Capability template for sales

Channel partner fit review

When a referral, reseller or alliance partner approaches, the founder or head of partnerships gets one review: evidence the partner brings customers of its own, the type that evidence supports, a ninety-day plan with signs to go on or stop, and the commission range that still beats selling direct. A person decides.

The outcome

A firm offers to sell your product, and the conversation quickly turns to margin, a region of its own and a date to sign. This review gives you the facts before you answer. Every customer the partner names is checked against your own records, so you can see which ones are genuinely new to you, and every claim is marked as confirmed, only stated by the partner, or unknown.

From that evidence the review shows which kind of partnership the facts actually support today: one that introduces buyers while you sell, one that sells and bills on its own, or one that brings a combined offering to market with you. If the partner asks for more than the evidence supports, the review says exactly what would close the gap.

Then it does the arithmetic with your own numbers. It shows the commission or margin below which a deal through the partner still earns more than the same deal won by your own team, both per deal and across a year at the volume the partner promises, and where the partner's ask sits against that range. Finally it sets out a ninety-day plan whose targets come straight from the partner's own promise and your win rate, with the signs that would show it is working and the signs that would end it.

You decide. The review proposes no rate, makes no counter-offer and contacts nobody.

Who starts the work, and when

The founder, the head of partnerships or the business development lead runs it as soon as a firm asks to introduce, resell or sell alongside you, and before anyone promises a type, a rate or a region. It runs again when the partner sends new evidence or changes what it asks for.

The founder, or whoever owns partnerships, reads it and decides. Finance supplies the numbers once and refreshes them each quarter.

What they supply

What the partner sent: its application, email or presentation, with what it asks for, the customers it names and what it expects to sell.
Your notes from talking to the partner, including any calls you made to customers it named.
An export of your accounts, customers and opportunities with the date each first appeared, so the partner's customers can be checked against your records.
Your economics from finance: average first-year deal value, cost of delivery, what it costs you to win a deal yourself, your own cost per partner deal and per year for each type, your win rate and your sales cycle.
Your partner programme, if you have one, and a few facts: the review date, who decides, who handles agreements and what counts as a qualified opportunity.

What comes out

One review in a fixed order:

What the partner asks for, in its own words.
Evidence of its own customers, each one checked against your records and marked by how far it is confirmed, with a count.
Warning signs, each backed by a fact, such as a rush to sign or a named customer you already had.
The partner type that fits, requirement by requirement, and what would change it.
Economics against selling direct: break-even rates per deal and per year, the partner's ask set against them, and the assumptions behind the figures.
A ninety-day joint plan for the type the evidence supports: the steps before day one, and the signs to watch at day 30, day 45 and day 90.
Agreement terms the partner raised, listed for the person who handles agreements.
Questions before deciding, each addressed to the person who can answer it, and a blank decision line.

A good review lets you answer the partner in one meeting, knowing what you would agree to and why.

An invented example

Illustrative example with invented data. The company, the partner, the customers, the people, the figures and the dates below are all invented. The seller is an invented 30-person company that sells inspection-scheduling software to property managers as a yearly subscription. A building-services contractor, called Partner A here, has asked to resell it. The head of partnerships ran the review for the founder. First come the inputs the head of partnerships supplied, in full; then the review the capability returned.

The inputs

1. Your facts (typed by the head of partnerships)

Review date: Monday 9 November 2026
Reads it: Founder
Decides: Founder
Our contact for the partner: Head of partnerships
Agreements: the chief operating officer handles them
Qualified opportunity: a property manager with 20 or more buildings
  who has agreed to a demonstration
Time limits: use the defaults
Partner programme: we do not have one yet

2. What the partner sent (application form and cover email)

PARTNER APPLICATION                received Monday 2 November 2026
Partner: Partner A, building-services contractor, North region
Partnership asked for: reseller
Margin asked for: 30% of each first-year subscription
Region: exclusive rights to the North region
Marketing money: $6,000 a year from you for joint campaigns
Customers who bought from us this past year and also need inspection
scheduling:
  1. Account C, building-management system install, March 2026
  2. Account F, service contract renewal, May 2026
  3. Account G, building-management system install, June 2026
  4. Account H, sensor retrofit, August 2026
  5. Account J, service contract, September 2026
  6. Account K, building-management system install, October 2026
Sales team: three account managers
Expected deals: 10 in the first year
What we offer together: we install and service the building systems;
  your software schedules the inspections they need.
Agreement: we would want a three-year term with twelve months' notice
  to end it.

