| name | partnerships-architect |
| description | Design strategic partnerships — technology, channel, co-marketing — and the programs that scale them. Use when evaluating a partner, picking a partnership type, designing a partner program, structuring a deal, or modeling ROI.
|
| license | MIT + Commons Clause |
| metadata | {"version":"1.0.0","author":"borghei","category":"commercial","domain":"business-growth","updated":"2026-05-27T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["partnerships","strategic-alliances","channel-strategy","tech-partnerships","partner-program","partnership-design","gtm"]} |
Partnerships Architect
End-to-end strategic partnership design and scaling: partnership type selection (tech integration vs channel vs OEM vs strategic), deal structures, partner program design (tiers, benefits, requirements), partner evaluation, and ROI modeling that justifies (or kills) a partnership investment.
This skill is provider-agnostic and works across SaaS, infrastructure, marketplace, and platform companies.
When to use this skill
| Situation | Skill applies |
|---|
| Evaluating a potential partner | Yes — use scripts/partner_evaluation_scorer.py + evaluation framework |
| Picking partnership type for a specific opportunity | Yes — see partnership type decision tree |
| Designing a partner program from scratch | Yes — see partner program design + scripts/partner_program_designer.py |
| Structuring a specific partnership deal | Yes — see partnership deal structures |
| Modeling partnership ROI | Yes — scripts/partnership_roi_modeler.py |
| Auditing existing partner portfolio | Yes — use evaluation scorer across all partners |
| Per-deal partner economics | Use business-growth/channel-economics |
| Per-deal partner approval | Use business-growth/deal-desk |
| Writing the partner contract | Use business-growth/contract-and-proposal-writer |
Partnership types — the decision tree
Five primary partnership types. Different goals; different structures; different success metrics.
What's the primary goal of this partnership?
Grow our distribution reach
├── Customer-pays-them, they-pay-us → Reseller / Distributor / VAR
├── Customer-pays-us, we-pay-them → Affiliate / Referral
└── Joint sale to mutual customer → Co-sell
Embed our product in their offering
├── Customer doesn't see us (white-label) → OEM
├── Customer sees us as embedded → Embedded ISV / Powered-by
└── We're an option in their marketplace → Marketplace listing
Combine our product with theirs (better together)
├── Pre-integrated, certified → Tech / Integration Partner
├── Bundled offering → Solution Partner
└── Joint product (rare) → Joint Venture
Build market presence together
├── Joint events, content, PR → Co-marketing Partner
├── Industry positioning → Strategic Alliance
└── Standards / consortium → Standards Partner
Achieve a specific strategic goal
├── Block a competitor → Defensive partnership
├── Enter a new market → Market entry partnership
└── Acquire capability → Strategic alliance (often pre-acquisition)
See references/partnership-types.md for each type in depth: economic structure, contract patterns, KPIs, when each works / fails.
Partner evaluation framework
Not every potential partner is worth the investment. Use this framework before committing.
Six evaluation dimensions
| Dimension | What to assess | Score (1-5) |
|---|
| Strategic fit | Does this partnership advance our strategy? Customer base overlap / vertical / region? | |
| Economic potential | Realistic pipeline / revenue contribution over 24 months? | |
| Partner credibility | Brand, financial stability, technical capability, customer references | |
| Mutual commitment | Are they investing equally? Senior sponsor on their side? Resources committed? | |
| Operational fit | Can our systems / processes / culture work together? | |
| Exit-ability | If it doesn't work, can we wind down cleanly? Are we creating dependencies we can't reverse? | |
Scoring rubric
- 5 — strong yes
- 4 — yes with minor caveats
- 3 — mixed; substantial uncertainty
- 2 — weak; significant concerns
- 1 — no; deal-breaker
Total 25-30: green-light; invest with confidence
Total 18-24: yellow; structure carefully; small pilot first
Total < 18: red; decline or substantially restructure
Use scripts/partner_evaluation_scorer.py --partner partner.yaml to score a specific potential partner.
Killer questions to ask
Before signing any significant partnership:
- What does success look like in 12 months? If both sides can't articulate the same answer, you don't have alignment.
- What's their commitment level? Headcount assigned? Budget? Executive sponsorship?
