Looking to enhance your partnership efforts? Whether you’re searching for affiliates, referral partners, product collaborators, or any other type of strategic ally to help expand your business, one essential aspect remains: outreach!
We understand that outreach can be intimidating. It can feel awkward to reach out to unfamiliar faces, and it’s disheartening when you don’t receive the replies you hoped for. In this guide, we’ll outline 9 crucial elements of effective outreach strategies to boost your confidence and significantly improve your response rates. But first…
What exactly is a partnership outreach strategy?
Partnership outreach involves reaching out to potential partners to gauge their interest in collaborating with you (and persuading them that it’s a great idea!).
Your partnership outreach strategy outlines how you intend to approach this. Which prospects will you target? What methods will you employ? What type of collaboration will you suggest?
With that in mind, let’s explore some examples of outreach strategies.
Outreach Strategy Examples :
Here are some examples to help you explore the various options available when crafting your outreach strategy.
Who :
The first step is to determine your target audience. This could include:
Affiliates. Engaging in affiliate outreach allows you to connect with partners eager to promote your brand or products based on performance. These partners might be bloggers, social media influencers, or even other companies.
Influencers. The term ‘influencer’ refers to anyone who has the power to sway others’ purchasing decisions. Some may work on an affiliate basis and frequently utilize social media platforms.
B2B. B2B partnerships involve collaboration between your business and another entity. You can engage in various ways, such as through product integrations, referral partnerships, or co-selling initiatives.
When considering which prospects to target, it’s essential to reflect on your objectives and the role you envision a strategic partner playing in achieving them. Are you aiming to enhance brand visibility? Increase sales? Elevate your product offerings?
We’ve identified 23 types of strategic partnerships (and possibly more) – each can contribute to your business’s growth in unique ways. Therefore, clarifying your goals and identifying who can assist you in reaching them is vital.
How :
There are two primary outreach methods you can leverage:
. Cold outreach
. Warm outreach
Cold outreach involves reaching out to someone without any previous contact or relationship. In contrast, warm outreach occurs when you connect with someone through an existing relationship, whether it’s one you’ve built or through a mutual contact who can facilitate an introduction.
Most outreach tends to be cold, but utilizing warm outreach can significantly boost your success rate. Therefore, it’s beneficial to explore any warm outreach opportunities before expanding your network.
When planning your partnership outreach strategy, think about which channels to include. Some options are:
- Telephone
As you choose a channel, consider the types of partners you want to reach and where they are most active. For example, B2B partners are likely best contacted through email, LinkedIn, or a direct phone call to their office.
Conversely, if you’re reaching out to an Instagram influencer seeking brand partnerships, Instagram would be the ideal platform!
Remember, you don’t have to limit yourself to just one channel. A multi-channel outreach approach can be very effective. For instance, you might start with an email to a potential partner and then follow up with a LinkedIn InMail.
Key ingredients of effective outreach strategies
Now that you have a clearer picture of what your outreach strategy entails, it’s time to explore how to perfect it. Here are some essential elements that effective outreach strategies should include.
- Find the Right fit
The success of your outreach largely hinges on reaching out to the right prospects. Even the best outreach strategy will fall flat if this crucial element is overlooked. Even if you manage to establish a partnership, it won’t thrive unless your partner aligns with your niche and audience.
When searching for the right match, consider the following:
Niche. If your niches don’t intersect, the relevance between you will be minimal.
Audience. It’s important to have overlapping audiences to effectively support each other.
Values. Partnering with someone whose beliefs clash with yours can lead to complications.
Reputation. Only approach brands that you would be proud to associate with, as they should enhance your reputation rather than harm it.
Reach. Ensure they have a sufficient reach to make the collaboration beneficial, but not so extensive that you struggle to make an impact.
Incentive. Think about whether you can offer enough value to a prospect; just as you need a partner to help grow your brand, they need the same from you!
2. Contact the right person
When you’re looking to connect with influencers, it’s usually clear who to contact. However, reaching out to brands can be a bit trickier.
Before sending a message, ensure you’re getting in touch with the appropriate person within the organization and double-check their contact information. Even the most well-written outreach email will go nowhere if it lands in the hands of someone irrelevant.
Try to avoid sending partnership proposals to generic email addresses like ‘info@’ or ‘contact@’ whenever possible, as they might not reach the right team!
Instead, look for specific job titles, such as the Head of Partnerships, to find the right contact details.
Be cautious when using online email-finder tools, as they may provide outdated information. The last thing you want is for your email to go astray! Always verify the contact details before hitting send.
Top tip: Use Breezy to request a lead’s contact details, and we’ll help you find relevant job titles, names, email addresses, and LinkedIn profiles. We ensure all the information is accurate and up-to-date. Schedule a demo to find out more.
3. Leverage warm outreach
We’ve mentioned warm outreach before, but it definitely deserves a highlight of its own.
