A colleague was surprised to hear me say, I don’t have clients, I have partners.
Lots of people and agency types say the same. But they don’t understand the meaning of a partnership. A true partnership shares both risk and reward. There is a deeper relationship, built on trust and communication, like all strong relationships. No one can play the role of a vendor in a partnership.
While in Vegas for a UFC event, I was asked by a leader in the biohacking industry, ‘What’s my favorite biohack?’ I said I don’t have a hack, but I look to nature for guidance. It is all right there in front of us. Balance, symbiosis, fulfillment in good work, taking only what you need, and giving back as much as you can.
Focusing on the relationship to become a partner with your clients benefits the agency/ marketer, too. It opens the door to the adult table, where your thoughts, opinions, and ideas are welcomed because you have established yourself as a trusted thought partner. Vendors don’t get invited to the adult table. They get managed at arm’s length.
The balanced shared risk and reward relationship of a partnership can set you up for a skin in the game arrangement with the brands or people you work with. Years ago, I helped a client hit their three-year goals in just six months. It was a massive win for them. Not for me. Yes, they paid me very well and I worked closely with the CEO and managing director, but when they crushed their revenue target and got acquired 2.5 years earlier than planned, I only received what we had agreed to, without any additional benefits (except a great story). If it were a true partnership, we would have built in a reward structure based on performance. Lesson learned. Today, since all my clients are partners, I have skin in the game, and when we win, we win together.
Nature shows us how to build powerful relationships. Every living thing, except many of us humans, exists within a partnership with its environment. I choose to exist this way, and that’s why partnerships are the best way to do business, because partnerships are the most fruitful, fulfilling, and financially rewarding relationships we can have.
How would you describe your relationship with your marketers or clients?
