thenewpartnersearch · nowadays, many are turning to digital sources to find not just cold leads,...
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The New Partner SearchHow digital tools are changing the sourcing process.
“Identifying who it makes sense to partnerwith is a process, because the most logicalpartner may not be practical, appropriate,or even viable… The biggest challenge isfinding the right persons to lead the effort.”
- Stephen Cunningham, EVP, UcopiaCommunications
Table of Contents
Part 1: About This White Paper
The evolving process of partnership sourcing
Professional perspectives
Part 2: The Sourcing Process
Preparation is key
Sourcing prospects
Vetting
Part 3: What’s Next
Part 1
Last year, Powerlinx sponsored “Grow From the
Right Intro,” a report that opened up the
conversation around the role strategic partnerships
play in business growth strategies around the
world. Though the report found that 85% of
executives feel that partnerships are important to
their businesses, many respondents reported
difficulties in finding the right partner.
Analyzing these responses, it became clear that
executives and business owners want their
businesses to enter partnerships, but they lack
substantive information on how to source partners
in the first place.
At Powerlinx we recognize, as do most
businesses these days, that no business can act
as an island. They must operate and collaborate
in conjunction with other businesses. Eventually,
all of these relationships extend into a huge
global web of connections, driving product, cash
and information flows. But before collaborations
can happen, businesses need to be able to find
each other.
In this report, we hope to give you a glimpse into
the ways executives and business owners around
the world are finding and connecting with the right
prospects. In particular, we will shed light on new
digital practices helping compatible businesses find
each other, and we will provide some best practices
you can apply to your own partner search.
Let's Talk Sourcing
While business interactions were not abig part of the early social networks,LinkedIn was really the first majorgamechanger to draw businessprofessionals into the digital world.
About This White Paper
Nowadays, many are turning to digital sources tofind not just cold leads, but warm, qualifiedintroductions and future business partners. Therolodex is gone for good, as modernday companiesare looking past superficial connections, and are inpursuit of connections with purpose.
The Evolving Process of Sourcing
Why are partnershipsimportant to your
business?
“As a fifteen-year old innovationagency, we are constantly looking forpartnerships for three reasons:
1) To benefit our clients2) To build sales for us3) The joy of learning new things.”
- Bryan Mattimore, Cofounder &
Chief Idea Guy, Growth Engine
Know what you’relooking for
“I primarily use Instagram to sourcebusinesses that would be a good fitbased on their brand, targetaudience, and followership… I useLinkedIn to locate the correct personto reach out to at a company I'vediscovered on Instagram. LinkedIn isgreat because it will tell me if any ofmy current connections know theperson I'd like to speak with, or ifthey know someone at the company."
- Katharine Contag, Founder &
CEO, ColorClutch.com
Perspectives
Finding strategic partners used to be a long process that depended
heavily on the personal connections of a business advisor or broker.
Lately, however, new digital tools have made it easier – and more
efficient – for business owners to find and reach out to prospective
partners. Though just a small proportion of businesses have
embraced the Internet as a catalyst for partnership sourcing and
management, more of the business-to-business world is poised to
join in as technologies continue to make digital sourcing more
intelligent and efficient than ever before.
Today, traditional networking can often be uncomfortable, costly
and, in some cases, impossible. Since the dawn of email and the
capacity for real-time communications with people around the
world, businesses are starting to change the way they operate,
including the way they find others to collaborate with. Social
networks – LinkedIn in particular – paved the way for companies to
successfully branch out and embrace business networking in a
larger, more global way.
Professional Perspectives
How and where are youcurrently sourcing
business partnerships?
LinkedIn is an excellent tool toidentify potential strategic partners.To do this, you can search oncomplimentary services (the onesyour clients need that you do notoffer) or directly via keywords.
- LisaMarie Dias, Founder,
LisaMarie Dias Designs
“The best outlet for Royce Leather insearching for business partners aremarketplaces that encourage brandsto convey their story and representwho they are.”
- Andrew Royce Bauer, CEO,
Royce Leather
"Twitter has been a useful resource onkeeping our eyes open for like-mindedcompanies. Our partnership withSandboxx started with a simplemessage over Twitter. We've also hadsome wonderful introductions fromcolleagues."
- Cody McGraw, Founder, SCOUT
Military Discounts
Perspectives
Today, traditional networking can often beuncomfortable, costly and, in some cases,impossible.
