I regularly receive joint venture proposals from people.
A small percentage of them have some really good ideas and products, but the majority of them are not good at all.
Today I received an email from a couple gentlemen in Australia. I hope the email and my response will be instructive for the recipients and for others as they seek to do joint ventures.
The subject line on the email was \”Joint Venture Proposal – Act NOW!\”
Apparently this gentleman has contacted me with this proposal before.
Good Morning,
Last month I sent you a Joint Venture Proposal. In case you overlooked my email, I have attached the JV Proposal for your immediate attention.
To recap:
I\’m working with one of the top personal development websites online. We\’ve developed a marketing model that many online businesses exactly like yours are using to generate a strong six figure residual income.
I can only make this offer to a limited number of people, so if you would like to generate a residual income (I will do most of the work for you) you must join today!
Really.
Wow. I\’d better hurry up and get signed up quickly. Opportunities like this don\’t grace my doorstep every day.
The sender than attached a Word document to provide all the details of the opportunity, which was really nothing more than a pitch for Success University. I have no qualms with Success University, though I wonder if this type of solicitation is a violation of their terms of service.
Not only did the sender hit my mailbox, but from the \”To:\” line, I could also see that they were taking a scattershot approach to their proposal by sending to multiple prospects.
This is the email that I sent back to the offender, hoping that they would learn a few things about JV etiquette…
I appreciate your zeal, but this is a highly inappropriate way to request a joint venture.
First of all, I don\’t know you. It might be better for you to introduce yourself to me at a conference rather than just shoot out emails… and even worse…
You did a bulk email to several people, indicating that you are really just tossing a bunch of names against the wall and hoping something will stick. Not good, especially since you made everyone else\’s emails public. It\’s possible that others don\’t WANT their email addresses made public.
Next, you apparantly have already emailed me once on this proposal. To do so again \”in case I didn\’t receive it\” is really abusing my inbox.
I find it insulting that you would tell me that this is a \”limited offer\” and that I must \”hurry\” if I wish to take advantage of it. That might be appropriate for someone who doesn\’t have a track record, but I field proposals every day. I\’m not trying to be high and mighty. Rather, I hope you will find this instructive as you attempt to find others to jv with you.
Finally, if you want to do jv\’s with people, they aren\’t going to care much about what you have until they know that you care about them. No one wants to be used just because of their position in the marketplace. Instead, you should ask what you can do FOR others. Then perhaps they will be receptive to what you have to say.
I am copying everyone else on this as they might be feeling the same thing. I care about your success and hope this email is helpful for you.
I have already heard back from one of the others who received this proposal. She wrote…
I couldn\’t have said it better myself.
I appreciate the mini-education you just sent them. Hopefully, it will \’stick\’
So now you know how NOT to propose a joint venture!
Like many others, my time is in short supply. I do like to receive jv proposals, but reviewing them takes time as well!
That\’s why I have put together a site to help me vet the proposals which are legitimate and worth my time.
Yes, there IS a fee to propose a joint venture with me. And whether I accept the JV or not, those who submit their proposal are guaranteed to receive input that will help them improve their product or service and make it more attractive to other potential partners.
If you are interested in proposing a joint venture to me, go to JV with Joel.
I also have a free report that I would like to offer you. It is called The Art of the Joint Venture: How to Network You Way to Success. Be sure you download your free copy.