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Chicago |
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Partnering Conference Instructions
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Attendee Instructions: We need your help to make this conference a success. There will be few if any presenters who will personally make suitable partners for you. On the other hand it is highly likely there will be instances where you will know of a potential partner that both has what a presenter needs and in turn needs something the presenter has. Don't be reluctant to approach presenters and tell them about potential partners who would make a good match for them. Presenter Instructions: If someone approaches you and offers you information about a potential partner, return the favor. Ask them what their needs are. Everyone has needs - if they don't need more customers, they need more personnel with the right skills. Take their business card and write down a note about what they do and what their needs are. In the next week inventory your own personal network to see if you can help them. If you can do something for them, call them and offer your help. We are a small enough group so we can all get to know each other and help each other. If we each help each other we will all benefit. The Corporate Partnering Institute: We would like to thank the Corporate Partnering Institute for the "Three Vital Steps to a Successful Partner Search," the Conference Instructions and the "Dangerous Dozen." Call them, tell them you attended this conference, and they will give you a free subscription to their series of 18 Partnering Communiqués containing practical partnering tips and strategies. You can also get free information on CPI partnering checklists and publications by calling them at (800) 948-1700 |
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The Dangerous Dozen Common Partnering Mistakes 1. Cutting Yourself Too Good of a Deal. Focus on jointly making money from customers instead of from your partner. It's all too easy to generate grief and bickering if you attempt to do otherwise. 2. Lack of an Exit Strategy. Whoever best plans for the end of a partnering will best benefit from the partnership. 3. Failure to Use Deal Sheets. A Deal Sheet is a non-binding outline that walks you step-by-step through a transaction. One of its key uses is to control your partner's lawyers. 4. Misuse of Lawyers. The function served by lawyers is to look after the many details that can turn around and surprise you. You don't want to under-use or overuse them. 5. Failure to Plan and Then Keep Your Eye on the Ball. Think through your plan before you start. Determine where you want to go, how you will get there, and what you'll do when you do get there. 6. Negotiating From an Ivory Tower. You have to communicate with your people. Don't forget to involve and consult with your line managers and technicians. They know things you don't and can't know. 7. Misplaced Haste. Attempted shortcuts are more than likely to cause delays, or bad deals. 8. Ignoring Details. Details will have a disproportionate impact on the amount of value you capture from a long-term partnership. Make sure you have someone with a firm grasp of the details at the bargaining table and later at the helm. 9. Trapping Yourself into Awkward Positions. Making commitments or creating expectations while thinking on your feet can only lead you into trouble. 10. Impairing Your Ability to "Get Up and Walk." Stay uncommitted until the deal closes. Keep your alternatives open, alive and in play. 11. Ignoring the Foreclosure of Other Opportunities. Whenever you participate in a partnering, you forgo other opportunities. Be aware of what options you may be foreclosing. 12. Wrong Deal, Wrong Partner, Wrong Reasons. A partnering should leave you continuing to provide your contribution to the value chain that distinguishes you from your competitors. *Summarized from: Corporate Partnering: A How-To Handbook, an executive's guide to key partnering practices, available from Culpepper and Associates or directly from the Corporate Partnering Institute at (800) 948-1700. |