Also known as JVs, Joint Ventures can take your business from zero to sixty in a very short time; which makes using JVs a very popular strategy for growing your business.
But the truth is that very few people really understand exactly what Joint Ventures are and how to successfully use them. Also, it’s very hard to find good, quality information regarding Joint Ventures which makes it even harder for people to get started. So I’m going to give you the scoop for being successful by using joint venture partnerships.
What are Joint Ventures?
The true secret to being successful with joint venture partnerships is to understand that a joint venture is a relationship building process. It’s very important that you understand what a real JV is, so that you know that you're doing and understand how to really use JVs for your business.
A JV is where you come together with another person or persons to create something new. That something new could be a service, a product, or any number of things. Also, one misconception is that joint ventures are limited to online businesses. That’s simply not true and the same principles were going to discuss are just as relevant to offline business as well.
Advantages of Joint Ventures
Now let’s look at some of the advantages of doing JVs.
• Faster entry into the marketplace.
If you can do a joint venture with somebody who's already got a presence in the marketplace, then you can actually piggyback on their established goodwill. You will be able to do it a lot faster if you team up with somebody who is already working in that particular niche market and who has already taken the time to establish a good reputation and goodwill with the people who are your target audience.
• Leverage skill sets that you don't currently possess.
Another advantage of doing JVs is that you can leverage skill sets that you don't currently possess. This can substantially speed up the JV process.
• Utilize your partner's existing resources.
This gives you a huge advantage when you don’t have to start off at square one, or simply don’t have to do all the work from scratch. You partner may have websites or already trained subcontractors that can do many of the tasks needed. They may also have things like intellectual property that they've already created such as eBooks, videos or even webinar replays. These are just a few examples of resources that they might already have and that you possibly don't, which can be leveraged through doing your joint venture.
• Expand your sphere of influence through association.
Joint venturing is also a great way for you to expand your sphere of influence through simple association. Your partner's friends can now become your friends and so on.
One of the biggest reasons to do a JV is not just to get to know the person you do the JV with, but just by the fact of doing business with them, you're doing to meet others that they do business with as well. And if you're a good, honest, ethical business person, and present good opportunities to others, it's pretty easy to leverage those relationships and to really get the ball rolling.
And it doesn't matter whether you're in the life coaching niche or whether you're a veterinarian, the more friends you have, the more allies you have. Each time you roll out a new product, the better your chances are of having more and more people actually support you in that launch. The people who generally support you the most are the people that you have done joint ventures with in the past, people you’ve created products and services with or promoted their products and services as an affiliate.
These are the people who are the first ones to back you up. If you do this the right way, they absolutely will because people are a lot more likely to do business with people they've done business previously. They will be familiar with you and comfortable doing business with you.
To wrap up, Joint Ventures are an incredible tool for you to use for your business. While they are a tool in your business tool belt, remember the basis of all good joint ventures is building the relationship.
If you just take these simple action steps on a consistent basis, you’ll be well on your way with your JV endeavors. And, as with most things, the biggest thing is to really go out and start to do it. Set a long-term goal of getting five to ten JV partners in the next 12 months.
JVs can not only change your business but can be a real life changer as well because of the friends you will make and the business you will do together.
To learn more sales and marketing strategies, Sue has just written a book, “Zero Stress Selling: 5 No-Fail Strategies to Get More Clients and Fill Your Practice” and you can buy it at Amazon today. You can also download a free Special Report with more tips and techniques to fill your practice at Zero Stress Selling
