The Accidental JV Broker

Well, I asked Troy for help and somehow got an answer. Just not the answer I was expecting, I figured Troy was testing me. This was one test I didn’t want to fail.

The next thing I did was find out everything I could about Joint Ventures and being a JV Broker.

A Joint Venture is an arrangement between multiple parties that share resources to mutual gain. In my case a product owner and list owners seeking to form a partnership so that all parties would gain (especially the customers).

Here is the definition from WikiPedia

When  I think of Joint Ventures, Willie Crawford immediately comes to mind. I snatched up his book The Amazing Secrets of a Black Belt JV Broker and read it several times. Then I read it again. The books is a fast read and Willie doesn’t add any fluff. He gets right to the point.

I needed to understand what Troy White was offering so I could build a list of potential partners to contact. Fortunately I’d been following his newsletter for quite some time and I was also a customer.

I followed his email promotions during the launch of the Wild West Wealth Summit and I studied the sales letter and speaker profiles making hand written notes. This gave me an understanding of who the idea customer is.

Then I went to each of the speakers websites and researched them to find out who their customers were and what they were buying from them.

The most important thing I learned was that you have to consider what your partner and his customers want. What’s in it for them. Focusing on anything else will never work.

In my case I was representing a product owner looking for a JV partners that:

1. Had the attention of customers that would buy the product.
2. Had products or services complimentary to the product being offered.
3. Would be willing to promote one or more times.
4. Had products that sold for a similar price range

Troy White is also very particular about whom he partners with. He’s very sensitive to protecting his name and credibility. So I had my job cut out for me.

I put together a list of requirements for the ideal JV partner.

1. Small to medium size lists (2K-10K)
2. Promoted both content and promotions to thier lists on a regular basis.
3. Customers who were interested in growing their businesses.
4. A long term partner that I could develop a relationship with all parties.
5. Knew who Ted Nicholas was.

Now that I had what I needed to look for potential partners. I am subscribed to many newletters promoting a variety of content from internet marketing, software consulting, personal development, copywriting, web site conversions, etc.

I sent out 10 or so email hoping to get a response. NOTHING!

I followed up with a phone call and no one answered.

I figured I’d better improve my email message so I got a copy of Yanik Silver’s Instant Sales Letters and re-wrote my JV letter.

I was convinced that now I had the right letter.  I sent out the new JV letters. NOTHING!!!

How in the heck was I going to get the JV’s attention?

Follow up phone calls. I hate cold calling! I’m sure you do too. It wasn’t until I went outside my comfort zone did I understand.

I got my first JV to respond. I won’t tell you his name here. But I called his office and HE answered the phone. I was blown away and scared to death.

I asked him if he’d read my letter. He said “Yes, I saw your letter. Sounds interesting. But I probably wouldn’t have done anything with it if you hadn’t called me”.

That was probably the easiest thing I could have done! Just a simple phone follow up to an email did the trick.

I qualified him on the call and arranged for a follow up call with Troy. It was a done deal. Too bad I had procrastinated so long. With this first success I knew I had become “The Accidental JV Broker”.

Now to find more partners. That’s when I turned to Willie Crawford. I’ll tell that story next time.