Safe Mrketing

[brian2009]

Although most business is done on the net favourably, there are a lot of business opportunities that you need to watch out for.

So many people write on the Internet about how they have been in marketing for years and have been scammed and spammed, costing them thousands of dollars in the process, and never made a penny, try not to be one of them.

It is a different to sell a product or service on the Internet than it is in a shop, solely because as most salespeople will tell you that people like to touch or hold a product before they buy it. Also, and I know this may sound strange but people often buy the salesperson not the product or service. That is, if they like the salesperson, it’s so much easier to sell them a product.

Obviously you can’t do this over the net, so writing style and advertising is different on the net than it is in the shops and it would seem that a lot of scams and poor biz ops are set up by people who are very good at marketing and selling dreams rather than reality.

I am trained in psychology however I am first and foremost a sociologist at heart and a relative “newbie” to the Internet. I started my Internet business in January and I have found the difference between dealing with business in the real world a lot different to business on the Internet.

I set up a new email address to use to when I deal with signing up to an unknown company, biz op or sales letter or free gift where you have to give in your email address to receive the gift or information. This way I can screen the people I am dealing with and evaluate them safely.

However it seems to me in just a few months I am already seeing a pattern, and that is; Firstly having a website is not like buying a shop in the high street, you can be seen in the high street, having a website is like buying a shop underground where the entrance is several hundred metres away hidden under a bush. Secondly you need to stock your shop with products or services and this is difficult especially if you want your own brand products, so many people resort to selling other peoples brand products and this is where the problem starts.

How can you tell through the Internet if a company is really what or who they say they are. This leaves people in a vulnerable situation and it can create a feeling of dissatisfaction and unease. It is at these times that people tend to look for something or someone who will help them.

This is where the scammer has you, whilst you are scanning the Internet, search engines, traffic / link or ad exchange, social websites, etc, and you find a pot of gold.

A clever marketer that is going to sell you exactly what you want and not what you need, the desire of a fantastic life by selling secrets, information, education that you need to learn before you can make fantastic opportunities on the internet.

So be careful that you do not buy the Emperor’s clothes or travel to London looking for streets paved in gold. Try to focus on what you need rather than what you want, that is you need to start a business and not win money. A solid business will grow and provide you with the money, but it will require you to build it first. So watch out for get rich quick or too good to be true ops.

[Randy Enman]

Thanks for the info Brian. You make some good points.

When I am taking a look at a company I always compare it against the 5 Pillars required for success in a good network marketing company.

5 Pillars Training


If you are looking for a company to join or simply want to evaluate the company you are already with, Michael Dlouhy has mentored me and taught me the 5 Pillars technology which outlines a simple method to measure any company.

Caution: Please do Yourself a favor and answer these questions with your critical eye.

A company may have the greatest products and the best pay plan on the planet, but if it is lacking any of the Five Pillars, you could lose EVERYTHING overnight. Your income and Reputation are at stake.

The correct answers to these 5 questions WILL save You years of Failure and Frustration.

Pillar 1: Does the company management have personal experience building their own networking organization? Have they done it with Integrity?
• Search Google for the owners of the company.
• Do the owners have Integrity? Add the word 'Scam' to your search.
• Do the owners have a Corporate background or an in-the-field Network Marketing background?
• Read your "Policies & Procedures" and "Terms & Conditions"; both are part of your Legal Contract.
• Look for the word "Ongoing".
• Look for policies that strike you as "Unreasonable". Like "Termination, with or without cause".
• Ask yourself "Does this contract protect me or the company?" "Is it clear which way it leans?"
• Does the company charge you for training or a company web site?
• Does the company charge you for each paycheck they send you?
• Rules of Thumb:
• The longer the contract, the greater the possibility that the policies important to you
are being hidden in "Legalese"!
• If it's a "Cash Only" business...It's a Scam!
• If you can buy a position at the top...It's a Scam!
• If you are offered a "Special Deal"...the playing field isn't level for all.
• If the products are sold on eBay at a greatly reduced price...Buy there instead.
• If a company is publicly traded, Financial Decisions Will be made in Favor of the
Stockholders at the Expense of the Distributors.

• Check these two websites: www.MLMwatchdog.com and www.MarketWaveInc.com.


