Imagine someone promises to recommend your company - a fellow entrepreneur you are friendly with, the salon next door, an office that serves the same clients as you. They genuinely want to help. Except that a week later they are not quite sure how to introduce you, have nothing to hand a client, and the subject quietly fades. Not because they did not want to - because they were not given anything concrete to hold. A ready promotional pack solves exactly this problem.
A partner who is meant to recommend you is neither a client nor an employee - they are someone lending you their trust with their own audience. The less work it costs them, the more willingly and often they do it. Your job is to hand them everything on a plate: materials to show, something to give away and a simple guide on how to talk about you.
In this article we build such a pack element by element: what to put in it, how to prepare a short brief about your company and how to bring the whole thing together into a set the partner will gladly pick up and start using.
- A partner pack is a referral set: a folder, leaflets to lay out, business cards with a partner code, vouchers for their clients and a short mini-brief.
- The key rule: the less work the pack leaves for the partner, the more often they reach for it.
- The mini-brief is a single page - who you are, who you are for, one sentence to say to the client.
- A card or voucher with a partner code lets you recognise who sent the client.
- The folder ties everything together visually and makes the set look like a ready gift rather than a pile of loose papers.
How a partner pack differs from ordinary materials
Standard leaflets describe what you do. A partner pack has to do something more - to arm someone else so they can talk about you on your behalf. That changes how you think about content and form.
Ordinary materials speak to the end client. A partner pack speaks to two people at once: to the partner ("here is how easily you can recommend me") and to their client ("here is a company you can trust"). That is why a well-designed set contains both things to show and things to give away - the partner keeps some as a cheat sheet and hands the rest on.
What to put in the folder
The heart of the pack is its contents. It is worth choosing them so the partner has a complete kit for every situation: something to show on the desk, something to hand the client and something that stays with them as a reminder.
- Leaflets to lay out - a few pieces to place on the counter, in the waiting room or to hand to an interested client. Folded leaflets work well, because they fit more content and look sturdier than a single sheet.
- Business cards with a partner code - a few cards with your details and a highlighted code or partner name. The partner hands them to the client instead of copying your contact onto a scrap of paper.
- Vouchers for the partner's clients - a gesture the partner can give their audience on your behalf. An elegant thank-you voucher makes the referral a concrete benefit rather than just a company name.
- A mini-brief on the collaboration - one page that explains to the partner how to introduce you. More on it in a moment.
If you want the set to make an even bigger impression, it is worth considering adding a company gadget or a flash drive with materials. We write about how to combine different media into one considered set in our post on how to combine a flash drive, a leaflet and a business card into a promotional set.
The mini-brief: how to introduce us
This is the most often skipped and at the same time the most valuable element of the pack. A partner rarely knows your offer as well as you do. A one-page mini-brief takes the burden of inventing what to say off their shoulders - they get ready-made words.
A good brief fits on one page and answers a few simple questions:
- Who you are in one sentence - so the partner can repeat it from memory.
- Who you are for - whom exactly it is worth recommending you to and in what situation.
- What to say to the client - one or two ready sentences the partner can say outright.
- What to hand over and what the client gains - briefly about the voucher and how to use it.
The point is that the partner should not have to invent or learn anything. The simpler the brief, the greater the chance the partner actually uses it - and your company gets introduced just as well every time.
Write the mini-brief as if you were tipping off a friend over coffee, not drafting terms and conditions. Short sentences, a concrete example situation, one line to remember. If, after reading it, the partner can say in two sentences what you do - the brief has done its job.
The folder, or the first impression
You could hand all these elements over loose, but then the set looks like randomly gathered papers. A folder turns it into a gift. A bundled set in a company folder says "we prepared this especially for you" and treats the partner seriously from the first moment.
The folder also plays a practical role - it holds everything together, protects the leaflets from bending and gives the partner one place to reach for when an opportunity to recommend comes up. It is worth making it look consistent with the rest: the same logo, the same colours, the same character as the leaflets and vouchers inside. Thick cardboard and a finish in matt, gloss or velvety Soft Touch film add solidity, and a wider spine holds the whole set without bending the sheets.
How to hand over the pack and support the partner
Even the best pack works better when you hand it over in person and briefly explain how to use it. Handing over the set is a good moment to agree on a simple rule of collaboration and to show the partner that the relationship matters to you.
- Hand it over in person if you can - a few minutes of conversation when passing the folder does more than a courier delivery without a word.
- Ensure recognisability - a partner code on the card or voucher means you know who really recommends you, and whom to thank.
- Keep the stock topped up - when the partner runs out of leaflets and vouchers, that is a good sign. Add another batch before they ask for it.
It is also worth remembering that a partner pack is one of several kinds of company sets that can reach different people. We break down the differences between materials for clients, employees and business contacts in our post on how gadgets for clients, employees and business contacts differ. And if you want the vouchers in the pack to work twice over - as a gift and as advertising - take a look at our post on gift vouchers as a product and company advertising.
A promotional pack for a partner is nothing more than making their life easier: the less they have to figure out, the more willingly they recommend you. A folder that makes a good first impression, leaflets and cards to hand out, vouchers as a concrete gesture and a single page of mini-brief so the partner always knows what to say - that is all it takes to make recommending simple and natural. When you give someone ready tools, recommending stops being a favour and becomes something done in passing, simply because it is easy.
