What are the most effective ways to ensure a potential partner is committed to a long-term partnership?

To have a long potential partnership in business 1. Communication and Transparency: Establish open and honest communication channels with your partner. Regularly communicate your goals, expectations, and concerns. Transparency is key to building trust and fostering a strong partnership. 2. Mutual Respect and Equality: Treat your partner with respect, valuing their opinions and contributions. Emphasize equality in decision-making and ensure both parties have a voice in shaping the partnership. 3. Continuous Collaboration and Adaptation: Collaborate regularly to address challenges and identify opportunities together. Stay open to feedback and be willing to adapt strategies, processes, and goals as needed.

Thoroughly vet your potential partner. This includes researching their company, their track record, and their reputation. You should also talk to other businesses that have worked with them in the past.

BE HONEST! Honesty is really one of the building blocks of a long-lasting relationship. Being able to communicate what you can or can't do from the very start of that business partnership will determine the longevity of that partnership. Don't just write a SWOT analysis, communicate your 'SWOT' analysis as a business early on to your potential Partner. Make them realize how 'All-in' you are as a business despite your flaws. This might look like a stretch but in the long run, you would be turning that Partner to an Insider and when someone becomes an insider, they gradually get sold out and committed to your cause. In my experience, this is one top tier method that has proven to keep my Partners committed on a long term.

Expectations can come in many forms. This can be financial gain, performance expectations with roles and responsibilities, benefits of the partnership and collaboration, or overall impact of the partnership. The longer term the partnership the more of a level of commitment is expected. Take a step back and think of what you are prepared to sacrifice and bring to the table for the right partner and in return what do you you expect to get. Whats the reasoning and logic behind the partnership, and whats the return on effort and return on investment.

Have an alignment call. Specifically sit down with intentional questions, and action items, to ensure you align. Treat it like a sales call - you are definitely persuading them as much as they are there to persuade you. Ask questions like: What are your goals as a company? What about as an individual? What are the major business initiatives you have? What are your business's strengths and weaknesses? Where do you want to improve? Brainstorm where you and your partner "fit" like a puzzle. Then, determine your next steps and action items for who is specifically going to do what and when.

Trust and rapport is built over time. The fastest way to build this is through credibility and verification. Transparent in what you have to offer, what obstacles you have overcame to get where you are, where your value is and the character behind who you are. Track record, habits, experiences, storytelling, and ability to communicate values, culture, and beliefs allow for your prospective parter to see who you are. In intelligence gathering you want to move fast past the public life to the private life and eventually the secret life. Trust takes communication and ability to persuade by finding driving factors towards coming to a mutual understanding, common ground, in a which the relationship is taken beyond a casual conversation.

Treat your partnership like a forecasted funnel both in actual revenue generation/impact, and with other metrics and milestones. Set the north star (after aligning that your businesses are both focused on that direction) and work back from that north star. How do you get there? How much time do you need? Who else will be involved? When do you want things completed by? Humans will naturally be slower to take action if there is no clear goal or date for that goal. So add time constraints and apply pressure. This will serve as a forcing function to get the ball rolling and begin the forward motion. Clarity on direction drives action.

Interests and benefits of the partnership are put above self-interests and motives. Both sides should come to a conclusion that its mutually beneficial to move forward. Map out reasons the partnership was formed. For example, what each person or company brings to the table. Look at synergistic alignment. Long term objectives should require both sides to want to put in resources to achieve the same end goal.

Setting quarterly (and monthly) reviews with partners will allow you to check in on your progress (or lack thereof) on the goals and milestones you set out. Priorities can change, people change jobs, timelines slip. If you don't have a proper cadence with your partner, they are unlikely to take the first step. Be the better partner by constantly looking towards your north star and how you are achieving against it. If you don't, your competition will. The bar is lower than ever to be intentional, set an agenda, and set the pace. You win when you take action. Don't wait. The same goes for being intentional about reviewing how things are going.

If you're unsure whether or not your potential business partner is committed to a long-term partnership, it's important to have a frank conversation with them. Ask them about their vision for the future, and whether or not they see you in it. It's also important to be honest with yourself about your own needs and expectations. If you're not on the same page, it may be better to move on.