If growing your business is all about who you know…
then what should you do if you don’t know anyone?
Introducing…
The Partner Marketing Mentorship Program
A one-on-one program to help you grow your business by getting your message in front of the right people.
Do you need a better way to grow your business?
You know your product or service is good (really). Your existing clients love you and are thrilled with what you provide.
But how do you get the word out there?
When people ask how you get your clients, you tell them “word of mouth,” but what you really mean is “luck.” You’re doing good things and hoping people talk about it.
“If only,” you think to yourself, “I could get someone like Oprah to endorse me…”
But hope is not a strategy.
And having a clear niche is not enough.
A good sales path is also not enough.
If you’ve got both of those things in place, but you still don’t have enough customers, then what else can you do? What’s missing?
You need a plan.
But if hope isn’t a strategy, then hustle isn’t a plan.
You see, most marketing plans are tactical. They’re a random assortment of tools and techniques. And while hustle will work to an extent, it’s not predictable or efficient.
So, what kind of strategy really works in marketing?
If you want to steadily and predictably grow your business, you need a strategy with a track record of proven effectiveness. One with high leverage. One where you invest one unit of effort and get ten units of reward. One that’s ethical. One that feels good to you and to the person receiving it.
The only strategy I know of that meets all of that criteria is partner marketing.
Of course, you’ve probably learned about influencer marketing, guest blogging, JV strategy, PR campaigns, and affiliate partnerships. You’ve certainly been on the receiving end of some of these – and they may not have felt good. Maybe even though you’ve heard of these, you don’t know how to do them or aren’t sure how they could work in your business.
But that’s not what I’m talking about.
But before I tell you more about my approach…
I’d like to invite you to my new
Partner Marketing Mentorship Program.
The Partner Marketing Mentorship Program
Here's the premise of this program:
And I believe that time-consuming, exhausting networking is the hard way to build relationships, and it’s easy to do this a better way.
What you’ll get in this program:
Personal Mentoring
Step by Step Process
Ongoing Support
Price: 6 payments of $400/month
or 1 payment of $2000
Sign me up!
My take on partner marketing:
There’s no shortage of advice on how to set up joint venture partnerships, create strategic alliances, and leverage influencer relationships.
But I think a lot of it is bad advice.
Here are the four main myths I see in partner marketing…
The myth that you have to earn the right to approach.
But I believe: It’s okay to approach potential partners directly.
Networking is great, and understanding what a potential partner wants and is interested in is essential. But you don’t have to spend weeks “getting to know” someone before you earn the right to reach out to them. I believe there’s a way to connect with people to explore a partnership without needing to spend a lot of time networking first just to get on their radar.
The myth that when you ask for a partnership, you're only asking for a favor.
But I believe: Everyone has value to offer.
Even if you don’t have any followers or a lot of influence, your business has value to offer — or you wouldn’t be doing it. By focusing on the value you can provide, rather than on the favor of a partnership, you gain confidence to reach out to even highly influential people in a direct and honest way.
The myth that there's one best way to structure partnerships.
I believe: There are infinite ways to partner with influencers.
Especially when you’re starting out, I think it’s essential to approach each potential partnership with a creative and open mind. When you think outside the box of specific structures and focus on the value you can offer, the possibilities for who you can connect with and how you can work with them are limitless.
The myth that you are less important than high-level influencers.
But I believe: All people are radically equal, and all entrepreneurs are equal human beings.
Even though some people are more influential and busier than others, all people have equal worth, by the sole value of being human. When you look at influencers first through the lens of human equality, you can connect with them as humans first and then form a real relationship that’s mutually beneficial.
If those myths are untrue — what does that mean for you?
It means you don't need to prove yourself.
It means you have value to offer.
It means you don't need to beg or over-explain.
Who am I, and what do I know about partner marketing?
I had worked in digital marketing since 2008, but I quickly fell in love with partner marketing for two reasons: first, because it’s all about relationships; and secondly, because it yields such big results. Over the past few years,
I’ve helped clients grow their email list steadily by 900 subscribers/month, launch products that generated as much as $2.5 million in revenue, and make more sales in one day than the whole previous month.
As a partner marketing manager, I’ve run affiliate launches, influencer campaigns, PR programs, and social media strategies. I’ve worked with clients in a lot of different industries, and I’ve developed a whole lot of systems and methods for connecting with influencers in an authentic, honest way and arranging partnerships that give a lot of value to both sides.
In the course of an afternoon, I would go from talking with an A-list blogger about how many sales he had made for my client’s promotion, to treating a homeless person’s infected toenail and talking about his children whom he hadn’t seen since he’d been on the streets.
In the first situation, I often felt inferior: I was just the promotions manager for my clients, providing information and service to the partner who seemed to be much more important than me. In the second situation, I felt superior: I was helping those “less fortunate” than I.
It’s this core belief, that real relationships can only grow on a foundation of radical human equality, that led me to question the way partner marketing is usually done, and that inspired me to create the Partner Marketing Mentorship Program.
