Be Ready to JV: How and Why to Have the Stinky Shoes Conversation with Potential Joint Venture Partners

June 27, 2010 By Gina Bell 5 Comments

Ready to JV - Stinky Shoe ConversationI’m really excited to be heading into modules 3 and 4 of my Ready to JV program this coming week.

During module two we were discussing how and why your joint venture success relies on having what I call “the stinky shoe conversation”…

A bit of back story…

One of my former VIP clients is a Home Stager. Together we created a joint venture approach to her marketing where she markets solely to Realtors™. Staged homes sell faster and for more money so, it’s in a Realtor’s best interest to gift their clients with a home staging consultation.

One clear benefit of this partnership for the Realtor is the home stager gets to have all of the awkward conversations that Realtors used to dread (or avoid totally) like “I’m not sure if you realize this but your front entrance is filled with smelly shoes, you’ll need to clean that up and deodorize” or, “Is there anyone that can babysit your cat (along with it’s litter box) during open houses and home showings?” or “Do you own a rake? A quick tidy of the leaves and weeds in the yard will give the home a bit more curb appeal”.

These conversations support the Realtor/Home Seller relationship and get the Home Seller thinking about what they can do to influence a faster and more financially rewarding sale of the home.

Would you agree that these conversations – as awkward as they may be – are in the best interest of everyone involved (including a buyer’s ability to “see” the potential of the home, or to stimulate other Realtors who may have motivated buyers…)? It’s win-win-win…

So how does this relate to your joint ventures?

It is essential that you ask your JV partners to confirm two things before they accept your invitation to come out and play:

#1) that they are aligned with the mission/purpose of the project and

#2)  that their marketing calendar can support the co-promotion calendar (i.e. they wont be heading into a bottle neck).

This conversation is essential to increasing co-promotion participation AND protects the quality of your relationships. It is designed to let your partners know that you are actively seeking partners who will be 100% committed and on board and prevents any “misunderstandings” as the project unfolds if that partner realizes (after saying yes) that they just have too much on their plate.

My best advice here is that you become unattached to the outcome of your invitation. The individuals you’ve invited either WILL or WILL NOT partner with you for this project.

Now, the remainder of my advice on this comes as a bit of a rant…

Please, don’t let anyone tell you that asking your JV team to send a solo email is a no-no or bad JV etiquette. Personally I think this kind of advice is a load of you know what (and designed to avoid the stinky shoe conversation)!

If being bold and staking a claim in our marketing is important to standing out and attracting our ideal clients… why would we not be bold about attracting “ideal partners?

Say this out loud (humor me, say this out loud):

“Please will you be my client/partner (beg, beg, beg)? If you say yes, you can do whatever you want and treat me however you like. Nooooo, you don’t have to respect any boundaries. I was just saying that he he. Yes, I know this is my business and my project but really, you can do whatever you like.”

Read it or say it out loud, either way it’s pretty ridiculous don’t you think? Neither you nor the client or partner is supported by a “door-mat attitude”. Blech!

V-8 Moment: You can set your intentions to attracting high quality, motivated joint venture partners who are 100% committed to the success of the project. You do not have to settle for what you get. The moment I realized this it completely transformed the results I was getting with joint ventures.

Just as you create an ideal client profile so you attract high quality clients, you should create an ideal JV partner profile so that you attract high quality partners. Does that profile include partners who don’t participate in the co-promotion part of the project? No… I didn’t think so.

One last thing on this to really drive it home…

If I tell my partners that it’s okay NOT to send solo emails knowing it’s the method that gets the best response, and then my partners get poor results i.e. little to no commission or list growth, do you think they’re going to be happy at the end of the JV? Nope… So it is in EVERYONE’s best interest to design a co-promotion strategy that gets results. Agree?

Here’s what I know to be true… email broadcasts play a starring role in a powerful co-promotion strategy. I teach my clients to structure their co-promotion plan around an Invite, Remind, Give communication series that serves the collective audience (not salesy at all). And yes, solo emails would be a requirement of participation (see exceptions below).

On occasion you may make an exception for a partner who:

a) Negotiates with you i.e. “It doesn’t look like I can schedule things exactly as you have planned here but here’s what I can do is this…”  In some cases, their idea and offer is better than your original co-promotion strategy

b) Is a “big name” that adds credibility or wow-factor and becomes a magnet to your target audience. In this case, if they didn’t do anything to promote, it’s still beneficial to bring them into the team.

There you have it. The stinky shoe conversation designed to increase your JV success and the success that your partners experience through the JV project that you lead… a tiny nugget of wisdom from the Ready to JV program.

Do you have the stinky shoe conversation with  your partners? If not, do you see this increasing the results you experience in the future?

And I’m curious… if you participate in a lot of JV’s, do you appreciate like I do, being part of a project where the person who invited me to participate actually LEADS it and is truly invested in seeing me benefit too?

