06.21.08
Avoid Lack of Preparation
Scouts say their motto is “Be Prepared“, and we know that success occurs when preparation meets opportunity. Yet too many Joint Venture Brokers wing it and fail - very predictably. General Orlando Ward said, “One of the biggest reasons for failure on the battlefield is not knowing what to do next. This is the result of not having been trained thoroughly in what to expect on the battlefield.”
Joint Venture Brokers look for clues and use their experience to detect warning signals and red flags in order to avoid sticky situations. After 21 years in this business, I have developed a sixth sense that usually works, however not in every case. Yet the better prepared I am, the less likely I am to get ripped off or taken advantage of. Soldiers who are rushed through their basic training and pushed onto the battlefield prematurely are naive and vulnerable to an established, hardened enemy.
While honing your skills and your understanding of JV’s is very important, let me save you a few years of frustration with some pointers right away.
One of the things to look out for is people pretending to be loyal, open, and committed to a clean, reciprocal JV, when their true motive is simply to push their own product or business into your organization and database. They’re simply leeches who have smelled some juicy blood, and they hug, promise, smile, and joke their way right into your sleeping camp where they reveal their real agenda of rape and pillage. The clue here is the fact that they do very little due diligence on your business, ask few questions, and talk a lot about themselves and their business. They’ll tell you anything you want to hear, because they never intend to reciprocate. We had one like this last year - he ended up spamming our database for ages, and never delivered on his promises. We warn others about you, Larry. Once bitten, twice shy.
Another situation that inexperienced or inadequately trained JV Brokers face is people who have no success record, no database, no ability to produce what they promise, and no integrity, yet they have have been recommended by someone you trust. Instead of doing your proper due diligence, you skim over it, touch on a few points, and overlook some important warning signs, to your regret. I did this with two people whom I shouldn’t have touched with a twenty foot pole. Now, no matter who recommends people to me, I still do my own full due diligence, and the character that recommended these two fools will never get close to my database again. Learn from my mistakes!
And we all know that people who consistently don’t produce what they promise on time and offer ever weaker excuses are headed for the proverbial scrap heap. Reduce the business you send them, and Replace them as soon as possible. They’re losers pretending to be winners.
Also, look out for contamination. A bad home life will affect people’s choices and actions in the workplace. Financial stress will skew their business decisions and can cause erratic and unreasonable responses. Certain religious affiliations will impact their values and can trigger situational ethics and justify unethical behavior. Their levels of desperation, confusion, and conflict will impact your JV’s in irrational and sometimes dangerous ways.
And the worst of all red flags, dear Reader, is the egotistic, pushy, conceited type - snappy dresser, runs his mouth, lots of flash and show, bad listener, usually single, interrupts you and talks over you, makes big promises, talks on his cell phone during meetings, and spends a lot of money on himself. They usually make little eye contact. Tom Cruise types. He will push you to make decisions, as well - always a bad sign. This is not the type of person you want to JV with. If you sit back and let him talk, he will talk about himself and his business for hours, at the end of which he will have forgotten your name. Usually, they’re all hat and no cattle, but conmen have never let that stop them. Voltaire said, “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
DollarMakers Members are encouraged to continue to learn, practice, hone their skills, and select only legitimate JV partners. William Shakespeare said, “All things are ready, if our minds be so.” When you’re well prepared, you’re far more likely to succeed. Abraham Lincoln said, “If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first hour sharpening the ax.”
Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com
