Building Successful Partnerships

By Bluebeam Software Guest Blog 2

Partnership with other companies can make or break the success of your business. Certain partnerships will bring rapid growth to your business and establish the foundation for long-term success. Other partnerships can be like a ball and chain, dragging your business down by taking focus away from the core concepts of success for your business. Regardless of which type of partnership you end up with, most businesses do need to partner with others in order to add value to the customer and gain traction in the markets you inhabit. The question then becomes, whom do I choose to partner with and why?

Here are three rules for establishing successful partnerships:

1.  Realize that a true partnership is only successful if both parties see gain.  That’s the nature of business. After all, we’re all looking to grow our footprint, have a positive experience with our customers, and achieve an increase in revenue and profits. If one partner is dominating the other in the relationship without providing value, then it isn’t a true partnership.

2. Build relationships with companies that want to partner with you. Whether your goals align, your products or services complement each other or it is a partnership built just for marketing, you need to make sure that this is a relationship that both parties value. If done properly, you won’t have to chase your partner to get it to uphold its end of the partnership. When you choose a partner that actively and positively wants to be a true partner, the discussions are easier, the strategies are harmonious, and both parties are committed to joint success.

3. Choose partnerships that can scale. Think bigger and farther out. Don’t think about the future in the short term; instead, think about how the partnership can grow and evolve for both parties over a longer period of time. Blow that partnership up to scale and see if it works for the long haul. Some questions that I like to ask are: What are your long-term goals for this partnership? What are theirs? What can this partnership become? How do I measure the success of the partnership?

As the leader of Bluebeam’s channel team, I strive to find partners that actively want to work with us. I like to say that channel is a team sport: We are both on the same team, in the same game, trying to make goals together. My team is going to work to provide the best support that a partner can receive from a manufacturer, but our reseller partners are the star players, taking the shots and winning the game for both of us.

As leaders for your teams, it is your duty to choose those partnerships that can grow over time and scale to something much bigger than it was when it started. When you ask yourself these questions and follow the strategies above, it is easier to choose your partners for the right reasons–and you have a better chance of building a long-lasting and profitable relationship for all parties involved.

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Aaron Courdy is Director, Channel Services, Bluebeam Software. Guest blogs such as this one are published monthly, and are part of The VAR Guy's annual platinum sponsorship.