As the saying goes, if you always do the same things, you’ll always get the same results. Sometimes, this is a good thing.

Other times, it’s not.

The fact is, all businesses run into certain barriers as they grow and mature. The things that make them successful at first, later become obstacles. A change in management focus is required to keep the organization growing, and prospering.

In a Partner business, we have defined 3 distinct stages of evolution. Each has different things that drive its success. Each has different obstacles to overcome. And each stage requires a different management focus.

Here’s how it works.

1. Early Stage Partners

Most Partner businesses begin their lives by taking on “orphan” customers. These are either customers the founder already knows, or they are customers who feel neglected by their current software reseller. In many cases, the founder is an “accidental entrepreneur”. He or she didn’t really set out to start their own business; it just turned out that way.

But once they are in business for themselves, each founder must make certain key decisions. The business won’t run itself.

There are certain basics, of course, no matter what stage of development you’re at. Services must be delivered. Consultants must be hired, and paid. Invoices must be issued, and collected. New customers must be found. All of this is true at any scale, big or small.

But an early stage Partner has unique challenges. Positive references must be generated, so that new customers can have confidence in your ability to deliver. Project risk must be carefully managed. A positive work environment must be built, so that people stay with you. A leadership team must emerge, as the business starts to grow.

Ideally, a practice focus should also be established. You just can’t be everything to everyone, and you can’t remain solely an orphanage if you ever want to scale.

After becoming established, each founder must then cross their own personal chasm. They must acknowledge their own limitations, and surrender control of certain aspects of their business to others, while maintaining a firm grip on the enterprise overall. This signals the move from a business owner who is also the sales manager, CFO and marketing manager. The business owner must start to put certain aspects of their business into the hands of others.

2. Growth Partners

Those who successfully cross the chasm, now face different challenges. They must retain the people they have, and recruit others to keep growing. Compensation structures need refining. Sales forecasting must become more accurate, to avoid underselling or overselling actual delivery capacity. Professional management skills must be developed, or hired in.

A unique brand identity must also be developed, that goes beyond the founder’s personality. The company itself must be made unique when compared against other companies selling essentially the same thing. And finally, the range of products and services offered must usually be expanded, as the target markets sought most often narrow, but deepen.

Those who successfully put all these things in place, grow, by taking deals from those who haven’t. They achieve significant presences in their chosen markets.

3. Mature Partners

Once established as major players in their vertical markets, mature Partners must again shift their focus.

The biggest obstacle they face is complacency. After all, they’re successful. And they want to enjoy what they’ve built. But this is a competitive business, and complacency tends to be punished by the marketplace.

Mature Partners usually also have evolved far more complex organizations, which require more sophisticated structures and disciplines to keep control of, whether it’s with respect to services delivery, human resources, sales management, or marketing.

And finally, a mature Partner must be concerned with their exit strategy. In order to sell their interest, the business must run without them. They must put in place a strong leadership team, solid business processes, and be generating meaningful bottom line profits.

Conclusion

The bottom line is this: no matter what stage your practice is at, you must always be planning in order to grow and prosper. It is as important to look ahead at the next stage, as it is to master the stage you’re in, and at no time should complacency be an option.

After all, if you’re not going to focus on building a strong business, someone else will.

For more information about the barriers to Partners growth, please download our whitepaper “Top 10 Barriers to VAR Growth”