Very rarely can businesses survive just on their own. Successful businesses are made up of successful partnerships that help them along the way. That’s what we do at Boostability. We provide SEO at an affordable rate so our partners can offer a new and affordable product to their customers that can really help their small business grow.
But there’s things to consider when getting ready to partner with a business. Especially when it means you’ll be offering an entirely new product or service. Use our list here when considering a partnership.
Talk Through Your Motivations and Challenges
It’s important to start out the conversation with a potential partner about why you want to work with them in the first place. Is there a particular moment or incident that has you looking at outside options? Do you just want to add in another revenue stream? Helping a new vendor or new partner understand your motivations can set the tone for the entire relationship moving forward.
It’s important to understand that your interests align and your motivations are similar. Helping a potential partner understand what challenges you’ve faced up to this point gives context to the conversation. It helps to set expectations moving forward. This could be one of the most important parts of the entire process.
Every business has challenges in one way or another. Don’t let pride get in the way of sharing those struggles. They can be the key to finding success in your next business partnership.
Be Honest About Budget
Numbers can be a difficult conversation to have. But especially in business partnerships, it’s important to have those conversations early and often. Be open with your budget from the beginning to better set expectations. Frankly open conversations about your budget also set up more open business relationships.
Of course you don’t want to just open up your books for all to see. That’s unwise for anyone. But by saying your budget, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s set in stone. Often agencies can work within your budget, and even come out lower, than you anticipated. Open talk about budget means a better strategy that is realistic for your business or agency, and that the tactics will match what you have.
Define Expectations Early
This is a conversation where both sides need to be open and honest. The partner can’t promise instant results as a sales tactic if that isn’t actually a realistic option. And you can’t expect them to deliver results in a month when it takes six months or more to see results. Both sides need to be open and honest about the process and the time and cost involved. Realize that some work takes time to see success.
If you’re partnering with someone for SEO or other digital services, ask about their timeline. Ask about what it takes to achieve success and how that success is measured. It’s important to understand every aspect of the new product or service you’re entering into. And the other business needs to be fully open and honest about the work they do, the cost they do it at, and how they provide success.
These kinds of conversations are long and filled with details. But they’re crucial for the success of your partnership.
Understand Profit Margins
Every partnership has a different way of sharing profit. Some partnerships split 50/50 and allow you to mark up their product to your direct customers. Others have more of a 70/30 where products are marked at wholesale. You need to make sure you understand how this works before you partner on anything.
Most good partnerships will work with you to set an appropriate market value for their product and sell it to you at something much less. That way both companies make a good profit off of the partnership. But because each business is unique, you need to understand how you will make the money for your business, where it goes, and how often you get paid. Get this figured out long before the actual partnership begins.
Evaluate the Agreement
Every good partnership should have an ironclad agreement. If a proposed agreement is filled with vague conditions and timelines, consider that a giant red flag. Good partnerships are 100% transparent about conditions, the work performed, and the status of all your clients. It should state this outright in any contract or agreement before you sign it.
Some partnerships will push you into buying or signing before you’re ready. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, to think it over, and to take your time to read over the agreement or contract. Good partners will give you the time and information you need in order to make an informed decision.
Check-in Regularly
Good partnerships provide regular check ins and a lot of resources to assist you in selling to your customers. These resources can include collateral items, sales support, training, on-site visits, regular phone calls for status updates, and transparent reporting.
You should talk with your business partnerships frequently. Of course the schedule depends on the product, the industry, and the need. But you should always be able to contact them with questions of with anything you need.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of what you need to consider in the partnerships that will help your business succeed. But these key items can help get you on the right track.
Interested in selling SEO to your customers? Partner with Boostability! Partners are our bread and butter and the center of our business. We service partnerships around the world in nine languages. And no agency is too big or too small. Click here to learn more!
