Module 05 · The partnership deck~20s dwell · weight 8
The named integration point
Name the exact team, product tier, or surface where the integration lives, so the deck reaches the right desk.
Scott Pollack's BD writing warns that vague 'integrate with your platform' asks stall because no internal owner exists; naming the tier or team routes the deck correctly.
Include
- The specific team or product tier this touches: App Directory, Enterprise Grid, Partner API tier
- Where in the partner's product surface the integration appears
- Any existing precedent, like a similar app already live there
Cut
- Broad statements like 'integrate with your platform'
- Speculation about teams you have not identified
Red flags a reader notices
- No named team or tier, just 'your platform'
- The integration point contradicts the partner's public developer docs
Pitfalls behind them
- Naming a team that no longer owns that surface
- Assuming enterprise tier access without checking eligibility requirements
60-second self-test
- · Have you checked the partner's current developer docs for this surface?
- · Could their BD team route this email to the correct internal owner in one forward?
Template
This lives in [partner's named surface/tier], owned by [team], alongside comparable integrations like [precedent].
Weak
"We want to be deeply integrated across your entire platform ecosystem."
Strong
"This lives in the Slack App Directory under HR & Finance, the same surface as Gusto and Deel, and would be owned by Slack's Platform Partnerships team."
Names the exact directory category, cites comparable live apps, and identifies the owning team.
Quick quiz
1. Why name a specific team or tier?
- ○ It sounds more official
- ✓ It routes the deck to the correct internal owner
- ○ It increases the page count
- ○ It replaces the need for an ask
Vague platform-wide asks stall because no one owns them internally.
2. What strengthens a named integration point?
- ✓ Comparable live integrations in the same category
- ○ A broad claim about 'the whole ecosystem'
- ○ Avoiding mention of any specific team
- ○ Listing every possible surface at once
Precedent tells the reader this kind of integration already has a home internally.