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How to convert partners into promoters

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October 16, 2025

Bain & Company research shows that "It can cost five times more to attract a new customer, than it does to retain an existing one”, therefore it is really important as corporate partnership professionals to maintain and grow our existing partnerships, and then to harness those partners to promote your charity to likeminded companies.

When roles are busy and the pressure of new business targets and the budget are upon us, it is natural to think of which new companies can be approached to help achieve those goals, but what if the solution to your problem is right in front of you, with your existing partnerships.

It’s not to say that new business shouldn’t be focused on, because of course it should, but we recommend you take on board our recommendations for exploring the potential growth from your existing partnerships and balance these actions alongside your new business goals.

To begin, firstly, you need to know what your current partners think about your charity. One of the greatest tools that we recommend to get feedback from your partners is by using a Net Promoter Survey (NPS). NPS is a globally used market research metric that takes the form of a short survey asking respondents to rate the likelihood that they would recommend your charity to others.

The outcome of the NPS gives your charity an overall score, and divides respondents into three different categorises. Firstly, detractors, people who wouldn’t recommend your charity to others to partner with, the second being passives. These partnerships are at high risk of being lost if your contact moves on, as it is likely that just your day to day contacts support your partnership. The third and final category is the promoters who would recommend you internally and externally, they are your true champions.

The image below shows how these categories are split up depending on their score out of 10.

With our wealth of experience managing charity-corporate partnerships, the Remarkable Partnerships team have put together five recommendations for how to convert any partner in to a promoter, and how to shift your partnerships up the scale to ensure your partners will stay loyal to your charity and continue to grow their support.

1 - Regular review meetings

Ensure you keep up regular honest communication with your partners by having monthly or quarterly review meetings. You may want to include what is going well, and what challenges the partnership is facing, so that each month you can discuss these things. Remember to plan your meetings face to face where possible so you can really listen to your partner and understand their feedback.

2 - Pitch to your partners

Often we don’t feel we have permission to pitch to our current partners, but why should all the new and exciting opportunities be kept for new partners? We recommend that you use their feedback from the NPS, and from your review meetings, to really listen to what is important to them, and how your charity can continue to meet their business needs. For example, if one of their current business challenges is about keeping employees engaged and motivated whilst still working at home then what is the virtual engagement event or fundraising activity that you could pitch to solve this?

3 - Engagement events

Virtual or face to face events are still a brilliant way of engaging a wider network from across your corporate partnership. Consider getting a key speaker from your charity that is able to give an inspiring update on the impact of your work, or invite a beneficiary to tell their story of how your charity has changed their life. An event with no fundraising call-to-action can inspire key stakeholders and help embedded your charity in to their organisation.

4 - Speaker events

Keep your day to day contacts close to your work by asking them to speak alongside you at conferences and events. Understanding your partners business perspective can be really valuable to be alongside your charity views at panel events or conference sessions. Inviting them to join you on these occasions can refresh their memory on the big picture of your partnership, and keep them focused on the ‘why’ your partnership exists. Co-speaking events like this also give an opportunity for the company to promote the session (and therefore the partnership) on their social media channels, which increases your charities profile amongst their network.

5 - Ask them for a testimonial

Similar to speaker events, it is only when our partners stop and reflect on your partnership do they take the time to see the huge importance that your charity has on their company mission. By asking the CEO or senior contact at your partner for a video or written testimonial where you are able to hear what they really think of the partnership. You could use the content in pitches or proposals to new partners that you are seeking. You could also ask your current partner to speak on the phone to a prospective partner to get them to hear what the reality of partnership with your charity is like.

In summary

We encourage you to once a year use NPS to review your current partnerships and see what space for growth potential there is. Then to take the necessary action to address any concerns, and implement positive actions to build trust and loyalty, resulting increasing your NPC score.

Remarkable results

Earlier this year the Remarkable Partnerships team took our own advice and ran an NPS survey for our own clients. We were delighted that we received an NPS score of +75. A score about 50 is acknowledged as excellent and that client satisfaction is high. To compare, Apple has a score of +68, Amazon +62 and Netflix +68!

If you want to learn more about exceptional account management to deliver results for your charity, why not join us on our Account Management Crash course to transform your partners into corporate champions. Our next course is running on the 23^rd, 25^th and 30^th November, find out more here: https://www.remarkablepartnerships.com/event/account-management-crash-course/

If there’s anything we can help with, we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to get in touch by emailing us at team@remarkablepartnerships.com

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1. Your Relationship: People Buy From People

The first key is trust and rapport. People buy from people they know, like and trust, which is why relationship-building is such an important part of corporate partnerships.

The strongest partnerships are rarely built in a single meeting. They are built over time through conversations, consistency and genuine interest in the other person.

