The shortlist worksheet and the outcome plan

AGS Rome 2026 Welcome Kit for Growth & Affiliate Teams · the two pages that keep a trip honest: who you'll request, and what "it worked" means at each stage

The memo asks for three names. This is where they come from, and where the report you'll write afterwards is decided before you fly. Fill it in with the roster page open. If you can't fill three rows with a straight face, the trip isn't ready to propose, and that's a useful answer.

Part 1. The shortlist

One row per counterparty. Five rows: three you'll name in the memo, two backups for when a request is declined.

How to fill "commercial fit." One line, in the business's terms: the market they reach that you don't; the traffic type your roster lacks; the placement you've requested since Q1; the terms you've never renegotiated because you've never met the person. Specific beats impressive. A network you already run with, whose acceptance you can expect, is a better row than a logo you've never emailed.

How to fill "the question." The one you'd ask first, and it usually starts with what they need from you: "What do you need from a brand to take an offer on, and what would you change about ours before you ran it?" "Which markets do you support, and what payout do partners like us typically get?" "How would we identify new-to-brand orders in your reporting?"

How to fill "next step." Not "close." The thing you'd want agreed at the end of ten minutes: a follow-up call with a date, an offer sent for review, terms in writing, a test scoped.

Part 2. The four qualifying questions, before a name goes on the memo

Ask these of every row. A "no" on any of them moves the row to the backup list.

1. Customers. Do they reach customers we'd want and don't currently reach?
2. Markets. Do they work in the markets the business is actually pushing into, not the ones we've saturated?
3. Economics. Would the payout they expect fit inside a margin that still leaves something for us after refunds?
4. Traffic. Can they explain how they reach people in a way we could defend to finance, and would we be able to identify which orders were new?

Part 3. The outcome plan

The report you bring back is written here, in advance, with the stages kept separate. Nobody silently substitutes one for another.

Cost per meeting, as a planning aid: total trip cost ÷ the realistic number of qualified meetings, labelled as a forecast. After the event, actual cost ÷ meetings held. Requests, accepted bookings, meetings and deals are four different numbers; the memo and the report keep them that way.

Part 4. Follow-up

Within one week of return: one slide. Meetings held, partners in evaluation, terms changed, next steps with owners and dates. A 30-day check with partners live and first revenue. Put the dates in your calendar before you fly, because the week you get back is the week it doesn't happen otherwise.

Part 5. If the memo is declined

The shortlist still stands. Three names, one email each: "I'll be in Rome 2 to 5 November; will you?" The answers cost nothing and they're the ammunition for the next version of the memo.

We update this kit from time to time as confirmations, prices and event details change. This page is current as of 12 September 2026.