You most likely hang around with other Internet marketers online. That’s a wonderful thing-- online marketing can be so isolating, especially when you work for yourself from home. But, as humans, we're naturally drawn to working with other people. We crave social interaction. Just because we work online and maybe even usually prefer to work alone and definitely prefer working for ourselves doesn't mean we work in a vacuum.
All that is to say that you can often dramatically increase the chances of your success by leveraging the success of others in joint venture partnerships. It happens all the time and, as long as it's done well, it's silly to pass the opportunity by. This will only work right if you've built up strong relationships with other marketers already, of course. If you don’t have those strong relationships, that’s something to work on and build.
Do you have marketer friends you feel would support you, especially if there was something great in it for them? That's often the trick when you approach other people for JV opportunities-- you can't present it as you needing something; you have to present it as this amazing thing you can do for them and something out-of-this-world you can achieve together.
You can leverage the success of others no matter what type of business you’re in. You can do this if you’re a freelancer looking to get clients, a product creator looking to sell more products, or whatever else it is you do in business. As long as your powers combine to create something better and more profitable, you can find people who will work with you.
They’ll leverage your talents, assets, and skills and you’ll leverage theirs. You’ll leverage their list, contacts, relationships, authority, skills, and so on. You’ll both bring something to the table and create and earn in better ways than either of you could have on your own.
Leverage Others to Get Clients
Some people think that you can only leverage the assets of others in a JV partnership if you create products or something like that. That’s not true. You can enter into JV agreements and leverage the assets of others to get more clients of every kind.
Let's say you have a business friend who you know has a list of people who tend to hire writers to complete products and articles for them. Maybe you could offer to give your friend 50% (or whatever figure works for you) of each sale he refers if he promotes your services to his list.
That person has a network of people that is probably actively looking to hire a writer. If you're a writer looking for fast cash, this is one way to leverage the success of others.
This can work for all kinds of freelancers and virtual assistants, by the way. If you have a service others can use, there’s bound to be a JV partner out there who’s willing to promote you for a cut of the profits.
Leverage the Assets of Others to Make Product Sales
Or, let's say you've written a product and you're pretty good friends now with someone who is deemed to be one of the top experts in the niche and has a great list. You've done the bulk of the work and you know it's good.
What if you offer your friend the chance to JV on the sale of the book? That person will get to add their name, either as co author or contributor. They will then most likely promote the book as well, at whichever rate or split you determine ahead of time.
Or, maybe you’re the one with the list and contacts and you’d like to partner with someone who can create a product you can sell. It works both ways.
Perhaps you have a list and contacts as does your potential JV partner. You’ll reach many more customers combined than you would on your own.
Which Talents DON’T You Have?
It’s important to figure out what you bring to the table, sure. But, when you’re talking about leveraging the assets of others in a JV partnership, it can help to think about which skills and talents you don’t have.
If you could choose any one skill or talent that you think would really boost your business and help you earn a lot more money, what would it be?
It’s entirely possible that you can find a JV partner who DOES have that skill or talent. You can combine your forces to do more and earn more together.
You Have To Get Started
It can really help for you to make a list of people you’d ideally like to work with. I recommend making a list of 100 people. These might be people who have a bigger list and more contacts than you have. It might be people who have skills you admire, envy, or covet.
Make sure you note your relationship with the person, the skill, talent, or asset you’d like to utilize, and when you’d like to partner with them.
Don’t be afraid to approach people to leverage their assets (and they yours) if you’re sure it would be a mutually beneficial relationship. You have nothing to lose—the worst they can say is, “no.”
Get to know people. Build better relationships with people. Make sure you hone in on your own skills, talents, and assets because then people will be a lot more likely to work with you.
The bottom line on this method is that it can work for you if you’re willing to work it.
You have the person or people in mind you're going to call, Skype, or email for a joint venture partnership. You have to approach others in the right way, of course, which means individualizing your request, having a true relationship with them, and really, really making sure there is something incredible in it for them. It goes without saying that that person should be equally interested in leveraging the assets you bring to the table.