When you’re in need of mentorship, expertise, or hiring qualified staff, who better to turn to than someone who breathes the same air as you? The internet is too wide of a net to catch someone who is trustworthy, educated, and moral enough to help you grow your business.
We have spent many hours searching for affiliates, turned down phishy consultations, and just felt off from meeting people over a video conference call. When we search online to work with anyone – accountants, contract workers, or even investors – there has been no longer-lasting partnership than from someone local to us. We’ve fallen for the best ads online. We’ve joined dozens of forums. We’ve subscribed to many newsletters. And we’ve grown old with them. While these are helpful and have their place, human touch is still very much needed.
Why Don’t Virtual Partnerships Last?
The term “long-distant relationships” comes to mind. There’s always an exciting allure and warming up-front conversation in the beginning. Over time, without face-to-face connection, either side risks losing that spark. Why is that? Well, in any relationship – business or personal – we tend to be more focused on what’s in front of us. There’s still a tie to keep you together, in this case it’s the money-value exchange. As long as either of you are getting it, you’ll stay on board. But the risk is that without influence from each other or shared feedback, connection gets lost. Then either or both of you begin making business decisions and changes that no longer require your partnership.
Why Choose a Local Affiliate?
You can both care for your independent needs and stay connected in person, which boosts the amount of influence they have on your growth. What do they get when you grow? A testimonial and data to help themselves grow. That’s true connection and the exact kind of relationship you’ll want to nurture.
Considering you don’t even need to be in the same neighborhood or town, these stronger affiliations do well even with a 100-mile radius. It’s like when they say “local food” should cover up to 100 miles to ensure freshness and quality from harvest day to your table. The same stands for the value you provide each other with. Quality affiliations mean it’s fresh, it’s reliable whenever you need it, and it provides you with nutrition to help your business grow stronger and healthier.
The home care industry is fantastic at this. As you know, America is large. Some states can be their own country! What many franchises or private agencies do is set their headquarters in one prime location (usually where the owner lives) and cover regions within a certain radius from headquarters. For instance, an agency in Georgia may use the terms “Metro Atlanta” or “North Atlanta” for their target demographics. So even if they reside in Roswell, GA, they can reach people, and still meet in person, in Alpharetta, GA. All prospects have to do is search “home care services Atlanta” and they’ll find many local services to choose from.
Choosing a virtual affiliate has its perks. You can:
- Take advice and experiment on your own
- Make less influenced but more independent decisions
- Have more time for business without the need for travel
- Find many alternatives if the partnership ends
Still, nothing can compare to that in-person handshake and eye contact you get when meeting someone you’re about to journey with. Choose your own path, but we find there is a stronger sense of pride, loyalty, and commitment working with someone we can physically see.
The return our business gets is someone we can count on to not get distracted, to deeply invest in our goals, and give far more information than if we simply had a video call. Remember, online businesses have a broader market reach (good for them) which means you’re one of many fish in the sea. A local affiliate has less of a reach, which means you’re far more valuable. The loyalty you get cannot be overshadowed.