I remember a time when being an agency meant guarding your process, your people, and your pipeline like trade secrets. That mindset never made sense to me. And shops that know how to partner effectively consistently have healthier pipelines and margins.
So now that the work is evolving it's more important than ever to see opportunity over competition. Because of the increased complexity. The evolving tech. And the ever increasing pace.
But how do we stop playing musical chairs with the same few clients and expand our reach through relationships? I'm glad you asked!
Teaming Up to Level Up
Let’s be real. Most of us didn’t sign up to ride the agency roller coaster. Too much work, then not enough. The hiring/firing whiplash. The impossible staffing math. Trying to align capability and capacity in a business where both move like quicksand.
That’s where partnering with competitors, aka other shops that do what you do, stops being risky and starts being smart.
Not because you’re desperate. Because you’re strategic.
It’s a way to actually scale without the overhead. A way to fill in the blanks whether it’s dev when your team’s at capacity, SEO when you don’t want to staff it full-time, or product design when your leads are thin but your ambitions aren’t.
Here’s what’s working:
Start with relationships, not deals.
Trust isn’t built in a spreadsheet. Get to know people. Talk process. Swap stories. Find alignment before there’s money on the table.
Be transparent with clients.
No white-labeled smoke and mirrors. Tell them you’re bringing in a specialist because you want the best outcome. They’ll respect that.
Create consistent communication loops.
After a project, debrief. What worked? What didn’t? Learn together so the next time’s better.
Match process and personality.
"Process" doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. Ask the hard questions about platforms, culture and security needs before someone’s already knee-deep in the work.
Define Roles & Responsibilities
When you're partnering, one of the most important things you can define is who is responsible for what. And then share the why and how of that decision early and often.
And one more thing, partner up before you need to. The hardest time to find new friends is when you’re on fire.
What we’re seeing over the past few weeks is that the industry slowly waking up again. The work is coming back. People are getting hired. And if we’re smart, we’ll use this moment to build more than just pipelines. We’ll build partnerships that make us all better. Because it turns out the best way to grow isn’t alone. It’s together.