Catch the Full Episode:
Overview
John Jantsch sits down with Jermane Cheathem for a live coaching session. Cheathem built his referral business around a handful of aligned partners instead of a long prospect list, and he uses the conversation to map out a partner strategy for Duct Tape Marketing’s fractional CMO service in real time.
They dig into how a partnership works best when your offer helps the partner sell their own product. Cheathem walks through examples: creative methods ranging from pairing a marketing package with home remodeling franchisors, or teaming up with brand consultants who need execution support to placing free chocolate samples with high-end restaurants to reach wealthy diners.
The conversation also covers why cold outreach rarely pays off and what to do instead: start with the people already in your phone. Anyone weighing referral partnerships, agency growth, or a way out of the cold-calling grind will get a clear playbook here.
Guest Bio
Jermane Cheathem spent 17 years in medical equipment financing before building a referral-based model that has produced more than $50 million in funded deals for hospitals, food truck owners, and construction companies. He is the sales director at Dao Financial Solutions and the founder of Creators Learn, where he teaches sales professionals how to replace cold calling with a small number of high-trust referral partnerships.
Key Takeaways
- Pick a handful of the right partners and go deep, not wide. Chasing volume wastes time on relationships that were never going to close.
- A partnership sticks when your product helps your partner sell their own. That turns your offer from optional into necessary.
- Stop cold calling, cold emailing, and cold ads. Call everyone already in your phone first and ask a simple question: do you know anyone who needs this?
- Look for partners with a built-in reason to want your offer, like franchisors who need their franchisees to hit revenue targets.
- Work your own backyard before chasing prospects somewhere else (local relationships build trust faster).
Great Moments
- [00:01] – Jantsch opens with Cheathem’s $50 million in funded deals, built without a single cold call.
- [01:20] – Cheathem explains the morning he realized 300 cold calls a day would never get him where he wanted to go.
- [09:42] – Cheathem builds a live partner strategy for Duct Tape Marketing, pairing the fractional CMO offer with home remodeling franchisors.
- [11:38] – Cheathem tells the story of a Dubai chocolate maker who won over the city’s top restaurants by giving away free samples first.
- [19:28] – Cheathem introduces his “MVP” concept: one strong partner who opens the door to a whole network of similar people.
Memorable Quotes
- “The best friends to have are friends you make money with.” — Jermane Cheathem
- “It never makes sense to me to chase anything in life. The best friendships, the best relationships, and the best business partners are always easy from the very beginning.” — Jermane Cheathem
- “You’d be surprised how much comes from that first domino. Once you have one strong partner sending you solid business, that partner probably knows other people who need the same service or product.” — Jermane Cheathem
- “When your product helps your partner sell their own, it stops being a want and becomes a need. That’s when the relationship lasts a lifetime and the deals get simple.” — Jermane Cheathem
- “Do less, but do it better, instead of trying to spam everyone.” — John Jantsch
Resources
fractional cmo, Jermane Cheathem, Referral Marketing, Small Business Marketing, strategic partnerships, warm outreach
