The Quick Guide To Effective Partner Outreach

So, you’ve found an exciting partner prospect. Now you must identify the person within the brand partner and reach out to them. 

Who To Contact

Because collaborations involve multiple touch points within a company, you may need to contact several people.

Collaborations are often handled by departments responsible for brand partnerships, brand strategy, and sales strategy. Our experience is that all brands use different points of contact, be that a brand manager, a dedicated partner manager or someone who owns brand strategy. You'll need to identify the leaders in these departments, which you can do by using the brand website, industry contact listing services, LinkedIn, or plain old-fashioned Google.

How To Contact

Your outreach strategy will be determined by the level of contact you have with your target partner. Level 1 contacts are your own; you know someone who works there. Level 2 contacts are secondary contacts, meaning you know someone who knows someone who works there. Level 3 contacts are LinkedIn contacts—you're connected in some way.

If you have a level 1 or 2 contact, use warm introductions whenever possible. Have your contact put you in touch with the relevant department leaders at your target company.

If a warm introduction isn’t possible, try direct cold outreach. Contact the relevant parties directly through email and other messaging services like LI, Instagram, or Facebook Messenger. It is OK to use multiple methods.

If you are unable to reach out, hire a third-party agency. Covalent can connect you with services that will do the outreach for you while compiling a large database of contacts and detailed interactions.

What To Say

To assess whether your target partner could and should work with you on your collaboration, they need to know four essential facts (4EF) about the collab and your plan.

1. What is the collab we are recruiting for? (& why)
2. Who are we? (& why that makes us credible to work with)
3. Why should they join the collab now? (& what results to expect)
4. When will the collab run? (& when can they expect results)

Use a long or short form version of the 4EF script as appropriate.  Your outreach communication, regardless of channel, must include these facts as well as a call to action. 

The call to action will be a request for an initial meeting to discuss the collab opportunity.

How To Say It

Now is not the time to be timid. Don't signal doubt or desperation, and don't place yourself in a position to compromise. This is your collaboration, and you are inviting your target partner to join in on the action.

Going into the outreach with confidence can help you maintain control of the situation. Confidence stems from approaching your partner with a clear vision of why they should participate, which is what the 4EF formula is all about.

Here’s an example of Covalent’s 4EF formula that explains what we do and how that benefits our clients.

Question 1:  What is it we do in a nutshell?

We help brands quickly and easily create exciting and impactful Brand x Brand collaborations that engage customers existing and new and drive growth.

Question 2: How are we best positioned to credibly deliver it?

As experienced Fortune 500 marketers we appreciate the opportunity, the need and the challenge presented by brand collaborations. As proven software developers we know how to build and deploy platforms to simplify processes. Backed by High Alpha we have the combined expertise and resources to grow with you from initial inkling to enterprise deployment.

Question 3: Why does the brand/ company need this (us) now? 

Paid media, however “digital”, continues to offer diminishing returns…so reaching and engaging customers is getting harder to do. Collabs are the way to cut through the noise and create excitement, interest and growth. But for collabs, fast mover advantage trumps first mover advantage. Brands that have collabs nailed as a strategic imperative grow faster and go farther.

Question 4: When will they experience the results we promise?

Starting today, brands can identify and choose ideal partners more confidently. And define the rails that successful collabs run for better more immediate results. As our platform grows with new brands joining daily, our members generate and run new partnerships at a progressively faster rate with more quality and more impact every day.

There you have it! Inject confidence into your 4EF script and be consistent in your delivery, and you'll have your partner on board in no time.