Partnero Spotlight: Introducing Patricia McCoy, CEO of Fero Sakti

Welcome to Partnero Spotlight, an interview blog series, brought to you by Partnero. This series features and highlights innovative and leading individuals or teams in the partnership world. Whether you are starting from scratch or wanting to improve your partnership program, here are learnings that you (and us!) can take away.

If you’re considering launching a partnership program, this read is for you!

Partnerships at Fero Sakti

Last week, we sat down with Patricia McCoy, CEO of Fero Sakti, who recently launched a partnership program.

Patricia was a civil engineer in Brazil, where she met her husband. Since moving to the United States, she has become the COO of WhiteFlag and founded her own marketing agency. Fero Sakti is a women-led conscious marketing agency focused on helping women-founded or women-led businesses.

Fero Sakti embodies a unique blend of feminine strength, sensitivity, and empowerment. They are committed to elevating women-led businesses through impactful and conscious marketing, especially women-led ones. Their approach ensures that brands succeed and contribute to a more inclusive and empowered future for all.

What Partnership Program Does Fero Sakti Run?

Patricia truly cherishes the power of community and personal recommendations. That’s why Fero Sakti runs a referral program, and here is how it works! The program is mainly for:

Current clients who enjoy their services and want to share their love.
Past clients who had a good experience and want to share the love.
Partners and collaborators who have worked with them.
Social media followers who engage with them online.

Fero Sakti’s referral program is designed to reward those who support them in expanding their network. By referring new clients to Fero Sakti, participants can earn rewards while helping others experience their services.

Referral Process

Here is what the referral process looks like:

Referrers submit a referral via email.
Referrers must provide the contact details of the person you're referring to.

Referral Rewards

Fero Sakti’s partnership program rewards both the referrers and the referred!

Referrers earn:

Cash Reward: 10% of the referred client’s project value upon successful completion.
Discounts: 50% off future services for every successful referral.
Exclusive Access: Early access to new services and events.

Referred clients also get the following:

Discount: 50% off their first project.
Exclusive Access: Early access to new services and events.

Terms and Conditions

Here are some other terms and conditions:

Successful referrals must result in a completed project.
Referred clients must be new to Fero Sakti.
Referrals are valid for one year.
Rewards are issued within 30 days of project completion.
No limit on the number of referrals.

The Partnero Spolight Interview

Q: Why did you start Fero Sakti?

“I was heading operations at WhiteFlag for three years and loved the marketing aspect of things. I trained my team, showed them ‌my vision and voice, and aligned them. And then last year, I was like, okay, I think you have it down. I'm able to do my own thing. So, I returned to Brazil last year for my mom's birthday and said I think I'm ready to start my business.

In South America, there’s lots of domestic abuse. My goal is always to help women, and I like marketing. So, I‌ opened my marketing agency in Brazil first. I used to call it Caktus Agency. And then, this February, I wanted to expand to the US. There were some trademark issues with the name. I took the opportunity to rebrand the entire company. I changed the name with the same idea behind it – focusing on female business owners.

So that's how Fero Sakti became. The idea was that women survive in harsh environments. We go through so much and can be successful. Helping female business owners succeed gives them the power back, the power of choice, and for everything. I had to change the name but wanted to keep this.”

Q: Why did you launch a referral program this early in your new business?

“Being an immigrant business owner is a challenge. I don't have ‌childhood connections. I don't have ‌college friendships. And for example, like if I went to college here, I would probably have friends who own businesses that I could sell my service to.

Getting business has been a very big challenge for me right now. I’m looking to bring in an outreach team to get relationships going. And that’s also why I’m looking at partnerships.

This also works for people who may not want to work with me now but know someone who might benefit from it. So that's why I created that referral program, but I also have the influencer partnership going on.”

Q: What is the biggest challenge of starting a referral program from scratch?

“Right now, it’s getting people into the referral program. I am relying on word of mouth, but also want to bring in an outreach team. I'm having a hard time getting started, for sure.

I'm looking at strategies I can use and get those clients in. I’ve created a deck to show who we are and what makes us different so people who want to refer us can do it easily.

The main KPI I’m tracking is the number of clients we get through the referral program. I know the referral program worked if they signed a contract with me. And if they continue renewing the contract, I know the program is working.”

Q: What’s next for the referral program?

“I looked into a platform, but the pricing isn’t in my current budget. It’s a couple hundred, even for the smallest plans. That’s not doable for me right now.

I’d like a platform that optimizes my referral program and keeps track of referrals and who they’ve brought in as clients. Right now, it's easier for me to do spreadsheets and email and communicate like that just because I'm so small. I would do it today because that would make me look more professional if it were more affordable.”

Partnero’s Takeaway

Launching a partnership program from scratch is daunting. We learn so much from our interview guests. Through this interview with Patricia, we’re learning a lot about the early-day struggles of a partnership program. This includes:

Gaining momentum for the program.
Tracking your partnership program and making sure everything is in one place.
Main KPI to track and how success is defined. In this case, Patricia notes the number of clients signed up through the program.
Finding an affordable partnership management platform when your program is starting.

We're also taking notes on how to adjust pricing. Partnero is offering a 30-day free trial, so sign up today!