DRIFTFORGE Partner Audit
Partner interview checklist — script + resume analysis
Goal: run a clean 20-minute audit and extract signal on systems-leadership, coachability, and founder-risk. Paste a resume below to generate tailored talking points, then use the script-first backbone as your default run-of-show.
LLM API (resume analysis)
Choose provider and paste your key here. Values are stored in localStorage on this browser only. For Claude-first workflows, pick Claude (Anthropic). Custom = any OpenAI-compatible …/v1/chat/completions URL.
Resume input raw text
Paste a resume, LinkedIn export, or job description. Analysis uses the provider above and stays on this device.
Analysis output
Paste a resume and click Analyze Resume to populate this panel.
Analyzing resume…
Adapt to candidate — defaults below; weave in strengths, red flags, and questions from the analysis panel above.
Open the call (read or paraphrase)
I’m running this call off a hardened audit script. We’re on a strict 20-minute clock because that’s how our fulfillment cycles run. I’m checking off logic points as we go so we don’t waste time on fluff. Let’s jump in.
If that lands cold on the human side, loosen the wording — keep the clock and the checkboxes honest.
My Vault
Status: local only · non-transmitted
Checklist state, notes, keys, and timer live in this browser only. Nothing here syncs to DRIFTFORGE — a visible boundary: you own the relationship data on your machine; we own the product rails (pillars).
Meeting flow check as you touch
Default profile anchors (swap for whoever sits in the chair): 14+ years · results-driven marketing (ops + efficiency + profitability) · Director of Marketing, Premier Research Labs (2024–present): company-wide strategy, budget, 15‑channel mix, revenue reporting · Head of Sales & Marketing, Klickly: omni-channel, lead gen, pipeline, dashboards, conversion · Adlucent: paid search + paid social, enterprise retail/DTC clients (e.g. Chico’s, Vitamin Shoppe, Brilliant Earth) · tools: Google Analytics (GA) · Google Ads · HubSpot · Klaviyo · Salesforce · Hootsuite · plus fulfillment/customer escalation + SOP background (Thompson Creek / Windingo).
Bible anchors: Partners own relationships / DRIFTFORGE owns infrastructure (pillars) · product scope is fixed — no custom builds for clients (scope / custom dev) · gap-fill positioning (never replace/attack competitors) · commission rules are non‑negotiable · Service Level Agreement (SLA) is capacity‑gated · infrastructure is industry agnostic (vertical-agnostic stack): discovery proves the gap, then we deploy a hardened operational layer (hardened layer) — the install adapts when the enforcement logic is there (logic gate) · 100% commission filters for partners who move the needle, not people who babysit a login (comp filter).
Bible anchors: Partners own relationships / DRIFTFORGE owns infrastructure (pillars) · product scope is fixed — no custom builds for clients (scope / custom dev) · gap-fill positioning (never replace/attack competitors) · commission rules are non‑negotiable · Service Level Agreement (SLA) is capacity‑gated · infrastructure is industry agnostic (vertical-agnostic stack): discovery proves the gap, then we deploy a hardened operational layer (hardened layer) — the install adapts when the enforcement logic is there (logic gate) · 100% commission filters for partners who move the needle, not people who babysit a login (comp filter).
Hybrid strip · priority checkpoints
During the call: use this as the scan-order so you don’t lose the spine between bullets and verbatim blocks.
Tap gate
0:00 Frame — pillars + scope + 72-hour clock.
0:05 Systems — enforce protocol, not feature pitch.
0:09 RevOps — partner scoreboard + forecast integrity.
0:12 Risk — why 100% commission is rational.
0:16 Enterprise — stakeholder map + leverage move.
0:17 Close — 30-sec audit; speed + certainty; gap-fill only.
Control — acknowledge + 20-min clock + infrastructure logic.
0:20 Exit — hard stop; Thu 5pm; one-message rule.
Vertical probe 1: Which vertical do you already have distribution in, and which buyer role signs?
Vertical probe 2: What breaks first in that market today: intake, follow-up, closeout, or handoff?
Tool-fit probe: If we built one secondary tool for that vertical, what job must it remove from day one?
No-build check: What can we solve with protocol + language only before any custom build?
0:00 — Open / frame (no small talk)
Set stakes. You have infrastructure. They’re auditioning for a seat.
