Actions: Clarify the objective and pick the partnership type(s): platform/integration, channel/referral, strategic/co-marketing. Identify whether the motion is network-dependent (regulated or concentrated buyer markets) and what “success” looks like in 30/60/90 days.
Actions: Draft the “partner package”: what you can reliably offer (integration tier, enablement, support, co-marketing) and what you will not do. Define negotiation parameters and pre-approved ranges to increase deal velocity.
Checks: A teammate could run a partner conversation without inventing bespoke promises.
3) Build the partner universe + score + pick the first wedge
Inputs: Target market; competitor/adjacent ecosystem; any existing relationships.
Actions: List plausible partners, then score and shortlist based on mutual value, reach, feasibility, and decision velocity. For each top candidate, identify the “finger-on-the-button” decision-maker and the lowest-social-capital intro path.
Outputs: Partner list table + scoring model + top wedge recommendation.
Checks: Each top partner has a clear “why them” and a specific next action (intro, email, event, content hook).
4) Craft the value exchange + pitch narrative (case study / alpha angle)
Actions: Write a 1-page pitch that shows how your success helps their goals. For major platforms, propose an alpha/beta or “flagship case study” angle. Keep the ask crisp and low-friction.
Actions: Define a deal path (discovery → pilot → term sheet → launch). Use strategic patience when leverage is asymmetric; be willing to say “not yet” to improve terms. Document walk-away conditions and any exclusivity logic.
Outputs: Mutual action plan (MAP) + pilot definition + key terms outline.
Checks: You can explain what you will trade (and won’t) in one minute; the next step is scheduled and owned.
Actions: Produce a launch plan (enablement + co-marketing + measurement) and an operating cadence (weekly/biweekly check-ins, QBR). Run the checklist and score the rubric. Always add Risks / Open questions / Next steps.
Outputs: Final Partnership & BD Execution Pack.
Checks: The plan is executable this week and includes a learning loop.
Always include: Risks, Open questions, Next steps.
Examples
Example 1 (platform/integration partnership):
“Use partnership-bd. We’re a B2B SaaS analytics tool. Goal: 3 co-sell integrations that each drive 5 qualified leads/month by end of Q2. Targets: HubSpot + Snowflake ecosystem partners. Constraints: 1 engineer half-time. Output: a Partnership & BD Execution Pack with partner scoring, an integration-tier offer, outreach sequences, and a launch cadence.”
Example 2 (regulated, network-dependent BD):
“Use partnership-bd. We’re selling into healthcare and need payer/provider partnerships. We have one warm connector but intros are expensive. Output: a prioritized partner list, crisp use-case one-pager, intro asks, and a deal process with walk-away conditions.”
Boundary example:
“Write a generic cold email that works for anyone and send 10,000 messages.”
Response: refuse spam; ask for a defined partner archetype and a small, ethical outreach experiment plan. If the goal is broad demand gen, use a marketing/content skill instead.
Boundary example 2: “Help me close an enterprise deal with a large customer.”
Response: direct enterprise sales is a different motion from partnerships. Use enterprise-sales for deal strategy, discovery, and closing with enterprise buyers. This skill is for building mutual-value partner relationships.
Anti-patterns (common failure modes)
Bespoke deal syndrome: Crafting a custom offer for every partner prospect instead of defining scalable tiers. This creates operational debt and makes it impossible to repeat or delegate partner conversations.
Spray-and-pray outreach: Sending identical messages to 50 potential partners without scoring, prioritizing, or personalizing. Low-quality outreach damages your reputation in concentrated ecosystems.
No walk-away conditions: Entering negotiations without defined guardrails, walk-away points, or exclusivity boundaries. Desperation leads to bad terms.
Partnership as press release: Signing a partnership, issuing a press release, and doing nothing else. Without an operating cadence, enablement plan, and metrics, the partnership produces zero value.
Ignoring asymmetric leverage: Treating a large platform partner the same as a peer-sized integration partner. Strategic patience, case-study angles, and alpha/beta offers are critical when the other side has more leverage.