Too many people have jumped aboard the Mediocrity Train and caught the viral Excusiologist Flu that came sweeping in with the recession.

Everything gets blamed on the recession, from halitosis and hiccups to oversleeping and body odor. People make excuses for lethargy, low sales, their dogs’ fleas, and failing to stop at traffic lights.

ENOUGH!

Contrary to what the media is feeding you, not everyone is suffering during this recession. And YOU don’t have to, either.

It’s sensible to buy one dollar umbrellas at the dollar store and hand them to restaurant guests as they leave on a rainy night – far better than handing them expensive “corporate gifts” that you have to pay for.

But how much better would it be , how much more attention would you get, and how much more word of mouth advertising would you enjoy if you handed out $75 gifts to all your customers? And what if it didn’t cost you a blue cent?

What Impresses

Nobody is impressed with discount vouchers, two-for-one, “Buy one, get one” and bulk deals – what they ARE impressed with is stand-alone, no-obligation, real value, like a gift, as opposed to bait.

What about handing your female customers a nice Gift Certificate for a complimentary manicure, paid for and provided by the local spa? The spa would get a whole bunch of potential new customers, and they would be happy to pay for the printing and provide the manicures (subject to availability, of course). Far better for them than expensive advertising.

Add to Your Bottom Line at the Same Time

Naturally, you could negotiate a commission on any sales resulting from said Gift Certificates, as well.  That would drive net profit directly to you bottom line with no cost, risk, or time. As long as the Gift Certificates are distributed to the right demographic or psychographic model, it’s a win-win, since you’ll be passively endorsing and recommending the products and services of the vendor providing the Gift Certificates.

Think of the Possibilities…

How about Gift Certificates from interior designers, home theater purveyors, kitchen renovators, yoga teachers, jewelers, kayak and boating places… provide samples, classes, consultations, reports – the sky is the limit. Imagine all the possibilities, and consider the exposure and publicity you would get!

• Target your markets, and Joint Venture with the providers of the Gift Certificates to reciprocate by paying you commissions and / or distributing YOUR gift certificates.
• You could even SELL the Gift Certificates for a dollar each to other businesses.

Think about it…

Want to see how a young woman put together a simple JV Strategy and made $11,000 from it?

We’ve put together a short video (7:28 mins) that explains how you can use coupons or gift certificates to create a stream of passive income for yourself. This is one of the most popular and most talked about joint venture strategies. It’s fast, it’s easy, and you can literally put together a joint venture tomorrow using this strategy.

But wait, because we REALLY want you to see just how easy it is to create a profitable joint venture, and we don’t want you to have any excuses why you can’t do it, we’ve also included 10 complimentary coupon templates and an amazing step-by-step Quickstart Guide. It’s the complete package; it’s all here. The only thing it’s missing is two legs and a heartbeat.

The Quickstart Guide walks you through every necessary step to put this strategy to work for yourself. It even includes a professionally written “swipe-and-deploy” letter you mail to businesses you’d be interested in setting up a joint venture with and scripts for talking with the owners and managers that have the ability to make the decisions.

To watch the video, just go to http://jvwisdom.com/coupon/

Once you’ve watched the video and have an idea of how to use the strategy, then download the templates and the guide, and take action tomorrow and form your first joint venture.

It’s that easy. http://jvwisdom.com/coupon/

Am I CRAZY?

You’re not crazy – just trusting and naive. Too many people show up at “Educational Seminars”, which are usually thinly disguised bait-and-switch pitchfests, with no intention of spending a cent, only to wake up the next morning with the terrible realization that they just gambled their nest egg or life savings on the most ridiculous “investment” possible.

They found themselves rushing to the back of the room, frantic to throw their hard-earned money into mind-numbing schemes, grateful for the opportunity to do so. The repercussions, apart from the loss of their money, can be devastating. They were conned, and they eagerly signed away any chance of recovering their “investment”.

