Most sales and partnerships don’t fail from lack of good intention.  They fail because of unrealistic expectations set during the pitch and negotiation.  Many times they fail due to one partner’s inability to deliver or implement the negotiated experience.

 

This typically happens when one partner is unable to prioritize the development needed to integrate with the other partner, they fail to secure the agreed-upon marketing channels to promote the partnership, or deadlines come and go without recourse.

 

Even with successfully launched sales and strategic partnerships there’s a very real possibility that one partner’s customers won’t respond to the other partner’s message or take action as initially expected.

 

This can quickly strain the relationship, particularly if significant investment was made to launch the partnership or make the sale.  When customers don't respond to a given experience it's generally the result of a mismatch in the initial customer overlap analysis that was performed (if at all), bad customer segmentation, or a promotion that is out of context from what the customer expects to receive and respond to within the partner’s channel.

 

When these situations occur, relationship management needs to go into overdrive.  Instead of driving relationship value and growth, teams are instead focused on getting customers to respond at the base level initially anticipated.

 

Without quick, prioritized response by leadership any future efforts will likely be futile and the partnership will never get off the ground.

 

Take Flight works with clients to identify and avoid the biggest traps that typically doom sales and partnership implementation and success.  Before the contract is even negotiated, we ensure that clients are asking the right questions of prospects; have executive buy-in, capacity, and prioritization; and have the right plan necessary to deliver world-class experiences.

 

And, if things do start to go awry, our clients will have a plan to bring the opportunity back into focus and ensure the relationship moves forward.