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

You have a choice between two meetings. One is a meeting with someone who can add $100,000 to your revenues and the other one can add $10,000. Which meeting will you attend? You can make one of two phone calls. You can allocate time to only one activity at a time. You have a limited amount of time to dole out. Your resources are finite. You can only read one book at a time. You want to leverage and duplicate you efforts. What if you had a checklist that you could use to objectively evaluate the reasonable, potential return on your investment and thereby make better, more lucrative choices regarding the sensible assignment and strategic distribution of your time and capital?

Many people make choices based on guilt, popularity, comfort, convenience, and fear, rather than on practical and logical considerations. Large companies are bottom line oriented and they have shareholders scrutinizing their choices, whereas small business owners can act anonymously, compromise, justify poor decisions, and ignore flawed evaluations. What do the big corporations do differently? They are acutely aware of the cost of their time, equipment, and assets. They report to controllers and accountants who are not emotionally involved and expect to see optimal expediency. So let’s look at some useful, guiding criteria for the expenditure of our irreplaceable time.

Set benchmarks for your expected return on investment. Will you look at any Joint Venture or sales opportunity under $1,000? Does it have to result in repeat sales and therefore passive income? What is the minimum potential you look for and do you choose between two options based on their potential and risk / return equation?

What are your standards for the people with whom you do business? Do you compromise? What values and ethics do you insist on? What disqualifies people from the opportunity of doing business with you? How many lies will you tolerate? How about punctuality, professionalism, and reputation? Do you walk away when you see there’s something fishy going on, or do you turn a blinf eye? Are you a victim of situational ethics, brought on by blatant greed?

What steps will you take to evaluate an opportunity before physically attending a meeting? What organizations / types of business are not qualified to work with you, based on your values and Mission Statement? For example, would you do business with someone involved in pornography or any particular religious cult?

What has to happen for you to turn an opportunity down? Under what circumstances will you walk away from a business relationship?
What standards or measurements do you use to assess opportunities before spending time and money on them?

I personally only do business with Members of the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum and if they do not abide by our Code of Ethics, they are fired. I do not get involved with people who are involved in certain types of businesses or certain religious and business cults. Most of my Joint Ventures are “No Money, No Risk” and I pay only for performance. I have a specific period during which I seek real results – after that time we either change tactics or cut bait. Lying, manipulation, and deception disqualifies people from my world. I do not do business with people in certain countries or with socialists, altruists, politicians or collectivists. The more selectively you allocate your resources, the more you value your time and insist on optimal leverage, the higher your standards, and the less you compromise your values, the happier you will be and the more money you will make.

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com

Watch the Military Channel and you will soon learn the difference between tactical and strategic. Your Strategic Goal is your Vision, your Identity, your Cause or your Big Picture. We have heard, “Lose the battle but win the war” and we know that sometimes we need to change our game plan / battle plan / action plan, in order to reach the major objective or goal we have set. Strategists are like chess players; they think ahead and plan carefully. They are not attached to their tactics but they seldom sacrifice their strategic goals. In marketing, Tactical Marketing is what you do: placing ads, making calls, sending out press releases. Strategic Marketing is what you say, your message, and your image. Tactical is HOW? Strategic is WHY?

When you see an entrepreneur overreacting to short-term challenges, he is tactically involved and focusing on bumps in the road instead of the map. He loses sight of his destination and the detours that he takes can have him ending up a million miles from his objective. Listen to what the American Productivity and Quality Center has to say, “High-level executives need and request specific strategically focused information from the competitive intelligence (CI) function. At the same time, professionals in functional units such as sales and marketing need and request tactical information to assist in business development and customer problem solving.”

No matter how large or small your business is, you need to be aware of this difference. People who have an exciting, specific vision and know why they want what they profess to want, do not easily cut and run when the going gets tough. They get their egos out of the way and remember why they are doing what they’re doing. They carefully build strong relationships with the right people and they don’t mind changing tactics in midstream if that’s what it takes to reach their goals. They have a long-term plan that helps them cope with intermediate irritations. They don’t panic or throw the baby out with the bathwater. Can you imagine General Patton, Montgomery, or Churchill panicking and wringing their hands? I think not. See how Google and Dell partner up to achieve their common goals. Watch Ebay and Yahoo joint venture to work strategically.

True success is built on a powerful vision. Joint Ventures is the most effective means I have found to make your dreams come true. Here is our DollarMakers Vision Statement to reach millions of people:

Vision Statement
DollarMakers will be the natural choice for individuals and owners of small to medium sized businesses worldwide who want to use Joint Ventures to create wealth and success. We will expand our services and network to provide affordable and accessible tools to create wealth to anyone of any background and in any situation, who understands that, by becoming financially free, they can gain, regain and maintain their dignity, self-respect, quality of life, and success. We will help to spread Capitalism and Freedom, and the understanding that every person is responsible for their own choices and success, and that they are able to attain that through Joint Ventures.

Mission Statement
DollarMakers specializes in sharing Joint Venture knowledge, access, and support with individuals and owners of small to medium sized businesses worldwide through our Membership, Meetings, Tools, and Training. Together, we do amazing things and every resource is available through Joint Ventures.

Link up with powerful, motivated individuals whose vision is strongly aligned with you own and Joint Venture together to achieve your common goals a lot faster and with the support any smart strategist creates.

