Performance Partners

Performance Partners is a strategic affiliate consulting agency for DTC Brands. We help grow your affiliate channel by connecting you with the right partners that can generate high-volume sales.

Our Mission:
Our mission is to forge dynamic partnerships that drive growth for DTC brands by connecting them with the world's leading affiliates. We're dedicated to fostering relationships that propel businesses to new heights, ensuring mutual success and excellence in the affiliate marketing landscape.

Specialties:

Affiliate Program Strategy, Systems and Process: We will teach you the strategy we used to build 8-figure affiliate programs for Goli and Onnit.

Super Affiliate Introductions: With over 15 years in affiliate marketing we have built a portfolio of the top affiliates in the world and can make direct introductions.

Affiliate Recruitment Strategy: We will teach you the process we use to recruit super affiliates to join your program.

Affiliate Management Strategy: Learn how to manage affiliate who specialize in paid media

Affiliate Program Optimization: Discover ways to make your program more attractive to super affiliates

Affiliate Network and Preferred Vendor Recommendations: Get access to our network of trusted vendors for content and funnel development.

Chief Executive Officer

iLife Technologies

iLife's mission is to make selling and buying life insurance faster, easier, and more enjoyable for agents, brokers, and customers. 

With iLife Technology, agents and brokers can sell more policies from anywhere in a fraction of the time. Consumers can easily compare plans from over 670,000 policy options, submit preliminary information to apply online in just a few clicks. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Affiliate Partnerships @ iLife Technologies

Carousel

Headquartered in Toronto, Carousel is a comprehensive digital and performance marketing platform that helps D2C brands across multiple industries acquire customers at scale.

I interface directly with senior client executives at global media agencies and e-commerce brands to build and/or revamp strategies across search, social, mobile and display channels. Integrating both strategy and implementation capabilities, we serve as extensions of in-house media teams to effectively allocate marketing spend, and develop the requisite infrastructure for long-term marketing success. Some of my other business development-focused responsibilities include:

♦ Lead and planned performance marketing campaigns strategy to efficiently scale growth across both paid and organic channels for some of the most inventive D2C ecom brands 
♦ Worked with media buying teams to evaluated existing digital marketing plans and infrastructure of clients to identify gaps, and propose data-driven recommendations on search, social, mobile, and display campaign optimization
♦ Provided insights internally on new developments and trends in performance marketing and user acquisition, and helped key stakeholders to think in the context of LTV and ROI

Agency Partner - Team Lead

Senior Agency Partner

Jumbleberry

As a Senior Affiliate Manager, I was responsible for developing and growing a multi-million dollar performance marketing portfolio in the Direct-To-Consumer vertical. I worked closely with the business development team to negotiate deals and acquire customers online for my clients.

Affiliate Manager - Team Lead

Office Ink

Office Ink was an office supply e-commerce venture that eventually scaled to 8+ employees across Canada servicing 600+ customers.

Taking ownership of a nationwide customer base and pipeline, I put together a sales and service team, and we collectively built the client book from the ground-up through a structured approach to prospecting and lead generation. I also led the development of commercial and go-to-market strategies, making key decisions in marketing, pricing, and promotions to win market share from incumbents in competitive markets. 

As a company, we leveraged our dedicated coverage and customer service capabilities to carve out a competitive advantage, and retain the confidence of SMBs and institutions.

Co-Founder & President

Mogenio

Spearheaded sales of a multi-million dollar affiliate portfolio with leadership of a team of 5. Played a central role in the establishment and growth of the satellite office in Luxembourg.

Director of Distribution

Mundo Media

As the Senior Affiliate Manager at Mundo Media, I worked closely with affiliate media buyers (web & mobile media buyers, websites, application owners, search marketers, etc.) to help facilitate promotional efforts for our advertising clients on a CPA/CPL/CPI basis. I analyzed publisher statistics on a daily basis to maximize revenue, identify opportunities, optimize campaigns and troubleshoot issues.

