Trovus found itself in a partnering meeting today.  This is not the first time we have found ourselves in such a meeting, mainly because we have been pushing to find partners since about our third coaching session.  In Shirlaw's language partnering is described as distribution and the concept is an incredibly sound one.  Find someone who has lots of good relationships and get them to introduce you to their clients.  Only, what's in it for them?

Have something bloody good to talk about.

The onus is on you to have the pitch of pitches.  Your offering may not be unique, but the way you deliver it certainly must be.

Find a clear value driver for them early.

Every partnering relationship is going to throw up many more good things than bad, most of which will not be apparent on day 1.  But to get to day 1 the partner must clearly see what they are in this for at the start.  For us it is about aligning the application layer to the infrastructure layer in such a way that SI's we partner with see value not overlap.

Get clear on the rules of engagement.

Of course this means commercials - I introduce to you XYZ, you sell your thing, I get this in return.  Easy enough, but that is not enough.  Things will quickly go sour if you are not fundamentally respectful of the relationships that the partner firms has spent years building up.  You must have very open communication channels.  Every element of engagement must be done, at least in the early days, with the clear visibility of the partner and you must redouble your efforts to perform at the highest level as you carry two reputations in to the engagement.

Get on.

Partner with people you like.  There will be tough times and your relationship will need to bare this out.  Gut will tell you a lot at the early stage, so listen to them.

This is were Shirlaws excels.

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