Business Opportunity

 

Our client had a proven, patented technology with strong potential with consumers, however, as a company that sold only to municipalities and businesses, it lacked the experience and capability to reach these markets.  Rather than try to sell products directly to retailers, this company decided to seek a go-to-market partner that was already well-established in consumer channels.

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Lockstep Partners helped initiate conversations with a dozen potential partners, with two candidates ultimately rising to the top, each indicating strong interest in taking this product to their retail customers.  Both potential partners had extensive experience in the space, making it difficult to determine which one presented the best fit and greatest upside for our client.

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This was a critical decision requiring broad-based buy-in, and far too important a choice to leave to a simple Pros vs. Cons analysis.  Enter The LOCKSTEP Method.™

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How We Helped

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First, we grounded our client around two key, guiding questions:

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1. How SIMPLE is this partner to manage for us?

2. HOW much INCREMENTAL value can we expect from this partnership?

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Then for each of these questions, we helped align the team around the few key factors (and relative importance), unique to them, that best address these questions. 

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All team members were asked to independently evaluate and score these partners on just these key factors, using a simple, intuitive scorecard.   Lockstep Partners then synthesized these individual scores into one number for the team to discuss, with each member explaining why their score may have differed the team score. 

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Doing so helps unlocks knowledge, so that everyone is operating from the same set of facts.  It also helps mitigate the personal biases and personal agendas that too often hinder good decision-making.  In several instances, unlocking information lead to the team to very different scores from those at the start.

 

At the conclusion of the analysis, one clear winner emerged.