How to use it
Answer for how your customers buy today, not how you would like them to buy. The picker suggests the partner type to start with and a second one to keep in mind, with what each type wants from you and one check to run before you sign anyone. Nothing you choose leaves this page.
The picker
Five questions.
Answer all five questions to see the partner type to start with.
The five partner types
How each one makes money.
Reseller
Wants a product it can quote and fulfil without much engineering, with a margin it can predict before it starts selling. Strong where customers buy on a purchase order through a supplier they already use.
Managed service provider (MSP)
Wants something it can run for many customers on a monthly basis, priced so it fits inside its own monthly fee. Strong with small and mid-sized businesses that do not have their own IT team.
Systems integrator or consultancy
Wants projects. Your product matters to it when it creates paid work around it: design, integration, data and change. Strong in enterprise and public sector, where the project is the purchase.
Distributor
Wants a vendor its own resellers and MSPs will ask for. It brings reach and handles credit, billing and onboarding at scale, but it rarely creates demand on its own.
Cloud marketplace
AWS, Microsoft and Google marketplaces let a buyer use budget already committed to that cloud provider. It is a way to buy rather than a partner who sells, and it often works alongside a reseller or integrator.
Most companies end up with two types: one that sells and one that makes buying easy. The mistake is starting with five. For what the first month should look like once a partner signs, see the first 30 days with a new UK partner. If you already have partners and they have gone quiet, try the partner programme diagnostic.
Written by John Bates, founder of AXQ. Five years at TD SYNNEX (via IQBlade, acquired), leading partner go-to-market programmes for AWS, Cisco, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia across EMEA. Research and operations at AXQ are run by a small team of AI agents, overseen by the founder.