Gabriel Howes
05-22-2008, 02:35 PM
Hi everyone,
The following tips are a few of the ''tricks'' I used to get VERY high response rates with my JV proposals.
Enjoy.
1. If you have partnered with people they know, say so. It gives an instant boost to your credibility. They’ll think: "Gee, if he worked with ______ and ______, he must be good / have a viable business proposition / be a real player."
This is called social proof and it’s powerful. Hammer them with it very early
in your proposition and you’ll maximize your chances of keeping their eyes glued to the page.
Another variation to this is to say that Mr. X (whom they know personally)
recommended him/her to you.
Say something like: "Hi John, you are a friend of Mr.X right?"
-"Yes."
-“Well Mr.X made a decision that added several thousands of dollars to his
bottom line, while adding real value to his subscribers and with little work on his part. Would you be interested in hearing how he did it?’’
-“Of course!”
Do not do this if you haven’t gotten a real referral. Don’t lie.
2. Be sure to make your offer standout from all the rest.
If people are used to splitting profits 50/50, why not offer more? (Some
endorsers will not even accept your proposal if you don’t offer them at least 60% of the profits). If you can afford it (and you can, if you have back-end products to sell right after to the new names you’ll be getting) give them almost all, if not all of the profits.
That will increase the chances of them saying yes and you’ll be making a
nice profit afterwards. Whatever profits you will make will be a lot more than if you didn’t get the deal happening... and it may be the beginning of a very profitable long-term relationship.
Another way to stand out is to offer them not only a higher-than-usual
percentage, but also a ridiculous percentage for the first X number of sales. For example, you give 100% of the profits for the first X number of sales, and then 60% for the rest of the sales.
This is risk reversal. You are guaranteeing that they will be rewarded for
their efforts. You are showing your partner that you are serious and that you really stand behind your product and sales letter.
Doing this will also enhance your partner’s confidence in his ability to push
your product.
Warning: Giving 100% of all the sales for the first X number sales should
only be reserved for partners (and deals) you are certain will be profitable.
If you think that you won’t make enough money, giving away all the profits should be conditional on them selling a predetermined (or minimum) number of products.
Something else you can do is offer 100% for all the sales. If you do, write
something like the following in the subject line: Dear Name, JV deal – you keep all the profits.
This is a great way to get the attention of someone you really want to work
with. If you have back-end products that will be of interest to the endorser, and you feel the deal will be worth it, go for it.
If you do something like this, chances are they’ll work harder at making the
JV a success. In other words, they’ll give you a heck of an endorsement to their mailing list. And then it will be easier to get them to endorse you again and again.
You easily bypass the typical initial resistance, and you profit afterwards…
Another thing you can do is simply sell your higher priced back-end products to your new-found clients.
3. Offer a guarantee and take away any risk if you can do it. I want you to try this following trick…
Write something like this in your body copy:
"I want to send you my ebook so you can review it. I am just asking for a
few minutes of your time. This is what I mean: spend a few moments to skim over my book, and if it doesn’t live up to your expectations, let me know and I will immediately pay you $100 for your efforts."
Let’s take a breather. How much more serious and determined would you
be in the eyes of your prospect if you did something like this? He’ll definitely see that you really believe in your product, and that it is probably as good as you say it is.
Look, a vast percentage of the JV proposals out there have the usual
"same old, same old" feel to them. Nothing new. Stale templates used over and over and over. Ugh.
Do you know how many ads someone may see in a day? They can see
anywhere from 3 to 10,000. Up to 70,000 a week. Now how many do you
remember seeing today? I know the answer. If it is no different, you will not notice it. Even if you do, chances are you won’t even remember it… no less take action on it. It is the same thing for JV proposals.
You need something so original and daring that it will stop your prospects
in their tracks. Only then will you have the attention you desire. If you are really serious, and desperately need your prospects attention, offer him $1000 instead.
I’ve already heard of a marketer offering this type of guarantee on his
sales letters. In the top fold of his copy, he made it clear that his offer was
extremely important to his prospects.
He then went on to say that if they didn’t agree with him after reading it all,
that he would personally pay them a whopping $10 per minute that they ''wasted'' reading it. You can imagine what happened to his response rate. It simply exploded.
I doubt many people would take you up on your guarantee. In fact, I’m
even going to guess that it would be more of an exception than the norm. Not only that, the boost in readership as well as the response will greatly dwarf whatever money you’ll send out to people.
4. If you have any testimonials from other people / businesses that you’ve Joint Ventured with, use them. A lot of people have been ripped off. If you can prove that you’re honest, hardworking and that you’ve been very successful in the past, it’s going to be a big plus.