Always love to get a conversation rolling. Please take a moment to comment and share :)

Filed Under Uncategorized Tagged With joint venture marketing, Joint Venture Success, ready to jv

Dear Gina, How Do I Grow My List Faster Through My Monthly Teleseminars?

June 24, 2010 By Gina Bell 7 Comments

Ask Gina BellOne of the coaching services I offer is “e-coaching or web-coaching” where clients have one-to-one access to me every day of the business week via email to ask me their most burning question.

Here’s the most recent question I received (client identity is confidential):

Question: “Here is one area of concern – list building. About five months ago I started hosting a monthly teleseminar in order to build my list. Today is my 5th one. When I started there were 47 people on my list. Now there are 138. Not what I was hoping for.

I am committed to these calls through the end of the year. I enjoy speaking which keeps me doing it. The people I am interviewing also have small lists, and they aren’t really doing much promotion either. How do I do a better job in building my list for the teleseminars?”

Answer: A monthly tele-class or radio show is a great visibility strategy and credibility too (based on who your guests are).

I agree… turtle-paced list growth is very frustrating!

Here are some simple things you can do to increase list building results (some you may be doing already):

#1. Invite guests that do have bigger lists than you (sometimes this is a stretch outside of our comfort zone but well worth the reach.)

#2. Make it a requirement that your guests invite their list to the call (you can use a speaker agreement and provide them with a short invitation script that they can copy/paste/send to their list).

#3. Use teaser bullets when you announce the topic for your upcoming call to create curiosity. Teaser bullets are a like mini headlines and we all know how important compelling headlines are – right!? After you done reading this post, hop on over to CopyBlogger.com and enter “teaser bullets” into their search box. Just this one change alone can dramatically increase interest in your teleseminar topics!

NOTE: Copy Blogger is my #1 resource for boosting my motivational copy skills! I recommend that ALL of my clients spend some time on their blog. Why? Because writing effective copy is an essential skill set for women in business online.

#4. Use cliff hanger statements/bullets in your communications to build excitement about what’s coming up next month. If you’ve ever watched a daytime or evening drama and experienced… “Here’s what’s coming up next on Days of Our Lives” for example and they play a series of clips that move you to the edge of your seat and leave you saying “Oh I can’t wait to see THAT episode! I’ve got to know what happens!” – that’s what you can create in your copy. Here’s a great article on – you guessed it – CopyBlogger.com that talks about this (see #5) and gives a great example too.

#5. List your tele-classes with free teleseminar listing services such as

a. See You On the Call at seeyouonthecall.com

b. Conference Call University at cculearning.com

#6. Use a “tell a friend” page/script as a thank you page once people opt-in. The service I use for some of my virtual events is www.YourTellAFriend.com (at the bottom of the form you can include a “slide by” link that takes them to your official thank you page and call-in details)

#7. Invite more than one expert to each call and conduct a PANEL discussion… instead of one guest inviting their list, now you have three each month (and triple the traffic filtering through your Tell A Friend page too!).

As you can see there are many ways to “take it up a notch or ten!” as I like to say ;)

LAW this to this

For additional list attraction advice you can also visit http://www.ListAttractionWeek.com. The event is over but the recordings are still available.

Are there strategies that YOU have leveraged (or observed) that we could add to this list? If so, be sure to share your comments okay ;)

Filed Under Desk of Gina Bell, FREE Articles, Marketing Wisdom Tagged With accelerate list building, list attraction, teleseminar tips, women in business online

How Writing Free Content Can Increase Your Visibility

June 7, 2010 By Gina Bell 6 Comments

Problem (can you relate?): You’re an expert at what you do and you are ready to help as many people as you can to solve their problems. The trouble is, not enough of them know about you and how you can help them.

Solution: You need to increase your visibility. In other words, you need more people to know about you and the service you provide. Then, when they’re ready to make a purchase, you’ll be the one they want to buy from.

Action Plan: One way you can increase your visibility is by writing free content for newsletters. You may wonder why you should write for free. After all, you’re in business to make money and you should be paid for your expertise. But writing articles for newsletters with links to your website can be very effective, free advertising for your business.

Newsletter publishers are always looking for quality content to publish. There are newsletters on almost every topic imaginable. It is very likely that someone is publishing a newsletter on your area of expertise and has subscribers who are interested in what you know. By getting your articles published in these newsletters, you will become more visible to that market. In exchange for your article, the newsletter publisher includes your resource box and a link to your website – free advertising for you.

To get the best results from writing articles, write articles that answer your market’s burning questions and address their greatest struggles. And you don’t have to guess either… ASK your audience. You can send them to a survey (free resource = Survey Monkey), you can ask them on Facebook and Twitter.

You can explain how to do something, or give a list of your top ten tips. In your articles, it’s important to not advertise your business or make the article sound promotional. You want to focus on delivering quality information that will genuinely help your readers.

