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First things first… what is a strategic alliance?

A strategic alliance, quite simply, is a win/win arrangement between two or more people; it is mutually beneficial to all parties concerned. These partnerships can be referred to by numerous names – strategic alliances, joint ventures, joint alliances. Regardless of what you call them, they should all be based on relationship building.

When thinking about who you can partner with to help grow your small business, begin by knowing who your ideal customer is; who is your target market? Now, who else do you know who also provides services or products to this market? (Apart from your competitors!) Then it’s just a matter of coming up with some ideas to share your marketing strategies.

There are countless ways you can work with your strategic alliance partners to help each other’s businesses. These include:

- Promote yourselves jointly to the marketplace via joint seminars or other co-operative promotions;
- Join complimentary products or services together and offer them as a package.
- Write articles for each other’s newsletter.
- Arrange for aligned firms to write to their clients endorsing your business and making their clients a special offer, and you can do the same for them.
- Piggy back a special offer inside their mail-outs to their clients.
- Arrange for them to incorporate your products or services into their sales process e.g. if you’re an accountant, you might actively recommend a solicitor as part of the service you provide.
- Arrange for links to and from each other’s web sites.
- Create a “how to” booklet and label it, “Created especially for clients of XYZ & Co.” XYZ & Co. can then offer it as a gift to their clients.
- Develop a formalised alliance, or an affiliate, where each party receives an affiliate fee or a spotter’s fee for referring business your way.
- Look at producing joint or even group offers, brochures, trade stands.
- Don’t limit yourself with geographical boundaries – look at National and International alliances too.

An ideal example of a group alliance is where several businesses within the wedding industry – a wedding boutique, make-up artist, function centre, photographer, limousine service and florist – form an alliance and combine their marketing efforts.

It’s important that you make sure you know who and what you’re recommending. I will often recommend products, services, events and software, but only if I truly believe in them and the company or owner. If something seems like a good idea but you haven’t actually tried it for yourself, make sure you say so. Remember, your own reputation is on the line here.

In negotiating your strategic alliances, remember that this is a relationship and not a transaction; it’s supposed to be win/win for each party involved, including your and their customers. Focus on how, together, you can help your customers by providing value-added services or products. If this is your focus, your business will, in turn, profit financially too.

No matter how well your business is doing right now – no matter what industry you are in; whether your business is online or offline – you can apply this concept to your business.

Donna-Marie Coggins is an author and business owner, providing guidance, resources and support to small and micro-businesses. For tips and resources on running a small business and your free guide, “60 Free And Low-Cost Ways To Get Your Business Noticed”, go to http://www.Donna-MarieCoggins.com

You have created your multifamily property investment product to sell. But if you cannot market your product effectively, you will not have any sales and, in this case, you will not raise any private money.

In order to market your product successfully, you must first recognize that your private investors are only interested in themselves. This is where the “What’s In It For Me” technique comes into play.

What’s In It For Me

This technique goes by the idea that there are two things involved in marketing any product. Those two things are features and benefits.

Features: These are the things that make the benefits true. They allow you to produce the benefits. The features contribute to the benefits.

Benefits: The benefits are in the Four-Part Formula and include control, low risk and high return.

For example, let us look at the benefit of Control. One of the features of control is having a recorded first lien. Another feature is a controlled release of monies. Yet another one is the ability to intercede. These are all features of control and that is what the investor is interested in. Telling them how you are going to give them control helps convince them that they actually will have control. The way you promote control is by demonstrating it through its features.

The benefit of Low Risk is the fact that your multifamily deal is secured by real estate. The feature you offer to your investor is the experience of your team. This contributes to the feeling of low risk. You can further this security by bringing in extra collateral of a blanket mortgage.

To demonstrate the benefit of High Return, you will need to show your investor that the return they will receive from the deal is higher than what they indicate to be a good return on their Profile Sheet. Find that benchmark of what they consider to be a good return and then either match it or beat it.

You need to start with the reason why they need the money. The more you can speak to the potential investor’s reason why, the more money you can raise and the less return you have to pay. Once you determine their reason why and then explain to them how you will enable them to meet their reason why, you can then explain all of the benefits to them.

Only after you address the benefits of control, low risk, and high return do you then present the features to prove how you are going to deliver those benefits. So your process is simple: start with the reason why, discuss benefits and then the features.

You need to be sure that you do not spend the bulk of your time promoting features and neglecting the promotion of the benefits. Just remember to always have the investor’s perspective of “What’s in it for me” at the forefront of your thoughts and you will be able to address their questions and concerns and successfully market your product.

Lance Edwards is living proof of his mantra that you don’t have to “graduate” from single family to multifamily – you can start with multifamily; using none of your own money and not dealing with tenants and toilets. For FREE information, visit http://www.ApartmentWealthMachine.com.

