In today’s fast-paced business environment, changes in the marketplace are almost impossible to keep up with. Your business idea could be ready for the archives even before launch. To be successful you need to shorten the time it takes you to move from idea to people experiencing the product or service – time to market. Time to market can be accelerated by getting the right partners on board. It will reduce the strain on your resources and save the time that would be spent building what has already been done. When standing on the shoulders of giants, you are able to leverage what they have; databases, infrastructure, and distribution channels to build your business. To do this, you will also need to bring something to the table that is of mutual benefit to both parties.
However, sometimes partnerships can be complicated. It is important that you take the time to define what you are looking for in a partner, your offering, and the risks involved in partnering long before you choose your partner. Thinking through any issues that may come up before you start talking to any potential partner has the advantage of ensuring you are not persuaded to overlook anything though they may be persuasive. Below are some aspects you should consider when coming up with selection criteria:
a) Compatibility: This is an issue of culture. If culture and work ethics are extreme opposites, it will be difficult for the two organizations to work together.
b) Goal alignment: It is to your advantage if your goals are aligned. It would be easier to go into new markets with the same partner you have in your home market as they will have built internal capacity.
c) Understanding your market: a good partner should have a good understanding of your target customers. This reduces the need to educate them and they can offer more to the partnership.
d) The impact of your partnership: if the impact will be minimal and the cost of partnering high then the partnership may not be worth it. Partnering, especially with a bigger organization, will require that you cede some of your freedom. The impact you gain should be worth ceding your freedom.
e) Mitigation of risk: Consider how you will be able to mitigate against any risk you may have as a result of bringing in a partner and ensure this is addressed in the contract between you.
f) Duration of partnership and objectives in the period: It should be clear to you how long you want the partnership and what you would want to achieve in the period. It would be foolhardy to assume that a partnership will last a lifetime as market conditions change. A partnership now may look like a great idea but may not be so in a few years.
g) Shortlist several candidates: Having several candidates to choose from gives you bargaining power that you do not have when you are looking at only one potential candidate to pick from.
h) Come up with the contract/agreement: Where possible be the one to write the contract. Contracts tend to be one-sided; more favorable towards the writer. If this is not possible get a good business lawyer to go through it and request a review of the documents if you are too exposed.
When coming up with a contract aim at having a fair contract for both parties within reason. This makes you more attractive to do business with. Standing on the shoulder of giants – partnering with bigger, credible organizations that have a better system and distribution network gives you instant credibility and the ability to do more for your current clients and get more. The right supply partners will also enable you to meet your objectives and serve your client better and more efficiently.
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