Sales, Pipeline & Deal Economics
What Is Deal Steering?
Deal steering is the practice of influencing which products and vendors an opportunity favors as it is shaped - through solution design, pricing and recommendation. For a channel partner, informed steering means guiding deals, where genuine fit allows, toward the vendors and products that earn the best rebate, so the partner's profit and the customer's solution both hold up.
Why it matters to IT channel partners. Steering happens whether or not it is measured - reps lean toward familiar brands or personal incentives. The value is in steering deliberately and transparently: directing the deals that can fit either way toward the program where the partner is near a threshold or earns a richer rebate. Without rebate visibility, that steering is guesswork; with it, every choice can serve the customer and the partner's profit.
Related terms
FAQ
It should not be. Responsible steering only moves deals among options that genuinely fit the customer, choosing among them by the rebate the partner earns - never recommending a worse solution for a better payout.
Steer deals toward the vendors that pay best → Explore the pipeline module