07 — Partnerships & Channels
Partnerships exist to extend reach where direct sales is uneconomic or slow. They are not a substitute for direct relationships with anchor accounts.
Channel mix target (by stage)
| Stage | Direct enterprise | Partner referral | Channel partner | Inbound |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 80% | 10% | 0% | 10% |
| S2 | 65% | 15% | 5% | 15% |
| S3 | 55% | 15% | 15% | 15% |
| S4 | 45% | 15% | 25% | 15% |
Direct stays the majority. Channel concentration > 35% creates dependency we will not accept.
Partner tiers
Tier A — Strategic referral partners
Adjacent professional services who advise our ICP but do not deliver wellbeing/coaching themselves.
Examples: HR consultancies, employee benefits advisors, occupational health providers, EAP providers we do not overlap with, executive search firms.
- Commercial model: 15% rev-share on year-1 ACV, declining 10% / 5% in years 2–3
- Onboarding: 2-hour partner briefing + co-branded one-pager
- Quality gate: partner-sourced opportunities go through the same discovery (Sprint 6 §02) — no shortcut
- Termination: any partner-sourced cohort that goes red or triggers a safeguarding incident pauses new referrals pending review
Tier B — Channel partners (international beachheads)
A local org that white-labels or co-brands delivery in a market we have not entered directly.
- Commercial model: 25–35% rev-share, 3-year exclusivity in defined geography, minimum volume commitments
- Quality gate: their delivery coaches go through our accreditation (Sprint 7 §06). No exceptions.
- Evidence: data flows back to our Evidence Room; partner gets a co-branded quarterly report
- Termination: failure to meet minimum volume by month 18, or quality breach, ends exclusivity
Tier C — Distribution & content partners
Industry bodies, professional associations, accreditation bodies, conference organisers.
- Commercial model: usually non-revenue (content, co-research, speaker slots)
- Value: top-of-funnel credibility; useful for evidence partnerships
- Quality gate: do not co-sign claims we cannot back with the Evidence Room
Where partners beat direct
| Situation | Use partner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New international market, year 1–2 | Tier B | Local market knowledge, faster trust |
| Mid-market segment below direct sales economics | Tier A | CAC unviable direct (Sprint 6 §04) |
| Adjacent product the buyer needs alongside us | Tier A | We are not the right org to deliver it |
| Public-sector framework where the partner already holds the contract | Tier B (modified) | Reduces procurement friction |
Where partners lose
- Tier 1 enterprise accounts → always direct
- Accounts where our evidence is the primary buying reason → direct, so we can stand behind it
- Sensitive sectors (justice, health, regulated finance) → direct, with Tier C credibility only
Partner enablement pack
Every active partner receives:
- Co-branded ICP one-pager (Sprint 6 §01)
- Discovery script abridged (Sprint 6 §02)
- FCA-style boundary card (Sprint 4 §01) — they MUST know what we will and won't say
- Evidence summary (one page, refreshed quarterly)
- Named partner manager + monthly check-in
- Quarterly business review covering pipeline, won/lost, quality
Partner governance
- Partnerships Lead owns the partner roster
- Each partner has a tier, a contract, an MDF budget (if any), and a quarterly scorecard
- Partners with zero qualified opps for 2 consecutive quarters are downgraded or removed — politely, with thanks
- All partner-sourced opportunities are tagged in CRM and reported separately in the MBR (Sprint 9 §04)