If you have a testimonial of someone your prospect knows and
respects, use that one first.
You’ll probably have several testimonials that are similar. Use different
ones if you can. Try and hit as many of your prospects ''hot buttons'' as possible.
For example:
-"I increased my revenues by 300%."
-"I now have all the respect and admiration I could ever
want from my friends and family."
-"I have finally escaped the rat race and have all the free
time I want."
Paint a vivid picture of the things they’ll gain by working with you.
Another twist is to break down your tested and proven USP and make a
list of the elements of your Unique Selling Proposition. You want to have a
testimonial that will back up every benefit of your USP.
If your USP is that you are quick, cheap and easy, you could have 3
testimonials in your proposal.
1. "I was absolutely blown away at how fast you finished my copywriting
project."
-Name
2. "I thought you were a bargain, but when I saw how fast my new sales
letter paid for your fees many times over… within just days of my
product’s launch, I was simply amazed. I’ll be hiring you again and
again."
-Name
3. "It was all so simple for me. I just answered your questions, sent you
my product and you took care of all the rest. Since you were taking
care of everything, I had all the time I needed to concentrate on finding
JV partners… so no areas of my business were neglected."
-Name
If you know your potential partner’s’ values or sweet spots, only use
testimonials that will touch them.
For example, I once read a JV proposal that was pretty good. The
proposal didn’t really sell me – until I read the P.S.’s where several well known marketers gave their feedback on the responsiveness of the marketer’s mailing list with endorsements. And that really got my attention and sparked a whole deal of interest, because it is something I value and seek. I want to know that the time I’ll be spending on a project will be rewarded.
I hope I convinced you to use them. How many JV proposals do you think I
have seen since I have been online that included testimonials? One. Just one!
I do not remember what the pitch or offer was, but I definitely remember
the reviews. And for all I care, that is probably what made the person’s offer so impactful and eye-opening. The bottom line is, everyone can talk a good game and puff themselves up, but few people will believe you unless you present them with glowing feedback from independent third parties.
Testimonials/reviews are among the most important things you have to put in your proposals. You can include them in the P.S.
5. Be sure to let them know that you are familiar with their business. If you are subscribed to their e-zine or newsletter, say it. If you’ve bought from them and like their product/service, say so. Compliment them. Only do this if you are a 100% sincere. If you are not, they will notice or sense it and it won’t look good.
How can you give them a compliment without them thinking: "Yeah right,
now what does he want?"
Find something that you admire or appreciate about the person. Then you
say the compliment and you explain why you believe it’s true.
Then after the justification of the compliment, ask them a question that has
to do with what you have just told them.
For example, you tell them that you are impressed with their knack for
coming up with successful, high-quality products. And then sincerely say: "I’m saying this because (fill in the blank). I’m curious, what do you do to be so successful? How can you pull that off?"
Now that’s a compliment they will believe... and appreciate.
6. Find and contact other people who know your prospect to ask them questions. Ask them what your prospect’s goals are, as well as their needs and values. Ask them what they like or admire about your potential partner. After hearing so many qualities about the person, you’ll probably be very eager to contact him.
Then you contact him and say something like:
"Hi Mr. Prospect. Listen, I know you’re busy and I wanted to make this as fast as possible, so I took the time to research you. And I have to tell you that your friends Chris, James and Kevin told me that you were very hard working, honest, and sincere and that you are one of the sharpest minds in your industry. I just wanted to tell you that I really admire that because those are my values too and I’m really looking forward to getting to know you."
Do you have his attention now? You’d better believe it. Do you think he’s
curious now to hear what your call or letter is about? Most likely. Let’s pause for a second.
What did you do?
Well, you told him that you wanted to make the call as quick as possible (one of the major concerns business people have when they receive a call is how long they’re going to have to spend on the phone). Put them at ease right away by telling them that it’s just going to take a few minutes.
Then you mentioned that you researched him.
Then you let him know that people he trusts talked to you... which looks
very good on your part.
You also told him what his friends admired or liked about him...
Telling your prospect what his friends said about him will get him in a
positive frame of mind and quite possibly in a good mood too. Not only that, since he feels great from all the compliments he has received, he is associating feeling good with your voice or proposal. This is called an anchor.
And one more thing... since you tell him that you really admire his
qualities, all of a sudden you both enter into a state called rapport because you support or validate who he is. Now you may not feel like you are both on the same wavelength yet. But the fact remains that you are probably on some level of rapport.
-----
My next post will be entitled, ''The crucial questions you must ask yourself before doing a JV deal.''
