What are some of the best practices for maintaining and nurturing your strategic partnerships over time?

Putting a time limit on your partnership (1 year agreement, etc) is a smart move. It can give an 'out' to both parties, essentially giving a passive path to discontinue a partnership that's not working. And if you want your partner program to focus on quality over quantity in partnerships, it's particularly helpful, ensuring you don't end up down the road with a high number of nonperforming partners.

To nurture strategic partnerships, stay connected with regular check-ins and open communication. Align goals, adapt to evolving needs, and celebrate wins together. Actively listen, provide value, and be flexible to foster a dynamic relationship. Collaboration is key — share insights, resources, and expertise. Consistency and genuine care lay the foundation for lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships.

Here’s what I’ve found works: 1. **Open Dialogue from Day One**: Sit down and discuss what each party expects. What are your goals? What does success look like for both sides? This conversation might seem basic, but it’s crucial. 2. **Regular Check-ins**: Don’t wait for things to go south. Schedule regular meetings to review progress, address concerns, and adjust goals if necessary. It keeps everyone on the same page. 3. **Transparency and Trust**: Be upfront about challenges and changes. Trust is the foundation of any partnership, and maintaining transparency strengthens that trust. 4. **Celebrate Milestones**: Recognize and celebrate achievements together. It reinforces the partnership’s value and keeps the momentum going.

Building lasting strategic partnerships requires more than just an initial agreement. It's about cultivating relationships that stand the test of time. Keep the lines of communication open with your partners. Update them on your progress, share relevant information, and be responsive to their needs. Which can help maintain trust and keep the partnership dynamic. Make sure that the partnership is mutually beneficial. Regularly revisit the goals and expectations to ensure that both parties are getting value, which can involve adjusting strategies or finding new ways to collaborate. Defining clear goals, communicating openly, and ensuring mutual benefits help nurture strategic partnerships and lead to long-lasting collaborations.

Building a strong, collaborative relationship takes time. From the outset I believe in the power of authenticity and clear expectations. What do both entities want to achieve? How will we communicate? What does success look like for both parties? Adopting an agile methodology also helps. Test, review, consider, progress. It enables close monitoring of the relationship and the output, without creating an accusatory / defensive conversation. Showing that the output metrics for both partners are equally weighted, having integrity and being authentic will continue to build and add trust. Finally, getting to know everyone involved on a friendly and personal basis can often prevent divides from forming.

A strategic partnership is the same as any partnership - to make it successful, communication has to be at the forefront of all engagements, but it shouldn't stop there. Learning to manage the relationship through consistent check-ins and updates on progress you're making in other areas can lend itself to conversations and expanded touchpoints across the engagement.

Communication is vital to maintaining strong strategic partnerships. Regular and transparent communication fosters trust and keeps both parties aligned with goals and expectations. It allows for early identification and resolution of any issues that may arise, preventing them from escalating and damaging the partnership. Regular and transparent communication is essential for nurturing strategic partnerships, ensuring they remain strong and beneficial for both parties.

I propose a structured communication matrix for partners. This includes: > monthly review > quarterly review > qualitative and quantitative review > feedback and contribution

Absolutely, transparent communication is the cornerstone of building trust in any strategic partnership. Trust is not a byproduct but a necessity for the relationship to flourish. By engaging in open dialogue, respecting each partner's input, and celebrating joint successes, trust is nurtured. This trust underpins the partnership, creating a strong foundation that allows for the relationship to withstand challenges and adapt to change, ensuring a resilient and productive collaboration.

Drawing from my 17 years of experience in building and nurturing strategic partnerships, I have found that cultivating a culture of continuous improvement is a key driver of success. Through open feedback, constructive criticism, and a commitment to learning, I have witnessed firsthand how partnerships can evolve, innovate, and achieve remarkable outcomes. Emphasizing this approach can further strengthen your strategic partnerships and pave the way for long-term growth and mutual success.

Collaboration is the cornerstone of successful strategic partnerships. Collaborating and co-creating solutions with your partners strengthens your relationship and leads to innovative and impactful outcomes. It shows your commitment to the partnership and demonstrates a willingness to invest time and resources to achieve mutual success. Collaborating and co-creating with your strategic partners can deepen your relationship, drive innovation, and achieve tremendous success over time.

Drawing from my experience in ecosystem development, I’ve found that the most transformative strategic partnerships are those where collaboration goes beyond mere resource-sharing. When both parties are fully invested in co-creating solutions, it sparks innovation that can redefine industry standards. By aligning visions and working closely to craft value-driven outcomes, these partnerships often achieve results that exceed initial expectations and create lasting impact.

Engaging in joint ventures allows both parties to dive deep into each other’s operational and strategic reservoirs, offering insights that could refine methodologies, enhance product offerings, and streamline processes. Two heads (or, in this case, two companies) are often better than one. By pooling resources and intellect, partners can tackle complex challenges more efficiently and creatively, leading to innovative solutions that might not have been possible in isolation. In today’s competitive landscape, differentiation is key. Collaborating on unique projects or initiatives sets your partnership apart, offering something new and valuable to the market, breeding even more loyalty from your target audience.

The very essence of partnerships is to build together. I suggest to Define: > key strengths of your specific partners, > what each partner brings to the partnership > joint efforts / co-creation on specific areas > sharing of marketing / social channels, audiences, POS access and other channels that can be cross used.

