Businesses that want to scale up operations or productivity require partnerships; however, to ensure that these alliances are sealed, a strategic partnership manager is much needed.

Additionally, forming strategic partnerships with other businesses require certain skills and expertise to ensure success in the pursuits. However, achieving success is almost impossible when strategic partnership managers do not hone these skills. 

In this article, you’ll understand who a strategic partnership manager is, what they do, and the skills they need to hone if success is in view. You will also discover the process of creating a strategic partnership and the benefits businesses get when they do so. 

What is a Strategic Partnership Manager?

Who or what a strategic partnership manager is speaks to the responsibilities performed by such an individual. 

For clarity, a strategic partnership manager, as the title implies, strategically identifies, builds, and manages partnerships between his organization and other organizations. 

They are usually responsible for establishing and nurturing all partnerships with any other company to ensure all parties enjoy mutual benefits.

They also work with executives, business development, marketing, and other relevant teams to identify potential partnership opportunities that align with their organization’s goals.

Skills and Qualifications of a Strategic Partnership Manager

To succeed as a strategic partnership manager, some skills and qualifications are a must. If you desire to be one, you must have them in you. Let’s consider some of them:

1. Have a Relevant Education

This is very important if you want to get and succeed in the job. A B.Sc. or a master’s degree in business management and administration, marketing, economics, or any other related field will be a good start for you. 

Moreover, having this education will prepare you for the journey. However, some companies may prefer applicants with a master’s degree or even a Ph.D. in any of the fields above.

2. Relationship-building and Networking Skills

Relationship-building and networking are both essential skills and required qualifications that companies look out for in a professional who would be their strategic partnership manager.

As an aspiring or an active strategic partnership manager, you’ll need to know how to build and maintain relationships; otherwise, you should forget about this role.

3. Business Development and Sales Expertise

This should be one of your exceptional skills and qualifications if you are a strategic partnership manager.

In addition, you must know about business development and sales since the role is about building relationships with organizations.

Furthermore, coming into an agreement with another company requires effective pitching of ideas, and that’s a sales skill right there. Hence, you should know the principles that make for excellent business developers and sales experts.

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4. Strong Communication and Negotiation Abilities

Every partnership is built through effective communication. You need to develop very strong written and verbal communication abilities to effectively relate any information that all parties to the partnership need to make the necessary decisions. 

You also need to know the principles of negotiation. Lastly, you must know the timing and other factors that will work in your favour when you need to negotiate a better deal for a smooth partnership.

5. Analytical and Strategic Thinking Skills

A strategic partnership manager is expected to have honed his analytical and strategic thinking abilities. Moreover, this is a crucial skill and qualification needed when you want to identify and nurture a partnership.

In addition, you need to be able to think logically and make findings that will help you make decisions that align with the organization’s overall goal. Each decision must be strategic, considering the parties involved and their mutual benefits.

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6. Project Management and Organizational Abilities

When partnerships are established, some projects need to be managed and organized. All these must be part of your skills, even as you hope to work as a strategic partnership manager. You’ll also need to develop your abilities in project management and strong organizational skills. 

Moreover, to thrive in this role, you need to be very organized and meticulous. It demands focus and excellence at all times.

However, some employers may demand work experience of 5+ years, actively applying the skills above as a qualification. It’s best to know the criteria and how you fit into them. Best of luck!

Key Responsibilities of a Strategic Partnership Manager

What does a strategic partnership manager do? Their roles involve identifying and nurturing partnerships between organizations. Their key responsibilities include:

1. Developing and Implementing Partnership Strategies

There must be a strategy to establish and nurture successful partners. A strategic partnership manager now must develop and implement the partnership strategies that will be most effective in building relationships with other organizations. 

In addition, the strategies should be clear and practical enough to achieve the desired goals. The strategies must further consider the benefits for every party involved in the partnership and align with the organization’s goals

2. Identifying and Evaluating Potential Partners

One factor that companies thrive on is successful partnerships. Therefore, the partnership manager must identify the potential partners needed to thrive. 

Following that, the partners are then evaluated to determine their impact when they enter partnerships. In addition, partnerships are mainly a means for businesses to accelerate their growth and expand. 

Once the strategic partnership manager has spotted and evaluated potential partners, they make their partnership official.

3. Negotiating and Establishing Partnership Agreements

The manager is also responsible for negotiating with the organizations he wants to partner with on behalf of his company regarding benefits and terms and conditions.