Robin J. Elliott www.dollarmakers.com

People spend a lot of time creating “Sales Scripts” or “Pitches” or “Chassis Plans” to use like a cookie cutter when selling ideas, concepts, products, or services. And of course, they do work. Except when they don’t, and sometimes, they won’t. Because when you’re trying to sell me vitamins, you’re not going to get anywhere. Or tools. Or many other things in which I have no interest. In fact, if you sell tools, you will never sell me any. Guaranteed. So how can you benefit from spending your valuable time with me? How about the six thousand people that I could refer to you? Would that be more valuable to you than a quick buck sale?

Most salespeople are too desperate to think beyond the immediate gratification of a sale. That is why they will never be anything but a salesperson. What would happen if you stopped talking about your products and yourself (nobody is interested, anyway) and started talking about the one subject everyone is VERY interested in – themselves? If you took the time to ask me a lot of questions about my hopes, dreams, fears, vision, challenges and problems, my family, my values and my sore toe, you might find some area that you could contribute to, some problem you could solve, some introductions you could make, that would be very valuable to me. And then you would get my attention and my wish to reciprocate, perhaps by enthusiastically referring you to my entire database.

I regularly get people saying to me, “I want to do Joint Ventures, but I don’t know where to start – I am looking for a Joint Venture.” That simply means they don’t yet understand what a JV is. Can you ask someone open-ended questions about their life and their goals? “If a genie leapt out of this ketchup bottle and offered you three wishes for your life, what would they be? When you say ‘wealth’, what, specifically, do you mean? How much? By when? WHY? What would you do with the money? Why do you want to be healthy? What would constitute success in that area of your life? Could you elaborate? Tell me more…” The more you know about someone, the better you can help him or her by linking them up with solutions and being paid for it – THAT is a Joint Venture. Not trying to force a square peg into a round hole because you need to meet your sales quota. Do you realize that your prospect likes his dog a lot more than he does you? That his dog’s health and happiness may be more important to him than your products or your health? Perhaps you should talk about his dog… smart salespeople do, you know.

Many salespeople are like cult members – they can’t stop trying to force their products down your throat at every opportunity. Their blinders prevent them from taking any interest in you. I know a few cult members, and believe me, they are the most selfish, egotistical people around. They have snake oil to cure headaches, save gas in your car and improve your memory. They want to sell you stuff you don’t need or want, can’t afford and don’t even like. They blindly deny the fact that any other product or service even exists. Instead, they could become your favorite person in a short period by helping you achieve your goals – they could secure your undying love and loyalty instead of selling another bottle of placebo effect or an exciting chance to lose money with the next Enron.

It takes time to understand the unlimited power of Joint Ventures – the opportunity to be well paid for helping people to get what they want – and sadly, some people are so heavily conditioned and desperate that they will never understand the concept. However, those who do, obtain the ultimate leverage available. Give people what they want and you’ll get anything you want. More information: www.DollarMakers.com

Robin J. Elliott

When someone says, “Money isn’t important to me”, or “I don’t do it for the money”, you know they have no money. People who have earned their money and created wealth understand the importance of money. They would never say that money is not important. People who have inherited wealth and live off someone else’s hard work often don’t understand money – they might know how to spend it but not how to make it. Money is what pays for our food, clothing, transport, education, medical care and housing – how could it not be important?

I talked with a man who told me that money is unimportant to him. I asked him who paid for the medical assistance he receives, the clean environment he enjoys, the fire trucks and ambulances and police that will arrive at his door within minutes should he dial 911… He replied that the government paid for it. I reminded him that the government got its money from producers and creators of value wealth in the form of exorbitant taxes. The government does not create wealth. Money is the barometer by which creators measure the value they produce. In a purely capitalist society, we are paid in direct proportion to the value we create. The amount of money earned by a union member has very little to do with the value created by that person. (Try using an airline with unionized employees and see how bad the service is.)

In today’s society, we need to remember what money is all about. Often, the people who are the most greedy and lazy are the same ones that profess disinterest in money. The mystics and academics, bureaucrats and second-handers have successfully foisted their collectivist philosophy on many people who cannot or do not choose to think for themselves. The best description of money and capitalism I have found is in the “Money Speech”, written by Ayn Rand. Here’s an excerpt: “So you think that money is the root of all evil?” said Francisco d’Anconia. “Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?” To read the entire speech online (it’s from Atlas Shrugged), click here: http://www.CapMag.com/article.asp?ID=1826

I wear a small, gold dollar sign on my lapel. It reminds me of my core philosophies of Freedom and Responsibility. I refuse to trade my freedom and dignity by violating my values, and money buys that freedom. I create wealth by creating value. The amount of freedom I enjoy is directly proportionate to my production, innovation, and creativity. I am solely responsible for my life and lifestyle. I will not steal from others or ride on the backs of others. The dollar sign inspires and motivates me, by reminding me how fortunate I am to be in a position to create any amount of value I wish, in a free country. The only limits I face are self-imposed.

Recently, I heard on the radio about a woman in Canada who needed a knee operation. She was on an eighteen-month waiting list. Her physician advised her that the only effective painkiller would cause her to become addicted to it. She had to become a drug addict for eighteen months in order to cope with the acute pain in her knee. After her operation, she went into a drug rehabilitation center for six days. The operation would have cost her $25,000. Tell HER that money is not important.

I encourage people to read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”. It will set you free. I started the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum to help people around the world to become financially free.

Robin J. Elliott www.dollarmakers.com