounts that have Allbound Status set, also have Allbound Account Type set to a value
Rules only Validate Data & Update for Data Integrity Account All fields that are used in MTD Rules n/a  Ensure that all fields that are used in MTD Rules have accurate data since associations will be dynamically created based on these values

 

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