Brainforge Knowledge

README

10 min read

Partner Documentation Index

Purpose: Central hub for all partner-related documentation, playbooks, and resources
Philosophy: Test partners with 90-day plans, not scorecards. Track performance, not potential.
Last Updated: April 2026

🎯 Overview

This directory contains everything you need to build and scale partner relationships that drive revenue. The approach is based on making it easy for sales reps to bring you into deals through relationships, value, and execution.

New hire tour (Lisa one-pager):

Core Philosophy:

  • Test, don’t score (90-day activation plans)
  • Bring value, don’t ask for it
  • Do their work for them (account research, playbooks)
  • Action over analysis (simple tracker, fast decisions)

📚 Core Documentation

1. Partner Playbook

Audience: Humans (strategy & patterns)
The foundation - Systematic approach to building partner relationships.

Contents:

  • The Three Whys Framework
  • Partner Engagement Tiers
  • The 3 Core Assets (Door Opener, Customer Success Template, Co-Sell Playbook)
  • Sales Rep Engagement Model
  • Account Mapping Strategy
  • Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Use when: Starting partner relationships, training team, planning partner strategy.

2. 90-Day Activation Playbook ⭐

Audience: Humans (planning; referenced by agents) How to activate partners - Design and execute 90-day partner tests.

Contents:

  • How to use VP of Partnerships Agent for planning
  • Step-by-step: Define goal → Map path → Identify success factors
  • 90-day plan template
  • Snowflake activation example

Use when: Starting new partner, planning quarterly activation, testing partner value.

3. Rep Engagement Playbook ⭐

How to turn reps into deal-bringers - From cold to engaged to deals.

Contents:

  • The Rep Engagement Ladder (Cold → Engaged → Bringing Deals)
  • Week-by-week Snowflake example
  • Weekly rep engagement routine
  • Common blockers and solutions

Use when: Engaging partner reps, activating specific partners (Snowflake, Mixpanel, etc.).

4. Partner Tracking System

Audience: Humans (ops/PM), agents can read How to track partner relationships using simplified tracker (~51 columns).

Contents:

  • Final tracker structure (~51 columns)
  • Simple 4-question qualification filter
  • 90-day activation tracking
  • Rep engagement summary (aggregate)
  • Weekly/Monthly review processes
  • HubSpot integration

Use when: Setting up tracking, managing partner execution, measuring results.

5. Tracker Final Structure

Complete column list for your actual tracker.

Contents:

  • All 51 columns documented
  • How to read your tracker
  • Daily/Weekly/Monthly workflows
  • Column definitions

Use when: Building tracker, understanding what each column means, training team.

6. Outreach Templates & Sequences

Audience: Humans + agents (content source) Ready-to-use email sequences for partner rep engagement.

Contents:

  • Cold outreach templates
  • Follow-up sequences
  • Account research shares
  • Deal support requests

Use when: Engaging new reps, following up, supporting active deals.

📋 Additional Resources

Partner Program Materials Audit

Audience: Humans (marketing/ops) Identify gaps in partner program materials.

Contents:

  • Materials audit checklist (Rep Enablement, Partner-Facing, Internal, Customer-Facing)
  • Gap identification and ownership
  • Quarterly audit process

Use when: Quarterly planning, identifying what materials you need, assigning ownership.

Slack Context Diagnostics

Audience: Humans (ops/analytics), agents may consume Use Slack data to diagnose partner health.

Contents:

  • What to look for in Slack (activity, rep engagement, account mentions, deal signals)
  • Weekly Slack review process (15 min)
  • How to integrate Slack insights into tracker

Use when: Weekly partner reviews, diagnosing partner health, identifying opportunities.

Weekly Partnerships Digest (PRD) ⭐

Audience: Team (consumers); Sole owner: Rico (EA) Weekly digest synthesized from the repo (knowledge/sales/partners). Team works in the framework and updates Control Centers; digest reflects repo state. Rico fills in blanks (no movement, overdue) and on Thursday sends a message to everybody if cadence wasn’t hit.

Contents:

  • PRD: repo as single data source, digest structure, success criteria
  • SOP for Rico: Synthesize from Control Centers + git (last 7 days) → publish digest → Thursday nudge to everybody when cadence missed
  • Per-partner blocks from Control Centers only; “No recorded movement” and Housekeeping for gaps
  • Digest storage: ops/digests/

Use when: Understanding how the digest works, or consuming it for partnership context. Only Rico runs the process.

Partnership manager playbook (Slack)

Audience: Partnerships owner (Snowflake default: Uttam) Chris-aligned activities (AE + PM touches, consumption snapshot, AE brief, quarterly PM session) with copy-paste Slack reminders, /remind and Workflow Builder notes, and coordination with the weekly digest.