How have executives and business owners used online social
networks and other digital tools to find new opportunities for
collaboration? What does this mean for the future of strategic
partnerships?
To answer these questions and more, who better to ask than those
responsible for sourcing, vetting and securing partnerships?
We reached out to CEO's, partnership managers and directors for
their insights into how they are currently sourcing partners, where
their challenges lie and what they think of the future of digital
partnership sourcing. In Part 2 you will find a selection of their
feedback on these topics.
Part 2
The overwhelming response from those involved in
sourcing B2B partners and collaborators was that first
and foremost, preparation is key. No matter your
industry or business type, you need to know what
you’re looking for, in detail, before you start your search.
As you start your planning process, take the time to
assess what your primary and secondary goals are.
Additionally, you should have a realistic idea of
what your resources are – both from a human and
intellectual capital perspective. Once you have
completed your practical self-assessment, then it is
time to narrow down your business’ unique needs
and offerings along with the resources you will
need your future partner to bring to the table. This
step helps you the most in identifying the desirable
characteristics in a business partner.
One last important part to keep in mind during
your partner sourcing process: a generic online
search will yield poor results, while a more
focused search will give you a better output.
Additionally, searching for keywords like
“strategic partner” doesn’t work. The more
detailed and specific you can get, the better
results your search will yield.
I f you are unsure at this step, there are resources avai lable to help you prepare for f indingyo u r i d e a l p a r t n e r. Vi s i t h t t p : / / b l o g. p owe r l i n x . co m / re s o u rce s / f o r a l i b ra r y o f re s o u rce s.
The Sourcing Process
Preparation Is Key
Technology is changing the partner sourcing landscape. As
discussed in the earlier sections, many of those we spoke to pointed
to various digital sources for finding and vetting potential partners.
Social media networks topped the list, and online marketplaces also
came up in discussions.
An informal survey of approximately 100 professionals – all of
whom stated a direct responsibility for sourcing and managing
partnerships – pointed to digital sources as their preferred method
of finding new partners, with expos and trade conferences coming
in second. Personal referrals rounded out the top three sourcing
methods. For the first time ever, digital B2B platforms came in at
well over 50% of professionals opting to use a digital business
source to find and cultivate new business relationships.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of professionals we spoke to pointed to
LinkedIn as their primary digital source for beginning their partner
sourcing process. From those we spoke with, one of the biggest
benefits of using LinkedIn was being able to narrow down searches
based on available filters before reaching out to new prospects.
Other social media platforms were mentioned, including Twitter,
Instagram and Pinterest. However, beware these large networks, as they
do not provide thorough filtering tools. Again, this points to your
personal level of preparedness. Having the clearest picture of a potential
partner will help you fight through the crowds on social media.
Additionally, we are beginning to see a rise in popularity of business
networks outside of LinkedIn. Alibaba, Powerlinx and 6sense are all
excellent tools that help businesses focus their partnership search
on the most highly desired outcome with little manual effort
required of the member.
Few we spoke to considered traditional networking events to be
effective. While some cited trade shows as a primary source of new
partner contacts, they reported that these relationships tended to
lead to one-off deals as opposed to long-term partnerships.
Sourcing Prospects
How do you vetpotential partners?
We partner with products andservices that are going to create abetter user experience and speed upour process at the same time.
- Bill Tyndall, Head of Incubator
Relations, inDinero
I found my strategic alliance partnersthrough networking and by vettingthose vendors with whom I dobusiness already. Who do I work withwho does a great job AND serves thekind of customers I want to serve? Notall of my vendors meet both of thesecriteria and not all of those who dowant to commit to such a program.
- Elene Cafasso, President & Head
Coach, Enerpace, Inc. Executive
Coaching
Partnerships are the key to being ableto scale and grow. But unless I got toknow the partners first, carefullyevaluated them, the partnershipwould not work.
- Maria Dykstra, CMO and
Co-Founder, TreDigital
Perspectives
Vetting still remains an integral part of the
partnership sourcing process. Much like you
carefully evaluate where to place your funds, the
risks you are willing to take and the employees you
bring on, you certainly need to evaluate any
business with which you are considering entering
partnership talks. A formal, carefully planned
vetting process can help you avoid potential
partnership disaster and prevent you from wasting
precious time and resources.
