The why and how of partnering with a software business

Forging strong business relationships is a great way to inspire long-term growth, foster industry connections and add more value to your offering. Partnering with a software business is a really good option for most types of businesses. Us at Ideagen Op Central, for example have found a lot of mutual success partnering with:

• Consultants and consulting agencies
• Industry associations
• Accounting firms
• Tech companies
• Law firms
• Marketing agencies

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We have outlined some of the main reasons why you might want to partner with a software business and the best way to go about forging a strong partnership. Take a look:

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Why is a software company the right partner?

Adds value for your clients

In an age where the old ways of putting pen to paper are really dying out, software has become king, but not everyone knows what software is right for their business. Your recommendation for this amazing system that’s going to revolutionise the way your client works is going to help them out a lot. That recommendation builds trust between both you and your client as well as with them and the software business. It also adds a lot of value to you as you are able to expand your services and offer your clients more - which can definitely give you a leg up on the competition. 

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Gives you lots of other perks

A great partnership program will likely have a lot of other benefits specific to the provider. Most partnerships will offer commission, mutual referrals or something to that effect, but the best partnerships will offer more. A great partnership is a strong one that is built on more than just money. Personally, if I am looking into creating a partnership with a company, I will be looking into possible system integrations, content sharing opportunities, prominent website visibility and event participation (such as in podcasts, webinars or even in-person events). These are all ways to create strong ties with your new partner and get as much out of the partnership as possible. 

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Get some use out of the system for yourself

Depending on what you want from your partnership (which we will touch on later), you might find that the partnership gives you access to the technology for free or at a discounted rate. For really tech savvy businesses, this can be a real draw, as you won’t just be super confident in your support of the system for your clients, you’ll also get to use it yourself. 

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And if you’re a software business yourself, you might find you will be able to build a strong integration between the two systems. A strong integration allows for great cross-promotion as well as just far better value for both parties client’s.

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How do I go about creating a strong partnership?

There are a couple of things you will need to ask yourself before you start partnership conversations. Here are a few of the things you might want to ask yourself:

• What kind of partnership will add real value for my clients?
• What kind of partnership will add real value for my business?
• What do I want in a partnership? (Perhaps it's just commission or content sharing or maybe it’s client referrals.)
• What are my non-negotiables? (Maybe you want your new partner to be well represented on your website or need a certain amount of introductions to clients per year.)

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There are likely going to be other questions you will need to ask yourself and specifics to work out, but having asked yourself those questions, you will be geared up to have meaningful partnership conversations and will know exactly what businesses are going to be the right partners for you. 

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Ideagen Op Central’s partnership program is extremely versatile. We want to create the best partnership possible, so we tailor our partnerships to best suit the needs of our partner and their clients too. If you’re ready to start a partnership conversation, schedule in a chat with a member of our partnerships team today.