Measure channel partners the way you measure your best direct accounts: by the long-term value of the relationship rather than a single quarter’s order volume. A partner who places a small first order may be the front door to a region or vertical worth millions over the next decade. Hold regular relationship reviews with your top partners, understand their business and goals, and track which partners are building real demand versus simply taking orders that would have arrived anyway. Then concentrate your support where the relationship has the most room to compound.