Are You Leveraging Partnerships To Their Full Earning Potential?
Mark Stein, Director of Business Development and Partnerships at Leaf—a tech and data science company that delivers performance marketing solutions for high-growth eCommerce brands—offers a wealth of insights on this front. With seven years of hypergrowth experience at Leaf, Mark has enabled multiple businesses to scale effectively while focusing on strategic partnerships.
We were joined by Mark back in May 2024 at The Agency Partnerships Summit. If you missed his keynote, here’s what you need in video, blog and e-book formats. This blog aims to explore the nuances behind successful partnerships and provide actionable strategies to ensure you're maximising their earning potential.
What Makes Partnerships Essential for Growth?
Partnerships can be the catalyst for explosive business growth, but the question is—are you handling them with intention and strategy? Too often, businesses dabble in partnerships without a clear plan, leaving valuable opportunities untapped.
Whether you’re managing a start-up or scaling an established business, partnerships can unlock new revenue streams, increase brand visibility, and enhance your product offerings. However, partnerships need to be more than a checkbox in a marketing strategy—they require intention, alignment, and a well-thought-out go-to-market plan.
With the right partnerships, your business doesn't just grow; it thrives. And yet, fostering profitable partnerships is not always straightforward.
Lessons from the Journey at Leaf
Mark Stein’s diverse background—from culinary arts to the music industry to eCommerce—has provided unique insights into the art of building strong relationships. At Leaf, early partnerships were challenging to form because it was a young start-up needing immediate results. Aggressive approaches were adopted initially, but results were inconsistent.
The turning point? Developing a structured go-to-market strategy backed by leadership buy-in. Within one year, Leaf transitioned from zero to 22% of revenues generated by partnerships. The foundation? A roadmap focusing on the right partners, clear value exchange, and effective incentivisation.
How to Build Effective Partnerships
If you’re serious about partnerships driving measurable impact, here are seven key strategies to follow:
1. Start with a Clear Go-To-Market Strategy
Every successful partnership begins with a clear roadmap. Identify the following:
Your objectives: What do you hope to achieve through partnerships? Is it revenue generation, brand presence, or market entry?
Target partners: Treat your partnerships like a salesperson views their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Focus on partners aligned with your goals and industry niche.
Metrics: Define how success will be measured, such as partner-influenced revenue, customer conversion rates, or the average deal timeframe.
Having this clarity ensures your efforts remain focused and deliberate.
2. Know Your Ideal Partner Types
Not all partnerships deliver equal value. Segment potential partners into categories based on your objectives:
Technology Partners: These partners complement your product offering, creating a seamless experience for end customers (e.g. post-purchase tools for eCommerce).
Consultants and Agencies: These partners can directly influence sales and bring pre-qualified leads, reducing your sales cycle.
Investors or Influencers: Their backing can provide credibility and access to new networks.
Ultimately, categorising your partners and prioritising the best-fit collaborations will maximise impact rather than spreading yourself too thin.
3. Focus on Incentives that Drive Results
Successful partnerships involve mutual value exchange. Ask yourself:
What’s in it for my partner?
How can I make my offering so compelling that it becomes a no-brainer for them to collaborate?
Offering incentives—such as revenue sharing, co-marketing opportunities, or exclusive discounts—creates a win-win scenario, encouraging your partners to prioritise your partnership.
4. Be Memorable
Whether pitching to a tech company or engaging a consultant, your interactions need to leave a lasting impression. Build trust by offering genuine value before asking for something in return. Share actionable advice, industry insights, or exclusive data used for decision-making. The goal is to embed yourself in their memory as a reliable and indispensable partner.
5. Leverage Data and Refine Continuously
Data is your greatest ally when managing partnerships:
Use CRM systems to track lead sources, conversion rates, and partner-influenced revenues.
Regularly evaluate the ROI of partnerships to understand what’s working and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Don’t drown in data—focus on a few key metrics that align with your goals.
At Leaf, consistent CRM use and robust reporting are central to strategy refinement, ensuring decisions are grounded in insights rather than assumptions.
6. Build Relationships, Not Transactions
Great partnerships are built on trust and meaningful connections, not one-off deals. Dedicate time to nurture relationships. For example:
Schedule regular check-ins with your top 10 partners.
Celebrate milestones and recognise the value your partners bring to the table.
Stay mindful of the small gestures—remembering important dates or industry challenges they face can solidify the bond.
Building strong relationships unlocks not only loyalty but also mutual growth.
7. Align Sales, Marketing, and Partnerships
Collaboration between commercial functions is pivotal. Partnerships that are isolated from sales, marketing, or customer success will typically fail to realise their full potential. Implement RevOps principles where possible to align revenue-driving teams, ensuring a unified approach to customer acquisition and lifetime value enhancement.
“ Exploring different types of partners, incentivization strategies, and the essence of leaving a lasting impression in partnerships is crucial. It’s all about being memorable to tech companies or consultants - you must offer value and give back. Consider your partners as a salesperson would view their Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs).”
Avoid These Common Pitfalls
While partnerships are highly rewarding, there are common traps businesses fall into:
Taking on too many partners too soon: Start small and focus on high-quality partnerships that deliver value. Spreading resources thinly yields diminishing returns.
Ignoring the power of preparation and buy-in: Secure leadership support before rolling out initiatives. Even the best strategies fail without internal alignment.
Neglecting relationship management: Partnerships, like any relationship, require care and intention to thrive. Short-term gains should never take precedence over long-term loyalty.
What Sets High-Growth Companies Apart?
For brands like those supported by Leaf, success stems from a combination of:
A robust go-to-market strategy.
Well-aligned commercial teams across partnerships, sales, and marketing.
Data as the backbone of decision-making.
Strong leadership and team support.
Even in saturated markets, companies with these fundamentals can achieve hypergrowth by building partnerships that truly deliver.
Final Thoughts on Building Strategic Partnerships
Whether you’re running an agency, managing a marketing team, or spearheading business development, partnerships can be a game-changer when done right. The lessons shared here—from nurturing relationships to fostering collaboration between teams—are just the starting point.
Focusing on the fundamentals is key to growth. While trends and distractions can be tempting, refining the basics is essential. As the saying goes, less is more. By doing fewer things and doing them better, we can focus on what truly matters—revenue.
Leveraging data is critical to achieving this. Use it to identify successful partnerships, where to focus more time, and which may no longer align with your goals. AI tools integrated with your CRM can help ensure clean and accurate data. Having a dedicated partnership manager can also make a big difference, optimizing collaboration and driving results.
While technology is important, partnerships are still about people. Even with the shift to online interactions, building in-person relationships remains invaluable. Face-to-face connections foster trust and understanding, which are vital for sustainable growth. As we move forward, nurturing these relationships will be essential.
Stability and growth come from focusing on the fundamentals, leveraging data, and building strong relationships. These key areas unlock the full earning potential of partnerships and drive long-term success.
Last but not least, rake time to invest in preparation, strategy, and connection. After all, partnerships aren't just about transactions—they’re about creating value that lasts.