- What's the realistic pipeline in next 12 months? Specific accounts? Or vague "we have customers"?
- Who's the day-to-day owner on each side? Names + tenure + reporting line.
- What happens if we don't hit our shared metrics? Course-correct? Wind down? Renegotiate?
If you can't get clear answers, the partnership is wishful thinking.
Partnership deal structures
Different deal types call for different structures. Standard patterns:
Structure A: Standard reseller agreement
- Term: 1-3 years, auto-renew
- Discount: per published tier matrix
- Exclusivity: usually non-exclusive
- Termination: 90-day notice both sides
- Use when: typical channel relationship
Structure B: Co-sell agreement (mutual customer)
- Term: 1-2 years
- Compensation: shared commission OR referral fee
- Joint marketing commitment: optional
- Use when: complementary offerings; existing or target shared customers
Structure C: OEM agreement
- Term: 3-7 years (long; relationship-heavy)
- Royalty / rev-share: % of partner revenue OR per-instance fee
- Exclusivity: often partial (specific use case / market)
- Source code escrow: usually required
- Termination: complex (typically 12-24 months notice; transition rights)
- Use when: deeply embedded technical relationship; high mutual investment
Structure D: Strategic alliance
- Term: open-ended; reviewed annually
- Resources committed: explicit (e.g., 2 FTEs per side, $X budget per year, joint roadmap session quarterly)
- Governance: steering committee (executive sponsors meet quarterly)
- Specific deliverables: joint product features, joint customer wins, joint thought leadership
- Use when: 5+ year strategic relationship; not transactional
Structure E: Tech / integration partnership
- Term: 1-3 years
- Compensation: typically none direct; mutual value from joint customers
- Certification process: defined (testing, documentation)
- Marketplace listing: typically included
- Co-marketing: optional but common
- Use when: integration creates joint customer value; no direct revenue flow
See references/partnership-deal-structures.md for the full deal-structure templates with negotiation guides.
Partner program design
When you scale beyond a few partners, you need a program.
Three pillars of a partner program
| Pillar | Components |
|---|
| Recruitment | Target partner profile; outreach motion; intake / qualification; onboarding |
| Enablement | Training; certification; technical resources; sandbox; partner portal; marketing materials |
| Activation | Deal registration; lead sharing; MDF / co-marketing; co-selling motion; quarterly business reviews |
Standard program elements
- Partner agreement (master): tenant-of-the-relationship
- Tier structure (Authorized → Silver → Gold → Platinum): different benefits + requirements per tier
- Deal registration: protect partner-developed opportunities
- Certification program: train + test partners on your product
- Partner portal: deal reg, MDF, training, marketing materials, lead sharing
- MDF (Marketing Development Funds): co-funded marketing
- Channel manager(s): 1 per 10-15 active partners
- Annual partner conference: community building + recognition
See references/partner-program-design.md for the full program template including tier definitions, benefit / requirement matrices, and the "Year 1 / Year 2 / Year 3" maturity model.
Use scripts/partner_program_designer.py --org-spec org.yaml to generate a baseline program design based on company stage + ICP + target partner volume.
Partnership ROI modeling
Partnerships consume real investment. Headcount, MDF, technology, executive time. Model the ROI before committing.
ROI model template
3-year cumulative partnership P&L
Year 1 (investment year):
Revenue from partnership: $X
Costs:
Partnership manager headcount: $200k
Engineering integration (one-time): $300k
Marketing / co-launch: $50k
Partner enablement (content, training): $50k
Travel / events: $30k
TOTAL Y1 cost: $630k
Y1 net: $X - $630k
Year 2:
Revenue from partnership: $Y (growth)
Costs:
Partnership manager: $200k
Engineering ongoing: $100k
Marketing: $80k
Enablement: $30k
Travel / events: $40k
TOTAL Y2 cost: $450k
Y2 net: $Y - $450k
Year 3:
Revenue: $Z (mature)
Costs: $400k (stable)
Y3 net: $Z - $400k
3-year cumulative net: ($X + $Y + $Z) - $1,480k
If 3-year cumulative net is negative, the partnership doesn't pay back. Common reasons:
- Revenue estimates too optimistic
- Forgotten costs (executive time, opportunity cost)
- Partner under-performs on commitments
- Market shift makes the partnership less relevant
Use scripts/partnership_roi_modeler.py --partnership partnership.yaml for the full model.
