The power of business collaboration - harness it for yourself

I think some of you here could get some value from this. Here is a way you can focus strictly on what you are good at, or the direction you want to go.

I have done a couple of these now they are always fun. It really adds a lot to the bottom line.

Business, in a nutshell, is finding someone with a need and convincing them to let you serve that need.

Often, people know they have a need nagging them, and they just haven't dealt with it yet.

Other times, people have a need and they don't know it. Once you propose a solution to this invisible need, it all comes together for them.

What I am about to describe serves both kinds of needs and is pretty easy to set up.

Collaborating with other businesses can be profitable and take a lot of the pressure away from you.

Let's say you are good at fulfilling a particular service or product function. At the same time, you are terrible at selling. All you have to do is find a company that is good at selling and has a hard time fulfilling. Then you convince them to let you "share the load" of the work they are generating.

You want to watch for companies that are growing quickly and have yet to implement the correct infrastructure to handle the work.

Just this week I sat down with the founder of a local agency. These guys are 60 days old and are doing great. They have over $100k in revenue in those 60 days. The work they do is dynamic and original, but there are only two of them to fulfill clients!

So, I sat down with the owner to congratulate his success. He told me he is pushing clients off until after January because they simply can't handle it.

That's where I come it. I am not a creative genius. But, that is not what he needs. He has enough creative genius for 10 companies. However, I am an organizational/process genius. A bit of a savant in this area.

I told him not to hold off those extra clients. Instead, let my company share the workload. Teach me your process and your service, and let us run with it. Of course, it was a bit more complicated of a conversation than that, but the final sentence was "I think the work you guys are doing is awesome, let me help. I can handle it for you."

The deal we reached is 60/40. He can sell the deals, and I fulfill. I get 60% for doing the work. His minimum sale is $15k. If people don't want to pay the $15k, he tells them to have a nice day.

Takeaway: Look for a new, growing business who is doing things correctly. These companies are new, exciting, and are doing everything right. Work your way into a conversation, and sell them the help they need.

This can also be applied the other way.

Let's say you are good at selling. Your task is to find a company who has what it takes to deliver good product. These people have previous agency experience, impressive resumes, and great past successes in the corporate world.

Often, these people will have trouble working on their own because they never learned how to hustle. How to sell. You can find them on LinkedIn and in local networking meetings.

Get an appointment (you are good at sales, right?) and find out if they need someone to sell. Walk them through what a strong sales process looks like. Then, when they know you are an expert, pitch a split deal. 50/50 - you sell it, they do it.

Takeaway: In this deal, you are looking for people with a high level of competence and experience, but little sales skills. You will be able to sell their services easily and they need the help.

Remember, you are not asking for a job. This is an agreement between business owners and they are subbing out part of their work to your company. You are looking for people who service the types of businesses you can get into or sell the kind of work you can do.

This can work for any skill set. You just need to sit down, think about exactly what you are good at, and then create a profile of the companies who could need that skill. They will be glad you came along. And you will boost your revenue.

There is a next-level you can take this to. I left something out and once I tell you what it is, you will laugh because it is so obvious.

But, it won't be that easy - I want to keep the conversation going and see some new ideas. So, can you guys take some guesses about what the "next-level" could be? This is where you will make some real money.

I'm interested to see what suggestions arise.