Communication Is Key

If you want to build really strong relationships that deliver long term, successful, partnerships, then communication is key.

Your communication processes can make or break a partnership.

Some comms will need to be factual, and some more inspiring. Some will be generic to all partners, others more personalised. Some will be scheduled, regular, maybe even automated, and others will be (or at least appear to be) adhoc.

And that’s where we need the systems and processes to make sure these things happen when they should.

It’s the N in the Collaboration Junkie DANCE framework for partnerships (N stands for Nurturing) and it’s a hugely important step.

Doing what you say you’re going to do, when you say you’re going to do it, on a consistent basis may seem obvious. But in my experience working with some BIG brands it’s just not the case.

So, get this right and you’ll stand out from your competitors, delight your partners, and form rock solid relationships that last a lifetime.

Here's a few ways you can do just that:  

Emotional journey

Before I crack on, one thing that’s worth considering at each step is how your partner might be feeling. Put yourself in their shoes. It might not always be entirely positive. They could be cautious, sceptical, disappointed. We then need to think about how we want them to be feeling after the communication and tailor it to that.

It will be different for different partners, but it’s worth thinking through the options.

The First Meeting

It can be all too easy to rush headlong into planning world domination, but take your time, get a feel for your partners and you’ll come out much stronger in the long run because of it.

Use an initial meeting to test out suitability, gauge values and agree a next step.

Setting Expectations

Probably the single greatest reason why partnerships end badly is when expectations haven’t either been set or managed. The earlier this is brought up in a relationship the better (ideally before someone signs up to be a partner), and it should form the cornerstone of all your future communications.

Expectations can, and should, be set on varying levels. It’s important at a high level to know how active your partner thinks they will be, all being well. It’s also important for your partner to know your intentions for working with them and the potential opportunity - and to just check in on where you both see the partnership heading in the mid to long term (without getting too fixated on it!).

However, it’s also important to outline on a more granular level. Things like your SLA’s to their clients, communication methods and frequency, support you’ll provide them and the other subjects covered throughout this framework.

If your partner has committed to a volume of marketing as well then it’s worth capturing and formalising this as well. Not to beat anyone over the head with, but as a basis of reviewing the success of the partnership and seeing where things may need to be adjusted.

It’s worth coming back to these, and assessing whether they need to change, whenever you’re reviewing the partnership (either internally or with your partner). 

Partner Onboarding

You never get a 2nd chance to make a first impression. The quicker your partners feel engaged, the more likely they are to stay engaged, and, if you really delight them, they will be more inclined to both refer quickly, and let others know about your programme.

You want to provide them with everything they need, whilst still keeping it warm and welcoming.

A personal touch here can go a long way that.

That said, it’s worth formalising this process – either as a document or checklist or built into whichever CRM system you use, just don’t over automate – we want to build relationships here.

Referral Communications

Depending on the volume of leads being received, keeping your partners in the loop about individual referrals made and where they are in your sales process or customer journey can be crucial in building and maintaining trust, and therefore receiving more referrals.

Remember, every time someone makes an introduction to you their entrusting you with a little bit of their reputation.

Keep your partners in the loop.

With regards to frequency, you can always ask them what they would like, especially in the early days where the level of trust maybe isn’t as strong.

Regular Reporting

Where there’s a reasonable volume of leads being passed rather than individual comms being sent often they can be bundled up into a report.

Sent on the same day each period this could be a standard communication that goes to each partner. If you don’t do this consistently, or do it badly, it will be a source of major irritation for your partners. Get it right and you’ll stand out from the crowd.

Monthly reporting is usually fine, but if you worked with a partner who provided a very high volume of leads and wanted regular updates on cases then a more frequent version may be applicable. This could also happen as a one off around a particular campaign they may run.

Set up a template that gives a one-page summary of key information. Things like new leads received, monthly products sold / leads converted and their value, upsales to existing clients, total live prospects and their value, lifetime number of customers and value, key marketing activity results.

You can also add in any key marketing metrics like page views or clicks, or webinar / event attendees if you and your partners are utilising that type of proactive marketing channel. 

Check Ins

As well as the specific, scheduled, reviews, and the day to day communication that’s already occurring, it’s worth having a process around making personal check-ins with your partners.

This can be seemingly adhoc but could be triggered by a partners performance.

A spike in results – well you want to know what they’ve done! Maybe you can share it with other partners

Opposite true? Maybe it’s worth seeing if they need any more support.

Strategic Reviews

It’s essential to build more formal reviews into your process outside of the adhoc communications.

It’s a chance to see where you are against the expectations you set, review recent and upcoming activity, give broader updates on your business or team, and more importantly ask them about what’s happening on their side.

By having these in place it makes it easier to have what could be a tricky conversation if one or more parties aren’t happy about a particular aspect. 

Remember to ask them if there’s anything you could be doing better. It means a little niggle they otherwise wouldn’t have mentioned could be brought to the fore and resolved.

And be curious.

Find out what’s going on in their world. You’ll be amazed how much new opportunity can come from this. 

Curiosity Is The Birthplace Of Opportunity! 

Try and keep these fun where possible. It’s a great chance to strengthen relationships. If you’d normally take a client out to lunch for a meeting why wouldn’t you do the same for a partner?

General Communications

Adding some regular value add communications can be a great way to provide additional support to your partners, and stimulate activity. 

Depending on the volume and nature of your partners you could run a regular newsletter.

The frequency will depend on your ability to have enough content to add value, and also your types of partner. may be monthly isn’t for you, and thats fine, but it’s still worth building in even if less frequent.

Targeted Communications

For some partner types those generic and regular communications just aren’t applicable. In these instances are there thought leadership pieces that add value to them?

Ideally they highlight why they continue to partner with you, but it could just be content that you know will add value and you send it to them personally in order to build the relationship.

Even if these are adhoc, it might still be worth trying to commit to a rough timescale to make sure that they do actually happen, rather than being a nice idea!

Show You Care

And on a similar note, if you’ve not had a reason to speak to them recently (or even if you have) don’t forget to add the personal touch.

Make introductions, share events or books they might like, comment on their social posts, remember when they’re going on holiday – all these things that we all want to do can be helped by us having a bit of a process behind it to remind us to stay in touch.

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So that’s an overview of just some of the things you can do.

Get in touch if you think there’s anything we’ve missed or you’d like to know more.