Advice on reading materials

[Greensleevevssnotnose]

Hello,

I have been offered a role negotiating strategic and commercial partnerships for a UK software platform. Looking for companies they can join with and share audiences where both will benefit from raised profile and ultimately more sales. I'm not experienced in this area 😕 can anyone recommend some reading materials book, blog website where I can bone up on this. Have a meeting in April if I accept the role and don't want to look like a newbie. Thank you

I'd seriously consider your position here

There's one thing being able to "wing it" for some elements of a new job, but what you've described looks like it's the entire job, and if you have no experience at all, that's a risky position to put yourself in. I expect people will come by with knowledge about some specific reading material you can look at, but the company will expect you to hit the ground running, if that's what you've been recruited to lead which will be difficult if you have no lived experience of doing the job at all

Thanks, I don't have to accept the role as I already work there, my current position is setting up the deals for the Founder to close but she wants to hand it off to me as her close rate is actually not that great as she is not a details person. I'm happy to give it a go and said I will try this one in April but I want to do it well

That puts a different light on it. As you're being asked to take on the extra duties, which is a great opportunity for development, all the same I'd expect your Founder to give you information on the process and the way she needs it done.

If she can't articulate that to you, or isn't willing for you to shadow her so that you get to know the basics, you'll be taking something on that isn't part of your current duties and it could go wrong for you if you give the impression you know what you're doing when you're effectively a novice.

No criticism, just thinking about this from an employment contract perspective, you'd be better being honest and saying you want to embrace the opportunity to grow in your role, and you need her support to get things started. Once you've taken it on, it will be uncomfortable to go back later down the line and say Help! I'm not sure what to do.

I appreciate what you are saying, and noone else is responding. I have sat in on every meeting so far. She can't teach me because she can't do it! She can't broker deals like these, she can raise finance and talk to investors but she can't negotiate terms and work out good deals with other companies and people just walk away. I thought someone would say Steven Bartlett or Warren Buffet have written on this, I just wanted to see the basic framework. I'll talk to my mentor about but she will probably give me an inspirational quote and tell me to get on with it. If there isn't a framework no worries I will just be my usual self I know a. Mergers and acquisitions guy from a company similar to us so I'll take him for lunch after half-term and see what he suggests

The reason your Founder probably can't do it herself is that she's found it requires specialist skills to work out terms and good deals. It certainly seems like a crucial part of the business.

Hopefully the person you talk to can give you some practical advice on what it involves and some RL experience of the complexity of it (it does sound very technical!). All the best.

Yes, now we are growing it's gonna be the next skill we need. Thanks for your help.

This is hard to do because it requires skills that can't just be read from a book.

You need to know your company inside out; know the company you're talking to's needs, plans, budgets, decision makers and more; and be able to sell.

It's not enough to tell someone their company can raise its profile.

I suggest do lots of background research and lots of practice calls / meetings with some difficult questions thrown at you, so when they happen for real you're in a stronger position to deal with them.

I'm going to have anxiety dreams just from reading this thread OP 😬.

Do you actually want to do this role? Is there a risk that you might take the role, and lose a role that you enjoy?