Playbook · Partner programmes
Reigniting a stalled partner programme.
You have a list of signed partners, but nobody is selling. Quarterly reviews produce no pipeline. Here is how to move from strategic alignment to an operating co-sell motion.
The diagnosis
It's rarely the strategy.
Stalled programmes usually fail because nobody owns them, not because the strategy is wrong. The person responsible is also carrying a number, and partner work loses to this quarter's pipeline every week. Fixing the strategy without fixing the ownership changes nothing.
The playbook
Four moves, in order.
01
Find an owner
Name one person whose job is the programme, with the time to do it. Interim or fractional if you cannot hire yet.
02
Clear the backlog in 30 days
Unanswered partner requests, stuck deal registrations, missing materials. Fix the operational debt first, because partners are watching.
03
Build a co-sell motion with attribution
Map named accounts with each partner, agree rules of engagement with your own sellers, and track partner-sourced and influenced pipeline from the first deal.
04
Recruit partners who build capability
Fewer partners, better supported. Recruit for the ability to deliver and sell without you in the room, not for logo count.
Forty-five minutes on your programme.
Your architecture, incentives and co-sell motion, reviewed. No pitch, just a second opinion.