I wish you all the best,
Gabriel Howes
The following tips are a few of the ''tricks'' I used to get VERY high response rates with my JV proposals.
Enjoy.
1. If you have partnered with people they know, say so. It gives an instant boost to your credibility. They’ll think: "Gee, if he worked with ______ and ______, he must be good / have a viable business proposition / be a real player."
This is called social proof and it’s powerful. Hammer them with it very early
in your proposition and you’ll maximize your chances of keeping their eyes glued to the page.
Another variation to this is to say that Mr. X (whom they know personally)
recommended him/her to you.
Say something like: "Hi John, you are a friend of Mr.X right?"
-"Yes."
-“Well Mr.X made a decision that added several thousands of dollars to his
bottom line, while adding real value to his subscribers and with little work on his part. Would you be interested in hearing how he did it?’’
-“Of course!”
Do not do this if you haven’t gotten a real referral. Don’t lie.
2. Be sure to make your offer standout from all the rest.
If people are used to splitting profits 50/50, why not offer more? (Some
endorsers will not even accept your proposal if you don’t offer them at least 60% of the profits). If you can afford it (and you can, if you have back-end products to sell right after to the new names you’ll be getting) give them almost all, if not all of the profits.
That will increase the chances of them saying yes and you’ll be making a
nice profit afterwards. Whatever profits you will make will be a lot more than if you didn’t get the deal happening... and it may be the beginning of a very profitable long-term relationship.
Another way to stand out is to offer them not only a higher-than-usual
percentage, but also a ridiculous percentage for the first X number of sales. For example, you give 100% of the profits for the first X number of sales, and then 60% for the rest of the sales.
This is risk reversal. You are guaranteeing that they will be rewarded for
their efforts. You are showing your partner that you are serious and that you really stand behind your product and sales letter.
Doing this will also enhance your partner’s confidence in his ability to push
your product.
Warning: Giving 100% of all the sales for the first X number sales should
only be reserved for partners (and deals) you are certain will be profitable.
If you think that you won’t make enough money, giving away all the profits should be conditional on them selling a predetermined (or minimum) number of products.
Something else you can do is offer 100% for all the sales. If you do, write
something like the following in the subject line: Dear Name, JV deal – you keep all the profits.
This is a great way to get the attention of someone you really want to work
with. If you have back-end products that will be of interest to the endorser, and you feel the deal will be worth it, go for it.
If you do something like this, chances are they’ll work harder at making the
JV a success. In other words, they’ll give you a heck of an endorsement to their mailing list. And then it will be easier to get them to endorse you again and again.
You easily bypass the typical initial resistance, and you profit afterwards…
Another thing you can do is simply sell your higher priced back-end products to your new-found clients.
3. Offer a guarantee and take away any risk if you can do it. I want you to try this following trick…
Write something like this in your body copy:
"I want to send you my ebook so you can review it. I am just asking for a
few minutes of your time. This is what I mean: spend a few moments to skim over my book, and if it doesn’t live up to your expectations, let me know and I will immediately pay you $100 for your efforts."
Let’s take a breather. How much more serious and determined would you
be in the eyes of your prospect if you did something like this? He’ll definitely see that you really believe in your product, and that it is probably as good as you say it is.
Look, a vast percentage of the JV proposals out there have the usual
"same old, same old" feel to them. Nothing new. Stale templates used over and over and over. Ugh.
Do you know how many ads someone may see in a day? They can see
anywhere from 3 to 10,000. Up to 70,000 a week. Now how many do you
remember seeing today? I know the answer. If it is no different, you will not notice it. Even if you do, chances are you won’t even remember it… no less take action on it. It is the same thing for JV proposals.
You need something so original and daring that it will stop your prospects
in their tracks. Only then will you have the attention you desire. If you are really serious, and desperately need your prospects attention, offer him $1000 instead.
I’ve already heard of a marketer offering this type of guarantee on his
sales letters. In the top fold of his copy, he made it clear that his offer was
extremely important to his prospects.
He then went on to say that if they didn’t agree with him after reading it all,
that he would personally pay them a whopping $10 per minute that they ''wasted'' reading it. You can imagine what happened to his response rate. It simply exploded.
I doubt many people would take you up on your guarantee. In fact, I’m
even going to guess that it would be more of an exception than the norm. Not only that, the boost in readership as well as the response will greatly dwarf whatever money you’ll send out to people.
4. If you have any testimonials from other people / businesses that you’ve Joint Ventured with, use them. A lot of people have been ripped off. If you can prove that you’re honest, hardworking and that you’ve been very successful in the past, it’s going to be a big plus.
