Maintaining Strategic Business Contacts

Course overview Maintaining Your Professional Network

Module 3: Build and Maintain Strategic Summary
Business Networks
LET'S BEGIN
Business Collaboration
In Module 1 we saw that business networking
involves purposefully developing relationships
with people who may be able to assist us in the
future. And we can make better contacts by
making connections with people whom we share
things in common with.
These connections can become strategic
business relationships and may lead to business
collaborations over a longer time period,
generating new business and revenue for your
organisation.
Over time you need to maintain your business
relationships with the contacts in your networks
and those involved in business collaborations.

By the end of this module, you will understand:

 what is involved in business partnering
and collaboration
 how to develop a collaboration plan or
proposal
 how to manage complex business
partnerships
 how to evaluate business collaborations
 how to maintain strategic business
contacts
 how to maintain your professional
network over the years.

Business Partnering and Collaboration

Developing a Collaboration Plan or Proposal
Managing Complex Business Partnerships
Evaluating Business Collaborations
 Agreeing and working towards these shared
goals does not prevent the individual
Business Partnering and Collaboration
organisations from having their own individual
Activity 1 of 7 goals.

Module 3: Build and Maintain Strategic

Business Networks
Potential business partners could include:
Lesson content
Business Partnering and Collaboration
Front of card
Business partnering and collaboration is not the
1. Suppliers
same as engaging with a business partner to set
2. Customers
up a new company or other legal entity.
3. Distributors – agent or reseller
4. Vendors selling a product that
complements or extends one of your
Business partnering is when an organisation products
builds a long-term relationship with another 5. A research entity – a market research
organisation or entity to achieve specific goals: company or university

1, Gain competitive advantage by having access Internal Business Partners in Large

to the latest processes and techniques. Organisations
2. Reduce costs by sharing resources such as In a large or multi-divisional organisation, one
equipment and office space. division or subsidiary may be partnered with
3. Develop a new product or service which another that has useful knowledge, resources or
needs additional skills to those in your skills.
organisation. Examples include finance executives providing
4. Expand a market by sharing contacts and information, tools, data analysis and insights to
networks – for example collaborating with an assist sales and marketing, or computer
agent or distributor in another country instead of technology specialists assisting other
opening your own branch there. departments to implement system
improvements.
5. Introduce a new working method or process,
or other innovation with shared collaboration in
the trial phase. Informal Collaboration
6. Gain access to research capability, specialist A simple form of business collaboration can be
skills or expertise that are not available in your to connect informally with an expert with
organisation or in your country. relevant knowledge and expertise. This informal
7. Support professional development for staff connection might be made by developing
through initiatives such as mentoring and relationships within a business network.
secondment to projects.

