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The Art and Opportunity of Building
Strategic Alliances

Presenter: Anita Campbell
How to grow your business faster
and save your sanity with business
partnerships
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Todays Partnering Agenda
What is a strategic alliance?
Criteria for successful partnerships
Who should you partner with?
How to establish partner relationships
7 Good Reasons to Partner
3 reasons NOT to partner
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The Power of Partnerships
In 1980, upstart
Microsoft partnered
with then-giant IBM.
The Microsoft DOS
operating system
was distributed with
IBMs new personal
computers.
$53,000,000,000
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What is a strategic alliance?
Means many things to different people
Can describe:
Cross referrals
Outsourcing to 3
rd
parties
Co-marketing
Online affiliate arrangements
Business partnership arrangements
Joint venture companies
Legal partnerships
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Formal Tech Partner Programs
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Definition: Business Partnership
Today we will focus mainly on
Business Partnerships
Criteria:
Each side brings something to the table the other
doesn't have
Each made strategic decision not to spend the
time or money to do it alone, or cant do it alone
Together, you are better equipped to meet a
market opportunity
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Do You Need A Partnership?
ASSESS YOUR NEEDS
Evaluate your situation do a SWOT
analysis if necessary
Walk in your customers shoes
What do they need? Versus what you offer
Observe competitors
If they are ahead, how do you catch up fast?
Evaluate market opportunities
Do you have everything you need to capture a
market opportunity?
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Do a Cost Benefit Analysis
Evaluate partnering against not partnering
Speed
Focus
Make vs buy
Sometimes partnering is the ONLY option
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Do You REALLY Need A
Partnership?
75% OF ALL PARTNERSHIPS AND ALLIANCES FAIL
SUCCEED,
25%
FAIL, 75%
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Establishing Partnerships - You Us Me
YUM Method: Broach a partnership with
another party in this order:
You whats in it for the other party
Us what can we achieve together
Me what I get out of it comes last
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PESD to A Partnership
P = Paint a picture of the partnership
opportunity and potential
Example: There is an opportunity for you to
extend your reach into XYZ market by .
E = Explain the mechanics of how you see it
working
Example: If you can advance more inventory
without requiring up-front terms, our company
can accept more big orders. Require a 20
deposit, and allow the remainder to be paid out
over time. In return we will .
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PESD to A Partnership (contd)
S = Sell the benefits
Be prepared to demonstrate with hard numbers,
such as this deal would double sales on your
XYZ line. Remember to focus on the benefits to
them, not you.
D = Document the relationship
Partnerships may involve formal arrangements
such as contracts, or in other cases something
less formal. At the very least there should be an
email or letter outlining the arrangement.
Tip: document it fast. Deal momentum can die.
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7 Good Reasons to Partner
Partner with suppliers to finance the growth
of your business
Open up new markets
Get access to valuable training and tools
Establish credibility
Strategically add specialty expertise
Round out your product or service offering
Meet governmental contracting requirements
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All man's miseries
derive from not being
able to sit quietly in a
room alone.
Be Choosy When Partnering
-- Warren Buffett, the worlds second
richest man, adapted from Blaise
Pascal, 17
th
century mathematician
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3 Warning Signs NOT to Partner
No compelling goal: You dont have a specific
business goal to pursue jointly
Use the revenue measure

Vagueness: Your partnership is vague
Small businesses dont get much out of vague
marketing partnerships better off selling instead

No Commitment: Your partner (or some faction
within it) is not committed
The kiss of death
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Anita Campbell
anita@anitacampbell.com
330.242.1893
www.smallbiztrends.com
Thank you!
Credits: Slide # 9, various industry studies including Vantage Partners
Slide #10, Kare Anderson, www.sayitbetter.com, as stated in a Small Business Trends Radio program
October 2006, Small Business Trends LLC