Is it more important to get sales or sales-people?

Ultimately a lot of sites offer you a business opportunity. That's fine, but what are they selling? I see this time and time again, another company with a lucrative chance at making hundreds, thousands or millions of dollars (potentially, of course), but when you start to really look at the site, there is little to no information on the products or services available. This does not make any logical sense, unless you evaluate their business model.

It'll cost you $295 or so for the materials to "get started" and work with/for them. What if you have your own personal business going and are just looking what they are selling? That's where the problems really start and the relationship can snow-ball.

In my previous post I wrote a lot about how those portal sites work, and how they make a lot of their income. While I personally think some of it is very misleading, it does work. What also works is getting people overly excited and motivated to help you build your business, because like you, they are ambitious and wish to be financially successful; but at what cost?

It's a risk for both parties. If you are selling something and want to get more out there, finding someone who is motivated but not necessarily experienced is a good way to get them to pay you upfront for the time and money lost trying to get them started to help you out. From a newbie perspective, it's a good chance to pair up with someone who is doing well and really try your hand at making some serious money. Unfortunately, they tend to all quote the "95% of businesses fail". I would like to elaborate on that: most fail because they don't know what they are doing to begin with.

When scoping out your potential partnership (or whatever terminology you want to use), you should understand what they are effectively selling. Find out how many other individuals are also partnered with this person. They may not have the time to devote to coaching you and being an effective leader if they have too many people working for or with them already. If you are new, you'll need all the attention you can get if you really are new to this. On the flip-side, you can bet that the reason a lot of these people are so successful is because they have so many people working for them and have paid a gracious sum to just be associated with them. Understand the churn, too; as most of these friendly faces you may run into come and go every month. Don't believe the rhetoric that they didn't try enough, not everyone is cut out for sales. Ask yourself that question before you go into anything: "can I see myself doing this?"

We can all see ourselves rich and powerful, it's a great fantasy to the majority of people (unless you are already rich and powerful). Keep to that bottom line of really understanding your role in that partnership and what value you can bring. Understand at the same time, being new, with no experience isn't really a value at all, and that cost you pay to "partner" is really like an insurance policy with a 95% you'll not make it. You'll find two camps, those who are really good at selling whatever product it is they promote and standby, and others who are very good with their leadership and organizational skills to get people to envy and want to be like them; but it doesn't mean they are going to put in that extra mile to turn you into one of their peers. This is something you will have to discover on your own.

Did they really make $10,000 with that e-book?

I see a lot of sites just by going through Google with things like "secrets to MLM success" or "how I made $10,000 in a month", basic phrases like that. While I am sure they are not being dishonest, each site follows the same formula, so let me explain how they are most likely "getting rich".

First off, their sites are nothing more than a portal for you to enter your name and email address. By doing so, you are simply adding yourself into a mailing list or into their potential leads pool. After you do so, you are directed to a new page, and a little message about checking your email box. The email you get will be very detailed with customer satisfaction stories, testimonials, etc. It looks great doesn't it? It's also from $49.99 to $199.99 for their cd-rom, book or other material. You get a lot of stuff. Now I have not actually purchased any of these materials, but let's evaluate this formula and really explain what's going on.

It's called an affiliate program. Simply put, the e-book or whatever else they are trying to sell you through their simple click me and buy this material to "get rich", is actually how they are getting rich. It doesn't really take a genius to figure out how, not even a SEO subject matter expert. It's not a scam, but it's a bit misleading.

Why don't I have one? I have been debating it. I am here to educate you and be realistic, not take your money and try to sell you a formula that if it "really worked", would more likely than not be common knowledge.

Let's look at the breakdown again from a bullet point stand-point:

1. Register a domain name such as secretstomlmwealthandpowerblahblahblah.com or something cliche like that ($10 through Google, you can get a domain name anywhere).
   
2. Make a video of yourself talking about how successful you are and use YouTube to avoid hosting costs.
3. Join an affiliate program to resell an e-book or other marketing material that "teaches" the secrets to success with online marketing and the powers of social networking; I am sure they have many titles. This should be free as you will make a commission.
4. Embed their code into your site so you can get them to "sign up" and receive that email with a download link with nice cost attached.
5. Make your commission.
6. Sit back and do basically nothing.

I don't know the exact figure for how much this actually makes, I am sure the more attractive or interesting you appear in your videos, the more success you'll have promoting someone else (if not your own) e-book or other materials and developing your commission. It's not that complicated when you really think about it, and it really isn't truly being dishonest with potential customers, but it is generally misleading for them to think you did anything in any of that material that actually built as much success as just having the website with an affiliate program to begin with.

