I have an email account I use to sign up for money making programs. I have not attended to it in several weeks because my day job is keeping me busy. When I looked at my inbox I have over 3,800 emails.
I began to wonder through my fine collection of "must-have", 'incredible wealth", "Christmas special" offers. It was funny. All these squawking internet marketers trying to sell the next hot item on the internet. It was particular entertaining to see multiple marketers selling the same product with their own little twist added.
Some has a good and fair offer others were just same 'ol online scam games. Here is my Christmas list of programs on a good list and what puts them on the bad list
Good list:
1. No long video presentation or sales pitch page that repeats it's sales points 3-7 times
2. Clear explanation of who was offering what. Good detail, easy to research.
3. Clear terms and conditions
4. Sample offering to understand what is in the program
5. Honest-- the pitch is born out by independent reviews and users
Bad List
1. Long presentation, hype upon hype, promise upon promise..."others lie but I don't" babble and so on ans so on.
2. Very little substantive detail available on which to make a sound decision. Any offer that basically says, "send me your money and trust me I will return it if you don't like it"
3. Half truth money story. They show $8000 in one day which may be true but that shows the revenue from all affiliates that day or week. They also show revenue based on their mature, well established business with many affiliates and many list subscribers. Not disclosing that is dishonest!
4. Dishonest--or looks dishonest. Listened to a pitch for Affiliate Silver Bullet where "Dustin" tells you he spent big bucks and late nights developing the program...then I find articles indicating 2 other people did the work. Who knows? Someone is lying.
5. Say stupid things in a presentation like: "I could get in real trouble for sharing these secrets" [oh really? by who..your Mom?]; or,"I am about to show you
something no one else has the courage to show you". [really?..truth is there are probably dozens of other IMers saying the same thing...well at least they can read a script]
Final note thank you for the "thank-you" emails we receive.
Wednesday
Evaluating home based business
In these difficult economic times more and more people are looking for ways to make money. Anxious to get started and see money come in, many people are sitting ducks for MLM, internet marketing and online business opportunities that will take their money and not produce the much needed revenue they are looking for.
Here are some brief notes to help you make a wise decision and be successful.
1. Any "opportunity" that does not give you at least the company name UPFRONT should be avoided. Many want your email or your phone number first. Don't do it. Most successful internet businesses are successful because they have been harvesting contact info for years and then sell whatever they can to whoever they can. This leads to the next point.
2. KNOW for a fact (as with any business) that you are not making a dime without people to sell to. Many MLMs advertise big numbers but fail to tell you the hundreds or thousands of names they have to help them generate revenue. You will need to know that your chances of success are directly related to your ability to get in front of perspective customers. This is not always easy. It may be one reason that only about 3-5% of those who venture into this kind of work succeed.
3. Many opportunities start with a small "investment" but then the upselling begins. So make sure you get some visibility down field on your possible cash outlays.
4. Ask to speak to 3-4 in your area already in the program. When talking to them be aware of their relationship to the person trying to bring you in or sell you the program. If asked for references everyone will always give you their friends...what you want out of the meeting is more detail about what they do and how they do it etc
5. Following up #1 and this is most important: Do your due diligence.
>Is there a parent company?
>Search the business name plus words like review, legal, scam etc. The internet is a great place to find out the scoop on just about any MLM or internet business.
>Take the time to read the terms and conditions on their website.
>General rule: the more they talk big numbers and give few nitty-gritty details the better the chance you are looking at a bad opportunity. Move on!
>Do they have a support group of other reps in your area?
>Has the business or company operated under any other names?
>Will the business give you the materials to look at and evaluate without asking for money?
>How much of your time will it require?
>How do you get paid?
>Do you have to buy inventory no matter what your sales volume?
>Set up an email account somewhere to collect info without giving up your personal data...see what you get. See if they sell your contact info somewhere else?
> Are you passionate about the product or service...if not...don't fool yourself by thinking that maybe you can be. Its an uphill battle to start a business....as the work gets harder the less energy you will have to "get passionate" at that point.
> Do you know who the target customer is? Are you comfortable talking to them?
> There are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people out selling something...can you present yourself in a unique manner to differentiate yourself?
> Do market research. If you do not know how to do that then certainly don't jump into that business. It would be like jumping off a cliff into a pond without knowing what is just under the surface of the water. Is the product priced right for the market. I recently evaluated a business selling super juices. The cost per bottle was $7-9 but a similar product could be bought at the grocery store for $3-4. The product price was inflated to cover commissions on a product available elsewhere for less. IN that case your only customer will be the uninformed.
>Google keywords of the business to see what turns up.
>Lastly...get away from the hype and promises...know your own mind-have an honest assessment of what you can do. What I mean by that is don't get caught up in the hype and promise of big wealth...get real...get with someone who knows you well and ask them what they think of you taking on a type of business or product. A good proverb: the wise man seeks the counsel of many.
I hope this helps
Here are some brief notes to help you make a wise decision and be successful.
1. Any "opportunity" that does not give you at least the company name UPFRONT should be avoided. Many want your email or your phone number first. Don't do it. Most successful internet businesses are successful because they have been harvesting contact info for years and then sell whatever they can to whoever they can. This leads to the next point.
2. KNOW for a fact (as with any business) that you are not making a dime without people to sell to. Many MLMs advertise big numbers but fail to tell you the hundreds or thousands of names they have to help them generate revenue. You will need to know that your chances of success are directly related to your ability to get in front of perspective customers. This is not always easy. It may be one reason that only about 3-5% of those who venture into this kind of work succeed.
3. Many opportunities start with a small "investment" but then the upselling begins. So make sure you get some visibility down field on your possible cash outlays.
4. Ask to speak to 3-4 in your area already in the program. When talking to them be aware of their relationship to the person trying to bring you in or sell you the program. If asked for references everyone will always give you their friends...what you want out of the meeting is more detail about what they do and how they do it etc
5. Following up #1 and this is most important: Do your due diligence.
>Is there a parent company?
>Search the business name plus words like review, legal, scam etc. The internet is a great place to find out the scoop on just about any MLM or internet business.
>Take the time to read the terms and conditions on their website.
>General rule: the more they talk big numbers and give few nitty-gritty details the better the chance you are looking at a bad opportunity. Move on!
>Do they have a support group of other reps in your area?
>Has the business or company operated under any other names?
>Will the business give you the materials to look at and evaluate without asking for money?
>How much of your time will it require?
>How do you get paid?
>Do you have to buy inventory no matter what your sales volume?
>Set up an email account somewhere to collect info without giving up your personal data...see what you get. See if they sell your contact info somewhere else?
> Are you passionate about the product or service...if not...don't fool yourself by thinking that maybe you can be. Its an uphill battle to start a business....as the work gets harder the less energy you will have to "get passionate" at that point.
> Do you know who the target customer is? Are you comfortable talking to them?
> There are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people out selling something...can you present yourself in a unique manner to differentiate yourself?
> Do market research. If you do not know how to do that then certainly don't jump into that business. It would be like jumping off a cliff into a pond without knowing what is just under the surface of the water. Is the product priced right for the market. I recently evaluated a business selling super juices. The cost per bottle was $7-9 but a similar product could be bought at the grocery store for $3-4. The product price was inflated to cover commissions on a product available elsewhere for less. IN that case your only customer will be the uninformed.
>Google keywords of the business to see what turns up.
>Lastly...get away from the hype and promises...know your own mind-have an honest assessment of what you can do. What I mean by that is don't get caught up in the hype and promise of big wealth...get real...get with someone who knows you well and ask them what they think of you taking on a type of business or product. A good proverb: the wise man seeks the counsel of many.
I hope this helps
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