Many Coaches and Consultants experience the “feast or famine, chicken or feathers” ups and downs in income - they’re either out there selling, or they’re delivering. In addition tp the resulting yo-yo income, they have to deal with:

• Either busy times or quiet times.
• Increasing competition.
• Because they’re selling time, they have limited income earning capacity.
• Many clients regard the consulting or coaching service as a luxury that can be terminated as soon as cash flows get tight.
• The popular perception of coaches and consultants leaves a lot to be desired, which is quite understandable, given the fact that many who use this label are about as valuable as a rotten peach on a busy sidewalk.

How do I know this? I was a consultant for eighteen years. And I’ve specialized in Joint Ventures for small and medium businesses for twenty two years.

The Obvious Solution

The solution to increasing your coaching or consulting business as well as income from other sources, while at the same time differentiating yourself from the herd, is Joint Ventures. It’s a great fit and a great complement to any coach or consultant’s business. Use your insight and communication skills to create lucrative JV’s. Have the money and the time to enjoy it, as well as the luxury not to rely on your income from consulting or coaching.

This is exactly what I did. I no longer sell my time as a consultant, but this information has worked for me for twenty two years and it will work for you.

3 Obstacles Holding You Up…

1. First, understand that you do not have a 100% profit margin, which you do have from Joint Ventures.
2. Second, know that you cannot possibly be all things to all men.
3. Third is the hardest – getting rid of that giant ego. I think ego is the enemy of coaches and consultants. Business is not about sales or being well known – it’s about bottom line, after tax PROFIT.

… And 3 Strengths You Have to Turn It Around

1. You have the ability to cut through the BS and guide and direct people.
2. You can gain their trust.
3. You are a good communicator and you have an understanding of business and human nature.

These are very powerful skills and tools in the hands of a Joint Venture Broker.

Don’t Push. Find a need and meet it.

If my doctor called me last week and informed me that he had a great deal on heart bypasses, I would get worried. Instead, he examines me and points me in the direction of a solution or relief. That’s real business. “Find a need and meet it.”

In a room of 20 “Business Networking” people, not everyone wants a coach. But they all have needs, hopes and dreams. If you’re there to make money by helping people, why not simply link these people, be they clients or prospects, with the solution to their needs and get paid for it? When they want a new house, why try to sell them coaching, instead of introducing them to a good Realtor and getting paid 20 – 50% of her commission? Easy money, no time, no risk, 100% margin. Think about it.

Triangulating JV Deals

Business consultants can make a lot more from triangulating JV deals than selling their time. Become a “Toll Gate” – something like Bill Gates. Create solutions that pay you well. Leverage other peoples’ time, resources, money and access. Something like Ari Onassis. Think about that!

One of the questions I get asked on a regular basis is, “How much should I ask for when setting up a Joint Venture? What percentage is reasonable?” And that’s a very good question. Different businesses have different profit margins. Some have higher overhead and costs of sales and than other.

• If you sell computer hardware, for example, you make a very small profit – most of your profit is in the software, service, keyboards, etc.
• If you’re selling a service, you make big profits, but you can also have varying costs.

So we have to keep this in mind.

• Some people have certain restrictions on their ability to pay out commissions, like certain financial planners or dentists.
• Others are not used to paying commissions, like the realtor who offered me $75 for a buying referral!

So here is a way to approach this challenge.

Step 1: Do Your Homework.

I know I keep saying that, but information is power when it comes to negotiations. That’s good news, because most people talk a lot, but don’t listen much, so when you listen a lot, you learn a lot.

• Find out about the business and its profit margins.
• Make sure they’re telling the truth when they say they’re not allowed to pay commissions. Sometimes, they’re just plain lying, because they’re cheap!
• Talk to their competition.
• Ask employees questions.

With this you will get a feel for the amount of profit they make, so you know what to ask for.

Step 2: Educate Them About the Money in the Back End

You might make no profit at all on the first sale (break even on the first transaction) but you can make a lot on future transactions, referrals, additional products and services sold through other vendors on a JV basis and on and on. If people understand the Back End correctly, they will be eager to give away a generous portion of the front end.

