How to Make Friends

⏰ Today in 5 minutes or less:

• Through partnerships, introductions come in more frequently and starts further down the funnel.

• You need four types of partners - all commercially invested in your success.

• Mutual value leads to access. Access reduces risk. Lower risk strengthens trust.

Power of Partnerships: The Accelerant to Your Referrals

Referrals are the backbone of every independent consultant’s practice. 

A trusted introduction from a past client or colleague unlocks doors that no amount of cold outreach ever will. The more good work you do, the more trust you earn, the more momentum builds. 

But that flywheel can spin faster. Partnerships accelerate it. 

Like referrals, partnerships are also built on the same principle of trust and recommendation. 

The only difference is that partners expand the surface area of your network. 

Instead of waiting for referrals to trickle in one by one, partnerships give it multiple pushes at once. 

That means warm intros will come more frequently, the conversations start further down the sales cycle, and growth compounds faster. 

And because partners share your commercial motivations, they’re not just willing to recommend – they're also invested. 

This is why partnerships aren’t just a nice-to-have. They’re a lever worth pulling on your flywheel. 

What Are “Partnerships” Exactly?

For us independent consultants and fractional leaders, a partnership is something simple: it’s a relationship with anyone who also serves the same types of client and can make a trusted introduction for you. 

That accountant who knows every CFO? Partner. 

The marketing agency your client already uses? Partner. 

Even your current client who can drop your name to a colleague over coffee – that’s a partner. 

It’s because the magic here is trust – and all these partnerships will take you further in the sales cycle. 

But not all partners play the same role. 

Some refine your craft; others provide you access to clients or resources. and there are some who opens multiple doors you could never open on your own. 

If you treat all partnerships the same, you’ll miss out on their full potential.

The Four Types of Partners You Need

Think of each partnership as a different role on your growth team. 

Each one contributes something unique – and when all are combined, the referral flywheel spins faster. 

Trusted introductions come more frequently, and opportunities move faster (further) through your pipeline. 

Here are the four kinds of partners worth nurturing for every indie consultant: 

1. The Brains – These are thought leaders who generate the insights and frameworks that your clients care about. Borrowing their perspectives or co-creating ideas with them lifts your credibility. 

Example: researchers or analysts publishing insights that your client cares about, experienced consultants in a complementary specialty, or SMEs who deepen your perspective. 

2. The Megaphones – They shape the conversation, and they love making introductions. When they talk about (or introduce) you, people pay attention. 

Example: podcasters or bloggers with an audience in your client base, journalists or trade writers covering your industry, or speakers and facilitators who connect people. 

3. The Boosters – These are the partners with mutual commercial connections, whose offerings mesh with yours – they benefit when you’re in the room, and you benefit when they are. 

Example: implementation agencies that execute your strategy, recruiters who place the leaders you design org structures for, tech providers who need a business case built for their software, or fractional peers in adjacent discipline.  

4. The Gatekeepers – These are platform owners. They control the rooms and stages where your prospects gather – and they will give you access at scale. 

Example: trade associations, chamber of commerce groups, conference organizers curating panels and speakers, private group moderators, or industry communities. 

 Let’s get to know these partners better through the eyes of an indie consultant. 

Picture Lena – a marketing strategist for mid-sized B2B firms. She engages with a client for a few months, sharpens their strategy, and leaves them with a playbook tailor-made for their needs. 

Lena is great at her job – and the right partners can help her serve more clients. Here’s how her partner ecosystem might look like: 

• She can team up with a marketing technology product developer (Brains) to keep her client strategies fresh. 

• She connects with a podcaster who frequently interviews CMOs or a business columnist (Megaphones) who covers marketing trends. Their platforms will introduce Lena to dozens of prospects she might never reach cold. 

• She partners with a boutique design agency, a CRM implementation shop, and a recruiter (Boosters) who specializes in marketing leaders. Together, they create bundled solutions that clients treat as a one-stop-shop: Lena for the strategies and execution from the partners. 

• She builds a good relationship with a local B2B marketing trade association and a conference organizer (Gatekeepers). They put her on stage where her target clients are, multiplying her reach in just a single event. 

Building a Partnership Flywheel 

Partnerships are some of the most important relationships that independent leaders can form. We need to put in continuous efforts to keep them warm and be of service. 

But continuous efforts sound exhausting – especially for us who also have to balance our business development and client work. 

The solution? Build a flywheel that allows you to establish deeper partnerships.

Once it’s spinning, growth will accelerate almost on its own. 

Here’s how the wheels turn – and how our friend Lena can do it on her own: 

1. Create Mutual Value. Partners won’t jump out of bed to sell services for you, unless it also helps them sell theirs. That’s the number one rule. 

