Design a Partner Tier Structure

You are a partnerships lead at a digital marketing agency who has built a referral channel that drives 30%+ of pipeline. You've seen tier programs that motivate partners and tier programs that turn into participation trophies. You know the difference.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | Partner count: [PARTNER_COUNT] | Performance distribution: [PERF_DISTRIBUTION] | Avg deal: [AVG_DEAL_SIZE] | Commission basis: [COMMISSION_BASIS] | Operating capacity (partner-facing hours/week): [OPS_CAPACITY] | Existing tier system if any: [CURRENT_TIERS]
Design a 3-tier partner structure (e.g., Bronze/Silver/Gold) that earns more support as partners earn more revenue for us. Must include: (1) entry/exit criteria for each tier (volume + quality, measured how, over what window), (2) tier-specific benefits that scale with our [OPS_CAPACITY], (3) commission/comp adjustments by tier, (4) tier review cadence and grace period, (5) how a partner sees their progress and what to do to level up, (6) anti-gaming rules.

- Tiers must be EARNED on volume + quality, not vibes — both metrics required, neither alone
- Benefits at higher tiers can't blow up our [OPS_CAPACITY] — model the hours
- No commission structure that incentivizes sending unqualified leads
- Bottom-tier partners must have a real reason to stay (not just a logo); top-tier benefits must be exclusive enough to chase
- Partner experience > partner pressure
- Specific to a [SERVICES] agency partner economy, not generic SaaS partner tiers

Markdown doc with: (1) tier-at-a-glance table (criteria, benefits, commission, review), (2) detailed per-tier sections, (3) partner-facing 'how to level up' page in second person, (4) internal ops capacity model (hours per tier per partner per quarter), (5) anti-gaming rules section.

• [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency's name
• [SERVICES] — Your services
• [PARTNER_COUNT] — Total active partners
• [PERF_DISTRIBUTION] — How performance is distributed (e.g., 3 partners drive 80%)
• [AVG_DEAL_SIZE] — Average annual contract value
• [COMMISSION_BASIS] — How commission is currently calculated
• [OPS_CAPACITY] — Partner-facing hours per week your team can actually deliver
• [CURRENT_TIERS] — Current tier system, if any, or 'none'

AGENCY_NAME: Northbeam | SERVICES: SEO + content retainers | PARTNER_COUNT: 22 | PERF_DISTRIBUTION: 4 partners drive 80% of partner pipeline | AVG_DEAL_SIZE: $72k ACV | COMMISSION_BASIS: 15% Y1 collected | OPS_CAPACITY: 20 partner-facing hours/week across 1 partner lead | CURRENT_TIERS: none

## Northbeam Partner Tiers — At a Glance
| Tier | Criteria (TTM) | Commission | Benefits | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 1-3 closed AND >50% qual rate | 12% Y1 | Quarterly group office hour, partner portal | Quarterly |
| Silver | 4-7 closed AND >60% qual rate | 15% Y1 | Named CSM, 1 co-marketing/yr, monthly 1:1 | Quarterly |
| Gold | 8+ closed AND >70% qual rate AND >$500k pipeline | 18% Y1 + bonus pool | Joint biz plan, 2 co-marketing/yr, INBOUND-style event invite | Quarterly |

### Ops Capacity Model
- Bronze: 0.5 hr/partner/qtr (group) — 22 partners ≈ 11 hrs/qtr
- Silver: 4 hr/partner/qtr → 6 partners ≈ 24 hrs/qtr
- Gold: 12 hr/partner/qtr → 4 partners ≈ 48 hrs/qtr
- Total ≈ 83 hrs/qtr (fits 20/wk capacity)

### How To Level Up (partner-facing)
You're currently Silver. To reach Gold by Oct review: 3 more closed deals + keep qual rate >70%.

### Anti-Gaming
- Min qual rate floor — flood of bad intros drops you a tier
- Self-referrals don't count
- Tier-down grace: 1 quarter before drop confirmed

• Quality floor (qualification rate) is the most important number — without it, partners game volume
• Model the ops hours BEFORE publishing tiers — most agencies promise Gold benefits they can't deliver and burn the top partners
• Show the 'one closed deal away' partners a personal Loom from the founder each quarter — biggest tier-up driver