Having trouble landing partners for a joint venture? You're not alone. Many small business owners find that the most challenging aspect of the JV relationship is forming it in the first place. It isn't easy to get a larger company to sit up and take notice of your proposal, but we have tips to help.
Check out these reasons why prospective partners may not want to work with you, and then tweak your proposals to make your company more attractive to joint venture possibilities.
Your Contact is Impersonal
Form letters are usually not the way to land a job, and they are not the way to get a prospective JV partner to notice you either. Keep in mind that attractive companies may get multiple proposals every week, and they may not even read the bulk of the letters or emails that come across their desk.
Use the name of the business owner and offer specific information about their business in your proposal to show that you did your homework before approaching them.
You are More Interested in Your Own Benefit
Many JV proposals are all about the benefits the sender will receive from the joint venture. However, companies are not interested in benefitting other businesses; they are much more concerned with their own bottom line.
Begin your proposal with the benefits your partner can hope to reap from a partnership with you. Your proposal will be much more likely to be read and considered if you put the needs of the other person first.
The Prospective Partners Knows Nothing about You
Let's face it: you might be such small potatoes to potential JV partners that they may know little or nothing about you or your company. Offer a bit of information about your business, just like you would on a cover letter for a job. Highlight the benefits you might provide to your partner. Give a brief overview of your customer profile to show the compatibility of your businesses.
Your Proposal Sounds the Same as Everyone Else's
Whether you paste a form letter or write your own proposal, make the content stand out from the crowd. While you want to keep your proposal professional, a little creativity goes a long way. Here's a tip: when you personalize your proposal and highlight the benefits to your prospective partner, you are already going to be seen as head and shoulders above the rest.
You are Not Persistent
No one wants to be pestered to death about a potential business deal, but a single email or letter probably won't be sufficient in landing a joint venture with a larger company. Follow up your initial contact with a second email or phone call within a week or two. Let your prospect know in your first correspondence that you will be following up, so he is expecting your call.
Landing joint ventures isn't easy, but it's far from impossible. When you take the time to make your proposals stand out from the crowd, you are more likely to attract the larger companies that can have a greater impact on 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 report on Joint Venture Marketing. |
