Over 80 percent of senior executives feel partnerships are important to business growth, but methods of sourcing and maintaining effective long-term partnerships remain elusive. According to the recent Grow from the Right Intro study sponsored by Powerlinx, nearly half (45 percent) of senior executives find it challenging to keep their partnerships active and mutually rewarding, and 42 percent struggle to build an ongoing win-win relationship.

What are the top challenges holding businesses back from fully leveraging partnerships, and what resources can businesses use to source the right partners for long-term growth? Scroll down for an infographic on the biggest challenges to businesses that aim to form effective long-term strategic relationships.

Challenges in Developing and Maintaining Strategic Partnerships

Managing successful partnerships over time is a complex process that starts with determining the right goal, is furthered by finding the right strategic partner and evolves through maintaining mutual benefits over time. All of these stages prove challenging for businesses:

• 25% of executives struggle to determine the right partnership goals
• 27% struggle to find the right partner
• Only 10% feel they are extremely good at identifying, qualifying and securing partner introductions
• 32% find it difficult to allocate sufficient resources and mindshare to ongoing partnerships

As difficult as forming and maintaining partnerships has been, the benefits of overcoming the obstacles are profound. Businesses around the world are using partnerships to increase their market reach, share access to intellectual property and technology, expand geographically and more. In this way executives are innovating their business practices faster than ever before and ensuring the long-term success of their firms. This is why Powerlinx is working to make the process of connecting with the right partner extremely manageable for businesses of all sizes.

Sourcing the Right Strategic Partnerships

Partnerships are one of the most strategic ways for businesses to grow without expending resources. We ourselves have certainly benefited from the growth opportunities that partnerships bring. This is why we aim to make it as easy as possible for other businesses to identify the best growth strategy and find the right partner to make their goals a reality, all through automation.

When asked whether they would consider an online platform that automates the partner matching process, 75 percent of senior executives responded affirmatively. Automation will make it more efficient than ever before for businesses to connect with manufacturers, source R&D partners, form marketing alliances and more. That way businesses can spend less time trying to meet the right partner and more time reaping the benefits of well-matched business relationships.

Are you ready to experience the growth the right partner can bring your business? Learn more about our business matchmaking platform, where businesses find customers, suppliers, partners and even get investment, financing or credit for your company. Fast.