Networker's know that you always get back more from your network
then you have to give to it. However, that should not stop
you from thinking about new ways you can help the people in
your network. Your network is full of people who would like
to partner with you, though neither of you may have approached
the idea or formalized a plan. Here are some suggestions for
ways that you can form strategic alliances with other businesses
in your network.
BNI (Business Networking International) coined the
phrase “giver's gain”, which basically means that
if you give referrals, leads or resources the recipients will
want to repay you somehow. The problem is that as your network
grows, it will become increasingly difficult to give referrals to everyone
in your network.
This is somewhat counterintuitive because most people would
think that as they add contacts to their network it will be
easier to refer the new members of your network to each other.
However, if you know five accountants it is difficult to refer
to all five of them equally. One way to give back to your
network is to develop a number of strategic alliances.
There are a few basic steps you should follow to help ensure
that your new alliances are effective. First, be sure to think
about what you want the alliance to accomplish. Are you simply
trying to reach new potential customers? Or are you also trying
to reduce your marketing costs? In general, think about the
goals of the alliance. Here are some things you might want
to consider.
You will get access to the networks of your partners.
You will get to associate your business with another,
potentially, more established brand.
You can decrease your overall marketing costs, while
expanding your reach.
You can learn from other businesses. What has been successful
for them in the past?
Next you should think about who you want to partner with.
If you are a Realtor, you might think of mortgage originators
or real estate attorney's that you could partner with. Bear
in mind that your partner does not have to have the same goals
are you, but they should be complementary. Here are several
ways you can potentially form and alliance with another business.
Create an alliance with a customer: Creating
a mutually beneficial relationship with a key customer can
strengthen the relationship and reduce your risk of losing
this key customer.
Create an alliance with a market leader: If you
are a small business, you may be able to reap hue rewards
from partnering with the market leader in your area. You
may be able to offer a level of local penetration that a
big company may have trouble creating on it's own. The alliance
may not offer a huge financial incentive for the small business
but you can leverage the alliance in your own marketing
program. If you are the market leader, consider partnering
with a young, easer business that might be able to offer
you this type of market penetration.
Create an alliance with a non-profit organization:
You might be able to create an alliance with a trade organization
or local community organization, which offer not only direct
rewards, but also in-direct rewards from helping a good
cause.
Create an alliance with a former employer: Your
company may offer a service that complements the services
offered by a former employer.
Create an alliance with a competitor: while you
have to pay very close attention to detail when partnering
with a competitor, you might be able to tap into their resources
to extend your reach. They might be a competitor, but may
not have the specific expertise that you do. For example,
many people would consider Yahoo! and Microsoft's MSN internet
portal to be competitors, but MSN recognized Yahoo! Strengths
in keyword driven advertising and started featuring Yahoo!
Ads with their search results. Of course, MSN is now developing
their own contextual advertising system, which means the
partnership is coming to an end soon.
Create an alliance with a parelell industry: simply
stated, find another business in your market but that is
not a direct competitor and then team up to market to the
same customer base. Each company can pitch in financially
and see incremental results from their marketing activities.
Planning out exactly how the alliance will work is the next
step. You and your partner should clearly outline what each
party is going to be responsible for and how results are going
to be monitored. Be sure to discuss the costs involved in
the alliance and make sure that each party has a clear understanding
of what all of the costs will be. Here are some ideas to consider.
Ask your partner to display your literature and/or products.
A Realtor may be able to display brochure from a mortgage
broker in their office or include it in the packet of information
they present new clients.
Ask your partner to link to your website from theirs.
An accounting firm may be able to place a link to your financial
planning practice on their website.
Include your brochure in a partners mailings. A delivery
company might be willing to include your brochure in the
invoices they send to their customers each month.
Develop joint marketing materials that promote both businesses
and share the expenses of implementing the plan. For example,
a handyman and a landscaper may develop a direct mail piece
that promotes both companies and then each company can contribute
to the mailing expenses.
Develop a “preferred partner” program that
offers customers a financial incentive to buy products in
tandem from two companies at once. For example, a car dealership
might form a partnership with a service station and offer
maintenance bundled with the purchase price of a car. A
health club may offer a joint membership to a local tennis
or pool club.
Develop a seminar with another business – develop
a educational seminar program with a business in your industry
and then market the events as a team.
Publish news about the businesses you have developed
an alliance with.
Introduce your new partners to your key clients. Perhaps
you can invite your partner to events you are involved in.
Serve as a sponsor for events your partners are involved
in.
Once you have set up your alliance and implemented your plan,
it is critical that the lines of communication stay open and
that you pay attention to the relationship you have formed.
Check in with your partner to make sure they are happy with
the way things are going.
Set up a weekly meeting or conference call with your partner
and go through a progress report. You may also find it helpful
to create a “report card” for your project before
it begins. Base your report card on the goals you laid out
early in the relationship and then revisit it over time. By
laying out the goals in advance, each person involved with
the project will understand what is expected of them. In addition,
it is harder to ignore setbacks and bumps in the road if expectations
are fully developed and everyone is on the same page before the
project begins.
The most common mistakes involve failing to clearly communicate
through each stage of the alliances growth. Think about the
overall value proposition, where each parties goals are aligned
and mismatched, the level of commitment or excitement from
each party. Always think about how the alliance can become
a win-win for everyone involved. If you do not think you can
really add value, don't participate because you do not want
to damage your credibility. Finally, if the alliance simply
does not add measurable value to your business, do not participate.
Creating these formal alliances will help you develop and
strengthen the relationships you already have. Power networkers
can create multiple alliances with multiple members of their
network. These alliances have the added benefit of allowing
you to add value to a number of businesses without having
to actually give specific referrals to a number of businesses
individually.
Stephen Labuda is considered by many to be a "professional
networker". He combines years of business development,
networking and sales experience on his blog at http://www.stephenlabuda.com