Lena knew her Martech platform founder contact didn’t care about pushing her services, but they cared about making their platform stickier with clients. So she created a workshop showing how strategy and Martech drove better ROI. They posed like the hero and she got the warm intros. Everybody wins. 

2. Expand Access. Partners are the fast pass into conversations we might never get on our own. 

Lena’s workshop didn’t just please the founder. It also got her in front of the platform’s client roster. Instead of knocking on doors one by one, she was pulled into meetings as the trusted “plus one.” 

3. Reduce Risk. Breaking into new markets or testing new offers is risk, but partners de-risk that move. 

Before spending money on ads, Lena leaned on her local trade association to put her on stage. One keynote even gave her a dozen prospects – proof that the market is worth pursuing.

4. Build Trust Together. Every successful collaboration deepens the relationship. A booster who shares one client today might share three on the next quarter. A megaphone who quoted you once might feature you regularly. Trust is the grease that keeps the wheel spinning. 

And back around again. 

Mutual value leads to access. Access reduces risk. Lower risk strengthens trust. And trust sets you up to create more value and serve more clients. 

Transform Yourself From Network Into Ecosystem Builder 

Most consultants treat networking like a numbers game: more coffees, more handshakes, and more LinkedIn connections lead to more referrals and deals closed. 

This works – but only until a certain point. 

Real growth requires leveling up from networker to ecosystem builder. 

Think of ecosystem building in terms of roles, not headcount. 

Who are my brains, boosters, megaphones, and gatekeepers? 

Once you see the world this way, you stop chasing random contracts and start serving partners who multiply your reach. 

That’s what exactly our friend Lena discovered. 

For years, she tried work the room. 

Now, she maps her ecosystem like a strategist – fewer people with deeper ties, leads to bigger returns.

Growth is a Team Sport – and You Need the Right Partners 

At the end of the day, hustling hard for an extended period will leave you exhausted. Referrals are the backbone, but partners will help you reach them faster. 

You need help from people who’s willing to open the right doors. 

The formula is simple: create value for them, earn access, de-risk your growth, build trust alongside them – and then, keep the wheel spinning. 

That’s how independents and fractionals grow with partnerships: not by going at it alone, but by playing the long game with the right team. 

Consultant’s Q4 Survival Guide 

Indie consultants, fractional execs, and business leaders – surprise! It's almost Q4. 

The fourth quarter will test your inbox and your patience, but you’re almost there.  

If you’re frantically trying to hit your revenue goals, here’s a no-nonsense, slightly-too-real guide to surviving Q4 with your sanity intact. 

✅ Re-Scope Everything 

Scope creep loves Q4. 

Take 20 minutes this week to reread your original SOW. If you’re now doing things that weren’t in it? Time to gently reposition and reprice. 

Try this line: 

“As we head into Q4, I’d love to revisit our focus areas and see if anything needs adjusting for the final stretch of the year.” 

📆 Preempt the Holiday Spiral 

November and December are basically half-months. 

Your window is tighter than you think. Get any decisions, deliverables, or renewals scheduled now. 

Scratch that, even earlier if you can. 

Pro move: 

Plan ahead and schedule your holiday OOO now.

💸 Invoice Like It’s a Sport 

Clients are looking for smart places to spend their budget. Things might fall through the rush. 

My advice? Invoice early. Follow up – fast. Offer prepaids or strategic “end-of-year sprints” if it makes sense. 

Pitch idea: 

 “Let’s use the rest of this year to build the foundation for 2026 – so we can hit January running.”

🧠 Decline Strategically 

Let’s face it: a lot of “quick calls” are Trojan horses for unpaid labor. 

Be kind, but firm. 

You don’t have to brainstorm for free or solve everyone’s Q4 panic project. 

Default reply: 

“Happy to explore – let’s put some structure around it and see if we can make something work short-term.” 

🍸 Build Your “Done” List 

You’re not going to fix every broken workflow or land every maybe-deal before January 1. That’s fine. 

You’ve already done a lot this year anyway. 

My suggestion is to start a list of your accomplishments. 

Projects shipped. Fires put out. Clients saved from themselves. 

You'll thank yourself when it’s time to re-up your rates in January.

Hang in there. You’ve got this. 

⭐️ The answer is “You’re not paying for the 10 minutes. You’re paying for the 10 years it took to make it 10 minutes.”

🤔 Did you get it right?

Remember, the path to success is paved with continuous learning and embracing fresh perspectives.

Let's stay connected, share ideas, and elevate your consulting business.

Stay curious, friends.

The 2×2 is brought to you by Keenan Reid Strategies

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