SEE IT. / THE PARTNER BUSINESS REVIEW
Before you do more,
see what works.
A partner problem keeps returning, despite your efforts to solve it. We examine the evidence, identify the likely causes and clarify what you can change - and what your leadership team needs to decide.
Proposed engagement format. Scope, dates and fee confirmed in writing before work begins.
IS THIS THE RIGHT START?
A real question.
Not a general audit.
For Heads of Partnerships and leaders who need to resolve a concrete partner-business problem - or assess the next investment. We turn the situation into one clear question, then examine a defined part of the business.
- Direct Sales and partners keep colliding over the same accounts.
- You changed the programme, but the organisation keeps falling back into old habits.
- An important partner is disengaging, and you need to understand why.
- Before investing more in a partner or GSI relationship, you need evidence that the business can work for both sides.
Starting a partner business from scratch, redesigning an entire global programme or taking over daily partner management needs a different scope.
THE FIXED-FEE SCOPE
Small enough to focus.
Deep enough to decide.
- One management question. One business unit, partner segment or strategic relationship, with one primary business motion.
- Up to three real cases. Selected opportunities or delivery experiences, including stalled or lost business where useful.
- Up to four stakeholder interviews. Typically 45 minutes each, plus a 60-minute sponsor kickoff.
- One decision brief and one 90-minute decision session. Review the diagnosis and options with the relevant decision-makers; record decisions, unresolved points, owners and the first agreed actions.
- One factual correction round. Within five working days of the readout. New analysis is scoped separately.
The fee covers preparation, interviews, analysis and delivery within four advisory days in total, spread over the engagement. This is a remote format. Travel, additional cases or broader coverage are agreed separately before they create extra cost.
HOW THE WORK MOVES
Follow the work.
Then make the call.
FRAME
Agree the decision.
We begin with the Head or sponsor in a confidential kickoff: what has stalled, what has already been tried and what needs deciding? We agree the cases, participants and what can be shared.
EXAMINE
Connect contribution and effort.
We follow the selected cases through the people, commitments and commercial work behind them. Evidence, assumptions and missing information stay distinct.
DECIDE
Bring the decision to the right people.
In the included 90-minute session, we test the findings with the relevant leaders. What needs to change? Who has authority to decide? We record agreed actions and owners, alongside anything still unresolved.
WHAT A REVIEW CAN CHANGE
They liked working together.
They still couldn’t create business.
More meetings would not solve it. The Review made the missing decision visible.
THE ASSUMPTION
“We need more enablement and more joint activity.”
Both sides saw a capable partner and assumed that more activity would eventually create pipeline.
THE REVEAL
The relationship was strong.
The motion had no agreed first move.
Sales expected introductions. The partner expected help opening named accounts. Both were waiting for the other side.
THE DECISION
Keep the partner.
Change the motion.
Stop broad enablement. Test one use case with one named account. Name each side’s contribution, one owner and a review date.
Illustrative scenario based on recurring partner-business patterns. Not a client case.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Something your team
can work from.
A concise written decision brief containing:
- The agreed question, evidence considered and limits of the review.
- What is working, the likely causes of friction and the risks of continued investment - separating evidence from assumptions.
- A recommendation on what to continue, change, test or stop, with the reasoning behind it.
- Three to five priorities and a practical 30-day action plan, distinguishing what the Head can act on from what requires a leadership decision.
- Decisions and first actions agreed in the session, named owners, unresolved questions and a date to review progress.
This is a decision aid, not a completed implementation or a guarantee of leadership agreement. You retain decision authority; your team owns execution. Ongoing change management or follow-up facilitation requires a separate scope.
WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU
The right people.
Enough reality.
The Head of Partnerships is typically the closest working counterpart. We also identify who can make the required decisions and one person to coordinate access. Sales, Delivery, Finance or other leaders join where relevant, within the agreed scope.
Bring existing material: a partner overview, the selected case histories, relevant plans or agreements, and a realistic view of internal effort. No polished presentation is required.
Plan for around three hours from the sponsor across kickoff, readout and coordination. Interviewees usually contribute 45 minutes each. Allow additional preparation time for the person gathering material.
The 2-3 week window assumes timely access to people and evidence. We agree suitable handling of confidential information before you share it. Please do not send customer records with your first enquiry.
BEFORE WE BEGIN
No hidden
next project.
What happens in the first conversation?
We discuss what is happening, what you have already tried and whether the review is a useful fit. There is no charge or commitment for this initial conversation. If it fits, you receive a written scope and fee proposal.
What if our evidence is incomplete?
We identify the gaps before agreeing the scope. If the available evidence cannot support a useful review, we narrow the question or recommend a different first step. Missing information is made explicit, not filled with assumptions.
Can a partner join the review?
Yes, where appropriate and agreed. A partner interview can be included within the four stakeholder interviews. You agree the invitation and the information that can be shared.
What happens if the scope grows?
We agree any additional work and fee in writing first. The fixed fee does not silently expand into an open-ended engagement.
Do we have to continue afterwards?
No. The review stands on its own. Improve it or Redesign it may be useful next steps, but there is no obligation to commission either.
START WITH WHAT IS NOT WORKING