7 STEPS TO CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP SUCCESS Part 2
The BePartnerReady.com® program guides you through 7 critical steps as you implement them within your organisation and move closer to success. In Part 1 – blog we covered step 1: SWOTA) and Step 2: Assets Inventory and Valuation. Here we cover the remaining steps 3-7.
Before beginning the process it’s important to understand what precisely you want from a corporate partner. There’s more to a partner than just funding – download this infographic detailing the 7 benefits of a corporate partnership.
If you would like to discover what a corporate partner could mean for you and your organisation, sneak into our program before 1 July to create your Corporate Partnership Intention
Our process enables you to gift-wrap programs/campaigns/events for sponsorship (giving you ‘tied’ funding) but also package up partnerships, which invariably provide significant ‘untied’ funding. It’s flexible enough to adapt to all four purses that contain funding and numerous benefits, especially the CSR and marketing purses which are the largest. Download the infographic detailing all Four Purses.
Step 3: Prospects list
Rather than just asking the Board for contacts (which might get you a donation but not a partnership) our process identifies corporates and brands that fit with your brand values, target market and geographic reach. An initial list of over 200 ‘suspects’ is refined to a Prospect list of 60 then honed to a ‘Hot List’ of 20. This is a manageable list that can be properly researched prior to approach.
Step 4 Credentials presentation
The first meeting with a corporate is a professional presentation – not a coffee chat. This is business – and time is money in their world. We’ve perfected a 15-minute credentials presentation that is compelling and gets you to a yes (or no) fast, without the months of endless dancing in circles.
Step 5 Partnership model
The way you wish to engage with corporates and brands is wrapped up in an outward-facing Corporate Partnership Model. This contains a minimum fee for companies to align with your brand and an internal ‘rules of engagement’ that the entire organisation has adhered to (including if Federated, state partners in readiness for national opportunities).
Step 6 The approach
This is often where non-profits start but its also the reason for failure. The approach is far more successful when you have your ducks in a row from Steps 1-5. We’ve refined a technique for getting a corporate to notice - and agree to meet with - you, including a cut-through communication template.
Step 7 Securing partners
Because of the work done in Steps 1-6, getting corporates across the line is much quicker. Providing a Q&A to the corporate enables you to discover what they want, and this makes negotiation efficient and enjoyable. In our program we provide all the legal templates required for both partnership and sponsorship, that protects your IP and clearly articulates the obligations of each partner. Large corporate partnerships done on a handshake really are a thing of the past.
This process has produced stunning results for non-profits and social enterprises – large and small - for over 14 years. Partnerships – many still in place today – have been forged for PetRescue, Fred Hollows Foundation, Oxfam, Lifeline, Stroke Foundation, MCRI to name just a few.
Hailey Cavill-Jaspers
