Building partnerships is like building a business. Every time we meet with a potential partner, we follow very similar steps as entrepreneurs who desire to give their business the best chance of success.

As CoPort is growing, we’re learning so much about how to grow a company—steps, processes, people to meet, etc., and there is a common thread among so many—giving us the best chance possible to succeed. There’s no promise, no guarantee, but there is opportunity to make something truly special.

And every new business partnership does the same. There’s something new and exciting at the prospect of working with another company—whether an MSP, a reseller, VAR, tech partnership, you name it. It’s an exciting opportunity to build something new that no one has ever seen before.

At the same time, there’s some key frameworks that can help us succeed and give us the best chance at helping our companies grow through partnerships.

So, for the next 6 weeks, we’re going to mine the gold in Gino Wickman’s book, “Traction” to help us build partnerships. We’re going through the process ourselves at CoPort, making sure we give ourselves the best chance at success.

Once partner leaders begin to see partnerships as an entrepreneurial journey, then we can get our footing to get going and keep going. It’s a long process to build a strong and sustainable partnership program. The good news is, there’s some handholds along the way. I don’t think Gino Wickman intended for his content to be applied to partnerships, but that’s what makes it amazing, it does!

So without further ado, let’s get into it!

Building Traction in Partnerships Part 1: Vision

“Most entrepreneurs (or, partner leaders for this context) can clearly see their vision. Their problem is that they make the mistake of thinking that everyone else in the organization sees it too. In most cases, they don’t, and as a result, (partner) leaders end up frustrated, staff ends up confused, and great visions are left unrealized. The process of gaining traction starts here. Clarify your vision and you will make better decisions about people, processes, finances, strategies, and customers.” - Gino Wickman, parentheses added

Many of us are not short of vision when it comes to partnerships. We read the posts on LinkedIn, read the partnership reports, and see the graphics highlighting the power and opportunity of partnerships. With the rise of hyperscalers, many organizations are bullish about opportunities with partners. The challenge for many of us is being able to keep our feet on the ground while our head is in the clouds.

Here’s what I mean. You have a vision for the future of your company with partnerships. You know it to be true. You’ve seen it in your past partnership roles, you see it posted all over the internet, and you know, you know, you know, it can happen here too.

But then something else gets in the way—running the business. The cry of the urgent gets in the way of even sharing about the power of partnerships or the process it will take to make partnerships effective. Instead, you’re relegated to short term metrics and goals that just aren’t materializing. Impatience wins out, decisions are made, partnerships are relegated to the ancillary go-to-market strategy of a necessary evil, not a viable business strategy.

Sound familiar? It’s a story too often told, and those who know this to be true nod their head in agreement.

So what do we do? Well, first to get traction, growth, and achieve what we’re doing, we much communicate our vision—clearly; emphasis on clearly.

Gino Wickman says this, “The vision you’re about to clarify can’t be about you. It has to define something bigger. You need to create a vision that points the way to a greater good. The sooner you do that, the sooner you will make better decisions that build an enduring [partnership program].”

He lays out 8 questions for us to answer in communicating our vision. We’ll touch on them briefly here, but for your own growth and development, consider picking up his book.

1. What are your core values?

As a partner team, make sure you are clear about your core values. When we communicate them internally, make sure they align to the core values of your company. There is a lot of information about building your core values, but consider putting together a list of core values for your team. What are you about? What matters most? Consider ideas like: growth-oriented, welcoming, encourages teamwork, committed, kind, exhibits professionalism, we believe we’re better together, etc.

2. What is your core focus?

Pick one thing your team is about. The greatest challenge to your success is what we call the “shiny stuff.” When building your partner program make sure you focus on one type of partnership. Make that really great, then you’ll have the infrastructure for partner-type “number two.” Keep you and your team on task, because then you’ll be able to move forward. Otherwise you’ll make tiny progress all over the place and end up no closer to achieving your vision.

3. What is your ten-year target?

“Ten years! That’s nuts. I don’t have the foresight nor the patience to think that far along! If I come to my leadership team with a ten-year plan they’ll laugh me out of that meeting so fast I’d be dizzy!” You might say. Possibly. But like all goals, it provides a place for you to direct the rudder of your ship. Partnerships is a long term goal and vision, and the impact over ten-years is incredible. Some would call this your BHAG (big hairy audacious goal). Build out what amazing thing could be accomplished through partnerships. Consider this - 100% of company revenue coming through partnerships, lowering overhead, and achieving an industry leading NPS. Preparing our company for global expansion to quadruple company revenue. Get specific, and point your team in the direction that’s possible.

4. What is your marketing strategy?

Here you define who you are, so you know which partners to target. Many might call this your IPP—ideal partner profile. Here you define: 1) Your Target Market, 2) Your Three Uniques, 3) Your Proven Process, and 4) Your Guarantee. Get to know who you’re pursuing as a partner, and get laser-focused on who that company is. Build out your partnership differentiation. Many of these will come from your differentiation as a company. Your partner program is different because …. Why? Why should anyone want to work with you? Your proven process (I love this one), because that’s where you can use a tool like CoPort to instill confidence in your partner by saying, “We run partnerships like this.” It’s not some haphazard idea or set of checkboxes. It’s a tried and true process that will give you and your partner the best chance at success. (Reach out to us, we’re happy to show you more.) And lastly, your guarantee. What do you guarantee to your partner? Time? Investment? Deals? Conferences? Events? Nothing in life is a guarantee, but if we don’t push for a guarantee then the partner won’t understand what you’re after or why they should work with you over a competitor.

5. What is your three-year picture?

Three years brings your ten-year target into view. Now you, your team, and your company can see what’s possible. It’s not too far away for people to to get discouraged, nor too close for it to be commoditized. Here break down your ten year target into a smaller milestone, this will set you up for the next step.

6. What is your one-year plan?

Now we’re talking closer, more actionable steps that your leadership team can understand and wrap their arms around. Here, under the context of your three-year picture, pick 3 - 7 priorities that you can achieve in your calendar year. Make these attainable, specific, and in alignment with your company goals for that same year.

7. What are your quarterly rocks?

Rocks are your priorities, not your obstacles. If you haven’t seen Stephen Covey’s video about rocks, pebbles, sand and water, I encourage you to look it up on YouTube. Rocks are the priorities over the next 3 months you can accomplish that move you and your team towards your one-year plan in your three-year picture. Your one-year goal is accomplished in milestones 90-days at a time.

8. What are your issues?

Unfortunately, many of us partner leaders are good at this step. But now that you’ve done the work of building your vision, you put together a list of challenges that will keep you from achieving your vision. Every quarter you’ll use these as ideas for your next quarterly rocks, because if you can overcome these, then you’ll begin to get traction. As issues come up over the quarter, be disciplined to put these on the agenda for potential rocks in the upcoming quarter. Stay focused on what’s in front of you and you’ll begin to get the traction you desire.

That’s a lot to go through. It’s the hard work of entrepreneurship and partnership building. It’s worth it. Our desire is that every company receives the benefits of partnerships. It’s possible. Start with your vision, clarify where you’re going, communicate it clearly, and then stay with us, as we move on  to the next step: The People Component.