The #1 Way Even SMART Biz Owners Are Burning Their Lists

I must be a celebrity.

Because every time I open my computer the (marketing) paparazzi come out of hiding.  I can’t drive down the road without my phone pinging and dinging with their attempts to get me to glance their way.

“Michelle! Michelle! Look over here! The new #1 secret will be revealed tonight! On my 451st webinar – with one of my new business besties…. “

“Mrs. Pippin — WAIT! Don’t delete this email.  I’ve got a new partner who has a  closely guarded strategy that she wants to reveal!”

“I know I’ve said it before, but this really IS the end all be-all of the business world! You’ve GOT to meet this woman!”

“Michelle — Have you seen THIS? Look this way! Failure to do so may mean the end of your business!”

“HEY — did you mean to register for my 3rd free call of the month, but FORGOT?  Didn’t you hear me tell you that this special guest is fantabulous? Why aren’t you registering?”

Shoot… you get them too? You mean I’m NOT a celebrity after all?  Just another sucker on a few mailing lists that have become downright pesky, incestuous and desperate over the past 18 months or so?

Yep.  It was hard for me to accept, too… =)

While, alas, I do not have celebrity status, I DO have common sense. And, when applied, the latter is far more profitable and practical than the former.

Joint Ventures.
Power Partners.
Affiliates.

When done well, these terms have bottom line value. But “done well” requires the following:

1) Integrity.  Um… if EVERY ONE you introduce to your list is the cat’s pajamas rock star, NO ONE is the cat’s pajamas rock star.

2) Restraint. The more people you “align” yourself with, the LESS your market will trust you.  The more sales pitches webinars you invite them to, the less they will attend.  EACH invite diminishes the power of the next. Each series of hyped “You’ve GOT to join us on this call” messages reduces the effectiveness of the next. It’s just the way the world works.  A FRENZIED sales push inspires action ONLY every so often.  You see, eventually your list realizes you’ve cried WOLF… and that there’s no real urgency.  Eventually, they get used to (and begin to ignore) your frenzied sales pace.

The end result of far too many business owners using this newly resurrected, circa 2006 jv approach is this:  irritation, silence, and opt outs. It IS the #1 Way Even (UBER) Smart Marketers / Business Owners / GURUS are burning their list, ticking you off, and costing themselves their reputations, open rates, trust from their market and far more. 

Listen, please…. because far too many people don’t.

FIRST, when you see EVERYONE going in the same direction in business — as you see so many people doing these jv pushes — don’t follow them. WHY? Because 1) the majority is always wrong 2) when you’re following, the view never changes and 3) you’d be more profitable and have more fun going in a direction where YOU can lead!

Next — because I know most people will continue to think that maybe I’m off my rocker on this one–  let me tell you what you’ll see once you become entrenched in this whole JV / partnership nightmare. If you see yourself in THIS downward spiral, just stop the madness. And, I promise you, your business and your list will reward you for it!

The Typical JV / Affiliate Nightmare Sequence

1) You’ll be excited at first, then disappointed.  ONLY 15 new opt ins? Really? She said her list was 145,000 people strong. **wink!**  You start to look at new partners with a TEENY BIT of suspicion. And you start to feel “bad” when you host a new affiliate partner and your list either doesn’t show up, doesn’t click, or doesn’t buy. The beginnings of the emotional nightmare start early.

2) Your open rates decline.  Why? Because you’ve done very little lately but push them to register for yet ONE MORE THING.  They’re ignoring you because you’ve not had much to say of value lately.

3) Your opt out rates increase.  They’re sick of hearing from you and about your new business besties.  They’re irritated, which I can take.  But, they’ve also lost a measure of respect for you, which is far harder to overcome. You look like everyone else, and — let’s face it — they can get “everyone else” anywhere else.

4) Your sales decrease.  WAIT! You used to be able to count on your list to buy from you.  Now, your list is larger, but your people who open, read and “show up” to buy — well, this number appears to be shrinking. How can this be? OH NO…why isn’t the golden standard of guru-marketing working for me?

Woe IS you. But all is not lost.

You can APOLOGIZE to your list. You can come back to what worked before — giving of YOURSELF and YOUR EXPERTISE.  You can give them something totally free that they don’t have to exchange an email for.  You can build back your integrity in the eyes of your list. You can climb back up their ladder of respect… ONE hype-free, authentic communication at a time.

It is possible, but it will be one of the  BOLDEST things  you’ll ever do in your business.

Quick note:  I am NOT against partnering with like minded business owners. I’ve had one partner, and it was an experience that landed BOTH of us where we wanted to be — ultimately. I am not against JV efforts.  But they must be implemented with integrity and restraint.  

Epilogue: Why MOST JV relationships Don’t Work

Well, it only makes sense, but let me count the ways. Because you’re pirating someone else’s list.  Because you’re partnering with people — like you — who hope that the other person’s list is bigger or has better buyers than their own. Because those who attend these JV webinars most frequently are NOT great buyers, they are new to you, so you’ve not built a trusting relationship with them and before you CAN, you’re inviting them into another webinar with another expert who’s selling another secret… and now, you’ve added one more voice they must listen to and one more piece of clutter to their email box….so you never really get a chance to develop a relationship with them. Because you’re showing up THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE and this bores a market to tears.  Because they’ve been burned before and you’re following the same over-used selling strategies the person that burned them did. Because the most serious buyers don’t have time for this cutesy, business bestie approach to selling.  They want to be treated like a grown ass adult, not a flock of sheep — being corralled from one list to another.

But, that’s just the beginning.

Work with your own list.  Partner sparingly – -and only when it truly brings measurable value to your list.  There’s no better or faster way to be profitable than earning your market’s trust and respect.

There, I said it. Business heresy at its most offensive. Let the comments begin.