Home | List of Articles | Submit an Article | Contact Us

Growing Your Small Business Through Alliances and Joint Ventures

-- Beyond Cold Calling, “Warm” Calling and Sending E-mails --

Many Solo Entrepreneurs work from a home office. Our only connections to the outside world are the internet / e-mail and the telephone. Cold calling, “warm” calling and sending e-mails may seem like the most obvious way to let people know about us and to generate sales. But, there’s another way that works even better.

An alliance is usually an agreement between two businesses whose services or products compliment each other. Each agrees to recommend the other’s services to their respective clients and to pay a percentage to the other if the referral results in paying work. Let’s say you’re a marketing expert, but you don’t do public relations. However, sometimes your clients require public relations as part of their marketing strategy. You meet with several public relations experts who specialize in different fields, but who don’t offer your type of marketing services, and you form 3 alliances. A 10% commission is what you agree on for mutual referrals that result in work. Now, both you and your alliance partners are more “full service” providers. You can offer PR services to your clients and your partners can offer marketing services to theirs through you. In addition you could add them as “partners” on your website, giving your company the advantage and versatility of an expert team. It’s a win - win situation.

A joint venture is formed when you not only have an alliance but you come up with a strategy to find customers together. Suppose you make custom window treatments. You decide to speak to a local fabric shop that specializes in upholstery and window fabric. If you could be their exclusive referral for customers that need someone to make their fabric into beautiful draperies, and you are willing to pay them a commission for each referral, what happens? They can say they now offer a new value-added service to their customers, which may mean a customer chooses their store above another. You have a steady source of customers. You may even get them to display some of your draperies made with their fabric in your store. They agree to allow you to advertise in their store, perhaps even offer a workshop, and you’ll recommend them exclusively to your clients. You may even advertise together. The possibilities are limitless.

There are numerous ways to put together alliances and joint ventures. Thinking outside the box and being clear about what benefits both parties would receive are essential. As always, getting the agreement in writing is a good idea, as is being sure the person you're dealing with is honorable and reliable. And try to discover ALL the alliance possibilities that exist for your business. Our custom window treatment business owner above could also contact interior designers, furniture stores, residential real estate agents, home builders sales offices and even paint stores. So, what are you waiting for? Start today by:

-- Making a list of at least 5 prospective alliance partners.

-- Making a list of 5 ways the alliance would benefit them and you.

-- Making a list of 5 ways you could implement the alliance. start making contact!

One Final Note – some people have asked whether or not to disclose the partnership to the client. Sometimes it’s obvious that you are referring a client to your alliance partner, as in the case of the drapery maker and the fabric store. If it’s not so apparent, you may want to simply inform your client that you will be working with your alliance partner who is an expert in their field. For the sake of consistency, how much to explain to a client is something that you and your partner should agree upon up front.

____________________________________________

Janis Pettit member of Team Solo-E (http://www.Solo-E.com) and President of SmarTrack (http://www.smartrack.net), which specializes in improving profit and productivity through small business marketing and growth consulting, business coaching, workshops and tele-classes. Janis is co-author of 136 Ways to Market Your Small Business. Her dynamic Big Vision Roadmap series includes a Mastery Program for small business, Big Vision Roadmap to Sales, Big Vision Marketing and Leadership, plus an upcoming book. In addition to owning four successful businesses over the last 18 years, Janis has worked with scores of small businesses owners and independent agents, as well as larger corporate clients such as IBM and Becton Dickinson. She hosted her own TV business talk show in New York, has motivated hundreds of professionals through public speaking and workshops and her articles have been published both locally and internationally. Janis can be reached at 919-562-2280.

____________________________________________

*********** Find more articles like this at http://www.Solo-E.com – Keeping Solo Entrepreneurs Juiced in Business and in Life. Our team of Solo Entrepreneurs are comprised of small business experts who support others in finding business success with the flexibility and freedom to have a life, too. Network with other freelancers, self-employed and Solo Entrepreneurs in our forums, enjoy our articles and newsletter, and find other online training opportunities. ***********

Related Articles:

The Truth About Joint Ventures - This is a "Shareware" Article (what's that? read on...) This article is shareware. Give this article away for free on your site, or include it as part of any paid package as long as the entire article is left intact including this notice. I'm sick and tired of getting hundreds (som ...

"How to destroy your competitors and explode your sales with Joint Ventures" - Dear friend, You are about to learn the most powerful, yet least understood and very often overlooked form of marketing that exists today. Marketing greats like Jay Abraham have called this concept “the fastest and easiest way to make a fortune on earth”. A JV endorsement is when one company endorses (recommends) someone else’s prod ...

The "Secret" Joint Venture Secret - You don't have to be in business online long before you hear or read hundreds of times that joint ventures are the secret to big success. The fact is, that joint venturing with those who are already in contact with your target market is a big shortcut to profitability. However, you have one big problem... The next time that you're sitting in tra ...

Joint Venture 101 - The Quickest Way To Build Your eBusiness (PART 1) - This article reveal the same techniques that many Internet marketing experts uses every day to make millions of dollars in profits - no kidding! In my own opinion it is the most profitable and powerful concept ever used on the Internet field. So, stay close and read it carefully. Joint Venturing represent the easiest way to start a new bus ...

Leverage Your Way to Profits With Joint Ventures - You can't conduct business on the internet for very long without hearing the term "Joint Venture", but do you really understand them or how and why a Joint Venture works? In broad, simple terms -- a Joint Venture is partnering with others to create a win/win situation for everyone involved. But just what does that mean? How do you id ...

11 Joint Venture Ideas To Get You Started On The Fast Track To Quick Profits - 1. Find someone in your target market that either publishes an ezine or has a website. Ask them if they would like to join your affiliate program and promote your offers in their ezine, or on their site. In return, you'll give them the product at no charge, and if you have an ezine or website, offer to promote something for them. Remember to make i ...

10 Steps To Joint Venture Success - 1. Choosing Good Partners. One of the keys to a successful JV is to pick high quality and high traffic sites with which to partner. In this case, and below, we will be using the example of selling an Ebook that you have created. The topic of this particular Ebook is “Bass Fishing.” An easy way to find potential JV partners is to go to Goog ...

For a Complete list of Articles with summaries Click Here