Partnership Outreach

---
name: partnership-outreach
description: When a founder needs to write partnership or BD emails, craft integration pitches, or create co-marketing proposals. Activate when the user mentions partnerships, business development, integration proposals, co-marketing, channel partnerships, or strategic alliances.
related: [cold-outreach, proposal-generation]
reads: [startup-context]
---

# Partnership Outreach

## When to Use
Activate when a founder needs to identify and reach out to potential partners, write partnership emails, propose integrations, or create co-marketing proposals. Also use when the user says "I want to partner with X," "help me write a BD email," "how do I propose an integration," "co-marketing opportunity," or "I need a channel partner strategy."

## Context Required
From `startup-context` or the user:
- **Your product and positioning** — What you do and who you serve
- **Partnership goal** — Integration, co-marketing, reseller/channel, referral, or strategic alliance
- **Target partner** — Company name, relevant product/team, why they are a good fit
- **Shared audience** — The overlapping customer segment you both serve
- **Your leverage** — What you bring to the table (users, distribution, technology, content, brand)
- **Current traction** — Metrics that demonstrate your value as a partner (users, revenue, growth rate)

## Workflow
1. **Gather context** — Read startup-context if available. Understand the product, traction, and partnership goals.
2. **Identify partner fit** — Use the Partner Evaluation Framework to assess whether this is a strong partnership opportunity.
3. **Map the win-win** — Define what each side gets from the partnership. If you cannot articulate both sides, the proposal will fail.
4. **Find the right contact** — Identify the BD, partnerships, or product person at the target company. Avoid generic inboxes.
5. **Draft the outreach** — Write the partnership email or LinkedIn message using the frameworks below.
6. **Prepare the proposal** — If the initial outreach gets a response, draft a lightweight partnership proposal (1-2 pages).
7. **Define success metrics** — Propose how both sides will measure whether the partnership is working.

## Output Format
Deliver the appropriate materials based on the partnership stage:
- **Partner evaluation** — Fit assessment using the evaluation framework
- **Initial outreach email/message** — The first touch to the target partner
- **Follow-up sequence** — 2-3 follow-ups with different angles
- **Partnership proposal** — 1-2 page document outlining the partnership structure, mutual benefits, and next steps

## Frameworks & Best Practices

### Partner Evaluation Framework

Before reaching out, score the potential partner on these dimensions:

| Dimension | Strong Signal | Weak Signal |
|-----------|--------------|-------------|
| **Audience overlap** | You share the same ICP but do not compete | Marginal audience overlap or direct competition |
| **Complementary value** | Your products are better together than apart | Nice-to-have integration with limited user benefit |
| **Stage alignment** | Similar company stage or the larger partner has an active partner program | Massive stage mismatch with no partner program |
| **Distribution leverage** | Partner has distribution you lack (or vice versa) | Neither side brings meaningful new distribution |
| **Strategic timing** | Partner is expanding into your space or just launched relevant features | No clear strategic reason for them to partner now |

**Score each dimension 1-5. A score of 20+ suggests a strong partnership opportunity. Below 15, reconsider whether it is worth pursuing.**

### Partnership Types and When to Use Each

| Type | What It Is | Best For | Typical Structure |
|------|-----------|----------|-------------------|
| **Integration** | Build a technical connection between products | Complementary SaaS tools | Joint engineering effort, shared docs, marketplace listing |
| **Co-marketing** | Joint content, webinars, or campaigns | Companies with overlapping audiences | Shared leads, co-branded content, cross-promotion |
| **Referral** | Informal lead sharing | Trusted companies in adjacent spaces | Referral fees or reciprocal introductions |
| **Reseller/Channel** | Partner sells your product | Agencies, consultants, system integrators | Revenue share, tiered pricing, enablement materials |
| **Strategic alliance** | Deep collaboration on product or GTM | Companies with highly aligned vision | Joint roadmap, executive sponsorship, shared metrics |

### Outreach Email Framework

Partnership emails differ from sales emails. You are proposing a collaboration, not selling a product. The tone should be peer-to-peer and the value proposition must be bilateral.

