Oil and Water DO mix

Recently I heard a chef being interviewed on the radio discussing his book on cooking myths. He said the biggest cooking myth is adage that oil and water don't mix. According to the chef, oil and water DO mix - when you add an emulsifying agent.

That got me thinking about the role of Alliance Managers. We are great emulsifying agents!

Our job is to keep things that don't normally stick together - like say two account execs from two different companies - together. Left to their own devices, two sales reps from two different companies can be like oil and water - they will not stay together without an emulsifying agent. Enter the alliance manager.

The role of the alliance manager is to keep the radio tuned to every reps favorite radio station - WIIFM or What's In it For Me. We've got to make it clear to both reps what's in it for each of them to collaborate, and we have to build a bridge of trust between the two parties. At SAS we use an Account Introduction Form (AIF) and an Account Engagement Agreement (AEA) to set expectations, build trust and provide a framework for the sales collaboration.

Key "emulsifying" skills for alliance managers are alignment, conflict management and resolution, negotiation, and most of all - strong EQ or emotional intelligence.

Alliance managers employing these skills will keep their alliances "sticking together."

Top 5 Things Your Executives Need to Know About Alliances, #5 It's Not (just) About Us!

It's Not (just) About Us!

To get what we want in a partnership, we have to have at least passing interest in what our partner wants. This seems like such a simple concept, but it's amazing how many executives lose sight of this. As alliance professionals, if we're advocating for the partner, it's not because we've "gone native", its because we recognize that if we don't work within our organization to ensure that our partner's interests are being met, we will never get the partner to deliver to our interests.

Alliance management is about aligning interests - ours and theirs. We have to be clear about what we want, and we have to be equally as clear about what our partner wants.

I worked with a sales exec many years ago who was fond of saying "bad deals don't last" - meaning that if we use short term leverage to coerce our partners into getting what we want, while completely subordinating their urgent interests, the partner will always find a way out of the deal, I don't care what's in the contract.

So, if this is a partnership we care about - one where they have something to offer that we need (is there any other kind?) - then we must attend to their interests. When we are at the table with our partner, putting our interests on the table and looking for alignment on mutual interests, then and only then, will we have a shot at realizing the potential of the alliance relationship.

So, the next time you are in a meeting with a partner executive, sometimes the best question you can ask them is "What do you want?"