Partnering Is Another Word For Selling, Soliciting, Pestering, Polite Aggression

As the CEO and Founder of HairBoutique.com I am bombarded by email with titles touting "We Want To Partner With You" or "A Great Partnership Option For You" or "How Can We Partner?"

Yeah, there is also the "Partnering For Success, Partnering To Increase Revenues (theirs) and Partnering For Profit.

(Image of two businessmen courtesy of Haap Media Ltd., - All Rights Reserved)

In the beginning I used to be excited by the opportunity to find great partners where both companies would benefit from a connection.  Unfortunately I discovered after a few high pressure sales phone calls that the word partner is synonymous with buy our products, services, software, ad space, people or fill in the blanks and give me your money....now.

Luckily after being burned a few times with aggressive time wasting sales pitches cloaked behind the potentially pleasing partner word, I quickly learned to delete all emails that had the P word in the title.  I also learned if the P word was in the first paragraph it was a flashing red light.

Delete, delete, delete.

To be successful in business you always have to be open to new opportunities so trying to wade through the real opportunities versus the carefully spun Partnering BS has been interesting.  I'm beginning to think lots of people are getting wise and weary of that P word.  Surely I'm not the only one?

When I was studying business in my Masters and Ph.D programs I came to the conclusion mutually beneficial business partnerships are rare.  Ultimately one of the partners gets the short end of the stick.  Yes, I know I sound paranoid, but that general distrust has served me well over the years.

Are their truly great business partnerships where both companies thrive?  I'm just not so sure.  Which is probably why Microsoft, Google and Yahoo just buy companies that would good partners.    I know I would be more responsive to someone wanting to buy my company than merely to partner with it.  Wouldn't you?

Following Up After Our Last Chat?

Putting the Partnering Pitch aside, the latest technique seems to be a ploy claiming Reconnection, Quick Follow-up, About Our Last Chats.  I'm sure you get these types of solicitations where you've never exchanged emails, phone calls or Skypes, but the person acts as if you did.  They act as if you have a budding relationship which means they are acting as if you are going to buy their latest whatever.

If you make the mistake of saying you've never met them, chatted with them or exchanged emails, that just opens the door for their aggressive sales pitch.

I guess you could call all of this Partnership Spam except for the Partnering Request I received this morning from a spam company that promises if we "partner" with them they will protect us from all partnership requests.  So who protects us from them?

Just when you think you've seen it all, the monster web solicitation machine morphs into a brand spanking new model.

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