**Structure: Shared Audience - Mutual Benefit - Proof - Lightweight Ask**

1. **Open with the shared audience** — Show you understand who they serve and that you serve the same people
2. **Name the mutual benefit** — Be specific about what each side gains. Vague "synergies" get ignored.
3. **Provide proof of your value** — Traction metrics, shared customers, or a specific integration use case
4. **Make a lightweight ask** — Request a 20-minute call, not a signed partnership agreement

### Email Principles for Partnership Outreach
- **Lead with what you bring, not what you want.** Partners care about your distribution, your users, and your brand — not your desire to partner.
- **Be specific about the opportunity.** "We should partner" means nothing. "30% of our 2,000 customers also use your product and have asked for an integration" means everything.
- **Quantify when possible.** Numbers make the opportunity tangible: user count, shared customers, potential revenue, audience size.
- **Reference existing overlap.** If you share customers, mention it. If their users have requested your product, say so. Evidence of demand is the strongest argument.
- **Keep it short.** 100-150 words for the initial email. The goal is to start a conversation, not close the deal.

### Co-Marketing Proposal Structure
When proposing a co-marketing initiative, include:
1. **Audience overlap analysis** — Who you both serve and the size of the opportunity
2. **Proposed initiative** — Specific campaign: joint webinar, co-authored content, shared case study, cross-email promotion
3. **Responsibilities** — Who does what (be prepared to do more than half as the initiating party)
4. **Lead sharing agreement** — How captured leads will be distributed
5. **Timeline** — Proposed dates and milestones
6. **Success metrics** — How you will measure results (leads generated, registrations, content downloads)

### Integration Pitch Framework
When proposing a product integration:
1. **User demand signal** — "X% of our users also use your product" or "We get asked about this integration Y times per month"
2. **Technical feasibility** — "Your API supports this and we have built similar integrations with Z"
3. **User benefit** — The specific workflow that becomes possible or better
4. **Your investment** — "We will build and maintain the integration on our side"
5. **Their investment** — "We would need API access and a technical contact for questions"
6. **Distribution** — "We will promote this to our X users and list on your marketplace"

### Warm Introduction Strategy
Cold partnership emails work, but warm intros convert 3-5x better. Before going cold, check for shared investors, advisor connections, shared customers who could intro, or conference overlap. Engage with their content on LinkedIn before reaching out.

### Follow-Up Sequence for Partnership Outreach

| Touch | Timing | Angle |
|-------|--------|-------|
| 1 | Day 0 | Primary partnership pitch with mutual benefit |
| 2 | Day 5 | Share a specific data point or customer anecdote that reinforces the opportunity |
| 3 | Day 12 | Reference a market trend or competitor partnership that creates urgency |
| 4 | Day 20 | Brief breakup: "Want to respect your time — should I circle back next quarter?" |

### What to Avoid
- **Vague partnership pitches.** "We should explore synergies" gets deleted. Be specific about the opportunity.
- **One-sided proposals.** If your proposal mostly benefits you, the partner will see through it.
- **Reaching out too early.** If you have no traction, users, or distribution, you have nothing to bring to the table. Build first.
- **Going to the wrong person.** BD and partnership teams exist at most companies. Do not pitch the CEO of a 500-person company on a co-marketing webinar.
- **Over-engineering the first conversation.** The goal of the email is a 20-minute call. Do not send a 10-page partnership proposal as the first touch.
- **Ignoring stage mismatch.** A 5-person startup proposing a "strategic alliance" with a public company will not be taken seriously. Match your ask to your stage.

## Related Skills
- `cold-outreach` — use for the underlying outreach mechanics (email structure, subject lines, follow-up cadence)
- `proposal-generation` — use when the partnership conversation advances to a formal proposal or agreement

## Examples

**Example prompt:** "I want to reach out to Segment about building an integration. We are a customer data quality tool with 800 users. About 40% of our users also use Segment."

**Good outreach email output:**
> Subject: segment integration — 320 shared users
>
> Hi [Name],
>
> We build [Product], a data quality tool used by about 800 companies. Roughly 40% of our users also use Segment, and "Segment integration" is our most-requested feature.
>
> The integration would let shared customers automatically validate and clean data flowing through Segment before it hits downstream destinations — fewer bad records in warehouses and analytics tools.
>
> We would build and maintain the integration on our end. We would need access to your partner API docs and a technical point of contact for a few questions.
>
> Worth a 20-minute call to see if this makes sense?

**Good partner evaluation output snippet:**
> ### Partner Fit: Segment
> - **Audience overlap:** 5/5 — 40% of our users are Segment customers
> - **Complementary value:** 5/5 — Data quality is a known pain point for Segment users; our products are better together
> - **Stage alignment:** 3/5 — They are much larger, but they have an active partner/integration program
> - **Distribution leverage:** 4/5 — Their marketplace and integrations page would give us significant visibility
> - **Strategic timing:** 4/5 — They recently launched their new Protocols product, which aligns with data quality
> - **Total: 21/25 — Strong partnership opportunity**