If you’re going to be successful in the joint venture game, you need to intimately know your client journey.
That all begins with realizing the truth that you’re not at the centre of your client’s universe. They will appreciate you for the problem that you solve (hopefully!), but you need to understand that all of your clients have needs beyond what you do. You are not the be-all end-all.
Once you can see that, and take a step back from your own business, you start to see the big picture. Your clients come to you with a problem or set of problems, and they will come away from you with different problems.
So who are the people who can solve those other problems that you can send those clients to?
Who are the people that, at the end of their customer’s journey with them, wind up having the problems that you solve?
These are the ideal people to set up referral programs with. Not only will you and your partners be able to find way more qualified leads, but you’ll be more powerfully serving your clients by acknowledging that you aren’t the solution to all of their problems, and be able to direct them to the next step in their journey.
See, a joint venture is really only successful if THREE people win: you, your partner, and your client.
