Key ingredients to a successful partnership
How to win together
In a previous blog, I explained why partnerships are critical to the success of organizations who want to continuously scale. However, there are some recipes to follow to achieve success. With over a decade of experience in working with strategic partners and customers, I will share my perspective on the key elements that lead to successful partnerships.
“One size fits all” does not work
It’s very important to understand that trying to use one model for partnerships does not work very well. You should have different partnership models that you offer. Some popular examples are OEM, co-development and co-sell. There are also hands-on and hands-off models. There are many different models that exist and can be created. You have to understand each partner’s position to properly classify them into a partnership model in your organization. If you do not have an existing model that fits a specific partner, do not force them into a model. You should consider creating a new one to accommodate.
Transparency
This is one of the most critical, hidden gems in any partnership. While this seems like a given, it is not as obvious as one may think. To be successful in a partnership, you need to be transparent with each other. This is something that I have experienced great success with. I’ve always been very transparent in partnerships. Address all the elephants in the room and peel back the onion.
From the start, be open with your goals and objectives. It’s easier for both sides to march towards success if you understand where the other side wants to land. It helps craft the right messaging and direction going forward. If you have competing technology, that it fine. In fact, it’s common in the tech industry. Highlight it from the beginning. Focus on areas of how you can compliment each other versus areas of competition. Talk about it.
In your initial meetings, discuss your organization’s mode of operation. Explain your company culture. I’ve learned a great deal about the different cultures of many partners. It’s very interesting and educational. You may even find yourself adopting some of their practices to improve your organization! Be transparent with your priority of the partnership to set the right expectation. This will help avoid alot of misunderstanding and over communicating down the road. It will ensure better alignment.
Investment
There needs to be “skin in the game” on both ends. Lop-sided partnerships do not turn out all that well, for either side. Partnerships that have the greatest success are the ones that have significant and consistent engagement on both sides. Clear expectations should be set and agreed upon. Roles need to be clearly defined. Make sure you have the resources you need to support your partnership model. If you do not have that in place, raise it to your leadership team right away. The earlier you identify a need, the sooner that it can be addressed.
It’s very encouraging for both sides to contribute some progress, early on and often. That could be data, code, resources, securing pilot clients, etc. If you’ve had many meetings with several weeks gone by and are still trying to align on the basics, then this may be a signal to investigate your approach. Gone are the days of 9+ month deployments. Being 2021, customers expect to see value in weeks to a few months. And I completely support that. The point is, you need to get the partnership activities moving fast. This is so you can capitalize on the moment, stay ahead of the market and product successful results.
Alignment
It is imperative that you work together with your partner as one alliance team. The topics above will help get you there. Align on one strategy, one plan, and realistic expectations. Make sure both sides understand those respective expectations. Build strong relationships with each other. Both sides should be singing the same song. This makes for a healthy and more successful partnership.
Marc is the CTO for the IBM Watson AI Strategic Partnerships organization. When not leading the technology strategy and vision for IBM Partnerships, Marc enjoys DJing, playing video games and wrestling. Learn more @ MarcNehme.com