Verify proof stack — 14+ years · Director-level ownership of multi-channel strategy · Premier Research Labs (15‑channel allocation, budget, revenue reporting) · Klickly (pipeline + pacing + conversion) · Adlucent enterprise accounts + paid search/social at scale.
Verify stack literacy — Google Analytics (GA) · Google Ads · HubSpot · Klaviyo · Salesforce · plus ops muscle from fulfillment / escalation / SOP work (Thompson Creek).
Set evaluation frame — “I’m not here to be impressed — I’m testing fit + coachability inside our system.”
Declare the constraint: 72‑hour delivery timeline (fulfillment cycle) on high-value accounts (Whale accounts) (speed + precision required).
Hit the Four Pillars: partners own relationships / DRIFTFORGE owns infrastructure (pillars) · software fulfills / partner sells (pillars) · partners are operators not employees (partner language) · partner isolation is by design (isolation).
Scope lock (scope) — product scope is fixed, so we don’t promise custom builds (custom dev); partners can’t either.
Define what you’re measuring: can they sell a protocol under rules (not run a vanity brand campaign), respect capacity + language standards, and stay coachable.
Ask the pivot question: why Founding Partner here vs another in-house Director/CMO path or agency portfolio (listen for leverage, recurring book, system — not “more creative control” alone).
Industry-agnostic spine (vertical-agnostic stack): same protocol backbone across trades; you’re not selling a single vertical headline — you’re proving whether their world has real gap logic worth a hardened install (hardened layer).
Prompts before the verbatim Say block
Bridge in one breath — proof you read them → why this seat exists → clock + fulfillment reality (fulfillment cycle); don’t sandwich in small talk.
Land pillars + scope — relationship ownership vs infrastructure (pillars) first; then scope lock (no custom builds) short and flat.
Use silence — after the two non‑negotiables, half-beat pause; let them lean in.
Single pivot — the closing question is the hook; resist stacking extra asks here.
Paraphrase OK — keep sequence: praise signal → constraint → rules → why here.
Say:
You’ve spent 14+ years in marketing leadership — most recently full company-wide strategy at Premier Research Labs: budget, fifteen-channel allocation, content, launches, and channel revenue reporting. Before that you owned sales + marketing end-to-end at Klickly and ran enterprise paid programs at Adlucent. That’s high-signal.
I brought you here because DRIFTFORGE runs a 72-hour delivery timeline (fulfillment cycle) on high-value accounts (Whale accounts), and I need to know if your leadership style can operate inside that constraint — not just optimize campaigns, but enforce a client-facing standard under our rules.
Two non‑negotiables up front: partners own the relationships and DRIFTFORGE owns the infrastructure (pillars) — and the product scope is fixed, so we don’t promise custom builds (scope). Same rule for you in the field: sell the protocol inside the rails, not bespoke development.
One question to start: you already have the skills to stay in-house or run an agency-style book — Google Analytics (GA), HubSpot, Salesforce, performance marketing, dashboards. Why take a Founding Partner seat here instead of the next senior marketing role?
0:05 — Systems leadership stress test
Force them off “campaign / feature pitch” and into “protocol enforcement (enforcement).”
Gap preset · vertical wallpaper
Industry-agnostic spine — swap scenario wallpaper for screen-share. Default is broad field/trades; pick a vertical for a sharper stress test.
Reframe the sale: “We don’t sell software — we install a documentation protocol (protocol).”
Run the hard objection: “My crew will never use digital — they’re paper / old-system people.”
Force identity framing: “You’re a professional shop / you run a standard, not preferences.”
Listen for enforcement mechanics: consequences, standard operating rhythm (cadence), manager inspection, onboarding/training cadence (cadence).
Listen for language quality: do they talk outcomes (fewer disputes, cleaner books, faster cash) or features (“buttons, screens”)?
Green tell: they make compliance the cost of entry without turning it into a branding exercise.
Inject the product suite (Bible): NoteRelay (NoteRelay) = client communication clarity; CloseDoc (CloseDoc) = closeout docs + photo trail; Gap Matrix (Gap Matrix) = discovery framework; we plug gaps without replacement (gap-fill).
Industry-agnostic install (vertical-agnostic stack): if discovery shows real friction — slow intake, leaking follow-up, closeout slippage (workflow gaps) — we can deploy the hardened layer there (hardened layer); no replacement story, no “rip and replace.”