Cover email from Partner A's sales director, 2 November 2026:
"I will lead this partnership on our side. We would like everything
signed by 30 November so we can start the new year with it."

3. Meeting notes (head of partnerships)

Wednesday 4 November 2026, video call with Partner A's sales director.
- They spent the first half hour on the 30% margin and on exclusivity
  for the North region. What we would sell together came up in the
  last ten minutes.
- They offered to co-host two webinars with us in the first quarter.
  Nothing in writing yet.

Friday 6 November 2026, calls I made myself.
- Account G's facilities lead confirmed they bought a
  building-management system install from Partner A in June.
- Account H's operations manager confirmed the sensor retrofit from
  Partner A in August.
- Both Account G and Account H are property managers with more than
  20 buildings each.
- Could not reach Account J or Account K.

4. The accounts export

account,relationship,since,owner
Account B,customer,2024-09-16,Account executive 1
Account C,opportunity,2026-03-12,Account executive 2
Account D,lost,2025-11-04,Account executive 1
Account E,customer,2025-02-03,Account executive 2
Account F,customer,2025-06-30,Account executive 1
Account L,opportunity,2026-10-19,Account executive 2

5. The economics (from the finance director)

Average first-year deal value: $24,000
Cost of delivery: 20% of deal value
Cost of winning a deal direct: $7,200 per closed deal
  (last year's sales and marketing cost divided by deals closed)
Our cost per deal through a partner:
  referral $4,800 (our salesperson still runs the sale)
  reseller $1,200 (partner support and the onboarding hand-off)
  alliance: we do not offer one
Fixed yearly cost of one partner, before anything the partner asks for:
  referral $2,400 (partner manager time)
  reseller $9,000 (training, materials and partner manager time)
Win rate on qualified opportunities: 25%
Average sales cycle: 75 days

The output

CHANNEL PARTNER FIT REVIEW: Partner A, approach of 2 November 2026

For: Founder. Decides: Founder. Reviewed 9 November 2026; the organization supplied no partner programme, so the three default types are used. From: application form and cover email of 2 November 2026; meeting notes of 4 and 6 November 2026; accounts export 6 rows; economics supplied for referral and reseller (alliance not offered).

What the partner asks for

Type: reseller. Commission or margin: 30% of first-year value. Region or segment held alone: the North region; tied to results: no. Marketing money: $6,000 a year. Answer wanted by: 30 November 2026. Other: none.

Evidence the partner brings its own customers

Account C, building-management system install, March 2026: already in your records: opportunity since 12 March 2026; stated by the partner.
Account F, service contract renewal, May 2026: already in your records: customer since 30 June 2025; stated by the partner.
Account G, building-management system install, June 2026: new to you; confirmed: call with Account G's facilities lead, 6 November 2026.
Account H, sensor retrofit, August 2026: new to you; confirmed: call with Account H's operations manager, 6 November 2026.
Account J, service contract, September 2026: new to you; stated by the partner; not confirmed: call not reached, 6 November 2026.
Account K, building-management system install, October 2026: new to you; stated by the partner; not confirmed: call not reached, 6 November 2026.

Customers named: 6. Already in your records: 2. New to you: 4, of which confirmed 2, stated by the partner 2, unknown 0.
People whose job is selling: three account managers: stated by the partner.
Commitments: the sales director to lead the partnership: committed in writing by the partner, cover email, 2 November 2026. Two co-hosted webinars in the first quarter: said in a meeting, 4 November 2026.
Expected deals a year: 10, stated by the partner.
Raised first in the first meeting: terms: "They spent the first half hour on the 30% margin and on exclusivity for the North region. What we would sell together came up in the last ten minutes."

