Find out how to create a new partner program and choose the right settings in Ontraport.
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Feature updates: Since this video was produced, partner data is available app-wide. You can build a powerful, unified partner center in Ontraport (without WordPress). The quickest and easiest way to build one is using our Partners app.
Learn more about the Partners app here, or learn how to set up a partner program from scratch in this article.
Learn more about the Partners app here, or learn how to set up a partner program from scratch in this article.
Home > Ontraport for marketing > Partners > Create a partner program
Create a partner program
You'll learn:
- How to create a new partner program
- What type of program you should run: one-tier or two-tier
- The way to choose what information partners see about people they refer
- How to give partners the right access and send notifications
- When to create multiple partner programs
Sam Flegal
Create a partner program
Find out how to create a new partner program and choose the right settings in Ontraport.
- How to create a new partner program
- What type of program you should run: one-tier or two-tier
- The way to choose what information partners see about people they refer
- How to give partners the right access and send notifications
- When to create multiple partner programs
Course Instructor
Sam Flegal
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Transcript
In this video, I’ll show you how to set up a partner program in Ontraport.
You only need to set this up once, but you can set up as many programs as you like — which is a good thing if you make different deals with different partners.
For example, you might want some partners to get a higher commission than others or be allowed to promote different products. In those cases, you’d create a new program and assign those partners to that program.
I’ll break down this process into two easy steps. First, you’ll create a new partner program. And second, adjust your settings.
Let’s set it up.
To create a partner program, go to “Partners” and then “Programs.”
From here, click “+Add New Partner Program” and fill in the name of your partner program. You might call it ‘Main Partner Program’ or ‘Top Partners Program’ if this one’s for those people. Really whatever you like is fine.
Ok, that was simple — you’re on fire!
Now, let’s walk through the settings.
Pick the type of program you’re going to run. You’ll choose between a one-tier or two-tier partner program.
With a one-tier partner program, a commission is paid out when a partner refers your product and a sale is made. This is the most common and the recommended setting for most people.
A two-tier partner program is similar, except a commission is also given to the person who referred the first partner. You’d use this to incentive people you know who can refer you to other people who will then refer you new clients.
For example, let’s say you sell dog collars. And let’s say you have a friend named Susie. And Susie has a buddy Rex who’s huge in the dog-walking world.
When Rex tells people to buy a product, everyone listens. So, if Susie were to introduce you to Rex, that would be awesome. So awesome that you’d like to offer to pay Susie a small commission every time Rex refers a new customer to you.
In fact, you’ve agreed to pay Rex a 20% commission on every sale, and you’ve also agreed to pay Susie a 5% second-tier commission on Rex’s sales. That means, all together you’ll pay 25% commission on each sale.
Ontraport keeps track of all this for you in a two-tier partner program. But in general, I recommend sticking with a one-tier program for most users, especially beginners.
Now, let’s go to “How much Information on Referral do you want to share with partners?”
This setting determines how much information your partners will get to see about the people they refer. Most commonly, you don’t share that information. But with some programs, partners will refer someone and want to check to make sure they’re getting proper credit. In that case, you can share a bit of information about your new customers so your partners can figure out what’s what.
Your options are:
“None,” which means sales are anonymous — I’d choose this setting; you can always change it later. “Share first name and last initial”. “Share full name”. “Share full name and email address”. “Contact ID.” This will show the contact ID number associated with their contact record.
All of this information will show up in your partner center. We’ll talk about how to set that up in a later video.
The next setting we’ll touch on is “Show partners information on declined charges.” Click the checkbox if you want to show your partners information about declined charges. We’ll leave this “off” for now. We’d particularly recommend keeping this off if you’re sharing any information about the customer in that last step. The LAST thing you want is for your partner to contact your customer and embarrass them about getting their card declined, right?
“Hey, uh could you go ahead and pay your bill at some point, cause I’d like my commission this month, k?”
No, we don’t want that. So best to keep this to yourself. The only time you’d share this is if you have a pretty high volume program and keep customer names anonymous. Sometimes partners want to know if the traffic they’re driving is low quality, and declined cards can help them understand that.
