PARTNERSHIP CORNER

The Courage to Call It: Why "Finding the Right Fit" is a Strategic Skill, Not a Feeling

In the staffing industry, we love the word "partner." We use it for everyone; from the vendor who supplies our coffee to the bank that funds our payroll. But if everyone is a partner, then no one is.

In my role at Advance Partners, and through my work connecting leaders across this industry, I’ve learned that "fit" is the most undervalued metric on a P&L. We often look at price, we look at product features, and we look at terms. But we rarely look at alignment.

And here is the hard truth I’ve seen in M&A deals and boardrooms alike: A bad partnership won't just annoy you; it will actively throttle your growth.

Finding the right fit requires more than a gut check. It requires a rigorous examination of culture, the foresight to see where you’re scaling, and—perhaps most importantly—the courage to admit when a relationship has run its course.

The Litmus Test: Transaction vs. Transformation

How do you know if you’re sitting across from a vendor or a true strategic partner? You have to ask the questions that make people uncomfortable.

When you are vetting a new relationship—whether it’s a tech stack, a marketing agency, or a funding partner—skip the standard "What are your SLAs?" questions. Instead, look them in the eye and ask this:

"If we sit down together three years from now to celebrate a massive win, what exactly are we celebrating? Is it just that I paid you X amount of dollars, or is it that my business has fundamentally changed in a specific way?"

Their answer will tell you everything.

If they stumble or talk about their own revenue retention, they are transactional. They are there to extract value from you.

But if they light up and talk about how they helped you break into a new vertical, streamline your back office to improve margins, or stabilize your cash flow to allow for an acquisition, THAT is transformation. That fits my personal mission: driving performance through connection and collaboration. A true partner is obsessed with your transformation, not just their transaction.

The Red Flags: Silence is Loud

A partnership is a commitment. And it should be more than just a commitment to a contract; it must be a commitment to your success.

The biggest red flag I see isn't usually incompetence; it's apathy.

● The "Renewal-Only" Relationship: If the only time you hear their voice is when your contract is up for renewal, run. That isn’t a partnership; that’s a subscription.

● The Accountability Void: Mistakes happen. In staffing, payroll glitches happen, software goes down, wires get crossed. A true partner owns the mistake, communicates the fix, and stays in the foxhole with you. A bad fit hides behind legal jargon or support tickets.

True partners are having conversations with you at least quarterly. They should be asking, "What are your business goals for the next sprint? How has your strategy shifted? How can we align our resources to help you get there?"

The Growth Gap: What Works at $5M Breaks at $50M

One of the most painful lessons for staffing owners is realizing that "fit" is not static. The partner that helped you get off the ground is rarely the partner equipped to help you fly at altitude.

Industry data consistently highlights three friction points where "fit" tends to break as firms scale from $5M to $50M:

1. The Technology Trap: At $5M, you can run a business on spreadsheets and a basic ATS. It’s manual, but manageable. By $50M, manual processes are a liability. You need integrated ERPs and automation. A tech partner who doesn't integrate or lacks an API roadmap becomes a bottleneck that slows your fill rate.
2. The Funding Ceiling: Local banks are fantastic for relationships, but they often have rigid covenants or caps. When you land a massive MSP contract that requires doubling your payroll overnight, a "capped" partner can’t support you. You need a funding partner like Advance who understands that in staffing, debt isn't a bad word—it’s growth fuel.
3. The Strategic Void: At $5M, you need execution. At $50M, you need strategy. You need partners who can introduce you to M&A opportunities, advise on gross margin optimization, and connect you with peers.

The Courage to Break Up

This brings me to the hardest part. The chapter I wrote for Rising with Courage (available very soon on Amazon) is titled "The Courage to Dream Bigger," but sometimes, dreaming bigger means having the courage to say goodbye.

You may have a partner who has been with you since day one. They are loyal. They are kind. But they are no longer capable of supporting the complexity of your business.

Holding onto a legacy partner out of loyalty isn't noble; it’s negligent to your internal team and your talent. You owe it to your business to put the best infrastructure in place.

Handling this transition requires grace, but it also requires clarity. It is okay to say, "I value everything we built together at the start, but where this ship is going, we need a different engine."

Finding the right fit isn’t about perfection. It’s about alignment. It’s about finding the people and the companies that don’t just want to be vendor #4 on your expense list, but want to be the reason you hit your next milestone.

Dream bigger. And make sure your partners are dreaming with you.