Warning signs: 5

A named customer already in your records: Account C, an opportunity since 12 March 2026, and Account F, a customer since 30 June 2025, both before the approach of 2 November 2026.
Terms raised before customers or the offering: the first half hour went on margin and exclusivity (notes, 4 November 2026).
A region kept whatever the partner sells: exclusive rights to the North region, tied to no results.
An answer wanted within thirty days of the first meeting: everything signed by 30 November 2026, 26 days after the first meeting, the call of 4 November.
A commitment said in a meeting and not put in writing: the two webinars (4 November 2026).

Partner type that fits

Referral: one confirmed customer new to you, in a market you sell to: met: Account G and Account H, confirmed 6 November 2026, both property managers with more than 20 buildings.
Reseller: confirmed customers new to you: met: Account G and Account H. Confirmed sellers: stated only: three account managers. A named person committed in writing: met: the sales director, cover email of 2 November 2026.
Alliance: a one-sentence combined offering neither side delivers alone, with the customer it serves: stated only: the partner's sentence names no customer it serves. Confirmed customers new to you: met: Account G and Account H. A named senior sponsor on each side: not met: none named. People or money committed in writing: met: the sales director, cover email of 2 November 2026.

No minimum numbers were set; one confirmed item meets a requirement. Type asked for: reseller. Type the evidence supports: referral. What would change the fit: confirmed sellers, for reseller: a named customer saying, in a call you make yourself, that it bought through one of the three account managers, or a document from someone other than Partner A naming them in a selling role. Names and roles from Partner A alone would still be stated by the partner.

Economics against selling direct

Your figures: first-year deal value $24,000; delivery $4,800 (20%); winning a deal direct $7,200; win rate 25%; sales cycle 75 days. Direct, per deal: margin $12,000 (50.0%).

Referral (the type the evidence supports): your cost per deal $4,800; fixed yearly $2,400 plus $6,000 marketing money asked = $8,400.

Per-deal break-even: 10.0% ($2,400 a deal).
Year break-even at 10 deals a year: 6.5% ($1,560 a deal).
No rate asked for this type.
Range that still beats selling direct: below 6.5%, at 10 deals a year.

Reseller (the type asked): your cost per deal $1,200; fixed yearly $9,000 plus $6,000 marketing money asked = $15,000.

Per-deal break-even: 25.0% ($6,000 a deal).
Year break-even at 10 deals a year: 18.8% ($4,500 a deal).
At the 30% asked: margin $10,800 (45.0%), $1,200 less than direct; deals a year to cover the fixed cost: never at this rate.
Range that still beats selling direct: below 18.8%, at 10 deals a year.

The ask of 30% sits 11.2 points above the reseller range. Assumptions: an average-sized deal; first-year value only; each partner deal is one you could otherwise win direct at your usual cost, while for customers you could not reach yourself any rate that leaves a margin adds profit, and this review cannot tell which customers are which; 10 deals a year is stated by the partner.

Ninety-day joint plan: referral

Pace: 10 deals a year is 3 a quarter; at your 25% win rate, 12 qualified opportunities a quarter. Qualified means: a property manager with 20 or more buildings who has agreed to a demonstration.

Before day 1:

Each side names one contact: the head of partnerships for you, the sales director for Partner A. Owner: head of partnerships.
The two sides agree in writing how an introduction is recorded and dated, and that an account already in your records before that date does not count as new. Owner: head of partnerships, with Partner A's sales director.
Your contact confirms within two working days whether each introduction is new to you. Owner: head of partnerships.
Partner A asked for $6,000 a year in marketing money: any sum agreed pays for one stated activity, with the number of qualified opportunities that activity is expected to bring. Owner: founder.

Signs it is working:

By day 30: at least 4 qualified opportunities new to you.
By day 45: at least 6.
By day 90: at least 12; every disputed introduction settled.
Closed deals are first judged at day 105.

Signs that would end it:

By day 45: fewer than 3 qualified opportunities new to you.
By day 90: fewer than 6.
At any time: an introduction to an account already in your records is claimed as new and not settled by the two contacts within ten working days.
At any time: Partner A's sales director leaves and no successor is named within thirty days.

