How to make obscene profits with joint ventures without customers or experience
Date: April 13, 2016
Name: How to make obscene profits with joint ventures without customers or experience
Presenter: Dan Lok
Successful entrepreneurs leverage Joint Venture strategy to create additional income streams for their businesses. Moreover, many entrepreneurs are limited to the usage of Joint Ventures due to the lack of understanding. Vancouver Entrepreneurs Group invites Dan Lok, the serial entrepreneur, to discuss the true perspective of Joint Ventures. In this presentation, entrepreneurs will learn the structure behind the true meaning of Joint Ventures. They will discover how to use Joint Ventures to position them in the market for maximum success. In addition, Dan Lok will reveal strategies to give entrepreneurs the unfair advantage using Joint Ventures.
Dan Lok is a multi-millionaire and an international best-selling author. With hard work and strong determination, Dan Lok managed to become a respected figure in the Internet Marketing world. He launched many successful internet companies. In addition, he is a keynote speaker and a business mentor that support many young entrepreneurs. Moreover, he is also the Founder of Vancouver Entrepreneurs Group.
Dan Lok believes Joint Venture is the world’s most powerful strategy. In boxing, there are four types of punches: jab, cross, hook and uppercut. In the world of boxing, Joint Venture is like the jab in boxing. Joint Venture can reduce entrepreneurs’ expense and risk. Joint Venture is a like an out of the box strategy that many entrepreneurs are not aware of. In fact, Joint Venture is a type of strategy that raises the most capital using other people’s money.
“If you do not know how to make money without money, you probably cannot make money with money”
Lok wants entrepreneurs to remember that they need to live in their lives as if they are rich, but they should run their businesses as if they are poor. Entrepreneurs need to have abundance. They need to have gratitude.
In business, in order to get things done without writing a single cheque, entrepreneurs need to know how to manage their profit and manage their money. As profit increases, their money starts to decrease. This happens to many entrepreneurs because they get loosing up when they see their profit increases. They start to focus on revenue and lose focus of money they receive.
Dan defines Joint Venture is an agreement of mutual benefit between two or more people or business who have complimentary resources. Resource refers to any business asset that has relationship with the owner that can be leveraged for minimum cost. For example, many chocolate companies will co-brand with public figures to maximize their sales. The ingredients of making the chocolate are the same, but by leveraging the public figures, they are able to increase sales significantly.
Joint Venture is everywhere; however, less than 5% of all business owners are able to use Joint Venture properly. In fact, most business owners do not even know how to use it at all because of their egos. Lok believes instead of crushing the competitors, entrepreneurs should think about how to profit from the competitors.
Lok emphasizes client database is the most valuable asset in any business. The relationship between a business owner and customers is the valuable asset that can be leveraged; however, most small business owners are intimated from Joint Venture.
Joint Venture is very simple. All entrepreneurs need to do is to ask a simple question of “Wanna do a deal?” Real Joint Ventures do not need lawyers or long drawn negotiation. Real Joint Venture should be natural. Lok believes when other party is making things complicated, entrepreneurs should not do Joint Venture with them.
Joint Venture is not just for business. It could be in other forms as well. When entrepreneurs are buying Groupon, sharing resources or carpooling, they are forming Joint Ventures with others.
“When in doubt, Joint Venture”
There are 3 major reasons why entrepreneurs should do Joint Venture.
- Gain time
- Leverage “piggyback effect”
- High net profit for both parties – conversion with no risk
The key element in Joint Venture is to be resourceful. Lok shares a business story happened in January 2013. He was overseeing a medical company that produces hearing aid. The company was in a bad shape. Lok needed to find a way to be resourceful by implementing three kinds of Joint Venture strategy. The first strategy is to collaborate with the largest direct mail company in the medical industry. The second strategy is offer VIP buying groups and bonus by collaborating with suppliers. The last strategy is to launch appointment maximizer by joining force with another software company. The company was able to turn around with huge profit and savings. The key thing is to be resourceful.
Lok encourages entrepreneurs to joint venture with authors. This is considered as the ultimate business card strategy. Entrepreneurs are able to leverage authors’ list and creditability. Many entrepreneurs are afraid to ask. In fact, many authors are likely to join force with entrepreneurs.
Lok suggests entrepreneurs to become the Joint Venture broker, where entrepreneurs are the middle person to profit from Joint Venture from different businesses. Joint Ventures partners might not always want money. Therefore, it is important to figure out what others needs and wants. Entrepreneurs need to ask questions and find the core issue.
“You cannot do a good deal with bad partner”
It is important to make sure both parties benefit from the deal so they can continue to do deals in the future. Other than that, Lok indicates there are no rules – the type of deal entrepreneurs make are limited only by their creativity.
