Coach Frank Bonnin
Strategic Partners can boost your business AND their business, creating a Win-Win situation. How do you go about finding a Strategic Partner for your business?
I was recently talking with a solar salesperson and was trying to explain a Strategic Partnership. So, I used the solar business for him as an example. I asked, “When your customers are making a decision on whether or not to go with solar, what other decisions are they making?” That is a value-based decision. If this customer is trying to decide about going solar, they might be looking at it from a financial perspective. However, more likely they are looking at it from an environmentally conscious / eco-friendly standpoint. This would be a value-based decision because they are looking for ways to decrease their own carbon footprint.
If that’s the case, what other businesses have those same clients making the same value-based decisions? Reach out to them! For a solar company, I suggested an option would be to talk with the Tesla dealership. In a Strategic Partnership, you would share client information back and forth. Not confidential information, but just saying, hey, this person is interested in energy savings and environmentally friendly options. They could share referrals between each other, offer deals to the other’s customers to boost your business, etc.
You can take it a step further and say to your customer, “Hey, I know you are talking to me about solar, and this sounds like an important value to you. I know a few people you may want to speak with for other energy and environmentally conscious purchases. When you are looking at your next car purchase, you might want to talk to them, (whether it’s the Tesla dealership or the Ford dealership about their electric truck that’s coming out).
Look for those Strategic Partnerships so that you can help each other. Make sure the other business is not a direct competitor, but one that is complementary to yours. Thus, it becomes a Win-Win situation. The Strategic Partner will boost your business and you will boost theirs. And you can have more than one Strategic Partner! In fact, that is optimal. Why not spread the wealth?
Some other examples of Strategic Partnerships developed to boost your business: A retail jeweler who sells engagement and wedding rings could partner with bridal shops or wedding photographers. A clothing boutique may partner up with a nearby shop selling shoes or accessories. An outdoor patio furniture retailer could partner with the local seller of swimming pools and hot tubs. These are groups that can benefit from each other, can provide referrals back and forth.
For us here at Wasatch ActionCOACH some of our strategic partnerships are companies like commercial real estate agents. What we can do for them is host business education classes for their clients. Same thing for commercial insurance agents. The insurance agent is now able to go to existing clients (for retention) or new clients (for recruitment). They can say, “Not only do I sell you insurance, but guess what? I host a quarterly business training on multiple topics that is free of charge for all of my clients. And that will help you grow your business.”
In this example, the insurance agent has a Win showing how they care about the success of their clients. Wasatch ActionCOACH has a Win because it puts us in front of potential new clients. And the clients of the insurance agents have a Win because they are getting high quality training to help grow their business at no cost. Thus, it’s a Win-Win-Win situation. That’s what a Strategic Partnership can really provide. It is a great option for when you want to boost your business. You can work together and achieve more together.
If you are interested in learning more about Strategic Partnerships or your are interested in learning about a complimentary 1-hour coaching strategy session, fill out this FORM to hear from a Certified Business Coach.
