In the market

Distributor

What Distributor feels is stuck, and who still owns it.

How it lands for this chair

The same list. Only what they feel.

Rows from the sale inventory where this chair is named. Not a second catalogue.

Partner & channel revenue

01 · Recruit · 4 items

Recruit

Who should be in the programme — and why would they join?

Pain · 1

they cannot see why they should join

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

The programme looks like unpaid work.

Satisfied

A clear motion, margin, and first deal path.

Delighted

They apply because the year is visible.

Avoid

A brochure of badges.

Mitigate

Lead with the money and the motion, then the brand.

Opportunity

Recruit is a commercial offer.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

Customer risk · 1

they already sit in a rival programme you have not named

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

You pitch as if they were empty.

Satisfied

You know what else they sell, and still have a reason.

Delighted

They add you without dropping the other.

Avoid

A naive first call.

Mitigate

Ask what they already carry, then place yourself.

Opportunity

Honesty about the shelf is respect.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

Opportunity · 1

they can see a first deal before they sign

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

Joining is faith.

Satisfied

A named motion and a first account pattern.

Delighted

They join already half in a deal.

Avoid

A generic welcome.

Mitigate

Show one path from join to register.

Opportunity

The first deal is the recruit artefact.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

Seller-ops risk · 1

the join form dies in an inbox

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

They applied. Silence.

Satisfied

A named owner replies with a next step.

Delighted

They feel the programme was waiting.

Avoid

A shared inbox.

Mitigate

One question, then a named manager.

Opportunity

Recruit ends when someone answers.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

02 · Activate · 4 items

Activate

What gets a partner deal-ready before they embarrass both sides?

Pain · 2

they are in the programme and not deal-ready

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

They have a badge and no way to quote.

Satisfied

They can register and speak without embarrassing both sides.

Delighted

The first customer meeting is a continuation.

Avoid

A portal welcome and no enablement.

Mitigate

A ready-check: pack, price path, a first talk track.

Opportunity

Activate is deal-ready, not logged-in.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

distributor cannot find the pack

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

They hunt while the customer waits.

Satisfied

The current pack is where they already work.

Delighted

They show up prepared.

Avoid

A portal maze.

Mitigate

One current pack, obvious, dated.

Opportunity

Findability is activation.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

Customer risk · 1

they embarrass both sides in the first meeting

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

The customer hears two companies.

Satisfied

The talk track matches what you would say.

Delighted

The room feels one offer.

Avoid

Sending them live with last year's slide.

Mitigate

A short certification that is the live story.

Opportunity

Brand risk is an activate job.

Still owns: Partner manager, Seller

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

Opportunity · 1

they register a real deal in the first month

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

Activation is a login.

Satisfied

A first registration is the goal.

Delighted

The roster has proof, not hope.

Avoid

A course completion as success.

Mitigate

Design activate around one live opportunity.

Opportunity

A deal is the activation event.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

03 · Align · 4 items

Align

Where is the overlap, and who already has the warm path?

Pain · 1

two partners sell the same account blind

Felt by Partner manager, Distributor

Dissatisfied

The customer hears two pitches and trusts neither.

Satisfied

Overlap is visible before anyone calls.

Delighted

They feel one vendor behind the channel.

Avoid

Hope as territory.

Mitigate

Map the account before the first intro.

Opportunity

Alignment is respect for the customer.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

Customer risk · 2

someone already has the warm path and you walk in cold

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

A cold call lands on an open deal.

Satisfied

The warm owner is named, then you help.

Delighted

The customer feels continuity.

Avoid

Registering late to steal credit.

Mitigate

Ask who is already in, then add value.

Opportunity

The warm path is an asset you do not trample.

Still owns: Partner manager, Seller

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

the customer has to ask who they are buying from

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

Three logos, one confused buyer.

Satisfied

One face, one paper, one next step.

Delighted

They can retell who does what.

Avoid

A joint pitch with no roles.

Mitigate

Write the room roles before you book it.

Opportunity

Clarity is the channel brand.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

Opportunity · 1

they can see the overlap and still find a motion

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

Overlap means fight or freeze.

Satisfied

A clear split: who leads, who helps.

Delighted

Two partners in one room without a blush.

Avoid

Avoiding the map.

Mitigate

Write the split before the customer meeting.

Opportunity

A good split is a deal.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

04 · Sell · 5 items

Sell

How does a partner register, quote, and show up prepared?

