If your hands are getting clammy at the mere mention of professional networking and selling yourself to other businesses, you are not alone. Check out these four tips to approaching JV partners to make the process go as smoothly and successfully as possible.

Remain Professional

No matter how you contact your JV partners, whether it is by phone, email or traditional post, professionalism is something that should always be at the forefront of your mind. The written word should be formatted and composed in a business style, with the use of Mr. and Mrs. and common niceties like please and thank you littered throughout.

Do not be too obvious in your sales pitch; instead, outline your company, product and benefits of working with you clearly and succinctly. A potential partner will always appreciate your professionalism, even if the partnership does not work out.

Make it Personal

Templates, both in letters and emails, are never the way to get noticed. In fact, sending correspondence to total strangers is rarely going to elicit a response. This is where professional relationships come in very handy, and you can build those relationships through trade shows, conferences and other modes of professional networking.

Keep your business cards handy to exchange with the associates you meet at the venues. By making that personal connection first, you are more likely to inspire at least some consideration when you approach a business with a JV marketing proposal.

Show the Benefits

In a world of “what’s in it for me?” it is very important to show the benefits of working with you to any potential partner, first and foremost. While you may reap most of the rewards from the relationship at first, your JV partner can also see advantages in terms of commissions on your sales or mutual advertising. Begin with the benefits, and you may at least get your prospective partner to read your email or letter through to the end. This is the first step in obtaining a positive response for an official JV partnership.

Follow Through

Your first email or letter may not get read. Your initial phone call may not get returned. Persistence is the key in any successful JV partnership. While you don’t want to drive your potential partner crazy with daily phone calls or regular sales pitches, a polite follow-up to see if the person has read your proposal is certainly appropriate. Some JV marketers suggest correspondence once a week for a month to six weeks at a time. If a response is not received within this time frame, it is probably a good indication that it is time to move onto another prospect.

Finding JV partners and landing them can be easier said than done. Once you have a list of prospective partners, keep these tips in mind to help you successfully establish good JV partnerships that will benefit both businesses in the long run.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

The purpose of today’s video digest is to introduce you to a strategy called Joint Venture Brokering.  Specifically, how you can make money online by “Supply and Demand Brokering”. So make sure you watch this entire short take video, it’s only about 9 minutes, because I’ll outline my 3 step formula that you can use to start making extra money this week.

The truth is that JV marketing is mutually beneficial to both parties, but in different ways. It is important to understand the benefits a potential partner will receive from a JV partnership with you before you go out on the hunt for JV affiliates. We will show you how both the endorser and the endorsee benefit from a JV partnership.

The Endorser

This is the partner who is willing to share your information with his customers in order to help you build your business. What’s in it for him? First and foremost, money. In most cases, the endorser receives a portion of your sales to keep your name associated with his business. While it may seem like you are giving a lot to get a little at the beginning, most endorsees find that the ultimate benefits of a JV marketing partnership are well worth the costs at the beginning of the process.

Beyond the profit-sharing benefit, there are other advantages of a JV partnership to an endorser. First, they can build their own customer base by recommending related products of other businesses. This simple endorsement is much less costly than developing and marketing new products of their own, but they still reap rewards in building customer trust and loyalty. The endorser also gets the advantage of seeing whether their current customers will bite at your products, giving them an indication of the types of products their customers might like in the future.

The Endorsee

As the endorsee, there are plenty of reasons to consider a JV marketing partnership or two when you are establishing your business. First, you get to link your business name to another business that is bigger and more experienced. Those customers are more likely to take your offerings seriously because they are endorsed by a business they already know and trust. You can compete with bigger companies because you are riding the coattails of another “Big Boy” in your sector.

Another major advantage to the endorsee is traffic. While you might be able to use search engine optimization tactics effectively to drive traffic to your website, it won’t be anywhere near the amount of customers you can reach through linking to a larger business. The traffic that is generated is also high quality traffic, since the customers on your JV affiliate are more likely to be interested in your goods and services as well.

While you may already be familiar with the advantages you reap from a JV marketing partnership, your endorser gets some benefits as well. It is important to identify those benefits before you meet with a potential partner, so you can present your case from their perspective as well as your own. A good JV marketing agreement should be seen as a mutually effective approach to selling a business and building a bottom line.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Price for “Savings”

Customers like savings, even if the savings are merely psychological. For example, you will see many more items on the market priced at $9.99 than an even $10.00. Why? Customers will see the product priced below the $10 threshold. In a customer’s subconscious, there is a big difference between those two numbers.

On larger ticket items, the psychological savings perception might even be greater. Try pricing a $400 product at $395 and see if your sales increase. If you use the perception of savings effectively in your JV marketing venture, you are sure to get much more value from your agreement.