Use when: Setting up #sales-partnerships internal reminders (Snowflake first) or scaling the same pattern to other hyperscaler partners. Partner-facing Slack channels stay for external comms only.

Partnership Ops System

Audience: Leadership, partnerships owner, ops How partnership operations fits together — repo-first state (Control Centers), tracker, weekly digest, plus a hyperscaler overlay for platform partners (consumption, certifications, AE brief, partner-manager cadence, proof artifacts).

Contents:

  • Principles and system map (components + cadences)
  • Roles, data objects, phased build-out (hardening → optional automation)
  • Pointers to Snowflake hyperscaler approach and digest PRD

Use when: Designing or explaining the end-to-end partnerships operating model; onboarding a partnerships lead.

VP of Partnerships Agent

Agent for dry runs - Use for planning 90-day activations and partner conversations.

Contents:

  • How enterprise partners evaluate service partners (3 Cs + 6 Pillars)
  • Dry run scenarios
  • Positioning guidance

Use when: Planning 90-day activations, preparing for partner conversations, positioning Brainforge.

📝 Templates

Account Brief Template

Research accounts for reps - Template for account research briefs.

Use when: Providing value to partner reps, researching their accounts.

Customer Success Template

Create case studies - Template for reusable success stories.

Use when: Creating case studies to share with partner reps.

Co-Sell Playbook Template

Create co-sell playbooks - Template for partner-specific use cases.

Use when: Building new co-sell plays for partner platforms (Snowflake, Mixpanel, etc.).

🏢 Partner-Specific Documentation

Standard folder structure (use for every partner): See Partner Folder Structure.

Snowflake

ContextualAI

🚀 Quick Start Guide

For New Partner Relationships (7 minutes)

Simple 4-Question Qualification:

  1. Ask the 4 questions:

    • Do their customers match our ICP? (Yes/No)
    • Name 3 accounts they’ll introduce us to (write them down)
    • How will they make intros? (sales reps, referrals, co-marketing)
    • Are economics OK? (no pricing compression, no staff aug)

  2. If all 4 pass:

    • Add to tracker
    • Set 90-Day Goal (e.g., “3 qualified convos by April 15”)
    • Set Next Action Date
    • Start execution

  3. If any fail:

    • Polite pass
    • Move on

Then:

  1. Create 90-Day Activation Plan

  2. Start Rep Engagement

    • Use Rep Engagement Playbook
    • Identify 10-15 target reps
    • Begin cold outreach
    • Provide value (account briefs, playbooks)

  3. Build Core Assets (as needed)

    • Co-Sell Playbook (use template)
    • Account Briefs (use template)
    • Customer Success Stories (use template)

For Active Partner Relationships

Daily (15 minutes):

  1. Open tracker, filter by NEXT ACTION DATE < Today
  2. See who needs attention
  3. Take action (email, call, research)
  4. Update tracker

Weekly (30 minutes):

  1. Update performance (REPS BRINGING DEALS, LEADS GENERATED, CLOSED/WON DEALS)
  2. Update 90D STATUS (On Track, At Risk, Delivered, Failed)
  3. Review Slack channels (see Slack Context Diagnostics)

Monthly (1 hour):

  1. Sort by CLOSED/WON DEALS → Who’s delivering?
  2. Review 90-day tests → Delivered or Failed?
  3. Set new 90-day goals for successful partners

📊 Key Frameworks

Simple Partner Qualification (4 Questions)

  1. ICP Match: Do their customers match our ICP?
  2. Accounts Named: Can they name 3+ accounts they’ll introduce us to?
  3. Intro Mechanism: How will they make intros?
  4. Economics: Are economics acceptable?

90-Day Activation Test

Every partner gets 90 days to prove value:

  • Goal: Specific (e.g., “3 qualified convos by April 15”)
  • Status: On Track, At Risk, Delivered, Failed
  • Review: Monthly check-ins, quarterly decision (continue or pause)

Rep Engagement Ladder

  • Cold Reps: Haven’t engaged yet (monthly outreach)
  • Reps Engaged: Responsive, using materials (weekly value touches)
  • Reps Bringing Deals: Actively introducing us (priority support)

The 3 Core Assets

  1. Door Opener Play - Workshop/assessment offering
  2. Customer Success Template - Reusable story format
  3. Co-Sell Playbook - Specific use cases with packaging

🎯 Success Metrics

90-Day Goals:

  • 3-5 qualified convos per partner per quarter
  • 30-40% response rate on cold outreach
  • 2-3 reps bringing deals per partner

Revenue Target:

  • 25-30% of total revenue from partners
  • 30-40% of pipeline from partners
  • Partner-assisted close rate: 20-30% higher than cold outbound

Engagement Target:

  • 10-15 reps bringing deals across all partners
  • 2-3 qualified intros per week
  • 5-10 partners with active 90-day tests

🚫 Anti-Patterns to Avoid

  1. Complex Scoring - Using 5-dimension frameworks instead of 4 simple questions
  2. Long-Term Strategic Handwaving - “This will pay off eventually” without 90-day tests
  3. The BDR Treatment - Making reps feel like your prospecting source
  4. Cadence Without Value - Recurring meetings without new value
  5. Going Wide Without Depth - Many reps without proper research/follow-through

See Partner Playbook for details.