Example · legacy stack vs floor speed — e.g. heavy dealer / DMS or enterprise ERP bias toward accounting (compliance load) while intake + follow-up leak on the floor (floor friction): systems gap, not a campaign fix; we don’t rip the core system (gap-fill) — we harden documentation + client-readable proof where discovery proves the hole.
Prompts before the verbatim Ask block
Optional one-liner — in your voice: “different buyer than ad metrics — we’re selling protocol on a floor.” Then dive into the block.
Don’t rescue — if they stall, repeat the scenario once calmly; no leading the witness.
Run the follow-up — weekly inspection, 30-day tolerance, consequence — even if they nailed the first beat.
Feature detour — “buttons and training later” is a yellow signal; nudge back to identity + enforcement.
Ask:
In performance marketing you’re selling measurable outcomes — click, lead, purchase, Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). At DRIFTFORGE we sell a field documentation protocol for trades and operators: closeout discipline and client-readable proof, not a sexy campaign narrative — same spine whether the shop does mechanical, vehicles, construction, or retail ops.
If a field owner says: “My crew will never live in your app — they’re paper / old-system people,” how do you harden that frame so the protocol is non‑negotiable — without losing the deal?
Follow-up: what’s the enforcement mechanism — what do you inspect weekly, what do you tolerate for 30 days, and what’s the consequence when someone refuses?
Listen for: identity reframe + operational constraint (“this is the cost of being a professional shop”) vs feature-selling (“it has X buttons”) or generic “we’ll train them later.”
0:09 — Revenue operations (RevOps) / forecasting integrity
They live in dashboards: make them prove discipline on a partner scoreboard — not marketing vocabulary alone.
Demand their actual scoreboard: 3–5 weekly metrics they ran as Director (e.g., Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) / Cost Per Lead (CPL), conversion rate (CVR), pipeline quality (pipeline hygiene), revenue pacing, channel attribution).
Test forecasting integrity: how they prevent sandbagging / optimism and how they define “real pipeline.”
Test system enforcement: what happens when a top performer (sales or channel owner) refuses Customer Relationship Management updates (CRM hygiene) or Key Performance Indicators reporting (KPI reporting).
Ask for exception logic: when do they break the rule (if ever) and how do they prevent “exception becoming policy.”
Green tell: calm, specific standards + consequences; no hero worship of “the creative” or one channel that won’t follow process.
Drop the comp constraints (Bible): Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) pays on active clients only (MRR) · setup commission held 31 days from go-live (31‑day hold) · payout is the 15th for clients active as of the 1st (payout cycle) · enterprise deals need a signed Deal Memo before pricing is shown (Deal Memo).
Prompts before the verbatim Ask block
Frame the seat — “partner scoreboard” and fulfillment handoff before you read the dashboard question.
Definitions over drama — push what “pipeline” and “qualified” mean before more tactics.
Forecast miss — make them rank: bad inputs vs mushy definitions vs weak enforcement.
Star player exception — if they wax poetic about a rainmaker, lock how the rule still applies.
Ask:
You’ve lived inside Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM systems), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and revenue forecasting (forecasting) — channel reporting, pacing, conversion. In this seat your scoreboard is partner-level: pipeline hygiene, follow-up cadence, language compliance, and handoff quality to fulfillment.
What’s your non‑negotiable weekly dashboard — the 3–5 metrics you refuse to run without — and what happens when someone on your team wants to skip the system because “the creative works”?
Follow-up: when your forecast is wrong, what do you change first — the inputs, the definitions, or the enforcement?
Listen for: clear metrics + enforcement logic + how they handle exceptions without breaking the system.
0:12 — Equity & grit (founder-level risk)
They’ve had salary + enterprise marketing scope. Test why they want performance-only partner risk now.
Make the contrast explicit: W-2/retainer stability + marketing budget authority vs 100% commission (performance-only), early-stage, no safety net.
Force a mechanism: what can they build here that they can’t as CMO/Director or running paid media for clients?
Listen for founder logic: recurring book (Monthly Recurring Revenue — MRR), leverage, compounding, ownership — not “I want a side project.”
Watch for avoidance: if they won’t name trade-offs (risk, volatility, timing), yellow flag.
Green tell: they can articulate why the risk is rational and how they operate with no campaign dopamine for a week.
