Business Development

Business Development

Workflow

1. Partner Identification

Scoring matrix — rate each potential partner 1-5:

| Criterion | Weight | Score (1-5) | |-----------|--------|-------------| | Audience overlap | 25% | Does their audience need your product? | | Technical fit | 20% | Can you integrate/co-build? | | Brand alignment | 15% | Compatible positioning and values? | | Reach | 15% | Audience size and engagement | | Strategic value | 15% | Opens new market/segment? | | Effort to close | 10% | Decision-maker accessibility |

Weighted score > 3.5 = pursue. 2.5-3.5 = nurture. Compliance-first outbound — read before sending anything.** B2B cold email is not exempt from the law. Get these right or you risk fines, domain blacklisting, and platform bans. None of this is legal advice — confirm with counsel for your jurisdictions and verify current rules at the official sources below.

Lawful basis & consent (by region):

| Region | Cold email to a business contact | Source of truth | |--------|----------------------------------|-----------------| | US (CAN-SPAM) | Allowed without prior consent, but requires accurate From/Subject, a physical postal address, and a working opt-out honored within 10 business days. | ftc.gov — CAN-SPAM compliance guide | | EU/EEA (GDPR + ePrivacy) | Email to a named individual needs a lawful basis. Legitimate interest can work for B2B prospecting if the offer is relevant to their role and you pass a balancing test + provide easy opt-out; some member states (e.g. DE, IT) effectively require opt-in. Generic role aliases (info@, sales@) are lower-risk. | gdpr.eu / your national DPA; verify per-country as of Jun 2026 | | UK (UK GDPR + PECR) | Similar to EU; the "soft opt-in" and corporate-subscriber rules under PECR apply. | ico.org.uk | | California (CCPA/CPRA) | Not a spam law per se, but honor opt-out/"Do Not Sell or Share" and disclose data use; CPRA expanded this. | oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa | | Canada (CASL) | One of the strictest — generally requires express or implied consent before commercial email. | fightspam.gc.ca |

Hard rules for every cold message:

• Document a lawful basis before adding a contact (legitimate interest assessment for EU/UK; note the source the data came from). Never email scraped consumer/personal addresses.
• One-click unsubscribe in every email, plus a working List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post header (RFC 8058). Honor opt-outs immediately and add to a permanent suppression list that every future sequence checks.
• Include a real physical mailing address (CAN-SPAM) and identify who you are / why you're reaching out (transparency duty under GDPR Art. 14).
• Suppress existing customers, open opportunities, competitors, and anyone who previously unsubscribed before any send.
• Personalize at least one line with a specific, verifiable observation — generic merge-tag blasts both convert worse and read as spam to filters.

Deliverability (so touches actually land — 2026 practice):

• Authenticate the sending domain: SPF, DKIM, and a DMARC policy with alignment. Google/Yahoo (since 2024) and Microsoft Outlook (rolled out 2025) require this plus one-click unsubscribe for bulk senders — those crossing ~5,000 messages/day to that provider — but apply the same hygiene below that threshold. Verify yours at a DMARC checker before any campaign.
• Use a dedicated/subdomain sender (e.g. outreach.yourco.com), not your primary domain, so a reputation hit doesn't burn your main email.
• Warm new mailboxes for 2–4 weeks and cap volume: a fresh inbox should send ~20–40/day ramping up; keep cold volume modest per mailbox/day and split across mailboxes rather than blasting from one.
• **Keep spam complaint rate Every email below assumes the footer carries your physical address + one-click unsubscribe, and the contact has cleared the lawful-basis check above. Keep tone peer-to-peer (partnership, not a sales blast).

Touch 1 (Day 0) — Value-first intro
Subject: [Their product] + [Your product] = [specific outcome]

Hi [Name],

[One sentence showing you understand their business].
I think there's a natural fit between [their product] and [yours]
— specifically, [concrete integration/co-marketing idea].

[One sentence on what's in it for them — traffic, revenue, feature gap filled].

Worth a 15-min call to explore?

[Your name]

Touch 2 (Day 3) — Case study/proof
Subject: Re: [original subject]

Quick follow-up — [similar partnership] drove [specific result]
for [company]. Thought the model could work for us too.

Happy to share the details.

Touch 3 (Day 7) — LinkedIn engagement
Connect + comment on their recent post with genuine insight.
Then DM: "Sent you an email about [topic] — would love your take."

Touch 4 (Day 10) — New angle
Subject: Different thought on [their challenge]

Noticed [specific observation about their product/content].
We solved that for [X customers] with [approach].
Could be a co-marketing story worth telling.

Touch 5 (Day 14) — Breakup
Subject: Closing the loop

Totally understand if timing isn't right.
I'll keep an eye on [their product] — if you ever want
to explore [partnership type], I'm here.

