Are you selling a business and using your strategic alliances, or business partnerships, to not only drive new sales and worth, however also to test drive potential buyers?

Did you know that over twenty five percent of the sales revenue of the 2,000 highest rankedUS and European companies comes from strategic alliances?

Selling a business aside, the payback on strategic alliances warrants investment. The investment banking firm of Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin reports that alliances have constantly produced average returns on investment that are nearly fifty percent greater than the typical overall returns on investment in corporate America.

It is not only a savvy method to develop new business, however also to target and test drive possible buyers. With a sturdy and strategic partnership in place, you can confirm if a next step might be selling a business to them. What questions should you raise that places you in the most effective place potential: with additional business, and more than one business buyers?

Developing Your Partnership Strategy: Three Key Questions to Approach

1. Analyze your company readiness. Confirm if this line of attack is correct for your company. Key queries:
   *Will you provide a definite advantage to an alliance partner? Could that partner be a possible buyer?
   *Are you prepared to refer your customers to somebody else?
   *Can you be considerate when somebody else’s customers are mentioned toyou.
   *Are you ready to have a commitment of resources and a sense of urgency to drive your own and your partners’ alliance goals?
   *How much effort and resources will you commit?
   *Do you have expertise in strategic alliances and, if no, what would you do to have it?
2. Align with your business strategy. By means of your company’s overall strategy and objectives, also your exit strategy, determine what partnerships will offer value. Key questions:
   *How will a partnership strategy contribute to your business strategy, and your goal of selling a business? How may an alliance best serve your shoppers, and place you in a position to sell your company to the best buyer?
   *What new value will be created with a partner? What are your targets and opportunities? Where can partnerships contribute to growing your business, improving the business valuation, and position it best for sale?
   *What is the alliance strategy of your opponents? What can you learn from them?
3. Produce Partner Evaluation Criteria. Prioritize and weight the subsequent key questions:
   *Value creation: Does this partnership actually add additional value? Is 1 + one greater than two? Is that this alliance client targeted?
   *Cultural match: Does this potential partner’s management style, values, ethics and behavior build your confidence and your comfort?
   *Company strategy: Does their overall strategy and objectives match with yours? Is this partnership of strategic significance to them? How will every partner advance the strategy of the other?
   *Product, service and shopper portfolio review: How will what they do and who they are doing it with map against yours? What are the synergies and the added price? How does this partner expand your reach, either in offerings, market or geography? Where is that the overlap, and how will that be managed?
   *Business partner program support: If the potential company incorporates a partnership infrastructure, what support will be offered? Some supply education, software licenses, facilities, promoting campaign materials, and alternative benefits. What can you provide?
   *Business health: What due diligence ought to be done? Are they a viable and committed organization? What are their capacity to initiate, manage and build this partnership successful? Are they a top organization? Will your partnership strategy produce an unhealthy dependence for either company?
   *Govt sponsorship: Is that the potential partner committed at the leadership level to make this successful?
   *Learning chance: What will you have the chance to notice through this partnership?