What are Power Partners and Where Can You Find Them?

Power Partners are businesses or professionals who share the same target market, but do not offer overlapping products and services.

The purpose of a power partner relationship is to share referrals, ideas, clients and information. In addition to facilitating repeat and referral business, power partners will often collaborate on projects.

A personal example

One of my power partners is Chris Higgins of Future Link IT.

Chris sells IT support and services as well as software and hardware, including the Xoppa CRM and email campaign manager.

Chris and I share the same target markets and have a similar growth plan, yet our products and services do not overlap. Working together, we can craft solutions for our clients and help them reach their goals.

The client solutions we create may include products, such as Xoppa, offered through Future Link and marketing services provided by my company, NWI Business Solutions.

How to find your Power Partners

I learned long ago that “riches are in the niches.”

To find your power partners, select two or three of your most important target markets. To help identify potential partners, we recommend that you segment your target markets by industry.

Once you have selected your key target markets, list other professionals who also call upon them. These are the individuals you should seek out at a business event, mixer or conference.

If you have difficulty coming up with a list, ask for recommendations from your sales manager, chamber of commerce, or better yet, contact the team at NWI – we are always happy to help.

Building trust

Once you’ve identified potential power partners, the next step is to arrange a “first date.” At this meeting, you and your potential power partner will explore the relationship. Prepare some questions prior to meeting – these will help you to determine compatibility.

Of course, no relationship can succeed without trust. You will need to work on building trust with your power partner. Trust will grow with every meeting and commitments kept. The first referral should come from you. Remember, you must give to receive.

To facilitate trust, look for “MOOs.” MOO has nothing to do with cows – rather, it stands for “Moments of Opportunity.” These are opportunities to assist a client by introducing them to one of your Power Partners who can provide something they need. Your client will be grateful for the referral and your Power Partner will appreciate the referral as well.

Cultivating a network of Power Partners is a not “one and done” deal. You will need to continually identify and seek out potential partners. One way to do this is by join a networking group.

Need help identifying your power partners or a selecting a networking group? Give us a call – the NWI team is ready to point you in the right direction.