By having their extremely long domain name that comes up all over Google and Yahoo, they generate thousands of hits from the get-go. If this works for you, feel free to send me the check while I see if my conscious allows me to make such a thing. I just feel really bad for younger people who really want to work to impress, succeed and avoid the f-word [failure]. It's hard enough when you have that cousin making six-figures and you are barely out of high school. Let me explain to you though, pay attention to the formula they are using on you, and less to the formula they are trying to get you to follow. This is where you can really learn.

Using the economy to your advantage

Even though times are slow and jobs are lacking, now is a good time to really start finding a second source of income whenever, and wherever you can. During times like these you'll find people are more open to exploring other opportunities and looking to network now more than before. Sales are not going away, but the amount of money people have to buy things diminishes day by day until we have solved our own economic woes.

Don't make false promises or give the wrong impression to yourself or others that just because you find something to supplement your income you have a full on gig. Not so fast.

I have found that consulting services have tended to be much more long term in regards to supplement income as opposed to a quick fix in selling a solution that I turned around to make a few dollars on.

During these times you'll want to make sure with your partners that you can manage any barriers to entry and an exit strategy if you are going to do something short term. Most professionals will tell you that sales are long term, but sometimes the product that's hot is only going to be around for a short time period. If you want to establish a relationship by partnering with another company, you'll want to make sure that you aren't just a short-timer but can actually provide a value-add to their company, and for yourself, it's not operating at a loss or near volunteer level. Make sure that both you and them understand what's expected and make it clear you look to be compensated for your services. If you will only be seeing a small commission, then it's good to establish some expense agreements and make sure you are not doing everything out of pocket just to break even.

Think of business a lot like going to Vegas. There are some people that go in with $100 and are happy to leave with just $90; there are others who come in with $100 and leave broke. There are the other ones who play by a strict strategy, learn their tables and machines and walk out with $1000. Vegas is not just about luck, but there are some heavy tactics and skills involved with coming out a winner. It does not mean luck doesn't play a part, but if you only rely on luck, you are better off taking out a million dollar life insurance policy on strangers waiting for them to get hit by lightning. Always have a strategy present and the ability to adapt as a team when you may have to go back and re-evaluate your situation. This can and just might happen more often than not.

Be careful out there, you will find a lot of people trying to take advantage of you in these hard times. Stay positive and focused.

Buyers Beware!

The holidays may be over, but the after-holidays sales are going to be at every store near you. Many people held off this year to buy new computer purchases. Like cars, computers have warranties, they cost money, and the details are in the fine print.

"Accidental Damage" is certainly an area all consumers need to be aware of. Fixing a computer can be extremely costly. An Apple MacBook Pro bought in early 2008 can cost you $1259.00 for a broken LCD screen, even if you have AppleCare. Why? Because AppleCare does not have an accidental damage warranty, but just a limited warranty on parts that fail, i.e. hard drives, cd-roms, fans, etc. I have compiled a list of some laptops for sale by various vendors with a breakdown of the accidental damage warranties for major laptop/notebook/netbook makers (each quoted with the maximum protection):

• Sony's Policy (3 Year Onsite Service Plan plus Accidental Damage from Handling Protection): What are Accidental Damage from Handling service plans? Accidental Damage from Handling Protection (ADH) plans offer the same benefits as the Regular Extended Service Plans but gives the added benefit of repairing or replacing your Sony product when it malfunctions due to breakdowns that occur from handling the product under normal operating conditions. This Service Plan includes all parts, labor and shipping costs in its coverage to make sure your Sony product is repaired and delivered back to you without any out-of-pocket costs. Coverage begins on the date you purchased the product and runs concurrently with the Limited Warranty.

• Dell's Policy (Add CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service to 3Yr Lim Warranty): The Ultimate peace of mind! Help protect against accidental spills, drops and surges with Dell’s CompleteCare™ Accidental Damage Service.

• HP's Policy (3-year HP Accidental Damage Protection with HP Pick Up and Return): Protect your PC from damage caused by drops, spills, and electrical surges with our Accidental Damage Protection Extended Service Plan.

• Apple's Policy: None.

• Alienware's Policy: None.

I just covered the top resellers that you can get at any store. Once again, I've only covered the "accidental damage" warranty plan with each maximum warranty. Why are these important? If you are on the road trying to promote yourself and keep your business mobile, you absolutely need an accidental warranty with your laptop, which by the way have begun to be referred to as "notebooks" as many companies, like Apple, do not recommend leaving these systems on your lap due to their heat. I recommend going with something fairly cheap, disposable, and backup your data. You don't need anything fancy when you are getting started to give simple PowerPoint presentations to clients. While I am a MacBook Pro user myself, the majority of my work requires no travel and thus operates happily from my desk. It's important to have that quick turn-around time to get you back and operational in case of any disaster. If you can shell out for a $500-700 "notebook" with an extended warranty that has accidental damage coverage, you're pretty much set. As time progresses, you can get a more stylish laptop like a MacBook Pro and keep your extended warranty system as a backup. You can purchase a good external drive for backups or even a USB key. You probably won't have much marketing material that exceeds 1gig unless it's video-related.

