Partner ICP Worksheet (Alex)

The Partner ICP Worksheet scores each candidate partner against your client's ideal-partner profile and turns those scores into a decision. It is the most mechanical worksheet in the Align stage, so getting the inputs right matters.

The four C's

Every partner is scored 1 to 5 on four factors. The factors are weighted, and Customer is the primary driver:

Factor	Weight	What you are scoring
Capacity	20%	Can they deliver? Sales capacity, delivery capacity, geographic coverage, scalability.
Capability	20%	Are they good at it? Technical capability, use-case maturity, delivery quality, enablement readiness.
Commitment	20%	Will they prioritise you? Executive buy-in, resource allocation, incentive alignment, activation behaviour.
Customer	40%	Do they reach the right buyers? ICP overlap, pain-point alignment, buying behaviour, value-proposition strength, outcome impact.

Score each C on the evidence, not on optimism. Use the evidence field under each C to record why, so the score is defensible in the client review.

The weighted score

The four scores combine into a single weighted score, S:

S = (0.2 x Capacity) + (0.2 x Capability) + (0.2 x Commitment) + (0.4 x Customer)

Because Customer is double-weighted, a partner strong everywhere except Customer still scores poorly. That is intentional: the right capabilities aimed at the wrong customers do not build partner revenue.

The decision engine

The worksheet derives a decision for each partner. The rules run in order, and the first one that matches wins:

Any of the four scores blank, no decision yet.
Customer below 4, Reject. This is a hard floor and cannot be overridden.
Capability below 3, Delay (or Invest if strategic importance is High).
Commitment below 3, Deprioritise (or Invest if strategic importance is High).
Capacity below 3 and strategic importance High, Invest (a ramp plan).
Otherwise, decide by the weighted score S:

S of 4.0 or above, Prioritise
S of 3.5 to 3.9, Watchlist
below 3.5, Hold

The strategic importance overlay

Each partner also carries a Strategic Importance flag that can rescue a partner from a soft gate (it never overrides the Customer floor):

High, critical to the ecosystem or positioning. Turns a Delay, Deprioritise

or capacity gate into Invest with a ramp plan.

Medium, valuable but not essential.
Low, nice to have.

The overlay modifies non-Customer decisions only. A partner with Customer below 4 is Rejected regardless of how strategically important it is.

Completing it

Add each candidate partner (name and domain).
Score the four C's, using the sub-factors as prompts. Record evidence.
Set Strategic Importance for partners that matter beyond their raw score.
Let the decision compute. If you override a decision, record the reason.

Scores save as you set them; evidence and override notes use a Save / Revert row.

Reviewing before publishing

Every partner is fully scored. A blank C means no decision.
Customer scores are honest. Because Customer gates and double-weights, an

inflated Customer score quietly promotes a weak partner.

Decisions read correctly. Spot-check a few: does the Reject / Invest /

Prioritise match what you would say out loud about that partner?

Overrides are justified. Any manual override has a reason recorded.
The priorities page agrees. Partner ICP decisions roll up into Alex's

Partnership Priorities, so check the two tell the same story before you publish.