Trust is the new data.

We don’t need more info, ads, trackers, or automated sequences. We need ecosystems and communities built around trust.

Data helped us automate and create efficiencies. Data helped us find, track, and target customers. But we’re now awash in data and customers are exhausted by being served up algorithmically-determined content and crammed into impersonal funnels. – Jared Fuller

Learn more about the principle, trust is the new data, in an interview with Jessie Shipman.

Partnerships isn’t a department.

It’s a way of thinking. An orientation. A strategy.

Partner ecosystems are a strategy to every other department, each needing its own conversation. We must unite departmental specialists and partner professionals in the most relevant format possible for the first time ever. – Jared Fuller

The first giver wins.

Don’t wait for the quid pro quo. Make the first move. Create value for those in your ecosystem.

What if the best way to build a successful partner program and attract high-quality, highly-engaged partners is to do the opposite of asking them for something? What if instead, the first step was to give them something? – Mario Tarrabia

Learn more about the principle the first giver wins in an interview with Stewart Wesley.

Show me you know me.

Nobody buys phony Dear Sir or Madam spam. Generic pitches are tired. Be real. Be interested. Be human. Connect. Care.

"I’ve been saying for a long time, show me you know me, show me you can help me, and prove you care." – Jill Rowley

Learn more about the principle, show me you know me, in an interview with Sam McKenna.

Live-In-Market is better than Go-To-Market.

The market isn’t a target to be attacked. It’s a living, thriving thing to learn from and build in. When you’re a trusted part of the market, you don’t need to go to it. Individuals in it will come to you for problems you’ve proven you can solve.

The efficiency and effectiveness gained by living in market and partnering on every action, vs going to market with siloed strategies is immense. – Isaac Morehouse

They’re not your accounts.

You can be evicted at any time. And you’re not the only one there. You’ve got to build trust and provide value - to the account and to the partners that share it with you - to stay involved.

The second you stop acting like you own the account then maybe you can start working with the account. Instead of thinking you’re the owner, start thinking: I’m renting space and I’ve got to earn the right to stay and be welcomed. – Jared Fuller

Learn more about why they’re not your accounts in our interview with Daniel Lancioni.

Never market alone.

You’ll get passed up by those who market together. Share the costs, expand the reach, and create additive value for each other and customers.

I’ll never do another event alone. – Tyler Calder

Learn more about the principle, never marketing alone, in an interview with Mark Kilens.

Customers don’t live in funnels.

They inhabit networks. You’ve got to think from their vantage point. You’ve got to increase the number, strength, and throughput of connections between nodes.

Customers don’t live in funnels, they don’t want to be crammed down yours, and the funnel metaphor closes you off to the world your customers inhabit and the ability to meet them there. It’s not accurate. – Isaac Morehouse

Learn more about why customers don’t live in funnels in an interview with Allan Adler.

Make them famous.

Nobody gets mad when you make them look good. Nobody is motivated to work with you if you don’t. Don’t tell your story, tell your customer’s and partner’s story frequently and loudly.

Partners that are loved, honored, elevated, showcased, and promoted are motivated to do stuff. If you wait for them to do stuff before you show them love, it usually never happens. – Mario Tarabbia

Learn more about the principle, make them famous, in an interview with Alex Glenn.

Those who play together win together.

You don’t win alone, because customers don’t live in isolation. You have to care about partners because customers do. You’ve got to play (and play should be fun!) with others if you want to win with others. And when you win together, the wins are bigger.

Who shares wins. – Reveal

Build radical generosity into your culture.

Surprise people with how much you’re willing to bend over backwards for them. Make it a point of pride. Celebrate what you give just as much as you celebrate what you gain.

I’d take a bullet for the customer - Jill Rowley

Learn more about the principle, build radical generosity into your culture, in an interview with Rob Rebholz.