Example: “What is your most burning question or greatest struggle about how to create success online faster and easier?” Feel free to share YOUR questions in the comments section of this post ;~)

At the end of each article to write, you’ll place your author’s resource box or author’s bio. This is where you promote yourself and tell what your business can do. Describe your expertise and include a link to your website where the reader can go to learn more about you. This is where the free advertising comes in.

In your resource box, be sure to give your reader a good reason to visit your website. You may want to tell them what they’ll find there. Alternatively, you can offer them a free report or e-book for visiting your website. That gives them more incentive to click through. If you’ve impressed them with the quality of information in your article, there is a good chance they will click through to get more information from you.

The best approach to the resource box is to make it seem like it’s part of the article. When you end the article and craft the resource box as “about the author:” people stop reading. Instead, allow the end of your article to flow into an invitation for readers to learn more at your site (usually the flow is to your free opt-in as part of your list attraction strategy).

Now that you have your article and your resource box, you need to distribute it. You can contact newsletter publishers directly, but it’s even simpler to submit your article to article directories. These are places that publish free reprint articles. Publishers come to these directories looking for new content for their newsletters. If you’ve written an interesting, informative article, there’s a good chance they’ll reprint yours. My favorite directory is eZine Articles.

When readers see that you consistently provide good information, they’ll come to see you as an expert. As they see articles written by you published in various newsletters and websites, you will become more familiar to them. Then, when they’re ready to purchase a product or service like the one you provide, they’ll be more likely to think of you first.

Filed Under FREE Articles, Marketing Wisdom Tagged With article marketing, for-free content, increase your visibility, Online Marketing, online visibility

From Good to GREAT: Advice and Information Products

June 5, 2010 By Gina Bell 8 Comments

How to Create My Information ProductProviding valuable in-demand content through information products is one of the quickest and easiest ways to showcase your expertise, grow your list and to start making money as a woman in business online.

Every woman should have at least one information product. The must-have is a freebie (or “pink spoon” sample) that your website visitors can gain access to when they subscribe to your list. (Keep your eyes peeled for my new pink spoon coming in the next week or so – a 34 page special report called “How to Set Goals with Confidence”)

There are many benefits of having an information products revenue stream but I have to warn you…

When it comes to researching HOW to create your “for-free” info products proceed carefully because there are two schools of thought on this – one that can become a catalyst to your success and another that can damage your reputation…

Tell me, have you ever heard this advice:

“Give your what and why for-free; Save your how for-fee”

Jurassic advice like this may have worked in the past but today, our fans and followers want – and expect – MORE.

The questions I’m most often asked next are… “How do I give the how for free and still make money? How much of the how do I give?”

The key is to give SOME of your how for free. A sampling. Not all of it. Not too much, and not too little.

Here’s an example…

My forthcoming Equity-Rich Women Online UnBlueprint and Toolkit™ has ten focus areas or modules.

I can GIVE my audience a complete how-to that provides depth on one or two topics without giving away my entire system.

i.e. My C.L.A.R.I.T.Y. formula (how to develop your authentic definition of success) is a complete how-to that is a fraction of Module One in my System; My P.A.R.T.N.E.R. method (how to create profitable win-win joint venture relationships) is only just one of more than five sub-topics in Module Nine. See what I mean?

Sharing how-to advice gives your audience an opportunity to sample your expertise. It’s advice they can take action on immediately. When you provide logical how-to advice, your audience can see themselves implementing it. This builds trust in your ability to “close the gap” or in other words, your ability to help them get from where they are now to where they really want to be.

Are you beginning to see why giving a snippet of complete how-to for-free is a better idea than dangling the “what and why” carrot?

Here’s something else to think about…

If your audience is reading your ebook, watching your video or listening to your teleclass – you’ve already convinced them that you have information that can be valuable to them. Giving only the what and why at this point is like trying to convince the convinced. It’s a pointless conversation bordering on insult.

You know when you hear fluff versus great content, don’t you?

Content-rich information products – for free or fee – stand miles and miles apart from non-content rich.

I don’t know about you but I value my time. Time is precious. We live in an over-communicated, over-advertised world. I want to make my time count and that means I want to consume REAL content.

Here’s how I consistently produce great content and operate in a no-fluff zone ~ I keep it REAL:

Relevant: Relevant to your client promise – the transformation they experience as a result of working with you.

Exact: Great content is specific. It’s not general. Great content has depth rather than just scratching the surface.

Applicable: Your audience must be able to apply the information almost instantly after they consume it.

Leading: Your content must guide them and invite them to take “the next step” – i.e. purchase your system; hire you as their coach or consultant; attend your event; become a member.

Action Step: Think about the difference you make for others and the process you use.

What aspect of this bigger picture could you be giving to your audience as a complete how-to that has depth and allows them to experience your expertise in a way that builds trust in your ability to help them?

Are you keeping it R.E.A.L.? Review your content – it’s never too late to revise.

Here’s to your information product success!

~ Gina xo

Filed Under Desk of Gina Bell, FREE Articles, Marketing Wisdom Tagged With how to create information products, Info Products, information product advice, information publishing, women in business online