This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Kelly O’Neil, Innovate Media Services
Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” I could not agree more.
Strategic partnerships are absolutely vital to usher your business into the next echelon. It’s important to remember, though, if your businesses aren’t a good match, partnering can end up being a colossal waste of time and energy, so it needs to fit like a glove.
You may be asking yourself, “how do I vet potential strategic partners to ensure they are worthy of working with?”
I’ve spent years functioning as a “matchmaker” for business, facilitating introductions, networking, and providing referrals. What I’ve learned is that there are three crucial qualifications that, if met, will ensure a fruitful 2-way partnership.
1. Values– Like any good relationship, values must be aligned for longevity and success. If a potential partner signals that they don’t operate with integrity, deal-breaker! If they aren’t customer service rock stars willing to go the extra mile for clients, deal-breaker! What you need to consider is this: are they someone who is going to be collaborative, or will they just take what they need from the relationship and run? If there is any whiff of the latter, I’d run the other way.
2. Quality of service– I simply will not represent someone who is not offering a top-level product, program, and service. Your partners are intrinsically linked to you and your business, if they’re putting out a subpar product, your business will be downgraded by being associated with them. Conversely, if you align yourself with someone who is breaking through the market in innovative and creative ways, you’ll be associated with that success.
3. Reach– Ideally, your potential partners can put as many opportunities in your path as you can for them. That being said, I will still work with partners that fit the first two criteria, but may not have extensive reach. Reach can be expanded over time; value alignment and quality of service are good indicators of future success.
Ask yourself these questions before moving forward with any strategic partnership:
•Is this going to be a fruitful two-way partnership? Remember that group project in high school where one kid did none of the work, but still got an “A”? Avoid this person in business.
•Are they going to be able to refer business to me?
•Are our businesses going to be cooperative and synergistic to one another?
•Do we complement each other?
•Do they offer too many services that are a cross over that could confuse clients as well as ourselves? Don’t get lost in the weeds, stick to people who are working in their genius zones.
By evaluating, vetting, and being intentional about potential partnerships, you’re being strategic in your actions. Flying blind into a business relationship without ensuring compatibility can result in a Titanic style disaster. Alignment of values, ethos, and work ethic will ensure a strategic partnership made in heaven.
Kelly O’Neil is a multi-award winning entrepreneur, affluent marketing and brand-marketing expert for the next generation of innovative companies and thought leaders.
As a highly successful marketing consultant for service-based businesses, Kelly knows exactly what it takes to exit a recession stronger than when you entered it. Her ability to tap into and understand the affluent mindset has made Kelly America’s leading expert in selling to the millionaire market.**
She has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, NBC, and Huffington Post among others! Kelly is a best-selling author, has shared the stage with industry legends including Tim Ferris, Jack Canfield and Brian Tracey, and was named by Seth Godin as “One of the Most Innovative Companies in America