Sounds awesome!
I’m ready to sign up:Is this a fit?
The Partner Marketing Mentorship might be perfect for you if…
You have a clear niche.
Your core offer is compelling.
You have a reasonably strong business model.
Your business is ready to scale.
You can sell your product or service online.
You're creative and you love trying new things.
You've got the time.
This program is NOT right for you if…
Your highest priced product costs less than $200.
You can't quite articulate what you do.
You can't yet consistently turn leads into customers.
When you talk about your business, it sounds a little generic, even though you know it's not.
Your business is currently earning less than $400/month in "extra" revenue (after essential bills are paid).
Are we a perfect match?
You care about social justice:
You're a social entrepreneur:
You're a mom:
You say fuck a lot.
You talk fast:
You love community:
What’s in this program?
This program is about six months long. You can stop at any time with 30 days’ notice, and you can continue indefinitely as long as you’d like.
Here’s the outline of what you’ll learn in six months:
Month One: Marketing Foundations
We’ll also analyze your metrics from marketing you’ve done in the past to identify the best sales path to use for partner promotions.
Month Two: Find Partners
You’ll also set up your systems to prepare for promotions, and you’ll start to set goals for your partner promotions.
Month Three: Connect With Partners
Month Four: Grow Your Business
Month Five: Launch Partner Promotions
Month Six: Track Your Results
Yes, I want to learn partner marketing for my business!
A few years ago when I got an email from Lisa Baker in my inbox inviting the possibility of my supporting the launch of a colleague of mine, it was one of the best invitations I’ve ever gotten. The magic of it was her directness, sincerity and how utterly ‘for me’ this email was written. I replied. Her follow up continued to impress. And well… we’ve been colleagues ever since. If you are looking for help in crafting an approach to marketing that will feel good to you and to the ones you’re approaching, that will redeem trust in the marketplace and, importantly, will work to get you clients now and long into the future, I can’t commend any strategy but partner marketing. And, if you’re looking for help on translating that into your business, I can’t recommend anyone more highly than Lisa Baker.
Tad HargraveWhat else is involved?
Here's what you'll gain in this program:
- You’ll grow your business at a steady pace by spending just 3-5 hours a week on your marketing. We’ll set goals together that make sense for your business and your industry, and I’ll help you find the right people to reach out to that will enable you to meet your growth goals.
- You’ll gain the confidence and tools to reach out and connect with the top influencers in your industry and get their support and promotion for your business — without needing to network, schmooze, or jump through hoops to prove your worth.
- You’ll get quick results: you’ll start running promotions with influencers by month 4 or 5. Your audience will start growing with your first promotion.
- You’ll get my analysis of what’s working and what isn’t, so you can do more of what works. The follow up will ensure that it will get easier and easier.
- You’ll become an influencer in your industry. You don’t even need to make that a goal — if you keep implementing these methods, that’s the eventual result.
Here's what I promise:
- If you make the effort to connect with influencers, your business WILL grow. I can’t guarantee how fast or how much, since that’s individual to your business and industry, but if you follow this process, you will inevitably get more customers.
- If your efforts aren’t working at the rate you want, I will help you figure out why. I know a lot of business teachers guarantee results, and the truth is you can never guarantee instant results in marketing, because marketing is a test and a process and sometimes it takes a few tries before it succeeds. But what I can guarantee is that if your first attempts don’t give you big results, I will do everything in my power to identify why and help you change that. I will reach out to my own considerable network of expert marketers and pull out every stop to identify what’s not working and how to fix it. I know a lot of people guarantee this kind of thing, but the truth is I’m motivated by results. I’m not interested in getting on the phone with you and taking your money; I’m really interested in growing your business. I don’t get excited just because you sign up for my program; I get most excited when you get results. And since this is a beta program, I’m especially motivated to do what it takes to help you succeed.
- You can end the montly program at any time with 30 days’ notice.
Here's what you promise:
- You will schedule our calls. At the beginning of the program, we’ll agree on a weekly time which we’ll both commit to. Most of our calls, except for special circumstances, will be at the same time every week.
- You will do your homework. This is not a done-for-you service. It’s also not coaching. It’s on-on-one teaching and strategy setting, and it won’t work if you don’t do your homework and implement. You’ll need 3-5 hours a week for your homework and our calls, so I recommend planning for one hour a day. Please block out time in your schedule to do this, ideally at the beginning of the program.
- You’ll talk to me if you feel like something isn’t working. This is a new program, which means I’m happy to go above and beyond to help you get results. At this stage, I’m honestly more interested in helping you succeed than in getting a lot of people in this program. If you succeed, I get a great testimonial I can use to fill up my next program faster. If this doesn’t work for you, I won’t. So, I have a vested self interest in this working for you. If you’re struggling, I expect that you will reach out as soon as possible and express what you’re needing or what isn’t working.
- If you want to end the program, you’ll give me at least 30 days’ notice.