Why Strategic Partnerships Beat Membership Drives | Lazy Leverage #77

Oct 28, 2025

Jon and Peter dive into the power of strategic partnerships, emphasizing how one deal can outweigh months of traditional membership drives. They discuss the difference between systems thinkers and deal-makers, showcasing how the latter can create significant leverage. Vehicle selection within industries is highlighted, as they encourage operators to explore adjacent models for maximizing potential. The duo also shares practical tactics for capitalizing on opportunities, and reflect on the dynamics of community building at conferences.

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ANECDOTE

AppFolio Stage Led To A Direct Deal Idea

Peter has been consulting for AppFolio for years and even appeared on stage with their CMO at conferences.
Jon suggested leveraging that relationship to have AppFolio promote Crane directly to thousands of ideal customers.

INSIGHT

Find Your Center Of Gravity

The "center of gravity" is one objective that, if achieved, produces many secondary wins.
Find that single leverage point and prioritize it over dozens of marginal improvements.

ADVICE

Delegate Systems, Hunt Deals

Delegate system-level tasks so you can chase strategic partnership opportunities only you can secure.
Let your team run membership funnels while you pursue high-leverage deals.

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Jon and Peter tackle the hardest pivot for operator-minded entrepreneurs: recognizing when systematic optimization becomes a distraction from strategic leverage.

Peter's consulting for AppFolio, a publicly-traded property management software company with thousands of customers in Crane's exact target market. He's speaking on stage with their CMO at conferences. Yet, up till recently, he was still grinding through membership drives like a bootstrapped startup.

Jon's intervention is part confrontation, part masterclass in "deal guy" thinking. While Peter was perfecting his systems, Jon believed he was overlooking the partnership that could deliver more members in one email blast than six months of webinars.

In short, Jon says that engineers optimize existing systems, while deal-makers architect new leverage points that make old systems irrelevant.

Next, Jon and Peter discuss vehicle selection within industries. They believe that no operator is ever stuck in a bad business model, but that they’re likely adjacent to better ones. Property managers become software companies. Gym owners become SaaS founders. The question isn't whether your industry has potential, but whether you've chosen the right vehicle and identified your center of gravity. That single relationship or initiative that carries along a dozen minor results.

Jon then introduces backwards planning from desired outcomes, the art of having your pitch ready when green lights appear, and why you must be prepared to "go all the way" in the moment. Peter explores the Rule of 40 as a forcing function: if your business isn't either growing fast or printing money, you're playing the wrong game entirely

KEY TOPICS:
(02:23) Why Jon Isn’t Into Clickbait for Top-of-Funnel
(11:03) Stop Running Bake Sales and Just Close the Deal
(17:20) Being a "Deal Guy" vs. Systems Thinker
(19:00) The Center of Gravity: Marine Corps Strategic Thinking
(22:08) Vehicle Selection Within Your Industry
(26:00) Momentum in Deal-Making: Being Ready to Close
(30:00) The Rule of 40 for Business Health
(34:00) Competing With Your Customers or Vendors
(41:23) Toyota Way Principles for Small Business
(44:00) Crane Conference Insights and the Power of Pins