The Marketing Guy.
By: Craig Valine
Craig@biznetonline.com
For October 1998

Create Marketing Alliances To Generate New Business
With Little Or No Downside Risk!

The concept of Marketing Alliances is simple: Alliances allow you to utilize the existing good will and strong bonded relationships that all sorts of other companies and professionals already have established with prime prospects for your product or service.

The reason this marketing strategy is so powerful is two-fold: First, they've already done all the work and paid all the expense of acquiring their customers. And second, they've built years of trust. So any proposition that comes either endorsed or implied that it is endorsed from your alliance partner is going to go gangbusters. An endorsed offer can pull 50% to 100% more than a cold offer. The question you have to ask yourself is this: Who in your marketing area is already selling the customers or clients you want to serve? What would they be selling that either goes before, goes along with, or follows the product or service you would sell to these people?

The moment you identify who these businesses or professionals are you're almost all the way home. It's that easy. All you have to do is contact those companies or those professionals and make it easy and advantageous for them to recommend their customers or clients to you.

Why would anyone be willing to do that? For two reasons. You demonstrate to them why it will be in their customer's best interest because you demonstrate to them the level of benefit and advantage that you provide their customers that no one else does, can or will provide for them. And secondly, because you give them consideration about what they want. You must remember this in all your marketing: It's all about them. It's never about you.

Marketing Alliances save you money too! The cost of acquiring a customer is enormous. (Most business people don't realize it but they are in the customer- and prospect-generating business. That's the goal of all marketing. Don't ever forget it!).

But what if you could eliminate a lot of the expense of "prospecting" and only spend your time and money on people who are ready to buy? What if you could do this with very little effort?

Case in point: One of my teachers, Jay Abraham, has worked with a lot of plastic surgeons who have created marketing alliances with cosmetic dentists. Why? Because both sides have patients who are concerned with their appearance and looking better. People who go to the dentists to have their appearance improved through braces, caps, crowns and other cosmetic dentistry are perfect prospects to have other parts of their bodies improved cosmetically, and vice versa. People who go to the plastic surgeons and have their eyes done or their faces lifted or their noses improved are perfect prospects to have their teeth cosmetically attended to. So they are perfect complements to one another. They have done millions and millions of dollars of services just by getting one cosmetic professional to recommend a colleague in a different cosmetic profession and back and forth. It's very logical.

What types of businesses complement your business or practice or have the same type of clientele?

Think about it carefully and right down a list of as many possible alliances as you can. Contact them and make it advantageous to them to refer business to you and vice versa. Some will say no, but some will say yes! It's one of the simplest and cost-effective ways to get qualified prospects I've found yet.

Good luck!


Craig Valine is a Marketing Consultant in Pasadena, California. He views marketing differently than most. He teaches his clients how to optimize their current marketing to produce the most profitable results possible with the money they already spend to build their business. His work is guaranteed. To receive a complementary "HOW TO GET UP OFF YOUR [MARKETING] ASSETS" Audit, please email Craig at MktgSquared@earthlink.net or call (626) 744-1739


If you would like to know more about how to market your business effectively, e-mail the "Marketing Guy" at marketingguy@biznetonline.com


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Last modified: November 08, 2002