Managing Collaboration
 Risks in Business Collaboration and
Partnering
Key considerations for managing collaboration
include: There are risks involved in business
collaboration and partnering, as well as
1. Management style - Both collaborating
benefits and opportunities. Three potential
parties should complement each other and
key risks could include:
share common approaches for key areas,
such as management style and work  Loss of key personnel
processes (for example, two small  Loss of assets
companies offering similar online content  Loss of intellectual property
development services in different cities).
These losses can occur when one of the partners
They follow similar work processes and
behaves unethically towards the other. They can
project management approaches. They
also occur in certain circumstances even if both
collaborate on a proposal, and win a large
parties behave fairly towards each other. For
project that neither company could do alone.
example, a client of the joint collaboration may
default on payment of invoices and eventually
declare bankruptcy. Both collaborating parties
2. Financing options for collaboration
suffer a financial loss and the circumstances are
projects - Financing Options for
outside of either partner’s control.
Collaboration Projects
Government funding is available to support
some types of collaborations, for example: Other risks could include:
1. Conflicts of interest
 CSIRO Kick-Start 2. Cost and time in maintaining
 Cooperative Research Centres Projects relationship
(CRC-P) 3. Conflicts or disagreements
 Australian Research Council (ARC) 4. Lack of autonomy.
Linkage Projects
 R&D Tax Incentive.
Case Study
Risk in a Business Collaboration: Thought
Business Victoria provides details for these
Design Pty Ltd continued…
programs, so visit this website at the end of this
topic. Other state government websites also have Mia and Rob continue working successfully
information about collaboration funding. with clients through their company Thought
Design Pty Ltd. Then they are approached by
industry contact Sofia - CEO of another small
3. Managing intellectual property (IP). -
company, EduWrite. Mia and Sofia generally
Managing the IP produced by collaborations get on well, but EduWrite is a competitor for
can be complex. The Department of Thought Design’s training development service.
Industry, Science, Energy and Resources,
Sofia proposes a collaboration for working with
and IP Australia, provide advice and an IP
larger companies, combining EduWrite’s and
Toolkit. See the following Business Victoria
Thought Design’s writing teams. Mia and Rob
website for access to these resources.
agree to create a joint marketing presentation
with Sofia, and to share profits from work sold.
Mia prepares a draft agreement of understanding Business partnerships and long-term
for review by Sofia. collaborations involve future commitment by
your organisation to provide time, resources,
Mia contributes Thought Design’s IP and works
knowledge and other business assets. The
with Sofia to produce a joint working method. A
decision to take part in such an opportunity is
presentation is made to key contacts from three
made at senior management or board level and it
or four potential clients, and the joint approach
may take some time to work through the details.
is well received. The written agreement has not
Any legal and financial risks will need to be
yet been finalised.
identified.
In Module 2, Lesson 1, of this course we looked
Sofia calls Mia two weeks after the presentation. at developing a networking plan to provide
Two of the clients have agreed to projects, but details of proposed networking activities over a
prefer to work solely with EduWrite. The specified time period, and seek approval to
business collaboration will not be going ahead. proceed. You may be required to prepare a
Later, Mia hears that Sofia has continued to use collaboration plan or proposal to describe a
the joint working method, including Mia and potential long-term business collaboration or
Rob’s IP. partnership.
The purpose of a business collaboration plan is
to:
Because there was no written agreement before
the first work was sold, there is nothing that Mia 1. Document the strategic importance of
and Rob can do. They decide not to discuss the the business relationship
situation publicly or criticise Sofia. This is a 2. Evaluate the collaboration opportunities
hard lesson learned. 3. Outline how the relationship may be
maintained.

Effective Business Collaboration

The plan may be developed as a Microsoft Word
Laura Hanrahan, from FACEBOOK’s document with two main sections:
Workplace blog, suggests that the following are
critical for effective business collaboration: Include information about the following items in
each of these sections:
 Having a common goal
 Having shared values
 Having complementary skills
1. Collaboration Overview
 Mutual trust
 Having a similar business culture Business Relationship -
 Having the right tools for collaboration Describe the existing
and communication
 Being able to overcome distance
business relationship:
effectively  Company details, products
 Establishing the right type of business
and services
collaboration.
 Business contacts to be
involved in the
Developing a Collaboration Plan or Proposal
 collaboration and their Describe how the collaboration will be
general backgrounds monitored to ensure the business
relationship continues to be mutually
The Collaboration - Describe the beneficial
potential collaboration
opportunity, including roles to Risk Assessment and Contingency Plan
be played by each party Evaluate any risks or potential
issues associated with the
collaboration, especially legal or
Strategic Value - Describe the financial risks
strategic value of the Describe any controls or
collaboration, including: contingency plans to be carried
out if the risks or issues arise
 Benefits for your
organisation
 Business objectives that Developing a Collaboration Plan
will be met or supported by
the collaboration
1. Think about your organisation’s
existing business contacts.
Identify one of these that may
be appropriate for business
2. Collaboration Plan. collaboration.
2. Prepare a collaboration plan for
Communication Plan this relationship. Use the table
format shown above if your
Describe how the relationship organisation does not have a
will be maintained through required format or template.
regular contact or
Government Support for Business
communication. Include a
Collaborations
schedule detailing:
Because business collaborations and
 Communication channel or partnerships have the potential to generate new
method business activities in a city or region, state
 Frequency or dates of governments in Australia provide programs and
support for these ventures. Where relevant, you
communication
should include details of potential government
 Purpose, content or subject support in the collaboration plan.

