The whole point of a Joint Venture is that two (or three, four or ten) heads are better than one, two audiences are better than one, two networks are better than one. You utilize each other’s respective skills, network, and leads to create a complimentary package, product, or service offering. Wonderful! However, here are some things to look out for:

• Is the person or people you are entering into a JV with honest and respectable?
• Do they bring as much to the table as you do? (Likewise do you bring as much to the table as they do?)
• Are they willing to work to make the venture work? (Likewise are you willing to work to make the venture work?)

The answers should all be “Yes”, or the venture should be avoided. At the end of the day, if everyone involved is not on equal playing fields, someone is going to get the short end of the stick and the venture will turn into a headache rather than a success.

…All that being said, as I stated earlier, I entered into a mini JV these past couple of weeks, pairing up with Hannah McNamara (and a few dozen other top coaches), offering her some “freebies” to include with the limited time offer of her new book Niche Marketing for Coaches. It is a handbook of sorts; a step by step guide showing coaches the ins and outs of identifying their niche market, setting their rates, and marketing themselves to achieve or grow their client base. She is very humble with the title; it should really be called The Operational Manual for Coaches.

Her book is available for $14.99 (here), and while you can purchase her book at any time, this week is the only chance you have to get $2,600+ in promotional offers from a variety of professional coaches… including yours truly. My contribution to this package is my Twitter in 10 Minutes Daily Tele-Class. As a matter of fact, I had stopped providing it in group sessions and have only been offering it one-on-one for the past three months, but for this super special occasion, I will be providing the Twitter in 10 Minutes Daily Group Tele-Class again – free – as part of her bonus package. Considering that I used to charge $97 per session, the purchase of a $14.99 book is a bargain, because not only are you getting my Twitter in 10 Minutes Daily Tele-Class, but you are also getting $2,500 worth of other bonus offers from coaches, in addition to Hannah’s book!

Pick it up now before this spectacular special ends.

Related posts:

1. How Entrepreneurs Can Get the Benefits of a Team (Without Selling Part of Their Business)
2. 8 Ways to use #businesslunchclub to grow your business
3. Not all Butts are the same. Mine is picky!

Businesses need customers. But I think they need more. Some businesses stop their “sales pipeline” at the point where they transact business to create a customer. But I think that the next step in the pipeline is to transition customers into clients.

I realize that I might be redefining a term here but it works (in my mind, at least!).

While a customer might buy from your business occasionally, because they perceive value from the product or service, a client will buy from you regularly because they perceive value from the relationship. They feel confident working with you that you are their first call when they need whatever it is that you sell.

When you transition a customer into a client, you have made your life a heck of a lot easier. But you’ve also upped the ante on the relationship:

You’ve made your life easier because you no longer have to sell this person on why they need to buy your product or service. They already know. But at the same time, you’ve upped the ante on the relationship because now you need to continuously provide them with stellar value, going above and beyond the product- or service-specific value you once offered. And that’s tricky!

But here are the reasons you want to turn customers into clients:

• They’re dedicated to you, even if your competitor is knocking at their door.
• They’re honest with you when things don’t go well.
• They’re the last to leave if the marketplace dries up.
• They’re the first to refer you to someone else who needs your services.

So, how do you turn a customer into a client?

• Be friendly. Although you might keep business and personal life separate, friendliness
shouldn’t be saved for after 5pm. Be a pleasure to work with. Share your joys and
frustrations to show that your client is important to you.
• Be honest. If you screw up, admit it and fix it. This is a relationship you’re building and the
overall value of the relationship will be enhanced when you show that you’re honest.
• Add value wherever possible. Be willing to lose a little here and there for the overall gain.
• Go the extra mile… then go a little further.

Related posts:

1. You Have Nothing Until You Have Your First Sale
2. Ten Tips to Add Value to Your Customers
3. Mastering Sales and Selling More -Part 1

Ford states it well and if I were to restate what he said I would put it a little more bluntly: the customer doesn’t really know what they need. I mean that customers know they need a solution to their problem or a fulfillment to their desire but they will solve that need with the best available solution. Thus, if Henry Ford had listened to the market, he would have given them a faster horse because horses were the available solution for getting around.

But Ford knew that the real need the market was experiencing was the need for easier, faster, (and less smelly?) transportation.

The same goes for Edison, too. He could have stuck with candles because the marketplace thought they needed candles. But he knew that what they really needed was light.

So, when you are thinking about innovating new products or services, stop thinking about augmenting existing solutions because that is what your customer is asking for. Instead, think about what their REAL need is and then create a solution that meets that true need.

Innovation is the key to all products and thought processes alike,

Heather Villa

Related posts:

1. Should You Listen to Your Customers?
2. What’s stopping you?
3. A Great Innovation Strategy