How to price partnerships (to make it worth your while)
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Welcome to Partnership Wednesday #111 featuring ideas you can use to create partnerships faster, with less guesswork, and confidently close 6-figure deals.
Know someone who could use this edition? Share it with them here.
Have a burning partnership question? Email me here
A LESSON TO BUILD ON
In 2017, IKEA designers joined NASA at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah to experience life in a simulated space habitat. The goal was to learn how humans thrive in extreme, resource-scarce environments. The result was the RUMTID collection (launched in 2018), a line of lightweight, modular furniture and air-purifying systems inspired by space living but designed for cramped city apartments.
The leadership lesson? Innovation often comes from the edges. By studying astronauts’ challenges (limited space, need for flexibility, and the psychology of isolation) IKEA uncovered solutions relevant to millions of urban dwellers. The real breakthroughs emerge when you expose teams to extreme contexts and force them to rethink assumptions.
AN ANSWER TO HELP YOU MOVE FASTER
How do I price partnerships that make it worth my business’s time? I was asked this question from the crowd this week. Here’s my answer:
This is one of my favourite topics, and while every partnership is different, a first principles approach helps.
Let’s begin with one reality: Most partnerships aren’t underpriced. They’re under-calculated.
I see this problem most weeks: Partnerships get priced on hope.
“We’ll get exposure.”
“We’ll gain credibility.”
“We’ll save costs.”
But without math, these are just guesses.
And guesses don’t survive boardrooms, pivots, or leadership changes.
That’s why every partnership I help close runs through the same discipline: Two measurable benefits per partner. Four calculations per deal.
Why two? Because one benefit is never enough.
Priorities shift.
Leaders leave.
Markets change.
If a deal only has a single benefit, momentum collapses the moment that benefit weakens.
Two benefits create resilience. One engine fails, the plane still flies.
And here’s the kicker: Adoption is the true currency of partnerships.
Logos don’t pay the bills. Consumption does.
Run the four calculations with a consumption lens:
→ Revenue = sign-ups × activation × retention × spend
→ Access = market share × active users
→ Cost savings = efficiencies actually adopted
→ Risk reduction = failures actually avoided
...and you stop debating opinions and start aligning on facts.
The lesson:
Leaders closing partnerships rarely lose because they overpaid. They lose because value wasn’t calculated in the first place.
Here’s an infographic that might help you navigate this topic further.
THIS WEEK’S MOMENT
What if the next trillion-dollar company isn’t in AI... but in waste?
In this 11 minute episode, discover how infrastructure partnerships are:
Turning waste, emissions, and power strain into revenue streams
Pre-locking supply and compliance advantages through collaboration
Reframing “unsexy” sectors as strategic growth engines
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?
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Until next Wednesday,
Phil Hayes-St Clair - Executive Coach
When you're ready, there are three ways I can help you:
1. The Partnership Lab The Partnership Lab is an AI-fuelled system for sales and marketing leaders who need to close 6-figure partnerships in 6 weeks.
2. The Partnership Decision Sprint: 45-minute sessions built for leaders facing high-stakes partnership decisions. Invite up to three people from your team and walk away with clear, actionable next steps.
3. Leadership Events: From Cochlear and Lifeblood to military leaders, I have shared inspiring stories and practical frameworks and insights that shift how leaders leverage partnerships for growth. Book me to speak at your next conference, offsite, or leadership event.
Looking for something different? Send me an email.
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