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The flagship engagement

Build a partnerships function your team can own.

The 90-Day Partnership Engine: from ad hoc partnerships to a functioning growth channel.

From £14,950Three months · two days a week

A fixed-term partnership-function build for startups and scaleups that have outgrown founder-led partnerships. I work alongside your founder and commercial team to build the strategy, pipeline, activation, reporting and handover they do not have time to create alone.

What the 90 days actually look like

Month 1: Strategy

Kick-off session with the founder and commercial team; review your GTM, ICP, positioning and existing relationships; speak to the people who hold partner relationships today; audit what's already there and what's worth reviving; map the partner ecosystem and build the partner scoring model; write the partner proposition: why a partner would work with you, and what's in it for them.

Month 2: Build

Build and tier the target partner universe; write the outreach sequences and partner materials; run the outreach myself, plus warm introductions through your network; hold the first partner calls and qualify who's worth pursuing; set up the partner pipeline and tracking in your CRM; day-45 review: what's working, what isn't, what changes.

Month 3: Prove and hand over

Negotiate and agree the first partnerships; launch the first activations: referrals, co-marketing or events; put attribution and reporting in place so you can see what the channel produces; write the playbook; walk your internal owner through everything and introduce them to each live partner.

What building a function includes

  • A partnership thesis tied to a commercial problem, plus an ideal partner profile and scoring model.
  • A tiered target universe, partner proposition, outreach approach and relationship-development process.
  • A partner pipeline in your CRM, attribution rules, reporting rhythm and activation plan.
  • A playbook, live relationships, learnings and a handover your internal owner can continue to run.

The 30 / 60 / 90 decision sequence

Day 30

Agree the partnership thesis, priority ecosystem, ideal partner profile and proposition.

Day 60

Assess the quality of the live pipeline and refine the target, message and activation approach using real conversations.

Day 90

Hand over the operating rhythm, reporting, playbook, evidence and next-step recommendation to the internal owner.

Throughout

  • A weekly 30-minute check-in
  • You join partner calls where your involvement genuinely matters, and only those

What you'll have at the end

  • A partnership strategy and prioritised partner ecosystem
  • A tiered partner pipeline in your CRM
  • Live partner relationships and the first partnerships agreed
  • Attribution and reporting
  • A partnership playbook
  • An internal owner who has been handed everything

What I'll need from you

  • A named internal owner, or a plan to hire one
  • Access to your CRM and relevant tools
  • Around an hour a week of founder time, plus key partner calls
  • Quick decisions on propositions and commercial terms

What isn't included

  • Partner fees or sponsorship costs, if a paid partnership makes sense
  • Running your wider sales process
  • Staying on as your permanent partnerships team

Why two days a week

Because one day isn't enough to reach proof. Partner conversations, negotiations and activation move at the pace of other people's diaries. Two days a week is the minimum at which the Prove stage is deliverable within 90 days.

Who this is for, and who it isn't

This is for teams with traction, an identifiable customer profile and a credible reason for a partner to engage. It is not a shortcut for lead generation, a promise of a fixed number of partners or revenue, a replacement for the sales function, or a source of paid introductions. The work needs a named internal owner and timely commercial decisions from the team.

Consultant, builder or permanent hire?

The Engine is hands-on consulting within a defined build. It creates the foundation a future Partnerships Manager, Head or Director can own, but it is not an indefinite VP seat or daily partner-management resource. If you are comparing a fractional partnerships leader, a consultant and a permanent hire, see the decision guide before choosing a title.

Payment

50% on signature, 25% at day 45, 25% on handover.

Best for

Companies with traction whose partnerships are still founder-led or ad hoc, and who want a functioning channel without immediately hiring a senior partnerships leader.

Want to talk through where to start?

Talk to Honey