When you see a great new movie, how many people do you tell? Why do you tell them? What’s your intent? Most likely you want them to see it too. No other type of advertising is more powerful than word of mouth. Your friend probably didn’t pay attention at all to the Hollywood hype about the movie, but they know you as a friend and respect your judgment.

If the show’s terrible the negative vibe will spread even faster than the positive. Statistics say that: “Negative word of mouth influences future patronage up to five times more than the person who experienced the problem first-hand…meaning that the original problem description is continually embellished as it passes from person to person.” (Verde Group and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania).

If you’ve been involved in marketing for some time, or even if you are just getting started, you probably know the result of negative word of mouth advertising too. Why do we tend to tell people a lot more about bad experiences we’ve had with people, businesses, or services? We all hate confrontation don’t we? It seems that some actually must like confrontation - they continue to be jerks over and over again. These business owners must have no idea about the effects negative word or mouth advertising can and will have on their business plan.

If I’m unhappy with a product, service, or employee of a company, I’m going to whatever I can to get things resolved. If they don’t make any changes or solve the problems, I’ll warn everyone I know to stay as far away from them as possible. My thought is that you never know the effects a bad product or unfriendly service may have on future business. Just like the smell of a stinky diaper, bad news spreads all over the place. You’d think someone would take it out to the trash sooner than later!

So, the point I’m trying to make is this: if you want your business to really prosper, to really get to a level you may have never dreamed of, be nice to people and follow the “golden rule!” It’s not really a new concept. Everyone likes friends; not many people like jerks. The effects of negative word of mouth advertising will have effects that we may never be able to track with our business.

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A Joint Venture is a “business strategy where two parties utilize one another’s strengths to positively grow their prospective businesses, creating a win/win relationship.” (dictionary.com). I truly think there is nothing better: utilizing one another’s strengths to effectively grow your business.

Here are a few steps I take when forming a Joint Venture:

- Step One: Set Goals about what you want to accomplish with this new marketing strategy – the more specific you are, the better chance you have of realizing these goals. Write these goals on paper so you can see them. “A goal unwritten is only a wish!”

- Step Two: Ask yourself: “Who already has a strong relationship with people to whom I might be able to sell a noncompetitive but related product or service?”

- Step Three: make a list of company names on paper, then DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Research the companies you think would make great partners with your company. Find out what their clients like best about them. Look at the companies marketing: What do they do now? Who do they target primarily? How could it tie in with what you do?

- Step Four: Contact those non-competing businesses and present them with a proposal that is hard to say no to. Show them how committed you are to making this work. Make a list of all the benefits your product or service will bring to their clients. Introduce them to your product or service. Supply them with plenty of information on what you sell, and some testimonials confirming its high quality.

What are steps you all have taken when forming partnerships or joint ventures?

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Since forming a partnership with Highlight Sports about a year and a half ago, I’ve learned many important things about Sponsorship and Advertising Sales. Here are a few ideas:

- Instead of talking about price, talk about “return on investment” or what they want out of the sponsorship (some may not care as much about ROI - they just want to show their support and brand their company name)
- When the question is asked about cost over the phone, set up an appointment to meet in person if possible
- Ask questions about what the company does for marketing
- Take notes
- Pick their brain about how what we are doing could benefit them, if not now, later
- Tie their needs back in to the presentation
- KISS: keep it simple stupid
- Listen for buying clues
- Don’t burn bridges: what may not work now could always work later if you leave a good impression.

Additional Notes I took on my learning curve:
- Mention competitors as options for sponsorship
- Use phrase like “We are considering your company as a potential sponsor…”
- Generally better to start a little high with numbers: you can always negotiate down, but not up
- Be willing to negotiate price and tools provided
- If they are hesitant with the pricing, ask something like: “Is there some things I could rearrange to make that package a better fit for you?”
- Show clients past work we’ve done

There are many different approaches that can be taken; these are some of the things that have worked for me. More to come….

What have you all learned?

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