• Show them the principle of Incremental Profits (profits made when overhead and salaries are already covered and the new sale is incremental, like putting an extra seat into a seminar or serving another plate of food when the food cost is only 32%)

Step 3: Understand Negotiating Techniques

• By all means start high and drop, but don’t start greedy.
• Be prepared to walk away from any deal at any time.
• Remove risk from both parties.
• Work WITH the competition. Savvy entrepreneurs know their competition can be their greatest ally.

Most of all, approach any Joint Venture proposal from a position of strength – know more than the person you’re dealing with. Be well prepared.

“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.”
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Strong and successful entrepreneurs make decisions fast and stick to them. They don’t wait for the cat to fall out of a tree or Grandma to buy a new dress. They don’t have twenty committee meetings before they decide whether or not to order the Beef Wellington.

• They say, “Yes” or they say, “No.”
• They are fast on their feet.
• They don’t find excuses to procrastinate.
• They will weigh the information, do their due diligence and decide.

You don’t have to run after them for a decision, either; they will get back to you when they say they will. They are winners.

“All I needed was a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’.”

One seminar attendee gave me SEVEN reasons why he wouldn’t be able to attend an event. At the end of his whining, I said, “All I needed was a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’.”

Winston Churchill put it this way: “They are decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.” And George Canning said,

“Indecision and delays are the parents of failure.”

Those who vacillate, dither, hesitate and flounder are simply fearful of making ANY decision. They are afraid of the consequences of agreeing and equally terrified of the results of disagreeing. As Tony Blair once said of a certain politician, “Weak, weak, weak!”

Be willing to make decisions.

The chairman of Mesa Petroleum said,

“Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality in a good leader. Don’t fall victim to what I call the Ready- Aim-Aim-Aim Syndrome. You must be willing to fire.”

Any decision is better than no decision. “I’ll get back to you” and “I’ll think about it / discuss it / review it” usually means, “I’m too scared to decide – please leave me in my misery and go find a real man”. Let us decide to decide. Let us be warriors and Eagles. Let us be confident, courageous and focused. Time is money and the window of opportunity doesn’t wait. Seize the day!

Have You Been Behaving Like a Baboon?

Most businesses are like African baboons – these furry fellows race through the cornfields, picking corn and stuffing it under their arm. As fast as they stuff the corn under their arm, it falls out the back, but they keep on picking and stuffing! By the time they get to the edge of the cornfield, they are carrying one corncob and they’ve left a trail of corn on the ground. This is how many entrepreneurs handle customers. They’re so busy getting new ones that they neglect and lose their existing customers out the back door. Attrition spirals out of control and yet they continue to spend more money on finding new customers.

Invest in Your People

We know it’s far more affordable to resell existing customers than to get new ones. We know that it’s better to retain our customers and to encourage referrals through added value service than to spend a lot of money finding new customers. So why don’t we act accordingly?

Why don’t we spend 80% of our marketing budget on our EXISTING customers?

Invest in your people and they will bring you a lot of new ones. Building strong relationships with the customers you have will:

• increase loyalty
• reduce attrition
• increase transaction values
• lengthen customer lifespan.

Why not put a program together to REACTIVATE inactive customers?

It’s much easier than trying to buy new ones.

A happy customer is good – an elated customer is better.

By redirecting our marketing dollars to our loyal clients and creating unprecedented added and unexpected value, we can engender massive reciprocity in the form of referrals and goodwill. But only strategists will understand this. Tacticians, those “instant gratification” types, will never understand this. A satisfied customer might stay with you, but an inspired and enthusiastic customer will bring her friends, family and associates. You can buy a lot more new customers than advertising with:

• A surprise party
• An unexpected gift
• A personal phone call
• A complimentary dinner

Use Joint Ventures to add value at no cost to you. Partner with other businesses to increase the value to offer and to differentiate yourself from the competition. Put yourself in your clients’ shoes and take the time to find ways to make their lives easier and more comfortable. Look after what you have and they will look after you.

