INSIDE BUILDER-OF-LEADERS MENTORING
Let Partners Run the Sales Seminars
You are packing for another partner seminar, the third this month, because every partner waits for you to lead the room. Ivanka Menken uses the Release Dial inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to move one part of the seminar channel from founder-led to partner-owned. In this case, the invitation and the follow-up moved to one partner’s sales lead, with a script and a 14-day review.
The Release Dial is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product.
AN EXAMPLE PARTNER CHANNEL
The partners want seminars. Only you can run them.
- EACH PARTNER’S SALES TEAMsalespeople the seminar can reach15, 20 or 50
- WHO RUNS IT NOWinvitation, room and follow-up, every timeThe founder
- THE RELEASEinvitation and follow-up to the partner’s sales lead2 steps, 14 days
THE RULE
“Release the steps around the room before the room itself. The partner invites and follows up; you check at day 14.”
Your partners and your steps will be your own.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
More partners, more travel, same founder
- 01Every partner seminar waits for you to lead it.
- 02Each new partner adds prep and travel to your calendar.
- 03Nobody at the partner has ever sent the invitation or done the follow-up.
THE SEMINAR CHANNEL, AS IT STANDS
- Partners: more each quarter
- Invitation: written and sent by the founder
- The room: run by the founder
- Follow-up: chased by the founder
- Partner’s sales lead: willing, never asked
A channel that works, with one person in every step.
THE EXAMPLE CASE
A founder who ran every partner seminar
01
THE MOMENT
A new partner, and every answer is the founder
A new partner says yes. Their sales lead is keen and their team is big. Then the questions start: when can you come, what should we send, who calls people afterwards? You realise every answer is you. The channel works, the margins are good, and it only grows as fast as you can get on a plane.
02
WHAT THEY HAD TRIED
Sign up more partners
In this case, a founder sold through partner-led seminars: a partner hosted, and the founder spoke to their sales team, sometimes 15 people, sometimes 50. The obvious way to grow was more partners. It worked, and it made things worse. Every new partner added another invitation to write, another room to fly to and another round of follow-up calls. Growth was capped by the founder’s calendar.
03
WHAT IVANKA NOTICED
No part of the seminar belonged to the partner
Ivanka noticed the founder had never decided which part of the seminar a partner could own. The partners were eager, and their sales leads already knew their own people better than the founder did. But nobody had given them a script, a step or the permission to run it. The channel had partners in name and a founder in every seat.
THE DIAGNOSIS
An unreleased step, not a shortage of partners
The real issue was not partner demand. It was a piece of the sales channel the founder had never released: the steps around the room, which a partner’s sales lead was better placed to do.
The reframe: release the steps around the room before the room itself. The partner’s sales lead invites their own people and runs the follow-up with the founder’s script. The founder still runs the room for now, and the next notch waits for the review.
Release the steps around the room before the room itself.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
While every step stays with the founder, each new partner costs another trip, the follow-up slips when the founder is travelling, and the channel can only grow as fast as one person’s calendar.
THE TOOL
The Release Dial, for a partner seminar
The Release Dial is how Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring moves work from the founder to a leader one notch at a time. For a partner seminar, the dial turns on the steps around the room first: the invitation and the follow-up.
Tap a part. Your partners and your steps will be your own.
Release Dial · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is one page for one partner. The seminar in four steps, who owns each one now, which steps move to the partner’s sales lead, the script that goes with them, and the 14-day review. The room stays with the founder until this release has been checked.
What it replaces
It replaces signing up more partners to grow, a founder who writes every invitation and chases every follow-up, and partners who wait to be told what to do.
It sits inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, next to the monthly scorecard that records release commitments kept. One release is written each fortnight and reviewed at the next session. It is coaching with written commitments, not done-for-you implementation.
THE RELEASE, FOR ONE PARTNER
- 01The steps: invitation, the room, follow-up, sign-ups
- 02Moves to the partner’s sales lead: the invitation and the follow-up
- 03Stays with the founder: the room, for now
- 04The script: what to send, what to say, when to call
- 05The reach: 15, 20 or 50 salespeople per partner
- 06The review: day 14, at the next session
HOW IVANKA WORKED WITH THEM
Four steps, two of them released
In the session, Ivanka asked the founder to write out what they did for every seminar, step by step. Then she asked which steps the partner’s sales lead could own, and which the founder only needed to hear about afterwards. The invitation and the follow-up were the obvious first notch. Together they wrote a release commitment for one partner: the sales lead sends the invitation and runs the follow-up with the founder’s script, the founder runs the room, and they review at day 14.