Day 90: the founder chooses to continue as referral, change the type, or end the partnership, on these signs.

For the person who handles agreements

For the chief operating officer: "we would want a three-year term with twelve months' notice to end it."

Questions before deciding: 7

For Partner A, through the head of partnerships: which of the three account managers sold to Accounts G, H, J and K? A customer saying so in a call you make yourself would confirm them; names and roles from Partner A alone would not.
For Partner A, through the head of partnerships: what is the expectation of 10 deals in the first year based on? The range and the plan's pace both rest on it.
For Partner A, through the head of partnerships: what part did Partner A play with Account C and Account F, both in your records before the approach?
For Partner A, through the head of partnerships: will the two webinars be confirmed in writing, with dates?
For Partner A, through the head of partnerships: what does the date of 30 November 2026 rest on? It falls 26 days after the first meeting.
For the founder: Partner A wants the North region to itself, tied to no results. Is any exclusivity part of the answer?
For the founder: is any of the $6,000 a year in marketing money part of the answer?

Decision

Founder: [ ] Proceed as referral [ ] Proceed as another type: ________ [ ] Wait for the answers above [ ] Do not proceed Name: ________ Date: ________

Prepared on 9 November 2026 for the founder's decision, from the partner's material and the files supplied. Nothing has been offered, agreed or sent, and no one has been contacted.

Where it fits

Sales: a new route to market weighed on the same terms as your own sales team.
Leadership: the founder makes a partnership decision on evidence, not on the warmth of a first meeting.
Software technology: resellers, consultancies and integrators regularly ask to carry a software product.
Professional services: firms that already advise your buyers often offer to introduce or resell.
Manufacturing: distributors and regional agents ask for margin and territory before they have sold a unit.
Hardware and physical technology: installers and service contractors want to bundle your product with their work.
Growth & scaling: partners start to approach once you are visible, and the founder needs a consistent answer.
New business lines: a partner can be the fastest way into a market you do not yet reach.
Startups & new ventures: a weak first partnership can tie up a small team for months, and a strong one can carry its growth.

It sits beside Referral programme design, which turns recommendations from your own customers into a habit, Prospect list by role and firm type, which finds the firms you approach yourself, and Discount request review, which checks a price below list against your own policy.

What has to change for your company

Get your numbers from finance. The economics use only your own figures: the review never supplies a typical rate or cost. Agree them once and refresh them each quarter.
Decide your partner types, if you have a programme, and what each requires. Without one, three plain types are used: introduce, resell, or sell a combined offering together.
Keep your accounts export current, with the date each account first appeared. Its column names are set once; if yours differ, write down which is which, and the assistant stops and asks rather than guess.
Say what counts as a qualified opportunity, because the ninety-day targets are counted in them.
Name the people: who decides, who is your contact for the partner, and who handles agreements.
Your platform. The instructions are written to be pasted into ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini. It works from files you supply and needs no connection to your sales or accounting systems.

What has been checked

Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026 by a model that did not write it. After an independent review the same day, the example was corrected so that its referral figures follow the template's own rule for marketing money, the template was made more exact about rounding, how sellers and a customer's market are confirmed, and the order of the questions, and it was tried again on the example. That second run was made by the model that wrote the revision, so it is not independent. A second independent review that day found eight minor points; the template was made exact on how to record a customer who could not be reached, a type the organization does not offer, a written commitment from one person and the partner's named contact, and it was tried a third time on the example by the model that made those changes, so that run is not independent either. The record of the third run, with what the earlier runs found and what was changed after each, is published with the template. It has not yet been tested in a client environment, or as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.

Testing in your environment means running it on two or three past approaches your founder remembers well, plus hard cases written in advance, each with its expected behavior: a partner that names customers you already have, a claim nobody has confirmed, an ask that sits above the range, a partner that gives no expected volume, agreement terms tucked into the application. Finance checks every figure before anyone relies on it. Pilot acceptance-test preparation builds that test set, and What we test before we call an AI workflow ready shows the record.

The full capability template

Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.

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