Let’s face it—some partnership habits are like bad dance moves at a wedding: they stick around way longer than they should, and everyone pretends not to notice. But 2025 is the year we break free from those awkward moves and step into a new rhythm in the b2b partnership world.

For this blog, we teamed up with some of the sharpest minds in the partnerships space (think of them as your coolest, no-nonsense dance coaches). Together, we’ve compiled a list of the habits that need to be retired immediately. From outdated strategies to cringe shortcuts, we’re calling them out loud and clear.

Ready to ditch the old-school partnership faux pas and level up your game? Let’s get to it!

1-Without data, you’re just someone with an opinion

The main reason why executives think of partnership folks as “chugs and hugs” people is because they rarely have the data to back up their talk. They make excuses for their lack of execution. Don’t get me wrong, building proper partnerships takes time and resources and there are many moving parts. However, partnership pros must learn to leverage data to be obsessed with it. They must make it their mission to gather, track, and measure everything and be able to a) tell their story with data backing it; and b) prove, using data, how their work is helping impact the metrics that matter (revenue, win rates, retention, NRR, CAC, etc.).

Antonio Caridad, Head of Global Partner Operations at Tricentis

2- Prioritising quantity over quality

Chasing a long list of partnerships might feel like an exciting progress, but it often leads to shallow relationships that don't really deliver value.  This approach dilutes your resources, messes with expectations, and risks your reputation to your partners, and internal stakeholders (even if they are the ones pushing you for more!) What to Focus on instead:

• Strategic alignment: Prioritise partnerships that align with your company’s goals and values.
• High-value relationships: Invest in fewer partnerships with strong potential for mutual growth & commitment.
• Clear success metrics: Define shared goals upfront and track progress together.
• Build trust: with communication, transparency and ongoing dialogue.

The shift from "more is better" to depth, alignment, and measurable value creates partnerships that deliver real results for everyone involved.

Karalynn Lewis, Fractional GTM & Partnerships Leader, Partnership Advisory

3- Stop partnering with your competitors' partners

Whoa, your main competitor has just released a new partnership and it seems very shiny : Don't contact them unless you have ongoing discussions.

A successful partnership isn’t about copying what competitors are doing, it’s about creating real value for both parties and even more important for your customers.

Always put your customers at the center of the project and see if the common solution makes sense for them: If not, why contacting your competitors partners?

Your market is wide and massive opportunities can emerge from your creativity and customer centricity. That being said, leave the FOMO-fueled decisions in 2025 where they belong: in the past.

Maxime Imbert, Fractional Head of Partnerships, AMI Strategy

4- Sticking to the “Set It and Forget It” Mentality

You’ve invested significant time and effort into finding the right partner, carefully qualifying them, and successfully onboarding them—don’t let that hard work go to waste! Partnerships aren’t something you can set up and leave to run on autopilot. They need regular care and attention to stay strong and productive. If you don’t check in, goals can drift apart, and opportunities can slip through the cracks. Instead, make it a habit to stay connected! Schedule casual check-ins, review progress together, and realign your goals when needed. By keeping the conversation going, you’ll strengthen trust, uncover new opportunities, and ensure your partnership stays on track. Let’s leave the “forget it” mindset behind in 2025!

Steven Muhr, Founder at Kiflo PRM

5-Premature Partnership Announcements on Linkedin

Stop announcing your partnerships on LinkedIn before achieving tangible results! Focus first on actual activation: regular business meetings, clear objectives, and a well-defined action plan. Let the results speak for themselves.

Hippolyte Thibierge Co-Founder at Partnershift

6-Overcomplicating everything with buzzwords

“Leveraging cutting-edge generative AI to optimise transformative synergies at scale” sounds futuristic, but does anyone actually know what that means? In 2025, let’s leave behind the habit of hiding behind jargon and focus on clear, authentic communication. The goal: meaningful partnerships, not baffled nods on Zoom calls.

Roo Wright from Boost.box, AI Tools for Partner Marketing

7-Spray-and-Pray Outreach

Blasting the same generic pitch to every potential partner feels like trying to sell fax machines in a world full of Zoom calls. In 2025, it’s all about precision and personalisation. Partnerships thrive on relevance—target fewer partners, but craft outreach that shows you actually know their business. Think sniper, not shotgun.

Thomas Le Cun - Freelance & Partnerships Advisor

8- Stop hoping, start ENGAGING

Having a Referral link is not enough to motivate Sales Teams to send you leads. Imagine, your Partner’s Sales teams juggle multiple partner programs across various platforms, each requiring a unique referral link to submit a lead. Plus, they have their own priorities and targets, so adding "send referrals" to their workload without any additional motivation or context often falls flat.

While a referral link is convenient and helps you track your leads, it doesn’t automatically address the human element & education required to drive action. Start building Trust by engaging and faciliate direct and meaningul connections with your Sales teams now!

Eva Fayemi - Co-founder & CEO at Bond Agency

9- Caring about partner experience metrics, without first prioritising revenue metrics.

Revenue metrics should guide and inform partner experience. Customers speak most clearly through their purchases, so if partner programs aren’t driving meaningful business outcomes, they aren’t effectively reaching or impacting customers. Additionally, without revenue-focused results, there may be no partner team left in 6–12 months due to a lack of demonstrated value. Prioritising partner experience over customer impact turns partnerships into mere feel-good alliances that fail to deliver real value. Instead, align partners with stages of the buyer’s journey, identify revenue metrics that matter at each stage, and tie partner programs to those metrics. This approach ensures a positive partner experience by creating measurable value for all parties and enabling partners to take meaningful action

Will Taylor, Partnerships Leader and Advisor

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