This approach can significantly boost your success rate. According to smith.ai, warm calls have a conversion rate of 20-30%, and a whopping 84% of B2B decision-makers begin their purchasing journey through referrals. Those are impressive numbers!
You can discover warm leads in various places, so take some time to brainstorm and see if you have any contacts who could become valuable partners or introduce you to potential ones!
You might have encountered some valuable connections while networking at a conference or through a previous job. If you’re in the B2B sector, even your clients could turn into important partners down the line!
You don’t necessarily need to have a direct link to the decision-maker; it’s more about utilizing existing relationships to secure a warm introduction. If a warm introduction isn’t possible, simply reaching out to a prospect via email and mentioning that a mutual contact recommended you can significantly change the dynamic, transforming you from a stranger into a friend of a friend!
4. Make it personal
The prospects you’re reaching out to likely have overflowing inboxes and are inundated with partnership requests. Therefore, a generic email sent to your entire prospect list won’t be effective.
To make your email stand out, demonstrate that you’ve done your homework.
- Use their first name (and the company name if applicable)
- Clarify why you believe a partnership would be beneficial for both parties
- Present a relevant partnership idea
By showing a prospect that you’ve taken the time to understand them and their work, you’re indicating that you genuinely value the opportunity to collaborate, making it worthwhile for them to respond. Our collection of outreach strategies will also assist you in crafting an email that maximizes your chances of receiving a positive reply.
Top tip: Breezy provides data snapshots on each of your potential partners, allowing you to quickly gather essential information without leaving the Breezy platform. Schedule a demo to see how it works!
5. Focus on what’s in it for them
A major reason partnerships often falter is that brands tend to concentrate on their own gains rather than considering the advantages for their partners. It’s essential that the partnership is mutually beneficial, ensuring both parties are equally invested in its success!
When reaching out to a potential partner, try to see things from their perspective and highlight what they stand to gain from the collaboration you’re suggesting.
Ideally, this should involve outlining the path to return on investment (ROI) for your partner, as that’s typically the ultimate goal!
As part of this process, you’ll likely need to present your brand in a compelling way—why should they choose to collaborate with you over your competitors? You might want to highlight your reputation, audience reach, or any unique qualities that set you apart. Just keep in mind that the focus should be on what your potential partner can gain from the collaboration, rather than solely promoting your own achievements.
By clearly articulating the benefits of the partnership, you provide your prospect with the crucial information they need to make a decision. If they have to dig too deep to find what they need, they might lose interest and leave you waiting for a response.
6. Do the heavy lifting
We suggest presenting a well-defined proposal for how you envision working with a potential partner, rather than simply suggesting a vague collaboration.
While it’s true that the actual partnership may evolve and differ from your initial proposal, as collaboration is a shared effort requiring input from both parties, having a solid proposal will give you a foundation to engage your prospect.
This proposal should ideally include specifics about deliverables, compensation, and even the proposed duration of the partnership, along with the path to ROI.
7. Include a call to action
It’s great if your prospect is enthusiastic about your idea and eager to find out more. However, without clear next steps, it can be challenging to keep that momentum going!
That’s why it’s essential to include a call to action in your email. What specific action do you want them to take?
Often, simply asking your prospect to reply to your email will suffice. But you might also want to encourage them to schedule a call via a Calendly link, complete a form, or subscribe to a mailing list. Whatever the action may be, clarity is key! Make sure you clearly state what you want them to do, giving them the best chance to follow through.
8. Follow up
When reaching out to potential partners, think of it like a salesperson promoting a product. The most successful salespeople don’t just send one email; they follow up multiple times to achieve their goals.
In a recent podcast, our CEO, Alex Phillips, discussed the importance of recruiting affiliate partners. He noted that while the average salesperson sends two emails to a lead, over half of sales responses actually come after the fifth or sixth email!
The same principle applies to partnership outreach. If you only send one or two emails, you might miss out on a significant number of prospects who would respond later on.
To avoid losing valuable leads, consider creating comprehensive drip campaigns. Just ensure that these follow-ups are relevant and personalized, just like your initial outreach.
9. Track your results
It’s essential to establish measurement processes before launching your outreach strategy!
Make sure to track key metrics like your response rate, the average number of emails needed to receive a positive reply, and the conversion rate of responses into actual partnerships.
By keeping an eye on this data, you can refine your outreach approach over time, maximizing its effectiveness. Additionally, you’ll gain insights into which types of prospects are most likely to become partners, allowing you to focus your efforts more strategically in the future.
Partner outreach is quite manageable – with the right strategy, anyone can excel at it. Just remember to target prospects that align well with your brand. Put yourself in their position and clearly communicate the benefits they can gain from partnering with you.
Are you ready to take the plunge? Schedule a demo for Breezy to discover how our partner intelligence and discovery platform can equip you with everything you need for successful partner outreach.