Director Affiliate Sales

As the Bilingual Online Marketing Coordinator at AIG, I developed several regional marketing plans for online quoting software. Tasks included: conducting primary market research, identifying regional client needs, communicating new sales and marketing strategies, implementing marketing plan through client presentations, promotional materials and an online presence.

Bilingual Online Marketing Coordinator

You've built a 7-8 figure health & beauty DTC brand. I will connect you with the top affiliates in the world

Hi - I’m Fred!

For over 16 years, I have been managing and scaling profitable affiliate programs that help DTC brands grow revenue.

Some of the questions I get asked are:

▪️ How do I recruit the top direct-response affiliates who specialize in paid media? 
(Email, Display, Tik Tok, Snap, FB, Google, Push)

▪️ How can I increase revenue with lower acquisition costs?

▪️ How can I reduce risk exposure and reliance on a small number of channels?

▪️ How do I structure commission payouts to ensure my brand's and affiliates' profitability?

▪️ How do I build direct response content to get customers to buy now?

▪️ How do I maintain brand, content, and messaging integrity?

In my experience of building/managing affiliate programs for networks and brands, and as an affiliate myself, I’ve worked in all facets of affiliate marketing, and I consider it my domain of expertise. 

I’ve also helped recruit affiliates for some of the biggest global DTC brands, including Goli, Onnit and FluffCo.

My job is to maximize your investment in affiliate marketing, educate you on the technical strategies, and deliver results that surpass your marketing goals.

👉 WHAT I DO:
- Affiliate Program Strategy, Systems and Process
- Super Affiliate Introductions
- Affiliate Recruitment Strategy
- Affiliate Management Strategy
- Affiliate Program Optimization
- Affiliate Network and Preferred Vendor Recommendations

CORE VALUES FOR SUCCESS: 🙏
1. Prioritize the needs and goals of the client 
2. Strive to be the best version of myself (Mamba Mentality)
3. Never shy away from difficult conversations
5. Be organized
5. Always take accountability for both the wins and losses

When I'm not working away, I love spending time with my wife & 2 kids, training for long-distance races and "attempting" to win my NBA fantasy league. 

If you're interested in learning more about how I can help solve some of your acquisition/affiliate challenges, drop me a message, and let's schedule a free call.

Frederic Jean-Bart

Just got back from Miami with 10 friends I've known for 22 years.

Most of us are married. Most have kids. Most of us run our own business. Few work as C-suite executives. Endless professional commitments. 

Taking time out for a trip every year is not easy. 

But here's what I've learned: Carving out time for friendships like these isn't optional.

We make it happen every quarter for dinner. Every year, for a bigger trip together. And every single time, I come back more motivated and inspired.

More than that, when we get together, it's nonstop laughs, stories, and memories. The inside jokes. The kind of connection that's only possible after two decades of showing up for each other.

Success means nothing without people to share it with. Social media may glorify the ‘build alone’ idea. But I’ve realized that in the long term, it makes zero sense.

You can pursue what you want, build exceptional companies, and get higher promotions. But don't forget to protect the relationships that make the journey worthwhile. 

And I’m sure people in their 30s and 40s will agree to this.

Affiliate Partnerships for 8-9 Figure DTC Brands | CEO @ Performance Partners | 17-Year Expert In Affiliate Recruitment

Performance Partners turns 3 today!

What started as a small vision for an affiliate marketing agency has grown into a fast-moving, premium partner for some incredible DTC brands.

Here’s what the journey has looked like so far…
from year-one experiments to scaling real, profitable programs.

To everyone who played a part in this: 
Thank you.
You helped build this.

P.S. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter. Link is in the comments.

Journey of building Performance Partners

I’m 41, running a 7-figure affiliate marketing agency remotely and have generated $250M for my clients in the last 17 years.

2009: I started as a jr. affiliate manager.
2025: Building & scaling Performance Partners 

It's been almost a 17-year journey in affiliate marketing. Here’s why I think affiliate marketing could replace paid media as the #1 growth channel for DTC brands in the next 5 years.

