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](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](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](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