Sales Inspiration Call: 3 ways to build strong revenue alliances

Here is a recap of our "Selling in Threes" Monday sales inspiration call. If you missed it, join us next Monday. It is not a promotional call - it is an extension of the blog, and offers real-time help and ideas for sellers.

First we defined alliance:

For our purposes, an alliance is others who share a similar purpose, or at least similar goals, and target market.
Example: I call on CEOs and presidents of mid-sized technology companies. Knowing someone very professional in the promotional products market would be good for me, because most likely they call on leaders in the company as well. I could also partner with a corporate attorney, business insurance person, and others. (and I do already - in fact I have 75 referral partners)

If you want to build stong alliances like these you can do one of three things:

Initiate one - you can start something virtually or "live" in your local physical community. Sit down and figure out who you want in your realm that you can refer opportunities to, and they could do the same for you. Don't just find people to fill the spot - have some minimum standards. For example - I like to work with fun, energetic, optimistic people, not someone who will drag me down and tell me why it isn't working. Seek out people you truly want to hang out with - and it will never be a chore to communicate with your team - it will be a pleasure.

Find an existing alliance - Chamber of Commerce, LinkedIn, Fast Company Magazine readership group, or one of the tens of thousands of other associations and business alliances. Search online for them. Here in the Puget Sound / Seattle area, we have a great resource called I Love Seattle.

Create something new from an existing system that isn´t working - there are business groups that are floundering or need a spark. I belong to a Chamber that allowed me to design a Revenue Generation Day. So, I added value to an existing group - that is a great way to leverage already-there resources and adding a new twist. Just be sure it is wanted by the group - otherwise you might want to go back to square one and start your own business alliance.

What ways work for you? Post your thoughts.