Start with operating evidence

Ask for named sales owners, an existing customer segment, an onboarding process and a practical service plan. A partner with a large contact list may still lack permission to contact those people or the ability to convert interest into activation. Assess the route to customers, not just the size of the network.

Test the smallest commercial unit

Run a bounded pilot with one segment and one accountable owner. Track enquiries, qualified meetings, purchases, activation and support requests separately. Require a written explanation for each major drop between stages. This produces useful operating evidence before a country-wide commitment makes mistakes expensive.

Define the decision in advance

Agree what evidence would support expansion, a revised offer or a pause. Keep the evaluation separate from negotiations about exclusivity. A financially committed partner is not automatically an effective distributor; both funding capacity and execution capacity need their own assessment. Ask the proposed partner to name the first customer segment they would approach and explain why it is reachable. A specific recruitment route, supported by an accountable operator, is more actionable than a promise to activate the whole country.

Imagine this

Illustrative operating example

Hypothetically, a partner generates 100 enquiries, 25 qualified meetings and five purchases. That is a 5% enquiry-to-purchase rate. It says nothing yet about retention, profitability or whether the same result can scale.

Make it practical.

Use this checklist as you read. Checks are not stored.

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