The Drive - Business & Growth with Dan Nedelko Dan Nedelko

What's the difference between a Partner and a Service Provider as it applies to professional services? Specifically Digital Marketing or Software Development?







There are some major differences IMHO...let's dive into it.







Partners are part of the process, involved in the conversations as they are developed. Partners are on the team and involved in the development of strategy. Pro tip: when you engage a partner, engage them in your desired outcome not in the task at hand. If you've got a good partner, then they'll use their experience to work with you to achieve that outcome.







Service Providers are not distinctly part of the process. They're valuable in their own way, but they are not strategic. Service providers provide a specific task, complete that task and move on to their next project.







Each type of professional service; whether it's a partner or a service provider fulfills a specific need and one is only superior to the other within the context of the bigger picture.







The danger? In asking for a partner when in fact you really want a service provider. That can get messy for both sides of the equation.







Enjoy this "sort of" Transcript.







Introduction: In today's episode of The Drive, Dan Nedelko dives into a crucial distinction that often gets overlooked in the business world: the difference between a partner and a service provider. He emphasizes the importance of choosing the right term because words matter, especially when it comes to defining the relationships within your service-based business.







Defining Partners and Service Providers: Dan starts by clarifying that the definitions of a partner and a service provider are worlds apart. Service providers are there to fulfill specific requests, complete tasks, and move on. On the other hand, partners engage in a more profound relationship, actively participating in the process, and sharing their expertise and experiences.







Digital Marketing: Dan delves into the realm of digital marketing and explains that distinguishing between a partner and a service provider is crucial. Partners should be deeply involved in the client's internal dialog, helping them understand the intricacies of their strategies. While service providers fulfill tasks efficiently, they may not contribute to strategic discussions.







Software Development: Shifting gears to software development, Dan points out that the choice between a partner and a service provider depends on the client's technical infrastructure and needs. If you need specialized technical skills, a service provider might be suitable. However, if you seek a comprehensive understanding of how technology aligns with your business goals, a software partner with a broader experience is essential.







The Power of Partnership: Dan underscores the value of partnerships, where both parties work collaboratively to achieve desired outcomes. Partners bring a wealth of experience and want to see your business succeed. When the partnership is genuine, it becomes a powerful force for growth.







Conclusion: In closing, Dan urges listeners not to confuse partners with service providers and warns against misusing the term "partner" when seeking specific services. He emphasizes that choosing the right word is essential, as it sets the tone for the relationship.







Final Thoughts: In the best-case scenario, a partnership is a true collaboration, while a service provider fulfills a specific task. As you navigate the world of business relationships, make sure you choose the right partner or service provider based on your unique needs and goals.







Outro: That's it for today's podcast.

Welcome back to The Drive with me, Dan Nedelko. Join me to learn about Business and Growth for Small Business. It's practical, snackable, pragmatic and hopefully helpful.







In this welcome back episode I'm explaining a bit about my perspective on Business and what value I can convey to you in the rejuventated verion of The Drive.







Join me and I'll be talking about:









* Business - running a small business as an Entrepreneur.







* Marketing - how can you make practical marketing decisions that will serve your business well.







* Technology - what can you do to leverage technology to your benefit.







* Finances - how to make the right moves FOR YOU right now.







* Government Regulation and Taxes - dealing with our glorious leaders in government and taxation issues that can protect you, your business and your family.







* Sanity - maintaining relationships while running your business.







* Peace of Mind - making sure you're taking care of the most important person in the equation. YOU.







* Efficiency and Productivity - I'm NO guru but I've learned a few tricks about being efficient. When I'm efficient, I'm happier and more productive.









Thanks for being here. Remember: you know more than you realize.

Planning for marketing versus a marketing plan

I've decided to resurrect my podcast in order to be more relevant to a wider audience, in addition to it being easier and more convenient for me to record a short ten to fifteen minutes podcast on my drive into the office every morning.



I'm anticipating that it will be a podcast full of tips, anecdotes, gripes, strategies, tactics and techniques that I've used over the years and in my day to day adventures in the world of startups and marketing.



If you know me then you'll know that I have a number of concurrent projects happening all of the time. The concept of the "lean startup" is not new to me. It's actually called bootstrapping, or, "starting up without any money" - this concept is as old as commerce itself.



For some reason it's the new rage in the world of technology startups, so I'll refer a bit to that audience but in reality this should be useful for any entrepreneur, small business owner or marketing/business professional making their way in this new digital economy that has developed.



Episode 1: Planning for marketing versus a marketing plan.



I cover why a marketing plan written in stone will do you no good at all, especially when you're moving quickly and defining your product or service. I give up a process I've used successfully dozens of times in both the online and offline business worlds.



Click the play button to get started, and please forgive the noise, I really am driving while I recorded this!

It is the end of 2016 and in the digital marketing field there has been many changes --- good changes.



Platforms such as Google and Facebook have introduced new tools that take digital marketing to the next level and reaching out to your target audience a whole lot easier.



In today's Marketing Drive we're not talking about the 2017 trends but rather the 2016 changes in the digital marketing industry.The changes in this particular year are observations from my day to day work and client work throughout the different digital marketing platforms.



2016 has been a great year for Honeypot Marketing, thanks to everyone for subscribing and Happy New Year!

Paying to market your core product or service through Google AdWords, Facebook or Bing (or any other paid channel) will be an extremely expensive proposition.



Watch and learn how to reduce your Pay Per Click campaign costs, create a highly engaged lead list and increase your conversion and retention rates.



Sound too good to be true? It isn't, it simply requires an understanding of how a lead and conversion list can be set up to reduce costs and increase your long term conversions.



The best part of this? You'll be investing a lead list your can segment and develop relationships with your potential clients over the long term.

AdWords is the world's most advanced and largest network for publishers and an extremely powerful demand-side platform (DSP). If you're a digital marketing professional managing advertising inventory then this will be a great use of 8 minutes of your day!

AdWords Quality Score can have a substantial effect on your advertising performance and your bottom line. The differences equate to 4x to 6x more expensive CPC rates.

In today's Marketing Drive we're talking about AdWords Quality Score, why it's important for all marketers from the highest executive levels to the most junior intern to understand the importance of this score.



Your Finance team and your year-end budget actuals versis forecasts will thank you for being thoughtful about your digital marketing messaging quality.



In The Marketing Drive Episode 20 we're talking about:



* The importance of AdWords Quality Score.

* Digging into some of the misconceptions of AdWords Quality Score and how it works.

* 5 Actionable tactics you can implement today to increase your Quality Scores.

* Why I'm going to stop numbering tactics in the podcast.



Subscribe to The Marketing Drive YouTube channel

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes



I'll be covering the latest and greatest marketing, business and start-up tips every day from the road.



Agency Life: http://dnedprod.wpengine.com



The ups, the downs of agency life. How to build your agency successfully.



Marketing Execution: http://honeypotmarketing.com



Every day we're launching, reviewing and optimizing marketing campaigns.



Marketing and Business: http://marketerknows.com



How to survive as an effective marketer without losing your sanity. Marketer Knows is a community for marketers who are in the trenches each and every day.