Price for Affordability

Many companies find that when they have a large ticket item or service to sell, customers are much more likely to pull out their wallets if they break the full price down into affordable increments. You might see companies advertise the goods for “just $1 a day,” so customers don’t get overwhelmed with a yearly bill of more than $350. The customer will be more likely to bite because they won’t feel like they are getting more than they can chew all at once.

Price for Value

Another good marketing strategy is to bundle products into a single purchase so customers perceive they are getting more value for the money. A popular approach is to throw a freebie or two in with the regular purchase. You might advertise your special as a “buy one, get two free” deal. Customers love the idea of getting more for less, and they may be more likely to snatch up your offer if you toss a few extras in for good measure. You can even add free sample of complementary products that may boost your sales the next time that customer heads to your website.

Price for Bulk

Package deals also work well in the JV marketing realm if you price your products in groups or sets for a single low price. While one product may sell well at $20 a pop, you may find that three items selling for $50 a set sells even better. In this case, your customers believe they are getting the bargains they want, and you are boosting your sales by encouraging customers to purchase more than one product at a time.

Once you have your JV agreement in place, it’s time to make the most of your marketing approach by throwing in a few pricing strategies that have been proven to boost sales. These simple pricing tips are not hard to implement, and they may reap big rewards in terms of higher customer retention and larger sales overall.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

One of the biggest advantages to JV marketing is that you can increase traffic to your website much more efficiently than by simply using search engine optimization techniques. We will show you a few ways to use your JV partnership to your fullest advantage when it comes to building website traffic for your business.

Backlinks

Backlinks are used to link traffic from one website (your endorser) to yours. Backlinks provide two purposes; they raise your search engine ranking and they help customers find you on the Internet.

To ensure you get the most from your backlink, you should not simply purchase it from another website (which is not only a black-hat strategy, but costly as well). Instead, you need to get your link by mutual agreement, such as a JV partnership. The way to build this type of business relationship is to find a website for a related industry, so the traffic at the original website will be more likely to be interested in what you are selling as well.

It is also important to analyze the website you will put your link on, since sites that get little traffic themselves, or link to illegal websites, may not build your traffic and may even lower your standings in the search engines.

Blogs

Blogging is the way to inform and interact in the 21st century. Many business owners develop their own blogs because people are often more likely to read content than pay attention to an advertisement. If your JV partner also has a blog, you can direct customers to each other through your blogs. This is mutually beneficial, since traffic increases to both websites, which means higher revenues on all sides.

Recommendations

If you find a JV partner who is larger and more established, you can rely on that business for recommendations for your goods and services. Your JV partner may put a link on his website, recommending your business for a related or highly specialized type of product or service. Your traffic immediately increases exponentially because your JV partner already sees a significant amount of traffic each day. More traffic means more sales, especially if the customers directed to you are already interested in what you have to offer.

Content is King

Once your customers find your website, the key is to keep them coming back for more. To encourage customers to sign up for your regular email correspondence, provide content on your website that is informative and entertaining. Your articles will draw your customers to your business and make them want to find out what you have to say next. When you have a good customer list for your opt-in marketing program, you build sales by maintaining regular contact that allows you to alert them to new products and special promotions you are offering.

JV marketing is an excellent method for building high-quality traffic to your website. When your customers come to you, your sales will effectively increase.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Search Engines

One way to find JV marketing partners is by searching them out for on your own. Use keywords that match your business to find related companies that may be more established. Once you find a company that looks like a good prospect, join their forum and participate in their message boards to find out what type of client base they attract.

Newsletters

If you receive newsletters from various companies, consider those businesses as potential JV partners. You can research them using the same methods you used to learn about the companies you found through search engines. Study the newsletter to determine whether the company’s products and philosophies are compatible with yours. Go to the company website and join the forums and message boards there to determine the type of community the business attracts.

Trade Shows

Seminars, conferences and trade shows are all excellent vehicles for networking with others in your field or complementary industries. This is the perfect place to meet potential JV partners who share your desire to build their businesses. However, simply attending the event may not be enough to get you noticed by the larger companies that would really be able to give you a helping hand in the marketing department. If you rent a booth at the event, you will automatically give yourself credibility in your industry. This status will allow you to network with other attendees, as well as the speakers of the events.

Membership Websites

There are also websites designed to help businesses match up with JV marketing partners. Subscribers usually pay a fee to join the service, and they are allowed to post their joint venture proposal and information about the company. The proposal is sent to all the members who have expressed an interest in the particular industry. You may receive responses back relatively quickly, especially compared to the time it would take you to search out and research companies on your own. If you decide to join one of these networks, thoroughly research the website and read reviews to ensure you get a good value for your subscription rate.