I want to let you know that providing support and feedback can strengthen your strategic partnerships. I want to let you know that offering support shows your commitment to the partnership's success and helps address any challenges or issues that may arise. Providing regular feedback allows both parties to assess progress, identify areas for improvement, and ensure alignment with shared goals. By providing support and feedback, you can foster a collaborative and mutually beneficial partnership that stands the test of time.

Setting up a support and feedback system at the start of the partnership is a great way to ensure that systems and processes are in place to keep the partners engaged and evolve the partnership as business requirements evolve with time.

Partnerships, more than any other part of the business, has regular interaction and access to what the entire company is up to. We have a broad perspective, and part of the role is to know what your company is up to so thoroughly that you know what to listen for when working with partners to drive mutual advantage. Conversely, you should know your partners' plans so well by virtue of your focus that you can advise other business leaders in your company well in advance about upcoming changes or new capabilities you can leverage for competitive advantage.

The trust cultivated through transparent communication lays the groundwork for open and honest feedback. It acts as a facilitator for partners to navigate challenges and misunderstandings together. In an environment where trust prevails, feedback is received not as criticism but as a constructive element of growth. This shared trust ensures that feedback loops are positive forces, driving the partnership forward and enabling both parties to tackle any hurdles collaboratively. The stronger the trust, the more resilient the partnership becomes, allowing it to emerge stronger from each challenge faced.

To manage strategic partnerships effectively, one of the best practices is to establish multiple touchpoints to communicate with our partners. We informally inquire about feedback from their key stakeholders and reciprocate the same. Feedback should be constructive, and I focus on problem-solving rather than blaming. This two-way exchange strengthens the partnership and benefits both organizations.

The ability to adapt and pivot is critical to successful survival and keeping the partnership whole for the long term. Partnerships are living, breathing and not static. This is especially true in partnering with tech giants like Microsoft, where priorities and products evolve from year to year or even quarter to quarter!

Holding external QBRs with key Partner Stakeholders shows everyone the value, success and progress of the Partnership. I think it’s imperative to show where the delays or negative outcomes came from in order to improve (on both ends) for the success of the future relationship. At the end of the KPI review asking for top of the mind “next set of goals” is a great move while it’s all fresh in everyone’s mind. Simplicity, transparency and brevity is typically appreciated too!

To maintain strategic partnerships effectively, regular check-ins and adaptation are key. One of the best practices is to monitor success KPIs and align changes to partnership terms with evolving objectives and circumstances – as updating agreements during the term can be challenging, try for a shorter term such as one year. Remaining flexible and receptive to new ideas helps in enhancing and expanding these collaborations. This approach ensures partnerships remain dynamic, goal-oriented, and mutually beneficial.

The best evolution of a strategic partnership often involves expanding into a broader alliance with additional non-competing partners. While this approach introduces complexities in maintaining trust and aligning goals, it builds a robust network that is resilient to external competition. Regularly revising the partnership agreement is crucial to adapt to this growth. This expanded alliance can lead to a stronger market position and foster innovation, turning the partnership into a formidable collaborative force.

Exec peering with a regular cadence (less frequently the higher in level) not only gives an opportunity to review progress via scorecards or QBRs, but also establishes and reinforces trust and credibility between peers. In this way, issues and escalations can be handled at the lowest possible levels, without escalating immediately from CEO to CEO for something that two sales directors could have handled in 5 minutes. That shared scorecard and a simple and regularly updated one-pager of talking points are so important when non-Partnerships leaders from the two companies are meeting and have no idea what they can say, cannot say, what they should say, and most importantly, *how* they should say it.

Strategic partnerships require bold, honest, and transparent conversations. Though this can be difficult, it’s essential for advancing strategies. Long-term vision is key. Partners must ensure that their collaboration aligns to a common vision and supports strategic objectives to drive success. Co-creation is critical, as both parties share responsibility for the outcomes. Clearly define the goals, work together to achieve them, and be prepared to pivot when needed. In a nutshell, continuous dialogue, candid feedback, and mutual trust are the foundations of a successful partnership.

Strategic partnering is a team sport, it requires cross-functional organizational support from product, marketing, sales and everyone in between. SA managers cannot plan and execute on their own. They need to be the primary point of contact, but also act as ambassador who can open up the company's resources.

Others have remarked here on the importance of deep understanding, respect and personal engagement as cornerstones for successful strategic partnerships. There is also a temporal element, a need to recognize and explicitly acknowledge stages, time horizons, and shifts. Nothing is static. Years ago in a crisis response and mitigation leadership training, I began to appreciate how quickly crises move. “What is the crisis now?,” the instructor urged us to ask ourselves over and over. That insight stuck with me. Experiment with adding the word “now” to your thinking and discussion about strategic partnerships. What is the opportunity now? What value do we bring to our partner or potential partner now? What stage are we at now?

- Think about we and not me. - Understand the logic behind the other party's business. - Its all about people. Get to know the other side. - Reciprocity is a key. - Well defined governance model. - 2 in a box model.

Pure sales usually thinks in terms of this quarter, and possibly next quarter. Strategic Alliances thinks not only of the Now, but also the Next and the Later. We have a hand in ensuring everything runs smoothly so everyone can hit their revenue targets for the quarter or year, but it's also our role to take a longer term perspective on where the puck will be 2-4 years out...where is the industry headed, what are customers saying, what is the partner saying, and what are *their* customers saying?