Also, be careful to look at policies being sold by companies like Best Buy. As they may have limited warranties (that are usually fairly expensive), that does not mean they cover accidental damage to your system. Always read the fine print before agreeing to sign, and ask the relevant questions before purchase.

Building a Social Network (Online and Offline)

I posted a link to buy a mailing list for those who just want to do a quick and dirty push of their campaign, but wanted to touch base with how to really build a social network so you don't have to just purchase a starting point.

If you don't have a lot of friends outside of the web, you may find yourself really struggling to get known. The old rule about having to be social to be a salesman does not necessarily apply on the web because the actual formal meet-and-greet is a lot of times absent. Knowing this, it should be easy to build a social network, right? Wrong.

You can attempt to join every marketing professional group you may find, but you'll also find that every member will spam you with links to their business or how to build your network. A lot of this is nonsense and they know their rate of conversion to affiliates or customers is rather slim to none. The main problem is how vague and indirect the messages are. It's going to take time to know your audience, and it's always better to be a leader than a follower. Starting a group that targets a certain audience is really the most ideal situation. Don't just target other "online marketers" and try to build with competition. If you are actually selling a legitimate product, build your groups around that, and the people actually interested in it.

It's OK for the most part to add "random" folks to your social network, but make sure they are local and people you actually have a chance to directly message and start a conversation with. If you add a few hundred people and a few hours or days later you send some message blast about what you are selling, you'll lose respect and watch your numbers diminish quickly.

Facebook is good because your user-feed will populate to other users. It's not as flooded as MySpace is at this point (more does not always mean merrier), and the interface (while complained about) is still much cleaner and easier for other users to find your feed when updates happen. Keep some active messages going between walls of other users even if it's small talk. As you start to generate more "friends" (potential leads), you can slip in some updates of things you are working with. You may want to keep the subject rather vague and just slip the links in from time to time as to not come across as shoving your business down their throat. It's best they click because they are interested rather than they click because you requested them to.

On MySpace this becomes trickier as you only have a comments area to really toy with. Because the security levels let the users really lock their comments section down, unless you are seriously popular now, it will be very hard to be. If you don't have social skills now, it'd be recommended to start developing them now. Getting on a top ten friends list (top, period!) is a good way to get yourself out there, but you'll have to mitigate the random friend requests you'll most likely wind up with; think of those as "cold calls". Start a conversation with them if you don't know who they are and make yourself approachable. If people feel there is a human being behind that screen they are more likely to want to inquire not only about you, but what you do.

With that said, it's my personal feeling that while MySpace was the king of the hill last year, for marketing professionals online, Facebook is becoming the new playground.

If you followed my last post, I touched upon being offline to meet potentials. It's a great way to really get exposed, but always remember what you are selling. While it may be nice to be at every club or party having small talk and a drink, if you are selling land line phone service or energy drinks, you'll need to remember what that customer base consists of. A synopsis as follows:

• Landlines would be a target audience of more late 20's to 40's, mostly family-oriented people, who spend time at home and don't want to pay for expensive cell phone contracts.
• Energy drink people are more likely to be found in health food aisles and gyms. Join some yoga and healthy living online groups to find potential customers. They tend to be in their 20's to 50's and engage in at least regular daily exercise.

If you have trouble with finding these people, don't be discouraged, you might just not be selling to your right social circle or really understand your audience. Pay attention, as just getting to know one customer can really help you with others; learn their concerns, lifestyle and level of interest (something you can establish in the first 5 minutes).

Bulletin Posting on MySpace, Facebook, etc.

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Finding your audience on YouTube

A primary problem with web sites used for promotions are they target just every Tom, Dick and Jane. I've seen this on YouTube with other web marketing folks, and while their videos are nice to watch them walking around the beach, their neighborhood, or even some vacation, I do not get the warm and fuzzy feeling they are talking to people like me. Here we will focus on YouTube.

