Building Strategic Alliances Is Necessary To Business Success

By George Tyler Building alliances can be tricky. Building strategic alliances is time-consuming in that to do it well, you need to be able to see the big picture. In a recent article written by Ken Lyons; 63 Free (or Almost Free) Ways to Market Your Business, each and every suggestion has its roots in building relationships. Mr. Lyons' advice isn't repetitive. It's just that the art of building strategic alliances is in and of itself the most effective, direct, and foolproof way of marketing your business. With the right alliances, you have others talking about your business to potential customers. When one is making a list of 63 Free (or Almost Free) Ways to Market Your Business, especially if that list is good, every single suggestion is going to have the same brand of wisdom deeply embedded in it. Your business depends on relationships. That being said, expecting the typical business owner to set aside his crucial to-do list to devote the time and energy it takes to find and build alliances with other businesses is somewhat ridiculous. Yes, it's absolutely necessary, but is there a fire to put out? No? Well then most business owners are going to turn their attention back to the fire they were putting out before we interrupted them. Most business owners would welcome some advice. Here are just a few of Mr. Lyon's suggestions; * Partner with related, established but non-competitive companies to co-sponsor webinars, white papers, etc. * Help influential people in your space promote their own products on your blog and on social media (I guarantee that most will return the favor and help promote your stuff too). * Build a tool or feature you know a thought leader will love and give it to them for free (make them a brand advocate). * Run a big group interview - helps you build relationships and brand evangelists within your niche, gets links, social media engagement and you can potentially create a super authoritative document that ranks for a competitive topic. How do you find a good partner who will help you get new customers? The first step is asking your current best customer. Your customers love you and usually want to help you. Ask them who else do they, as business owners, like dealing with. Ask them who is the best sales person or business owner that they like dealing with, besides you, of course. Then ask for a face-to-face introduction. The best way to conduct that introduction is for you to take your customer, and their friend to lunch. Then your customer will rant and rave about you, as you meet a new potential partner. Next step is developing a relationship with this new partner and develop business that helps both of you. Learn to track your mutual success to ensure the relationship is achieving everyone's goals. You are ready to explore what strategic alliances can do to help your marketing plan really soar. If you need help, find a trusted advisor to guide you. George Tyler, a serial entrepreneur, has developed the only consulting practice that focuses exclusively on strategic alliances and the implementation of the powerful Alliance Compass™ to accelerate global revenue growth. He helps companies find new routes to markets and revenue growth. As an award-winning speaker, he has spoken to audiences around the world, and provided guidance to large and small corporations. Contact us today for help in growing your company http://www.3rdEagle.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Tyler Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7345498