Business-to-business partnership opportunities

There are several types of business-to-business partnerships that a business owner can pursue to improve their business. The main goal behind most business relationships is to find new leads and convert them into increased sales and revenue for both participating companies. Consider these four main types of business-to-business partnerships to achieve the goal of increasing sales and revenue, including: vendors, customers, resellers, or companies with significant sales channels and/or existing vendors. Each partnership type has its own unique set of benefits and challenges to successfully implementing and maintaining, therefore it is important to evaluate each type to understand which is best for you.

providers

Building business relationships with suppliers often makes a lot of financial sense and can lead to unique business opportunities. Many vendors are in a very competitive environment and are constantly having to find new channels to sell their products. As a general rule, vendors will be willing to offer a business partner a special price, prompt customer service, and business referrals when opportunities arise that are beyond their reach. Nevertheless; there are some downsides to aligning too closely with a single vendor. It is recommended that you keep your vendor partnership agreements as open and flexible as possible to allow multiple partnerships to exist in the same space, thus avoiding price spikes or product unavailability due to unforeseen partner issues.

Customers

The best types of business referrals come from existing customers. Provide a revenue share or special price for customers who can deliver leads that convert into new customers. Developing an incentive program for customers who make referrals is a win-win situation. Often a simple discount can keep your business top of mind when meeting someone who fits your target market.

Resellers or Agents

Many companies that have large databases of potential customers will actively sell a product through their sales channels for a fee and/or a share of the revenue. Building partnerships with resellers can quickly increase a company’s ability to go to market. Resellers will invest time and resources to market their partners’ products and put their sales force to work selling the product. Small businesses with limited staff to actively sell can benefit greatly from these types of partnership agreements.

vendors

Finding other vendors that sell a complementary product is the right partnering solution for a business that alone has a product that is not the complete solution a customer is looking to buy. An example is a computer hardware manufacturer partnering with a company that makes software to perform unique tasks needed by a customer.

As a business owner looking for additional business flow, it is important to evaluate all possible business partnerships for your company. Regardless of whether the focus is on vendors, resellers, suppliers, or existing customers, if executed correctly, business-to-business partnerships are one of the best strategies for business growth.