3. Deal Pipeline

| Stage | Definition | Exit criteria | Default probability | Forecast category | |-------|-----------|---------------|---------------------|-------------------| | Identified | Matches partner scoring criteria | Research complete, contact found, lawful basis logged | 5% | Pipeline | | Outreach | First touch sent | Reply received (positive or neutral) | 10% | Pipeline | | Discovery | Initial call scheduled/completed | Mutual interest confirmed, use case + champion defined | 25% | Pipeline | | Proposal | Partnership terms drafted | Both sides reviewed, Legal looped in | 50% | Best Case | | Negotiation | Terms being finalized | Agreement on commercial + key redlines | 75% | Commit | | Signed | Contract executed | Integration/campaign kickoff scheduled | 100% | Closed-Won | | Live | Partnership active | Revenue/metrics being tracked | — | Closed-Won |

Closed-Lost and Closed-Recycle (no response / bad timing — revisit next quarter) are terminal stages; Omitted forecast category for those. Calibrate probabilities to your own historical stage→won conversion rather than trusting these defaults — re-derive quarterly.

CRM fields to implement (HubSpot deal / Salesforce opportunity / Notion DB). Map these to a custom "Partnership" pipeline/record type:

| Field | Type | Purpose | |-------|------|---------| | partner_model | enum: referral / reseller / integration / co-marketing / white-label | Drives expected economics | | partner_score | number (weighted, §1) | Gating: only > 3.5 should advance past Identified | | expected_acv / expected_rev_share | currency | Forecasting; feeds the economics worksheet | | stage + stage_probability | enum + % | Weighted-pipeline forecasting | | forecast_category | enum: Pipeline / Best Case / Commit / Closed-Won / Omitted | Roll-up forecasting | | next_step + next_step_date | text + date | Stall detection (flag if date is past) | | champion / economic_buyer | contact | Multi-threading; never single-threaded into one stage | | lawful_basis / consent_source | enum + text | Compliance audit trail (§2) | | close_date (expected) | date | Forecast timing | | lost_reason | enum | Win/loss analysis | | mutual_action_plan_url | url | Link to the MAP (§5b) |

Stall / exit automation an agent can build: flag any deal where next_step_date is past, or stage age exceeds the typical-duration band; auto-move no-response Outreach deals to Closed-Recycle after the 5-touch sequence (§2).

4. Partnership Models

The split ranges below are typical starting points, not benchmarks — actual numbers swing widely with deal size, who owns onboarding/support, churn risk, services burden, and region. Use the worksheet that follows to set a defensible number for your deal.

| Model | Structure | Best for | Typical split (illustrative) | What moves the number | |-------|-----------|----------|------------------------------|-----------------------| | Referral | Send leads, you close & own the customer | Low-touch, high volume | ~10–20% of first-year ACV; sometimes flat bounty | Higher if partner qualifies/warms the lead; lower if it's a raw intro. Decide one-time vs. recurring. | | Reseller | They sell, bill, and (often) support | Market expansion, new geos | ~20–40% margin to partner | Higher when they own support/localization/billing; lower for pure transactional resale. | | Integration / tech | Joint product integration | Sticky, long-term retention | Rev-share on jointly-sourced customers, or co-sell with no split | Often no direct split — value is retention + co-sell. Define attribution rules upfront. | | Co-marketing | Joint content/events | Brand awareness, pipeline | Cost share + lead share, no rev split | Split leads by source; agree who gets the opt-in list. | | White label | They rebrand and resell as their own | Enterprise, agencies | ~40–60% gross margin retained by you | You keep more when you own infra/R&D; partner keeps more when they own all sales+support+brand. |

Partner economics worksheet — compute before you commit to a split. Don't anchor on a range; model the unit economics:

Inputs (fill per deal):
  ACV                         = annual contract value of a closed customer ($)
  Gross margin %              = your product gross margin (e.g. 0.80 for 80%)
  Partner share %             = the split you're considering (e.g. 0.20)
  Recurring?                  = does partner share apply year 1 only, or every renewal year?
  Activation rate             = % of partner-sourced leads that become paying customers
  Annual logo churn           = % of those customers lost per year
  Incremental support cost    = $/customer/yr you bear from this channel (support, onboarding)
  Your CAC via this channel   = your cost to enable + co-market per closed deal ($)

Derived:
  Gross profit / customer / yr      = ACV × Gross margin %
  Partner cost / customer (yr 1)    = ACV × Partner share %
  Net margin to you (yr 1)          = Gross profit − Partner cost − Incremental support cost − (CAC amortized)
  Customer lifetime (yrs)           = 1 / Annual logo churn         (e.g. churn 0.20 ⇒ 5 yrs)
  LTV to you                        = Σ over lifetime of (Gross profit − recurring partner cost − support cost)
  Channel LTV:CAC                   = LTV to you / Your CAC via this channel   (aim ≳ 3:1)

Decision rules:
  • If recurring partner share makes multi-year LTV:CAC  Not legal advice — these are the clauses to *raise with counsel*. Templates from a US perspective; localize for your governing law.

