C-Level Execs Advice for Building Successful Strategic Partnerships
What is one top criterion for selecting the right strategic partners to help grow your business?
We asked CEOs and business leaders this question for their best insights. From selecting partners you respect to choosing partners who can open doors for your business, there are several things you may take into account when seeking strategic business partners to help you grow your business. Here are five steps for building successful strategic alliances:
Seek Out Partners You Look Up To
Identify Someone Who is Committed To The Business
Join With Someone Who Shares The Same Goals
Ask Them How They Have Served Others
Choose Partners Who Can Open Doors for Your Business
Seek Out Partners You Look Up To
Seek out business partners you admire that push you to grow and improve. The ideal business partners bring out the best in us by either challenging or encouraging us to give our best performances in our careers. For that reason, it’s worth reaching out to potential partners you admire to partner with you. Aim high–even if someone is unable to partner with you, it’s worth the shot, and it might open the door to a future partnership down the line.
Alex Wang, CEO Ember Fund
Identify Someone Who is Committed To The Business
A business partner who isn’t committed to your business isn’t a partner at all. It’s important, when selecting a partner, to identify someone who is interested in putting in the work and focusing on the business’ objectives over the long haul. While many potential partners can have a great deal of business acumen or technical knowledge, none of that matters if they aren’t willing to prioritize your business to the level that’s needed.
Rob Bartlett, CEO WTFast
Join With Someone Who Shares The Same Goals
When you are looking for the right strategic partners to help grow your business, you all need to be in alignment with the goal of the partnership. Everyone must be clear about what is about to happen, why it is about to happen, and their role in the process of making it happen. Because when the clarity is missing, the confusion comes, which is usually the beginning of the end. So when the goals are clear and everyone is in alignment with the plans, then the execution of the purpose can be effective.
Aikyna Finch, CEO Finch and Associates, LLC
Ask Them How They Have Served Others
One of the most frequent things we hear when our clients are working with an advisor, is that they are simply overwhelmed with options and have little to no context on how it affects them individually. Advisors and strategic partners can have a great playbook, with all of the best tools in the war chest, but without an understanding of YOUR vision how can we expect them to offer anything more than generic options and choices? You are unique, embrace that and share your VISION often with those you trust. If they are truly out to help you grow, then let them celebrate that success with you by sharing their perspective and what they see in your business, in your industry and with other clients. Better than anything is a story with meaning, ask them for examples of how they have served others and why they are giving you the direction or choice at hand. A picture paints a thousand words, but a story has character, and each character can bring their own perspective to the journey.
Adam Griggs, CEO CLARAfi
Choose Partners Who Can Open Doors for Your Business
Strategic business partners should provide special access to unique opportunities. A growing business will not have the same professional connections that a more established potential partner would. Business operators should look for overlap with organizations that are connected to their industry and work to establish a relationship. Strategic partners can offer a growing business the type of access to services, suppliers and customer bases that will boost operations and productivity
Katy Carrigan, CRO Goody