Essential Work Samples for Hiring Top Partner Account Managers

Partner Account Managers serve as the critical bridge between your company and your strategic partners, directly impacting revenue growth and business expansion. The success of your partnership program hinges on finding candidates who can build strong relationships, think strategically, and drive mutual business success. Traditional interviews often fail to reveal how candidates will actually perform in these complex scenarios.

Work samples and role plays provide a window into how candidates will handle real-world partner situations before you make a hiring decision. By observing candidates in action, you can assess their relationship-building skills, strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and communication style—all essential competencies for effective partner management.

The right Partner Account Manager can transform your partner ecosystem into a significant revenue driver, while the wrong hire can damage valuable partner relationships and stall growth. The financial impact of this role makes it essential to go beyond resume screening and standard interviews to truly evaluate a candidate's capabilities.

The following work samples are designed to simulate key aspects of the Partner Account Manager role, allowing you to observe candidates performing tasks they'll face daily. These exercises evaluate both tactical execution and strategic thinking, giving you a comprehensive view of each candidate's potential for success in your partner program.

Activity #1: Partner Relationship Rescue Role Play

This role play assesses a candidate's ability to navigate challenging partner conversations while maintaining and strengthening the relationship. Partner Account Managers frequently encounter situations where they must address partner concerns, reset expectations, or navigate through difficult conversations while preserving the partnership.

Directions for the Company:

• Select an internal team member to play the role of a frustrated partner who is considering reducing their commitment to your program.
• Provide the candidate with background information about the fictional partnership 24 hours before the interview, including:
• Partnership history (1-2 years old)
• Current partnership tier/status
• Recent challenges (e.g., missed revenue targets, lack of support, competitive pressures)
• Partner's business model and how they integrate with your solution
• The role player should be briefed to express specific frustrations but be open to solutions if approached correctly.
• Limit the role play to 15-20 minutes, followed by 5-10 minutes for feedback and adjustment.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the partnership background information provided.
• Prepare to meet with a partner who has expressed frustration and is considering reducing their commitment to the partnership.
• During the role play, your objectives are to:
• Listen actively to understand the partner's concerns
• Demonstrate empathy while maintaining professional boundaries
• Propose realistic solutions that align with both companies' objectives
• Secure a commitment to continue the partnership relationship
• Be prepared to adjust your approach based on feedback.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role play, the interviewer should provide specific feedback on:
• What the candidate did well (e.g., active listening, solution orientation, relationship management)
• One specific area for improvement (e.g., asking more probing questions, being more assertive about company policies, etc.)
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to respond to a follow-up scenario incorporating the feedback, such as: "Now that you've addressed the immediate concerns, how would you approach the next quarterly business review with this partner?"

Activity #2: Partner Business Plan Development

This exercise evaluates the candidate's strategic thinking, business acumen, and ability to create value-driven partnership plans. Successful Partner Account Managers must be able to develop strategic plans that align partner capabilities with company objectives to drive mutual growth.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with information about a fictional partner and your company's strategic objectives 24 hours before the interview:
• Partner profile (company size, target market, product/service offerings)
• Your company's partnership program structure
• Key business objectives for the coming year
• Current partnership metrics and KPIs
• Prepare a template for the business plan that includes sections for goals, strategies, tactics, and success metrics.
• Allow 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions and feedback.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Using the information provided, develop a 12-month partner business plan that includes:
• 3-5 specific, measurable goals for the partnership
• Strategies to achieve these goals
• Required resources and support from both companies
• Timeline for key activities
• Success metrics and how they'll be tracked
• Prepare a 10-minute presentation of your plan, focusing on the strategic rationale and expected outcomes.
• Be prepared to discuss how you would adapt the plan if certain assumptions change.

Feedback Mechanism:

• The interviewer should provide feedback on:
• A strength of the business plan (e.g., alignment with company objectives, creativity, thoroughness)
• One area that could be improved (e.g., more specific metrics, more realistic timeline, etc.)
• Ask the candidate to revise one section of the plan based on the feedback, giving them 5-7 minutes to make adjustments and explain their reasoning.

