Joint ventures are one of the most effective ways to grow your business. Yet, like many of the most effective marketing strategies, when done improperly, your results may often be poor.
When you try to sell your product, you use all sorts of conversion tactics such as building a relationship, getting your benefit across, using deadlines, exclusivity and calls to actions.
So it would make sense to follow the same guidelines when trying to attract joint venture partners right? Your main goal is trying to get people to take the action you want them to. People are all the same. They respond to the same triggers. It doesn't matter if they have years of experience in guerilla marketing or if they're a newbie.
Let's examine some of the trigger points that will increase your success in landing joint ventures:
1.) Building a relationship
People are more likely to work with someone they've worked with before. They're also more likely to buy from someone they've bought from before. That's because trust is the most important facet of any relationship. If you approach me and I have no clue who you are, then I automatically do not trust you until you do something to build that trust.
You can build trust in a variety of ways. One way is to refer to a mutual business partner. Let's say I've done business with your friend Jeff. I trust Jeff because we had a good business dealing. If Jeff endorses you, then you've automatically gained my trust. So go contact Jeff and have him contact me. All you have to do is ask Jeff.
Perhaps you don't know anybody in the business. That's when you use the law of reciprocity in your favor. This law states that whenever you do something nice for someone, they're more likely to reciprocate. For example, if you provide good information to prospects for free, then they feel like they owe you something.
You can do a variety of things for potential jv partners. You can create marketing material that they can use for their affiliate program. You can create screencam video tutorials of their products for them so they can give away to their customers.
It will take more work to do this than simply sending out an email. If you've researched your potential jv partner thoroughly, then you'll know the volume of business you'll gain will be worth your effort. Even if this jv prospect doesn't work with you, he'll more than likely refer you to his other heavy hitter friends.
Obviously, what I've outlined above may seem like a lot of work. You may just be happy send form letters to as many people as possible asking them to promote for product for a split of the profit. You may get a few interested people based on the volume of emails you send out. If you use the brute force tactic, you'll surely run out of prospects to email eventually.
Now that you understand the importance of building a relationship, let's look at the second trigger.
2.) Exclusivity
People like to feel like they belong to a special group. If you tell them that they were specifically selected based on some criteria, they'll feel special and will more likely respond positively. Stroke their ego a little.
Here is an example of this method:
Dear potential jv partner,
I read your article on "xyz site" and thought it was very informative. I like how you pointed out blah blah blah. Based on your article, I felt you were an authority on "xyz topic". I have a product related to this niche and I'm seeking experts in the field to promote my product for a split of the profits.
or
Dear potential jv partner,
I'm contacting you because you were recently featured as a top affiliate for 'xyz product'. I have an exclusive invitation only affiliate program and I'd like to invite heavy hitters such as yourself to join. I'm only accepting about a dozen partners at this time so that you have the benefit of less competing partners.
3.) Perks
Many people do not know the difference between an affiliate and a jv partner. This difference should be noted because a jv partner can bring you so much more business than an affiliate.
When you have an affiliate program, your affiliates are commissioned employees. In a sales organization, people who make more sales volume per given month are elevated to a higher commission level. People with spectacular selling skills are highly coveted. They are an asset. If they're not valued then they will jump to another opportunity. Why should they work for you when they get more benefit for the same amount of work elsewhere?
Your joint venture partners should get perks such as higher commissions, exclusive marketing tools, a head start etc.
Giving away your product to a potential jv partner for review is the least you should do. That's the bare minimum. I still get joint venture emails where people do not even offer to provide the product for review. It means they have not done proper research on me.
What I've listed are three ideas to keep in mind when contacting joint venture partners. There are many more triggers you can use to increase response to your proposal. Just look at the same triggers you use when trying to sell your product.
As I've mentioned before, people all respond the same way to certain emotional triggers. Utilize them every chance you get to obtain a higher response from your marketing efforts.
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