1. Paid ads are underperforming.

CRMs are up. ROAS is down. Meta and Google aren’t what they used to be.

2. Affiliate marketing builds trust.

People trust people, not ads. Creators, experts, and reviewers have more influence than banners. Affiliate marketing is relationship-driven, not algorithm-driven

3. Smart brands are shifting budgets.

Brands are already partnering with:

- Niche publishers
- Content creators
- Performance-driven media buyers

4. Tech platforms are enabling scale.

Platforms like TikTok Shop are leading the way. They make it easy for brands to partner with creators, track performance, and scale successful campaigns. It is turning creators into high-performance affiliates

It’s a sign that traditional ad platforms are going creator-first.
The future is performance-based and trust-led partnerships.

And that’s why I’m so bullish on the potential of affiliate marketing for 8 & 9-fig DTC brands.

We just activated one of the biggest listicle affiliates in the industry for two of our clients. A media buyer who consistently spends up to six figures a day during Q4.

When you're dealing with affiliates at this level, activation is the hardest part. 

They're getting hit up by everyone: networks, agencies, brands. Everyone knows they're big, so the competition for their attention is intense.

And we got them on board. Revenue is already flowing. 
And the growth looks incredible.

They're going to be a major driver of our Black Friday and Cyber Monday numbers for both clients; exactly what these brands wanted when they came to us looking for real affiliate media buyer partnerships.

And we're not stopping here. We have more high-performing listicle affiliates in the pipeline.

Big wins in the affiliate space are always strategic. 

They happen when you've built the relationships, proven the value, and can cut through the noise to get top-tier partners activated.

P.S. In the next issue of my newsletter, I am sharing my 5-step framework to scale any program to 5-figures a month in the first month. Subscribe here: www.freddysfastfive.com

When I was leading the affiliate growth strategy for a portfolio of $50M+ D2C brands, our client launches were a mess. Broken pixels. Messy tracking. Last-minute “Can you fix this today?” DMs on Slack.

Every new brand took forever to get live. And clients got annoyed (quite understandably) because results were slow.

One day an affiliate media buyer said:
“We need a simple launch system.”

So we rebuilt the whole thing from scratch using a very basic 3-step setup:

1. Foundation check: We verified pixels, events, audiences, and product feeds in 20 minutes. 

2. Starter campaign pack: We launched one search, one social, and one display affiliate with proven templates that always worked for other D2C brands.

3. First 7-day scorecard
Track only four numbers: EPC, CVR, CAC, and revenue. Ignore everything else until week two.

That’s it. No 50-slide audit. Almost zero friction. 

And within two months:

• Launch times dropped from 10 days to 3.
• CAC improved because campaigns went live cleaner.
• Clients and affiliates were satisfied because they saw results early.

That is a lesson every brand and affiliate manager needs to understand (and put into action):

Most ‘complex’ growth problems get solved by simple systems and smaller steps. Making your system less ‘overwhelming’ for your partners and clients should be your #1 priority.

P.S. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter 'Freddy's Fast Five': www.freddysfastfive.com

I’ve taken 47 programs past $100K/month using this exact blueprint. Most of them were struggling to make $20K consistently. Because they all were making a common mistake. A mistake that most brands make now too.

Most programs take a passive approach to affiliate recruitment.

They set up the affiliate program…
Publish a sign-up page…
And wait for inbound applications to roll in.

On paper, this sounds efficient.
In reality, it caps your revenue.

Passive recruitment attracts bottom-tier affiliates:

- Coupon sites looking for new programs
- Deal hunters browsing affiliate directories
- Affiliates who compete only on discounting

These partners don’t grow your revenue, they leech off conversions you would have gotten anyway.

Here’s the bigger issue most brands never see coming:

Your top-producing affiliates will never apply to you. 

Premium partners operate differently. The only way to get their attention is by strategic outreach.

