Partnerships are essential for any business. They can help you reach new customers, get more leads, and increase your profits. However, not all partnerships are created equal. If you want to make the most of your partnerships, you need to build better ones. This blog post will discuss 11 tips for building better business partnerships!

1: Establish a Clear Objective:

Before entering into any partnership, it is important to have a clear understanding of your goals. Are you looking for increased brand visibility or to leverage the partner’s expertise? If you enter into a partnership without an established goal, then it could be difficult to measure its success later on.

2: Identify Your Ideal Partner:

Not every company is right for every type of partnership. Make sure that you do your research and identify which companies would be best suited to meet your objectives. Consider factors such as industry experience, location, customer base, size, and reputation.

3: Develop Good Communication Strategies: 

Once you have identified your ideal partner, make sure that you have good communication strategies in place. This will help you stay organized and ensure that everyone is clear on the goals and expectations of the partnership.

4: Establish Trust: 

Building trust should be at the center of any successful business partnership. Make sure to take steps such as having weekly check-ins and being transparent with each other in order to build this trust.

5: Set Measurable Goals: 

Establish measurable goals before entering into a partnership so that you can easily evaluate its success later on. This will also help keep everyone focused and accountable throughout the process.

6: Define Responsibilities:

Make sure that all parties involved are clearly aware of what their individual responsibilities are in order to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings down the line. You should also agree upon how the partnership will be terminated in case one party is not meeting their responsibilities.

7: Align on Expectations: 

Lay out all expectations that each partner has of the other so that there are no surprises later on. This could include expectations around communication, budgeting, and timelines.

8: Choose Appropriate Tools: Select tools that will allow you to monitor progress effectively and stay organized throughout the partnership process. These tools can range from project management software to customer relationship management systems.

9: Assign a Point Person: 

Having a single point of contact for any questions or concerns should help keep the lines of communication open and ensure everyone is on the same page during the partnership development process.

10: Document Everything Thoroughly: 

Make sure to document every step in order to ensure a successful outcome. This includes agreements, timelines, and progress updates. Doing so will help you review the partnership more effectively later on.

Bonus! 11: Binding documentation:

You should know what are ndas; and have all the parties sign binding documentation to protect themselves from any potential disputes. This should include clauses that detail how the parties will handle resolving conflicts and what recourse each party has if a dispute arises. 

By following these tips, you can foster better business partnerships and create successful collaborations with other companies. Remember to take the time to establish clear objectives, identify your ideal partner, develop good communication strategies, set measurable goals, define responsibilities and expectations, choose appropriate tools, assign a point person, document everything thoroughly, and always use NDAs when necessary. Good luck

Originally Published on https://www.breakfastleadership.com/

Michael Levitt Chief Burnout Officer

Michael D. Levitt is the founder & Chief Burnout Officer of The Breakfast Leadership Network, a San Diego and Toronto-based burnout consulting firm. He is a Keynote speaker on The Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting and Burnout. He is the host of the Breakfast Leadership show, a Certified NLP and CBT Therapist, a Fortune 500 consultant, and author of his latest book BURNOUT PROOF.