Joint venture marketing begins with finding partners that will be effective in helping your business grow. By using these four methods effectively, you will be on your way to a joint venture experience that will attract more customers to your company and increase your bottom line.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

There are many ways that joint venture marketing can improve your bottom line, and five of them are listed here.

Reputation

When you are new to your industry, it may be hard to convince potential clients that you have what it takes to keep them happy. However, when your name is associated with another established company within your sector, it automatically gives you credibility in the eyes of clients.  With your name linked to another company, it is much easier to get out and network with other professionals in your field, which will build a positive relationship with the general public and your specific industry even further.

Cost Effectiveness

Some small business owners shy away from “playing with the big boys” because they fear that they don’t have the cash to ante up. However, joint venture marketing is a relatively cheap way to get your business noticed because there is rarely cash to put up front at the beginning. Instead, a company works with you for a share of your profits. While the share might be large at first, the customer base you build will be well worth the investment. Because there is no need for capital at the beginning of the venture, you can start your JV marketing adventure any time.

More Exposure

Exposure is essential if you want to attract more customers to your business, and what better way to expose yourself than with the help of a bigger, more established company in your sector? While your website might see relatively few hits each day, your JV partner may see tens of thousands of hits regularly, and all of those potential clients will find your business name as well. That is an abundance of advertising for very little cash, which is why most small businesses would benefit from this type of arrangement.

Better Competitive Edge

If you want to compete with the bigger companies, you have to get your name out where customers are looking for them. Smaller businesses have serious challenges in showing that they are capable of providing the same goods and service as larger competitors. However, when your name is associated with those larger companies, customers automatically link your business to bigger ones. This gives you a competitive edge, because your company is weighed with the rest of the “big boys” when the customer is ready to spend.

Profits

The bottom line is the bottom line, after all. Some businesses are skeptical of their ability to turn a serious profit through joint venture marketing, since they are offering a lot of their profits to their partner in the beginning. However, the success of this marketing method proves that the ability to attract a multitude of new clients and build a serious reputation in your industry far outweighs the initial costs of a JV partnership.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

While a brick and mortar store can create an environment that attracts customers quite easily, it is not so simple to provide the same type of environment in a virtual store. One way to build this consumer confidence is through joint venture marketing, where you can capitalize on the reputation and popularity of a more established business as you are building your own.

Why Consumers Spend

To understand how JV marketing plays into consumer confidence, it is important to explain why consumers spend their hard-earned dollars in the first place. Psychology plays a key role in getting customers to open up their wallets. Many studies have found that people are willing to purchase products that are effectively advertised, whether they “need” the products or not.

The key to building your business is to find those effective advertisements that will inspire consumers in this fashion. Joint venture marketing falls into this category perfectly because customers who like one company’s products are also more likely to want the products offered by businesses associated with that company.

What’s in a Name?

Plenty, when it comes to corporate branding! Corporate branding is the process of helping customers identify your products and company apart from the competition. Branding sends a strong, consistent message to your customers every time they see your company name or logo. It builds customer loyalty and as a result – profits.

However, when you are a new business, it can be hard to establish your branding with the general public. One way to get customers to recognize you quickly is to associate your business with another company that is already established with the customer base you are trying to attract. While customers may see you in the shadow of the larger company at first, you can eventually build your own corporate branding so customers begin to recognize your name apart from your JV partner.

Reputation

Reputation certainly builds consumer confidence, but it is hard to establish a positive reputation when you are a relative newbie to your industry. By riding in on the coat tails of an established company, you can create a reputation for your business much more quickly. When customers associate you with a business they already trust, they will be more likely to trust you as well. If you provide consistent quality in products and service, it won’t be long before that reputation will transfer from your JV partner to you.

Joint venture marketing is about more than business; it is about understanding your customers’ needs and motivations. When you partner with another company in your industry, you can speed the process of building your reputation and consumer confidence. While potential customers may initially associate you with your JV partner, they will eventually see you as a separate entity that can successfully meet their needs. The process is expedited through the JV approach, so you see a rise in your bottom line and customer base much more quickly and effectively.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

This post may piss you off and it’s not really about creating joint ventures, but something I had to share with you. It’s that important. This information will indirectly lead to reducing what’s not working in your life while simultaneously bringing you closer to your major objectives both in your personal life and your business life.

It’s not something that I usually write about but it’s something that I feel you can benefit from while you’re building your business as well as something to think about in your daily life to bring you closer to a state of happiness.

If you consistently ask yourself, “why am I working on this project?” or “do I really have to sacrifice my time, beliefs and my sanity just to get by in life?” or “there must be more to life then this” then it’s highly probable that you’re spending your time working on the wrong projects with the wrong people so you can just get by with paying your bills. But in essence, are you really living, or are you just existing?