Prompts before the verbatim Ask block
State risk once — 100% commission / no net; don’t negotiate the model in this gate.
Listen for specifics — cash buffer, runway math, ego vs leverage; vague “I’m a grinder” = dig.
Dead week is the test — day two / day five rhythm reveals dependency on campaign wins.
Stay warm, stay binary — empathy without selling them the seat.
Ask:
You’ve operated at Director level with real budget, channels, and reporting — the kind of role people stay in for stability and prestige. This seat is 100% commission, early-stage, no safety net. It’s that way on purpose: we want partners who can move revenue and install discipline in the field — not people looking to babysit a login and call it work (comp filter).
Why take founder-level risk here instead of the next Director/CMO seat or staying inside a brand you already know?
Follow-up: if you have a dead week — no pipeline movement, no campaign wins to hide behind — what does your operating rhythm look like on day two and day five?
0:16 — Enterprise partnerships + deal strategy
They’ve managed enterprise brands: test multi-stakeholder control, not media-buy theater.
Force specificity: one enterprise program, named roles (Economic Buyer (EB), Champion (Champion), Blocker (Blocker)).
Find the stall: where did it slow (legal, ops, procurement, implementation fear, politics).
Extract the leverage move: what did they do that changed the deal state (sequence, memo, meeting reset, constraint, proof asset).
Assess control points: how they kept the next step owned and time-bound (next step).
Green tell: they speak in stakeholder map + sequence, not campaign highlights alone.
Industry story without a vertical cage: they can name pain in their sector (e.g. platform bloat vs floor speed) but translate it into gap + protocol language — same spine as any other trade (vertical-agnostic stack).
Verify relationship depth — after the account story: did they surface names, roles, and veto paths — or only industry gloss? Log one tap in the audit row below (optional; say it once aloud so it doesn’t feel like a tribunal).
Prompts before the verbatim Ask block
Their pick — let them name the account; only narrow if they freeze.
Stall vs person — separate “where it slowed” from “who made it move.”
Veto without theatrics — follow-up is about neutralizing risk without over-promising.
If they filibuster — “Who had veto, in one sentence?”
Ask:
You’ve worked with enterprise-scale brands in paid programs — retail, DTC, multi-stakeholder orgs. Pick one account (e.g. a retailer or high-complexity client you’re proud of): who were the stakeholders, where did the program stall, and what was the one move that reopened momentum?
Follow-up: who had veto power, and how did you neutralize that risk without over-promising creative or hacking the media mix to hide a positioning problem?
Listen for: stakeholder map, sequencing, and “control points” — not “we scaled spend.”
Audit · relationship depth
Rolodex / network signal — after they tell the account story, tap the box that matches how specific they got.
0:17 — Close test (live sell)
Make them sell speed + certainty, not a funnel metaphor or deck speak.
Force the frame: “30‑second audit” (speed + relief), not a product tour.
Watch their opener: owner pain (paper → disputes → slow cash) vs “we have an app” or ad jargon.
Listen for identity: “this is how real shops document work” / “this is the standard now.”
Listen for close mechanics: next step (next step), urgency, and a clean one-sentence value claim.
Red flag: they keep talking after the point is made (can’t be concise under a clock).
Require the Bible positioning line: never attack competitors; we complement them (gap-fill): “They handle ops. We handle closeout + client comms. We don’t replace anything.” (positioning).
Prompts before the verbatim Say block
Play the owner flat — tired, skeptical, not a coach; short answers from you.
Timer discipline — if they run past value, tap the clock mentally; you want one sharp pass.
Gap-fill only — if they attack the stack, reset constraint once, then hold.
Demand the close — one sentence next step you’d actually take; “optional” loses the test.
Bonus line optional — industry-agnostic line only if they nailed simplicity first.
Say:
You understand data and narrative — Google Analytics (GA), HubSpot, Salesforce, dashboards, conversion. Your job right now: sell me the speed of a 30‑second audit as if I’m an owner-operator drowning in paper, disputes, and slow cash — pick any trade mentally; keep it plain English, owner-to-owner. No funnel theory.
Constraint: you can’t attack or replace their current platform — you can only gap-fill (positioning).
Reality check you can verbalize if useful: our infrastructure is industry agnostic (vertical-agnostic stack) — we’re not wed to one vertical myth; we harden where the gap logic shows up (hardened layer).
