What is directories in InstinctGTM?

Part 3 · Operate

Directories

The highest-intent free channel there is, and the one almost nobody works.

01What it is

Finds every directory worth your time, confirms each one exists, and runs the application through to a live listing. Partner directories are the ones that pay.

02Why it exists

Somebody browsing a vendor's partner directory has a problem that vendor's product is part of, and the vendor is vouching for you. That is a better starting position than any outbound message reaches, and the listing keeps working after you stop.

Almost nobody works this channel, for two reasons that are both solvable. Finding every relevant directory is tedious, so people list on the three they already know. And partner applications stall waiting on a document, then die in a browser tab, so the ones worth the most are the ones least often finished.

The version of this that shipped first had eight hardcoded directories in a flat list. A flat list gets worked top to bottom, which means a founder spends their first afternoon on the cheapest entry in it.

03How to use it

01Run discovery. It looks at what you build on, where your competitors are listed, and the maintained catalogue.
02Work the partner directories first, even though they take the longest. The board marks them.
03Read their requirements before you start. A certification you do not have is worth knowing on day one.
04Write the application, check every field, and submit it yourself.
05Clear the "waiting on you" column. That is where applications die.

04What good looks like

You give it: A venture that builds on a named payments provider, with that vendor detected on its own site.
You get: The vendor’s partner directory is found, confirmed to exist, and ranked top with its real application URL and about seven days of expected effort.
Why: A vendor you actually build on gives you a claim a generalist does not have, and the score reflects that rather than treating every directory alike.

Observed in a real run

05What weak looks like, and what it costs

You give it: Listing on three product launch boards and stopping there.
You get: A backlink and a day of traffic. No pipeline, because nobody browsing a launch board is looking to hire.
Why: Intent varies by directory type more than by anything else, and a launch board is the lowest-intent type there is.

Derived from the rules in the code