Starting Small
Partnerships are funny. Whether you talk about spousal relationships or business partnerships, there’s a trust building exercise that takes time to germinate and sprout before a full flower blooms. As Xeal has navigated into the channel to amplify our voice, we’ve found partners of all shapes and sizes and we’ve learned a number of things about what makes a good partnership, a flimsy one and a downright disastrous one. The best marriages are born over time - not usually at the Vegas alter after a good night on the strip. So too, a great business partnership is born over time and usually starts small before becoming long-lasting.
Everyone dreams of the big deal, the blockbuster sale or the headline popping partnership. You often read about the massive partnership or the ‘tres commas’ M&A deal but don’t inquire about the origins of the relationship. In most cases, the best partnerships start small and grow into the headline. It’s not until you’ve earned the right and the trust to go big do the big dominos start to fall. If you shortcut a partnership, it’s like that the longevity of the partnership will be cut short.
At Xeal we have customers and we have partners. When I think of partners, I think of them as extensions of our team and the way you onboard a new employee is similar to how you onboard a new partner. You have to be patient, you have to train, retrain and train some more. Some are complimentary to your core business and some are overlapping in nature but the goal is always to find a 1+1 = 3 type situation. You have to establish routines, process and measures of success and like anything worth doing, it tends to be hard. I’m sure it’s no different than when you moved into your first living space with your spouse, it takes some time getting used to but in the end it’s usually worth it! Building that repertoire takes time and if you want to be successful over the long term you have to be patient and understanding as two unique companies work together to form a partnership. No, I’m not giving marital advice.
People often conflate the relationship between a customer and a partner. While your customer is buying value, your channel partner is creating mutual value. A customer may show up one day with a huge problem and with one fell swoop you can solve it. That could be your over-night home run. With a partnership, the home run is the accumulation of years of mutual success. People often under-estimate how long it takes for channel partnerships to yield results and assume a new partner can show up and compete at the same level as you expect - that’s usually not the case. If you want to be long term partners, don’t expect overnight success. Start by creating value for each other and watch how over time it becomes a dominant force of nature. You over-estimate what you can do in a year and under-estimate what you can in five.