A CONNECTED LEARNING PATH / 18 GUIDES
Strategic connections.
Follow a question, explore a worked example and choose one useful action. Read in order or start with the challenge in front of you.
Explore every topicWrite a connection brief someone can act on
Prepare a short connection brief that explains the business challenge, relevant experience and useful first conversation without forwarding a long company history.
Ask permission before making a warm introduction
Make a professional introduction with clear purpose and permission from both sides, sharing only the context needed for an informed first conversation.
Assess partner fit before discussing a large deal
Assess a potential partner’s customer context, contribution, delivery capacity and decision process before negotiating a large commercial commitment.
Make mutual value explicit in a partnership
Explain what each organisation hopes to gain, what it will contribute and how competing expectations will be handled before calling a partnership mutually valuable.
Scope a partnership pilot before scaling it
Bound a partnership pilot around a customer task, defined responsibilities and a review so a small test can inform the next commercial decision.
Build a partnership scorecard with balanced measures
Build a partnership scorecard that separates customer value, operational effort, relationship health and commercial outcomes with clear definitions and review actions.
Conduct a customer interview with a potential partner
Learn about a potential partner’s customer context through an interview that separates research, commercial interest and the assumptions behind a joint offer.
Map an ecosystem around a business challenge
Map the organisations, roles, resources and handoffs connected to a specific business challenge so relationship-building follows a practical need.
Brief an adviser for a productive first meeting
Prepare an adviser meeting around a specific decision, relevant evidence and a clear request so the conversation produces a useful next action.
Prepare for a procurement conversation
Prepare a buyer conversation around the business need, purchasing process, evidence and delivery responsibilities without mistaking early interest for an approved order.
Onboard a channel partner with a bounded promise
Prepare a channel partner to represent a defined offer with approved claims, handoff responsibilities and support limits that the delivery team can sustain.
Follow up after an event with relevance
Follow up after a professional event with a specific shared context, a proportionate next step and respect for the contact route and interest actually expressed.
Recognise when a partnership is not a fit
Identify evidence that a proposed partnership does not fit the customer need, delivery capacity or working responsibilities, and close the exploration clearly.
Share referrals without exposing unnecessary information
Pass a useful professional referral with a clear purpose, suitable permission and the minimum context needed for the recipient to assess relevance.
Coordinate a decision involving several partners
Coordinate a multi-partner decision with clear authority, dependencies, evidence and a shared record of what is approved, conditional or still unresolved.
Make a commercial handover between partners traceable
Create a partner handover that preserves the customer request, approved scope, responsibility and acceptance status without transferring unnecessary private information.
Test co-marketing without confusing attention with value
Test a joint marketing activity with a defined audience, useful customer action, clear attribution limits and an honest review of effort and outcomes.
Plan a responsible partnership exit
Plan partnership closure around existing commitments, customer continuity, information access and clear communication so the arrangement can end without abandoned responsibilities.