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As always,
people fear (and minimalize) the things they don't understand.
And for most small business owners, this attitude holds
up with doing Joint Ventures as well as a means of generating
profits.
They'd rather
struggle along on their own then take the "risk" of
learning more about something they don't understand. (This is
often why you'll encounter resistance when you make propositions
and distribute JV proposals). The fact of the matter is that
a partnership with the right business can transform your results
in record time. And it can also transform your lifestyle.
But this
simple concept of leverage is often scorned because it either
seems "too good" to be true - or worse - it seems
"wrong". I can't even begin to imagine how much these
myths are costing hundreds upon thousands of businesses - large
and small - around the globe today.
But let's
bring this closer to home...
Maybe you're
tired of hitting brick walls all the time in your JV recruitment
campaigns because your prospects don't "get it" -
or maybe you're finding yourself skeptical or simply uninformed
of the realistic potential and statistical performance
that real-life joint ventures can bring to the table (and to
the bank account)...
So to clarify
things, here are 5 of the most common "JV Myths",
as explained by guest writer Habiba Abubukar...
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"Five
Most Common Mistaken Beliefs About Joint Venture Marketing"
Apart from
being the fastest, easiest, and most profitable
strategy for attracting clients and boosting profits in any
small business, there are so many other advantages of joint
venture marketing for all parties involved. So, why aren’t
all small business owners implementing joint ventures?
Here’s
a partial list of the most common mistaken beliefs about joint
venture marketing. I’ve picked the top five to shorten
your reading time, but you can listen to more mistaken beliefs
when you tune in to hear me being interviewed by Doug Hudiburg
at http://tinyurl.com/cov4d.
Mistaken
Belief #1: That There’s A High Risk Of Losing Money.
If you’re
like most small business owners, then the fear of losing money
is inevitable because you’re probably on a shoestring budget
to start with. However, you can’t lose money when you’re
paying for results only. You only pay out a commission when
your joint venture partners’ clients buy from you. So,
you actually get the revenue before incurring the expense.
The only
other pre-sale expenses are production costs and printing/postage
costs for letters, coupons or vouchers. Whether you do joint
ventures or not, these are costs you’ll incur anyway, because
you’ll need those coupons or vouchers for other marketing
tactics. So, the belief that there’s a high risk of losing
money is misplaced.
Mistaken
Belief #2: That You’ll Lose Your Clients.
Your
clients will purchase other products and services whether
you like it or not. So, it would do your business good to
recommend what they purchase and make a profit from it.
In fact,
recommending high-quality products and services to your clients
will strengthen your relationship with them. How? Firstly,
you’re shortening their decision-making process by saving
them the time they’ll otherwise spend on finding and trying
out those products and services. Secondly, by arranging exclusive
discounts and bonuses, you’re saving them money. By saving
them time and money, you’re adding value to what you already
offer your clients, and this will therefore strengthen your
client relationships.
Mistaken
Belief #3: That Doing Joint Ventures Will Eat Your Profits
Most small
business owners would rather struggle to get clients,
and get mediocre profits at best, instead of sharing the profits
with a joint venture partner that sends clients their way.
They
don’t realize that joint venturing actually eliminates
the risk of wasting money. For
example, when you pay for an advert, you have no clue whether
it will generate responses or not. So, you’ll lose money
if the ad fails.
With a joint
venture, you only pay for results. So, giving a percentage of
your profits away has got to be better than flushing the money
down the drain… because that’s what happens when you
spend $300 on an ad that doesn’t generate responses.
Mistaken
Belief #4: That Joint Ventures Are Complicated
Of course
there are complicated joint ventures, but there are so many
simple and short-term joint ventures that a beginner can start
with.
It only
starts getting complicated when you’re looking at joint
ventures like the one between Merrill Lynch and HSBC a few years
ago. The two banks combined logos and actually had a service
called Merrill Lynch HSBC, which had a building on Regents Street
in London. That might have been profitable for Merrill Lynch
and HSBC, but you don’t have to do that if you don’t
have the tools or resources.
Any small
business owner can do joint ventures that are a lot simpler.
For example, you could host a seminar with your partner and
both promote it to your client lists. You’ll both walk
away with more clients and huge profits.
Mistaken
Belief #5: That Joint Ventures Require A Lot Of Time And Effort.
Of course
time and effort go into the preparation. However, joint venture
marketing is one of the very few strategies that don’t
take much effort or time to implement.
If you’re joint venturing with people that are in your
network or people that can be introduced to you by someone in
your network, then the relationship-building process is shortened.
This is because you and your joint venture partner already know,
like and trust each other, or you have a mutual friend that
introduced you to each other. For this reason, it can take
as little as thirty days to execute your first joint
venture.
On the other
hand, if you’re approaching a joint venture partner that
is a cold contact, the time you’re looking at is the
relationship-building time. If you have great networking
skills then you should be on your way in a few weeks or a few
short months. It simply boils down to evaluating each other’s
character and business.
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Copyright
© 2005 by Habiba Abubakar and Emprez. All rights reserved.
Habiba Abubakar,
a.k.a. "The Profit
Diva", specializes in helping small business owners
who are struggling to increase their client base and are tired
of earning mediocre profits. The tips in this article have been
excerpted from her home-study program, "Joint Venture Profits
For Small Business Owners."
To learn
more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up FREE for
her revealing Mini eCourse, "The Easiest Way To Skyrocket
Your Profits In 90 Days Or Less," visit http://www.profitdiva.com
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