Great Expectations

Setting expectations from the outset is one of the most important things you can do in a partnership.

I’ve seen so many potentially amazing partnerships end badly (and even seen friendships damaged) just because the time hasn’t been taken at the outset to check everyone’s on the same page. Or even if they have, they haven’t been managed well enough ongoing.

The earlier this is brought up in a relationship the better, ideally before someone signs up to be a partner. It can be framed as strategic planning rather than a full on commitment session - but make no bones about it, everyone understanding what's expected in the short, medium and long term makes everything so much easier further down the line.

For example tricky conversations about why things aren’t going so well (volume or quality of leads, or maybe co-marketing output) are much easier when you’ve defined what success looks like right away.

And all this becomes so much more important when there’s a team involved in the delivery of the partnership. It’s unlikely they’ve been involved in those initial discussions and so maybe don’t understand the value or importance of the relationship.

In this instance when you get it wrong it can be more than the partnership that's damaged - it can be the direct relationship with the shared client as well. The exact opposite of everything that a partnership is supposed to deliver (an enhanced experience and outcome for the shared contact).

So here’s an example of how important it is to not only set expectations, but ensure there’s buy in from all involved - that they understand the partner value proposition and the level of service provided will be what’s required.

Because get this wrong and **SPOILER ALERT** it won’t be a relationship that lasts long.

Back in the days when I ran a membership organisation for small business owners we would run three networking events per week. The format of the event would change between speaker events and round table discussions – but they were always evening events (typically 6-8:30pm) and they included some drinks and nibbles.

We would work with local hotels who wanted to gain exposure to their venue. We worked with them on a pure partnership basis. We didn’t pay for the space, or the food & drink, but we ran our events on typically quiet times for them (Tuesday to Thursday evenings) and would position them as sponsors for the evening. This meant they would be featured prominently on all our marketing (which was reaching thousands of business owners in the region) and they also had the opportunity to work the room and say a few words on the evening. We’d also give them the opportunity to include an offer in the follow up communications from the event.

For context there would typically be 50-100 people in the room so it was a genuinely good deal when you think of the quality of exposure they were getting compared to something like an add in the local business paper.

We had some venues we visited where although the partnership was agreed, it was clear when the evening came that they were doing it almost begrudgingly. There would be limited refreshments, the nibbles wouldn’t be great, and there’d be no-one on hand to mingle with attendees or present on the venue’s behalf. In fact the opposite - the duty member of staff would be ushering us out the door bang on event closing time. There’d also be nothing to include in the follow up communications.

Unsurprisingly we didn’t work with these venues for very long, despite our best efforts to encourage them, they didn’t fully commit to the partnership and either tried to cut corners or didn’t communicate down the chain properly - and as such they didn’t see a return. We got what we needed to an extent, but it wasn’t the experience we wanted our members and guests to receive, and the fact the venue didn’t benefit either didn’t sit well with our culture of partnership for mutual gain.

Compare that to some of our long-standing venue partners who saw the partnership as an opportunity instead of a cost. They went to town every time we visited.

Greeting guests with a smile and a welcome drink and providing an amazing selection of food – more than enough for the numbers. There would be plenty of staff on hand where nothing was too much trouble for us, or our guests. They treated us exactly like a paying client. There would always be at least one of the general or sales managers working the room and they would stand up and thank everyone when it came time, with some kind of offer or event to promote. They understood the power of experience-based marketing and word of mouth in the local business community. As a result the service they delivered ensured they had a walking army of advocates extolling the virtues of their venue, using their lobby areas for meetings, booking rooms and recommending them for bigger conference bookings.

There was no other distinguishing factor between the relationships (size of venue, independent or chain etc) other than the partner ‘getting it’.

How did we combat this to stop the discrepancies happening? (and what can you do so you don’t suffer the same fate). We started to be much more specific at the discussion stage. We planned out what was expected (framed as what would get them the best return on their time) and most crucially we brought all the people responsible for implementing the partnership into these meetings. 

When you enter into a partnership you should want to make sure you do all you possibly can to make the most of the opportunity. And part of that is ensuring there’s a similar commitment from your fellow partner to do the same. If not, it's a huge red flag. No-one should begrudge being in a partner relationship – if they do then the whole partnership is doomed to failure unless rectified. There are many things that can cause this feeling to manifest, but in my experience it’s typically where there’s an imbalance of effort, or where financial returns or costs haven’t been as expected.

How to combat this?

*Set expectations early. Document, communicate, and gain agreement from all parties so that you’re on the same page

*If there’s a time, money, or service requirement then make sure that’s spelt out - alongside why it’s important and the value that delivers to all parties. 

*Get all the key players involved and ensure they’re bought in

*Set anticipated results, but also timeframes to review them to make sure they are still realistic. If they’re not being hit, why? How can you work together to get there (or decide to amicably call it a day). And if they are, or you’re exceeding? Awesome, what more can you do to scale the value.


I really hope you found that useful and it brought home how important it is to not only find the right partners in the first instance, but set the expectations clearly and get buy-in from all involved.

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