Salesforce unveils refreshed consulting partner program

Erin Williams explains what the new features means for Australian partners.

Salesforce has recently refreshed its consulting partner program to simplify the tiering model it previously had.

Erin Williams, regional vice president, ANZ Alliances at Salesforce told CRN Australia that the previous iteration was complicated for its consulting partners.

“No one likes a complicated matrix, and trying to figure out where do I stand in all of this?” She said.

Salesforce is looking to increase the incentives they're placing within the consulting partner program, to be more outcome-based.

Williams said they are targeting a billion dollars in revenue for partner incentives and doubling down on rewards for AI consumption.

"As we move towards consumption products, it's a newer muscle for Salesforce. Helping the ecosystem who have a lot of skill and knowledge in driving consumption, which is tied closely to outcomes is helpful,” she said.

“It's wonderful to see that our organisation is leaning on the ecosystem to help with that.”

Salesforce has also clarified its competency model giving partners 28 core competencies to recognise.

Williams said there will also be more support from a technical standpoint for partners.

“In terms of 1-to1's and much easier ways to access vouchers which drive up certifications,” she said.

“Certifications are obviously very contextual. They're an important component, showing us that [partners are] interested in deepening their skills.

“But we always say that certifications plus domain knowledge sets up a great partner project, you need the combination of the two.”

Agentforce features

Agentforce, the company’s agentic AI platform, has become an integral part of its offering. After its release in September 2024, Williams explained there was a rush to upskill their partners.

“Last year we certified over 900 consultants on data and AI certifications to support that motion,” she noted.

To train their partners with the new Agentforce technology, Williams explained there had to be “a lot of hands on training”.

"This is not technology that you can throw up on a webinar and expect that the partners are going to understand it. You've got to get physical,” she said.

“We ran over 15 hands on workshops last year. Some of them went for a couple of days, and we're kicking the partners out the door right at five o'clock.

“There's just a real sense of wanting to learn to get hands on keyboard and understand how to play with this technology.”

She highlighted that since the launch of Agentforce, Salesforce has emphasised the importance of all their partners – technical, sales and alliances.

"When you say that, and then you couple that with a financial investment to help partners and to reward partners for driving consumptions and outcomes for customers, That's putting a lot of wood behind the arrow and a genuine display of support.” she said.

“It does support the narrative that we've been running since Dreamforce of 2024 with financial incentive for our partners.”