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The Partner Operating Manual.

The working parts of a B2B SaaS partner program, written the way the job gets done. Free to use. No signup.

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What you get

Every item goes one level below the diagram.

Questions to ask
Answered before any work starts.
The steps
In order, with a checkbox on each.
What you produce
The documents and decisions that come out.
Signals it worked
The metrics that show it landed.
Where it breaks
The usual ways it goes wrong.
AI and human
What AI can take, and what stays yours.

Browse the full contentsAll 141 items and 13 frameworks, by pillar.

Strategy and Design28 items

Go-to-Market Strategy
Routes to Market
Competitive Analysis
Objectives and Goals
Product and Pricing, the Partner Lens
Partner Compensation
Sales Alignment
Coverage Mapping
Capacity Planning
Benchmarking
Partner Personas
Communication, Program Wide
Program Design, Overall Architecture
Internal Organization
Emerging Channels
Annual Planning and Budget Cycle
My External Voice as a Partner Channel Lever
Team Structure and Scaling Model
Build, Partner, or Buy Framework
Referral Program Design
Two-Tier Distribution, Whether and When
MSP Program Economics
Technology and Integration Partner Strategy
Cloud Marketplace Strategy
AI and Agent Partner Strategy
Embedded and OEM Partnerships
Multi-Track Program Architecture
Ecosystem Mapping

Find and Recruit17 items

Community Marketing
Persona Mapping in Recruitment
Competitor Coverage in Recruitment
Distribution Strategy
Budgeting and Staffing for Recruitment
Competency Analysis of a Prospect
Content and Messaging for Recruitment
Influencer Marketing for Recruitment
Recruitment Process
Validating and Qualifying
Prospect Pipeline
Account Based Approach to Recruitment
Segment Targeting
ROI and Time to Revenue
Partner Portal
Strategic Partner Directory and SI Activation Map
Recruiting Referral Partners From Your Own Customer Base

Enable and Develop17 items

Onboarding Process
Program Wide Rollout
Education and Training
Certifications
Partner Playbooks
Competitive Battlecard, Partner Facing
Joint Marketing and Sales Plan
Partner Nurturing
QBR Meetings
Early Deal Shadowing
Rules of Engagement
Lead Passing
Pre and Post Sale Support
Customer Experience on Partner Delivered Work
Extension of Brand
Reseller Enablement, Quote to Cash
Partnership Answer Agent, Scoped

Incent and Motivate18 items

Tiering, Formal Tier Plus AAA Behavioral Layer
Margins
Front and Back End Rebates
MDF and SPIFs
Behavioral Bonuses
Contests and Awards
Recognition, General Practice
Deal Registration Incentive
Advisory Council
Loyalty Planning
MVP Program
Demo Program
Try and Buy Program
Social Promotion
Channel Visibility Internally
Partner Voice Into Product Roadmap
Affiliate Commission Model
Reseller Margin and Discount Architecture

Co-Sell and Co-Market21 items

Marketing Metrics
Partner Mentoring, Internal Skill Transfer
Executive Sponsors
Through Partner Marketing
To Partner Marketing
With Partner Marketing
CAM Alignment with Direct Sales
Competitive Intel Loop
Best Practices Sharing
Deal Central and Bids
RFP Support
Sales Engineer Support for Partners
CRM Integration
QBR and Sales Reviews
Content Sharing for Live Deals
Forecasting and Commit Discipline
Multi-Party and Marketplace Co-Sell
Account Mapping and Overlap-Led Co-Sell
Hyperscaler Co-Sell Motion
Multi-Party and Joint Solutioning Deals
AI Ecosystem Signal Distribution

Manage and Report27 items

Overall Program Management
Terms and Contracts
Conflict Management
Data Management
Deal Registration Data Hygiene
Closed Loop Lead Management
Return on Invested Capital
Ongoing Benchmarking Practice
Partner Scorecards
Executive Dashboard
Channel Account Manager Enablement
Predictive Analytics on Partner Health
Cultivating Internal Champions
Sell In, Sell Through, and Pipeline
Software and Tools Stack
Renewal Defense Playbook
Churn Recovery Protocol
Executive Narrative for Leadership Above Me
Key Person Risk and Continuity Plan
Partner Unit Economics, LTV to CAC by Motion
Integration Hub, Connecting My Systems
The AI-Connected Partner Stack
AI-Assisted Execution for My Own Work
Affiliate Activation, The First 30 Days
Affiliate Fraud, Attribution Integrity and Clawback
Attribution in Multi-Agent and AI-Led Deals
Partner Type Benchmarking

Frameworks13

JBP, Joint Business Plan. A negotiated annual plan naming shared targets and mutual commitments with a partner.
AAA, Accelerate Activate Aware Watchlist Segmentation. A proprietary model scoring every partner into a real behavioral tier.
CSOL, Co-Sell Operating Loop. A structured cadence keeping every active co-sell deal on track.
EAE, Executive Alignment and Engagement. A system for pairing and tracking executive relationships on key accounts.
IPP, Ideal Partner Profile. A scoring model defining exactly which prospects are worth recruiting.
EMM, Enable, Migrate, Multiply. A three-stage model for growing a partner from onboarded to fully productive.
The Six Root Causes: Why Partners Underperform. A diagnostic model for the real reasons a partner isn't producing.
PPS, Partner Productivity System. A segmentation model for where time and attention should actually go.
MAP, Mutual Account Planning. A shared account plan built jointly with a partner on a specific target.
SBPA, Signal-Based Partner Activation. A system for triggering timely outreach off real-time partner signals.
EC, Engagement Cadence. A tiered touchpoint schedule ensuring no partner relationship goes quiet.
The Warning Window: Tier Elasticity and Signal Detection Lag. A model calculating how much runway exists before a tier signal is acted on.
Revenue Attribution Test. A diagnostic test checking whether a tier's revenue is truly partner-sourced.

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