**Commercial terms:**
- Revenue share % / margin and **payment terms** (net 30/60), invoicing cadence, and clawback for refunds/chargebacks.
- **Exclusivity scope** — explicit non-exclusivity by default; if exclusive, bound it by territory, segment, and time, tied to performance minimums.
- **Term, renewal, and termination** — initial term, auto-renew vs. opt-in renewal, termination for cause vs. convenience (30–60 day notice), and a **transition/termination-assistance** clause (data export, customer handoff, wind-down of co-branded assets).
- **Performance minimums / SLAs** (if applicable) and what happens on a miss.

**Data protection & privacy (B2B SaaS, mid-2026):** "GDPR" alone is not enough.
- **Data Processing Agreement (DPA)** defining controller/processor (or joint-controller) roles, processing purposes, and instructions.
- **Subprocessor terms** — disclosure, approval/objection rights, and flow-down obligations.
- **Cross-border transfer mechanism** — EU **Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)** + UK **International Data Transfer Addendum (IDTA)**; document transfer impact assessments where required.
- **Multi-regime coverage**: GDPR, **UK GDPR/PECR**, **CCPA/CPRA** (service-provider language, no "sale/share" of personal info), plus any sectoral rules (HIPAA BAA, etc.) the partner's customers trigger.
- **AI / data-use restrictions** — explicitly state whether either party may use shared or customer data to train or fine-tune AI models; default to *no training on the other party's data without separate written consent*. Address model outputs, IP in prompts, and confidentiality of data fed to third-party LLMs.
- **Breach notification** timelines and cooperation duties.

**Risk, liability & security:**
- **Mutual confidentiality / NDA** terms and survival.
- **Security exhibit** — minimum controls (encryption in transit/at rest, access control, SOC 2 / ISO 27001 attestation), **audit rights** or right to request reports, and a vendor security review before go-live.
- **Indemnification** (IP infringement, data breach, gross negligence) — ideally mutual.
- **Limitation of liability** with a stated **cap** (e.g. fees paid in trailing 12 months) and carve-outs (confidentiality, data breach, IP indemnity, willful misconduct) that sit *outside* the cap.
- **Insurance** requirements (cyber, E&O) for larger deals.

**IP, co-selling & attribution:**
- **IP ownership** of background IP vs. **co-created/jointly-developed assets**; license grants for use of each other's marks (trademark usage guidelines).
- **Co-selling rules** — deal registration, lead/opportunity **attribution**, no-poach of each other's customers/employees (where lawful), and conflict resolution for contested deals.
- **Support ownership** — who is L1/L2/L3 for shared customers, response SLAs, and escalation path.
- **Marketing approval** — mutual sign-off on press/case studies and use of logos.

### 5b. Negotiation Playbook

Run every meaningful partnership through this before you're at the table. Goal: a durable deal, not a "won" one.

**1. Prep — know your numbers and your walk-away:**
- **Objectives, ranked**: separate *must-haves* (e.g. non-exclusive, liability cap, no AI-training on our data) from *nice-to-haves* (e.g. logo on their homepage). Write a target / acceptable / walk-away value for each.
- **BATNA** (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement): what you do if this deal dies — another partner, build it yourself, do nothing. A weak BATNA means concede less aggressively and create more value; a strong BATNA means you can hold firm. **Estimate theirs too.**
- **ZOPA**: the overlap between your walk-away and theirs. If there's no overlap on a must-have, the deal isn't there — stop early.
- **Anchor** first on terms where you have data (your worksheet output), and let *them* anchor where you lack information.

**2. Give/Get matrix — trade, never just concede.** For every ask you grant, name what you get back:

| If they push for… | You can give it if… | What you get in return |
|-------------------|---------------------|------------------------|
| Higher revenue share | They commit to a volume minimum or own onboarding/support | Performance floor; tiered step-down at scale |
| Exclusivity | Bounded territory/segment + minimums + shorter term | Guaranteed pipeline; right to terminate on miss |
| Lower price / discount | They sign multi-year or prepay annually | Cash upfront, lower churn, longer term |
| Faster payment to them | They take on first-line support | Reduced your support cost |
| Custom integration work | They co-fund or commit roadmap-driving volume | Reference customer + case study rights |
| Looser AI/data terms | Never on customer data without separate consent | (Hold — this is usually a must-have, not a tradeable) |

**3. Redline priorities (where to actually fight):** liability cap + carve-outs, indemnity scope, data-use/AI-training restrictions, exclusivity, IP ownership of co-created work, termination + transition assistance, auto-renewal. Concede readily on cosmetic items (logo placement, announcement timing). Keep a **concession log** so yo

…

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [san-npm](https://github.com/san-npm)
- **Source:** [san-npm/skills-ws](https://github.com/san-npm/skills-ws)
- **License:** MIT
- **Homepage:** https://skills-ws.vercel.app

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.