Here are some things to ask yourself as you begin to
narrow down your list of potential partners:
Do they have expertise that complements mine?
Finding a partner who has an expertise that you
lack - or need more of - is an essential component
of your future success.
How good are they at communicating?
Make sure beforehand that you are comfortable with
the amount and frequency of interactions between
you and your potential partner. Do they get back to
you on time, and with thorough information? If you
have to chase after someone to get information, or if
the lines of communication often seem stalled –
even before the partnership legally begins – chances
are they won’t change after the legal documents
have been signed.
How much time have you spent discussing
a partnership?
This is a process that doesn’t happen overnight.
Take the time to properly ensure that they
understand and are in agreement with all of the
details of the proposed partnership. Be open as
well to receiving new ideas and tweaking your
original plans.
Do they have references?
If you can get them, great! Sometimes others will be
willing to vouch for someone you are considering
partnering with. If your potential partner is part of
your local community, reach out to others who you
know have worked with them in the past and talk to
them about their experience. Outsiders’ insights can
often prove to be valuable and can give you a glimpse
into what a future partnership might look like.
Trust your gut
Last, but most important - trust your gut. You’ll
know when someone isn’t the right fit for your
business. Rely on a combination of your instincts,
due diligence, and proper vetting to ensure that
you are left with a strong list of potential partner
candidates.
Vetting
Qualities to Look for in aProspective Partner
• Trust: Reliable communication and delivery;
expertise; willingness to learn from each other;
seeking ground for common success
• Compatibility: Business offerings are
complementary; company cultures mesh well;
mutual belief in the collaboration
• Transparency: Consistent sharing of progress
and data points; good communications;
dependability
• Aligned goals: Team mentality; shared vision
for the future of the partnership
Part 3
While all of this digital progress points to great
strides in moving the world of business online,
anything past a profile display is still not particularly
commonplace. A few years after the birth of
LinkedIn and other similar online business
networks, the digital business world has become
cluttered with millions of profiles, ultimately
creating a massive online directory. While it has
certainly become easier and faster to find new
connections, these connections are still too
superficial – they are connections from a numbers
sense, much like overfilling a Rolodex. Rather than
serve as valuable resources, the vast majority of
these connections do not result in new business or
partnerships. Having 5,000+ connections is meaningless
to a manager or owner of a company if none of those
connections are able to help in achieving goals.
In tandem with this, business collaborations were still
being sourced and managed predominantly offline.
While LinkedIn and other social networks excel at
allowing businesses to display information about
themselves, the process of sourcing, identifying and
vetting partners remains largely manual.
While these networks have evolved into useful
databases for finding new business connections,
business owners and executives need to move
beyond “superficial” connections. To this, the past
few years have seen the birth of business-based
connection platforms, each of which aims at
bringing more parts of the business lifecycle online.
Now the interest is in finding connections with
purpose – connections that will bear a positive
outcome for their business.
Nowadays, many are turning to digitalsources to find not just cold leads, butwarm, qualified introductions and futurebusiness partners. The rolodex is gone forgood, as modernday companies arelooking past superficial connections, andare in pursuit of connections with purpose.
What's Next
The Future of Digital Partner Sourcing
Bryan Mattimore
Cofounder, Chief Idea Guy
Growth Engine
Katharine Contag
Founder, CEO
ColorClutch.com
LisaMarie Dias
Founder
LisaMarie Dias Designs
Andrew Royce Bauer
CEO
Royce Leather
Stephen Cunningham
EVP
Ucopia Communications
AcknowledgementsCody McGraw
Founder
SCOUT Military
Discounts
Bill Tyndall
Head of Incubator Relations
inDinero
Elene Cafasso
President & Head Coach
Enerpace, Inc.
Executive Coaching
Maria Dykstra
CMO, Co-Founder
TreDigital
Powerlinx is the leading online service connecting
businesses with new growth opportunities. Every
day business leaders around the world use
Powerlinx to find new suppliers, expand their
product lines, reach new geographical markets,
raise capital and even sell their business.
Powerlinx has matched thousands of companies
around the world, driving business growth in some
unlikely places.
Learn more about Powerlinx at
Powerlinx.com/how-it-works
Want to find out what Powerlinx can do for your
business? Email info@powerlinx.com or visit
Powerlinx.com
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