The world of business hit differently when Henry Ford said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is a success.” Doubtlessly, the essence of unity and harmony is key to make the business run smoother and successful. That’s where the role of a potential business partner enters into play. A business partner is a commercial entity with which another commercial business collaborates or forms an alliance.
Also known as associates, they bring a bundle of benefits to business such as reduced workload, sharing of expenses and liability, generating new contacts, and most importantly, bringing innovative strategies to the table. Simply put, seeking a business partnership is a great way to expand the business. But what if a partner isn’t right or loyal towards the firm? It will surely head towards damaged relationships and the failure of a business. Since no firm wishes for the undesirable consequences of choosing the wrong business partner, here are the six questions that you should ask when looking for a business partner or investor.
What To Look For In A Potential Business Partner
Finding a business partner isn’t as simple as choosing a friend to get along with. It is why many business owners get into a dilemma about what to look for in a business partner. After all, where a wrong partner breaks the present and future of a business, a right alliance, on the other hand, lets the business hit the jackpot. Thus, make sure to check the below-mentioned traits among an individual or entity when looking for partnership:
- Passion – A partner should be as passionate as an owner of the company. He or she should be willing to explore all the avenues to accomplish the goals of a business. Finding such a partner makes no sense who isn’t committed to the success of a firm.
- Trustworthiness – If a potential business partner of a company is trustworthy, he or she can prevent plentiful business problems that may otherwise be the case with a wrong choice. Since such characteristics of an individual cannot be recognized, at first sight, it is suggested to take time for building mutual trust.
- Reliability – Reliability is one of the foremost attributes is what to look for in a business partner. The right approach to judge a potential partner is mulling over their interpersonal skills when making contacts, such as confidence, communication, and way of speaking.
- Innovative – There is always a possibility of something bigger and unique when two creative minds collaborate. It is why choosing a partner who is potential enough to bring new ideas for developing brand image is essential.
- Compatibility – Needless to say, compatibility is the key to a better relationship. If an individual or group of individuals possess values that compliment your personal traits, he or she is best to form an alliance with. Additionally, this will also build a sense of respect for each other, which is definitely a plus point for a business.
How Do You Attract A Business Partner?
Attracting a potential business partner does not always need expensive dine-in and long meetings. All it takes is a little effort and right behavior to form an alliance with an individual, group of individuals, or corporations as partners. Here are the ideas that one can follow if in query for how to ask for a business partnership.
- Create A Business Development Plan
To find business partnership opportunities, it is necessary to create a business development plan. Not only will this help to prepare the list of skills required in a partner but it also results in a clear-cut conversation with an interested individual.
- Begin With A Warm Introduction
The second step towards the selection procedure is to start with a warm or friendly introduction. During the face meet-up, make sure to share your proposal and have a grasp of their interest and dedication towards the same. If their competency and values match with the goal of the business, take no time to collaborate.
- Stay Transparent And Honest
Honesty and loyalty should always be expected from both ends. To attract a business partner, it is best to share transparent facts and figures in context to business finances and other aspects. Do not forget to discuss the appropriate amount of profit, expenses, and liability.
- Discuss Solution To Business Problems
To develop a sense of interest among a potential dedicated team it is recommended to discuss how your business solves the situational challenges. This will help partners understand the profile and values of business deeper and better.
Business Partner Questionnaire
As they say, “Every coin has a flip side”, looking for a business partner or investor can be disadvantageous, too, if the right approach is not considered. To turn the situation into favor, it is necessary to interview a potential individual carefully when endeavoring to find business partnership. Clearly, it takes the right set of questions to ask when forming a business partnership, followed by creating a seamless partnership agreement. Check-out the curated list of partnership questions below.
Questions To Ask When Forming A Business Partnership
What Do You Expect From The Alliance?
As already discussed, a business and business partner needs to be on the same page before beginning with the venture. To have a squint over the matter, business owners should firstly put forth the question mark over their expectations. Ask what kind of role they are plumping to play and how long they wish this partnership to take place. Apart from this, partnership interview questions should also include collecting the details about the time they can commit to performing their role.
What Are Your Strength And Weaknesses?
An interviewer often asks about the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate, no matter the business is. After all, it helps to determine whether one is qualified to perform the asked role or not. Similarly, as a part of partnership interview questions, a business owner should confirm the plus and negative points of a potential partner to form a better picture. This will make the assigning of duties and prioritization of projects easier and smoother in the future.
What Are Your Values?
When looking for partnership, it is essential that a person at another end should possess values that align with business goals. To confirm about the same, ask how they manage to deal with stress and work pressure and are they able to stay resilient during urgent deadlines. Additionally, do not forget to notice their body language and speaking behaviour. Simply put, partnership questions should form an idea about their individual values that they are going to pour during the business’s future span.
How Do You Deal With a Crisis?
It is beyond the shadow of a doubt that business is an unpredictable event. To guess about the individual capacity to manage challenges, start by asking their way or approach to deal with a business crisis. The interviewer can also dig deeper by asking additional partnership questions such as an example of the biggest conflict that they had already resolved in the past or do they feel stressed in such circumstances or not.
What Is Your Exit Plan?
When looking for partnership, having an idea of the end game of co-founders or associates helps to prevent future problems. Therefore, have a list of partnership questions that can confirm their exit plan, if any. Consider asking about the unexpected circumstances under which they can leave the company anytime. Besides, it is also good to examine whether they would like to sell their interest or share to another interested yet well-qualified person.
How Much Capital Are You Planning To Contribute?
If the idea of looking for a partnership is concentrated on the matter of financial contribution, it is foremost to ask about their expanse of contribution. A business owner can also have a deeper idea by asking whether they would like to split the business investment to the ratio of 50/50. Last but not the least, ensure their will of putting the agreement into writing.
In The End
A business partner, when choosing the right, can uplift the business as well as the motivation of a business owner. This is why when seeking business partnership, an owner or founder of a business entails being careful while interviewing a potential individual or group of individuals.
Thus, to find a business partnership for a fruitful yield, consider asking the aforesaid questions during the interview to get the image of their skills, values, dedications, and commitment they can put into the business. Make sure to judge their traits rights for the endless success at every step.
Still in doubt on how to ask for a business partnership? Reach out to us to unravel the seamless solution for all your business partnership-related query. Being experienced service providers, we can help you reach beyond your wildest dreams.
