In many professional partnerships, one partner is more focused on sales and marketing. They’re gregarious, social and outspoken, and they enjoy closing deals. (That’s me.) Meanwhile, the other partner is more focused on operations and administration. They’re detail-oriented and focused, and they enjoy efficiency. (That’s my partner.)

Business partnerships are like marriages: You both have roles and responsibilities. This may not have been discussed, clarified or explicitly agreed to, but there are defaults, proclivities, habits and, inevitably, frustrations: The other may not be pulling their weight.

When it comes to marketing, it’s important to clarify roles and accept terms. Your partner may not know what to do or how to help, or they may not be aware of your expectation. They may even feel they’re not good at marketing and not want to do it. Whatever the reason, it’s possible to work within these constraints and find creative solutions.

Surely, your partner wants more profitable growth. But this reminder alone may not be enough to light a fire under them (though it’s worth a shot).

Marketing consists of a lot of different things, and it can often be misunderstood. What aspects could your partner do or would they enjoy and be good at? Nowadays, it’s not always necessary for your partner to actively participate in marketing for you both to see results. They’ve got a circle of influence. They’ve got expertise. You can reach into their world and get more marketing done.

1. Content Marketing

Your marketing needs content: blog posts, social media updates, videos, podcasts, data (for infographics), etc. Maybe your partner likes to write. If not, their expertise can be recorded, transcribed and edited into articles. The recording itself can even be used on your site and/or turned into a podcast. Videos take a bit more production and personality, so talk about whether you are both up for the challenge. Maybe your partner can spearhead other content marketing shortcuts.

At the end of the day, your partner has a circle of influence that doesn’t know you. This is a potent list of referral relationships and potential customers.