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Business Partnership - How do you include them in your game plan?



Why Strategic Alliances Are the Bull’s Secret Weapon

Introduction: Most people think strategic alliances are soft deals — handshakes at conferences and vague promises of collaboration. But the real players know: a well-placed alliance is a market disruptor, a revenue accelerator, and, in my case, a critical launchpad for dominating an entire vertical. When I launched my electronic medical records (EMR) company, I didn’t just sign clients — I built strategic alliances that turned the industry upside down.


P.S. This story’s featured in my book Charge Like a Bull. https://a.co/d/7VUk0FY your copy if you haven’t — and tell your ambitious friends to do the same.


Ideal #1: Shared Strategic Intent: Our alliance with IBM was not a coincidence. It was war-room strategy. They had the infrastructure and credibility, we had the innovation. Together? We had unstoppable force.

Ideal #2: Mutual Acceleration: A strong alliance should act like pouring gasoline on your momentum. Our EMR software needed reach — IBM gave us channels, government contracts, and access to health system execs who wouldn’t return our calls six months prior.

Ideal #3: Brand Elevation: Attaching your brand to a global giant lifts you from unknown to unavoidable. Once we partnered with IBM, people assumed we were bigger, better, and bulletproof — and they bought accordingly.

Ideal #4: Technical Symbiosis: We weren’t building “together” — we were building into each other. Our systems synced with IBM’s infrastructure like we were born in the same lab. Strategic alliances should feel like puzzle pieces snapping into place.

Ideal #5: Credibility in Motion: When you’re small, every ounce of credibility counts. My alliance made our EMR system the choice for hospital chains. We stopped pitching and started fielding buy-in calls.


5 Moves to Charge Like a Bull with Strategic Alliances

  1. Map Your Gaps – Where are you weak? That’s where your partner should be strong.

  2. Pitch Upmarket – Go for the big fish. If they say yes, you just 10x’d your brand overnight.

  3. Integrate Deeply – Don’t just collaborate — co-create. Shared systems equal shared wins.

  4. Negotiate Growth Levers – Revenue shares, cross-sells, warm lead swaps. Lock them in.

  5. Broadcast the Alliance – Don’t be humble. Get loud about who you’re working with and why it matters.


Conclusion

If you’re trying to grow your business alone, stop. Bulls don’t graze. They charge — and they charge faster with a herd behind them. Strategic alliances are not optional. They’re a growth weapon. My EMR business didn’t hit $100M because we had great code. It soared because we had world-class partners who opened doors I couldn’t have broken through alone.




 
 
 

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