From Deals to Usage: Why Consumption Models Demand a New Partner Playbook

In consumption-based models, the signed contract is the beginning, not the end. Here's how partners need to adapt.

For years, technology partnerships have operated on a simple premise: help close the deal, and the value flows. A seat-based SaaS model rewarded partners who could bring opportunities to the table and shepherd them through procurement. Once the contract was signed, the ARR was locked in—regardless of whether the customer actually used the product.

Consumption-based models flip this entirely on its head.

In a consumption model—think API calls, token usage, or compute resources—a signed contract doesn't guarantee revenue. It guarantees access. Revenue only flows when customers actually use the product. And that changes everything about how partners need to think about their business.

The Old Playbook Doesn't Work Anymore

In traditional SaaS partnerships, the incentive structure was straightforward:

• Find opportunities – Identify customers who need the solution
• Close deals – Help navigate procurement and get contracts signed
• Move on – Collect your referral fee or reseller margin and find the next deal

The post-sale experience? That was largely someone else's problem. Customer Success teams would handle adoption. Partners could focus on the next logo.

But in a consumption world, the contract is just a starting line. A customer who signs but never builds anything generates zero revenue. And a partner who can only close deals—but can't drive usage—suddenly isn't very valuable.

What Actually Drives Revenue Now

Think about how AI and API-first companies monetize: by the token, by the call, by the minute of compute. A customer who signs a $1M annual commitment but only uses $200K worth of tokens? That's $200K in revenue, not $1M.

This means partners must build things that drive sustained usage. It's not enough to be a deal-maker. You need to be a solution-builder.

Consider the difference:

How Partners Need to Adapt

1. Shift from transactional to embedded relationships

In seat-based SaaS, you could hand off a customer and disappear. In consumption, you need to stay involved. The partners who win will be the ones who understand the customer's business deeply enough to build applications and workflows that generate ongoing usage.

2. Invest in technical capabilities

If usage drives revenue, then the ability to build integrations, automate workflows, and create compelling use cases becomes a core competency—not a nice-to-have. Partners need developers, solutions architects, and implementation specialists. This isn't just a sales motion anymore.

3. Think like a Customer Success team

Your incentives are now aligned with the customer's actual outcomes. If they're successful and using the product heavily, you both win. If they're not, you both lose. This means partners should be measuring customer health, tracking adoption metrics, and proactively solving problems before they lead to churn or stagnation.

4. Build for expansion, not just deployment

The best consumption partners don't just implement—they continuously identify new use cases. That initial deployment is just the wedge. The real value comes from expanding into new departments, new workflows, and new applications over time.

Real-World Example: The SI Pivot

Consider a Systems Integrator (SI) that historically made money on implementation projects for enterprise SaaS. Their model was: win a deal, staff a team, deliver a project, move on.

In a consumption world, that same SI needs to rethink their entire business model. Yes, there's still an initial implementation. But the ongoing revenue depends on whether that implementation actually gets used. Smart SIs are now offering managed services, building accelerators and templates that drive adoption, and tying their own compensation to usage metrics—not just project completion.

The SIs who adapt will have stickier customer relationships and more predictable revenue streams. The ones who don't will find their value proposition eroding quickly.

The Opportunity

This isn't just a challenge—it's an opportunity for partners who get it right. Because consumption models also mean unlimited upside. In a seat-based world, your commission was capped by the contract size. In a consumption world, a customer who starts small but builds something transformational can grow into one of your largest accounts.

The partners who build things that drive genuine customer value—applications that become mission-critical, workflows that people use every day—will see their revenue grow alongside their customers'.

It's not enough to close deals anymore. You have to build things that matter.

If you're a partner still running the old SaaS playbook, now is the time to adapt. Your customers—and your business model—depend on it.

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision." - Drucker

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