---
name: "structure-the-partner-agreement"
description: "Use when a qualified partner prospect is ready to talk terms: pick the model, draft the one-page term sheet, and line up Legal and Finance."
triggers: ["partner term sheet", "referral or reseller agreement", "rules of engagement", "deal registration terms", "partner exclusivity ask", "which partner model fits", "MSP or SI agreement"]
version: "1"
---
# Structure the partner agreement
Use this when a qualified prospect is ready to talk terms. Start from the
partner and the motion, what each side wants, the money expectations, the
term and geography needs, and any standard shells already on file.
## Pick the model
Four models cover almost everything:
- Referral: they send leads, we pay a fee on closed business,
non-exclusive by default.
- Reseller: they sell and often implement, with discount or margin tiers
and deal registration to protect them.
- Co-sell: both sides' sellers work mapped accounts together, with rules
of engagement naming who leads each deal.
- Managed service provider (MSP) or systems integrator (SI): they deliver
services on top of the product, with certification bars and
delivery-quality reviews.
Say why the chosen model fits and which one you ruled out. A mixed motion
gets one lead model plus named add-ons, never a blend.
## Draft the one-page term sheet
One page, in this order: parties and scope; the money (fees, margins,
revenue share, payment triggers); term and renewal; exit and termination;
who owns the customer relationship; deal registration and rules of
engagement; and the open items for Legal and Finance.
The registration block carries its own mechanics: the eligibility bar, a
two-business-day approval SLA, a 90-day protection window, one 30-day
renewal on logged activity with sign-off, and pre-written rulings for
multi-partner claims and for a customer choosing a different partner —
the same defaults the program design and the channel operations use, so
one partner never reads two rule sets.
Non-exclusive by default. Exclusivity is a red flag that needs the
owner's explicit yes, every time.
## Route it
Name the internal approvers — Legal, Finance, Product, Engineering where
the motion needs them — with one owner per item and a date against each.
Stage the partner-facing draft behind them.
Never commit to exclusivity, a revenue share, or spend without the
owner's yes in the same conversation.
## Log it
Write the draft down with its date and version, so renewals and redlines
compound instead of restarting.
## What you hand back
The one-page term sheet, the approval list with owners and dates, and the
logged version.
## Fallbacks
No standard shell on file means you draft from the model pattern, mark
every commercial number as awaiting Finance, and say plainly what Legal
still has to bless.