I have some simple guidelines to marketing yourself with YouTube:

1. Who are you targeting? A young woman with a well rehearsed script she is reading from memory does not mean she is reaching everyone.
2. What is your story? Are you from a poor background, rags to riches story? That's your audience. If you are a young professional and you want to recruit more, that's your audience. Know yourself. A young man in his 20's promoting getting out there and promoting his product does not mean getting other men in their 30-40's will put in the same energy and motivation. Think about how you are going to format your teams before getting them in face with the customer. If you are doing this solo, remember that each audience is different and you'll wear many hats if you want to reach each and every person.
3. With above said, remember just because you sell something that "everyone wants", it does not mean it's something "everyone needs". Remember that selling a video phone or a hair-dryer are two different things, and cater your presentation menu to that audience. When selling technical items, remember that your audience may not be technically savvy and thus, not really want to entertain a new venture into products they cannot understand.
4. Don't get too technical! Remember that throwing around buzz-words works great for a team building meeting, a large presentation with management, but it does not always work in your favor with customers. Show them how simple the product is, and by all means, make sure you thoroughly understand what you are selling. If you aren't a person with technical skills, get a subject matter expert to help you explain, or even bring along a how-to video or PowerPoint with you on your laptop. Make sure you explain things in simple, yet accurate details.
5. Avoid making videos like a lot of these. It does not mean that all of these are bad, but if you watch one, you've seen them all. You'll need to make sure when you promote your video with tags you are coming up in the right searches. While in one sense it's good to be broad, remember who you target (see #1 and 2). If you are making a video where you "promise" to talk about something, stay on topic. There are one too many videos that start with one topic but go off into a rant about their lifestyle. Look, most are not living a luxurious lifestyle when they start, they are out there hounding friends and family to get them to buy, this is likely where you are now, so don't fool yourself. Be humble. The more arrogant you come across the less appealing you will be; likewise, the more desperate you are, you can seriously turn off an audience. Find a balance and work within those guidelines.

Why the iPod succeeded (and why some of us do not)

I wanted to cover an interesting topic about why the iPod came out on top of all the other music players. From a marketing standpoint, I am sure a few people out there may have tried to sell their customers on getting something iPod-like, but it wasn't an iPod. Apple really hit the mark on this product and I will give you some of the highlights on why trying a brand once it's been etched into pop-culture so difficult and why you are better off with the saying: "if you can't beat them, join them".

First off the iPod was nothing new. It was nothing more than a MP3 player that also had built-in support for protected files (from the iTunes Store). The part where Apple got it right was how they owned both avenues of music. They owned your player and they owned a great way for you, as the consumer, to find and purchase music... from them. If you compare similar products like the Rio or Samsung players (anything non-iPod), you will find quite frankly no real functional difference between any of them. What you won't see are banners and ads all over your city promoting them, you'll see Apple-related ads. That's sort of the ugly reality.

So why didn't people jump ship collectively and just move to let's say the Microsoft Zune? The Zune has most everything the iPod does, in fact, Microsoft has a store as well. The difference is that Microsoft has a lot of unhappy customers (part of the problem when you are one of the largest out there), and lost a lot of consumer confidence. Apple went through this pain many years ago with their PowerPC platform back in the PC days where they were nearly 2x the cost, a stigma that has stuck with them to this date (when it is grossly exaggerated). So where did Apple succeed? It was able to make it's product appear to be the evolution of the Sony Walkman. It was able to effectively target it's store to the younger market. It had the backing of some very popular music artists directly. It was the perfect storm, it doesn't need to be the perfect product.

As Microsoft began improving it's tarnished image, the Zune became a bit more popular. After the fiasco with Vista, however, you'll note that the only Microsoft product you hear about now is the XBOX 360. The reason this has done so well is because Sony charges way too much for it's consoles and Microsoft had no problem eating the cost. Once again, it's not necessarily a better product, but if you play on an audience losing it's confidence in a product, 9/10 you'll get a sale.

Getting back to the iPod -- it seemed no matter what your budget, you were able to afford one. There is value in having the ability to "buy a brand", which is effectively what Apple did and did it well.

The reason I wanted to touch upon this is that I find a lot of people trying to sell me "alternative" solutions, whether it be phone or even Internet service. The problem I have with them is that as much as these are single packages, a stand-alone product, what value does it really have for me? If they sell me phone service, does it mean it will work with my current phone? Do I have to buy a standard unlocked phone or a branded phone by their company to support it? Even if they are cheaper per month by $10, spending $200 for the new phone defeats the annual savings and increases my yearly cost by $80. If I buy Internet-access from them, is the speed the same? If you are saving $10 per month but the speed is 1/4th what you currently have, does that make it worth it? A major problem as I said in a previous post, is that these products are fixed cost and not open to negotiation for a lower rate. The target audience is diminished because the only people who see a real "value" are the ones who have not had that type of service previously. If they haven't had a cell phone service or Internet access, it's going to be a challenge to even find these potential consumers.