Steps 4 & 5: Keep the party going & unsuckify it if it starts sucking
- Jennifer Steele
- Aug 11
- 2 min read
Some partnerships are like houseplants.
They start out strong. You water them. You put them in the right light.And then… life happens. You forget for a week. Or a month. Or a quarter.
Before you know it, you’re wondering if this thing can be revived — or if you should just toss it and start fresh. (Note: I HEAR some people can keep houseplants alive. I am not one of those people)
That’s what Phases 4 and 5 are for.
🎵 Step 4: Keep the party going… 🎵
Nurture & Maintenance. The part where you stop hoping your partner remembers you exist and start making sure they do.
You get 3 agents to keep momentum and make your program look intentional:
Case Study Agent Turns hidden wins into public, shareable proof points your partner is proud to promote. (And your team! Your team needs to be proud, too)
Quarterly Health Check Agent Every 90 days, find out why your program is growing, flatlining, or circling the drain. Then act accordingly.
Quarterly Enablement Refresh Agent Keeps partner teams current so they’re not pitching features you retired three versions ago.
🎵 Step 5: Fix it if it breaks… 🎵
Some partnerships (or entire programs) just… stall. Sigh. These 2 agents help you figure out why and what to do next:
Tech Tracking Audit Agent Audits your partner tracking so you can trust your data again (and stop arguing about whose CRM is right).
Program Restart Agent Diagnoses why things slowed down and gives you a restart plan that doesn’t repeat the same mistakes.
🎵 It’s my partner program in a box
My SaaS-y little box, babe
It’s my partner program in a box
Ooh, no need to hire a CRO, girl 🎵
🎵 Christmas? Partner in a box.
SKO season? Partner in a box.
Series B? You guessed it: partner in a box.
Over at your board meeting? Partner in a box.
Late-night Slack message? Partner in a box.
Every dang quarter? Partner in a box. 🎵
🎵 Revenue in a box
That partner box
It’s my partner program in a box 🎵
With all five phases, you’ve got everything from “we should do partnerships” to “we fixed the broken ones.” Start with whatever you need.
🎵 Starting out? Partner in a box.
Tech setup? Partner in a box.
Don't know your IPP? You guessed it: partner in a box.
Got VERY OLD co-selling materials? Partner in a box.
Pipeline review? Partner in a box.
Every dang quarter? Partner in a box. 🎵
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