When you present a potential investor with a multifamily property deal, probably the number one thing running through the investor’s mind is how good the deal is and how good the person running the project is. This is why you need to have a credibility kit for your multifamily property deal and a credibility kit for yourself. The bottom line is that you are what the investor is evaluating. You need to know what to include in your credibility kits.

Credibility Kit for the Multifamily Property Deal
This is where you fall back on your deal structure sheet. You need to use the features of your deal to build credibility. You could have the property information packet, flyers, pictures of the property, and a summary of the attributes made available for the investor. Not only does this build credibility for the multifamily property deal, but it builds credibility for you and it is another way to prove that you have thought through the process for the investor.

Credibility Kit for You
Starting out, you will need to collect referral letters or recommendations from whatever occupation you are in right now. Do not hesitate to include problems you have overcome, and projects you have completed – even ones that do not involve real estate. Everything you have done adds value so be sure and be thorough.

As you gain more experience, you can make it more real estate specific. You can include trainings you have participated in. Be sure and include any clubs and associations you belong to. Also include any volunteer work that you do.

If you have gaps in your experience, you need to “borrow” experience. You can bring in partners and get testimonials on your partners. Testimonials on your contractors could be included as well.

Testimonials can be extremely powerful. You need to be sure and build in testimonials from everyone who is satisfied with you into your credibility kit. Get their permission to use it because this is an influential marketing tool that does not cost you a dime.

You can start by carrying a notebook with your testimonials to show people. You do not have to go to the expense of a website. That can come later.

Photos are also very effective. Include photos of properties that you have rehabilitated as well as a photo of yourself in flyers that you hand out.

The importance of building credibility cannot be stressed enough. Your reputation is at the heart of what you do and it will build with each deal that you close. Your credibility kits play a significant role in getting your name out there.

Lance Edwards is living proof of his mantra that you don’t have to “graduate” from single family to multifamily – you can start with multifamily; using none of your own money and not dealing with tenants and toilets. For FREE information, visit http://www.ApartmentWealthMachine.com.

While income-producing multifamily properties are one of the ideal vehicles for creating wealth, there is yet another principle out there called “leverage and velocity”. This principle can have a profound effect on how quickly you achieve financial freedom.

The effect of compounding and leverage

Let us say you have $20,000 to invest. You put it into some vehicle that pays 10% interest compounded. After 7 years, that $20,000, just through compounding at 10% is $39,000. It is almost a 2 to 1 return which is not too shabby. Many people would be satisfied with this passive income. So let us take a look at what happens with leverage. Let us take that same $20,000 and buy a house with 10% down and buy a $200,000 house with zero cash flow and just enough rent to pay the debt and expenses. It has 5% appreciation. After the same 7 years that 5% appreciation is on the $200,000 so it is about $10,000 per year and through the compounding, the value of the house is $281,000 and your equity is now worth $101,000 because of the equity. That is a 5 to 1 return on your money through compounding and leverage. That is a whole lot better!

Effect of Velocity

Let us continue with that same $200,000 house with 10% down and 5% appreciation per year. After 2 years, the house has appreciated about $20,000. You can then take that $20,000 after two years and buy another house. You can then refinance this house, pull out the $20,000 and buy another house. After 2 years, you now have two houses. If you do this every two years then after four years you have 4 houses and continuing that line of thought you would have 8 houses in 7 years. The value of those eight houses is $2.1 million and the equity is $270,000. That’s a 13 to 1 return through leverage and velocity. Velocity is moving the appreciation every two years. You are going from one house to eight houses and $20,000 to $270,000 in equity from all of the houses. All of the houses combined are giving you more buying power every 2 years.

Think about it. If $20,000 became $270,000 in 7 years through leverage and velocity, then you could take $200,000 and do the same thing and create $2.7 million in seven years. You are just adding a zero to the deal.

Take this same principle and apply it to bigger deals. Buy an apartment. You are moving that much faster and your wealth creation is that happening that much more quickly.

Do not limit yourself and your vision to one kind of deal. Keep your eyes open for opportunities that are ripe for the picking. The ability to create passive income comes in many forms and the principle of leverage and velocity can help move it right along.

Lance Edwards is living proof of his mantra that you don’t have to “graduate” from single family to multifamily – you can start with multifamily; using none of your own money and not dealing with tenants and toilets. For FREE information, visit http://www.ApartmentWealthMachine.com.

You will save a lot of time if you target your marketing to “predisposed” sources of money. If you can find a way to tap into these predisposed sources, you greatly reduce the amount of time you spend trying to bring a multifamily property deal to closure. There are six general sources of funds:

1. Banks: They are not a private money source per se, but they clearly are a predisposed source for those that are already doing multifamily deals. They are a predominant source of gaining a large portion of your financing on multifamily deals. Banks are going to do at least 80% of the financing for you.

