Recently, we learned what really goes into making a deal -- making it work. Although any business deal starts with a contract, it's the people -- and the way the parties act after that paper is signed -- who determine the success or failure of the partnership. Our deal with PartnerX (not their real name) is a good example of what it can take to seal a win-win deal.

The partnership began in early 2000 with a referral from one of our investors at Barrington Partners. They had met John Doe (not his real name), the CEO of PartnerX, who was out raising money for his new concept, PartnerX.com. PartnerX was an established overseas investment-property sales company that had done a terrific job of locating and refurbishing key apartment-complex properties and selling them to the local investor community as an alternative to equity investments.

After years of perfecting its craft, PartnerX was aiming to leverage its core business onto the Net and into the U.S. by creating PartnerX.com. It was seeking some investor money. Our investors felt that John should contact me because our company, zipRealty.com, could provide PartnerX.com with the transactional capability for selling its units.

HANDSHAKE DEAL. John contacted me, and after some initial discussions we agreed to meet. I was picked up by a driver and taken by private jet for a whirlwind tour of his headquarters. After two days of meetings, both of us felt that a partnership between our two companies would make great sense. On the second day after lunch, we came to a handshake agreement and then left the details to our business development staffs.Within a month of the visit, a deal was crafted, and everyone believed that this was a great start to a mutually beneficial relationship. However, that was where things started to deteriorate. Once the contract was signed, both parties realized they had different interpretations about the services required and fees charged. We were expecting not to have to market and sell the properties to investors, and they thought we should. This is why the account-management aspect of business development is so critical to a partnership's success. Devin Saylor, our excellent manager in this area, started working to resolve the differences so that we could move forward.

After two months, each side made a few compromises. We were eager to list the properties, but yet another roadblock came up. PartnerX had engaged another real estate agent to represent the building we wanted to list. This created even more work for Devin. Although she was optimistic, I had a feeling that perhaps this deal wasn't going to work.

MANY BUMPS. However, Devin hung in there, taking more meetings and working through the issues of when we could list the properties and who would sell them to investors. After some final agreements, a workable solution was again worked out. Devin had one last meeting, and after months of negotiations we were able to list 49 properties in the first building.

Although we hit many bumps along the road, the desired objective was reached, and it was only because we had a person dedicated to going the distance -- and beyond the contract.

See you in two weeks.

Scott Kucirek is president and co-founder of zipRealty.com, an online real estate brokerage. The company's Internet site and online real estate agents let people complete the entire purchase or sale of a house via the Web. The company's Web site is www.zipRealty.com, and you can E-mail Scott at Scott@zipRealty.com.