Media buyers don’t look for programs; they get pitched by brands that want scale High-value influencers choose brands that take initiative.

These are the affiliates who drive 80–90% of revenue in scaled programs.

And when you rely on passive applications, you’re not just missing potential partners,  you’re handing them directly to your competitors who are actively recruiting them. That’s the actual cost.

You can’t scale to $100K+/month by sitting back and hoping the right affiliates find you.

Programs that grow aggressively do one thing consistently:
They treat affiliate recruitment like sales.

I recently sat down with Sean Lang for his podcast to talk about building and scaling agencies.

We discussed many things during our conversation, and it was one of those discussions that reminded me why putting yourself out there and having real conversations with other founders matters.

Here's what we discussed:

1. Scaling teams effectively: How to build and grow a team that can handle growth without breaking your operations
2. Sticking to your ICP: Why staying focused on your ideal client profile is critical, and the costly mistakes that happen when you don't
3. Lessons learned building an agency: The hard-earned insights from years of trial and error that I wish I knew earlier

These conversations always push me to think differently about how I'm running my business. 

Sean asked great questions that made me reflect on decisions I've made and where I'm headed next.

If you're an agency owner or thinking about starting one, I think you'll get a lot of value from this episode.: https://lnkd.in/gzxius95

In the last 45 days, we brought 2 major changes to the way we operate at Performance Partners. Here’s what I changed in the back end.

1. We launched a 30-day sprint package for brands that aren’t our ICP.

The reason was simple: 
- To onboard brands faster.
- To build trust quickly through quick wins.
- To create a low-friction entry point for new clients.

Many brands don’t want to commit to long-term retainers immediately. This offer makes it easier for them to experience the value without a big commitment.

It also protects our interests because not every brand is a brand we want to work with long-term. So it helps us to get an idea about the future collaboration scope.

This has resulted in:

- Improved cash-flow consistency because payments are upfront.
- Better client-fit filtering (only the right clients convert to retainers)
- Prevents long-term situations with poor-fit clients.

We built a complete SOP with the operations team that maps every step required to complete the sprint engagement.

2. We opened up affiliate recruitment across the entire team (not just affiliate managers) and tied it to performance bonuses.

Affiliate managers were splitting time between recruitment and client management, creating a bottleneck.

But with this operational change, if anyone recruits specific types of affiliates and gets them activated, they earn a bonus.

As a result, recruitment velocity increased (more affiliates pitched and activated weekly). And affiliate managers are freed up to focus on optimization and strategy.

Operations are about removing friction, creating incentives, and enabling your team to move faster. And that was the core idea behind these 2 changes.

P.S. Another intense discussion in our weekly call. I can guarantee that it was not about scaling programs, lol!

What you think top affiliates want:

Higher commissions
Longer cookie windows
Better payouts
A pitch like “We’re a great product, please consider us”

What top affiliates ACTUALLY need:

Test budgets ($500–$2,500) to offset risk when trying your brand
Flat-fee + commission deals so they can forecast returns
Exclusive placement windows (30–60 days) to make your offer worth prioritizing
Access to proven content, creatives, and funnels 

An elite affiliate, who sends millions in traffic every month, will never be fascinated by a few % more ONLY. 

Show them that you care about their predictability.
Show them that you are trying to minimize their risks.
Show them that there is a huge upside potential of the deal.

P.S. The next issue of my weekly newsletter goes live in 24 hours. Subscribe here: www.freddysfastfive.com

Open article: Freddy's Fast Five by freddysfastfive.com

I have scaled my company to 7-figures in 2.5 years. 
One mistake I wish I hadn’t made:
Saying ‘Yes’ to every single client.

Initially, we wanted to grow fast. So we worked with every client that came our way.
(Most early-stage founders can relate to this.)

We didn’t care about the niche.
We didn’t care about their budget.
We didn’t care about the market fit.

That means we had to create different offers, proposals, and plans for every client.

