Doing More With Less: Rebuilding Partner Demand Generation at GE Healthcare

As Channel and Partner Marketing Manager at GE Healthcare, I supported VAR partners within the digital healthcare organization by developing demand-generation and nurture programs designed to create a qualified pipeline and support partner growth.

Following a major portfolio change, my partner base and marketing budget were significantly impacted. Rather than continuing to spread limited resources across multiple programs, I used performance data to identify where we could concentrate investment, improve partner follow-through, and generate greater pipeline impact with fewer resources.

The Challenge

More than 50% of Partner Qualified Leads (PQLs) generated through our programs were being disqualified by partner sales teams, with “unable to contact” cited as the primary reason.

At the same time, the marketing budget was being reduced by 25% quarter over quarter.

The challenge wasn't simply generating more leads. We needed to understand why seemingly strong leads weren't progressing, determine which demand-generation channels produced the greatest value, and improve the process between marketing qualification and partner sales follow-up.

My Approach

I analyzed lead sources, cost per lead, qualification data, and partner follow-up to understand where both marketing investment and potential opportunities were being lost.

I then focused the program around several key changes:

• Re-evaluated cost per lead and performance by demand-generation source to identify the highest-value investments.
• Analyzed PQL disqualification data and discovered that many leads classified as unreachable showed signals of meaningful buyer interest.
• Concentrated investment on the highest-performing programs, particularly telemarketing and targeted list acquisition, rather than spreading budget across numerous tactics.
• Developed additional training for both the telemarketing and partner sales teams to improve qualification and follow-up.
• Established a dedicated inside sales resource to improve ownership and speed of lead response.
• Piloted a lead re-warm email process between telemarketing and sales to re-engage prospects before follow-up.
• Strengthened accountability around lead management and sales SLAs.

The Impact

The changes produced measurable improvements in both funnel efficiency and sales follow-through:

• 50% → 17%
  Reduced partner lead disqualification in less than two months.
• 25 days → <10 days
  Reduced the SLA for open Stage 1 leads from approximately 25 days to fewer than 10.
• 58% additional funnel
  Built incremental funnel representing 58% of the total funnel during my final two months.
• 18% PQL → Opportunity
  Converted 18% of Partner Qualified Leads into sales opportunities.
• 40%+ of leads
  More than 40% of leads ultimately came from targeted purchased lists, helping validate where limited budget could generate greater impact.