Joint Ventures – Grow Your Business
With Performance-Only Partnerships

Joint Ventures are the result of asking yourself, “If I had the money, I would....” Whatever it is that you want, there is bound to be someone else who already has that, either underutilized, or who wants to leverage it in some way. A performance-only partnership deal with them is one of the most powerful tools for building your business.

The Tom Sawyer School of Business

In Mark Twain's famous classic, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom is caught playing hooky from school one day and is punished with the task of whitewashing a fence on his day off. Tom convinces his friends, however, that the chore is a great honour, for which they trade him their small treasures to do his work.

Tom's deal is a rudimentary – yet highly effective – joint venture. Tom got what he wanted and his friends got what they wanted. They all won.

How Should You Orient Yourself In These Uncertain Times?

Most businesses rely on only one marketing approach to sustain and grow their business. What happens when that one approach becomes less effective?

Is this what your market is starting to look like?

• Brutal competition
• Disloyal customers
• Commoditization of your products and services
• Multiple options and alternatives to fill a given need
• Fear, apprehension, uncertainty in your marketplace
• Few trusted advisors

A change of strategy is often the fastest, easiest, most powerful way to change your results. The market leaders in five years will be the ones who are working on their strategic advantage NOW. Today's tough economy demands a focus on expansion and sustainability.

Why Joint Ventures?

Joint Ventures greatly leverage your ability to penetrate new markets, generate add-on business, and access and take advantage of other people's investment of millions of dollars in facilities, personnel, marketing, technology, research, distribution channels, image, and market position. A strategic alliance with the right partner accomplishes these things – all while having to spend minimal time, effort, and risk.

Expansion – What Are The Possibilities?

There are only three ways to grow your existing business:

• Increase the number of buyers,
• Increase the size of the transaction, or
• Increase the frequency of those transactions.

Alternatively, you can find new ways to monetize. The key to ongoing and future success lies in solving problems for your clients and prospects – especially ones that they don't even understand they have. Ask yourself these critical questions:

• Who are the people or businesses I want to reach?
• What other products, services and options do people typically purchase prior to buying or using my type of product or service? Who provides those products or services?
• What other products or services are needed or acquired along with or to optimally use my product or service? Who provides those products or services?
• What events, activities or changes typically occur that cause someone to want or need my products or services?
• What other products or services does the key decision maker I am targeting also buy? Who provides those products or services?
• What assets do I need that I don't have?

What About YOUR Business?

Every company has significant over-looked or untapped opportunities: under-utilized assets, under-performing activities, under-recognized relationships, excess or obsolete inventories, under-performing distribution channels, and human resources that can be far more productively, profitably, and continuously deployed.

You can capitalize on these opportunities as the host – you're making your company's assets available to others – or as the beneficiary – using another company's assets to your advantage.

What are the two or three things that you'd most like to change about your business? What will it cost you over the next one... three... five years if a change is not effected?

The following pages will give you a further understanding of Joint Ventures, and will help you to explore how a performance-only partnership deal might impact the growth of your company.

Joint Ventures – the Mindset

Who makes a good prospect for Joint Ventures? Anyone who has an under-utilized asset, an under-performing activity, or an overlooked opportunity. For them to be successful, you must understand three key concepts of value, know the assets that you possess, and understand what makes for a workable strategic alliance or partnership deal.

Moving Forward

Are you thinking about the future direction of your business? Does the idea of exploring Joint Ventures sound logical enough, but you wonder how, with all that you've already got on your plate, that it might ever come to pass? Perhaps we can help – contact us regarding Joint Ventures.

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