Sometimes the simplest moments have the biggest impact.

Taking a few minutes to ask about someone’s weekend, holiday plans or family life helps people feel comfortable and valued. It also helps you learn more about your prospect as a person, not just as a company representative.

Remembering those details matters, questions like: “How was your holiday to Greece?” or “How’s your child settling into school?” show genuine care and help build trust over time.

Authenticity is everything. People quickly sense when relationship-building is forced or transactional and the best partnerships are built on genuine human connection.

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**2. Emotional Engagement: Make Them Feel Something**

The second key is empathy and passion about the need. People make decisions emotionally before they justify them logically. If you want a company to truly engage with your charity, they need to feel connected to the cause.

‍That’s why storytelling is so powerful.

Sharing a real story about someone your charity has supported creates emotional connection in a way statistics and presentations rarely can. Videos, service visits and first-hand experiences can be equally impactful.

When people emotionally connect with your mission, the conversation changes. It moves from: “This sounds interesting…” to: “We need to help.”

Emotion creates urgency, deepens commitment, and it often unlocks far greater value in partnerships.

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3. The Business Case: Solve Their Problem

The third key is commercial value, clearly showing what the company will gain from partnering with you.

The reality is that even if a prospect loves your cause and enjoys working with you, they still need to justify the partnership internally. Decision-makers need to see how the partnership supports their business goals, priorities or challenges.

That’s why understanding your prospect’s needs is so important. Every company is trying to achieve something. They may want to:

Increase brand awareness
Improve employee engagement
Build customer loyalty
Generate PR opportunities
Reach new audiences

Your role is to understand what matters most to them and position your partnership as part of the solution. The best way to uncover this is by asking great questions:

“What are your biggest priorities this year?”
“What challenges is your team currently facing?”
“What would success look like for you?”

The more clearly you understand their objectives, the stronger your partnership proposition becomes. That’s what great partnerships do, they create mutual value.

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Unlocking The Door

One of the simplest ways to understand how close you are to securing a new partnership is to score your prospect out of 10 across all three areas:

Relationship
Emotional engagement
Commercial value

For example:

Relationship = 9/10
Emotional engagement = 8/10
Commercial value = 2/10

Even though two areas are strong, the partnership is still unlikely to unlock because one key is missing, and this is where many partnership opportunities stall.

Scoring prospects helps you quickly identify what needs more attention:

Do you need to build more trust?
Create stronger emotional connections?
Strengthen the commercial case?

The goal is to get all three keys as close to 10 as possible. When all three keys turn together, that’s when remarkable partnerships happen.

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If you’d like to learn more about unlocking higher-value partnerships, contact Jonathan: jonathan@remarkablepartnerships.com

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What unlocks truly high-value corporate partnerships? It’s not just a great pitch. Discover the 3 essential keys every fundraiser needs to build stronger relationships, create emotional connection, and demonstrate real commercial value that companies can’t ignore.

Learn More

The Four Ways Charities Create Value For Businesses

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Charities help companies achieve the following goals:

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Employee Engagement and Retention

Corporate partnerships provide employees with opportunities to support causes that matter, strengthening morale and workplace culture.

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Competitive Differentiation

Working with charities helps businesses stand out and demonstrate purpose in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

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Sales Opportunities

Purpose-driven partnerships can strengthen customer relationships and attract new customers.

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Brand Trust and Credibility

Authentic partnerships help companies build stronger, more trusted brands.

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Right now, all four of these areas are top priorities for companies.

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Why Understanding Partnership Value Matters

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When charities understand how to measure and communicate their partnership value, something powerful happens.

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They gain the confidence to pitch bigger opportunities, create stronger proposals and negotiate partnerships based on the real value rather than guesswork.

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This shift allows charities to move beyond undervalued collaborations and instead build high-impact corporate partnerships that benefit both sides.

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Learn How To Calculate Your Partnership Value

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To help charities develop this confidence, Remarkable Partnerships have created a new service: Unlock Corporate Partnerships Value Workshop.

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This practical session is designed to help charities understand the value they can offer companies and apply a simple framework to calculate it.

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During the workshop, you will learn:

About the four types of partnership value.
Explore why understanding value helps secure higher-value corporate partnerships.
See examples from successful corporate charity partnerships.
Work through an interactive exercise calculating the value of a current partner or prospect.

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The session lasts 2 hours and 30 minutes and provides a practical method charities can continue using when developing future partnerships.

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If you’d like to learn more about the workshop, contact: jonathan@remarkablepartnerships.com

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Many charities undervalue their corporate partnerships, limiting both impact and opportunity. This article explores why, the real value charities bring to businesses, and how understanding it can unlock stronger partnerships, with a workshop for those looking to take it further.