{"id":1944,"date":"2011-09-10T11:43:29","date_gmt":"2011-09-10T15:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/?p=1944"},"modified":"2020-01-21T18:50:29","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T22:50:29","slug":"how-can-i-help-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/2011\/09\/10\/how-can-i-help-you\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can I Help You?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #808080\"><em>This is the fourth in a series of six posts that focus on showing you how to improve the prospects of successfully launching a business. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/author\/donaldmcmichael\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #888888\">Click here to view previous posts.<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Have you ever wondered how certain businesses all of a sudden pop-up on a market\u2019s radar screen from seemingly nowhere? Well, with this post we\u2019re going to expose one of the most powerful ways of making it happen. Quite simply strategic relationships are on deck.<\/p>\n<p>The power in strategic relationships is that they allow each party to leverage the other brand\u2019s perception, get the inside scoop on mistakes, and utilize seasoned distribution relationships. Sounds terrific, but why then do they often fall short of expectations? The most common reason is that they haven\u2019t incorporated the two pillars of a thriving\u00a0alliance:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the right framework<\/li>\n<li>trust building<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>The Framework<\/strong><\/span> &#8211; <em>Begin with a strategy, not a partner.<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>As one of my favorite Yogi Berra quotes puts forward, you need to know where you want to be so you know how to get there. This means you have to have a game plan, correction not just a plan, a guidebook that outlines the alliance formation mechanics and offers a way to make clear decisions about managing it once established.<\/p>\n<p>This is exactly what Steve Steinhilber, the former alliance guru at Cisco, outlines in his book \u2018Strategic Alliances\u2019. He encourages following a 6-step process:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Evaluation<\/strong> \u2013 define strategy \/ identify potential partners<\/li>\n<li><strong>Forming<\/strong> \u2013 examining the value proposition(s)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Incubating<\/strong> \u2013 build operating model<\/li>\n<li><strong>Operating<\/strong> \u2013 execute on plan<\/li>\n<li><strong>Transitioning<\/strong> \u2013 review for success and adjust<\/li>\n<li><strong>Retiring<\/strong> \u2013 mutually letting go gracefully<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #800000\">It\u2019s All About Trust<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #800000\"> &#8211; <\/span><em>Relationships are solidified by trust. Institutions are built on it.<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>In business just like in life, it all comes down to relationships. Relationships are the heart of an alliance; nothing is a substitute for the hard work of getting to know people.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the framework above this relies on soft skills that take time and effort to master.  Fortunately there are a lot of good books on business relationships and networking. Some of the best practical advice out there that can help accelerated your voyage up the mastery curve has been penned by Keith Ferrarzzi. According to Keith what it all comes down to embracing three mindsets.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Generosity<\/strong> \u2013 build trust right out of the gate, and never stop, by sharing your insights and ideas.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Intimacy<\/strong> \u2013 understand it is about creating a web of interwoven connections.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Candor &amp; Accountability<\/strong> \u2013 embrace open honest dialog and follow through on your promises.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Bottom line:<\/span><\/strong> If you are serious about growing a solid business then it behooves you to study in more detail the advice above. Even if you are not interested in forging an alliance find a way to help, and find a way to care about both your customers and business advocates.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Donald McMichacel teaches <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fitnyc.edu\/3131.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><em>BE 261 Starting a Small Business<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the fourth in a series of six posts that focus on showing you how to improve the prospects of successfully launching a business. Click here to view previous posts. Have you ever wondered how certain businesses all of a sudden pop-up on a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"post-templates\/post-middle-column.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8577],"tags":[8582,8576,38568],"class_list":["post-1944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-small-business","tag-business-tips","tag-entrepreneurs","tag-small-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1v7EM-vm","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fitnyc.edu\/hottopicsinsider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}