January 16, 2003

'Joint Venture Your Way to Extraordinary Sales'

by Kimberly Stevens

You know what makes me really happy?  Drinking a Starbucks
latte while doing my grocery shopping at Safeway.  Getting my
Godiva fix at Barnes & Noble.  Cheap thrills, I know!

Ever wonder why McDonald's is inside many WalMart stores?
Or why you can buy the board game, Cranium, inside most
Starbucks locations?

These are not just lucky coincidences.  They are very
well-planned, structured, and negotiated marketing strategies.
They are implemented by companies that get creative with
their marketing by focusing it around who their ideal customer
is, where they spend their time, and what they do.

These kinds of joint ventures, or distribution agreements,
deliver convenience to the customer while generating profits
for both the company that manufacturers the product as
well as the one that distributes it.  It is a win-win-win.

Joint ventures are likely one of the most profitable ways for
you to invest your marketing time.  If you can identify ways
to team with someone who already has the attention and
respect of your target market, you will multiply the results
you get from your marketing campaigns.

Think about it - what could be better than someone who
already has the respect of your ideal clients telling them all
about you and what great work you do?

That is all a joint venture really is, afterall.  One person or
company putting their seal of approval on another.  In simple
terms, they are saying "This guy is okay.  You can trust him.
I have seen his stuff, and he knows what he is talking about."

Smart business owners take the time to identify who else
has contact with their target market and approach those
people to ask if they would recommend them to their clients.

Some arrangements might involve a referral fee.  Others
might just be reciprocal agreements - you send me people,
I will send you people.

That is why your printer might be able to recommend a
good graphic designer, your pediatrician can recommend
a nutritionist that specializes in working with kids, and
your web hosting company can recommend a web designer
or two.  They have developed relationships with other
professionals with a natural crossover with the service
they provide.

Perhaps they met at a networking function, stumbled across
each other during the regular course of work, or took a more
proactive role to seek out joint ventures.  It does not matter
how it gets done - just that it does get done.

So, how can you get started?  It is easy.  Just sit down and
really take some time to think about your ideal clients.  What
are they like?  What kind of business are they in?  What kind
of life do they lead?  Where do they live?  What do they
read?  What organizations do they belong to? What do they
do during work hours and off-hours?  Where do they spend
their time?

Once you have a clear understanding of them, ask yourself
- based on what I know about my clients, who might already
have a trusted relationship with a group of them?

Some common online examples are ezine editors who have
a subscriber base of your ideal clients, other companies who
have a client base of your ideal clients, or discussion group
owners who have a member list made up of your ideal clients.

In the offline world, you might approach associations whose
members are your ideal clients, other businesses who sell
complimentary products/service to their client base which
consists of your ideal clients, or print publications whose
subscribers are your ideal clients.

Once you have identified some potential joint venture
partners, just contact them with an offer.  Decide ahead
of time if you are going to offer a financial incentive or
simply reciprocity.

The referral mechanism for reciprocity could be as simple
as displaying one another's business cards, adding the
other organization's logo to your materials, or sending
out an endorsement of them to your clients and having
them do the same.

The opportunities are endless once you begin to think in
the right terms.  So, take some time this week to really
understand your ideal clients.  Who are they, what do
they want, and how can you best deliver it to them in
a way that is convenient for them and makes money
for you as well as your joint venture partner?

Best of Luck!

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Kimberly Stevens is the author of 'The Profitable Business
Owner: A Step-by-Step System for Starting & Running
a Successful Service Business'.  Get her free MiniCourse,
'The 10 Most Common Mistakes Business Owners Make
& How To Avoid Them' at:
http://www.theprofitablebusinessowner.com