Who are the revenue drivers for an organization? Most people would immediately name sales and marketing. But there is increasingly broad recognition of the role that partnerships teams play. Enterprises are starting to bet big on the channel, with Google Cloud recently committing to attaching partners to 100% of their customer engagements.

How do you become a pro at managing and monetizing partnerships? There aren’t professional designations or master’s programs that certify you as an alliance executive. Rather, most enter this role from fascinating and varied backgrounds that involved client management, selling, marketing, and/or consulting. And most tell us that their desire to build deep, lasting relationships and solve problems together is what’s kept them motivated to stay in this career track.

What’s the state of partnerships careers today? We created the infographic below to illustrate just that. You’ll find everything from a breakdown of how many entry vs. senior level professionals there are out there to the most sought after skills to have as a leader.

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