Joint Ventures or JV’s have become popular with businesses to increase their sales, but what is a JV? If you’re a company with a quality product or service but without distribution then a JV is one of the most cost effective ways to bring new qualified leads into your business.
They’re a great way to fast track sales into your business, particularly if you’re new to a country and don’t have a large network.
However 95% of businesses don’t do JV’s and from those that do, most fail.
Paul Harrison sat down with Nick Griffith of jvdinners.com, an expert in joint venturing, in order to get the best insights into what to look for when creating a JV:
Tip 1: Only approach the right people
It sounds obvious, but it still rarely happens. You should think who do I know? What’s my relationship with them? Who do my contacts know and what’s their relationship with them? List the people of influence [who you know] who have some or all of the following: a relevant prospect/client list, experience and respect in your industry and a good reputation.
Tip 2: Always make the offer a Win Win Win
When your goal is to get someone to agree to a JV you have to look at it from their perspective, not just consider why your offer is so good. Their fears will include a) this will just waste my time, and b) this could damage my reputation, so you MUST overcome these first then make them an offer which solves a PAIN in their business. The second Win is for the customer; remember if your JV brings them what they want, they go away happy and that will feedback to the person you did the JV with. You want to build LONG TERM JV’s with on-going business. Keep all parties happy and they will agree again. Lastly make sure YOU Win too. Know when you’re offering too much and make sure you can deliver [and over-deliver] on what you are promising.
Tip 3: Have a realistic time frame
Businesses often try for JV’s when they see the result of their existing marketing not working as expected. By this point it’s often too late. Successful JV’s are built on rapport, trust and planning – these cannot be fast tracked. If you want JV’s for next month it’s too late – you should be thinking 6-12 months ahead – minimum.
Q&A: Nick Griffith answers Babis Gakis’ questions on joint venturing.
Babis Gakis is a UK based South African Business owner wanting to find out if JV’ing is going to help him in his business.
How do I best identify and meet potential JV partners?
Look in non-competing market where you’re likely to have a similar demographic to your customer base. Always think about it from their perspective – if you can find a way to help before you ask for anything – do it. To meet them, network at the right events, ask for introductions from mutual friends and be patient. When you do meet them think: ‘What would you want to hear if someone approached you?’
How do I protect my brand/protect the brand of the person I want to JV with?
Always have the right plan (now you’re in the top 1%) and make sure an agreement is drawn up (it doesn’t have to be long and full of legal jargon) on who’s responsible for what. Build rapport with key stakeholders in the other business – things will go wrong so stronger working relations will help solve problems quickly and maintain strong relations.
Also, remember – you can’t be too protectionist – you have to know what you’re looking for, listen to your instinct and then trust and let go a little to make progress.
How do I guarantee that everybody wins?
You can’t 100% guarantee that people will stick to their word and agreements will only go so far. Remember you’re doing business with people and however ‘good’ the potential JV appears to be, do some research and meet the people in charge, in person. If something doesn’t feel right or there is news of people not always having integrity – don’t do it and move on! A bad JV is worse than none.
To find out more about how you can use high level networking to meet potential JV partners visit www.jvdinners.com and if you have any other questions that you would like answered, please email [email protected]
