Why some strategic alliance meetings go nowhere and what to do about it.

Over the past few weeks I have begun working closely with a new strategic alliance partner. We have found a number of fantastic opportunities to work on together and begun to develop enormous respect for each others abilities and values and suddenly the possibilities seem almost unlimited. Yet I have known that person for almost as long as I have been in business and during that time, despite numerous meetings and potential opportunities, until now nothing had developed. Often great connections and strategic alliances take time to develop, other times you may be flogging a dead horse, but how do you tell the difference?....

For most of us some relationships click almost instantly while others take a while to develop. The potential for great strategic alliances is no different. Sometimes you will have a first meeting with someone, the potential and the opportunities will be obvious to both of you right away and everything will fall into place. At other times you will have a first meeting and nothing happens.
The most important thing to do is to do is to work out what went wrong.

First and most importantly – were they a good potential strategic alliance for your business in the first place? Did you have something tangible in common as the basis for your meeting? One of the first mistakes many new networkers make is trying to create strategic alliances with almost everyone they meet. So ask yourself:

Did the other person share your target market?Was there a close enough match or were you really clutching at straws?Do they have a product or service that your clients would love? (or vice versa?)
Was there some other tangible connection between you and the other person?
Shared geographic location? Both support the same charity or community group?Both use the same resources?Was the some potential for a bartering relationship?

The bottom line is - was there a good enough reason for the meeting in the first place? If you are having too many cups of coffee that go no-where perhaps you are not having the right cups of coffee. Make sure you are really clear on what you are hoping to achieve before you make the appointment.

Secondly are you properly prepared for your strategic alliance meetings? Before you start:
Make sure you are clear on what you want to achieve.Do you have some ideas on how you might be able to work together?Are you clear on what you are able to bring to the alliance?
Next make sure you fully understand what the other person’s goals and objectives are. Find out what they are hoping to achieve. Make sure that you understand what they are able to contribute to the relationship and what any limitations are.

Third make sure that you explore all the constraints and difficulties and that you are open and honest about them. Make sure the timing is right for both of you. Perhaps you are concerned about the cost in either time or money. Are you 100% confident about what you will need to contribute?Are you 100% happy with what the other party will be contributing?

Remember a WIN WIN doesn’t have to be the same for each of you but both parties must be happy that their objectives are being met.

Number four – does the chemistry feel right? Sometimes, no matter how good the business potential you just may not feel right about a relationship. Under those circumstances it is better to walk away.

Finally never leave a meeting without a clear set of action steps to move forward. Even if the agreed next step is to do nothing, or to keep in touch every few months until the timing is better or you are both clearer about what you want to achieve from the relationship.