So you want to partner with (company)

Having the incredible privilege of working with an amazing brand, I get a lot of people asking about partnerships of one kind or another. If you are considering approaching any company about a partnership, sales pitch, joint venture, etc, then I hope this will help you.

First, keep in mind that managers are very busy. Time to evaluate partnerships are not built into their schedules. And unless you are coming from a very strong reference, then they usually will not even have 15 minutes to meet and talk.  So how can you prepare yourself to have the greatest chance of success? 

1. Do your homework

Make sure to research both the brand and the person you will contact. Show that you have taken the time to educate yourself through what is currently available online, so that you use any conversation time for highly relevant questions and proposals. 

2. Know what you want

Don't ask to brainstorm or find ways to collaborate.  As leaders, we do not have time to look at your business or product and then figure out how it connects with ours. That is not mission critical for us. That's your job to figure it out, and relate it back to our business needs. 

3. Be passionate

If you're not thrilled about what you have to offer, why should we be?  My rule for considering any proposal or project is – If it's not a "Hell yeah!" then it's a no. Time and resources are too precious to spend on anything less. 

Remember, there may be several steps before getting to a yes (in fact it's better to start small). Consider what those might be in advance. Prepare for success.  But if it's a no, then you may want to ask for feedback as it can be incredibly helpful for future proposals. 

But what makes it sexy?

So you're pitching a (business, idea, product)…but what makes it sexy?

I'm thinking about this word because I just flipped through the channels to see the special 200th episode of Dancing with the Stars and team Kristi is kicking team Apollo's arse, and it's clear why…. Team Kristi's moves are sexy, sexy, and sexy.

So what does that word mean? The interesting thing is that it doesn't mean "sex" at all. In fact,  if something is blatantly about sex (like pornography) then it's really not sexy, it's just tacky.   The word sexy means "arousing sexual desire" – which is both our most base, animalistic pursuit, and simultaneously our most spiritual means of connection.

Think about that… our most animal desire, AND our most spiritual craving to merge with another person and create life.

Can you imagine if that was the emotion your product evoked?

Imagine a brand new black BMW pulls up next to you. Does it make the driver gorgeous, smooth, elegant, fast and in control? No! Not at all. But wow does it evoke those emotions.

People don't actually buy the thing they're buying. They are really buying the emotion that they believe the product will give them. They are buying the "future state" they will be in, once they have it in their possession.

The mistake I see marketers making is that they're just too blatant (much like pornography).  Simply giving benefits, reasons, and features is a losing game. It's like walking up to someone and trying to explain that you're a very cool person.  It just feels wrong, even if you make a good case.

So "How do we get them to buy?" is never a good question.  The better question is what emotion are you selling? And how can you show that without even saying a word.

Embrace the dollar’s downfall?

In the Guardian, Dean Baker claims banks might suffer if China stopped buying US debt, but the US economy as a whole would be much better off.   But the comment below is what I found most interesting:

You overlook the reserve currency status. If the USA loses that (and it will) it will cease to be able to sustain the debt that it issues(it already can’t). It will be catastrophic. The Mountains of debt of the USA are only barely serviceable due to the dollar reserve status ie everyone requires dollars to trade, and that is currently and very tenuously underpinned by the oil trade being forced to be in dollars. This is the crux of the present perpetual war for perpetual peace that the USA/UK is currently waging all over the world. They are desperately trying to cobble and hold together an unravelling currency regime. If you control the source of energy you control the currency that they trade it in , and EVERYONE requires energy.

The UK benefits from this petrodollar as these are recycled via London banks to New York. The main reason that I can discern that is keeping us out of the Euro is this petrodollar dependency. The Euro is a competing currency vying for reserve status. This is also the reason why NATO insists on dominance in Europe, they dont want a Europe military to rival them. To keep a reserve currency you require a big stick to dissuade dissidents, you require a big military. The caspian area and the middle east are the two regions that HAVE to be controlled if you want to exert control over energy under any reserve currency.

Alas, the rucktions we see all over the world are the death throes of the dollar reserve currency. I fear they will plunge the ENTIRE world into war before they let it go.

Though assuming it would fall, and assuming we must embrace it, we’ll have to embrace local and micro-currencies (for more info, read “The Future of Money“). 

Also, it would be safer to invest in gold and commodities than stocks. For more on this, read “Crash Proof 2.0“