Getting Partnerships Back On Track

This article was originally published on Tri Tuns Blog.

OBSERVATION

So you formed a partnership with another company, but it is not providing as much value as the effort you invested.

In a prior blog article, “To Partner or Not To Partner” we discussed the pre-screening factors that you should consider before forming a partnership.

Assuming now that you have already formed a partnership, what do you do if it is not bearing fruit?

Instead of debating whether or not to continue this partnership, consider the following assessment.

CONSIDER THIS

The following questions will help you gather concrete information to have a fact-based conversation with your partner, with the goal of improving the partnership.

  1. What is the amount of time (in hours) and money that you (compared to your partner) spend developing the partnership on:
    1. Joint-Marketing Collateral & Events?
    2. Joint-Client Deliverables and Methodology?
    3. Educating each staff on partner’s value?
  2. Is the amount of client work appropriately divided between each partner? Is the allocation of work justified by the differing skill sets of each partner?
  3. How much time do you spend repairing the partner relationship vs. expand partner accounts?
  4. Does the partner’s actions change to reflect your suggestions to improve or do they continue with the status quo?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Partnership should require considerable investment – especially in the beginning – to ensure each party gets the most value. Should you find your partnership is not providing you due dividends, what is your plan to assess the situation and improve the partnership?

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