For this edition of Greatest Minds in Partnerships, we spoke with Jasper Lounio, Global Head of Channel at efficy, about what it truly means to embrace a partner-first mindset and why, for modern B2B organizations, it’s no longer a nice-to-have but a necessity.

Efficy is a fast-growing European CRM powerhouse with a bold vision: to build a pan-European leader in customer relationship management by acquiring and integrating best-in-class CRM solutions tailored to regional needs. Operating across dozens of markets, languages, and business environments, efficy’s ambition hinges not on the strength of any one product but on the strength of its ecosystem.

From Sales to Strategy: A Natural Progression into Partnerships

Jasper’s path into partnerships wasn’t marked by a single pivot. Instead, it unfolded over years spent in frontline sales roles, where he found himself constantly working alongside third-party collaborators such as distributors, integrators, marketing agencies, and technology alliances. These weren’t just helpful support players. Over time, he noticed a pattern: the biggest, most durable deals, the ones that truly moved the needle, came through partnerships.

“I started asking myself why we treat these partner motions like side quests? “What if we built a go-to-market motion where partners weren’t the backup dancers, they were center stage?”

That thinking aligned perfectly with efficy’s business reality. As the company expanded across Europe, managing a growing family of CRM solutions, it became clear that a direct-only model wasn’t just inefficient but unsustainable. Markets differ wildly. Languages, buyer behavior, and regulatory nuance demand local presence and knowledge. Scaling efficiently meant leaning into partnerships as a strategic lever, not a workaround.

Today, Jasper leads efficy’s global partner strategy. His mission is to build an ecosystem where partners don’t just extend reach; they co-create value. He wants to do this in a way that aligns tightly with the company’s commercial and regional priorities.

Starting Fast: Defining Success Before Revenue

Efficy’s shift toward a partner-led approach is still in its early days, ten weeks since its launch to be exact, but the velocity is unmistakable. Jasper describes those first steps not as bold leaps but intentional groundwork. His team began by mapping where partners could drive the most impact, building a streamlined onboarding experience, and perhaps most critically, establishing internal alignment around what “partner-led” means in practice.

“It’s not about replacing direct sales. It’s about building local impact in places where we can't be present ourselves.” It’s about expanding intelligently.”

Revenue wasn’t the first benchmark. Instead, early success was measured by engagement: how many partners were coming on board, registering deals, asking for support, and, most importantly, closing.

Even within the first month, results were material. Dozens of partner accounts were activated, more than 80 deals were registered by partners, a seven-figure pipeline emerged from partner-sourced opportunities, and the first few deals closed within just 30 days of onboarding.

“We’re focused on pace and feedback. “The goal right now isn’t to build something perfect, it’s to build something that works and gets better every week.”

Onboarding as Activation, Not Information Dump

Jasper is clear about onboarding. Information isn’t the goal; confidence is. Efficy’s onboarding strategy is designed to accelerate belief. That means showing partners what to sell and how they can win quickly and predictably.

“We don’t want partners lost in a maze of portals and PDFs,” Jasper says. “We want them co-selling on real deals, shoulder to shoulder with our sales team, in the first 30 days.”

That early win, often a small one, is a key psychological moment. It builds momentum, strengthens commitment, and turns passive participants into active champions. To make this happen, efficy assigns every partner a direct point of contact and embeds co-selling support from the start. It’s a hands-on model, but not a heavy one. It’s about human connection, clarity of fit, and fast time to value.

“When partners know who to talk to, what to do, and how to win, they stop feeling like outsiders and start acting like insiders,” Jasper explains. “That’s when the magic happens.”

Scaling Across Borders: A Hybrid Channel Model

Efficy’s footprint spans over a dozen countries, so Jasper’s team must navigate a broad spectrum of cultural, commercial, and organizational nuances. There is no universal playbook. Instead, the partner organization is built on a hybrid model. Locally embedded teams report regionally and are supported by a globally aligned channel framework.

“Our local partner managers are part of their regional leadership teams,” Jasper explains. “They understand the rhythms of their markets. But they also plug into a central structure that ensures consistency in enabling and measuring success.”

This setup drives alignment between partner activities and regional priorities while maintaining a shared strategy across the organization. Partner managers aren’t operating in silos. They’re working hand in hand with local sales teams, joining pipeline reviews, co-leading go-to-market plans, and surfacing product feedback from the field.

“The partner engine isn’t a separate machine. It’s the way each region runs.”

Letting Data Light the Way

Data is central to efficy’s partner strategy, but not in an overwhelming way. At this stage, the focus is on metrics that reflect momentum: how quickly partners move from onboarding to activation, how engaged they are, and how their deals perform compared to the direct motion.

“Too many partner programs drown in dashboards,” Jasper notes. “We chose to track only what truly matters in the early stage. Are our partners bringing opportunities? Are they closing? Are they showing up and asking for help?”

This clarity enables better decision-making. On where to invest, how to coach, and which partners to grow with. A central partner portal simplifies it, allowing partners to register deals, access support, and track performance in one place. No chasing data across multiple systems. No second-guessing the numbers.

Internal Alignment: Making Partnerships Everyone’s Metric

Jasper is unequivocal. A partner-first model cannot succeed if treated as a separate initiative. At efficy, partnerships are part of the operating rhythm. Partner-sourced pipeline is forecasted just like direct. Partner managers are in the same rooms as sales and marketing. There’s no handoff, just shared ownership.

“Alignment doesn’t happen in strategy decks,” Jasper says. “It happens in meetings. In KPIs. In how we measure success together.”

Of course, not everyone bought in immediately. Some sales leaders saw partners as extra complexity. That changed when early wins started coming in, wins that accelerated deal cycles and opened doors into new verticals. The solution? Show, don’t tell.

“When you can prove that partners help everyone hit their number faster, you don’t need to sell the model. It sells itself.”

Lessons Learned: Play the Long Game

As efficy builds its ecosystem, Jasper reflects on the core lessons he’s learned. Scale comes from focus. Success comes from internal buy-in. And relationships still matter more than processes.

“You can’t treat partners like a volume game,” he says. “More logos doesn’t mean more impact. You need the right partners, with the right support, in the right places.”

His advice for others considering the move to partner-led growth? Start before you’re ready. Treat partners like part of the team. Build for scale, but don’t sacrifice speed. Most importantly, invest in relationships before expecting results.

“If you see partners as shortcuts, you’ll be disappointed.” But if you see them as part of your long-term growth engine, you’ll be amazed how fast things can move.”