THE RELEASE COMMITMENT, AS WRITTEN
- Partner
- One partner, named, to start.
- Released
- The invitation and the follow-up, to their sales lead.
- Script
- What to send, what to say and when to call.
- Stays with the founder
- The room, until the review.
- Review
- Day 14, at the next session
Your partner and your steps will be your own.
THE FOUR-STEP LOOP
- 1The one thingEvery partner seminar, run by the founder.
- 2The numbers15, 20 or 50 salespeople per partner, one founder.
- 3The storyThe partners expect me in the room.
- 4The commitmentInvitation and follow-up to one sales lead for 14 days.
THE QUESTIONS
- What do you do for every seminar, step by step?
- Which step could the partner’s sales lead own tomorrow?
- What would they need from you to do it well?
- What do you only need to hear about afterwards?
- What would make you step back in?
Before the next session, the founder sent the script to one partner’s sales lead, let them send the invitation and run the follow-up, and brought back what came back and why.
WHAT CHANGED
Partners who run part of the channel
By month 6, the founder has released the steps around the room to partners’ sales leads, has a written release commitment checked every fortnight, and the monthly scorecard records release commitments kept.
BEFORE
- Every invitation written by the founder.
- Every follow-up chased by the founder.
- Each new partner added another trip.
- Partners waited to be told what to do.
BY MONTH 6
- Partners’ sales leads invite their own people.
- Follow-up run with the founder’s script.
- The room is the next notch on the dial.
- Release commitments kept on the monthly scorecard.
THE 12 FORTNIGHTS
- 1Call
- 2Call
- 3Call
- 4Call
- 5Call
- 6Month 3
- 7Call
- 8Call
- 9Call
- 10Call
- 11Call
- 12Month 6
The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, one release each fortnight, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.
ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
In this case, the founder moved the seminar invitation and follow-up to one partner’s sales lead for 14 days, with a script. The review looked at who came, who signed up and what came back to the founder, and the next partner got the same release from the start.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Give the partner a step, in writing
Ivanka Menken built Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who build leaders but still do it all. A partner channel is a leadership question too: who owns which step, and who you can stop doing it for.
This fits if you sell through partners, seminars or events and every one still needs you in every step. It does not fit if you want a sales script written for you or someone to run the channel. The decision in front of you is one partner and one notch. Write it down before the next seminar.
“Helps founders lead with clarity and integrity by modelling vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and grounded decision-making. Creates an environment where leaders can openly explore challenges and grow without fear of judgement.”
R.W., founder
WHO IT IS FOR
It fits
- You sell through partners, seminars or hosted events.
- Every seminar still needs you in every step.
- You run a $500K to $3M business.
- You will release one step and stay out for 14 days.
It does not fit
- You want sales training or a script written for you.
- You want someone to run the partner channel.
- You have no partner willing to own a step.
- You want to keep every invitation in your own name.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $1,500
per month ex GST
6 months · 12 fortnightly sessions
The Release Dial is part of Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.
- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- One release each fortnight
- A monthly scorecard with release commitments kept
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
Three founding places in total, shared across all 1:1 mentoring, are available at AUD $1,000/month ex GST, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. Claim a founding place.
The Release Dial is part of the programme. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about partner-led sales seminars
Which part of the seminar should I release first?
Usually the steps around the room: the invitation and the follow-up. The partner’s sales lead already knows their own people, and these steps are easy to script. The room itself comes later, once the first release is reviewed. Ivanka Menken helps you choose the notch inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
What if the partner does the follow-up badly?
That is what the script and the day-14 review are for. Write down what good follow-up looks like, what triggers you stepping back in, and look at what came back at the review. One weak round is information, not failure. Ivanka Menken works through it inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Do I need to price the seminar first?
If the money split with the partner is unclear, settle that first, because it shapes who owns what. Then release the steps. Ivanka Menken covers the release with you inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and the partner event pricing showcase covers the price and the split.
How long is Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring?
Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring runs for 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST: twelve fortnightly 60-minute 1:1 sessions with Ivanka Menken, one release each fortnight, a monthly scorecard of release commitments kept and reviews at month 3 and month 6. The Release Dial is part of the programme and is not sold separately. A 20-minute intro call shows whether it fits.
Release one step to a partner
If your partners want seminars and every step still needs you, start with Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring. The Release Dial is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.
Not sales training or a done-for-you channel.