10 tips on building strategic business partnership

 

Building strategic partnership is no longer a ‘choice’ but a necessity in today’s business arena. Strategic Business Partners can help you grow your business fast and more efficiently. They may even help you build better products and offer better services to your customers. They can help you free up your resources to concentrate on your core strengths and thereby make you more efficient and profitable.

 

Here are some tips on building strategic business partnership:

 

1. Have a clear objective after a SWOT analysis. <– This is necessary when you are deciding on creating a Business Partner Program.

 

2. Research the marketplace for players that have the potential to prosper with you and make you prosperous in return OR at-least give you room to concentrate on areas of your business that are more critical to your mission and vision.

 

3. Ensure that they are reputed and have a clean track-record.

 

4. Is it a good fit? Clearly understand what they bring on the table in terms of their technology, infrastructure, expertise, customer-base, and their Brand.

 

5. Identify any difference of interest and assess what you are ready to ‘give away’ as a sacrifice to ‘get more’ from the relationship.

 

6. Do a trial run with their services and assess their work first hand. Use this opportunity to fine-tune the identified Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

 

7. Finalize your KPIs and other matrices and ensure that these are consistent across all your partners for that specific business area.

 

8. Once you are fully convinced that they are a good fit and the partnership would be ‘mutually beneficial’ then go ahead and finalize the contract. Make sure the contract is well thought out and written with legal’s consent. Take every possible measure to safeguard your company’s reputation and best interests. Make sure that the contract is thorough and terms and conditions are well defined and documented on paper. Remember: if its not written it doesn’t exist.

 

9. Have a robust Partner Ennoblement Program in place that would ensure that your partners are best equipped with knowledge and necessary assets and skills.

 

10. Last but not the least make sure you have a well defined exit plan for times when you or your partner decides to part ways.