Sales Tip

Act in your customer’s best interest. Reward referrals generously. Don’t skimp on packaging. Create referral systems that make the customer happy. Protect your customers; they’re hard enough to get and they can be worth their weight in gold.

Management Tip

Teach your team to listen and to go the extra mile. When I go into Safeway and ask where the bathroom is, the employee will walk me to the bathroom. When I go to the competition, the employee points in the direction on the bathroom. Big difference. A nice bag with a pretty bow and a big smile, a follow-up telephone call and even a thank you note can generate a massive return on investment. Get creative and set the example.

When you’re ready to start doing Joint Ventures, you should look at opportunities that fit the following criteria:

1. No Cost & Risk

There should be no cost or risk to you and it should not involve a lot of time, and definitely no selling.

2. Worth Your Time & Effort

The deals should be able to create enough money per deal to be worth your time and effort.

3. Pick Excellent Partners

You should only work with people you like and trust, who take action and are reliable. Don’t deal with whiners, losers or flakes.

4. Quick Turn-around Time

Look at the turn-around time. If you’re bringing leads to realtors or financial planners (insurance salespeople), for example, their deals generally take a long time and often fall apart, whereas certain deals are time sensitive (like a seminar) and people have to make fast decision, so the deal happens or it doesn’t in a shorter period of time. We want high-return, no risk (to EITHER party), little time invested, no money invested, and a quick turn-around time.

5. Multiple Complementary Income Sources

Structure your multiple income sources to complement each other. Instead of a “feast or famine” scenario, have different businesses with different busy cycles in the hopper, so that you get an even flow of income. Also look for synergies between the different demographics and buyer needs so that the same customer can buy from more than one income source.

6. Put it in writing!

Put the deal in writing - who does what, how they do it, when they do it, how payment takes place, the exact amounts or percentages paid, when payment takes place, etc., the more detail the better so that there are no misunderstandings later on. Do you get paid on the first transaction or on ongoing transactions?

7. Get Educated!

Attend the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum Member meetings and conference calls and attend Bootcamps so that you stay connected and keep on learning. Remember, if there’s no risk to either party and a deal doesn’t work out, nobody gets hurt, so don’t be afraid to fail. Also, some people will not want to Joint Venture with you. Don’t take it personally; they simply don’t understand value yet.

8. Come Prepared

Create an action plan and be prepared to do some research on people whom you intend to approach. For example, what are their profit margins, underutilized resources and needs? What kind of reputation do they have? Google them, check the Better Business Bureau, run a credit check, ask around.

9. Maintain Your Confidence & Strength

Be upbeat and optimistic when approaching potential Joint Venture partners, but never be desperate. You don’t need them. Be prepared to walk away from any deal at any time.

10. Think Big & Take Action

Finally, business is a numbers game. The more people you talk with, the more you try, the more you fail,  the bigger you think, the better. Joint Ventures is the fastest, best and most fun way to make an unlimited amount of money with no risk, little time and no money, that I have ever seen. Make it happen!

I know it’s hard for some of us to ask, especially self-sufficient, proud, responsible, disciplined and hard working entrepreneurs. We don’t want to take advantage, we’re afraid of being made a fool of, afraid of rejection, and so on. But the fact is, things only happen when we make them happen. And that usually involves asking people to do something.

The Beggar Who Understood Averages

I talked with a beggar on the street once. I was interested to know if he felt bad when people didn’t give him money. He answered, “No, siree! I don’t feel bad if they ignore me or don’t give me money – THEY feel bad! I just keep on askin’, askin’, askin’, and the Law of Averages kicks in. I can predict pretty accurately how much money I will make on any given day, as long as I keep askin’. And the more I ask, the more I git!” Salespeople know this – it’s a Numbers Game – ratios are real. Statistics are real. It’s a game. Ask ten people and you might get something. Ask a thousand people and you most certainly will!

How many opportunities have we lost in life, simply because we didn’t ask? What’s the worst that can happen? They can say, “No.”

Invite Others to Participate

Together, we can do amazing things – but we need to invite others to participate in our Joint Venture programs in order to achieve the maximum results, and that involves asking. And it’s absolutely amazing what people will do, if you simply ask them to!