I hope I’ve got your attention because I think you’ll appreciate what I’m about to share with you. I’m currently reading, The Art of Being Minimalistic by Everett Bogue. This is a profound, eye-opening, short book by a young author with a powerful message.

Bogue’s book is about decluttering your life. It’s about getting rid of material objects that are holding you prisoner, spending more time on your passions and creating the life that allows you to work on meaningful projects. All this without being tied down by societal pressure to inventory materialistic possessions that are only holding you down.

You may be asking yourself how does this pertain to building my business or doing joint venture brokering deals, or even starting my very first business. That’s an excellent question! By approaching life with a minimalistic intention, this allows you more time, money and freedom of mind to focus on what really excites you. Being excited about something or someone gives us inertia. It helps us get to the next step to the next task and propels us to take action in the direction of where our minds are telling us to go, yet we abandon the concept because we’re too busy living, feeling guilty, and focused on what we think we should be doing and not listening to our inner voices. Ironically, these inner voices that are talking to us are exactly what we should be listening to.

Imagine on working on projects that you truly feel you can contribute to, make a difference in other people’s lives, or leave a legacy behind for your family and people dear to your life. This isn’t a fictional example or somebody taking this claim of living life like a hippie or a gypsy. This is the story of one man’s journey as he quit his job, moved to a new state (with only $3000 to his name), regained clarity, peace of mind and direction once he decided to live a minimalistic life.

In business, and in life we tend to complicate matters. We tend to make things much more complicated than they really are, spend too much time on the wrong projects and work with the wrong people. I have to admit, I too have wasted years complicating my own life and I’m still in the process of streamlining and reducing projects, roadblocks, and distractions in my life that are not leading me towards my primary objectives.

This is one of the primary reasons that I decided to be a joint venture broker. It’s a very simplified lifestyle where I can work in almost any industry, in a recession or a thriving economy in any location with only my computer and a cell phone. Through reduction, I only work on the projects that excite me and work with people who are positive, ethical and pleasurable to work with.

So if you find yourself struggling, asking yourself, “why am I doing this?” or just spinning your wheels and wasting time yet never really feeling fulfilled, I recommend Everett’s book as part of your process of reducing time and money wasting projects, tasks and activities that you’re working on today but you just don’t feel right about. It’s a quick read, only 67 pages yet I’m certain that after you read it you’ll approach your next decision with a newfound clarity, vision and agenda.

I hope you enjoy the book and find relevant meaning that can guide, assist and help you lead a happier fulfilling life not only for yourself but for the people in your life who are dear to you.

If you’re interested, you can get a copy of Everett’s book by clicking on this link.

===> The Art Of Being Minimalist

Sincerely,

Christian

Create a Google Account

Your JV business should have a Google email account. Even if it uses a domain email (i.e.: info@yourbusinessname.com), you can set up a free account on Google’s Gmail system. Ideally, you would want something like “yourcompanyname@gmail.com”. That email account can then be used as your Buzz account.

Start Following People and Businesses

Right now in its early stages, Google Buzz is much like Facebook was when it started. It focused mainly on people and individual networking. However, Facebook has expanded to become a networking hub for businesses. A business can set up a “fan” account and collect followers just like an individual.

Google Buzz is already growing in popularity, and businesses are taking advantage of the additional social networking opportunities from a reliable host. Start building your Buzz network. Those you follow get notification and can follow you back. Thus, the more you follow, the more likely you’ll get a following in return.

Post Creative Content

A status update once in a while will not build a loyal following. However, using the tools available at Google Buzz, you can promote your JV in creative ways. Write blog articles. Take colorful product photos. Produce high-quality video content. All these can be seen or viewed easily in your status updates.

Get Recommended

The nice thing about Google Buzz is that it uses the same technology Google uses for its Adwords links. Google Buzz takes a look at the content that gets the most attention and brings it to your attention first. You can get the most relevant updates from your contacts and vice-versa.

Also, Google Buzz looks at the type of content you post and read. It will make recommendations to you based on your usage. This is also good news for your JV business. The more your JV Google Buzz accounts gets noticed, the more likely it will be recommended to others, and your network can grow without you lifting a finger.

Social Media SEO

Google now is using Google Buzz updates in their search results. The items you post to your Google Buzz account can affect your SEO. Use it wisely. Post keyword-rich status updates and blog posts. Use keywords for your photos and videos. The more relevant your Google Buzz posts are, the more likely it will get noticed in search results.

It was inevitable that Google would enter the social website market. Make good use of your social media sites, and include Google Buzz in your mix. It could improve your JV SEO and overall Internet presence.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.