Running a successful business is reliant on many different factors one being business partnerships. Any business of a certain scale uses partnerships in one way or another to reach their goals and broaden their expertise and level of service. Read on to find out why they are so beneficial to your company.

When creating new business partnerships you can sometimes feel like you are exposing yourself to existing clients or other stakeholders. This feeling of anxiety needs to be overcome to achieve the optimum results for your business.

As mentioned later in this article, you must have clarity around your business, its vision and its goals. You need to be clear of the benefits that the partnership will have for you and your business. If you feel that with the partnership you are trying to create there is not a balance or you feel you don’t have enough value by yourself this will lead to almost certain failure.

Strong partnerships can be great for you and your businesses enabling you to generate new income streams, improved processes and increased resources. For many businesses finding the right partners can have huge successes.

Below is my advice and some of my own experiences that you should consider when thinking about creating your own partnerships.

Chemistry

For me, it is really important that you gel as a partnership and that there is a positive chemistry between the two businesses. Do not hesitate to gain a deep understanding of why a particular partner is seeking to work with you and identify their desired outcomes.

You must listen to one another to ensure that there is a shared vision. If you find yourself in a situation where you disagree on something, or lack clarity, then there is no harm is delaying any decision. You must be confident that this relationship will be profitable.

Take Your Time

Sometimes the excitement of a new partnership can blind you to any red flags that might be raised during the negotiations. Be sure all along the way that you refer back to your objectives that you set out at the beginning. Always set a follow up meeting to review actions so that you can stay on track every step of the way. As they say, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail – be sure to take your time and tick all the boxes. This is a long term commitment and it does not need to be forged overnight.

Win-Win Situation

As part of any negotiation be sure to always be seeking the win-win outcome. In some areas of the partnership you will need to stand firm but there will be other areas that you may need to concede with grace in order to achieve a greater outcome. By spending time on the planning (as mentioned above) it enables you to look for the win-win scenario in any deal.

Communication

Something I have spoken about many times but in any good relationship there must be a strong emphasis on effective communication between both partners. Clear channels of communication must be upheld at all times to ensure that there is no misalignment between both parties.

There must be total transparency and honesty between your partner and yourself to ensure the most successful of relationships. If you cannot easily communicate with your partner or lack the trust then it is very likely you have not chosen the right partner.