Pain · 3

the internet already knows more than the seller

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

The account already read the current story. The partner opens last year's slide.

Satisfied

The first hour starts from what is already public, then the local motion.

Delighted

The room stays because the partner adds territory, a pack, a next step.

Avoid

A recap of the vendor site.

Mitigate

Give them the current claim and one fact the page cannot know.

Opportunity

The meeting is for judgement, not a recap.

Still owns: Seller, Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

distributor cannot find the pack

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

They invent a story while the customer waits.

Satisfied

The live pack is where they quote.

Delighted

The room hears the current claim.

Avoid

A portal hunt mid-call.

Mitigate

Put the pack on the quote path.

Opportunity

Enablement is findability.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

they cannot quote without a side channel

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

Price lives in a person.

Satisfied

They can quote in the motion you published.

Delighted

The customer gets a number the same day.

Avoid

A WhatsApp to someone at HQ.

Mitigate

A path that does not need a favour.

Opportunity

Quoting is the sell motion.

Still owns: Sales ops

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

Customer risk · 1

they sell last year's claim

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

The customer later meets a different product.

Satisfied

The talk track is the live one.

Delighted

Handover to vendor sales is a continuation.

Avoid

A stale deck that still ranks in search.

Mitigate

Kill the old pack in the same change as the new.

Opportunity

Version is a customer risk.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

Opportunity · 1

they show up prepared without a vendor in the room

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

Every good meeting needs your calendar.

Satisfied

They can run the first hour alone.

Delighted

You join when the deal is real.

Avoid

Forcing vendor presence as a crutch.

Mitigate

A pack they can actually run.

Opportunity

A ready partner is leverage.

Still owns: Seller, Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

05 · Protect margin · 4 items

Protect margin

What stops a discount, rebate, or conflict from eating the deal?

Pain · 1

a discount, rebate, or conflict eats the deal

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

They won a number that cannot be delivered.

Satisfied

Guardrails hold before the paper leaves.

Delighted

They still want the next deal.

Avoid

A heroic exception as culture.

Mitigate

A brake someone can actually pull.

Opportunity

Margin is a product of process.

Still owns: Sales ops, Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

Customer risk · 2

a channel conflict appears the week of signature

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

Trust dies in the last mile.

Satisfied

Conflict is visible early enough to split cleanly.

Delighted

The customer feels one vendor.

Avoid

Discovering a second partner in legal review.

Mitigate

Map and register before the paper is final.

Opportunity

Late conflict is a customer injury.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

the paper the customer sees is not the paper the partner can honour

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

Delivery or price breaks after yes.

Satisfied

Customer paper and partner paper match.

Delighted

Nobody is surprised in month two.

Avoid

Two templates.

Mitigate

One commercial path through to the customer.

Opportunity

The contract is a channel artefact.

Still owns: Legal, Sales ops

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

Opportunity · 1

they can split a conflict and still look like one company

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

Every overlap is a fight.

Satisfied

A written split the customer can hear.

Delighted

Both partners stay in the year.

Avoid

Avoiding the conversation.

Mitigate

A playbook for the three conflicts you always get.

Opportunity

A clean split is a retainable channel.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

06 · Grow · 3 items

Grow

Who sourced or influenced the revenue — and who is dormant?

Customer risk · 2

a partner goes quiet and nobody notices

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

They drift to a rival programme.

Satisfied

Dormancy has an owner and a dated check.

Delighted

They come back because someone still knew their motion.

Avoid

A roster as a graveyard.

Mitigate

A simple silent-since rule.

Opportunity

Care is a grow job.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

the rebate arrives late and unexplained

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

They stop pushing the next deal.

Satisfied

Pay is dated and matches the rule they already have.

Delighted

They plan the year with you in it.

Avoid

A surprise delay.

Mitigate

Promise only what finance will do, then do it.

Opportunity

Money on time is the programme.

Still owns: Sales ops

A named way

No named way on this item yet.

Opportunity · 1

you put help where deals already start

Felt by Distributor

Dissatisfied

Enablement is spread like butter.

Satisfied

The partners who transact get the next motion first.

Delighted

They feel the programme is a growth path.

Avoid

Equal noise for every logo.

Mitigate

Rank by deals, then add a motion.

Opportunity

Growth is concentration.

Still owns: Partner manager

A named way

No named way on this item yet.