2. Sellers: This one of the most common sources of funding after banks. You should always ask the seller to carry back the second mortgage to remove the down payment requirements. There are four ways to structure these deals.

Second mortgage – always ask the seller to carry back the second mortgage. This lowers the amount you have to find from other money sources.

Seller owns the property free and clear – you should be able to at least get the seller to carry something back, either as a first or second mortgage. Whenever you talk to a seller, it is always important to understand what their underlining debt structure is. Find out what kind of financing is on the property.

Deferred down payment – the ideal situation is buying yourself enough time where you can make improvements and refinance your way out of it. You need at least 12 months to refinance. You can do it sooner.

Lease options – You can buy properties under a leases option as an investor. If you sign a lease on a property as a master tenant, then you can make payments to the owner. You can then sublet to get tenants in the property. You then turn around and have the rental payments cover the cost of your lease payments.

There are also two subcategories of sellers. You can find funding from previous sellers and from sellers obtained from marketing.

Previous sellers – If you have just completed a deal and the seller is walking away with cash in hand, you can take that opportunity to ask them what they are going to do with the money. Inquire as to whether they would like to invest it in another real estate deal.

Sellers from marketing – If you are doing direct mail campaigns to find motivated sellers on houses or commercial properties and you cannot come to terms on one deal, then ask them if they would be interested in other potential deals.

3. Private Investors: You can find these sources through real estate investing events, advertising, auctions and IRA events. Real estate events are a great source of investors because this is where true investors congregate; they are searching for deals. When advertising, do not limit yourself to where you live or where the properties are. Look to California, New York and Florida. People have more money there and are looking for investment opportunities such as buying apartment buildings.

4. Real Estate Brokers: If you have a deal under contract and you are missing some money to make the deal happen, you can either negotiate with the broker to get a deferred commission or even a reduced commission. Do not abuse this relationship because you want them to send you pocket listings.

5. Referrals: This is the single most effective way to get sources of private money. It costs you absolutely nothing and you tend to get better and more dependable clients through referrals than by any other means.

6. You: Yes, you are a source of private monies. This can include home equity, non-recourse loans and reverse mortgages. If you have other properties, you can include equity on those as well. A small business line of credit is a great source for rehab properties. If you are going to be in and out of a deal, you can also look to low APR credit cards.

You now know the six major sources of private money for your multifamily deals. Empowered with this knowledge, you are able to begin creating an investor base that you can tap into for every deal you work on.

Lance Edwards is living proof of his mantra that you don’t have to “graduate” from single family to multifamily – you can start with multifamily; using none of your own money and not dealing with tenants and toilets. For FREE information, visit http://www.ApartmentWealthMachine.com.

You do not have to spend a gold mine on your marketing strategies for finding investors for your multifamily deals. In fact, there are some very effective ways to market your multifamily deals and not spend a dime doing it. There are four very effective and, better yet, free means of marketing your multifamily deals. These methods employ the use of referrals, charity organizations, networking and keeping an eye on your competition.

The most effective marketing strategy you have available to you is your referrals. This strategy that is used throughout the business world is also applicable to what you are doing. Referrals are absolutely fabulous at bringing in new investors.

Why are referrals so effective? Simple. People trust information that is given to them by their friends and colleagues. When you are shopping around for a physician, dentist or mechanic what do you do?

You ask around. Some people may rely on the Yellow Pages but the majority of people want to hear it from people they trust that a certain person or business is reputable. This is why it so important for you to begin building your reputation and for you to work with reputable contractors as well.

Your reputation precedes you and when people are pleased with you and the work you do, word will spread like wildfire. Never underestimate the power of referrals and never dismiss the importance of a stellar reputation to help you build your references.

Another free marketing opportunity for your multifamily deals is helping out at a charity fundraiser. If you sit on the board of any charitable organizations, you have a great pool of potential investors at your fingertips. You are able to get in touch with people that have money and money that they are looking to invest.

Good old-fashioned networking is another free marketing method. Network with fellow members at clubs you belong to. Reach out to those people that are in your focus groups. Take the opportunity when you are at work and hanging out with colleagues at the water cooler to let them know about your multifamily property deal and see if they are interested or if they might know someone who would be interested.

Another method of free marketing that is sometimes overlooked, is spying on your competition. Find out where they are getting their money and how they are funding their deals. Use your network to do this.

All of the strategies mentioned above are effective and cost you nothing. Take advantage of these strategies and put them to work for you. You will be pleased with the results and at the money you save.

Lance Edwards is living proof of his mantra that you don’t have to “graduate” from single family to multifamily – you can start with multifamily; using none of your own money and not dealing with tenants and toilets. For FREE information, visit http://www.ApartmentWealthMachine.com.