The other day I was asked, “How do I motivate a potential joint venture partner to bite? When you have a great idea and you’ve located the perfect partner, how do you motivate them to do business with you?”

In my last post, I talked about the power of a USP and how to define one. Being unique, or having an interesting twist or hook, will definitely up your chances of getting noticed.

But regardless of how you approach your prospective partner, whether it’s through an email, fax, or phone call, or by snail mail or FedEx, it is important to craft the offer in a manner that shows the benefits to your joint-venture partner.

However, there are a few extra tricks to motivate a potential partner.

Here are some of them…

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The other day I was asked a question I hear all too often: “How do I distinguish myself from other copywriters?”

To find the answer, look to one of the most effective and frequently used copywriting and marketing tools. It’s your “Unique Selling Proposition,” or USP.

(I prefer to call it a “Unique Selling Position.” If you’ve read my book, “Power Positioning,” then you’d know that I’m a big fan of positioning rather than prospecting.)

Your USP is also your “hook.”

Time and time again, I’ve told many aspiring copywriters and marketers that a USP is what distinguishes you from the pack. It increases perceived value, expertise, and credibility — without needing to state it outright.

But since I hear this question often, particularly from copywriters just entering the field, I sense that it’s because people need a little help in defining their USP.

So to help you, here’s a tip.

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Drop Your Goals (And Manage Your Life) by Michel Fortin is a book written over a decade ago as the author was going through some tough times.

The result is a powerful look at how to stop setting goals and to start looking at your priorities and values instead — called “guides” rather than “goals.”

It’s a bit spiritual and metaphysical in nature, so please read with an open mind. However, the strategies it offers are real and practical.

I highly recommend that your read this book, which is brought to you free, and start using the G.O.A.L. method outlined in the book, with templates at the end.

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Recently, I held three rarely given teleseminars — two with Gary Halbert and one with John Carlton. These men are undeniably two of the world's most in-demand copywriters.

Each interview lasted for two hours, for a total of six. Both Gary and John kept listeners riveted during those six hours as they answered pressing questions from people like you and me about how to write effective copy that sells. And now, you can…

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Michel Fortin: If you look at the laws and rules and all that wonderful stuff, they do exist for a purpose. And I understand that. But I also believe in education because the more you educate people the more you will change the world rather than forcing it to change. So, if you’re going to help out somebody in their own lives you need education. If you’re going to help out people to realize maybe they are bad people and they’ve done hurt to others education is the answer.

It’s not proselytizing. It’s not trying to argue with them. It’s just teaching them and teaching them until they’re ready to be taught and they’re ready to change. I’ve met a lot of people who change their lives because they’ve learned and they’ve decided to learn and that’s the key. Education is probably the most profound answer I can give to that question. It’s just education.

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Michel Fortin: Well, it’s the same idea. Jim Rohn said, “Don’t become wealthy at the expense of others. Become wealthy in the service of others.” Every person who is happiest in this world serves others.

Whether you’ve built wealth because you produce a product or provided a service that was at the service of others or you gave value to other people’s lives or you gave your life to charity serving others, to me that is so important.

By doing that it is like forgiveness in a sense, where you can get out of that this huge feeling in yourself that you’ve accomplished something that is true to you, not something that is going to be a goal that you reach in the future, not something that is going to be true to the other people around you who you’re serving and you’re thinking that you’re just doing this for other people.

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Michel Fortin: No, I think if you want to look at optimism in the best way is to look at it as an educational process. Learning is part of it… sitting down with people, talking with them, spending time with them, reading books, spending your time on learning as much as you possibly can.

You will be able to go down the right road. Fast or slow doesn’t matter and that’s not optimism. That’s just being. That’s just following your conscience. That’s just being a realist. It’s not being a pessimist. It’s not being optimist. It’s probably an optimal point of looking at it, an optimal point or way to look at things, but it’s not necessarily optimistic.

Ralph Zuranski: Do you think it takes courage to pursue new ideas?

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