Do you promote yourself as offering prompt, reliable and quality service?

Of course none of us promote ourselves as anything less, and equally we strive to provide this level of service all the time.

So what happens when you take your networking to the next level, and start to offer referrals, or even establish partnerships or alliances for certain activities?

Whatever you do at this point creates significant impact on your business and personal reputation potentially positive and also potentially negative.

One of the successes of Global Business and Development Solutions (globizdev.com) is not just that we are an alliance spanning Australia, South Africa, UK and the USA. Rather, our success results because we share like values, and each commit to providing the same level of service, whether individually sourced, referred, or a shared client.

I am using the word partner loosely as a catch all for someone we refer business to/from, someone we collaborate on a project with, someone we join market and so on.

Regardless - choosing the right partner is critical.

So how do I choose the right partner?

At some point depending on the level of activity you enter, it could be important to get specialist legal, due diligence and other financial advice which is beyond the scope of this article. Some key principles I have followed to successfully establish partnerships and alliances include:

Looking for organisations and individuals who share the same values as you

Ensuring you enter the arrangement with their success in mind, not just yours

Being prepared to not lead every initiative

Looking for partners with complementary products and services

Identifying gaps in your own knowledge, skills and experiences and seeking partners to fill these

Not expecting overnight success

Being prepared to foster a long-term mutually beneficial arrangement

Will following these steps guarantee success and remove all potential for conflict?

Obviously not.

However, following these steps is core in demonstrating a genuine desire to work with others, to support each other in growth and development.

Remember, too, that establishing such arrangements is likely to be just one element of an overall sales and marketing plan for you or your organisation. Even if you have an excellent partner, or partners, marketing efforts individually and collectively remain important.

I you are an independent professional, or a small service organisation, you might benefit from the Free Marketing Plan Workbook from Action Plan Marketing, which you can download from globizdev.com on the Additional Resources page.

I have found enormous personal and business benefits from establishing quality partnerships, and I hope you enjoy similar successes.

Mel Dunn

Mel is the Managing Director of Global Business and Development Solutions, a company that works with SME's and education and training institutions to support their international business activities. GBDS does this across the aid and development sector.

Mel is passionate about helping others achieve what they can, and is committed to providing quality business development solutions, support and guidance for clients to achieve this.

Mel's articles will continue to focus on both the commerical and the altruistic nature of international business, particularly in the developing world. He also publishes a montly newsletter, e-Globizdev, for which people can subscribe from our the GBDS website.