| It seems everyone I talk to says that it is getting
harder to get responses from their marketing.
Imagine having access to a marketing strategy so powerful,
it could add tens or hundreds of thousands to your bottom line overnight…
but few people ever do it because it seems too simple! In my experience,
logic and simplicity are disarmingly powerful simply for that reason.
Few people recognize their power. I personally have generated millions
of dollars for my own businesses, using the strategy we call Host
Beneficiary Relationships.
Today, I want to focus on how to benefit from the
investment other businesses have made in building their customer
base.
First.
An important question for the entrepreneur who is looking for new
leads: "Who already knows the people I need to know?"
The answers to this question can lead you to one of the most powerful
business building strategies I know.
Second.
List down every organization or person who is already connected
to the people you need as your customers. Cross off, for now, those
with whom you compete directly. (We will deal with how to form alliances
with competitors in a later newsletter.) The rest of the list represents
a direct line to an avalanche of new business.
These people have spent years and vast sums of money
to build their customer base. Their customer list is far more than
a list of names; it is a list of buyers, who are predisposed to
buying from their business. It embodies goodwill and trust and thus
a willingness to at least try out anything offered by their business.
This is an asset which would take you years to build
but which you can access for very little cost.
Third.
Approach your most suitable alliance partners. Be careful how you
execute this, as it is very easy to make people suspicious of your
motives. Make sure your motives are win-win. This will only work
if done with absolute integrity.
Approach the president of the target company with
an offer to increase their revenues and profits with no risk, no
cost and virtually no effort. Offer to share profits on all
sales generated from their customer base, if they will either introduce
you to their customers, or if they will send a mailing endorsing
you.
Promise to pay all the marketing costs and do all
the work. Few people have time to spare, so don't expect them to
invest time in your idea. But be prepared to let them handle the
mailing, they may not feel comfortable giving you their list. Your
intent must always be win-win. You must provide the funds, you must
provide the endorsement letter for them to sign, you must protect
their customer base and you must be generous with their share of
the profits. In short, you must make it easy for them to buy. Don't
expect them to do your thinking, so work everything out before you
engage.
If you do this right, you will gain on-going
streams of revenue from new customers generated through other peoples'
assets. Not only will you help yourself, you will help them leverage
their sunk costs in building their customer base through the revenues
you generate together.
Remember this can also work very effectively in reverse.
If you have a respectable size of client base, you can be the host,
and offer your customers all sorts of products that they need, by
setting up these kinds of relationships with businesses who need
distribution.
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