Exploiting the Partnership Gap

If you want to drive a wedge between your clients and your competitors, you can exploit the partnership gap. The partnership gap is found in the actions that you take and that your competitors fail to take. You can win you dream client by exploiting this gap, provided you can prove it exists.

See Their Business Outcomes As Your Own

If you sell a product or service, the more you can share how you own your dream client’s outcomes, the more they can visualize you as a partner. If you can share how you take responsibility for delivering the results that you promise—and not just drop what you sell off at the bay doors—then you can tell the story about being a partner.

If you can point to the measurements, the metrics, and the actions that prove that you own the outcomes you sell, you paint a picture—and you help your dream clients to paint themselves into that picture with you.

Act Proactively

It’s great to be responsive and reactive. When your client needs something you should jump on it with both feet. That makes you a good, solid provider. But if you want to rise to partner, you have to act before your client or dream client asks for something.

If you recognize something could be improved, if you recognize a better result could be obtained and build an initiative or an opportunity around it, you are acting like a partner. You recognize what needs doing and you get it done.

If you can you describe the process and the methodologies that make you proactive, you can build a wedge between your dream client and your competitors.

Bring New Ideas that Move Their Business Forward

The primary outcome your clients need from you is help moving their business forward.

Your clients need help producing better results, quarter after quarter, and year after year. If you aren’t making changes to what you do and how you do it, then you quickly become complacent, and you quickly become irrelevant.

Identify and share the ideas that you believe will move your client’s business forward. Bring them new ideas each quarter, and make it your responsibility to continually push for progress around the initiatives and opportunities you build.

Owning your client’s outcomes, acting proactively, and bringing your clients new ideas to move their business forward will earn you the right to be their strategic partner. It will also let you exploit the partnership gap.