Activity #3: Partner Performance Analysis and Recommendation

This exercise assesses the candidate's analytical abilities, data interpretation skills, and capacity to make strategic recommendations based on partner performance data. Partner Account Managers must regularly evaluate partner performance and develop action plans to improve results.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a fictional partner performance dataset that includes:
• Quarterly revenue data for the past year
• Lead generation metrics
• Training completion rates
• Customer satisfaction scores
• Comparison to similar partners
• Include some clear patterns and anomalies in the data that require interpretation.
• Provide this information to the candidate 30-60 minutes before the interview session.
• Prepare questions about specific data points to test the candidate's analytical thinking.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the partner performance data provided.
• Prepare a brief analysis that includes:
• Key observations about the partner's performance
• Identification of strengths and areas for improvement
• 3-4 specific, actionable recommendations to improve performance
• How you would prioritize these recommendations
• Be prepared to explain how you would communicate these findings to the partner in a constructive way.
• Your analysis should be data-driven but also consider relationship dynamics.

Feedback Mechanism:

• The interviewer should provide feedback on:
• What was effective about the candidate's analysis (e.g., insight quality, data interpretation, practical recommendations)
• One aspect that could be strengthened (e.g., deeper analysis of a particular metric, more creative solutions, etc.)
• Ask the candidate to refine one of their recommendations based on the feedback, explaining how they would implement it with the partner.

Activity #4: Cross-Functional Collaboration Scenario

This scenario evaluates how effectively candidates can navigate internal stakeholder relationships to support partner success. Partner Account Managers must regularly collaborate with product, marketing, sales, and support teams to ensure partners have the resources they need.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario where a strategic partner has an urgent request that requires coordination across multiple internal departments:
• The partner needs custom marketing materials for a major campaign launching in 2 weeks
• They also require expedited technical support for a customer implementation
• The request conflicts with other priorities in the marketing and support teams
• Optionally, have team members from relevant departments participate in the role play.
• Allow 15-20 minutes for the scenario and 10 minutes for discussion and feedback.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the partner request scenario provided.
• Prepare to explain:
• How you would prioritize these requests
• Which internal stakeholders you would engage and how
• What specific information you would gather before approaching each department
• How you would negotiate timelines and resources
• What alternatives you might propose if the original request cannot be fulfilled
• Be prepared to role play a conversation with one or more internal stakeholders to secure their support.

Feedback Mechanism:

• The interviewer should provide feedback on:
• What the candidate did well (e.g., stakeholder management, negotiation approach, creative problem-solving)
• One area for improvement (e.g., more effective prioritization, clearer communication of partner needs, etc.)
• Ask the candidate to adjust their approach based on the feedback, specifically addressing how they would handle pushback from one of the internal teams.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

Each work sample should take approximately 30-45 minutes, including time for setup, execution, feedback, and the candidate's response to feedback. We recommend selecting 1-2 of these exercises that best align with your specific partnership program needs rather than attempting all four in a single interview process.

Should we provide these materials to candidates in advance?

Yes, for most of these exercises, providing materials 24 hours in advance is recommended. This allows candidates to prepare thoughtfully, which is reflective of the actual role where Partner Account Managers typically have time to prepare for important partner interactions. The quality of preparation is itself an important evaluation criterion.

How should we evaluate candidates who have industry experience versus those who don't?

Focus on the transferable skills demonstrated in these exercises rather than specific industry knowledge. A candidate with strong relationship management and strategic thinking abilities from another industry may outperform someone with industry experience but weaker core competencies. That said, you may need to provide additional context about your industry to candidates without specific experience.

What if our partnership program is structured differently than what's assumed in these exercises?

These exercises are designed to be customizable. Modify the scenarios, partner profiles, and specific challenges to reflect your unique partnership program structure, whether that's channel sales, technology integration, referral partnerships, or another model. The core competencies being evaluated remain relevant across different partnership types.

How do we ensure consistency when evaluating different candidates?

Create a standardized evaluation rubric for each exercise that maps to the key competencies for the role. Have the same interviewers conduct the same exercises across candidates whenever possible, and hold calibration discussions among interviewers to ensure consistent standards are applied.

Can these exercises be conducted remotely?

Yes, all of these exercises can be adapted for remote interviews using video conferencing tools. For the business plan and performance analysis exercises, consider using screen sharing to review the candidate's work. For role plays, ensure all participants have stable internet connections and are familiar with the video platform being used.

Partner Account Managers play a pivotal role in driving business growth through strategic relationships. By incorporating these work samples into your hiring process, you'll gain valuable insights into how candidates will perform in real-world scenarios, helping you identify those with the right mix of relationship skills, strategic thinking, and execution capabilities.

To further streamline your hiring process for Partner Account Managers, Yardstick offers powerful tools to help you create comprehensive job descriptions, generate targeted interview questions, and design structured interview guides. Visit our resources at AI Job Descriptions, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator to learn more about how we can help you find the perfect Partner Account Manager for your team. For more details about the Partner Account Manager role, check out our Partner Account Manager job description.

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