Introducers, closers and country partners

Selling to a government or a critical operator is local work. Somebody has to know the buyer, understand the procurement route, sit in the meetings and stay with the opportunity for months. We do not pretend to do that from Prague. We do it through partners, and we have found that three clearly separated roles work better than one vague “agent”.

The introducer

The introducer holds a relationship and opens a door. That is valuable and it is paid: a share of the commission on the deal, and a smaller recurring share in later years if the contract renews. The introducer’s obligation is to register the opportunity with us before working it and to step back once the deal is in motion, unless they also take the closer role.

The closer

The closer carries the opportunity locally: meetings, demos, tender preparation, negotiation, with the supplier’s team and our support. The closer’s share is larger, because the work is larger and the risk of a wasted year is theirs as much as ours.

The country partner

The country partner represents our mandates across a country or region, builds the introducer network, keeps the pipeline current in our system and reports monthly. This is the role that grows into a business of its own, and it is the role for which we reserve earned equity.

Why the paperwork comes first

Every partner signs before the first meeting: a short agreement with the commission share, the registration rule, payment terms and an anti-corruption undertaking. It is not a formality. A supplier’s compliance team will ask to see exactly this, and a partner who will not sign it is telling us something we need to know.

Shares are calculated on the gross commission we receive. If a supplier’s retainer is offset against the first commission, that is our cost, not the partner’s. Payment goes out within fourteen days of the money reaching us. Those two rules, kept without exception, are most of what makes partners stay.