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The
following Case Study is excerpted (with permission) from Gabriel
Howes' book, Ultimate
Joint Ventures GOLD:
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Case
Study Overview:
Subject
and Author: Gabriel Howes,
Accomplished JV Broker and Entrepreneur
Topic:
"How to Bypass the Typical Resistance
When Asking For Endorsements... And Have the Publisher Approach
You for the JV"
Summary:
Gabriel recounts a successful JV endorsement of his book
that was initiated in a very unique and effective
way...
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When
you are looking to get people’s testimonials for your product
or service, approach someone with whom you would be interested
in partnering, and ask them if they think some of their clients
would appreciate trying your product or service out. In
exchange, all you are asking for is a review from those subscribers.
You
will have to sell your idea to the person. In doing so, why
not send them other testimonials you got from other sources?
You want them to know that their subscribers will be happy…
and that they will get some value for the time they put in.
By
doing this, you may just find your partner wanting to review
your product too. And who knows? Maybe he’ll be the
one approaching you for a JV. In other words, you won’t
have to sell him.
This
is a ‘’double-whammy’’ for both of you.
You get much needed testimonials (possibly including one
from someone who may be seen as an expert in your industry),
as well as a potential JV partner.
Your
partner looks great in the eyes of his clients, and he
may benefit from a JV with you (if he decides to partner with
you).
This
is a great way to bypass the typical resistance one may encounter
when they ask for endorsements.
If
the potential endorser does not ask to JV with you, and you
decide to propose it to him, include the testimonials that his
subscribers have sent you in your proposal.
Point
out to him that those raving reviews are coming from his
clients. This is always a lot more powerful than testimonials
that originate from other sources.
By
the way, let the mailing list owner know that you are only offering
this to a limited number of people. Be sure to offer it to more
people than you want testimonials. In other words, if you want
20 testimonials, you should offer it to even more people, because
several of them just won’t get back to you.
Other
reasons why you should limit this opportunity is because you
don’t want to be flooded (people love free stuff) and you
will be able to turn people down without making them angry,
because you have a good excuse. Not only that, it will give
an exclusive feel to the offer.
If
you decide not to turn people down, try to sell them your product
(if you have the publishers’ permission) and split the
profits with the mailing list owner.
If need be, have the mailing list owner include your contact
info.
Several
people have asked me to include JV proposals...
And
I have to admit, I wasn’t too hot about the idea, because
almost everybody uses them ‘’as-is’’…
and it dilutes the effectiveness of the proposal, because everybody
and his brother are getting the same stale templates.
In
other words, the quality and effectiveness of my proposals could
have taken a hit, and that is not something I want.
However,
I decided to include a proposal I sent recently by e-mail (it
worked well)… the thing is, it can’t really be copied
because it is short and very personal… and that is why
I decided to include it.
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‘’Dear
Dr. ________,
I
know you are busy, so I'll get right to the point.
I
am hiring copywriter Kelvin Parker (you probably know him --
he wrote copy for Jay Abraham) to write a sales letter for my
new ebook, Ultimate Joint
Ventures Gold...
And
since I need testimonials, I am willing to offer a limited number
of
''copies'' of my course to your subscribers for free in exchange
for their feedback.
[Name],
I know your standards are very high... and that is why I am
contacting you first.
Since
you are in the ''relationship-building'' stage with a few of
your mailing
lists, this may be a great way to build goodwill with your subscribers
:)
Please
let me know if you're keen on moving ahead with this.
Best
wishes,
Gabriel Howes
P.S.
Here are a few testimonials:’’
[I then included several of my best testimonials]
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Here
is an overview of why it worked:
1. We had exchanged a few e-mails several months before,
so he was arguably a ‘’semi-warm’’ prospect,
because I knew he would remember me after receiving the proposal.
2.
I hadn’t been in contact with him for several months…
and I wanted to maximize the chances of him remembering me and
opening my e-mail. To assure that would happen, I browsed
through my inbox to find an e-mail he sent to me… and replied
to it… so he could see the ‘’Re:’’
as well as recognize the unique subject line he wrote several
months before.
3.
I knew my prospect was busy, so I wrote a small proposal.
Notice how all the necessary information is included.
4.
I researched him beforehand, and I stress that fact by making
the following points:
•
‘’I know you are busy’’ (…)
•
‘’You probably know him -- he wrote copy for Jay Abraham’’
(My prospect is a big fan of Jay, and took part in his 6 month
coaching program).
•
‘’I know your standards are very high...’’
•
‘’Since you are in the ''relationship-building'' stage
with a few of your mailing lists.’’
5.
I try to make him feel special while giving an exclusive feel
to the offer by letting him know that I am contacting him first.
6.
I also combed through the previous e-mails he sent me, to pick
up the various expressions, words, etc. that he used… and
I included them in my proposal.
•
I included a little ‘’smilie face’’ like
he usually uses. Like so: ‘’:)’’.
•
‘’Please let me know if you're keen on moving ahead
with this’’. I copied this phrase as-is.
•
‘’Best wishes’’
Why
did I do this?
Because
I wanted to show him that I was ‘’like him’’…
to build rapport and lower his defenses.
(read
more...)
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Gabriel
Howes is an accomplished
joint venture broker, entrepreneur, and the author of "Ultimate
Joint Ventures Gold"
Read
our review of "Ultimate Joint Ventures Gold" >>
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