Partnership Proposal Skill

Partnership Proposal Skill

This skill produces a complete B2B partnership proposal covering the partnership rationale, mutual value, partnership model, commercial terms, governance, and a joint go-to-market plan. Output is ready to share with a prospective partner or use as the basis for a business case to internal stakeholders.

Required Inputs

Ask the user for these if not provided:

• Your company — name, what you do, and the audience you serve
• Prospective partner — name, what they do, and their audience
• Partnership type — technology integration / co-marketing / reseller / referral / strategic alliance / OEM
• Partnership goal — what does each party get? (new customers / revenue / product capability / market reach)
• Proposed commercial model — revenue share, referral fee, licensing, co-investment?
• Urgency or context — is there a specific event, product launch, or competitive reason for this partnership?

Output Structure

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Partnership Proposal: [Your Company] × [Partner Company]

Prepared by: [Name, Role at Your Company] Date: [Date] Partnership type: [Technology / Co-marketing / Reseller / Referral / Strategic Alliance] Proposal status: [Initial proposal / For negotiation / Final]

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Executive Summary

[3–5 sentences. Answer: what are we proposing, why now, and what does each party stand to gain? Write this so a busy executive can understand the proposal in 60 seconds without reading further.]

Headline value for [Partner]:

[One sentence — the most compelling thing this partnership does for them]

Headline value for [Your Company]:

[One sentence — the most compelling thing this partnership does for you]

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1. The Opportunity

Market context: [Why does this partnership make sense now? What's happening in the market that creates a window for this to work?]

Shared customer: [Describe the customer both organisations serve — the overlap that makes this logical. Include size of the shared addressable market if you have it.]

Problem neither of us solves alone: [What can't either party do for the shared customer independently that the partnership would enable?]

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2. What We're Proposing

Partnership model:

Element	Description
Type	[Technology integration / Co-marketing / Reseller / Referral / OEM]
Scope	[What specifically are we partnering on? — product features, joint campaigns, distribution, etc.]
Exclusivity	[Exclusive in [region/segment] / Non-exclusive / Right of first refusal]
Duration	[Initial term — e.g. 12 months, renewable]
Geographic scope	[UK / EMEA / Global / Specific markets]

What this looks like in practice:

[3–5 bullet points describing what the partnership actually means day-to-day. Make it concrete and operational — not abstract. e.g.:]

• [Our product will natively integrate with [Partner's product] — the integration will be live in [timeframe]]
• [We will co-market to each other's customer bases — joint webinar, co-authored content, shared newsletter placement]
• [Each company will train a dedicated partnership contact who manages the relationship]
• [[Partner] will list [Your product] in their marketplace / app directory / referral programme]

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3. Value Proposition — What Each Party Gets

For [Partner]

Value	Evidence / Basis
[New customer reach]	[e.g. Access to [Your Company]'s [X,000] [role] customers — [X%] of whom have expressed interest in [Partner's category]]
[Product capability]	[e.g. [Partner]'s product gains [capability] that [X%] of their customers have requested — based on [source]]
[Revenue opportunity]	[e.g. Estimated [£/$/€ X] in referral revenue in Year 1 based on [X%] conversion from shared pipeline]
[Market differentiation]	[e.g. The integration creates a meaningful competitive moat vs [Competitor] who lacks this capability]

For [Your Company]

Value	Evidence / Basis
[Distribution]	[e.g. Access to [Partner]'s [X,000] customers in [segment] — a segment where we currently have [X] customers]
[Credibility]	[e.g. Association with [Partner]'s brand accelerates enterprise sales cycles — [Partner] is trusted by [X] of the Fortune 500]
[Revenue]	[e.g. Target [X] referral customers in Year 1 at average ACV of [£X] = [£X ARR]]
[Product]	[e.g. [Partner]'s data / capability enhances [specific part of our product] — improving [user outcome]]

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4. Commercial Model

Proposed commercial terms:

Term	Proposal	Notes
Revenue share	[e.g. [X%] of ARR from customers referred by [Partner]]	[Standard in this category: [X–Y%] range]
Referral fee	[e.g. £[X] per qualified lead that converts]	[Or: flat fee per introduction vs % of closed deal]
Licensing / access	[e.g. [Partner] provides API access at no cost in exchange for integration and co-marketing]	[...]
Co-marketing investment	[e.g. Each party commits [£X] to joint marketing activities per quarter]	[...]
Minimum commitment	[e.g. [X] qualified referrals per quarter / [£X] GMV per year]	[Optional — only if there's a meaningful minimum that makes sense]

Payment terms: [Monthly / Quarterly in arrears / Annual true-up]

What we're not proposing: [Be explicit about what's off the table — e.g. equity / exclusivity in all markets / upfront payment]

