I first heard about coopetition back in 2005. It was explained to me as the process of combining cooperation and competition, where people in complementary fields could work together to promote and market each other’s products and services. I finally read the book Coopetition, written by Adam Brandenburger and Barry Nalebuff in 1996. It turns out the term was first coined by Ray Noorda, founder of Novell, and not by a NASCAR driver, as mentioned to me by one of my students who recently heard this on someone’s teleseminar ( a NASCAR fan, most likely).
The idea is a good one; if you have a product that is related but not identical to another product, in other words, comlementary to that product, you can join forces with the other person and make more sales. Think about it, if you are a handyman, it would make sense to connect with a plumber and an electrician. You could promote each other’s services to your clients because each of you do something that is different, yet complementary, to what you do.
The same thing works on the internet. Find people with products and services that complement yours. Contact them and see how you can work out an affilaite or joint venture agreement to promote each other to your list. For example, I have an eBook on real estate marketing that does well online. I have an agreement with someone who does home staging to cross promote to her list. Everyone makes money and your clients will receive the best possible solutions to their specific problems and situations.
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