“Get Anyone to Do Anything and Never Feel Powerless Again”

Here is an excellent article from www.RickRoss.com (a great website) that can help you from falling into the trap referred to above:

“Get Anyone to Do Anything and Never Feel Powerless Again” – Psychological secrets to predict, control and influence every situation Chapter 9, Pages 42-43/May 2000

By David J. Lieberman, Ph. D.

From the bedroom to the boardroom learn how to see clearly and easily evaluate information without being swayed by those with selfish interests and unkind intentions. The manipulator’s bag of tricks is stocked with seven deadly tactics that can leave you jumping through hoops. The good news is that by knowing what they are, you can watch out for them, and…never be manipulated again.

These powerful manipulators are: guilt, intimidation, appeal to ego, fear, curiosity, our desire to be liked, and love. Anyone who uses any of these tactics is attempting to move you from logic to emotion-to a playing field that’s not so level. She or he knows that she or he can’t win on the facts so they will try to manipulate your emotions with any one or a combination of the tactics below.

1. Guilt: “How can you even say that? I’m hurt that you wouldn’t trust me. I just don’t know who you are anymore.”
2. Intimidation: “What’s the matter can’t you make a decision? Don’t you have enough confidence in yourself to do this?
3. Appeal to Ego: “I can see that you’re a smart person. I wouldn’t try to put anything past you. How could I? You’d be on me in a second.”
4. Fear: “You know, you might [not get "it" if you go take a pee/act un-coach able] just lose the whole thing. I sure hope you know what you’re doing. I’m telling you that you won’t get a better deal anywhere else. This is your last shot at making things work out. Why do you want to risk losing out on being happy?
5. Curiosity: “Look, you only live once. Try it? You can always go back to how things were. It might be fun, exciting-a real adventure. “You never know unless you try and you regret never seeing what happens.”
6. Our Desire to be Liked: “I thought you were a real player. And so did everyone else Come on, nobody likes it when a person backs out…this can be your chance to prove what you’re made of.
7. Love: “If you loved me you wouldn’t question me. Of course I have only your best interests at heart. I wouldn’t lie to you. You know that deep down inside, don’t you? We can have a wonderful relationship if you’d only let yourself go and experience the wonders that the future will deliver to us.”

Strategy Review:

Look and listen objectively–not only to the words but also to the message. The abusive maneuvers interfere with your ability to digest facts. When these emotions creep into your thinking, temporarily suspend your feelings and look at the messenger as well as the message. If you hear anything that sounds like these manipulators, stop and reevaluate the situation. Don’t ever act quickly and emotionally. Wait and objectively gather the facts so you don’t become a hand puppet.”

Does this remind you of the last timeshare or MLM presentation you attended, or the last self-development seminar you attended? Forewarned is forearmed. Educate yourself about the way people are manipulated in order to prevent yourself from being manipulated.

There is only 24 hours until we officially launch. JVU will go on sale at noon MST tomorrow (Tuesday July 28th).

If you didn’t have an opportunity to watch all of the videos that I’ve sent out thus far, I’ve included a listing of them here so you can go back and review them:

90 minute JV Intro with Robin: http://www.jvwisdom.com/intro

Adopting a New Business Approach: http://www.jvblogger.com/adopt

Create a Bulletproof Mindset: http://www.jvwisdom.com/exclusive

JVU Strategy Coupon Cash-In: http://www.jvwisdom.com/coupon

Robin and Sally have a good talk: http://www.jvwisdom.com/infovideo

Aside from all of the other bonuses being included with the JVU, i also decided that everybody that enrolls in JVU will receive a 1 Year+ VIP membership to JVWisdom.com. This means that you will get 13 months of membership to the VIP section of the website where you will find All of the Essential Downloads, all of the DVD’s released and all of the Books Robin has written. And that’s not all, we have lot’s of content still being produced which you will also have access to.

