Every established business and profession has a network of clients. Many of these businesses offer services and products to the same customers who fit your target audience for your network marketing business and are already building trust with a pool of loyal clients and customers. You can reap the benefits by employing fusion marketing.
Through fusion marketing — promoting to other people’s customer lists for mutual advantage — network marketers can leverage their list-building hundreds or thousands of times over.
Your network marketing message gains credibility by being seen alongside a trusted merchant or professional. Fusion marketing arrangements usually cost less than promotions you have to finance on your own. More reasons to seek out business partners include:
- You save time by leveraging your efforts to reach other lists.
- You can test more audiences with special network marketing offers.
- If you produce a network marketing newsletter, you’ll grow your subscriptions.
- You will learn more about prospective audiences in the process of working with fusion marketing partners.
- You will gain more happy customers, some of whom will become distributors.
- you can attract more fusion marketing partners, because your business partner may refer you to his associates.
- You gain free access to qualified lists of network marketing prospects. The list gives you further opportunities to communicate network marketing messages for related network marketing products.
By their nature, business owners are usually open to joint ventures, provided they are approached in the right way. They are already in business and selling something, so their thoughts revolve around adding potential profit streams.
Begin your search for marketing partners the same way you would create a list of network marketing prospects for your product. Go back to your marketing plan and your list of product benefits and note which audiences are most likely to gain. Now, ask yourself what kind of business and professionals already serve those audiences? A gas-mileage enhancing network marketing product is a good match for car washes, auto mechanics, tire stores, and auto supply stores. Aromatherapy oils will complement products available at a beauty salon, spa, massage clinic, or health food store. A legal service will tie in with insurance, real estate and all kinds of small businesses.
Identifying potential partners is as easy as surfing the Internet to research prospective partners. Type in keywords related to your topic and then visit the websites. To find local businesses, include your city when searching online. Newsletter and ezine directory sites can also be helpful for locating experts in fields complementing yours who may be open to your offer. When reviewing prospective partners, look for reputable businesses and organizations. These are your best potential allies because they are most likely to have gained the confidence and trust of the people you desire to reach.
Professionals and business owners are busy people. Before you approach them, define your offer. Be able to articulate the gains for your fusion marketing partner. For network marketers, this will usually take the form of signing up customers and distributors directly under the partner.
Yours is probably not the first or only joint venture offer a business owner will receive from a network marketer. Make sure you get him a network marketing product sample early on. A business owner will not endorse a product he isn’t sold on himself. Remember: The business with the customers is the one with the leverage, not the network marketer with the product, regardless of how strongly you feel about the benefits of your offer. Every business owner feels protective of his flock.
To make the proposal appealing, offer to do any labor involved, like mailing and answering calls. Your gain is getting the leverage of a whole new group of potential network marketing prospects through the partner’s influence.
For example, you propose to mail to a busy salon owner’s client list. The offer will include a network marketing product sample, free report, or DVD about an innovative natural hair-care product, along with a note that includes the stylist’s recommendation. The stylist supplies the list of names and you do the mailing. You take care of call-ins and sign up customers and network marketing distributors under your new partner. This kind of arrangement allows you to help the salon owner develop an additional income stream while introducing you to a qualified new network marketing audience.
Learn as much as you can about a prospective business owner or organization manager before making an approach. If you send a written proposal, your network marketing offer must appear relevant enough to get attention and brief enough (one page is sufficient) that it isn’t discarded.
In all your communications, use the person’s first name and include points about the person’s business, showing you took the time to know what he or she is about.
Show respect by asking the decision maker in an email or brief call what is their preferred way of receiving a network marketing proposal. There is no one way to approach everyone. Learn what your prospects likes, and you’ll earn points for making the effort to please.
The first questions in your prospective partner’s mind are “What’s in it for me?” and “What’s in it for my clients?” The benefits of your offer comprise your value network marketing proposition. It should explain quickly and obviously what the prospective partner has to gain from working with you and your network marketing company.
Your partner’s clients will gain from getting exceptional product benefits that solve their pain. Benefits to the partner will include residual income and bring able to offer complementary products to their existing services.
Provide your prospect with reasons to feel confident about working with you. Include some brief background information about your credentials and experience or testimonials from other business owners you’ve partnered with.
Think of ways your offer will help your prospect advance his business faster than he could through his existing activities.
Your fusion marketing proposal should not merely speculate about income, but show exactly where the money will come from.
Make your partner aware there is no risk for him or his clients by offering a complete, money-back guarantee. Since most network marketing companies provide a satisfaction guarantee, the “at risk” factor is the parent company’s, not yours.
