Some Myths & Truths to Watch for

My last post spoke to what matters most when deciding to partner. As a follow-up, I’d like to share my own experience from the inside of an agency partnership, as several of you had expressed an interest in the topic and wanted to hear more.

Recently, I was talking with a technology partner about our next steps in a planned project collaboration. Our combined skill sets had already been assessed over a number of months and the conversation turned to how we might support our prospect together, agree on a likely timeline and put our shared strategy to the test. Both of us felt good about the call as our teams were primed and in position.

Personally, I felt positive about the conversation. We had revisited our original assumptions and reviewed the direction that had originally put us on the same page. Not always an easy thing to do but definitely a necessary and worthwhile exercise. We didn’t dwell on our feelings about the lengthy nature of the process but concentrated on what we needed to do next to get our proposal over the finish line.

The dialogue taught me that while it was easy to be skeptical about partnerships because of their high failure rates, some do actually work if the partners are prepared to take the time to look beyond the myths that get in the way of their progress and cause them to unravel.

When I look back at that call now, I remember it as very productive because we tackled some of the more common myths around #agencypartnerships that are out there. Like how they speed up the sales process; that their collective experience helps them win; and that partners don’t compete with each other. In hindsight, I think the fact that we decided to take these thorny issues head on was what allowed us to find our footing and see the process through.

Myth: Partnerships speed up the sales process

With the average deal cycle for enterprise sales on the increase, now running about three to nine months, partnerships appear as the best option for speeding up the sales process. Business leaders assume that if the product is mature with deep client penetration and the agency has credibility, then it follows that there will be a more efficient, straightforward and faster close.

Truth:  In fact, no matter how effective they seem, partnerships won’t overcome the systemic obstacles that slow down sales. A client’s internal processes, decision-making, budgets, competition, organizational requirements and uncertainty are all interconnected and work together. And with so many stakeholders involved in the procurement process, there are always more legitimate questions to be answered. These are only multiplied with partnerships, where each party is working through a proposed solution to satisfy their needs, slowing down the momentum even further. And if you’re selling an even larger transaction enterprise-wide, there are even more stakeholders in the mix, making the sales cycle even longer.

In my experience, there’s nothing wrong with slowing down the process if it is going to help build consensus, instill confidence and create support for the proposed timeline. The reality is, it takes a certain amount of time for clients to work through all the moving parts of the proposal and they need to be satisfied that they have reached the right decision.

Tips: So, as partners, what are we to do? We should be transparent to help our customers demonstrate ROI to their internal audiences, produce compelling evidence of success and, ultimately, convert prospects into clients. Don’t be shy about getting third-party validation. But do be careful when a prospect seems in a hurry, moving too fast, and rushing for a proposal in no time flat. Doing something too quickly often ends in tears. Corners get cut and steps left out, and this is not in anyone’s interest in the end.

Myth: Demonstrating depth in experience and complementary capabilities is enough

We’ve showed we know what we’re doing, demonstrated our expertise, have a solid track record and established our credibility in the industry for reliability and problem solving. We’ve often been complimented on a job well done, and for having the synergies and integrated capability sought after in a valued partner.

Truth:   The reality? It’s not enough. Partners shouldn’t mistake great experience and competence for value – the value clients need to be able to see and experience first-hand. The kind of value that will empower them to boost revenue, reduce costs and accelerate time to market. Although prior experience is important for convincing clients of our combined ability to generate value, the “value” needed here is the one about them. And how our partnership can deliver greater opportunity for clients to meet their targets.

Tips: Make sure you’re successful in communicating your individual and collective experience and focus on the client value the partners can create together. Be obvious and deliberate when it comes to profiling your abilities to the influencers and decision-makers, so you can clearly show you get it – demonstrating your knowledge of the issues and having a strategy for delivering that winning solution.

Myth: Partners collaborate, they don’t compete

When we decided to join forces as partners, we took stock of the combined strengths of both teams. We even went one step further and ran our proposed approach by our champion on the prospect team who was a greater supporter of our work. Regardless, questions were raised about our expertise, the nature of the technology that was going to be in play and the time that it would take to reach a result if we were given the green light.

Both of us scrutinized our own approaches and then we sat down to present different ideas on what would be needed to go forward. Our partner opted for their internal services organization to map the prospect’s business requirements to the technology. We chose a discovery process focusing on end-users. Our choices were both valid steps for showcasing our individual strengths and capabilities, but they also highlighted our differences. Which proved to be a hurdle for us. We got over it by merging our approaches and making compromises where they were needed.

Truth: Being part of a successful partnership often means letting go of some control and ignoring some of the natural instincts that made each team successful on their own. Partners need to learn to compromise. If they don’t, partner-collaborators can very quickly become partner-competitors. 

Tip:  As individuals almost by instinct, we’re driven to perfection. The more we know, the better our insights are and the greater the final result will be. There are exceptions. In this case, we needed to resist the temptation to do that. Instead, we needed to focus on creating the optimal solution as collaborators, not as individual teams. When it all comes together, the client is the winner, and the partnership is a resounding success.

 We’re going to meet the prospect in the coming weeks. Right now, our teams are working together to hone our complementary skills and reinforce our collective value. There will be some risks along the way as we map out our solutions and recommendations. As partners, I think we’re in a good place, and we’re here because we chose to be. We opted to rise above some of the common myths out there that can plague agency partnerships in search of something better.

 The Takeaways

1. Partner selling is complex, lengthy and uncertain. Find ways to capitalize on the time involved to secure alignment and build trust
2. Experience and the diversity of capabilities are only part of the story. Value needs to be communicated, demonstrated in the partnership, and then proven to the client
3. Partnerships with a single strategic plan share a similar mindset and have the agility to make adjustments when required to compromise, deliver value to the client and be successful.

I want to send a quick thanks to my friend Steve Wallace at Crystalogix for his great advice with this article.

Please share any thoughts below, and if you are interested in exploring an agency partnership, send me a note, and we’ll set up a call. ~ Cheers, Erwin