So why 13 months? Well we all know that it takes time for people to “get into the groove”, so the extra month has been added on so that you have a full year of access AFTER your 30 Day money back guarantee expires. Oh yeah, I didn’t mention that did I? JVU has a full 30 Day money back guarantee too. So it’s completely riskless. If you try it and don’t think it has value for you, we will give you all of your money back.

And it gets better…

The first 50 people that enroll in JVU will receive a LIFETIME VIP membership to JVWisdom.com. They will have access to all the new content we add, at no extra cost, forever!

Like I’ve said before, I want JVU to be the most extensive, most awesome Joint Venture Training available, and I want to be sure that you are set up to succeed. I want to help you eliminate any financial pressures you may be experiencing.

So be sure to watch your email tomorrow morning for more information on where and how to enroll in JVU when it goes on sale at noon MST tomorrow.

To your financial freedom…

Your friend,

Shawn Christenson

Knowledge and skills will always come to your rescue.

In a recession, when advertisers are scratching at the door and losing business hand over fist, you can set up a lucrative Joint Venture with them, as well as with your Joint Venture partners.

Advertisers have space to sell, and it’s a perishable commodity; if it’s not sold, it’s lost forever, whether it’s space ads in magazines, newspapers, or billboards, or whether it’s radio or TV time or banner ads on websites or e-zines.

How to Set Up the Deal with the Advertiser

You simply offer to pay them for RESULTS, not promises. It’s called Contingency Advertising.

It doesn’t cost the advertiser anything, since he or she already has the space, and you only pay for converted leads / sales made. Any set-up fee, artwork, or other incidentals will naturally have to be paid for, but it’s a fraction of the cost of the advertising itself.

This way, even if there are no initial sales, you get great exposure and branding, and, when the advertiser sees this concept working, he will never run open space again.

Only EVER Pay for Results

We have done this for more than twenty years in every conceivable kind of media for ourselves and our clients, and it really is “no money, no risk” – it‘s a win/win.

I never pay salaries or for advertising – I pay generously for results, so I’m not easily disappointed by big promises and BS.

Do the Math and Propose it Like This

First ask the advertiser if he believes advertising with him will make sales.  Of course he will say “Yes” and if he doesn’t, it’s easy to show him the door.

When he says “Yes”, propose something like this: If you pay an average of $100 per sale and a $2,000 advertisement generates 40 sales, the advertiser doubles his money.

Ad responses can go via the advertiser for tracking and spot-checking purposes.

Joint Venture Brokers can triangulate this system to earn residual income from other people’s businesses.

Too many people make Joint Ventures too complicated. They “feel overwhelmed” and “don’t know where to start”, when it’s really as simple as ABC.

When you respond to a need and make a referral, which you do every day, simply monetize the transaction and build in residual income wherever possible. And in many cases, the reciprocal value doesn’t have to be money – you can trade anything, as long as the one making the money reciprocates!

Here is an example of a JV:

We all have tons of books, CD’s, educational programs that we paid too much for at overpriced seminars, DVD’s, and audio programs at home, most of which we will never look at again, if we ever did in the first place. Yet we continue to buy new stuff.

How about twenty friends decided to have a little swap meet, get together for pizza, and swap their CD’s., etc? Everyone would get excellent value, at no cost!

Here’s another example:

Marketing is usually confused with selling. Using attraction marketing is a very powerful and effective way to get more customers. Instead of selling stuff, give stuff away! Especially when it doesn’t cost you anything!

Joint Venture with people who want to get their products and services into the market place by giving away their Gift Certificates for courses, consultations, cleanings, evaluations, samples, reports, conference calls, etc., and everyone wins.

Yet another example:

I was in England last week, and a good friend’s wife is very connected in Africa. I thought of another friend of mine in Canada who can almost certainly do business with her, so I e-mailed him to ask exactly what commissions I would receive if I connected him with my African connection. If I like the commission structure, I will send ONE e-mail to make the connection, sit back, and wait for a check. It’s that easy.