If you have a testimonial of someone your prospect knows and
respects, use that one first.
You’ll probably have several testimonials that are similar. Use different
ones if you can. Try and hit as many of your prospects ''hot buttons'' as possible.
For example:
-"I increased my revenues by 300%."
-"I now have all the respect and admiration I could ever
want from my friends and family."
-"I have finally escaped the rat race and have all the free
time I want."
Paint a vivid picture of the things they’ll gain by working with you.
Another twist is to break down your tested and proven USP and make a
list of the elements of your Unique Selling Proposition. You want to have a
testimonial that will back up every benefit of your USP.
If your USP is that you are quick, cheap and easy, you could have 3
testimonials in your proposal.
1. "I was absolutely blown away at how fast you finished my copywriting
project."
-Name
2. "I thought you were a bargain, but when I saw how fast my new sales
letter paid for your fees many times over… within just days of my
product’s launch, I was simply amazed. I’ll be hiring you again and
again."
-Name
3. "It was all so simple for me. I just answered your questions, sent you
my product and you took care of all the rest. Since you were taking
care of everything, I had all the time I needed to concentrate on finding
JV partners… so no areas of my business were neglected."
-Name
If you know your potential partner’s’ values or sweet spots, only use
testimonials that will touch them.
For example, I once read a JV proposal that was pretty good. The
proposal didn’t really sell me – until I read the P.S.’s where several well known marketers gave their feedback on the responsiveness of the marketer’s mailing list with endorsements. And that really got my attention and sparked a whole deal of interest, because it is something I value and seek. I want to know that the time I’ll be spending on a project will be rewarded.
I hope I convinced you to use them. How many JV proposals do you think I
have seen since I have been online that included testimonials? One. Just one!
I do not remember what the pitch or offer was, but I definitely remember
the reviews. And for all I care, that is probably what made the person’s offer so impactful and eye-opening. The bottom line is, everyone can talk a good game and puff themselves up, but few people will believe you unless you present them with glowing feedback from independent third parties.
Testimonials/reviews are among the most important things you have to put in your proposals. You can include them in the P.S.
5. Be sure to let them know that you are familiar with their business. If you are subscribed to their e-zine or newsletter, say it. If you’ve bought from them and like their product/service, say so. Compliment them. Only do this if you are a 100% sincere. If you are not, they will notice or sense it and it won’t look good.
How can you give them a compliment without them thinking: "Yeah right,
now what does he want?"
Find something that you admire or appreciate about the person. Then you
say the compliment and you explain why you believe it’s true.
Then after the justification of the compliment, ask them a question that has
to do with what you have just told them.
For example, you tell them that you are impressed with their knack for
coming up with successful, high-quality products. And then sincerely say: "I’m saying this because (fill in the blank). I’m curious, what do you do to be so successful? How can you pull that off?"
Now that’s a compliment they will believe... and appreciate.
6. Find and contact other people who know your prospect to ask them questions. Ask them what your prospect’s goals are, as well as their needs and values. Ask them what they like or admire about your potential partner. After hearing so many qualities about the person, you’ll probably be very eager to contact him.
Then you contact him and say something like:
"Hi Mr. Prospect. Listen, I know you’re busy and I wanted to make this as fast as possible, so I took the time to research you. And I have to tell you that your friends Chris, James and Kevin told me that you were very hard working, honest, and sincere and that you are one of the sharpest minds in your industry. I just wanted to tell you that I really admire that because those are my values too and I’m really looking forward to getting to know you."
Do you have his attention now? You’d better believe it. Do you think he’s
curious now to hear what your call or letter is about? Most likely. Let’s pause for a second.
What did you do?
Well, you told him that you wanted to make the call as quick as possible (one of the major concerns business people have when they receive a call is how long they’re going to have to spend on the phone). Put them at ease right away by telling them that it’s just going to take a few minutes.
Then you mentioned that you researched him.
Then you let him know that people he trusts talked to you... which looks
very good on your part.
You also told him what his friends admired or liked about him...
Telling your prospect what his friends said about him will get him in a
positive frame of mind and quite possibly in a good mood too. Not only that, since he feels great from all the compliments he has received, he is associating feeling good with your voice or proposal. This is called an anchor.
And one more thing... since you tell him that you really admire his
qualities, all of a sudden you both enter into a state called rapport because you support or validate who he is. Now you may not feel like you are both on the same wavelength yet. But the fact remains that you are probably on some level of rapport.
-----
My next post will be entitled, ''The crucial questions you must ask yourself before doing a JV deal.''
I wish you all the best,
Gabriel Howes