READ ON PHILHSC.COM | READ TIME: 3 MINUTES | 28 MAY, 2025

Welcome to Partnership Wednesday #96 featuring ideas you can use to create partnerships faster, with less guesswork, and confidently close 6-figure deals.

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A LESSON TO BUILD ON

In 2013, Apple partnered with GT Advanced Technologies to produce sapphire glass for iPhones, backed by a $578 million loan from Apple. Within a year, GTAT filed for bankruptcy, overwhelmed by the pressure to scale rapidly. Despite the funding, the venture collapsed under mismatched expectations, opaque communication, and operational gaps. Apple walked away with lessons and GTAT didn’t survive.

Leadership Lesson: Capital alone doesn’t make a partnership work. Without aligned expectations, transparent collaboration, and operational readiness, even a deal with a tech giant can turn from opportunity to cautionary tale (fast).

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AN ANSWER TO HELP YOU MOVE FASTER

We’re reaching out to new potential partners but no one’s returning our calls. How do we get people to respond? I was asked this question from the crowd this week. Here’s my answer:
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There is often an inconvenient truth when it comes to out-reach: Your opening message is killing the deal.
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Too many opening pitches sound like this:
“We’d love to explore a potential collaboration.”
“We admire your work, let’s chat.”
“Could we partner on something?”
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If that sounds familiar, know that that’s not a pitch. It’s a punt.
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Every high-converting partnership pitch has 3 qualities:
​1. Contains a compelling opening offer
2. Offers a clear basis for partnership
3. Is easily repeated​
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Here are three best-practice examples that open doors and drive replies.
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​Example 1​
“We provide AI-driven customer insights that can increase your conversion rates by 25%..."
⤷ Compelling opening offer​
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"...and your established retail footprint would allow us to scale our analytics platform to a wider audience.”
⤷ Clear basis for partnership​
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​Example 2​
“Our sustainable packaging solutions can reduce your material costs by 15%..."
⤷ Compelling opening offer​
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"...and enhance your brand’s eco-friendly reputation, while your strong market presence would help us expand into new industry segments.”
⤷ Clear basis for partnership​
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​Example 3​
“We bring advanced cybersecurity solutions that can cut your data breach risk by 40%..."
⤷ Compelling opening offer​
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"...and your enterprise client base would enable us to showcase our technology’s effectiveness at scale.”
⤷ Clear basis for partnership​
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​And here are the common mistakes to avoid (and why they fall flat)
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“We’d love to partner with you.”
⤷ No offer. No clarity. No reason to act.
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“Let’s jump on a call to explore synergies.”
⤷ Vague = ignored.
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“Are you open to collaborations?”
⤷ Generic = deleted.
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​Bottom line: If your offer can’t be repeated in a hallway, it won’t survive a partner’s inbox.
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→ Open with value
→ Make it easy to say yes
→ And always show them what’s in it for both of you
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THIS WEEK'S MOMENT (Insight for your commute)

Are you sick of investing time in potential partners, only to be let down by mismatched values or hidden agendas?

In this 6-minute episode:

• Learn how online behaviors like comments and content engagement can predict partnership success
• Discover the fastest way to weed out time-wasters and focus on aligned, high-impact players
• Build your own “Partner Playbook” to consistently qualify the right collaborators at scale

Get every episode of the Partnership Playbook on your next commute or workout. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Youtube!

KNOW PEOPLE WHO FEEL STUCK?

Share this issue via text, social media, or email by copying and pasting this link:

​https://philhsc.com/partnership/28-may-2025​

See you next Wednesday,

Phil Hayes-St Clair
Business Partnerships Expert & Coach

​Find me on LinkedIn or Book a 1:1 Call​

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