One more example:

JV’s can be TRIANGULATED: Those are the best, easiest, and most lucrative. Connect Tom and Peter, and collect an ongoing commission on any business they ever do, as with my African connection illustration above.

I had a fellow distribute someone else’s complimentary report to his database, and it earned me ten thousand dollars.

• Total time invested: 30 minutes.
• Risk: none.
• Cost: nothing.

Be Creative!

You can trade anything in JV’s – people have traded my JV Broker Bootcamp tickets for beef, pots and pans, advertising, hotel rooms, you name it. You can be as creative as you like!

One caveat here:

You should only do business and set up Joint Ventures with good people whom you know, like and trust, or have been referred to you by trusted friends, hence the DollarMakers Joint Venture Club.

Online “JV’s” with anonymous people can hurt you and your reputation more than you can imagine.

With the right training, access, and support, anyone can make money and even retire through the power of Joint Ventures. I have; twice.

Most entrepreneurs have been taught that you have three options with any prospect:

• First, you can sell them something.
• Second, you can sell them more than once.
• And third, they may refer new business to you.

This is a linear, traditional way of thinking.

Use Joint Ventures to Maximize Impact

In today’s world, we have to think in terms of viral marketing and multiple impacts. In order to illustrate a simple Joint Venture scenario, let’s use the example of someone who recently joined the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum. We’ll call her Carol. She has one thousand clients who know, respect, and trust her. How can she use Joint Ventures to make a serious amount of money, fast?

Make Real Money with a Replicator Website

I suggested Carol start off by leasing a Replicator Website, which will track all business and pay her up to 50% of all sales, including the sales of audio downloads, training, Memberships, more replicator sites, my book, etc. I would then write a very compelling letter for her to send to her database and friends, inviting them to visit her site and obtain a complimentary audio download, which I would create specially for her clients – applicable to their specific type of business. Carol would send out this email and two follow-up e-mails, which could make her a significant amount of money.

Build Your Back-End with Gift Certificates

Then she would send each of her thousand clients five Gift Certificates as a Thank You Gesture for their loyalty and patronage. Each gift Certificate would offer her clients a complimentary service worth at least $100.  For example, a business consultant might offer a complimentary consultation worth $150.

• Each Gift Certificate would be designed to provide real value and entice the user to buy more of the service.
• The supplier of the service would pay for the printing and postage.

Carol would have negotiated an ongoing percentage of all the business resulting from each of these 5,000 Gift Certificates that she distributes. In other words, when any of her clients started using the business consultant, accountant, lawyer, yoga trainer, spa or coach, Carol would receive a monthly check from that service provider of 20% of the total monthly bill.

This would create ongoing, multiple streams of passive income for her.

Leverage Databases with Prizes

Then, Carol could offer her clients a range of special prizes, all sponsored, which they could win. The way they could win these prizes would be to get everyone they know onto a certain conference call or to attend a seminar, which I would present, and the client who put the most people onto the call or into the seminar, would win the top prize. That way, Carol would use viral marketing to access her clients’ databases with their permission. One of her clients has 10,000 people in her database. Any sales resulting from the Conference Call or Seminar would earn Carol additional income.

Add Value AND Make Money

I could go on all night with different ways in which Carol could continually add value to her clients and make more and more money, in more and more diverse ways, as well as significantly grow her database.

Make $15,000 without Spending a Cent

In the above scenarios, Carol did not spend one cent. She continually gave away valuable information, prizes and services to her clients at every turn, as a thank you gesture for their patronage. She never tried to sell them anything. I would conservatively expect her to make at least $15,000 and an ongoing revenue stream in addition to that. This is all pure profit to her.

This system of accessing databases, giving stuff away at no cost, adding massive unprecedented and unexpected value and continually, exponentially expanding the options and reach, is typical of the atomic power of Joint Ventures.