Taking the suggestion from the PartnerHacker crew, I came across Firneo and decided to invest in myself and go through the 8-week Partnership program.

Most of us fall into partnerships; we aren’t formally trained on it, and in my case, even provided support for a role we’re expected to perform.

If you approach the program with an open mind, and a desire to learn and connect, you’ll walk away with value.

There was much learned, including perspectives of people from all different locations (countries, really) and backgrounds.

My biggest takeaways:

• Communication is key

• Everyone has a different lens and perspective

• Use the lens of all stakeholders, internal and external, to understand what they want to achieve

• Don’t think of just what you want to gain

• We’re all human at the end of the day; thus, don’t treat things as "just business," but with a human perspective

• Negotiation is a journey; take your time.

• Think of the customer; that’s why you’re doing this (partnership, bd, sales, marketing, engineering)

I urge others to look and see if the program is right for them. Meet new people, gain valuable worksheets, provide a fresh perspective, and extend your community of trusted relationships.

Partnerships, business development, sales, account management, marketing, and other roles will benefit from the program as you’ll walk away with skills that will help you approach your position with a new perspective that will pay dividends in the long run.

As a key function of a partnership professional is about quarterbacking internal and external individuals, the more all roles understand how to work together, align objectives, support the customer, and fuel the growth of the business, the more you’ll be able to achieve those goals.

Give, give, give

Partnerships are the future.

It’s why firms like Andreessen Horowitz value companies with partner-led revenue over direct sales revenue.

I loved this quote by Adam Michalski:

"Partnerships are basically just working with another organization to build something that people want!”

Firneo provides a framework for how to work with your organization and others.

Read more about Firneo’s approach to partner education in a PartnerHacker interview with their co-founder, Scott Pollack.

Prefer to listen? Subscribe to our Nearbound Podcast. Text-to-speech provided by our partner Voicemaker.in.