It’s Friday, folks! While everyone else is scrambling to close Q3, you’re about to leap ahead by revolutionizing your partnership strategy for 2025.

Welcome to the Partner Planning Bootcamp series, where we transform your channel approach from a lukewarm handshake into a vice grip on market dominance. 

Let’s get real: Your partnership portfolio is probably as outdated as a flip phone. You’re clinging to partners like that gym membership you swear you’ll use "someday."

Fact is—Q4 is your launchpad for 2025, and dead weight doesn’t fly in zero gravity.

Why This Matters Now

The decisions you make in Q4 will set the trajectory for your entire 2025. Miss this window, and you’ll be playing catch-up while your competitors are breaking land speed records.

Remember when Blockbuster passed on buying Netflix? Yeah, we’re trying to avoid that level of regret here.

Plus, with market shifts like the election, interest rates, and a surge in AI-driven business models, are your current partners ready to adapt and help you thrive? If they’re stuck in old ways, 2025 could leave them (and you) behind.

The 80/20 Trap: Your Mind’s Favorite Shortcut

When I say "evaluate your partnerships," I bet your mind jumps to the top 20% of your performers. You know, the Pareto Principle—where 20% of your partners probably drive 80% of your results.

It’s a handy mental shortcut, right?

But here’s the thing: while focusing on your top performers isn’t wrong, it’s dangerously incomplete. What about the other 80%? Are they just taking up space, or is there untapped potential hiding in plain sight? 

More importantly, are you missing out on new opportunities because you’re too focused on the familiar top 20%?

The Status Quo Bias: Your Brain’s Comfy Cocoon

Status Quo Bias—aka the reason you’re still stuck in neutral. It’s your brain's excuse for clinging to the same old partnerships, even when better options are out there. Like ordering the same takeout every Friday because trying something new feels like work.

This isn’t some random pop-psych fluff—it’s a cognitive bias identified by Samuelson and Zeckhauser in 1988, and it’s been wrecking smart decisions ever since. 

In business, this bias is a growth killer. Your brain loves what’s safe and familiar, even if that "safety" is dragging you down. Comfortable? Sure. But comfort doesn’t pay the bills, and it sure as hell doesn’t fuel growth.

Playing it safe is the fastest way to get left behind. Your old partnerships might feel cozy, but in a market that’s evolving by the minute, staying cozy is a recipe for disaster.

Remember Blockbuster? They stuck with their outdated strategy, and look how that worked out. They got wiped out by Netflix, and it wasn’t pretty.

The Solution: Embrace the Purge

It’s time to get ruthless. We’re talking "Shark Tank" meets "Survivor" for your partnerships.

Q4 is your chance to future-proof your portfolio by focusing on partners who are ready to help you conquer 2025, while cutting the ones holding you back.

Here's your step-by-step guide to partnership domination:

1. Block off 2 hours this week—yes, I know finding 2 free hours might feel like spotting a unicorn! But if that’s a stretch, think of it as the 1% rule: Do what you can, when you can, even if it’s just 15 minutes a day. Little by little, you’ll get it done.

2. Create a spreadsheet with columns for partner name, annual revenue contribution, last engagement date, technology alignment (are they AI-ready?), market reach (can they expand your presence?), responsiveness (are they proactive or reactive?), and future potential (1-10 scale). Fill it out ruthlessly. Be honest about their current value and potential to help you thrive in 2025.

3. The Strategic Sort: Use a 2x2 matrix. X-axis: Current Performance. Y-axis: Future Potential. Plot your partners. Those in the top right? Your all-stars. Bottom left? Time to have some tough conversations. Don't let nostalgia guide you!

4. The Gap Analysis: What emerging technologies or markets will be crucial in 2025? Which partners are positioned to help you capitalize on these? If you're drawing a blank, that's your gap. 

This isn’t just spring cleaning—it’s strategic demolition and rebuilding for 2025.

By cutting the dead weight now, you’re not just planning; you’re architecting your future market dominance. 

As the market shifts (AI, economic turbulence, and regulatory changes), you need partners that are nimble, innovative, and positioned to help you win.

In Q4, while others are wrapping up 2024, you’ll be laying the foundation for a 2025 that’ll make your competitors wish they’d paid attention to this email.

Now that you’ve separated the wheat from the chaff, it’s time to turn your high-performers into superstars.

In our next issue, we’ll dive into strategies for maximizing the potential of your key partners.

Get ready to transform your A-team into the Avengers of your industry.

AI Learning Lab: Partner Health Scores in Seconds

Why drown in spreadsheets when AI can handle the heavy lifting? Use the prompt below with ChatGPT or your AI tool of choice, along with your spreadsheet (created from step 2 of the Partner Domination process above), to generate a Partner Health Score.

You’ll save tons of time and spot trends you might otherwise miss in a sea of data.

For even deeper insights, add columns for deals closed, win rate, and performance trends over time.

Prompt

Objective
Conduct a detailed analysis of partner data to generate a Partner Health Score, providing actionable insights for strategic decision-making.

Analysis Parameters
Analyze the provided partner data and generate a Partner Health Score for each partner based on these metrics:

1. Revenue Contribution
Metric: Total revenue generated over the past 12 months
Weight: 25%
Scoring:
- Top 10%: 10 points
- 11-25%: 8 points
- 26-50%: 6 points
- 51-75%: 4 points
- Bottom 25%: 2 points

2. Engagement Recency
Metric: Days since last meaningful interaction
Weight: 10%
Scoring:
- Within last 7 days: 10 points
- 8-30 days: 8 points
- 31-90 days: 6 points
- 91-180 days: 4 points
- 180+ days: 2 points

3. Technological Alignment
Metric: Compatibility with our tech stack (e.g., AI, cloud services)
Weight: 15%
Scoring: Rate 1-10 based on alignment

4. Market Penetration Potential
Metric: Ability to expand into new or existing markets
Weight: 10%
Scoring: Rate 1-10 based on market analysis

5. Responsiveness and Collaboration
Metric: Response time and proactive engagement
Weight: 10%
Scoring:
- Highly proactive: 10 points
- Proactive: 8 points
- Responsive: 6 points
- Moderately responsive: 4 points
- Slow to respond: 2 points

6. Future Growth Potential
- Metric: Projected growth based on performance and market trends
- Weight: 10%
- Scoring: Rate 1-10 based on projections

7. Deal Closure Rate
Metric: (Deals closed / Total opportunities) x 100
Weight: 10%
Scoring:
- 80%: 10 points
- 60-79%: 8 points
- 40-59%: 6 points
- 20-39%: 4 points
- Less than 20%: 2 points

8. Performance Trajectory
Metric: Year-over-year growth in revenue
Weight: 10%
Scoring:
- 30% growth: 10 points
- 20-29% growth: 8 points
- 10-19% growth: 6 points
- 1-9% growth: 4 points
- Negative or 0% growth: 2 points

Output Requirements
* Partner Health Score: Calculate a weighted average (1-100).
* Tier Classification:
- Platinum: 90-100
- Gold: 75-89
- Silver: 60-74
- Bronze: 40-59
- At Risk: Less than 40
* Performance Insights: Provide a brief analysis (2-3 sentences) highlighting key strengths and areas for improvement for each partner.
* Strategic Recommendations: Offer tailored suggestions for enhancing partnership value and addressing weaknesses.
* Trend Analysis: Identify significant patterns or trends across the partner ecosystem to inform broader strategic initiatives.

Until next time, start your partner purge. Your 2025 self is already thanking you.