Bonus: end with a one-sentence next step that feels inevitable — not optional.
Any time — if they try to take over
Keep control without friction.
Use the line once: acknowledge + clock + “infrastructure logic” + move on.
Assess compliance speed: instant adjustment (Green) vs negotiation (Yellow) vs pushback (Red).
Watch dominance behavior: do they keep trying to reframe you, or accept your frame and perform inside it?
Prompts before the verbatim line
Deploy once per derail — acknowledge → clock → infrastructure logic → forward motion.
Tone — bored bulletproof, not irritated; no stack of excuses after this.
No negotiation — don’t debate whether 20 minutes is “enough.”
I hear you — but we’re on a 20-minute clock and I need to stay in the infrastructure logic. Let’s keep moving. If there’s time at the end, we’ll circle back.
0:20 — Hard stop (exit)
End exactly at 0:20 — even mid-sentence.
Hard stop on time: do not apologize, do not negotiate (boundary is the test).
Status language: “audit complete” + “processing candidates” (you’re not chasing).
Specific promise: Activation link by Thursday 5 PM if logic clears (hold the line).
Post-exit discipline: if Green, no reach-out for 24 hours; let silence do work.
Prompts before the verbatim close
Swap [Name] — say their actual name; no placeholder on the call.
Cold facts — two short paragraphs; resist “how’d I do?” energy from your side.
Thursday promise — say the time once, same wording as script, then stop.
Follow-up boundary — one message rule is load-bearing; don’t soften it.
[Name], the audit is complete. I’m processing additional candidates today. If the logic clears, you’ll receive the Partner Activation link by Thursday at 5 PM. Appreciate your time.
If you have follow-ups, send them in one message — I’m staying inside the evaluation sequence.
Phase 2 founder strategy session — run only after a Green pass from Phase 1.
Founder strategy session phase 2 · 25 minutes
Phase 2 hybrid strip · founder decisions
Goal: decide market wedge, operator profile, and whether a secondary vertical tool is justified.
Phase 2 flow
Open — confirm this is strategy, not another audition.
Vertical fit — isolate the market where they can move fastest with existing trust.
Tool thesis — prove if secondary tool demand is real or a symptom of weak install.
Decision — lock next experiment, owner, and deadline.
Phase 2 / 0:00 — Founder frame
Set this as a strategy build session, not a personality screen.
Say:
You passed Phase 1. This session is founder strategy: market wedge, operating model, and where a secondary tool is actually justified. I care about what ships and what compounds, not pitch polish.
Phase 2 / 0:10 — Vertical reality map
Identify the one vertical where they have both access and pain clarity.
Access — ask where they already have decision-maker trust.
Pain unit — make them name the exact recurring failure point.
Economics — tie pain to time-to-cash, dispute cost, or margin bleed.
Ask:
Which vertical should we wedge first, and why that one now?
Who is the economic buyer there, and who usually blocks implementation?
What breaks first today in that market: intake, follow-up, closeout quality, or handoff?
If we fixed one of those in 30 days, what KPI would move first?
Phase 2 / 0:17 — Secondary tool thesis
Separate true tool demand from process and language enforcement problems.
No-build baseline first — require what can be solved by protocol with current stack.
Build trigger — define one repeatable blocker that justifies product work.
Constraint — no custom one-off for one client logo.
Ask:
Before we build anything, what can we fix with process discipline and tighter field language inside the current stack?
Now the hard call: if we built a secondary tool for your vertical, what exact job must it remove on day one?
What would make you say "do not build this yet" even if prospects keep asking for it?
Phase 2 / 0:24 — Decision close
Leave with one market test, one owner, one date.
Say:
Good. We are locking one vertical wedge, one 30-day proof test, and one owner. If signal is clean, we expand; if not, we do not add tool surface area. I want your written test plan by tomorrow, 5 PM.
Adapt to candidate — scoring rubric is fixed; your one-line reason should reference their specific signals from today.
Post-call 5 minutes
Score it immediately. One word + one sentence.
If Green — do not reach out for 24 hours
Silence is leverage. Send activation link Thursday by 5 PM as promised — not before.
If Yellow — name the gap precisely
Mindset vs skill vs risk tolerance. Decide if a second audit is worth it.
If Red — close the file
No follow-up.