Robin J. Elliott: Joint Ventures with the Prophet of Profit, Training, Strategic Alliances

One of the questions that comes up in every talk, seminar or Bootcamp I deliver, is the following: “I have been feeding people business and leads for ages and I never got paid. How do I change that now, without offending and alienating these people who are my friends?” It‘s a good question. First of all, as a decent, self respecting capitalist and business person, you should get paid. And secondly, we don’t want to distance our business associates.

For years, you’ve been sending and referring business to people that has been worth, perhaps, tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to them. Now, you realize you have left a lot of money on the table unnecessarily. Here’s the best way I have found to turn this situation around with tact and finesse. It works well. First, you identify the people to whom you want to continue sending business on the understanding that you will be fairly and adequately compensated for it. Then, you do some research homework (usually with their competition) to find out what their profit margins are so that your expectations are reasonable regarding the commissions you expect. These commissions could be once-off or an upfront payment with ongoing residual payments on all ensuing sales.

Once you are comfortable with the commissions you expect from referrals in the future, you set up a meeting with the person to whom you wish to continue sending referred business. At the meeting, you have a simple script to follow that won’t upset the person. This is what you say, even if you have never received any referrals from this person: “You know, Bill, I have been having a good look at the Joint Venture opportunities in my business and I read something that really put me on the spot and I have to apologize to you. Up until now, I never offered you any compensation for any business you refer to me. I realize now that that is not fair to you. We all deserve to be paid for what we do, of course, and it was not ethical of me to accept leads from people without offering to pay a fair and reasonable commission. So, from now on, I will pay you 20% (or whatever is right and generous for you) on any business you send me. And of course, you will do the same, right?”

At this point, if he refuses to pay you for future referrals, or if he offers you too little based on your research, don’t argue or fight. Simply agree and never send him business again. Instead, find someone else to refer your business to. Ascertain exactly how much he will pay you, how it will be determined, be specific, for example an exact percentage gross profit or net profit, will there be payments on all ongoing business or not, should he add taxes, at which point will he pay, will he pay weekly or monthly, etc. Confirm this in writing after the meeting. Also include what you will pay him!

This simple system can be worth a small fortune to you. Joint Ventures work. Join the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum. www.nomoneynorisk.com

You can unlock this vault through Joint Ventures. Whatever it is that you need, be it space, advertising, distribution, a sales team, labor, equipment reputation, a database or anything else, as long as someone else has it, you can get access to it! Most businesses have underutilized resources. Not every resource in every business is fully utilized. I visited my printer the other day to discuss the printing of my new book and I found that he also, at time, has excess capacity or inventory. Could people put more seats into their seminars? Add a few more seats in a restaurant? Do they have inventory that isn’t moving? Idle staff members? Of course they do.

Once we realize that these resources are all available to us, be they seats on aircraft, rooms in hotels or credit, Memberships, cars, printers or time, we have to understand how to access that resource with no cost or risk to us. Once we realize that the Law of Reciprocity works very well when understood, just like gravity, we can simply use that law. We can barter, trade, or simply set up simple Joint Ventures to leverage resources. How big do you think? What do you expect? How confident are you? This will determine how much you can get.

If you ask for a million, you might get it. If you ask for a hundred… You simply have to give the owner or controller of those resources a good reason to share them with you. If he gets what he wants, you can get what you want. Here are some real-life examples from Barternews.com:

1. Peter Pocklington acquired 50% of the Edmonton Oilers from Nelson Skalbania in 1977 in exchange for a Rolls Royce, a 15-carat ring, and a Renoir painting.

2. Continental Airlines traded five terminal gates it had at Los Angeles International to United Airlines for several of their gates at the Newark (NJ) airport.

3. Star Wars creator George Lucas’ company Lucasfilm is quietly negotiating a huge barter deal that will see one company having the toy manufacturing rights to a new series of his upcoming films. Offers reportedly approaching $1 billion are on the table with Lucas getting a sizable equity (ownership) stake in the toy company with which he eventually barters.

Your imagination is your only limitation. Together, we can do amazing things. It’s hard to do it alone, and you don’t have to. ASK. “You have not because you ask not.” Be bold. Find out what the other person wants and trade. Everything you need is readily available and waiting for you!

Join the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum - Click here for more information.

When an attorney, J. Jamail, was asked to represent Penzoil in court in the late 1980s, he agreed to barter his services for a percentage of the award if he won the case, instead of charging an hourly fee. He won the case again Texaco and when Penzoil was awarded $3 billion, Jamail earned about $420 million.

When we believe in ourselves and our abilities and we think about how we CAN accomplish something, instead of why we can’t, we realize that we don’t have money problems; we have thinking problems. Every resource your business needs is already available to you through someone else, be it legal services, space, advertising, labor, distribution, access, reputation, membership or skills. There is no shortage – there is only abundance. I use a simple illustration in my seminars: I ask the audience to imagine a huge barrel of stinking garbage and rotting meat. I tell them there’s a million dollars at the bottom of the barrel and ask how many would dive into the barrel and climb under the rotting mess to get the money.

My point is this: If you believe the money is there, you will climb into the putrid garbage and duck underneath it and search until you find the prize. But if you don’t believe it’s there, you won’t even try. You won’t pay the price if you don’t believe the award exists. J. Jamail believed in himself, his skills and his client. He was confident and courageous. He created his success. There is a solution for every challenge and that solution is available through another person / business. Joint Ventures enable us to access everything we need and want, and, if we do it right, we can do it with no money or risk. We simply have to have the right mindset.

