I was approached by a man who had unsuccessfully been trying to sell his franchises for four years. We looked at what the market really, really wanted and then doubled the price of the franchise and added a free trip for two to Disneyworld. I sold all the franchises in four months. When we added a free television set for anyone who bought a house from us, my wife, Rika, and I sold more houses.

People Want to Play

Why do they have conventions in Las Vegas instead of some unknown, small town? Because people want to play. They want an excuse to buy toys and have fun. Instead of thinking about what YOU want all the time, think about what your prospects want. Instead of hidden costs, try obvious perks. Trips, toys and trinkets are proven to work, especially when there’s a choice. People don’t want points or money or discounts as much as they want toys.

Justify Fun & They’ll Buy It

A man wants to buy a PDA. His wife says he should rather pay down some debt or buy a new refrigerator. He is then offered the opportunity to attend one of two seminars – one is for $800 and the other one costs $1500 but includes a “free” PDA. Guess which seminar he will attend. Some people need to justify toys and fun and when you give them the opportunity to do so, they’ll grab it.

Try This

Try adding a digital camera to your product or service and increase the cost of the product or service by the price of the camera, and see what happens. Give your customers an excuse to have fun.

• “Belinda, I know sales are down and I need to clean the garage out, but you know I have to attend that sales convention in Vegas and the river rafting “team building” will really help our sales.”
• “Bob, I know the kids are sick and you’re busy, but you’re just going to have to play Mom for a week while I take my sales team down to Hawaii for our convention. I need to train them up to increase sales and the spa treatments will help us bond.”

“Free” Gift

Free gifts also work really well. My friend buys a Mercedes from the same dealership every time because they always send his wife a huge bunch of yellow roses. Get creative and think about giving people a great excuse to buy from you.

When I attended a Dale Carnegie Management Course, the trainer, Deon, told us a story I’ll never forget.

A Change of Heart

He owned a successful jewellery store in a mall. After attending his first Dale Carnegie course, he decided to treat the security guards in the mall, whom he’d always ignored, in a friendly and respectful manner. He started asking them about their families and greeting them. Suddenly, they started arresting thieves in his shop, for shoplifting.  He called a meeting of the security guards and asked them what they thought had caused this rash of shoplifting.

Kindness DOES Effect the Bottom Line

To the best of my recall, this was their reply, as Deon conveyed it to me: “Sir, there has always been shoplifting and theft in your store.  But you treated us so badly that we simply chose to ignore the thieves.  Since you started treating us well and showing a genuine interest in us, we started catching the thieves.” Deon estimated that he had lost tens of thousands of dollars over the years because of his uncaring and haughty attitude towards the security guards.

Two Simple Exercises to Build Relationships

#1 - We tend to underestimate the tremendous untapped profit that can be released when we start to treat our employees well. I’m not talking about being soft or compromising our standards; I’m talking about being sincerely interested in their well being, dreams and goals. Remembering their family members’ names and their birthdays is a good start.  One simple exercise that works well for me is to have a piece of paper in my pocket where I jot down personal information about employees and file it for later reference.

#2 - As a group exercise, we hang a paper card around their necks, on their backs, and have them each write a positive, up-building, sincere and honest compliment about the person on the card on his or her back. At the end of the exercise, each person has a whole list of good things that other people think about them. I have known employees to keep these lists for years.

It Pays to Notice (& Compliment) Good Behavior

Many people seldom receive specific, honest compliments. They dress as well as they can and nobody notices or remarks on it. They have their hair done, and no one says a thing. They work overtime and it’s taken for granted. Notice their contribution, reinforce good behavior and reap the rewards.

It All Starts With You

And, if you really want to massively increase your sales, stop whining about your staff and attend the Dale Carnegie Management Course. It all starts with the owner of the business. That’s where the buck stops. And that’s YOU.

The same principle applies to Joint Ventures, the most powerful business tool ever discovered. Good relationships are the basis for good business. Together, we can do amazing things.

Joint Venture experts know that there are a few guiding principles when setting up lucrative deals that provide ongoing, multiple streams of passive income and large, once-off windfalls. Research is essential before partnering up or even suggesting a Joint Venture to someone. Research is the foundation of successful Joint Ventures.  There are four aspects to Joint Venture research:

1. The Industry or Industries You’re Targeting

Be sure you are comfortable dealing with that industry, that it fits your public profile and values system, that it is aligned with your Mission Statement and identity, branding and business relationships. For example, you probably wouldn’t want to get involved in the sex industry. You might want to avoid contentious or controversial areas like politics, religion or tax shelters. Also, have enough information or access to information about that industry before diving in.

