Last week at Booth, we had a really interesting session about networking. Whilst classes focused on personal, operational and strategic networking (reach out to me, I am happy to chat about this in more detail), I took away something that I see my clients struggle with time and again.
They build transactional and not meaningful relationships.
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Sounds familiar?
None of us only wants to be approached when we are needed for problem fix. We all want to be approached when someone has an interesting idea or information to share. This is creating reputation and trust and will build relationships over time by being relevant and adding value to one another. Then, when your counterpart approaches you for help, you are a lot keener to get involved.
Foxlove works on behalf of our clients with hyperscalers, professional services and technology firms. We access our network that we built over the years to find the right entry point for a conversation – and to be relevant at the same time. It is impossible to just constantly reach out and ask for help, you also need to bring value.
Therefore, I urge my clients to focus and be relevant. Even though it hurts, I need to say it: the market is full of amazing professional services firms – and many do very similar things. There are only so many ways you can dress up ‘digital transformation’! However, there are differentiated ways to show how your digital transformation offering is different, focuses on specific problems, frameworks, clients, solutions, outcomes, fit…
Now, every client of ours is special.
And our future clients will be, too! We foxlove defining the unique and comparative positioning of our clients, that will make them also special for their business partners.
Foxlove is not only about building meaningful – not transactional – partnerships, but also about identifying the spearhead that allows you to grow alongside your technology partners and maximise their partner programs.
How to become meaningful and relevant? Share some insight, share some information, share some go to market, share some events to contribute and move away from a purely transactional relationship. You will benefit from sharing, allowing your counterparts to get to know you and eventually grow strategically with them.
Talk to Ramona@Foxlove-Strategy.com to find your meaningful relationship and spearhead yourself to success!