Tips to create the perfect Partnerships

Creating the perfect partnership takes understanding, significant effort and above all a sincere desire to make it work. Business partnerships have become crucial to the success of any business.

Business partnerships take on a variety of forms. They may be a long term formal legal commitment or a simple short term venture to test a market concept. The same principles apply in all cases. The success of your business depends on your ability to forge and maintain productive partnerships. Use these tips to create meaningful, long-lasting partnerships.

1. Be clear on your reason for partnering:

Many companies just jump in a partnership due to an opportunistic approach or simply because they like (or their management) each other and feel they need to do something together. Avoid making a false start and ending up at the wrong side of the 80% rule and be crystal clear on your reason for partnering.

2. Create a contributions, needs and benefits matrix before entering the first conversation with your proposed partner:

It will help to create the clarity and help you prepare for a solid first meeting. Remember: those who forget to prepare, are preparing themselves to be forgotten!

3. Ensure solid executive sponsorship:

Partnerships are not there just for fun, they are of strategic importance to your organization. That means that your top management needs to support it. Ensure the executive sponsorship early on: it will safe you time and resources and will speed up alliance formation and alliance management.

4. Communicate, communicate, communicate:

Having clarity is one thing, but do maintain it. So, communicate and check your communication to ensure that what you meant to communicate, is properly understood.

5. Set a cadence of governance:

Being clear about the roles and responsibilities is one thing, managing the stakeholders is another. Communication is essential and part of the communication is a cadence of governance; a schedule that defines who in your partnership needs to have contact with whom and at what frequency.

6. Ensure a three way value proposition; this is where it all starts:

Without value proposition there will be no room for a healthy partnership. The value proposition needs to deliver value for the three parties involved: your partner, the customer and your own organization.

7. Measure and evaluate:

“An airplane is off its course most of the time, yet it arrives at its destination thanks to constant corrections along the way.” At the beginning of an alliance you have set some clear goals. Along the road it is important to know how you are doing in order to be able to adjust where needed and thus stay on the right course to alliance success.

8. Build and maintain trust:

Trust is hard to build and easy to loose. You have to build and maintain trust constantly in your partnerships.

9. Remember that no one likes surprises.

When in doubt, get your partner’s approval.

10. If you make a mistake, admit it quickly.

The sooner you cop to an error, the more quickly you will both be able to move on. Your partner will appreciate not having to call you out.

Partnerships are a never-ending work in progress. Don’t let issues that arise be swept under the rug.

Nurture them well, and your business could thrive.