What is a Joint Venture or Strategic Alliance? My definition is

A partnership that creates or adds value to the vision and goals of all parties that also adds or creates value for their current or potential customers. The value created would not have been possible if either party had solely operated on their own.

Joint ventures, strategic alliances or partnerships can all add another dimension to your business. Joint Ventures are one slice of the marketing pie. They can help you grow your revenue, relationships and knowledge. You need creative thinking, good planning and careful selection in who and why you link up with appropriate Joint Venture partners so that both parties gain mutual benefit.

Who makes a good Joint Venture partner or strategic alliance?

1. Someone/Company who sells into your market and does something completely different to you

2. Someone/Company who sells into your market and complements what you do

3. Someone/Company that does exactly what you do and has a different slant/different skills

Examples:

* If your target audience/niche is veterinary practices and you offer marketing to that niche a good Joint Venture partner might be someone that offers accountancy for veterinary practices

* If your target market is SMEs and you offer process consultancy you might partner with a HR specialist who niches in SMEs

* If your target market is Blue Chip Software companies you could joint venture with suppliers to those companies e.g. component parts companies

So what types of Joint Venture activities can help you in your consultancy/business?

* Co-host networking events where you invite clients/prospects of both your businesses.

* Co-host seminars where you each speak/teach on your specialist subject

* Share marketing activity by co-promoting each others products

* Provide hot referrals through recommending your existing clients to your joint venture partner

* Do joint calls into prospects

* Produce co-branded materials

* Add each others links/information to your website

Multi million pound/dollar companies use strategic alliances to great effect and gain huge profits and profile from those partnerships. Think of oneworld or STAR 2 airline alliances each consisting of 7 and 15+ airlines which among them cover the whole globe! The Ford Motor Company has a strategic alliance with UPS the global delivery service.

As a solo consultant or SME business owner the urge to be lone ranger is often very strong. However, the advantages of considering forming partnerships and alliances are worth considering for your business to take your revenue, profile and knowledge One Step Further

Beverley Hamilton

Beverley Hamilton, business coach and MD of One Step Further, works with escapees from the corporate world who have or want to establish their own consultancy in their specialist field of marketing, sales, HR or IT. Her focus is on helping consultants gain more control, more clarity and more ideal clients so that their business achieves the goals that they dreamt of on breaking out of the corporate environment.

As an executive coach and facilitator, Beverley also works with newly appointed senior executives to accelerate their transition into a new role so that they achieve their objectives and their company?s expectations more quickly and more effectively.

Beverley is the author of Take Control of Your Time: 7 Straight Shooter Strategies for Success and has been published in a number of professional and business publications. She also writes a free, weekly newsletter called Quickstart, which provides, tips, tools techniques and insights into how to lead a successful consultancy and improve your personal effectiveness.

With experience as a teacher, RAF Air Traffic Control Officer and Learning and Development specialist combined with her passion for helping people excel, Beverley has enabled individuals and teams, in the public and private sectors both in the UK and overseas, to achieve improvements in personal and team effectiveness.