---
title: Partner Recruitment and Management — RGM Training
url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/training/affiliate-marketing/partner-recruitment-and-management/
updated: 2026-06-10
source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/training/affiliate-marketing/partner-recruitment-and-management/
---

[Home](../../../index.html) › [Training](../../index.html) › [Affiliate Marketing](../index.html) › Partner Recruitment and Management

RGM° · Training

# Partner Recruitment and Management

Top 50 partners produce 80% of revenue. Discovery, outreach, approval, onboarding, ongoing, top partner programs.

### What you will learn

1. [Why partner recruitment matters](#why)
2. [Partner discovery](#discovery)
3. [Outreach](#outreach)
4. [Approval criteria](#approval)
5. [Onboarding](#onboarding)
6. [Ongoing management](#ongoing)
7. [Top partner programs](#top-partners)
8. [Advanced](#advanced)
9. [Mistakes](#mistakes)
10. [Checklist](#checklist)

## Why recruitment

Affiliate program ROI is concentrated in top partners. The right 50 partners often produce 80% of revenue. Recruitment rigor is the lever; relationships are the asset.

## Discovery

- Network partner database search.
- Competitor partner analysis.
- Industry publication review.
- SEO competitor research (who ranks for your category).
- Top-coupon and review sites.
- Creator economy platforms.
- Influencer-to-affiliate transitions.
- Trade publication partnerships.

## Outreach

- Personalized outreach.
- Value proposition clear (commission, brand fit, support).
- Sample creative provided.
- Custom landing pages offered for top targets.
- Quick response.
- Follow-up cadence.
- Network outreach + direct outreach.

## Approval

- Brand fit assessment.
- Traffic source legitimacy.
- Compliance history.
- Content quality.
- Audience relevance.
- Volume potential.
- Fraud risk indicators.
- Auto-approval vs manual review thresholds.

## Onboarding

- Welcome materials.
- Creative assets provided.
- Product feed access.
- Tracking link generation.
- Commission structure clear.
- Reporting access.
- Support contact.
- First conversion milestone celebration.

## Ongoing

- Performance monitoring.
- Communication cadence.
- Promotional notifications.
- Newsletter to partners.
- Performance bonuses.
- Reactivation outreach for dormant.
- Annual partner review.

## Top partners

- Direct account management.
- Custom commission rates.
- Co-marketing opportunities.
- Exclusive promotional codes.
- Early access to new products.
- Annual in-person events.
- Quarterly business reviews.

## Advanced

- Partner discovery automated.
- Tiered outreach approach.
- Custom landing pages for top targets.
- Approval criteria documented.
- Onboarding sequence automated.
- Top-partner direct management.
- Annual partner conference / event.
- Co-marketing budget per top partner.
- Performance bonuses programmatic.
- Reactivation automated for dormant.

## Mistakes

- Recruitment ad-hoc.
- Outreach generic.
- Approval criteria undocumented.
- Top partners not directly managed.
- Onboarding generic.
- Communication absent post-approval.
- Dormant partners not reactivated.
- Annual partner review skipped.
- Co-marketing budget absent.
- Custom landing pages not offered.

## Checklist

- Partner discovery process
- Personalized outreach
- Approval criteria documented
- Onboarding sequence
- Top-partner direct management
- Annual partner event
- Co-marketing budget
- Performance bonuses
- Reactivation for dormant
- Custom landing pages for top targets

## Sources and further reading

- Impact, Awin, CJ recruitment features
- Affiliate Summit content
- Wirecutter, Engadget partnership examples
- PMA Performance Marketing Association
- RGM Influencer Marketing creator-sourcing module
- Andrew Faris affiliate playbooks
- Common Thread Collective affiliate
- Affiverse recruitment research
- Affiliate Insider
- MMA partner research
- Marketing Brew affiliate coverage
- Affiliate Summit West / East

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Part of the [Affiliate Marketing](../index.html) series.