My son has got into gym training and is slightly miffed that he can’t leg press as much as his younger sister. He’s doing the reps and turning up diligently, but not hitting the big numbers yet. What he’s forgotten is that little sis started dancing at age 6. She’s spent years building her strength and her technique through gym sessions, stretching, classes and competitions. She can do split jumps and touch her toes midair, but started out by just learning how to point her feet.
At the recent F&P conference, we heard how the multi-million dollar partnership between the Fred Hollows Foundation and Specsavers started with a $25 donation. But what happened in between? Just as no one goes into a gym and deadlifts 100kgs on day one, there are small, regular reps to build the partnership muscle. In partnerships, you train the relationship before you lift the big weight together.
Not every prospect will turn into a million-dollar cash cow, especially with smaller businesses. But corporates rarely jump into deep, long-term commitments without evidence of trust and alignment. Small steps feel low-risk, high-trust-building, and internally shareable.
What are the small moments that build big partnerships?
Build internal champions
Internal champions are born in the micro-moments, not the headline-grabbing activations. They can start with a positive experience of volunteering for your charity, a great employee team activity or fundraising event. Sharon spent hours with a bunch of bankers teaching them to knit squares for a campaign that sent blankets to newborn babies. Around 100 people had a great team experience and turned into advocates for the charity. They started creating their own fundraising activities, with a little help from us, and got the attention of divisional leaders.
So when we ran a big disaster relief campaign, they were quick to mobilise and give us access to their thousands of bank branches across the country. It turned into $500k of fundraising, marketing and promotion. But it started with knitting needles and a single square.
Show up for their people
Employee engagement is consistently in the top 2 priority issues for every business. Given that research shows 70% of staff are currently disengaged, it’s a big challenge. Beyond the traditional hands-on volunteering, are you giving staff the opportunity to get to know your organisation better? That could include lunch and learn sessions, sharing your latest research, or offering a key speaker. Engagement gives your corporate partners stories and experiences they can share internally to build trust and connection.
Specsavers were able to take their optometrists to see Fred Hollows’ work on eyecare in indigenous and overseas communities. They built their own skills and created internal competition to be chosen for a valuable learning experience. The millions of dollars raised were because employees really care about the partnership, not to tick a box for PR.
Make them look good- quietly and consistently
Corporates care about very similar things: standing out from their competitors, demonstrating impact for ESG, and attracting and retaining the best talent. Small things can burnish their brand and solve their problems. Celebrating their achievements publicly, giving them shout-outs on social media or thanking them at events are all small things that make them feel valued and help to grow the relationship. You can target a key leader and give them a spotlight, which will build their loyalty to the partnership. Invite them to an intimate event, give them a speaking platform or interview them for your podcast. When they shine, they talk internally; when they talk internally, budgets open up.
We once invented a series of awards for corporate partners and invited some carefully chosen corporate partners to accept them. It gave them a great photo opportunity, content for their comms and a showcase for their commitment. All for the price of some cheap trophies.
Consider also how you can leverage their competitive environment. We secured a 6-figure commitment from a mining company simply by showing research about what their competitors had already given to a high-profile campaign. They didn’t want to be seen as the only ones not offering support to earthquake survivors. If you’re prospecting for new partners, it’s also worth indicating that you’re speaking to their direct competitors too. A client was struggling to get a meeting with Supercheap Auto until they mentioned the conversation with their sworn enemy Repco. Then they landed a meeting with the CEO first thing.
Nurture the relationship like it’s going somewhere, and it usually does. Multi-year, high-value partnerships grow from trust built in the mundane- the small moments and regular reps that flex your relationship muscle. That means consistency: being easy to work with, showing up even when you’re not asking for something and helping solve business problems.
If your partnerships aren’t growing, don’t look at your proposal; look at your small moments. What are you doing today that gives a future partner a reason to say yes tomorrow? If you want more examples of how big partnerships grow from tiny reps, we unpack it fully in Partnerships Reimagined.