The concrete ask
Scope the request down to a specific pilot with a timeline and named resourcing, not an open-ended partnership.
Reforge's BD templates recommend scoping the first ask down to a pilot; a16z's BD essays note deals stall when the first ask is open-ended.
- Pilot scope: which accounts, which region, which feature set
- A specific timeline with a start date
- Exact resourcing needed from the partner: engineering hours, a directory slot, a co-marketing email
- Requests for a 'strategic partnership' with no defined scope
- Multi-year commitment asks at the first meeting
- The ask has no end date or success metric
- Resourcing needed from the partner is left unspecified
- Asking for more scope than a first pilot warrants
- Failing to name who on the partner side needs to approve or staff this
- · Could the partner's team say yes to this specific ask in one meeting?
- · Is there a defined end date and a metric that ends the pilot?
We're asking for a [duration] pilot with [scope], starting [date], requiring [specific partner resourcing].
"We'd love to explore a deep strategic partnership and see where things go."
"We're asking for a 90-day pilot listing Nimbus in the App Directory's HR & Finance category, starting June 1, requiring one directory review slot and a joint launch email to your 41%-overlap segment."
Specific duration, category, start date, and two named partner resources, not an open-ended exploration.
Quick quiz
1. What should a first partnership ask look like?
- ○ An open-ended strategic exploration
- ✓ A scoped pilot with a timeline and named resourcing
- ○ A multi-year exclusivity agreement
- ○ A request for a warm intro only
Scoped pilots are easy to approve; open-ended asks stall in internal review.
2. Which detail is missing from a weak ask?
- ○ A start date and end date
- ○ Specific partner resourcing
- ✓ Vague hope for 'seeing where things go'
- ○ A defined pilot scope
Vague, open-ended language is the marker of an ask that has not been scoped.