🔄 Review & Update Cadence

Daily:

  • Filter tracker by NEXT ACTION DATE < Today
  • Execute actions

Weekly:

  • Update performance tracking
  • Review Slack channels
  • Research accounts for engaged reps

Monthly:

  • Review 90-day test statuses
  • Identify top performers
  • Deprioritize non-performers

Quarterly:

  • Materials audit (what’s missing?)
  • Playbook updates
  • Asset refresh

📖 Related Documentation

Brainforge Vault

  • GTM Agents: ../agents/ - GTM agent playbooks and memory
  • Sales: ../sales/ - Sales materials and SOWs
  • Onboarding Insights: ../agents/memory/onboarding-insights-luke.md - Partnership context from Robert/Luke conversations

External Resources

  • Slack Partner Context: ../../partner-slack-context/ (if using partner Slack context fetcher)
  • Platform Code: brainforge-platform/scripts/fetch-partner-slack-context.js - Script to fetch partner Slack channel context

🛠️ Tools & Systems

Primary Tools

  • HubSpot - Contact/company tracking, workflows, lists
  • Notion - Backup tracking, documentation
  • File System - Context storage, rep notes, account mapping

Setup Guides

📝 Contributing

When to update:

  • New partner relationships → Add partner-specific directory
  • New plays → Add to templates/co-sell-playbook-template.md
  • New case studies → Add to templates/customer-success-template.md
  • Process improvements → Update playbook or tracking system

How to update:

  1. Make changes in appropriate file
  2. Update “Last Updated” date
  3. Note changes in relevant sections
  4. Update this README if structure changes

🎓 Key Principles (Memorable Quotes)

“The relationship only matters when it’s mutual.”

“They won’t even check to see if you’re on the list, quote-unquote. They’re just gonna bring you in.”

“The hardest part about the partner channel isn’t building the relationships, it’s building the relationships with effective sellers.”

“She stayed in front of me, and it unlocked.”

“How do you give them door openers? That’s key.”

📞 Support & Questions

For questions about:

Documentation Owner: GTM / Partnerships Lead
Last Updated: January 2025
Next Review: [Quarterly]

🗂️ Directory Structure

knowledge/sales/partners/
├── README.md (this file)
├── PARTNER_FOLDER_STRUCTURE.md     ← Standard layout for each partner folder
├── playbooks/                      ← How-to playbooks
│   ├── partner-playbook.md
│   ├── 90-day-activation-playbook.md ⭐
│   └── rep-engagement-playbook.md ⭐
├── tracker/                        ← Tracker schema, system, rationale
│   ├── partner-tracking-system.md
│   ├── TRACKER-FINAL-STRUCTURE.md
│   ├── tracker-final-schema.md
│   ├── tracker-lightweight-schema.md
│   ├── tracker-rationale.md
│   ├── TRACKER-FINALIZATION-SUMMARY.md
│   └── tracker-migration-guide.md
├── strategy/                       ← Positioning, qualification, materials audit
│   ├── ideal-partner-profile.md
│   ├── partner-positioning-summary.md
│   ├── partner-evaluation-framework.md
│   ├── partner-qualification-process.md
│   └── partner-program-materials-audit.md
├── ops/                            ← Operational support
│   └── slack-context-diagnostics.md
├── drafts/                         ← One-off drafts (e.g. intro emails) before partner folder exists
│   └── GSV_INTRO_MEETING_DRAFT.md
├── templates/
│   ├── partner-control-center-template.md
│   ├── outreach-sequences.md
│   ├── account-brief-template.md
│   ├── customer-success-template.md
│   ├── co-sell-playbook-template.md
│   └── ...
├── agents/
│   └── vp-partnerships-agent.md
├── Snowflake/
│   ├── PARTNER_CONTROL_CENTER.md
│   ├── meetings/
│   ├── engagement/
│   ├── ops-and-admin/
│   └── reference/
├── ContextualAI/
└── MoEngage/

Start Here:

  1. New Partner? → Qualify (4 questions) → 90-Day Activation Playbook → Rep Engagement Playbook
  2. Existing Partner? → Tracker Final Structure → Partner Tracking System → Execute
  3. Weekly Reviews? → Slack Context Diagnostics → Update tracker → Take action

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