I'm a consultant, what skills set can I highlight about my business/myself in my conversations to make sure I can align when having a partnership meeting.

Here's how I would do it: - Gain deep understanding of the partner's business and tech. Do some prior research using all the tools available at hand, and then validate those with the partner during the discovery call. Don't jump to the demos ever before doing this please! - Understand how they do similar partnerships with other vendors/partners. They may most likely follow a similar model with you. And may have questions around the similar pain points or expectations similar to other partners. - Tailor your value proposition to answer the "better together" story for the partner. WIIFM for the partner should start becoming clear by now. Also, determine what partnership motion (referral, resell, services, etc.) would they would like to start with. Use the partner program (if you have one) to articulate how you intend to use that as a strategic governance framework for mutual growth. - Don't overwhelm them or be overwhelmed. Pause and break everything down to details. Focus on all the tenets of a partner program around Sales, MArketing, Solution/Capability, Customer Success, etc. Map the customer journey that your product takes to their org and find out where all could the partner participate and couldn't. This is key as usually it becomes key in determining mutual success later. - Demonstrate how you've helped other partners achieve success with your offerings. Get to the investment and the returns conversation clearly articulating what it takes to go to market together.

- Understand that partnerships is a long play. But it doesn’t always have to be a 6-12 month process to stand up. Highlight that that you can uncover quick wins in your first 30-60-90 days. - When talking about “partnership strategy” make sure to include all GTM in that: client success, product and marketing have to all be involved. - Deep discovery into your clients operations. You have to know how every function of your client’s organisation works, because if one thing is off - then partnerships can’t be built.

Ensure you have a solid understanding of the vendor’s ICP. Does this ICP align with yours? If so, what value do you bring to those customers? Lean in to your experience with those customers, and what gaps you can fill for the vendor. Ask the vendor directly where they struggle with providing value to their customers, and demonstrate how you can supplement that need.

Great question! Consultants/experts should be prepared to share the tangible results they've delivered to their clients, whether it's time savings, new revenue unlocked, or another way that your services have helped move the needle for your clients. I came across a marketing agency that does this in a fantastic way right on their website recently: https://www.lean-labs.com/ Client trust is paramount, and data/results is a crystal clear way to articulate that you have it. Bonus points if your services already leverage your partner's technology/product, because that then opens up an opportunity to be spotlighted in a success story or other co-marketing opportunities.