Imagine this: You walk to your mailbox tomorrow. Instead of a stack of bills, you find a check for $5000. A check you weren’t expecting. Sound the trumpets. Bring out the champagne.
But wait.
The next week, there’s a check for $1500 in your mailbox. And the following week, there are two checks — one for $800 and one for $2500. And every week, these big checks of extra money just keep appearing in your mailbox.
If this sounds pretty good to you, consider this:
This is a happy and true story taken from the pages of my own life and business today. Back in 2008, it was a much different story.
With the economic downturn known of 2008, my boutique public relations agency fell on hard times. One day, there were ongoing relationships in place with happy clients. The next, contracts were broken as clients did their best to hang on for dear life during tough times.
All at once, I had to reinvent my products, services, and programs to be relevant and of service in an entirely new and daunting marketplace. After a brief by painful stay in “Pity Party Hotel,” my first step was to figure out my best skill set with the upside to bring in cash.
A public relations professional knows how to stand behind quality experts to tell stories that bring clients welcome attention, recognition, and renown.
>> What if I redeployed this skill in a new way to be of service by using it for good and profit?
And so I began my study of the power of the joint venture or strategic alliance.
What is a joint venture?
A joint venture is:
>> A strategic alliance through which all parties welcome leverage to distribute their marketing messages to more of the right people to their mutual benefit.
>> Typically they collaborate to share leads, reward for referred sales, and perhaps co-create a bundle that would be of even deeper service to their ideal clients.
Why are joint ventures valuable?
>> Advocacy from a power partner is more influential than a “cold call” or other less personal approach.
>> Partners that offer something that is a valuable addition to what you offer make your product or service even more complete and irresistible.
>> Joining forces creates a win for your partner, their clients and then for you, while saving you time, toil, and trouble creating new programs to solve urgent problems that you may not have created yet.
Today I am proud to report that I have a reliable source of money coming in. That annoying revenue roller-coaster is not my reality anymore. Best of all, I created that result even before many of my own products, programs and trainings were done or perfect when my newsletter subscriber list was still quite small (1000 or less!)
I love the comfy cushion of cash in the bank to fund and build my business and create those proprietary programs and products … without having to worry where the next dollar is coming from.
The best part is that I created this big, fat river of money not by selling my soul, writing a chain letter, or selling wrapping paper or candy bars to family and friends that they didn’t want in the first place. Instead, I tuned in to the URGENT NEEDS of my favorite clients and started recommending solutions to those problems from service providers I knew well and could credibly recommend.
In doing so, I elevated the reputation and visibility of my own business and built strong, supportive relationships with those top-dog business leaders who have the power and influence to triple the sales of my own products and programs.
So what are the 6 steps to take so you can do this, too – even BEFORE your own products, programs and services are done, proven or perfect or your own list has grown to MAC DADDY size?
1) Identify your best skill set to offer in today’s marketplace.
2) Listen to your clients and potential clients to discover the urgent problems that keep them up at night and cause struggle, frustration, and worry that may be beyond your own expertise.
3) Identify the top eight solution providers in your industry who are already well-known for solving that problem. By narrowing the focus to eight partners, that makes is easier to manage overwhelm and nurture the relationships over time.
4) Here are idea starters to help you find your own eight points of light:
>> Consider what your clients are investing into before and after they invest with you.
>> Attend business events in your industry where business owners invest and even travel by airplane to participate.
>> Notice who is on stage and make a new friend over a meal.
>> Notice the “big fish” showing up already in your own inbox.
>> See, hear and pay attention to their ezines, blogs, and promotions to have a solid understanding of the promises they make.
>> Join a high level mastermind where serious business owners are investing with mentors to create even more success.
>> Make friends with your best competitors.
>> Be selective. Make sure an alliance with each of these experts makes good strategic sense and also notice how well their values and approach are a good marriage for your own. Then, you can reach out and suggest how you can support their success without hesitation.
5) Get ready TODAY to deploy your own influence for good and profit. That means getting known, building buzz, and creating lasting and influential relationships with every move you make in the social, traditional, and online media. Your visibility makes it a lot easier for folks to find, refer, and hire you and get in touch to explore joint ventures, too!
6) Grow the size and loyalty of your own opt in subscriber list. When your list reaches 500 or 1000 subscribers, you have an audience of potential buyers who can wisely invest in a partner’s program that you proudly and credibly recommend. Then, you can be rewarded with welcome commission checks to thank you for your credible and influential championship.
These are exactly the six steps I have taken over time to create a reliable 5-figure revenue stream of extra money in my mailbox year after year.
Recommending other people’s proven products and programs is good for business – yours and the power partners fortunate to welcome your credible advocacy. Become a student of the joint venture, and your influence, impact, and income will change for the better in the mailbox and well beyond, too.
About Get Known to Get Paid Mentor Nancy Juetten
Joint venturing with power partners has added more “star power” to Nancy Juetten’s brand and reputation and accelerated her impact, influence, and income than any other. Today some of the biggest names in internet marketing – Milana Leshinsky, Rich German, and Alex Mandossian — sing Nancy Juetten’s praises as a joint venture partner. They are among many who advocate for her products, programs, and services to their tribes. Count on Nancy’s “all of the help, none of the hype” approach to learn winning strategies to get known and paid. Start today by downloading the ‘Avoid JV Mistakes Toolkit.’
And be sure to watch the videos from Milana Leshinsky that are earning so many views right about now (April 9, 2016).
