Finding the best business partners in each market is becoming increasingly difficult. The availability of professional, motivated and focused companies that can make a success of your products, is diminishing.

It is essential to ensure that the best possible companies are identified, to give you the confidence in the most appropriate choice.

Strategic Software Partners has years of expertise and knowledge to ensure that you are able to select the best partner to match the needs of your company, and has the necessary expertise to generate sales.

SSP adopts a professional and thorough approach to identify potential partners through the following processes:

• Ascertaining a partner profile


• Identifying initial potential candidates


• Qualification of candidates


• Detailed final profiles for your assessment

Partner Profile

The first step is to gain a clear understanding of the positioning of your products in the marketplace and to identify the characteristics of your buyers. This enables us to establish a profile of the organisations that can understand similar needs and buyer characteristics in the chosen market.

We then, with your input, define the minimum technical, selling and marketing skills that the organisation must possess. We also identify the minimum investment levels that the target companies are capable of sustaining for your product’s typical sales cycle.

Potential Candidates

We draft an introductory letter, in the local language, which highlights the key business benefits of your product.

We then identify potential matching candidates from our extensive databases, contacts and local market knowledge.Our research team works tirelessly in this area identifying companies throughout Europe and keeping pace with the ever changing world of information technology. In the case of searches in Australia, Asia-Pacific and the USA, we work through our partner companies to identify such candidates.

The introductory letters are sent to the most senior executive in the company or whoever is responsible for new business development.

Qualification

SSP can give considerable added value in this area. Each prospective partner is contacted by phone to establish whether they are suitable and to ensure that they fully appreciate the positioning and opportunity that your products represent.

Our expertise can make the difference in getting the most appropriate partners interested and motivated to want to sell your products.

Final Profiles

For each qualifying company we provide a detailed summary of all the essential information. This includes: key personnel, technical, sales and marketing expertise, as well as products currently marketed. This gives you all the information you need to begin the selection process.

The SSP Difference

We provide added value by significantly shortening the time to market. We help you establish the right foundations, with a choice of potential partners in each market.

Making the Right Choice

The consequences of making the wrong choice of partner can be disasterous. Apart from the loss of revenue, you will probably lose market share to your competition and tie up your own personnel in extricating your company from a business relationship that was doomed to failure.

Making the right choice the first time is essential. SSP can help and advise on every stage of the selection process, so that you can choose the right partner with confidence.

SSP can advise on all aspects of selection including:

• Cultural and local market factors


• Assessing suitability


• Legal agreements


• Setting quotas and goals

SSP can also help with the preparation and presentation of your company and products, so that they will be received with understanding by potential distributors

Assessing Suitability

Making the right hiring decision for your own staff can be difficult enough; choosing the right partner in a foreign market, with different business practices and cultural values, can be totally confusing.

SSP has the experience to assist in this process, to remove potentially misleading perceptions and to allow you to make an informed “business risk” choice.

The factors we use to help you assess the best partners go beyond just “chemistry”, and include:

• Product positioning and integration


• Product "championing"


• Customer references


• Cultural, ethical and business strategy synergy/conflicts


• Initial due diligence on investment capability and risk

Legal Agreements

Once the selection process has concluded, we can advise on the vital aspects of distribution agreements and quotas.

Not only can we save on expensive legal costs, but by isolating the key negotiation areas, we can dramatically shorten this potentially time consuming process.

SSP can also advise on:

• Agreement construction and modification


• Terms and termination


• Setting business goals

Setting Goals and Quotas

This can often be the area of greatest contention and negotiation. SSP has helped many companies set realistic expectations, to guarantee results and success for both parties.