Sunday, October 7, 2007

**Tip No 1** - Choosing a partner

As this adventure unfolds we shall be putting up some useful tips for anyone wanting to follow our lead. This first tip is probably the most crucial one of all, how to choose the right partner to do this with. Do NOT assume that your partner, your best friend, your workmate will be the best person to choose. They may make good 'sounding boards' and offer good advice but may not have the complimentary skills you will need.

First, you need to assess your own skills. Are you good at selling? Can you 'cold call'? Can you organise? Do you have a head for figures? Are you mobile? Do you understand marketing? Are you creative? Are you computer literate? Can you spot a bargain? The list can go on and on. make a list of all the key skills that you think you will need and give each skill a mark between 1-10.

Next, make a copy and ask any prospective partner to do the same. Also ask any prospective partner to add to the list of skills (maybe identifying 'skills' is not one of your strong points). When you have both sets of marks see how many 'combined' scores for each skill are above 16. You need to get most, if not all, of the skills over a score of 16 to feel comfortable working with the other person. I will create a 'skills assessment' file in excel and make it a download on here some time in the future, so subscribe to the blog for further info.

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