The Partnership Playbook for Growth Stage Companies

Partnerships get talked about more than they get built. Most companies have a vague intention to partner, a few coffee meetings and no pipeline to show for it.

Done deliberately, partnerships are one of the highest leverage growth channels available. Done casually, they're a distraction.

Start with a target list

Write down five to ten organizations that serve your ideal client but don't compete with you. Rank them by how aligned their audience is with yours. That ranking is your outreach sequence.

Make the value reciprocal

The partnerships that stick are the ones where both sides gain. Before you ask for an introduction, answer one question clearly: what does the partner get? If you can't articulate it in a sentence, you're not ready to ask.

Track it like a channel

Treat partnerships the way you treat any acquisition channel. Log activity, count conversations, measure revenue influenced. If it isn't measured, it isn't a strategy. It's a hope.

The 90 day test

Give your partnership effort 90 days of focused attention. If no partnership has influenced revenue by then, the problem isn't partnerships. It's targeting, value, or follow through.