I genuinely can’t believe its Christmas time and that it’s almost the start of an exciting new year in 2016.
2015 has been a great year for Pangea and our partners. The market is growing and our partners are uncovering incredible opportunities that have never been possible in the past, but now seem to be completely possible.
I thought I would give an insight to what partnering means to us and if you consider working with us it may be worth the read.
I think you need to consider the word “partnering or partnership” as having a few adjacent meaning to the way you want it to work. For me, it’s about Collaboration, Trust and Winning business together.
Within these elements there are various pillars or attributes that a successful partner should have. Now, remember partnering happens in two directions. You have the people that supply you with services that are your partners and you have people that you supply services to, which are also your partners. Whichever way you look at it, there are some key things to consider when you make the decision to commit to working together.
Credibility and Trust. How you define this is probably up to you, but my thoughts are that it’s incredibly vital to how we aim to do business. Credibility can come in many forms that often form part of the best partnerships. If you have been in partnering as long as I have you will know that this is earned over time by people you learn to trust. It’s when you commit to something and you deliver it that credibility and trust is formulated.
When running a partner channel there are simple things you just don’t do. One such thing is often referred to as “not eating your partners lunch”. I often see companies talk about having a channel strategy that they articulate so well, however when they have a chance to win business directly that may have been part of a partner’s sales pipeline, they do so.
Another area is when a new entrant into the channel has had a very clear and successful direct strategy for many years and now think they can start offering a channel service in order to boost their own revenues. My thoughts are that there needs to be a level of caution with these companies aiming to approach channel business. Especially when a large part of their existing revenues comes from the coffers of the prospective partners they are trying to lure.
People buy people. A lot goes for having worked with someone in the past. How often don’t we do business with the same people over and over again? I know I have and will continue to do so, as the trust is already there and the calibre of that person has already been evaluated. It’s important to genuinely get on with someone and know that you can spend time socially with them and they are the same people. This doesn’t exclude people who choose not to be social with work related events, as that is not what the purpose of this part. However, I do know that the people I have enjoyed working and with and most importantly partnering with are those that I have been able to have a good time socially with in the past and will continue in the future. I think the reason for this is that you often get to see the person or people (from the company) at their most relaxed and often most vulnerable and at these times you can definitely create bonds that exist outside of the board rooms and meetings.
Adding value together. In the end partnerships will grow and be the successful partnerships when all concerned are getting the right value from the relationships. In order to get this correct, both parties need to be driving value for each other. This is obviously not only measured by the level of revenue and margin generated together but also by how the various teams within the partnership interact with one another. For example, its often forgotten the amount of money that can saved by the efficiencies of a strong operational or customer experience partnership. Partnering needs to flow right through the business and its staff to make it truly valuable.
The team and I have been in partnering for many years in almost all of our roles in the past and we firmly believe we have the above values to drive truly great partnerships. Personally, I have worked with many of our current partners in the past and have been successful at helping businesses grow through partnering. If you like what you have read or are just curious, please do feel free to get in touch at any time.
Have a happy festive time and we hope to see you refreshed and ready to win together in 2016.
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