The biggest difference is the goals.
- If a partner program’s goal is to align 2 sales teams, then commissions really should only be paid on Year 1 deals closed together. If you want to truly partner — start here when you design partner deals and partner programs.
- If a platform’s goal is to monetize its partners, then an infinite commission plan “makes sense” in that it’s a tax to use their platform.
Salesforce, Apple, Shopfy, etc. all have or have moved to “infinite” commissions. In the case of Apple, they decline after Year 1.
