---
name: partnership-proposal
description: "Write a B2B partnership proposal or business case. Use when asked to write a partnership proposal, draft a partnership brief, structure a co-marketing proposal, or create a business case for a strategic partnership. Produces a structured proposal with value proposition, partnership model, commercial terms, and mutual commitments."
---

# 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

---

# 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]

---

## 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]

---

## 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?]

---

## 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]

---

## 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]] |

---

## 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]

---

## 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] |

---

## 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

---

## 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]

---

## 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 |

---

## 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] |

---

## 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