The reason why most people fail in business, in my opinion, is that (1.) They try to do everything themselves and (2.) They give up to easily. They very soon forget the million dollars at the bottom of the barrel and focus instead on the long hours, frustration, stink and work. A savvy Joint Venture broker might simply find someone with a long stick and agree to pay him a percentage of the prize for fishing the money out of the barrel, while he goes on to look for more opportunities, much like Penzoil did with Mr. Jamail.

It’s not “IF I can do it”, but rather “How can I do it.” IF stands for Instant Failure. Paul J. Meyer encouraged us to “Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat.” He told us, “Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.” Now THAT’s what I’m talking about! That’s the attitude that will tract winners to you. And, buy working together with optimists and achievers, we can accomplish amazing things. Join the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum: Click here for more information.

Robin J. Elliott www.NoMoneyNoRisk.com

Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey is an international star and a true cowboy. He is an 18 year old Capuchin Monkey and he is one of the biggest little monkeys in the world. Whiplash has been riding since he was two years old. He travels the United States herding up wild Barbados sheep at rodeos and special events. His riding ability is unmatched and his herding skills unchallenged but Whiplash never misses a chance to show his monkey heritage; as he rides the dog he will pull the saddle from side to side and even hang off to one side mimicking an Indian hideaway.

Recently on the Discovery Channel I saw the sad story of an English couple who had kept their Capuchin monkey pet in a tiny cage in their small apartment for 16 years. Now these two monkeys didn’t have much choice in the course of their lives, but we do. We can build ourselves little cages and shy away from adventure, hiding our light under a bushel, as it were, or we can seek to expand our minds and our lives and create value for millions through our contribution. Sam Walton could have chosen to operate small variety stores, but instead he created Wal-Mart and promoted Capitalism and privatization.

Any time we rely on something or somebody, we lose freedom. Anything or anybody that we believe we need controls us. Ayn Rand defined freedom thus: “To ask for nothing, to expect nothing, to depend on nothing.” We can grow as big as our dreams or stay as small as our fears. We can respond and react, borrow and beg, or we can develop, control, produce and create. We have that choice. You can be the boss or the employee, the slave or the master. But the beginning point is to become the master of your own mind, and to realize that everything you have and everything you are is essentially your own creation.

The great news is that it’s never too late to change. We are always faced with two choices: we can advance or retreat. We can get bigger and stronger by embracing new opportunities and developments or we can shrink from the challenges we face. Have a look at faces of the people carrying placards to prevent a Wal-Mart store from opening in south Vancouver. Do these collectivists look happy, successful, inspired and creative, or are they simply bitter and confused puppets of the local shop keepers? You tell me. When a Wal-Mart opens, these are the same people who buy there!

Freedom is the ability to choose your own destiny and reaction to life, to accept that you are the captain of your own ship and that you do not have to accept the limitations or others. Eagles are free – they are not affected by what others say, do or think. Individualists and creators do not take the lead from second-handers and cult member. They love Robert Frost’s “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood… and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Break free. Insist on your freedom. Have fun. Create a lifestyle and a business that promotes your freedom to create, produce and make your own decisions. Like Whiplash, don’t be a sheep – be a herder instead.

To create financial freedom, visit www.nomoneynorisk.com now.

Robin J. Elliott is an Honored Member of America’s Who’s Who of Outstanding Professionals 2006. He is officially included in the International Who’s Who of Entrepreneurs of 2002 and was nominated as a candidate for inclusion in the 2004-2005 edition of the International Who’s Who of Professionals.

I know many people who offer financial planning and insurance products and services. And there is only one of them to whom I would refer business or joint venture with at this time in time. How did he differentiate himself from all the rest? Is it his vast experience? No – he’s actually quite new in the field. Is it is great success? No – he’s new. Is it because of his qualifications or smart brochures or luxury offices? No. It’s because he has given me a REASON to want to send him business and work with him!

The best and most effective way to induce, persuade and ethically bribe people to mention your name, work with you and refer loads of business to you and the ideal way to differentiate yourself in the market and create top-of-mind awareness, is to create unprecedented, massive reciprocity. Read this sentence again; it could change your life. Joint Ventures are based on reciprocity. It’s very simple. If you are good and kind to me, if you are sincerely interested in helping me achieve my goals and you consistently create value for me, if you go out of your way to assist me and support me, it’s human nature that I will want to find a way to reciprocate.

Let’s look at how this particular financial services individual put himself solidly into my good books and how he has caused me to write this article, which will be read by thousands of people in this ezine and on my Blog, at no cost to him.

His name, by the way, is Wilson Poon. Wilson joined the Dollarmakers Joint Venture Forum and attended our Joint Venture Broker Bootcamp. Every time he attends any event that I speak at or any Members meeting, I receive a “Thank You” e mail immediately. Out of hundreds of people, Wilson Poon is usually the ONLY ONE that does so! It costs him nothing to send that e mail. He started a Mastermind group with some of the other Members and did exceptional work setting it up, simply to create added value for those Members. He is consistently friendly, he’s a good listener, he pays compliments and his humility is built on a firm foundation of great intelligence and integrity. So he creates reciprocity and it pays off.

Using Joint Ventures, you can take this to the next level by offering literally thousands of dollars of real, added value to your products and services, at absolutely no cost to you, using coupons, Gift Certificates and Trade. But always remember one thing: Human nature doesn’t change. What goes around, comes around. You reap what you sow. And because 99% of business owners don’t understand the leverage available to them through Joint Ventures, you can leave your competition bewildered choking in the dust, while you grow your bottom line exponentially with no money and no risk.

Robin J. Elliott www.NoMoneyNoRisk.com
www.DollarMakers.com