The other day I was asked “How do I motivate a potential joint venture partner to bite? When you have a great idea and you’ve located the perfect partner, how do you motivate them to do business with you?”
I talked on many occasions about the power of a USP and how to define one. Being unique, or having an interesting twist or hook, will definitely up your chances of getting noticed.
But regardless of how you approach your prospective partner, before you do it is important to craft the offer in a manner that shows the benefits to your joint-venture partner.
Here are a few extra tricks to motivate a potential partner
More often than not, showing how their clients or prospects will benefit from your offering is a big step for- ward. Look at all the potential benefits your partnership provides. Don’t stick with the obvious. Dig deep, and list all the advantages they get from doing this venture.
At the very least, and aside from the extra money they earn, if you can show your partner how your offering will benefit their prospects and make your partner look good, you have a head-start.
But don’t stop there.
Think about it: if your partnership will make your partner look good, what will that translate into? More money? Sure. But it can also translate into:
- More sales of their own products.
• More publicity and visibility in the marketplace.
• More word-of-mouth advertising.
• More brand equity and trust from their people.
• New distribution channels to exploit.
• New markets to enter.
• New or increased opt-in lists.
• Different testing possibilities.
• And so on.
Personally, I hate it when a potential joint-venture partner approaches me only to offer me a portion of the sales. This is typical of most commission- based affiliate sales, and is by no means a joint-venture partnership at all.
A Joint Venture is a Joint Venture
(It particularly irks me when a potential partner asks me to contribute content or share my resources when they have nothing to share with me. Why would I give up a percentage of my own sales? So don’t do that.)
Again, there must be something different. Something extra. Something else that makes this a truly viable and worth- while investment of your partner’s time, marketing, and intellectual property.
Bundling products or offers is an effective strategy. If the JV’s product is a non-competing one, complements your product, and fits your market too, then it can be bundled with yours to create an entirely new and separate offering.
If you have a list that can benefit your partner and if your partner has a list you can promote to, or if you can build a new one together that you both can share ownership, that’s an- other added benefit.
But let’s say there isn’t anything else.
Let’s say you have created a truly ex- ceptional product that would greatly benefit your partner’s people. And let’s assume you’re looking to leverage profits from your product off of a joint- venture partner’s opt-in list.
First off, you need to have sales materials ready and tested to prove that:
- Your product is in demand.
- Your product is already selling.
- Your product is selling well.
In this case, you can offer 50% of the sales, and include a sample of your product and your proven, high-convert- ing sales letter, if possible.
Again, point out the benefits. Their list will appreciate the valuable prod- uct they’re offering, and they will ap- preciate your partner for thinking of them, too.
But do your homework first!
