You all know I ❤️ social media to grow my business … but it can be slow as it takes a while to build up that know-like and trust factor (still, I am a big fan as last year I welcomed nearly 100 clients in my financial planning business and all from our socials)
But if you want clients quicker or social media is not your thing, then joint venture partnerships can be a great way to get clients quicker as you are using the trust they have built. They have often spent a ton of money and/or time building this trust.
But the problem with most joint venture partnerships is we have a coffee or a meeting, and it seems like a great fit, and we might get a lead or two but then crickets until our next meeting with them. We constantly feel like we have to harass them for clients, and it can be exhausting.
Or we feel like, for the partnership to work, we have to give them something back, like leads or money, which we may not be able to do.
But what we really want is to have regular qualified leads every week from our joint venture partner without having to constantly have meetings or remind them.
And we want our joint venture partners to feel we add massive value to their clients and we are an asset to their business but in a way that doesn’t put more work on them.
The solution I’ve developed over many years is The Partnership Pathway™. This system has given me ten leads from a new joint venture partner in less than two weeks of my knowing them.
Step 1: Think outside the box
We sometimes get stuck thinking accountants or mortgage brokers are the only joint venture partnerships we can have.
But some of my best joint ventures have been with non-traditional partnerships like business coaches.
Stuck for joint venture ideas … here are a few to get you started ….
- Podcasts specific to your niche – see what guests have been on and which might be great for you to connect with (you can also be a guest on podcasts as a great way to build your list … but that’s an article for another day 😊)
- Industry Publications – often, people who sponsor these can make great partners
- Networking events for niche/industry
- Associations
- Workplaces
- Conveyancing
- HR Managers
- General Insurance Broker
- Mortgage Brokers
- Accountant
- Bookkeepers
- Gym / Yoga 🧘♀️
- Business Coaches
- Solicitors
- Technology providers to your industry/niche
Step 2: Connect
Whilst it is always best if you know them a little first … cold outreach can work as well.
If you want the script we use for cold outreach, jump into my Facebook community, My Adviser Buddies, and you will see it in the guides section.
Step 3: Your First Date
Chances are, like any first date, this can be awkward.
That’s why it’s always great to have a framework you can use so that it opens up conversation and builds trust.
I like to think of these meetings in 3 parts:
- Connect: questions that get them talking Eg How did you get into this?
- Serve: questions that let you know how you can support, e.g. What do your clients need most?
- Strategise: questions that let you leave with a clear plan, e.g. if you are open to it, let’s brainstorm some other ways.
Step 4: Commitment
Depending on how your meeting is going (i.e. what the vibe is), you might have a little or big commitment from them.
Maybe to start, it’s a little commitment, like contributing to their newsletter (make sure you have a great call to action … it’s probably not booking an appointment with you as that’s a bit early (like getting married on the first date)… but it could be a ps: want to grow your wealth quicker download our xxx guide/tool / cheat sheet/case study etc.
Or perhaps you have a bigger commitment, like running a wealth workshop for their clients. My preference is a webinar, but it could be in person, especially if they are already doing client events.
If you plan to do a workshop before you leave your joint venture meeting, pencil a date in otherwise, you lose the momentum (and if you have a date, you can’t chicken out ☺) Make sure you don’t put any work on your joint venture partner as they are already busy – give them a JV pack with all the emails they need to send to their database.
Webinars are my favourite way to work with a joint venture partner. Because instead of waiting for the joint venture partner to send me leads, I get in front of a whole heap of potential clients at once. My best result was 11 new clients from a 45-minute webinar.
I hope you found this useful and if you want more help with finding your ideal clients, there’s free 5-part training in the guides section of My Adviser Buddies (our free Facebook group for financial advisers who are growing and scaling their businesses).