Lok reveals 6 types of Joint Ventures Entrepreneurs can leverage.
- The simple affiliate
- The list building
- The content
- The co-marketing
- The platform
- The backend
The simple affiliate refers to the mailing, product reviews or referrals of existing customers. Lok illustrates a strategy of list building. Entrepreneurs can create a virtual summit and ask experts to promote the event. Entrepreneurs can upsell on their products. At the end, entrepreneurs will build a list based on the attendance of the virtual summit. The cost of building that list is zero. After the list is build, entrepreneurs can go back to all experts for future Joint Venture.
Lok believes the main question entrepreneurs need to ask themselves is “who already has my customers?”
The content refers to blogging or finds contributors for blogs. The co-marketing is to put resource together with many entrepreneurs to do marketing. The platform is using a directory to find someone to market or find others and make money. The backend ties in with the list building. When entrepreneurs have a list, they are able to build trust with customers. They can sell them advance package. The benefit of the backend is that entrepreneurs are able to keep all the profit because the list is theirs. The bigger the list, the more negotiation power entrepreneurs have.
It is important for entrepreneurs to find the reason for others to do Joint Venture with them. Again, entrepreneurs just need to ask and they are able to initiate Joint Venture. Entrepreneurs can find qualified Joint Venture almost everywhere as long as they are dealing with the decision maker.
“Do Joint Venture with people, not business”
Lok shares 15 places to look for potential Joint Venture partners.
- Entrepreneurs’ own customer list
- Networking events and training seminars
- Industry association and trade shows
- High level mastermind groups
- Article publishing site
- Launch leaderboards
- Niche specific blogs
- Newsletter publishers
- Top sites
- Google an Facebook ads
- LinkedIn and Facebook group owners
- Clickbank market place
- Podcast, video channel, and radio show owners
- Authors in entrepreneurs’ niche
- Software and app publishers
Lok believes there are 7 important questions entrepreneurs need to ask potential Joint Venture.
- Is your mailing list composed of buyers or visitors / leads?
- How big is your mailing list?
- How often do you contact your mailing list?
- Do customers buy from you often and, if so, how often on average?
- What is the percentage of clients who bought more than once from you?
- How much did customers pay per product on average in the past?
- How often (and what type of) promotion do you send to your list on regular basis?
Many entrepreneurs are using the wrong strategy to approach their future Joint Venture partners. Lok shares 6 simple tips for entrepreneurs to improve their approach.
Tip #1: Keep it personal
Entrepreneurs should not use templates emails when they are approaching their future Joint Venture partners. Emails that have generic subject heading will turn off the interest of Joint Venture.
Tip #2: Do not approach by asking for something
Entrepreneurs should only approach with a favor when they have absolute positive relationship with them. They are not obligate to read the emails if they know entrepreneurs have not done anything to warrant respect or justify their attention.
“The best way to get heavy hitter is either send them sales or become their clients
Tip #3: Do not take rejection personally
Entrepreneurs must understand people have the option to reject the offer. However, many entrepreneurs will take it personal and burn the bridge. Perhaps, it could be timing is wrong. In addition, entrepreneurs should never send back angry emails.
Tip #4: Start by making friends
When entrepreneurs go in cold, they will get cold response. It is suggested for entrepreneurs to know each other as much as they can to have them at least listen to them. It is important to attend their events. Personal time spent with them is the best way to get personal connection.
Tip #5: Do favors first to invoke the law of reciprocity
Entrepreneurs must realize reciprocity is a huge motivator. People will remember how others make them feel. Eventually, they will do the same in the future. Therefore, the best way to get someone to at least consider the Joint Venture offer is to promote their product and help them make sales.
Tip #6: Have a great offer
The offer must be something in the interest of other parties. Many entrepreneurs have their future Joint Venture partners’ attention, but they fail to provide the right offer. Lok emphasizes entrepreneurs should not use Joint Venture partners as guinea pigs.
Lok wants entrepreneurs to ask these questions before approaching the Joint Venture partners. These questions will guide entrepreneurs if they are ready for Joint Venture.
- Are you on top of customer support?
- Do you have a quality follow-up process to convert prospects into customers?
- Is your sales page tested and converting well?
- Do you have proof of your own results?
- Do you have proof of results from the people you have helped?
- Are you capable of presenting your ideas and over delivering value regardless of what you get in return?
- Is your intention first to help others, not just to make more sales of your product?
Lok believes good Joint Venture is a result of entrepreneurs being on top of their game and understanding the nature of relationship. If they want to benefit from this superior form of marketing, they need to come from a place of strength and awareness of how things are done. Few entrepreneurs can do Joint Venture well. People will see the result and they will grow. Therefore, entrepreneurs just do what they supposed to do and do well.