Pillar 2: Has the company passed the "early failure" Time Line? Are the company's Products timed with the beginning of a massive trend of consumer demand?
• Beware of "ground floor opportunities" and start-up companies.
• There should be no rush to get in on the "ground floor".
• 99% of companies don't last two years.
• If the company is good today, it will be great tomorrow.
• Most people don't make money in the first two years while the company is dealing with start-up issues.
• Profit comes AFTER two years. Join then.
• Avoid companies which have passed beyond their "momentum phase" and have become household names.
(The realistic potential for big growth in gone)
• Do not join a company with a product that has no profit margin!
(i.e - a long distance service or a vinyl record company)


Pillar 3: Does the company have a Remarkable product at a reasonable price?
• All MLM companies have a good product. But, there are others available that are just as good!
• It should be competively priced.
• If the product has both a Retail and a Wholesale price,
Your company has a Recruiting business model, STAY AWAY unless You are Red!
• Warnings:
• If the product would not sell without the business opportunity attached, it is ILLEGAL.
• If you can't pay with a credit card and Must pay by cash or money order, it is ILLEGAL.
• If distributors collect the money while the company stays at arm's length, it is ILLEGAL.
• If you MUST have a Retail Merchant's account, the company is SCAMMING YOU.
• When you begin to justify your product to someone, You become a salesperson.

CAUTION: Networking is a relationship business NOT a sales business.


Pillar 4: Does the Compensation Plan Pay Part-Timers?
• 95% of networkers are part-time people.
Make sure that people can make a decent income working a few hours per week.
• Beware of companies that advertise how many millionaires they have created.
Make sure it's not at the expense of those "at the bottom". Everyone should be able to benefit.
• Take the Comp Plan Test - Ask yourself this question:
• "How many people do I need on my Team to earn a recurring income check of $500 per month?"
• There are companies out there that require as many as 500 and as few as 20.
• It's not unusual to see well-established companies that require 150 to 350 people and
they are still able attract new distributors - Amazing! They must be sold on the product!
• If your upline won't or can't answer this basic question, You should Run.
• If you are making only 5% to 8% commissions on product, You are being extremely underpaid.
• If a company stresses "Recruit, Recruit, Recruit!", You should "Run, Run, Run!"
• The purpose of any business is moving product from the company to the end-consumer.
• The majority of your commissions MUST come from product sales; otherwise, it is a SCAM.
• And if you work a plan that Does Not pay on product volume,
somewhere in the process You will lose money!
• More important: You will lose Credibility Too!


Pillar 5: Does your Mentor offer a System for Success that will work for You?
• The team you join must have a system in place that will work for everyone who uses it.
• There must be complete resources available; books, videos and audios explaining the system.
• The system should be designed to Teach The System!
Remember, you want to build your business, Not baby-sit it.
• You must take full responsibility for learning the Skill Set. Your mentor can't do that for you.
An 'open' system will allow you to go upline for clarification and advice.
• If you don't see the system working for you right away, don't try to reinvent the wheel.
As in everything we do in life there is a learning curve. Plug in and be patient.
• Personal development should have a big emphasis in the system. This is a relationship business,
the more you know about yourself, the better you'll relate to your clients and customers.
• DO NOT MAKE A LIST OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
• DO NOT BUY LEADS.
• Purchased leads require salesmanship.
These methods do not work anymore.
90% of our population are NOT good salespeople.
Not only that, most people don't even like salespeople.

Before choosing a System, get a YES answer to: "Can I do this?" and "Will my Mentor help me?"
Your Mentor's System Should:
(Ask for a list of those for whom it has worked 3 levels deep)

• Be a proven System that teaches a full Skill Set, including:
• Client interface,
• Advertising/Internet know how,
• Behavioral knowledge,
• Mentoring methods,
• Industry History.
• Have Free Skills Training,
• Have an affordable, easy to navigate Back Office, that includes:
• A complete lead management system,
• eMail and ad copy templates,
• Capture pages combined with an auto-responder,
• Integrated ad tracking and performance comparisons,
• A Help section that makes the Back Office tools easy to understand.
• Keep you Free to build your business.
Stay away from those administrative tasks like building web sites.
• Allow you to do your own Targeted advertising. Brand Yourself!


One additional bonus here:

How to Identify SCAMS

An Attorney General would ask these two questions:


1 - Would a logical thinking person pay this much money for the product or service if there was not a business opportunity involved?

2 - Does the income stop when the recruiting stops?

If the answer to the first question is "No" and/or the answer to the second question is "Yes",
then it is a SCAM.

Don't become BUBBA BAIT!

Abundance & Prosperity,

Randy Enman