Internet Master Series - November 16th Teleseminar.

Chris Attwood & Ric Thompson: Lives on Fire.

Last Thursday, Lynn and Natalie introduced Chris Attwood and Ric Thompson - best known for their top-rated HealthyWealthy 'n' Wise website - to Internet Master Series listeners. Starting from scratch, Attwood and Thompson pursued their self-development and wellness passions to build an empire that knows no bounds.

Key to Attwood and Thompson's success are carefully nurtured alliances with the "Who's Who" of the Personal Development universe: T. Harv Eker, Stephen Covey, Mark Joyner, Jim Rohn, Stephen Pierce, and many others. Great, but how do you create alliances and is their formula duplicatable? Such was the challenge presented to the guests during the call.

Aren't Alliances the Same as Joint Ventures?

People are familiar with the idea of joint ventures (JV), but Attwood and Thompson used this call to distinguish JVs from their specialty - alliance-building. So, what is the difference between these 2 seemingly identical concepts? Well, everything starts with definitions:

Joint Venture:

Short-term business relationship with one or more people. Mutual conduct is determined by written agreement or e-mail exchanges. Interaction is centered around money earned with the project, and numbers (i.e. sales, list subscribers gained, etc.).

Alliances:

Long-term, even lifetime relationships. Characterized by personal friendship, mutual benefit, and non-verbal commitment to each other's success. Goes beyond monetary relationship, but with the potential to be many times more profitable than joint ventures.

In alliances, the focus must be on understanding what partners care most about. Demonstrate how you can help them and others achieve their goals. Your ability to create friendships that go beyond business can ultimately lead to projects that were previously unthinkable, if not impossible. At the same time, marketers should be wary of "one-way" proposals that offer no tangible benefits and are nothing more than a "hard" sell.


Steps to Creating a Winning Alliance.

1. Pre-contact:

Discover who the potential partner really is, and determine if your respective passions are aligned. Find out what the person "brings to the table".

2. Acquiring Interests:

Be clear about the type of project you want to pursue. Brand yourself in accordance with your project goals.

3. Discovery:

First meeting/phone call with prospective partner. Describe benefits of aligning with you and how it is in the partner's interest.

4. Structuring the Deal:

Engage partner(s) with the details; get them involved right away to encourage a full commitment.

5. Written Agreement.

6. Maintaining Alliances over Time:

Keeping communication channels open for continuous relationship-building leads to greater financial benefits and personal fulfillment.


Contrary to most newbies' instincts, Chris and Ric advise marketers to immediately pursue 'A' List alliances, just as they did. However, you must be professional in your pursuit of established figures, and very sensitive to their needs. Well-known online marketer Alex Mandossian, for example, spells out the exact criteria against which your alliance request will be measured.

Even if you are coming out of nowhere, you can gain instant credibility by:

A. Showing your unique ability to provide for a partner's needs.
B. Offering solutions for something or some cause they deeply care about.


The Enlightened Alliance.

Up to this point, Attwood and Thompson mostly discussed strategic alliances. However, the real key to their success has been the formation of enlightened alliances, relationships that supersedes strict business and strategic alliances. In effect, enlightened alliances benefit everyone - immediate partners, customers, and vendors. Such relationships can be kick-started by asking people:

"How can I help and support you so that you enjoy a more fulfilling life?"

Not surprisingly, genuine caring can trigger enlightened alliances. As health and wellness experts, Chris and Ric were able to offer Jay Abraham meaningful advice for his personal ailments. Suffice to say that health is our most treasured asset. Others will appreciate your concern and gladly reciprocate your kindness without prompting.


Final Tidbits.

The guests addressed two major obstacles to alliance-building:

1. Fear of approaching people.
2. Getting through the "gatekeeper".

Fear can be overcome by knowing the other person well-enough to offer something remarkable, i.e. an offer they cannot refuse. After all, it's all about them, right? Meetings with a gatekeeper, i.e. your secondary "trusted" source, should be used to establish your credentials. Treat this person as the "star" or a trusted friend, because he or she may end up being the primary trusted source.


Conclusion.

Attwood and Thompson have earned their places amongst the Internet Marketing elite. Alliances, both online or offline, are the lifeblood of any business. Integration marketing, as executed by the Internet Master Series founders for example, permits online marketers to develop alliances from all the methods described here.

Chris noted that 80% of an online marketer's revenue potential is in the back-end. Just consider the possibilities: One-time customer -> Repeat customer -> JV partner -> Strategic alliance -> Enlightened alliance. Therefore, do not overlook upsale and downsale offers as a growth tool. They could lead to a beautiful - and profitable friendship.

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Chris Attwood and Ric Thompson reveal their Alliance Secrets program in depth at: http://www.internetmasterseries.com/as.html.

Lynn and Natalie continue to bring in the experts. To get in on the act, click here.

To access greater marketing insights from this teleseminar addict, follow this link.