What's In It For You? Being Selfish In Your Joint Venture Partnership

Joint venture marketing, also known as JV marketing, has become a very popular way for businesses to maximize their exposure in the marketplace, as well as their profits. When two or more businesses combine their resources, contacts and clients in a synergistic way, it has the potential to create a larger marketing impact, and greater profits than either entity has the capacity to create on its own.

Put your needs first - even if you are a new business

When entering into a new joint venture marketing partnership, you are creating a relationship, and one that may potentially be a close, profitable and long-term one. Given this, it may be tempting to look at the partnership from the perspective of your partners to be sure that their needs are being met and that the deal is fair to them. This is important, as people who are not being offered a fair deal are unlikely to be happy with the long-term relationship. But, the first thing you must ask yourself and have a positive answer for is, What's in it for me? It is essential to secure a fair and profitable deal for yourself and your company.

If you have just started a business, or are new to the practice of joint venture marketing, it may be tempting to think that you should accept a lesser deal because your partner is doing you a favor by deciding to engage in a partnership with a novice. This is the time to be selfish! Do not undermine your potential or sell yourself short by getting into a partnership that doesn't offer equal benefits to you. If you accept a deal like this, it has the potential to backfire down the road for a couple of reasons:

- Your partner may develop an undervalued perception of your company
- It may affect your partnerships and profits down the road
- You may not be enjoying your fair share of joint revenues

Don't set precedence for lowered profits

When starting a new joint venture marketing partnership, if you accept a lower percentage of profits or of advertising space, this tends to set a precedent where your partners may then expect you to continually accept a lesser deal. And if this sort of thinking continues, it has the potential to breed resentment on your part and affect your professional relationship with your partner, but it may also affect the future of your bottom line and company profits.

If you are new to the market or new to a business, you have just as much to offer as an established company. They may have a larger and more grounded client list and more experience, but particularly with the climate of Internet business, it is vital to offer something new and cutting edge. You may benefit from their expertise, but they will benefit from your fresh ideas and perspective.

Keep in mind that you may not have the same things to offer as your partners, but you have just as much value to bring to the venture. It is fine to look out for yourself and the interests of your company, and probably a good way to embark on your joint venture marketing partnerships. Being selfish doesn't entail being unfair or rude - simply keeping the interests of your business at the front of your mind, which is exactly what your partner will be doing for his or her own company!

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