How to Make Money From Business Opportunities You Can't Pursue

In business, opportunities are everywhere. A customer mentions an upcoming project. A former client asks if your company can provide a service you do not offer. A contractor needs a product your company does not sell. An engineer hears about a major expansion. A manufacturer learns about a facility upgrade. A salesperson discovers a project that could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The problem is that many of these opportunities simply are not a fit for your company.

Maybe the project is outside your geographic market. Maybe your company does not offer the required product or service. Perhaps the project is too large, too small, or outside your target market. You may not have the capacity to take it on, or your company may simply have no interest in pursuing it.

For most B2B and industrial professionals, that is usually where the opportunity ends.

But it does not have to.

An Opportunity Can Have Value Even When You Can't Pursue It

One of the most overlooked assets professionals have is their access to business opportunities.

Salespeople, contractors, engineers, architects, manufacturers, distributors, consultants, facility managers and other industry professionals are constantly exposed to information about projects, purchases and customer needs. They hear about opportunities long before they become widely known.

Yet many of those opportunities are never pursued because they fall outside the professional's company's capabilities.

That does not mean the opportunity has no value.

In fact, an opportunity that is not a fit for your company may be highly valuable to another company that has the right products, services, experience and capacity to handle it.

This creates a simple but powerful business concept: instead of letting an opportunity disappear, share it with a qualified company that can pursue it.

When that opportunity results in a sale, you can potentially earn a reward for making the connection.

Turn Information Into an Income Opportunity

Think about how many business conversations take place every week.

A customer might say, "We're planning to expand our facility next year."

A contractor might mention, "The owner is looking for someone to install a new production line."

An architect might say, "We're designing a new warehouse and will need several specialty vendors."

A distributor may learn that a customer is looking for a product their company does not carry.

These conversations can contain valuable business intelligence.

You may not be able to do anything with the opportunity yourself, but another company may be actively looking for exactly that type of project.

Instead of simply saying, "That's not something we do," there is another possibility: connect the opportunity with someone who does.

That is the basic idea behind an opportunity-sharing model such as Rewardience.

What Is Rewardience?

Rewardience is an Opportunity Sharing Program designed for B2B and industrial professionals who encounter valuable business opportunities they cannot pursue themselves.

The concept is straightforward.

You identify a legitimate business opportunity. You share the opportunity with Rewardience. Rewardience reviews the information, develops the opportunity, and connects it with qualified Partner companies that have the products, services and expertise needed to pursue the business.

If the shared opportunity ultimately results in a sale, you earn a substantial financial reward.

Your value comes from identifying and simply sharing the opportunity.

You Don't Have to Sell to Create Value

Many professionals assume that making money from a business opportunity requires them to sell something.

It doesn't always.

Sometimes your most valuable contribution is simply knowing who needs something and who can provide it.

Consider an industrial engineer who learns that a manufacturing company is preparing for a major facility expansion. The engineer's firm may not provide construction services, modular buildings, equipment, or specialty installations.

That does not make the information worthless.

A qualified construction company, manufacturer, or specialty contractor could potentially turn that information into a significant project.

The engineer created value by having the relationship and learning about the opportunity. The Partner creates value by having the capabilities to pursue it. An opportunity-sharing program can connect the two.

Everyone benefits when the right opportunity reaches the right company.

The B2B and Industrial World Is Full of These Opportunities

Opportunity sharing can be particularly powerful in B2B and industrial markets because business professionals frequently have access to information that is difficult to find through traditional marketing.

Industrial projects often involve multiple companies, vendors, contractors, engineers, manufacturers, distributors, and service providers.

A facility expansion may require everything from architectural and engineering services to construction, material handling, equipment, electrical work, flooring, partitions, storage systems, safety equipment, and specialty services.

One professional may hear about the project first. Another company may have exactly what the project needs.

The challenge is connecting the two.

That is where opportunity sharing can create value.

What Makes an Opportunity Valuable?

Not every piece of information is a qualified opportunity.

The strongest opportunities typically involve a real company, a genuine business need and a reasonable possibility that a purchase or project will occur.

Useful information might include the company involved, the type of project or need, approximate location, expected timing, decision makers or contacts when appropriate, and any other details that help a qualified company understand the opportunity.

You do not necessarily need to know every detail.

You simply need to recognize that there is a legitimate business need that could be valuable to someone else.

Rewardience can then help develop the information into an Opportunity Lead Profile that can be presented to appropriate Partner companies.

Opportunities You Can't Use May Be the Most Valuable Ones

There is an important mindset shift here. Professionals often evaluate opportunities based on one question: "Can my company do this?"

If the answer is no, the opportunity is usually discarded.

A better question may be: "Who could benefit from knowing about this?"

That question changes everything.

A project your company cannot handle could be exactly what another company has been looking for. A customer you cannot serve could become an excellent customer for someone else. A product request outside your company's capabilities could represent a significant sale for a company that specializes in it.

The opportunity did not lose its value simply because you could not use it.

You Already Have the Most Important Asset: Relationships

One of the reasons opportunities sharing works particularly well in B2B and industrial markets is that professionals build relationships over years.

Customers trust them. Vendors know them. Contractors call them. Engineers communicate with them. Salespeople develop networks across entire industries.

Those relationships create access to information. And information can create opportunity.

You may know about a project months before a company begins searching for vendors. You may know who is making the decision. You may know the facility, the contractor or the engineer involved.

That knowledge has value.

Rewardience provides a way to potentially monetize that value without requiring you to change careers or become a full-time salesperson.

A Simple Way to Think About It

Imagine you are a sales representative for a company that sells industrial equipment.

A customer tells you they are planning a $2 million facility renovation. Your company can provide some of the equipment, but most of the project involves construction services your company does not offer.

You could simply thank the customer and move on.

Or you could recognize that the project may represent an opportunity for a qualified construction company.

You share the opportunity.

The appropriate Partner receives the lead and decides whether to pursue it. If the project becomes a sale and meets the applicable Rewardience requirements, you receive a reward.

You turned information you could not use into a potential source of income.

It Is About Sharing, Not Selling

The beauty of opportunity sharing is that it can fit naturally into the way professionals already work.

You are already having conversations.

You are already meeting customers.

You are already attending industry events.

You are already talking with contractors, suppliers, engineers and other professionals.

You are already hearing about projects.

The difference is what you do with the information after you discover an opportunity that does not fit your company. Instead of letting it disappear, you can share it.

Build Value From Opportunities You Would Otherwise Lose

Not every opportunity will result in a sale. Not every lead will be qualified. And not every Partner can pursue every opportunity.

But the fundamental principle remains powerful: an opportunity you cannot pursue does not have to be an opportunity you have to lose.

The next time someone tells you about a project, expansion, purchase, construction need or business requirement that your company cannot handle, stop before dismissing it.

Ask yourself: Who could use this?

If you know the opportunity is legitimate and potentially valuable, sharing it may create value for everyone involved.

The customer gets connected with a company that can help. The Partner gets access to a new business opportunity. And you may earn a reward for making the connection.

That's the idea behind Rewardience: turn relationships and business opportunities you cannot use into rewards you can earn.

Your company may not be able to pursue every opportunity. But that doesn't mean you have to let a good opportunity go to waste.

Author: Randy Woodard, CEO - Rewardience

To learn more visit www.rewardience.com