Prep the partner QBR

Use this when a partner quarterly business review is coming. Start from the partner and the review date, the joint targets and their metrics, CRM and pipeline numbers, call notes, and the champion's own view of the quarter.

Grade the quarter before you write a word

Set a benchmark per metric first, then grade against its band — red, yellow, or green: revenue, win rate, certification completion, lead conversion, market development fund (MDF) return, support response, portal engagement. Pipeline and forecast grade against the coverage target. Executive sponsorship on both sides gets named, not scored away.

Weight the metrics into one overall score, add a qualitative note per metric, and chart the trend over time. A grade with no evidence stays UNKNOWN.

Co-draft the agenda with the champion

Sixty to ninety minutes, timed, in this shape: the results snapshot; win/loss and push/pull with the why behind each; a forecast-accuracy review (pushes by stage, pulled-in deals, repeat over- and under-promisers with their guardrails); issue resolution including registration disputes; next-quarter targets that are specific, measurable, and dated; and the one decision the review has to make.

Name the executive sponsor on each side and what each of them cares about.

Health below the agreed bar for two quarters running — say, under 5 on a 10-point weighted overall score — triggers a partner improvement plan: a 45-day review, and tier demotion if it fails.

Ship the pre-read three days out

One page, numbers first, no surprises in the room. Stage it for the owner's yes — nothing reaches the partner without it.

Land the recap inside 24 hours

Decisions, owners, dates, and what changes in the plan because of them.

What you hand back

The graded review pack, the co-drafted agenda, the staged pre-read, and the 24-hour recap draft.

Fallbacks

No joint targets on file means you grade activity instead — meetings, deals touched, certifications — and put target-setting as the review's first decision.