MDF utilisation YOY
in deal registrations
ROI on Demand Generation Programs
Five years of performance data told a clear story: a significant share of our Market Development Fund investment was going toward
sales incentives,
certifications and
other non-marketing activity,
while demand generation, the activity that actually built pipeline, was underfunded by comparison.
The risk in leaving the model as it was meant continuing to fund activity that wasn't moving the needle on new business, while partners who were ready to invest in demand generation had limited access to support.
The challenge was proving, with evidence rather than assumption, that a different allocation of the same budget would deliver materially better commercial outcomes, and getting Channel Sales and partner stakeholders aligned behind a change to a model they were used to.
I started by using the historical performance data itself to build the business case, identifying exactly where MDF was being overspent on non-demand-generating activity and where the opportunity cost was greatest.
Rather than roll out a full ecosystem change immediately, I piloted the new model with one distributor and five resellers, shifting investment from a "Marketing To" incentive structure toward a "Marketing Through" model built around reseller-led campaigns, sales enablement and partner enablement. This let us prove the approach and refine it before asking the wider ecosystem to adopt it.
Once the pilot showed results, I scaled the model across all remaining distributors and the broader partner base, standardising the planning, funding and review cycle so it could run consistently every half-year. I also put in place a recurring operating rhythm, regular partner reviews to track delivery and fund utilisation, so the program kept delivering results after launch rather than drifting once the initial pilot excitement wore off.
The redesigned model turned a historically underperforming investment into a disciplined, scalable program, including:
MDF utilisation lifted from 65% to 98% within the first year, and sustained at that level every half-year and annually since,
15% uplift in deal registrations as the broader program matured, and
30x ROI on the structured demand-generation programs built on top of the new model, activity the original incentive-heavy approach would never have funded.