Monitoring Plan. Governance, Monitoring and Evaluation

Describe how these contacts and
communications will be documented In Module 2, Lesson 1 we talked about the
importance of aligning networking activities
with organisational strategy. This applies even
more so with business collaborations and
partnerships. If you remain with a company for Managing Complex Business Partnerships
some time, you may become a key point of
In Module 3, Lesson 1 we looked at what is
contact within a collaboration relationship. In a
involved in business partnering and
small company you may hold a large amount of
collaboration. Ruth De Backer and Eileen Kelly
responsibility for its success.
Rinaudo have examined what is needed in
managing complex business partnerships over
time.
OVERALL GOVERNANCE
Key points about these principles are
Overall governance of the progress of the
summarised in the following table:
collaboration should be planned and managed.
This includes day-to-day monitoring of Establish and maintain a clear foundation
activities, evaluation of outcomes against
– Discuss common goals at the start of the
organisational objectives and accurate reporting
relationship and evaluate these at
to stakeholders. How and when governance
specified intervals.
tasks will be carried out should be included in
– Review and evaluate day-to-day
the monitoring section of the collaboration plan.
operations and processes to ensure
The reporting process should align with other
priorities remain aligned and staff
organisational reports.
receive consistent communication and
task information.
COLLABORATION CONTINUES Continue to nurture the relationship
When business collaboration continues to be – Executives in both organisations should
successful and you remain part of it, you may look for opportunities to understand
need to monitor and evaluate your own personal each other.
plans and ensure they remain aligned with your – Key staff should spend as much time ‘on
organisation’s strategy. each other’s turf’ as possible, and seek
to build friendships and trust.
– Keep everyone in the loop in both
INTRODUCTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES organisations.
– Recognise each other’s capabilities,
Introductions and opportunities may be offered, cultures and motivations.
and you may want to pursue them. Ensure that – Invest in tools, processes and personnel.
you act in an open and ethical way with
everyone else involved. Opportunities need to be Emphasise accountability and metrics
explored before you can decide to proceed or
– Senior executives from both
not. This has to be done in a way that protects
organisations must:
your existing relationships with your
organisation and the other collaborating parties. continually oversee the partnership and
guide operation teams
define what metrics will be used to track
Then, identify your organisation’s approach to
goals and measure success.
business partnering and collaboration. In what
ways has this been successful?
Build a dynamic partnership
 – Both organisations must agree to: those partners can either lift the organisation up
or pull it down and make it vulnerable.
regularly review their partnership structure
and identify any changes needed Strategic business relationships need to be
assessed regularly for the value they bring, and
acknowledge that the scope of the
to determine whether complacency is setting in.
relationship may change over time
In Module 3, Lesson 2 we looked at developing
adjust the partnership based on changes in a collaboration plan. This included setting up a
market demand or emergence of new schedule for reviewing collaboration outcomes
products or technologies and how these outcomes will be measured
against organisational objectives.
incorporate changes into the financial
structure of the partnership as needed Llopis looks at six questions that successful
leaders ask in evaluating business relationships
during these scheduled reviews:
Improving the management of complex – Does the external partner broaden my
business partnerships organisation’s perspectives?
Partnerships never go out of style. – Do they keep us on our toes?
Companies regularly seek partners with – Do They make us more courageous?
complementary capabilities to gain access to – Do they help leverage existing assets
new markets and channels, share intellectual and resources?
property or infrastructure, or reduce risk. – Do they have my organisation’s best
The more complex the business environment interests at the forefront?
becomes-for instance, as new technologies – Do they strengthen my organisation’s
emerge or as innovation cycles get faster-the ability to sustain our success?
more such relationships make sense. Over time, the answers to these questions can
Managing Strategic Partner Relationships: Five help to track the progress of a collaboration and
Steps to Success identify as quickly as possible any changes that
negatively affect outcomes.
For companies to survive and thrive, they must
often break into new market opportunities with Maintaining Strategic Business Contacts
limited knowledge and resources, advance Strategic business contacts are long-term, trusted
technologies quickly to take first-mover members of your business networks and
advantage or avoid becoming obsolete, reduce business collaborations. You have strong
costs and capture synergies to compete in relationships with them, built on mutual trust
increasingly price-sensitive operating and professionalism. These relationships must
environments, and mitigate risks in uncertain be maintained and nurtured over long periods of
economic settings and ever-changing regulatory time.
regimes.
The collaboration plan should include structured
activities and events for maintaining these
Evaluating Business Collaborations relationships, including assigned responsibilities
and performance measures. The choice of
Glenn Llopis is a contributor to Forbes maintenance activities depends on the
Magazine. Llopis writes that when an personality and interests of the people involved,
organisation collaborates with external partners, and may include invitations to:
 – Social gatherings – such as dinner with at work – Develop your relationship in
senior personnel from your organisation other spheres of your lives and spend
– Sporting occasions – such as attending quality time learning about each other.
the tennis or other sporting match The person will then be supportive of
– Cultural or entertainment events – such your success.
as attending the ballet or a concert – Your lives start to mingle more deeply –
– Meetings with visiting overseas experts It becomes natural to include your
– A small group visiting your families in the activities you share. With
organisation’s overseas entity this level of interaction and trust, they
– Touring a new production line or facility will actively contribute to your success.
in your organisation. – You must maintain the relationship over
time, even after a business relationship
is no longer needed – Many close
These occasions require a blend of social and friendships begin as business contact
professional communication and interaction relationship.
skills that may need to be developed, mentored
Maintaining Your Professional Network
or supported in your team. As part of planning
relationship maintenance activities, encourage Rebecca Knight is a senior correspondent at
discussion about team assignments and skills Insider and a contributor to Harvard Business
development, and aim to have more than one Review. In her article for Harvard Business
person as the key contact point for each Review Magazine, Knight looks at maintaining
relationship. network contacts over time, including how
frequently to keep in touch, and how to balance
finding new contacts with staying in touch with
Suggested Steps to Building Great Relationships existing ones.

