How to Write an Absolutely Irresistible Joint Venture Proposal
Writing a joint venture proposal is really just a fancy way of
saying to your potential partner, "Hey, let's do a deal."
In fact, I've had far more success with brief, to-the-point
proposals than I ever have with a stereotypical ten-page
document packed full of corporate jargon.
The truth of the matter is that regardless of who your potential
partner may be - whether they're an ezine publisher, a competing
business owner or even if they're the CEO of a Fortune 500
company - they're all going to be asking themselves the same
question when they receive your proposal:
"What's in this for me?"
More specifically, they'll be wondering exactly how you might be
able to benefit them and their company.
Therefore, the most crucial component of your proposal is
obviously going to be explaining "what's in it for them". Now,
before I get into more details about this, it is important to
note that you must have something of great value to offer your
potential partner.
It is absolutely crucial that your offer is laser-targeted,
relevant and highly beneficial to their clients - as well as
very lucrative for your potential partner. It's also very
important to research your potential partner (and their company)
in order to see what they would most likely be looking for - and
it's not always more money, believe it or not.
With this in mind, let's take a look at how to write your
proposal so that it pushes your partner's "buttons" - to the
point where they'd have to be insane to turn down your offer...
What is your potential partner looking for specifically? Find
this out by talking to them, reading their mission statement and
researching them - as well as how they make decisions. This will
reveal the "button" that you'll need to press as you describe
the benefits of the partnership (ie. more profits, something new
to offer their clients, giving their business a new edge on
competition, etc.).
Make an offer they can't refuse. Again, this will also take some
research, but within reason, you should bend over backwards to
accommodate your potential partner and make it as profitable for
them as possible. Remember that the clients you acquire from a
joint venture will purchase from you again and again - and it's
usually the "backend profits" after the JV where the real money
gets made...
Make it as easy as possible for them to say "yes". People in
general are obnoxiously lazy. Many of my proposals have been
rejected simply because it either seemed too complicated - or it
sounded like too much work to them, regardless of how lucrative
it was. Simplify your proposal, and if necessary, take on the
majority of the workload - remember that you're sitting on a
goldmine!
Show them the money. Don't be vague when it comes to potential
earnings. Logically explain to your prospect how much they could
reasonably earn from the partnership. It is very important that
you do not simply make an "educated guess" - base your
predictions entirely on your current marketing stats, sales
conversion rates and other real data. This is likely the most
overlooked - yet crucial - part of any given JV proposal.
Be personal. A "canned" or impersonal proposal likely won't even
make it more than ten seconds before getting tossed in the
garbage. Relate to your prospect and emphasize their values by
validating their interests, goals and passions. Also, if you
want to really make an impact, send your proposal as a hard copy
via FedEx. Email is simply too easy to ignore, erase or forget
about.
Add a real sense of urgency. You want to subtly hint to your
potential partner that you won't wait long to hear back from
them - which is true, because if they say "no", you'll have to
find someone else anyway. Word this in such a way that it
compels them to action either way - but don't be overbearing,
deceptive or unrealistic.
And most importantly, build rapport with your prospect. You must
understand that the majority of business people - especially
those that are very successful - would much rather work with
someone that they know, like and trust than a complete stranger.
In fact, it's crucial that you do this before you even send them
a proposal...
Well, there you go.
You now have everything you need to start easily persuading
potential partners to do business with you - as well as putting
together some obscenely profitable joint ventures.
Apply these tactics to your own business development strategy
and watch your response rates skyrocket!