Play: Partner business plans
The partner business plan play
What goes into a partner business plan?
The short answer
A partner business plan sets shared revenue targets, names owners on both sides, states the pipeline needed to hit the number, lists the marketing and enablement activity behind it, and fixes review dates. Keep it to two pages. Plans that read like contracts get filed and forgotten.
The steps
How to run it
Agree the number
Set revenue and deal count targets both sides sign up to, split by quarter.
Done when Both leaders have said the number out loud and agreed to it.
Do the pipeline math
Work back from the target using real close rates, so the plan states the pipeline required, not just the revenue wanted.
Done when The plan shows how much pipeline is needed each quarter.
Name owners
Every action gets a person on each side and a date. Shared ownership means no ownership.
Done when No line in the plan says "both" or "the team".
List the activity
Name the campaigns, events, enablement sessions and target accounts that will create the pipeline.
Done when You can point from each activity to the pipeline it should produce.
Set the review rhythm
Put monthly checks and the quarterly business review dates in the plan itself.
Done when The review dates are already on both calendars.
Watch for
Where this play goes wrong
- Writing a long plan nobody opens after signing.
- Targets with no pipeline math behind them.
- Skipping the monthly check and discovering the miss at quarter end.
Where PartnerBOT.ai helps
- Generate a partner business plan draft from a few inputs, then edit it with the partner.
- Match targets to partner tier using the tier framework.
- Ask what to do when a partner misses plan two quarters in a row.
Questions
What channel managers ask about this play
How long should a partner business plan be?
Two pages. Targets, pipeline math, owners, activity and review dates. Longer plans stop being working documents.
How often should the plan be reviewed?
Check progress monthly and review it formally each quarter at the QBR.
Should small partners get a business plan?
A short one. Scale the plan to the partner, but every partner with a target deserves written owners and a review date.
Cross references
Use with this play
Glossary terms
Next play: QBR prep
Try it on your next partner call
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