Once negotiations have been successful, the parties involved establish their partnership by introducing their terms and conditions. 

Through the strategic partnership managers, they enter into agreements officially and then begin a new relationship where they share mutual benefits and losses, if any.

4. Managing Ongoing Partnerships and Relationships

A strategic partnership manager ensures the maintenance of every existing partnership. Looking for partners without a solid plan for managing and sustaining them is useless. 

Organizations’ relationships must be consistently fed with trust, transparency, professionalism, and effective communication.

Moreover, the manager ensures he liaises with executives and every other team they need to relate to ensure the partnership flourishes, anticipating the best days ahead.

5. Monitoring and Measuring Partnership Performance

As the partnerships grow, there will need to be metrics to measure the performance of each party involved. 

Strategic partnership managers use KPIs, such as market share growth, brand visibility, cost optimization, and customer satisfaction, to monitor and measure the partnership’s performance. 

If the performance is good, they’ll improve; if not, they’ll investigate to make adjustments that benefit all parties. Moreover, the manager is most interested in a flourishing partnership, and nothing short of that

The Process of Creating Strategic Partnerships

Going into partnerships is not instantaneous; it has to go through a strategic process. The five steps involved in the process include:

1. Conducting Market Research and Analysis

The strategic partnership manager must conduct market research  and analysis to determine whether to enter into partnership with any organization. 

Through market research, they know what their target market is demanding, their pain points, and how to analyze their research to identify their potential partners.

2. Identifying Target Industries and Potential Partners

After analyzing the data obtained through the market research, the strategic partnership manager moves on to identify potential target industries and partners with whom they could build a relationship. 

Moreover, they do a background check on their potential partners to validate and forecast the partnership’s impact on them.

3. Approaching and Engaging Potential Partners

Once they identify their potential partners, the partnership manager accompanies a few representatives to meet the company with their partnership proposal. 

This is usually their first point of engagement and must be done professionally. This is where the skill of being an expert communicator comes in.

4. Evaluating Partnership Opportunities and Alignment

Once the strategic partnership manager and his team have established a rapport with the potential company or industry, they evaluate the partnership opportunities and possible partnerships. 

This is where every pros and cons of the partnership are discussed, and then deliberations are made for the continuation or cut of a potential partnership.

If both parties are happy and comfortable with the deal, they move on to the final stage.

5. Formalizing Partnerships through Agreements and Contracts

At this stage of creating a strategic partnership, both parties have come to a compromise and have now agreed to go into partnership. 

They assess both parties’ terms and conditions, benefits, and duties to see that they understand what everyone is expected to do and what their benefits are.

In the end, they formalize their partnership through the signing of agreements and contracts, and there you have it—a successful partnership aced!

Benefits of Strategic Partnerships for Businesses

This section is about what businesses stand to gain through strategic partnerships. The benefits are many, but we’ll discuss the top four:

1. Increased Market Reach and Access to New Customers

A strategic partnership offers businesses increased market reach and access to new customers. 

When businesses enter into partnerships, they harness each company’s target market and use it to boost their businesses, which in turn boosts the mutual benefits of the partnership.

2. Shared Resources, Knowledge, and Expertise

Businesses that have strategic partnerships with other businesses automatically gain access to their resources, knowledge, and expertise, which is advantageous to both parties involved.

This is because new resources, tools, and experts will be used to improve their operational processes, which will, in turn, lead to the shared growth of their organization.

3. Enhanced Product or Service Offerings and Innovation

Because they share their knowledge and expertise, it brings about innovations that help improve the products or services they offer. 

This is beneficial to both businesses, as it will increase their market value and other metrics for measuring their growth.

4. Mitigating Risks and Overcoming Competitive Challenges

Another benefit of a strategic partnership is that the risks are shared and mitigated with a united front.

Risks are part of the challenges that occur as businesses grow, but through partnership, they are handled squarely and decisively by both parties involved. Also, they will be able to overcome challenges they may face from their competitors.

Conclusion

A strategic partnership manager’s role in a business clearly shows their importance and impact in the potential collaboration with other businesses. Whether you become one or want to employ one is totally up to you.

Whatever decision you make, what’s most important is to have a solid understanding of the roles they play in a business when it comes to forming mutually beneficial partnerships.

Remember that it is not an impossible role to fill as long as you can hone the skills and qualifications it takes to become a strategic partnership manager. With that said, let’s get started!