On this episode of the Smart Marketing Show, Jason and Bridget will be joined by Jen Miller of Next Door Marketer to gain some insight on how to find those magic partnerships.
Show Sponsors
ServerPress
Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
Are you looking for brand awareness?
You could be a show sponsor. We think it is a great idea to let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your WordCamp Swag budget.
Partnering Helps with Time Constraints
Being a freelancer or an agency of one is great until you want to make more money. You either need to charge more or do more. That only works for a while. Then you have another choice: hire or partner.
“I’m not someone who can walk away from a deadline.” Jen Miller
Know yourself. If deadlines are important to you, then partner with a vendor who feels the same. In fact, Jen Miller suggests building in a weekend. Give your vendor a date that is before it’s due to the client. Time marches on and waits for no vendor and sites don’t build themselves — even with Gutenberg.
Partnering Helps with Growing Pains
Growth is good until you fall asleep while you’re typing. (Never publish without editing, by the way.) Networking (in-person, Slack Channels, etc) is so important. Get to know people and how they work. Ask questions. You never know when you’ll need a qualified referral (handoff) or a partner.
Checking in with a potential vendor or referral on their production schedule before recommending them to your client is just plain smart, Jen suggests.
“As an agency owner, you have to be willing to step in and do those pieces.” Jen Miller
Partnering Requires Communication
It’s like on a dating app when everyone says they value communication until there’s a communication problem. Part of good communication is open communication and frequent communication. This is where networking and systems meet.
“Check in to see how the partner is doing on the project,” Jen Miller says. After all, it is your client. In the end, the work is your responsibility. If you don’t want the responsibility of managing the partner-vendor, then you’ll need to handoff the client to someone. Even then, you may want to check in.
Project Management is Key
Project Management Systems are a huge part of successful communication. Choose a tool and use it consistently. Have a system. Sometimes a Google Sheet is good enough. A system only works if you use it.
It’s even a good idea to create a short training video to quickly onboard partners. If both you and your partner-vendor use a project management tool (Jen likes Basecamp 3), choose yours. It’s your client.
Tool or Tip of the Week
This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by Cloudways. Is your website slow? Or are you looking for a reliable host for your WordPress projects?
Whether it’s an existing website or a project on your drawing board, Cloudways offers a hosting environment with all the features you need to succeed online.
Cloudways is optimized for speed and delivers outstanding performance and security, all supported by 24/7/365 support by expert cloud engineers.
It is an ideal platform for WordPress projects because of the choice of FIVE cloud providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, DigitalOcean, and Linode. The best part – your managed server and WordPress websites are ready in a few minutes.
Once the app is up and running, you can add more power to your business operations, thanks to exciting features such as free SSL certificates, CloudwaysCDN, automated and on-demand app/server backups, and custom-built Teams features to onboard distributed team members.
Cloudways extends your in-house team and takes care of all server management issues, and lets you focus on building amazing websites for your online businesses.
If you like what you have heard, start with a 3-day free trial of Cloudways now!
Jen recommends his Clarity.fm.
Jason recommends the Google My Business app.
Bridget recommends Seconds. It is an app for interval training timers.
Leave a Reply