2. The Deal

If you’re good at Joint Ventures you can remove all the cost and risk. Don’t think a contract is going to protect you, by the way - it’s only as good as the people behind it.

• Triangulating deals (setting up a deal between two other parties and taking a piece of the profits) usually removes risk and cost if correctly set up.
• Make sure tracking and monitoring is in place and use the expertise of trusted others.
• Create a Memorandum of Understanding that clearly defines the terms and options in the deal.

Click Here to download the FREE Memorandum of Understanding Template PDF

3. The People

This is the most important part of any Joint Venture. Check them out - do your due diligence and research. Get references, do police and credit checks, even use a private detective if necessary. All that glitters is not gold and people claim some amazing things that are simply not true.

• Get specific information.
• Avoid being bowled over by their charisma and sales abilities. Confidence tricksters use greed and ego to hoodwink their victims.
• Check them out. If they don’t have any money, be careful; desperate people tend to do desperate things.
• Don’t buy their stories. Look for a track record.
• If they’re over eager and urgent, step back.
• Consider applying for Membership in the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum - our elite members are carefully screened.

4. Education

The more you learn, the more you can earn. We use Joint Venture Bootcamps and seminars, TeleClasses and JV Audits to educate and update people on Joint Ventures.

• Again, be careful who you’re learning from. Unless the person teaching you has a personal success track record, they don’t have the right to teach.
• Look for support and practicality.
• Watch out for the “up sell” lurking in the shadows.

Ongoing education in today’s changing world will complete your research cycle.

“I Owe Everything I Have to Joint Ventures,” Geoff said.  And he meant it.  Geoff had been watching his business slide down into a never-ending cash flow crisis for months.  We’ve all heard the old, “Feast or Famine, Chicken or Feathers” saying.  Well, Geoff had been eating feathers for so long he’d nearly laid an egg.  The future looked dismal and he felt terrible.

Then he learnt about Joint Ventures.

The scales fell from his eyes.  He stopped thinking about selling and started thinking about what other people wanted.  He started looking at the big picture and forgot about the old desperation tactics.  All of a sudden, he relaxed and saw potential under every tree and gold in the streets. He started asking,

• “What will it take?”,
• “How can I help you?” and
• “What do YOU want?”

The attitudes of other people changed.  Now they wanted to talk with him and started returning his calls!
Two simple win/win deals in which Geoff worked with strong Joint Venture partners doubled his business in a week. He could hardly believe it.  And he never looked back.

Goodbye Elevator Speech

He started carrying business cards with just his name and contact information on them and he stopped delivering his little “Elevator Speech” sales pitch.  He became a confidante, a helper, a friend, instead of a salesman. People started to seek him out - after all, he provided solutions to their problems - why wouldn’t they look for him?

Many people think Joint Venture’s are “Networking” or “Paying a commission for leads” or “Referrals”.  Joint Ventures are much more.  They can be triangulated, include barter, you name it.  Simple.  Quick.  Safe.  Easy.  Fast.  No money or risk.  Huge Return On Investment.

When I was approached by the frantic owner of a failing business in 1995, we stood back and rationally analyzed the situation. By leveraging the Hidden Assets in the business, getting rid of unproductive staff and refocusing, we turned the corner and the business is still flourishing today.

Leveraging Hidden Assets

You know that, when a business is in trouble, logic often flies out of the nearest cracked window and emotional choices rule the day. Yet this is could be an opportunity for you and the owners to benefit. Instead of simply closing the doors and selling off the inventory and equipment on a fire sale, look for the Hidden Assets in the business:

• A sales team
• Intellectual property
• Customer database
• Unfulfilled orders
• Access to residual sales of consumable products and services
• Relationships
• Inventory
• Equipment
• Distribution
• Goodwill

These could be converted, with little or no upfront costs, to windfall profits and ongoing income for both you and the owners of the distressed business. You could possibly establish a lucrative, win/win Joint Venture that leverages these Hidden Assets by adding your own distribution, inventory piggy-back or other resources.

Who to Work With

• The key is finding an open-minded business owner who realizes that he needs help and is mature enough to get his ego under control.
• Make sure you have adequate contractual protection.
• Be prepared to negotiate. After all, you’re in a position of strength and you can often turn a seemingly bad situation around.

Smart business owners know that it’s wise to talk with objective experts when they’re panicking about cash flow. I know I have had occasion to regain my perspective and regroup when I did so in the past. Together, we can do amazing things.

One of my wise mentors told me about the time he needed the advice and assistance of a well-known business expert. This expert charged very high fees and produced amazing results.