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5. Joint Go-to-Market Plan

Phase 1: Foundation (Months 1–2)

Activity	Owner	Timeline
Technical integration scoped and resourced	[Engineering at both companies]	[Month 1]
Partnership launch announcement drafted	[Marketing at both companies]	[Month 1]
Joint customer case study identified	[CSM at both companies]	[Month 2]
Partner enablement — each team trained on the other's product	[Partnership lead, both sides]	[Month 2]

Phase 2: Launch (Month 3)

Activity	Owner	Timeline
Integration live in both products / marketplace	[Engineering]	[Month 3]
Joint press release / blog post / email announcement	[Marketing]	[Month 3]
First joint webinar	[Both companies]	[Month 3]
First joint pipeline reviewed	[Partnership leads]	[Month 3]

Phase 3: Scale (Months 4–12)

Activity	Owner	Cadence
Co-sell on named accounts	[AE at both companies]	[Monthly]
Joint content (blog, webinar, case study)	[Marketing]	[Quarterly]
Pipeline and revenue review	[Partnership leads]	[Monthly]
Partnership QBR	[VP level, both companies]	[Quarterly]

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6. Success Metrics

How we'll know the partnership is working:

Metric	Year 1 target	Measurement
Customers referred (each direction)	[X]	[CRM tracking — tagged as partner-sourced]
Revenue from partnership	[£/$/€ X ARR]	[CRM + finance reporting]
Integration adoption	[X% of mutual customers using integration]	[Product analytics]
Customer satisfaction with integration	[NPS ≥ X]	[Post-integration survey]
Joint pipeline generated	[£X]	[Quarterly pipeline review]

Review cadence: Monthly partnership lead check-in + Quarterly business review at VP level

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7. Governance & Operations

Partnership contacts:

Role	[Your Company]	[Partner]
Partnership lead (day-to-day)	[Name, email]	[TBC]
Executive sponsor	[Name, title]	[TBC]
Technical lead	[Name]	[TBC]
Marketing lead	[Name]	[TBC]

Decision-making:

• Day-to-day partnership operations: partnership leads
• Commercial term changes: VP-level approval from both parties
• Partnership termination: CEO/MD sign-off + [X days] written notice

Legal framework:

• Partnership agreement / MOU to be drafted by [Company]'s legal team
• Data processing agreement (if personal data is shared)
• NDAs: [already in place / to be signed before detailed discussions]
• IP ownership: [Clarify who owns jointly developed materials, integrations, content]

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8. Risks & Mitigations

Risk	Likelihood	Mitigation
Partnership champion leaves [Partner]	M	Ensure VP-level sponsorship; build multiple relationships
Integration takes longer than planned	M	Scope technical work in Phase 1; set realistic launch commitment
Low adoption of the integration	M	Include in onboarding for both products; co-market to existing customers not just new
Partner signs with our competitor	L	Discuss exclusivity options; prioritise quick launch to create switching costs
Commercial model becomes imbalanced	L	Quarterly review with clear exit terms if targets are consistently missed

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9. Proposed Next Steps

#	Action	Owner	By when
1	[Partner] reviews this proposal and provides feedback	[[Partner name]]	[Date]
2	Both parties sign NDA (if not already in place)	[Legal, both sides]	[Before next meeting]
3	Technical discovery call — assess integration feasibility	[Engineering leads]	[Date]
4	Commercial terms negotiation	[Partnership leads / VP]	[Date]
5	MOU / partnership agreement drafted and signed	[Legal]	[Date]
6	Integration and launch planning begins	[Both teams]	[Date]

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Quality Checks

• Value proposition for the partner is written from their perspective — not yours
• Commercial model includes specific numbers, not just structure
• "What we're not proposing" section prevents misaligned expectations
• Go-to-market plan has named owners and dates, not "TBD"
• Success metrics are agreed bilaterally — not set unilaterally
• Risks section includes the most uncomfortable risk (partner signs with a competitor)

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Write a partnership proposal for [Company] to partner with [Partner]"
• "Draft a co-marketing partnership brief between us and [Partner]"
• "Create a reseller partnership proposal for [Company]"
• "Build the business case for a strategic partnership with [Partner]"
• "Structure a technology integration partnership proposal"

Anti-Patterns

• Do not write the value proposition from your own perspective — the "For Partner" section must be written from the partner's point of view, in the language of their goals and their customers
• Do not leave commercial terms as structure without numbers — a proposal that says "revenue share" without stating the percentage is not a proposal, it is a conversation opener
• Do not omit the "What we're not proposing" section — leaving unstated assumptions creates misaligned expectations that derail negotiations later
• Do not set success metrics unilaterally — metrics that only your company controls or cares about will not earn partner commitment
• Do not write a go-to-market plan with "TBD" owners — every activity must have a named owner on at least one side before the proposal goes out