Day one
The brief
A video call to kick things off, half an hour to an hour. We ask about your category, your stage, your channel priorities, your timeline and the constraints you're already working around.
How a shortlist is built
ScrollA serious starting point,in weeks rather than months.
You brief us. We work the database and come back quickly with a shortlist or a longlist of partners worth meeting. Names that fit your category, your stage and what you are really trying to do in China.
How it works
You brief us. We come back with the shortlist.
The brief
Half an hour to an hour, on a call. Your category, your stage and what you're really trying to pull off in China. A cross-border test. A domestic launch. The quiet replacement of a distributor who's stopped picking up the phone. Sometimes something we've never seen before, which is fine too.
The shortlist
We come back with a map of who actually operates in your space, plus three to five partners worth meeting. Each one with a short brief: strengths, weak spots and where to push when you sit down to negotiate.
The introductions
Most of these partners already know us. You walk in with a relationship behind you, which usually puts the A-team in the room rather than the pitch team.
Finding the right partner in China usually swallows a quarter. We start with the answer.
How the engagement works
From first call to shortlist.
Three steps. Two or three weeks. One document and a working session at the end. Quicker when the brief is tight, a little longer when the scope is broad.
Week one and two
The database
We pull the names that match the brief, then check each one against where the partner actually is right now. A profile written eighteen months ago can already be out of date. Things move quickly here.
Week three
The delivery
A document covering the partner list, the profiles and our read on each one. Plus a working session to walk through it together, page by page.
What you get
A document, a conversation, and warm introductions if you want them.
A profile per partner
Real categories, channels, footprint, commercial terms, brands they've worked with and our view on each. Enough to walk into a meeting knowing exactly what to ask and what to watch for.
A working session
We sit down with you and talk through the whole thing. Why this name. Why not that one. Where we'd push in negotiation. The list doesn't count for much if you don't trust the thinking behind it.
Warm introductions
If you want them, we make them. Most of these partners already know us, so you tend to get the A-team in the room rather than the pitch team.
What we can and cannot tell you
Honest about the limits.
What we can do: tell you who fits, based on what we have actually seen and worked on ourselves, and make sure the names on your list have earned their place there.
What we cannot: tell you how the partnership will look two years in. That depends on the deal you negotiate, the team they put on your account and a lot of other things that happen after the contract is signed.
Worth saying anyway. Most China entries that go sideways go sideways at the choice of partner, not at the execution.
How the engagement is priced
One project, one fee.
A single project, not a retainer. Scope and fee are both pinned down before any work starts, and the fee is quoted after the first call once the brief is clear. Three shapes: shortlist only, longlist only, or both with market mapping on top.
The first call is really about fit. By the end of it you will know whether this is the right kind of help for you, and we will know whether we can actually move the needle.
When to come to us
Earlier is better.
Pre-launch
Before you've signed anything. The cleanest case of all. The database has room to earn its keep.
Replacing a partner
A distributor sitting on inventory. A TP that can't shift the category. We know who fits and who doesn't.
After a wrong signing
Some brands only come to us later. Same shortlist work, sharper urgency, far less room to maneuver.