But it took me 18 months to realize: 
(after some tough experience)

- Some brands had unrealistic expectations.
- Some brands weren’t ready for affiliate marketing at all.
- Some clients were far outside their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).

The lack of results wasn’t due to a lack of effort or skill on their side.
It was simply a misalignment in fit.

As a result, some clients were unhappy, my team felt discouraged, and the internal team morale suffered.

Now we prioritize onboarding the right clients.

It shows we’ve:

Refined their ICP.
Improved their screening process.
Built confidence in long-term success.

Result:
Better results for the clients
Long-term partnership
Predictable revenue

So, if you’re in the B2B space, looking for sustainable and scalable growth, nail down your ICP and STICK to it. (You can thank me later!)

BFCM 2025 is officially wrapped. This year, our team at Performance Partners supported over 30 DTC brands. Worked with 2,400+ affiliates. Activated 900 new affiliates in Nov. Here are my top 3 predictions for the next 12 months.

1. Media buyer partnerships will become the foundation of every high-performing affiliate program.

Brands that saw their biggest spikes during BFCM will realize those wins came from media buyers who could scale fast with the right CPA and the right funnel. More brands will shift budget toward media-buyer-friendly offers and treat these partners like a core acquisition channel rather than a side experiment.

By next BFCM, media buyers will be the top revenue driver for most mature affiliate programs. Mark my words.

2. Editorial and listicle partners will start locking Q4 placements even earlier.

This year, the best publishers filled their BFCM calendars before October. Next year, it will happen in September. Early outreach will no longer be an advantage; it will be a requirement.

Brands that aren't pitching listicles and deal pages by late summer will miss out entirely. The window is closing faster than most people realize.

3. Affiliates will demand stronger economics and better conversion paths.

CPCs, CPMs, and competition are rising across every platform. Affiliates are tired of testing offers that don't convert or that lack strong AOV and upsell paths.

Brands that don't raise CPAs, improve checkout flows, and increase average order value will struggle to attract quality partners. The bar for what counts as a "good offer" is about to rise dramatically. If your offer isn't compelling enough to make an affiliate money in a high-traffic-cost environment, they'll move on to the next brand in 48 hours.

Do you agree? 

I have written a detailed article reflecting on this year's BFCM; breaking down all my internal strategies, wins and losses. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/d9GYh2tU

AI is changing the affiliate marketing industry silently. 
Here's something I've been thinking about lately: 

B2B affiliate marketing is messy. Way messier than B2C. You've got these incredibly long sales cycles, complex buyer journeys with multiple stakeholders, and transactions that can make or break quarterly numbers. 

Traditional affiliate strategies just don't cut it anymore.

The partner selection problem is a real challenge for any affiliate marketer. 

I've seen too many B2B teams waste months chasing high-traffic affiliates who look impressive on paper but deliver garbage leads. Because they're optimizing for the wrong metrics.

AI flips this by looking beyond vanity metrics. Instead of just traffic volume, it analyzes content relevance, historical lead quality, and industry alignment.

"Will this partner actually move the needle for our specific business?" thinks every CMO. And AI solves this exact problem.

I came across a case recently where AI identified a relatively small tech blog that consistently delivered qualified SaaS leads, even though it had a fraction of the traffic compared to larger sites. That's the kind of insight that changes everything.

Let’s look at it objectively. AI doesn't replace relationship-building or strategic thinking. But it does give you a much smarter starting point for where to invest your time and budget.

In B2B, where every partnership decision has a significant downstream impact, that intelligence matters more than most people realize.

I just had a consulting call with a supplement brand that started its affiliate program 7 months back. Hitting $7K-$11K/ month. This conversation made me realize what separates a program making $100K+ months from the ones stuck at $10K.

1. They review EPC + AOV every single week.

Top programs don’t wait for monthly reports or quarterly check-ins. They look at their numbers every week because weekly data shows real patterns. 

