Looking for a Partner? (…..a business partner)

When I first started with my current employer I was tasked with managing relationships with Business Partners. A Business Partner is a contracted company that you sell through. The concept of partnering with a 3rd party to extend your sales capability wasn’t that foreign as I had come from the air travel industry and we partnered with travel agents to great success.

Working with a partner is a much more powerful strategy than trying to go it alone. You see a partner represents an extended sales force to your own. By working with one partner to can reach say 10 clients whereas if you went it alone you would need to cover those 10 clients yourself.

Partners also bring unique skills, experience and services which you may not have or offer. This may make your products more attractive or accessible to certain types or size of clients.

Further Partners may already have established relationships which you wish to access to enter new markets or specific clients. There are lots of statistics floating around that talk how expensive it is to ‘go it alone’ in acquiring new clients.

What should you look for in a partner?

• The partner should be focused on the market you wish to pursue
• They should have dedicated resources to your market (so they don’t drop the ball when something more exciting appears)
• You should be able to create a trusted working relationship with specific members
• There should be an agreed way of doing business
• There should be strong two-way communication
• They should have the skills and certifications required to meet your needs.

We need to ensure there is mutual respect between your two organisations and there is no bullying. Both parties’ needs should be communicated regularly throughout business engagements.

Partnering can provide for more efficient and effective market access and can create rich and long lasting relationships. This will ultimately lead to a better corporate life. Cheers!