How to Get More

Set up your Joint Ventures in such a way that YOU ask many people and that you have a system to ask many more. And the more you ask for, the more you’re likely to get. Be confident, plan your strategy well and ASK. By all means ask. Ask many people. Ask for more. “You have not, because you ask not”, is true.

It’s amazing what happens when you fully commit to something. Whatever that action is that shows there’s no turning back: booking the flight, resigning from a job, paying a bill, writing that letter, making a call or agreeing on a date.

W.H. Murray, the explorer, wrote:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.”

The word, “DECIDE”, is from the latin “Decidere”, which means “To kill off any other alternatives“.

Why You Can’t Afford to Wait

Sitting on the fence:

• wastes time and money
• decreases confidence
• diminishes one’s reputation with those Eagles who are action and result oriented
• increases the chance that one will do nothing but find excuses

The window of opportunity is prone to slamming shut on the fingers of the vacillating weakling. The indecisive, wavering, faltering entrepreneur watches as others boldly overcome their fears and walk away with the prize every time. No matter how much we justify our fears, the bottom line is clear:

you have to leave the shore in order to reach Treasure Island.

See if You Fit the Profile of a Winner

Winners know:

• They can’t wait until circumstances are perfect before making a commitment. They don’t wait until all the traffic lights along their route are green before leaving home. The best time is right now.
• They know that some decision, any decision, is better than no decision at all.
• Their enthusiasm and passion to reach their goals is greater than their trepidation.
• They focus on finding solutions.
• They believe in themselves and the value of their objectives.
• They make strong, firm and fast decisions. They don’t call fourteen meetings before deciding what to have for breakfast. And when they commit, as Mr. Murray tells us, things miraculously start to work out.

You can tell a lot about a person by the length of time it takes them to make a decision and a commitment. How about you?

• What decisions are your pondering?
• What are you waiting for?
• Are you paralyzed with fear?

It takes guts to leave the ruts, but once you commit, it just gets easier.

One of the most important aspects of the Joint Venture Mindset is that we don’t need to, and in fact shouldn’t, “Sell” a Joint Venture proposal.

Avoid this Poor Play

Last night I attended a “Networking” meeting where the Membership Services Manager walked up and asked me outright why I didn’t join their Chamber of Commerce. She showed no interest in me, my business, my problems or my interests. She was simply out to hard sell everybody she could.

When I indicated that I needed to see how joining that Chamber would benefit my particular business, she proceeded to reel off the “benefits” of joining. She is not someone to approach for a Joint Venture. She is egotistical, arrogant and stupid.

Make the Smart Move

If this “Manager” was intelligent, she would have listened carefully to me and asked herself a few simple questions:

• How many people could Robin introduce to this Chamber?
• How many people does he influence and who are those people?
• What is his ‘Hot Button’? What does he really, really want?
• How can this Chamber bring him massive, unprecedented value?
• How can I best present this option to him, in a win/win scenario?

If she had listened carefully, she would have learnt that I have many DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum Members and that many of them might consider joining her Chamber, and that many of her 1,400 Members could join the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum and attend our Bootcamps, which could make her a substantial amount of money (a lot more than she earns at the Chamber). She would have found out that I can put her in front of a lot of prospective Chamber members via my talks, e-zines and seminars.

When to Walk Away

When someone doesn’t understand the value you offer them, walk away. If you have to sell it, the value is not perceived. Either you have to:

1. Describe it better,
2. Listen better or
3. Realize there is no match and walk away.

But you shouldn’t try to persuade someone to Joint Venture with you.

They should eagerly accept your no cost, no risk offer – that will mean they’re committed and serious. If both Joint Venture parties are excited, enthusiastic and passionate about the Joint Venture, it will probably work very well.

The Joint Venture Mindset

You have to kiss a few frogs to find a prince, you know. But you can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Some people will never understand the Joint Venture mindset – get used to it, don’t take it personally, and remember what smart salespeople say:

“Some will, some won’t, so what? NEXT!”