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Top tips for ‘Building Relationships with Business’ It’s always useful to learn from our peers. Here from a few horses’ mouths are some additional top tips from VCS organisations experienced in business partnering: It’s a long game – building partnerships takes time and may need to be re-thought from time to time based on changing circumstances. It’s not something that is likely to happen overnight. You are building relationships which take investment of time, people, money and energy. Those moments of serendipity are likely to come as a result of earlier conversations, seeds planted etc.

Know your value and values. Just because your services are free does not mean they aren’t worth paying for. Know what the value of those services is, let potential partners know that and where appropriate request that they pay for involvement. As for your organisational values, know these well, as they will influence what decisions you are making. Don’t compromise your values or underestimate your value. Be proud of what you do and make your partners feel privileged to be involved.

Ask yourself what you can offer: what do we do that is special, unique, and how can we get companies involved? Why would a business want to get involved? Make sure you listen carefully, understand their objectives but also be clear about your own. Most companies are not going to get involved with a charity out of the goodness of their hearts. They want to see some tangible benefit – to their image, to their staff morale, to their bottom line. If you can come up with a proposition that delivers these things, they are more likely to get involved. Remember you’re speaking different languages!

Design opportunities that work for them. Companies want to feel involved e.g. through volunteering, but can’t spend much time away from the office due to work demands. Devise activities that primarily help your clients but that are constructed in a way that is attractive business partners.

Choose your partner carefully and spend time getting to know each other. Trust is key but naivety is bad for business. You need to build trust with a partner but be careful as big players might take advantage if you aren’t careful. Project-manage, define outcomes and be clear about your goals. Where practical and possible, keep deadlines fluid and be creative with ideas for joint working.

Be professional and remember your manners. Give your partner feedback and a programme summary so they can share it around. Help your partner create their ‘story’.

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Background to the author and the LVSC business partnership training and support

Business Unusual is an agency for commercial businesses, intermediary bodies and socially-led organisations that want to create internal and external positive change through strategic business-community engagement.

Providing services in facilitation, strategy development, programme evaluation and training, the Business Unusual team helps: private companies to embed meaningful community engagement activities into their core business; the social sector to build links with commercial business and open doors to new partnerships; and intermediary bodies to offer effective business-community engagement support services to their stakeholders.

Business Unusual has been working with LVSC through ‘London for All’ (and since 2012) to provide business partnership training and support to VCS organisations in London.

This support and this briefing have been delivered through the ‘London for All’ project which is LVSC’s capacity building project funded by London Councils.

London Councils is committed to fighting for more resources for London and getting the best possible deal for London’s 33 councils. To read about London Councils’ grants funding and the work of some of the groups we support please visit www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/grants For any further information on the contents of this briefing please contact: Tim Brogden, Policy Project Manager, LVSC tim@lvsc.org.uk 020 7832 5813