The 5 rules of joint venture etiquette

Recently I was contacted by another property business wanting me to advertise their services, which is totally fine, I often share details of other businesses and services that I believe are of benefit to my members & readers. But the way this business approached the situation and communicated throughout the process was wrong wrong wrong.

Not only in business, but I see this situation a lot in the property world also. Particularly when it comes to property Joint Ventures. Most joint ventures fall over before they have even started simply because the communication was not effective.

If you are looking to approach another person about the possibility of doing a joint venture together, then there are some basic etiquette rules that you need to stick to, and these are:

Joint venture confusion1. Communicate clearly

Always be clear in your communication. If you are approaching someone that you don’t know very well or at all (not that I recommend doing joint ventures with strangers), then spend a bit of time building a relationship. Find a link that you can use as a conversation opener such as “Hey, you don’t know me, but we are part of the same xxxx group.” All good joint ventures or partnerships are built on good communication. If the communication sucks at the beginning, chances are it’s not going to change as the project progresses.

2. Make sure you are offering a deal that will be of equal mutual benefit

All deals need to be of a mutual benefit, a win-win for both parties. If you are approaching someone with an opportunity, make sure you have worked out what’s in it for you and also what’s in it for them, and then communicate that clearly.

3. Take the lead

If you are the first person to make initial contact regarding a joint venture, then take the lead. Don’t approach another party and say “Hey, let’s do a joint venture” and then expect them to come back to you with ideas or a plan. Take the lead and say “Hey, I have an opportunity that I think will benefit both of us, are you interested in talking about it further?”

easy street4. Make it easy for them

Again this comes back to good communication. Don’t assume the other party knows what your thinking, and if the deal requires more information than you have, then make it easy for the other party to access and/or find the information. Don’t expect the other person to do all the leg work on finding the relevant information, because chances are they won’t.

If you’ve got paperwork that supports your proposal you are sending information via email etc, then make sure the other person has received it and can open it. This includes attachments and links. Make it easy for the other person to want to enter a joint venture with you.

5. Be respectful

Be respectful to the other person at all times. Don’t try to intimidate, threaten or undermine the person in any way. It doesn’t matter how good a deal you may have available, if you don’t have the personal integrity to back it up then chances are no one will want to partner with you…ever!

If the other person is not interested in doing a joint venture then be respectful of that. It simply may not be the right time for them, or they may have other projects or joint ventures that they are focused on. Just because they are not interested right now, doesn’t mean they may no be interested in the future. But if you disrespect them in any way, then you’ll never know, because you’ve just burnt the bridge.

Joint ventures, when carried out successfully can result in big things and some amazing property deals. But they need to start somewhere, and more often than not, it’s at the start line that joint ventures often fall over. Stick to these no brainer etiquette rules and you’ll be giving yourself the best opportunity to a successful joint venture deal.

Until next time…

Katie Marshall - Chicks and Mortar

Chicks and Mortar – Women in Property

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