By reviewing EPC and AOV consistently, they always know which funnels are converting, which pages are dragging performance down, and which partners are sending the highest-intent traffic. These small, frequent adjustments compound into major revenue gains over time.

2. They build landing pages specifically for affiliate traffic.

Affiliate visitors don’t behave like paid ads or email leads. They come in warmer, with more intent, and with different expectations. That’s why the best programs build pages tailored to them. 

Faster load times, simpler layouts, cleaner messaging, and offers aligned to affiliate audiences all make a measurable difference. When the landing experience matches the intent of the traffic, conversions jump almost immediately.

3. They double down on winners.

Instead of constantly trying to sign new affiliates, high-performing programs study what’s working right now. They identify the creatives with the highest EPC, the partners sending the best traffic, and the categories consistently outperforming others. Then they shift more resources, attention, and support toward those winners. 

Scaling what already works always beats spreading thin across everything.

4. They use incentives strategically.

Incentives aren’t random. Bonuses and performance milestones are intentionally designed to guide affiliate behavior. 

High performers get rewarded so they keep pushing. Dormant affiliates get activated through targeted incentives. The entire program moves with alignment and momentum because incentives push partners toward the outcomes the brand wants most.

You don’t always need more affiliates. If you don't analyze your performance deeply enough, you are relying on pure vibe and luck.

That’s what the fastest-growing programs understand. They treat affiliate marketing like a performance channel.

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: www.freddysfastfive.com

Just wrapped up the book “The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son”, and it was an amazing read.

Most importantly, the lessons still hold true in 2025 and beyond.

And my fav part of the book: In a world filled with opportunities, patience is crucial. Cultivate emotional intelligence and decision-making based on rational needs rather than fleeting emotions. 

Have you read this book? If not, it’s a 10/10 recommendation from me.

Black Friday season is here. It’s the biggest growth period for any brand. We’ve helped clients generate $100M+ during BFCM.

Irrespective of the niche.
Irrespective of the product.
By following a proven framework.

And I’m unveiling the 7-step framework I use to scale brands: ‘Affiliate Marketing Black Friday Guide’: https://lnkd.in/gJY4im9h

Arjun Sharma

Head of Ecommerce Partnerships

Pear Media LLC

Senior Vice President Business Development

Point2Web

Head of Home Services

Juni

Meet The Financial Companion Made For Digital Entrepreneurs.
You already track your Return on Ad Spend. Juni tracks your entire business in one place. Tailor made for the marketing & e-commerce ecosystem.

Business Development Director

Community and Partnerships Manager

Kainero Media Group

Jumbleberry is a fully managed performance marketing network that delivers engaging ad campaigns for D2C E-Commerce Brands and Direct Response Marketers that impact hundreds of millions of users across multiple online channels.

Some brands we work with:

Onnit
Nurx
Function of Beauty
Roman/Rory
Gainful
Lemonaid Health

Connect with me at arjun.sharma@jumbleberry.com

Head of Supply

MUNDO Media Ltd.

Director of Business Development

Senior Affiliate Manager

DirectInfo.ca Internet Marketing Services

Conduct keyword research and analysis to narrow down most profitable keywords.
Create Google and MSN Ad Centre ad campaigns.
Create and split test different variations of ad copy.
Manage and follow up with 5+ clients at a time.

Social Media and Marketing Intern

Coca-Cola Enterprises

Responsible for B2B sales to obtain orders on a weekly basis ensuring sales of $10,000 - $15,000 daily.
Input orders, mechanical issues and customer issues in the company database.
Responsible for marketing new products and participating in product launches to various businesses in the Greater Toronto Area.
Required to up-sell and establish client base for new products.
Monitored irregular buying patterns and non-buy accounts and tracked results in the B.A.S.I.S. internal database which housed over 10,000 accounts in the Greater Toronto Area.  In turn, reported the results to Account Managers.
Dealt with conflict management to creating resolutions utilizing customer service.

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Frederic Jean-Bart

Arjun Sharma

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The Battle

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Arjun Sharma

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