Collaboration as a Small Business Marketing Strategy: We want to inspire you to think differently about collaboration and your marketing efforts, create a feeling of enthusiasm to start actively looking for collaborators, challenge you to work through collaborations to increase your business revenue. Visit CoreVantageSolutions.com http://www.corevantagesolutions.com/ Originally presented to the Twin Cities Small Emerging Growth Company Resource Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Twin-Cities-Small-Emerging-Growth-134205

1. Presentation Goals
 Inspire you to think differently
about collaboration and your
marketing efforts
 Create a feeling of enthusiasm
to start actively looking for
collaborators
 Challenge you to work through
collaborations to increase your
business revenue

2. Mindset
 Sharing/Partnership Mindset
 Know Yourself
 Your Values
 How You Work with Others
 Know Your Business & What You
Have to Offer
 Updated Business Plan
 Updated Marketing Plan
 Know your customer pathway for their
business success
 What are 3 Specific product or
service offerings?

3. Types of Marketing Collaborations
 Networking Collaborations
 Referrals
 Preferred Vendor status
 Joint Marketing Collaborations
 Sharing Booth Space
 Sharing information to enhance each
other brands
 Print Media/Brochure sharing
 Product Marketing Collaborations
 Private Label

4. You Approach
 Research Before the Approach
 Define specifically what you will be
able to offer
 How is this a win-win for both?
 List of questions to help evaluate
the collaborative work
 What do you bring to the collaboration?
 What does the other party(s) bring to
the collaboration?
 Roles and Responsibilities
 What are the benefits?
 What are the risks?
 Formal Agreement?
 Pros and Cons

5. You Approach (Con’t)
 Decide on how many people to
approach?
 For each area of collaboration work
 Decide on what kind of presentation
 Formal or informal
 Introduce the idea
 Evaluate interest
 Decide next steps and strategy
 Don’t put all “collaborations” in one
basket
 Create a “collaboration” pipeline

6. They Approach
 How prepared are they?
 How far along are they in the
idea?
 What do they bring to the
table?
 What would the roles be in the
collaboration?
 What is the revenue stream –
compared to the work?
 Is the collaboration congruent
with your business plan?

7. Lessons Learned
 Usually who approaches – “Owns” the
collaboration
 Communicate Regularly
 Money is important – not always the motivation
 Make sure there is some kind of written plan
including timelines
 Know Thyself
 Communicate Regularly

8. Thank You for Watching!
This was presented by
Lisa Olson of CoreVantage Solutions to
the Twin Cities Small Emerging Growth
Company Group
Fall of 2013
CoreVantageSolutions.com
Collaborating through web-based technology