Partnerships Architect
Classifies a prospective partnership by tier, designs the joint GTM commitment that tier implies.
Before & after
Same prompt, same agent — the only difference is the skill.
Partnership evaluation is pretty nuanced. You'll want to understand what they're actually bringing to the table—is it real demand or just hunting for better margins? You'd look at their customer base, their sales capability, your margin story, and what you'd both commit to jointly. Reseller deals are common but you need to be careful not to undercut your direct sales or end up with a partner who doesn't really move the needle. What's their track record and why do they want to partner?
PARTNERSHIP EVALUATION: Reseller Opportunity PARTNER PROFILE Company: Regional systems integrator Annual revenue: 45M Customer base: 200 mid-market clients (manufacturing, logistics) Prior SaaS partnerships: 3 active (Salesforce, HubSpot, Workday) Motivation: Diversify revenue, respond to customer demand for analytics DEMAND VALIDATION SIGNALS Independent demand indicators: • Specific customer name drop? Yes (3 named prospects) • Unsolicited approach? Yes (contacted via LinkedIn) • Urgency timeline? Yes (wants pilot in Q3) • Win-back references provided? Yes (contacted Salesforce partner manager) Partner tier classification: RESELLER (with potential for co-selling) TIER CHARACTERISTICS • Revenue share: 25% (vs direct margin: 70% gross margin) • Joint go-to-market: Light (no co-marketing commitment) • Support model: First-line support from reseller • Discount on product: 40% off list price FINANCIAL MODELING REVENUE PROJECTIONS (illustrative, 2-year outlook) Year 1 conservative: 6 customers → 72K ARR @ 25% margin = 18K revenue to us Year 1 optimistic: 18 customers → 216K ARR @ 25% margin = 54K revenue to us Year 2 conservative: 12 customers → 144K ARR = 36K revenue to us Year 2 optimistic: 40 customers → 480K ARR = 120K revenue to us COMPARISON: Direct sales path Investing in 1 sales rep + support → 80K cost, potential 400K ARR, 280K margin Reseller path has lower cost, higher margin risk JOINT GTM PLAN (90 days) • Week 1-2: Partner training (2 days) • Week 3-4: Co-selling pilot (reseller brings 2 qualified leads) • Week 5-8: Reseller runs pilot with customers • Week 9-12: Partner feedback + contract terms finalization KILL CRITERIA (underperformance escalation) After 6 months: • If <4 paying customers: Renegotiate or end relationship • If <60% customer satisfaction: Increase direct support requirement • If customer churn >25%: Pause new customer adds, investigate quality After 12 months: • If ARR <80K and not trending up: Wind down partnership • If support tickets >30% of volume: Tighten SLA or compensation RISKS & MITIGATIONS 1. Channel conflict (they undercut direct sales): Mitigation: Specific geography lock (Midwest only for 18 months) 2. Customer support quality: Mitigation: Joint support desk + SLA monitoring 3. Margin compression (they ask for bigger discount): Mitigation: Performance-based tiers (better discount if 15+ customers annually) 4. Cannibalization: Mitigation: Track direct pipeline in their accounts (exclude from partner territory) NEXT STEPS 1. Schedule 2 reference calls (Salesforce + HubSpot partnerships at target company) 2. Run financial model under 3 scenarios (conservative/base/optimistic) 3. Draft 12-month agreement with kill criteria + escalation path 4. Board approval on geographic allocation + margin terms RECOMMENDATION Proceed to pilot phase. Low-risk entry point (geographic lock), clear kill criteria, and proven partner track record warrant 90-day test.
About this skill
name: partnerships-architect description: Use when Use when a startup is approached by a prospective partner and someone has to decide should we sign this partner, at what partner tier (referral / reseller / OEM / SI-consulting / strategic alliance...
Partnerships Architect
Use when a startup is approached by a prospective partner and someone has to decide should we sign this partner, at what partner tier (referral / reseller / OEM / SI-consulting / strategic alliance), with what joint GTM commitment, and at what revshare. Classifies partner tier from independent-demand evidence vs. preferential-terms hunting, designs a 90-day joint GTM plan, models revshare against direct-sale margin, and surfaces kill criteria for unwinding under-performing partnerships. For Head of Partnerships, Head of BD, and Founder-CEOs doing reseller agreement, OEM deal, or strategic alliance review — not technical sale enablement, not channel cost economics, not M&A.
What you get
- Public GitHub repo (alirezarezvani/claude-skills)
- the partnerships-architect skill folder with SKILL.md. Part of a 337-skill / 30-agent / 70-command install.
Customize your output
- Fork the repo and adapt the skill's instructions and references to your workflow.
Example output
Activates automatically when your request matches Partnerships Architect; chains with the other skills, agents, and commands in the collection.
Best for
Creators, builders, and teams using Claude Code.
SKILL.md preview
---
name: partnerships-architect
description: Use when a startup is evaluating a prospective partner and needs to decide whether to sign, at what partnership tier, and on what commercial terms.
version: 1.0.0
category: Sales / Sales and Commercial
author: AgentVolt
license: proprietary
tags:
- sales
- sales-and-commercial
---
# Partnerships Architect
Classifies a prospective partnership by tier, designs the joint GTM commitment that tier implies, and models revenue share against direct-sale margin so the decision is grounded in numbers.
## When to use
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