четверг, 20 июня 2024 г.

How to Write a Partnership Proposal

 


Partnerships generate $3.9 billion per year in the U.S. and supercharge the revenue of companies like Microsoft, Atlassian, and Shopify. Teaming up with another professional or company can multiply your capacity, expertise, and growth.

With so much at stake, approaching a potential partner can be intimidating. Whenever I make a business pitch, there are three items I work to perfect. First, an underlying relationship to build on. Second, a stellar verbal presentation for a pitch meeting. And third, a killer partnership proposal.

A partnership proposal is a powerful tool to showcase your professionalism and convince your potential partner why they should collaborate with you. I’ve compiled what you should include in your proposal, plus four partnership proposal templates to give you a head start.


To make an effective proposal, show that you understand your partner’s motivations, mission, values, and goals. Here, I personalized my pitch with details about my future partner’s values, strengths, and achievements.


3. Showcase Your Value

While the main focus of your proposal should be on your partner’s motivations, you need to prove why you are the right partner for them — and no one else. Talk yourself up and demonstrate how your value proposition can enhance their value proposition. Here, I took a visual approach by showing the career achievements of one of the partners.


4. Outline the Structure

Now, it’s time for the nitty-gritty. Remember, this isn’t a contract, but it’s time to start giving shape to the partnership. Ask an attorney to consult on the best legal structure.

If this is a limited-scope partnership, break down all the little details — budget, timeline, roles, expectations, communication, and deliverables. Specify how disputes will be resolved if there are any.


5. Discuss and Negotiate

A partnership proposal is just one milestone in a partnership discovery process. Take your time setting the right terms and tone for the deal.

Once you’ve submitted a partnership proposal, welcome a dialogue and back-and-forth negotiation as you align your goals and values and settle on terms.

The proposal is a living document that you can update and replace with a formal agreement if all goes well.


Partnership Proposal Template

Take and adapt HubSpot’s free business proposal template for a quick way to get started.

I like this template because it’s easy to use and available in both Word and PDF formats.

The template comes with expert tips to guide you through each section, from understanding the problem to pitching the solution


Partnership Proposal Examples

If you’re looking for inspiration — and maybe some more templates — take a look at these stellar partnership proposals.

Partnership Proposal by Pitch


Format: Slide deck

What I like: Visuals that pop

A podcast network pitches a partnership with a creator in this fictional partnership. This colorful proposal by Pitch uses a slide format to outline a potential partnership. Pay attention to the “Values” and “Team” slides, putting the company’s best foot forward through text and visuals. I also like how they break up long walls of text with bullets, graphics, and photos.

The “Next Steps” section leads into action by making it easy to respond and say yes.

Business Partnership Proposal by PandaDoc


Format: PandaDoc (online or exportable to PDF)

What I like: Fillable sections

If you want to impress your partner with a professional document, take a gander at PandaDoc’s business partnership proposal template. It sprinkles tasteful design elements here and there to toe the line between buttoned-up and innovative. I particularly like the layout of the SWOT analysis and goals and objectives sections.

Fillable sections make it fast to populate. When you enter your partner’s name once, it enters it on every page it’s needed. And when your proposal is ready for a signature, you can e-sign right on the document.

Influencer Proposal Template by Beautiful.ai


Format: Slide deck

What I like: Animated elements

Most proposals aren’t printed anymore — they’re viewed on a computer or smartphone. So, why not create one that’s designed for it? Beautiful.ai’s influencer marketing proposal gives a gorgeous blueprint for a partnership between a brand and an influencer. This proposal covers everything an influencer might need to know about a campaign, from messaging to budget to the content review process.

The subtle animation on the graphics gives a nice touch, but the clear outline of goals and metrics is even better. The slides are also quick to customize with just a prompt powered by AI.

Partnership Proposal Tips

Brandice Daniel, CEO and founder of Harlem's Fashion Row (HFR) and author of Small Business, Big Partnership, shared how pivotal a proposal is in landing a partner.

“The partnership deck is so important. You’re basically saying to a brand, ‘You want to have a conversation with me and here’s why.’ You’re building credibility.”

Daniel also shared tips on the Earn Your Leisure podcast about what makes a great partnership proposal.

1. Presentation Matters

“The partnership proposal is like how you’re wrapping your company,” Daniel advises. “Consider getting a professional graphic artist to design your deck, and try to keep it to 10 pages.”

2. Highlight Your Audience

Daniel reminds us that, At the end of the day, brands want to partner with your audience. The reason they’re going to partner with you is because they think they’re going to be able to get more business by working with you.” She recommends to “highlight who they are, what they do, and how they connect with your brand.”

3. Connect Outside of the Document

A proposal is just a tool — and how you connect outside of the document matters. “People underestimate human connection. If people get on the phone with you, if they’re feeling your vibe and they’re excited, it’s a different conversation,” says Daniel.

Scale Your Business With Partnerships

Partnerships are magical because they give you access to a new audience and expand your capacity and expertise. But finding a good fit can make the difference between a successful partnership and a failed one.

When done right, the proposal process surfaces priorities and values that inform whether the partnership should proceed. I was surprised to find that partnership proposals are such a unique blend of high-level vision and financial and legal details. Neither is more important than the other; both are needed to make a proposal effective.


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Measuring Results Like Expert

 


What gets measured gets managed, here's how to do it right:

Here's the hard truth -

Businesses often chase flashy tactics instead of
using strategies that actually make a difference.

We've all been there -
➟ Investing resources into projects
➟ Without understanding what success looks like

The consequence?

70% fail to deliver on their strategic objectives.

Because they don't measure what truly counts
(Source: Kaplan & Norton).

So, as you craft your strategy, ask yourself:

➟ Are my efforts leading to measurable growth?

➟ Am I turning data into actionable insights?

If not, it’s time to pivot with purpose.

Real growth begins where random effort ends.

Track your triumphs.

(Credit for opening line: Peter Drucker)

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