Growth Strategy: Part 2 - Ways to expand your offerings
- Robin Seidner
- Feb 19
- 3 min read
Previously, we talked about whether to invest in new or adjacent technologies as a way to drive new business growth. When you’re ready to expand into a new practice or implementation focus, this post delves into what options there are to invest in, and the pros and cons of each path.
Growth Strategy #1 - Partner with a Partner
If you don’t have the capital to invest yet to build or buy a practice, this may be the best, and certainly most affordable way to test the market.
Pros: It’s lower risk than hiring people who you don’t have work for yet. Required capital investment is low. Depending on the arrangement, you could refer deals to your partner to close for a commission, or train your in-house team to sell the partner’s product which will involve more time and funds, but much of that positioning, messaging and value will be outlined by the partner.
Con: I’ve seen many strong partnerships across complimentary Salesforce partners, you just need to make sure you document the best approach for working together, and have a mutually beneficial relationship from the beginning.
There’s much to consider when partnering, I’ll address that in a future post, or connect with me any time via email or social for a personalized advisory package.
Growth Strategy #2 - Build a Practice
If you have some time and money to invest, building new capability in-house is a solid approach. You can likely entice some of your employees to jump into this new area to expand their opportunities, but depending on how different this new area is, you’ll want to bring in an expert to lead and build the practice.
Pros: It gives you the ability to create something under the company culture and operational processes you’ve already created. You’ll have more control over service packaging, delivery, and customer relationships.
Cons: Building a new practice from scratch will require a more considerable investment of money, time, and expertise than partnering. However, a consultant like me (Partner Diva) can get you set up and on the right track, eliminating some of the pitfalls.
Growth Strategy #3 - Buy a Practice
Considering there continues to be growth in partner organizations - 20% year over year, according to 10K’s latest report on the Salesforce ecosystem alone - if you have the cash to invest, it’s likely you can tap into practice growth via an acquisition. Keep in mind that apparently 70-90% of all M&A deals fail. Sure, you’re likely looking to buy a smaller shop, but I’ve seen plenty of partner M&A failures , so there are recommended steps to take before an acquisition happens. See our two 'squandering' blog posts for sales mistakes and integration mistakes.)
Pros: Acquiring an already-established-business takes the headache of setting up a practice out of the equation. It can often be more cost-effective than setting up a new practice. Acquired customers may also be interested in your other product offerings - creating a great opportunity for cross-sell/up-sell growth.
Cons: Adopting someone else’s business can be tricky. Picking the right practice to purchase is key; and so is how you implement the merger. The two blog posts noted above highlight just some of the pitfalls we see all the time. More to come on that topic!
Are you an MSP, digital agency or other services firm looking to develop growth strategies for your business in 2025? Let’s connect. I can help you and/or your executive team map out strategic initiatives as part of an Executive Advisory service package.
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