How To Create Joint Ventures by Rod Moore

Often I am asked by clients ... 'What is the fastest way to grow my business?'

My response is nearly always the same. It is really simple ... find someone else who already has your specific target market gathered together as a group and create a joint venture partnership with them.

This is quite simply the fastest way to grow your business and attract more clients to you.

Think about it ...

You can either go out and start building a database of prospective people from your target market one-by-one. This will involve lots of marketing, placing advertisements, attending lots of networking events, speaking, doing direct mail, marketing on the Internet and so on. In time you will build a database of prospective clients true.

If you follow this path then you will spend a lot of time and money to acquire a database of prospective clients. This is the path that most people take to build their business and for many people the money runs out before they build enough momentum.

The alternative is to go to where the database has already been gathered.

Creating Joint Ventures is without doubt the fastest way to grow your business because someone else has already done the gathering together of the target market.

Now the problem with creating JV's is that most people approach it all wrong.

When you come across someone who has a database of your prospective clients the tendency is to get excited about the potential positive impact this can have on your business. So you rush right in and ask them if they will promote you to their database.

Big mistake!

Trust me ... this happens all the time. Recently while promoting the Mega Networking & Referral Event I have been approached by a number of people wanting to speak at the event. I am almost certain that each of them had in the back of their mind how good it would be for their business if they go the opportunity to speak at the event (which of course it would be).

Problem is ... none of these people took the time to understand why it would be good for the event, the attendees or the organisers of the event, to have them speak. In other words they were only focused on what they would get out of it.

[Sidenote: The Mega Networking & Referral Event is being built almost entirely on Joint Venture relationships. The key has been focusing on the value to those we have entered into JV relationships with ... ie ... What are they going to get out of it?]

So how do you successfully establish Joint Venture partnerships then?

Well there are a few simple basic keys to making this work:

1/ Identify the right opportunity - You want to always be looking for those businesses who share the same target market as you. Now you want to be very specific and clear about who your target market is. Most people have to vauge an idea of a target market. You want to be specific as this will make it easier to identify the right opportunities.

2/ Same Target Market Different Product or Service - The ideal JV partnership is with someone who shares the same target market but provides a non-competing product or service. So before you dive right in and send them an email do some research to see if you compete with them or not.

3/ Win - Win May Nott Cut It - Many of us have been taught in the past to try and create win win scenarios. That's a great starting place but I have found when setting up JV partnerships that you need to create a situation where the other party stands to gain far more than you do. So think how you can present to them an opportunity where the other party stands to gain a lot by allowing you access to their database.

4/ Before You Dive In - Think ... Plan and Strategise! I can't tell you the number of times I have been approached by people wanting to do JV's with me BUT they have given it no thought, have done no research on my business and therefore come to me with no plan. When I hear the words ... 'I was wondering if we can somehow work together in a JV?' I know they have not thought it through. On the other hand ... when someone comes to me with a well thought out plan then I am more likely to listen to what they have to say. The key here is do not expect the person you are approaching to do a JV with to do all of the thinking. Think first, create a plan then approach them.

5/ Build a Relationship - The best JV partnerships that I have created have come about through existing relationships. I mentioned before that I am often approached by people wanting to do JV's with me ... when I ask them to come back to me with a plan I rarely hear from them. This is a big mistake. If you want someone to give you access to their database (ie The most valuable asset in their business) then they must first get to know you, like you and trust you. So focus on building a relationship with them first.

6/ Irresistible Offer - When you do finally get the go ahead to do a JV you need to give careful consideration to how you structure it. I like to make what is called an Irresistible Offer. So if someone agrees to promote me to their database then I would structure that promotion around something that is irresistible to the target market. You can read more about the use of an IO in the Attraction Marketing System.

So there you have 6 valuable keys to creating successful JV partnerships.

The most important thing to remember is to focus on the other person and what they will get out of it. If we look at what I have done with the Mega Networking & Referral Event the reason why we have brought on board so many JV partners is because each of them stands to gain massive amounts of exposure for their business. So it is a scenario where everyone wins.

So ... how can you create more JV's in your business?