Look for ways to “deepen the relationship” with additional products
Part 3 of 5 on Negotiation Relationship Planners
We once wanted to buy a dog so we want to the shelter and found one everyone liked. There was only one “problem.”
As we got ready to leave with our new pooch, the person at the SPCA said, “You know…”
I immediately knew where this was about to go.
His brother.
“We’ll separate them if we have to, but I can’t tell you how yours will react,” she said. “Don’t worry. It will probably be OK.”
The soft touches in the family loudly advocated to “go take a look.”
But then she launched into the benefits of keeping the two together, of how happy both would be if they both went home with us, of how the kids would benefit from a second pet.
They offered incentives for us to adopt Big Brother: Reduced adoption and vaccination charges. Coupons for dog food in bulk. A discount on doggie daycare. The list went on.
You know how this story ends.
If your partner likes one product, how about two (or more)?
This was an organization that knew how to cross-sell. When building your plan for strengthening and deepening your partner relationships, adding more touchpoints is always a good idea. Part 1 of this series looked at the Program Structure, and Part 2 looked at the Partner Organization. Now we move on to cross-selling of products.
It usually is easier to sell to a happy partner than it is to sell to an entirely new partner. But you have to look at your full menu of products and then prepare for the conversation. When I was at Bank of America, we talked to our credit card programs about a branded deposit program, including CDs and other financial products.
Let’s look at the cross-selling section.
Do we have a business case for each product and how it would grow the program, increase compensation and profitability, or improve customer satisfaction? Your focus should be on deepening relationships or generating incremental revenue. Can you explain why this product is a good fit and why it’s worth the extra time your partner will have to spend on it.
Which products, if any, does the partner already offer through other parties? This is something you want to learn as you develop the relationship. You should spend time understanding whether other parts of the organization have the new product you’re trying to sell (e.g., if you have a relationship with an alumni association, you should also check to see who the athletic department is working with.
Can we explain how we would integrate the product? Sometimes, the additional products can be marketed with the core product, and sometimes, you’re going to need to market them separately. Are there messages you can share, or are you going to need different messages or target different audiences if you’re selling Deposits,
Who do we need to introduce to each other? This is about who owns the rights to the vertical and perhaps to marketing materials. For example, there was a time when we were working with a big school and using its alumni association logo, list, and channels, but we knew that we’d be more successful using the mascot’s silhouette. When we had the conversation with the alumni association about new products, we also invited representatives from Athletics and from elsewhere in the bank. It ultimately cost us more for the assets, but everyone made much more money.
Are there other companies out there with products that would interest our partner? A simple introduction might help deepen the relationship and send a clear message that you’re thinking about them. Or perhaps that third party has a product that would also interest other partners, and you can generate additional revenue from both sides of the equation.
I work with companies and salespeople to create Relationship Planners in either 1:1 or group settings. Here’s a link to a streamlined Relationship Planner that you can download from my ungated Resources page (that means you don’t have to provide your email address to get it) and use on your own. But there’s a more detailed planning process that we can do as a webinar, workshop, or in-person consulting.
What else do you do to deepen relationships? How do you communicate with other areas of your organization to determine what they need and what they’d be willing to offer to add your partner to their client list? Please add them to the Comments.
Next time, we’ll talk about preparing for the renewal.