He was well known and very busy. My mentor was convinced that he could never afford the fees required, however he is a highly motivated and courageous entrepreneur, so he approached the business expert with the following proposal, which I think may be of value to you, should you wish to use it.

“I can’t afford your consulting fee, but I have a way to pay you even more. I have a solid business and, in return for your consulting, connection to your contacts and training of my salespeople and employees, I will happily pay you a generous percentage of my increased profits. I will pay you every single week, and my books will be open to you. You can spend as much or as little time as you like working on my business, as I am paying only for results. It is easy to track sales and results in my business so you are not at risk. Yes or no?”

Well, the business expert took a good look at the business, made a few adjustments to the tracking process and then accepted my mentor’s proposal. Sales skyrocketed and both my mentor and the expert made serious money. Eventually, the business expert accepted shares in the business.

Remember: Everything is for sale.

Everyone has his or her price. Everything is negotiable. It’s not always about money. The best words to use are, “What will it take?” And, it’s easier than you think. If you don’t ask, you won’t get. I once heard of a man who owned a car dealership, who gave a business guru a car in return for his services!

When next you tell yourself that you can’t afford something, think again. There is always a way when you think out of the box. We don’t have money problems; we have thinking problems.

Two business owners met in a pub in Seattle in late January of this year. We’ll call them Larry and Bob to protect their identity. I had met with Bob to discuss increasing sales in his office furniture business and given him an idea to use. He had identified Larry as a potential Joint Venture partner for this marketing system and arranged a meeting.

Bob’s offer went something like this:

“Larry, we both sell good office furniture and we both offer great service. You’re not to far away from where I am based, as you know, and I have an idea to run by you. What is your average closing ratio? In other words, out of every ten people you pitch, how many buy from you?”

Larry replied that he sold about two in ten.

“So, Larry, what do you do with the other eight prospects? It cost you good marketing money to find them, and they all have an urgent need for office furniture, and they can afford it, or you wouldn’t be talking with them. If they leave your store, they’re going to buy somewhere else, right?”

“You’re right, Bob. What do you suggest, Bob?”

“I suggest that you say to everyone who doesn’t buy from you, ‘I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you today. I know you’re serious about getting some office furniture right away, and I hate to waste your valuable time, so I’m going to call a good friend of mine who offers equally good products and service to what I do, and ask him to meet with you and see if he can help you.’ Then you call me and set up an appointment with your prospect. I’ll do the same for you. That way, Larry, we each get to see 18 prospects instead of 10! I see your pre-sold prospects and you see mine!”

On average 50% of the referred customers buy using this technique of cross referring unconverted leads between businesses.

Since they instituted this simple, yet effective system, both Larry and Bob have seen significant increases in their sales figures, at absolutely no cost or risk. Try it in your business; work WITH your “competition”, and make more money!

Elephants Know Win/WIn

Last night, my friend, Jos told me that when African elephants stand along the bank of a river to drink water, they instinctively adopt a very considerate and practical approach. Those who stand upstream wait until last to drink. Those furthest downstream first drink, then wash themselves in the river, so that the mud doesn’t affect the other elephants. Then the next one drinks, and so on, one by one, upstream. In this way, everyone gets clean, clear water to drink and bathe in. Teamwork makes the dream work.

Deer Know Consideration Pays

Then Jos told me about deer on steep mountain trails here in British Columbia. Evidently, when a deer is about to pass another on a narrow, slippery and treacherous trail, the deer at the highest point stops and waits until the other deer has passed. This is to avoid slipping and pushing the other deer over the edge. Some small minded, egotistical business owners seem to relish the prospect of pushing their competition “over the edge”, as it were!  Smart entrepreneurs, on the other hand, realize that their competition can be their strongest allies.

I Grew from $4,000 to $20,000 in 4 Days

• Did you know that 20% of the revenues of large, Fortune 500 and International 2,000 companies come from Joint Ventures?
• And that a massive 50% of those Joint Ventures are with their competition?

Amazing, but true. The best entrepreneurs create powerful, win/win strategic alliances and share resources, distribution and access. Wal-Mart established themselves in Mexico in a fraction of the normal time by joint venturing with an existing Mexican company. I once grew my revenues in one of the profit centers in my business from $4,000 to $20,000 in four days using a joint venture. It would have taken me four years on my own!

The Key is Linking Up with the Right People

Together, we can do amazing things. We don’t have money problems; we have thinking problems. Everything you need is already available when you create synergistic relationships, in any area of life – not only business. Unity is strength. United we stand, divided we fall. The key to success is linking up with the right people. We started the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum to link successful professional entrepreneurs, and it works magnificently. By being very selective and educating ourselves, we team up to reach our goals and create value, just like elephants and deer.