Clarify First
Before designing the partnership, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:
Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the deliverable.
End-to-end workflows
Workflow: Evaluate a new partner opportunity
- Initial conversation with potential partner — understand their pitch
- Gather data for evaluation: their company, their pipeline expectations, their commitment
- Score using evaluation framework —
scripts/partner_evaluation_scorer.py
- If score < 18: decline or pilot-scope only
- If score 18-24: pilot scope (3-6 months, limited investment)
- If score 25+: standard partnership agreement; full investment
Workflow: Stand up a partner program
- Define target partner profile (TPP): ideal partner attributes (size, vertical, region, capability)
- Pick partnership types in scope (resellers? OEM? tech partners?)
- Design tier structure —
scripts/partner_program_designer.py
- Build foundational tools: partner portal, deal-reg, certification
- Recruit pilot cohort (3-5 partners) — manual, high-touch
- Iterate based on pilot feedback — usually 6 months
- Scale recruitment — content marketing, outbound, partner events
- Add channel managers as portfolio grows (1 per 10-15 active partners)
Workflow: Structure a specific partnership deal
- Identify partnership type using the decision tree
- Score the partner —
scripts/partner_evaluation_scorer.py
- Pick deal structure matching the type
- Model ROI —
scripts/partnership_roi_modeler.py
- Draft term sheet (key business terms)
- Negotiate — alignment on commitment, timelines, exit
- Legal review + contract —
business-growth/contract-and-proposal-writer
- Internal approval — Deal Desk + CRO/CFO/CEO depending on scale
Workflow: Audit existing partner portfolio
- List all active partners + key data: revenue, costs, deals, tier
- Score each against evaluation framework —
scripts/partner_evaluation_scorer.py
- Identify low-ROI partners — bottom quartile by contribution per investment hour
- Decide per partner:
- Invest more (top quartile, expand commitment)
- Maintain (middle, status quo)
- Wind down (bottom; explicit timeline to exit gracefully)
- Quarterly review of portfolio with CRO
Anti-patterns
- "Strategic" partnership that's actually transactional. If the only thing exchanging is money, it's transactional; call it that. Strategic means joint goals + shared roadmap + executive commitment.
- Partner stack with no portfolio strategy. Signing every partner that asks. Quality > quantity. 10 productive partners beat 100 zombies.
- No partnership owner. Partnership exists in nobody's job. It withers.
- Resource asymmetry. You commit 3 FTEs; they commit 0.5. The partnership skews to their convenience.
- Promises without commitments. "We'll do joint webinars." When? With what budget? Whose role to organize?
- Open-ended exclusivity. "Exclusive in this region forever" without performance gates. Lose flexibility for nothing in return.
- OEM deal with no source-code escrow. Customer-impact risk if your company goes away.
- Strategic alliance with no governance. No quarterly review = no executive engagement = partnership drifts.
- Partner program with no enablement. Partners can't sell what they don't understand.
- Tier benefits that aren't worth tier requirements. Partners don't advance because there's no incentive.
- Co-marketing dollars wasted on activities without pipeline. Great event, zero attribution.
Tooling outputs
| Script | Input | Output |
|---|
scripts/partner_evaluation_scorer.py | Partner spec YAML | 6-dimension score (1-5 each), total, recommendation (green-light / yellow / red) |
scripts/partnership_roi_modeler.py | Partnership spec YAML | 3-year P&L, payback period, sensitivity analysis |
scripts/partner_program_designer.py | Org spec YAML | Recommended program structure: tiers, benefits, requirements, headcount needed |
All scripts: stdlib only, argparse CLI, JSON or markdown output.
References
Related skills
business-growth/channel-economics — per-deal financial mechanics underneath partnership structurebusiness-growth/deal-desk — per-deal approval mechanics for partner-mediated dealsbusiness-growth/pricing-strategy — pricing flexibility / floor for partner dealsbusiness-growth/contract-and-proposal-writer — partner contracts (MSA, partner agreement, OEM agreement)c-level-advisor/cs-cro-advisor — strategic-level partnership decisionsc-level-advisor/cs-ceo-advisor — board-level alliance decisions
