Management theory is filled with trendy buzzwords that often come into vogue for a while and then fade away. Take the word “networking.” To me, this brings to mind an after-work wine and cheese party, where borderline unsuccessful types nervously swap business cards.

How about the word “partnering”? When a noun is unnecessarily transformed into a verb, your BS detector should be quivering. Moving up the ladder of pomposity, we reach the grand term “strategic alliance.” This sounds more like something that might fight and lose World War III than a profitable business relationship.

Do these business concepts have any significance to those of us struggling to eke an honest profit out of a dusty 10,000-sq.-ft. countertop shop?

These three management terms all describe relationships between business organizations, which, of course, are composed of people. Therefore, they are forms of human relationships that must be based on honest, open communication and reciprocity if they are to be successful in the long run.

We are in business to make money by fabricating and installing countertops. We are not in business to talk endlessly about pie in the sky. It does no good to delve into these kinds of business relationships if the goal isn’t to improve profitability by increasing sales or opening new markets or reducing costs.

Strategic Alliances

In the business environment of 30 years ago, it was obvious that a countertop fabricator ought to cultivate good working relationships with kitchen and bath dealers and remodeling contractors and cabinet shops that operated in the same community. It’s just that the word “networking” hadn’t yet been coined. Usually, these relationships were based on unstated assumptions such as, “If I give that company good products and services at a competitive price, they will continue doing business with me,” or “If I send some business their way, they will send some business my way.”

Though such business relationships are both useful and necessary, they are far too vague for the 21st century business environment. The process of developing strategic alliances allows small businesses, including countertop fabricators, to formalize and cement such existing relationships, and then to cultivate innovative new relationships that benefit all parties.

Instead of assuming that your good reputation in the local kitchen and bath industry will motivate a local appliance dealer to mention your company name whenever a customer asks about countertops, why not formalize that relationship? Perhaps you can agree to place your brochures in the appliance showroom, and they can place their brochures in your countertop showroom.

Perhaps you might jointly sponsor a promotional event for a remodeling association that would be a bit too expensive for either of you to handle alone. If such arrangements go smoothly, you can be assured that the appliance dealer won’t be mentioning your competitor’s name.

Even better, perhaps you might offer to pay a fee, perhaps 3% to 5% of the sales price, to any company that regularly refers new business to you. You can then publicize your formal business relationship with a dozen solid companies in your community, which increases your credibility. Appearing on your list increases the credibility of the other companies, as well.