Jim Dougherty is a veteran software CEO and

entrepreneur, and a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan
Key points from Knight’s article are summarised
School of Management.
in the following table:
Dougherty describes the key characteristic of a
Decide who to prioritise
great business relationship as each party having
an emotional stake in the other’s success. This – Group contacts into categories
type of relationship is common in our personal – Decide which categories to concentrate
lives, and there are five steps that can lead to a on at that point in time
business contact having an emotional stake in – Include contacts who make you a
our business too. happier person or better off in some way
In summary, these steps are: Show you care
– The business contact must like you – Go – Decide how best to use communication
out of your way to be consistently tools to stay in touch and develop
friendly and helpful over time. relationshipS
– The business contact must respect you – Contact someone when news or
professionally – Be consistently information triggers you to think of
professional and strive for their respect. them
– The business contact must admire you – Avoid contacting people only when you
as a whole person, not just who you are need something from them
Be strategic with social media  Determine the resources and skills
needed to carry out these activities.
– Do not rely too much on social media to
 Identify areas of skills development,
keep in touch
mentoring or support that you would
– Take conversations offline
like to have in place if you were
Offer to help assigned to carry out these activities.

– Look for ways to help contacts Summary

– Listen carefully and make connections
Activity 7 of 7
for them when you can
– Be sincere and genuine, and respect the Congratulations!
person
You have now completed Module 3: Business
Don’t brag Collaboration and this unit, BSBTWK601:
Develop and maintain strategic business
– Provide new information to contacts and
networks.
tell them what you have been up to
– Stay in touch by expressing interest in a
contact’s life
Well done!
Don’t force friendships
– If someone doesn’t keep in touch with
you or respond, accept this
– Shallow connections are not worth the
effort
Regroup from time to time
– Audit your contacts every six months or
so
– Cycle people in and out of your network
– Bring new people in and mix old and
new contacts
– Introduce contacts to each other

Determining Relationship Maintenance

Requirements

Flesh out your collaboration plan, developed in

the previous learning activity:
 Identify the personalities and interests of
the key contacts in your selected
business contact.
 Determine maintenance activities that
can be suggested and carried out over
the next three to six months.