Next, you need to decide if you want to “Show partners the complete purchase history for each referred client.”
This allows partners to see every purchase any referral has made in Ontraport. Again, I would keep this “off.” The reason here is because you may not be giving your partners commission on everything you sell to these people… and that could raise some eyebrows. So unless you have a reason to share, “off” is probably the safe choice.
We’re almost done!
If you want to send your partners a notification email whenever they earn a commission, you’ll just select the message that you want to send.
Congrats, you’ve just created your very own partner program! If you want to keep things moving along, check out our “Adding Products to Your Program” video.
You only need to set this up once, but you can set up as many programs as you like — which is a good thing if you make different deals with different partners.
For example, you might want some partners to get a higher commission than others or be allowed to promote different products. In those cases, you’d create a new program and assign those partners to that program.
I’ll break down this process into two easy steps. First, you’ll create a new partner program. And second, adjust your settings.
Let’s set it up.
To create a partner program, go to “Partners” and then “Programs.”
From here, click “+Add New Partner Program” and fill in the name of your partner program. You might call it ‘Main Partner Program’ or ‘Top Partners Program’ if this one’s for those people. Really whatever you like is fine.
Ok, that was simple — you’re on fire!
Now, let’s walk through the settings.
Pick the type of program you’re going to run. You’ll choose between a one-tier or two-tier partner program.
With a one-tier partner program, a commission is paid out when a partner refers your product and a sale is made. This is the most common and the recommended setting for most people.
A two-tier partner program is similar, except a commission is also given to the person who referred the first partner. You’d use this to incentive people you know who can refer you to other people who will then refer you new clients.
For example, let’s say you sell dog collars. And let’s say you have a friend named Susie. And Susie has a buddy Rex who’s huge in the dog-walking world.
When Rex tells people to buy a product, everyone listens. So, if Susie were to introduce you to Rex, that would be awesome. So awesome that you’d like to offer to pay Susie a small commission every time Rex refers a new customer to you.
In fact, you’ve agreed to pay Rex a 20% commission on every sale, and you’ve also agreed to pay Susie a 5% second-tier commission on Rex’s sales. That means, all together you’ll pay 25% commission on each sale.
Ontraport keeps track of all this for you in a two-tier partner program. But in general, I recommend sticking with a one-tier program for most users, especially beginners.
Now, let’s go to “How much Information on Referral do you want to share with partners?”
This setting determines how much information your partners will get to see about the people they refer. Most commonly, you don’t share that information. But with some programs, partners will refer someone and want to check to make sure they’re getting proper credit. In that case, you can share a bit of information about your new customers so your partners can figure out what’s what.
Your options are:
“None,” which means sales are anonymous — I’d choose this setting; you can always change it later. “Share first name and last initial”. “Share full name”. “Share full name and email address”. “Contact ID.” This will show the contact ID number associated with their contact record.
All of this information will show up in your partner center. We’ll talk about how to set that up in a later video.
The next setting we’ll touch on is “Show partners information on declined charges.” Click the checkbox if you want to show your partners information about declined charges. We’ll leave this “off” for now. We’d particularly recommend keeping this off if you’re sharing any information about the customer in that last step. The LAST thing you want is for your partner to contact your customer and embarrass them about getting their card declined, right?
“Hey, uh could you go ahead and pay your bill at some point, cause I’d like my commission this month, k?”
No, we don’t want that. So best to keep this to yourself. The only time you’d share this is if you have a pretty high volume program and keep customer names anonymous. Sometimes partners want to know if the traffic they’re driving is low quality, and declined cards can help them understand that.
Next, you need to decide if you want to “Show partners the complete purchase history for each referred client.”
This allows partners to see every purchase any referral has made in Ontraport. Again, I would keep this “off.” The reason here is because you may not be giving your partners commission on everything you sell to these people… and that could raise some eyebrows. So unless you have a reason to share, “off” is probably the safe choice.
We’re almost done!
If you want to send your partners a notification email whenever they earn a commission, you’ll just select the message that you want to send.
Congrats, you’ve just created your very own partner program! If you want to keep things moving along, check out our “Adding Products to Your Program” video.
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