Wikipedia’s definition of Collaboration

Collaboration is the process of two or more people or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal.^[1] Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most collaboration requires leadership, although the form of leadership can be social within a decentralized and egalitarian group.^[2] Teams that work collaboratively often access greater resources, recognition and rewards when facing competition for finite resources.^[3]

Collaborating can make or break your business brand. HELL YEAH…  it’s FUN and we often find ourselves being more creative and productive. We can also harness each other’s skills, BUT,  you don’t have to ‘jump into bed’ with everyone. It is about forming key partnerships.  And without having the 6 ‘S’ for SUCCESSFUL Collabs,  it could, in fact, waste your time, damage your online reputation. Leaving your audience disappointed or …… now have them invested/following someone else.  

Here are my tips on how to choose your ideal collaboration partner.

1. You have to be non-competitive and you need to complement each other and not compete with each other.
2. Make sure your skills sets are equal – you do not want to carry dead weight.
3. Ensure that your business ethics are on par with each other.
4. Co-operation is key therefore you need to be able to work together to make it work.

The 6 S’s for successful collaborations.

1. Strategy : Is it for brand awareness, visibility, building your email list. To give credibility, to get more calls and sell something.
2. STALK: Your co-collaborator before saying YES. They need to be qualified to ensure it will be a mutually beneficial arrangement. 
3. Script: How will you be introduced and what is your call to action. What will your follow-through be? How have you defined the arrangement and each other’s responsibilities/commitment? 
4. Skills: Have you determined the best use of each of your skills to achieve a professional and profitable collaboration? 
5. Socials: Have you clearly defined which social media channels you will use and how exactly you will be using it to fulfil your strategy. This includes before and after your collaboration and extends to your email list and future collaborations. How will you track ‘leads’ from social media? What tags and hashtags will you be using? 
6. Sales: Do you have a sales strategy and process in place? How will you convert leads into clients? Who is responsible for that, and who gets the $$$.