Internet Scams

I'm mad.  I know internet scams are out there and I don't understand why people who could make money legitimately would choose to use underhanded methods instead.  But when it affects my business - I get really steamed!  Mostly I'm mad at myself for missing the fine print - which wasn't really that fine.

I have endorsed the book "Internet Law Compliance" by Shawn Casey.  It's a great book and comes with forms for terms of use, privacy policy and purchase agreement.  I feel this is very valuable because you can be held accountable for breaking the law on the internet even if you didn't know you were doing it.  So I was a very happy camper with my purchase and have endorsed it to my clients.

The downside is that I was put on the mailing list for not only Shawn, but other merchants who might have something of value to offer for internet network marketers. 

Well, I received so many emails, I didn't have time to open a fraction of them.  Only 25% of emails are opened and read, which is why I use my greeting card system when I want to be sure to connect with a client.

Here's the ugly surprise.  I received a bill for my membership in some club I'd never heard of.  When I went back and searched through dozens of emails, I found one that said, "Because you have purchased a product from us, we have enrolled you in this club for free for 30 days.  You can cancel at any time, or pay $39 a month for membership."  The next month, my credit card was billed.

I spent all day going through all the emails and finally found the product I had purchased. It was for a little ebook.  Sure enough, on the long sales page there was the disclosure that as I would be enrolled into this club. So it really is my own fault.  Still, I feel it is just plain wrong to sign somebody up for something and then CHARGE them without their express permission.

I'm not nearly so angry at being out the money myself, as I am that I have recommended this product to my clients. I wouldn't want anyone else to make the same mistake.  I have since removed the links to this and will be replacing them with links to a similar product that I can feel comfortable passing on to my readers.

Here's the lesson for business owners:

1. I started out as a very happy customer and would have made more purchases over time.

2. I'm now not only an unhappy customer, but an angry one.  Buyer's remorse turns into buyer's revenge.

3. Statistically, 91% of unhappy customers will not tell you they were dissatisfied.  Instead, they simply stop doing business with you.

4. However, 13% of unhappy customers will tell at least 20 other people about their bad experience.

5. If you want to have a high volume of customer retention, you need to treat your clients like the precious people they are and never go for the quick buck.  It just doesn't pay in the long run.

This type of marketing is controversial, but legal.  I clicked on all the links that were supposed to make it easy to cancel out of this club, but Surprise! none of them work.  I emailed the main company and we'll see what happens.  Boy, buyer beware indeed!!

My personal business reputation is one of integrity.  I'd rather not make a sale than pocket money for something that was not in the best interest of my customer.  When I affiliate my name with a product, it is because I have found it to be of great value at a good price.  I still feel the initial product on law compliance for the internet was a good one.  But if anyone chooses to buy it, I encourage them to get off the mailing list ASAP.  Meanwhile, I'll hunt around for a company that doesn't make money by signing people up for things they did not ask for!

Ahh.  I feel better.  I couldn't go through the rest of my day until I had posted this for fear some of you might fall victim to something I had recommended!

I wish you all a great day and may you find value and integrity in your business dealings!

The Renegade Network Marketer Started It All

By the end of my first six months in business, I was out quite a bit of money, and had only made back about 1/6 of my investment.  I decided I needed to educate myself about marketing and did an internet search. 

Attraction Marketing and Lead Generation to the Rescue:

I came across several possible sources, but the big change came when I purchased Ann Sieg's The Renegade Network Marketer.  Forgive me for mentioning this so often on this blog, but this book changed everything about the way I was doing business!  I'm going to put in several links at this point, because each of these sites were part of my journey and have had a tremendous impact.

Building a Website:

On Ann Sieg's recommendation, I looked into SBI as a way to build my first website.  Wow!  Even though it took me six weeks to read and apply all the information provided by this incredible system, I was able to build a great site.  It was so good, that I bought a second site, which I have only just started but have been able to build in no time at all. 

 The system tracks my pages and gives me traffic stats, updated constantly.  If I have a broken link, I get an email.  Built in to the system is a keyword tool, access to the top sites for my keywords, forums on every topic imaginable, automatic search engine notification when I add or change my content, web mail, an autoresponder, the list goes on and on. 

The second site is called "How To Market Guide" and it's coming along nicely as my readers and clients request the information they need to see posted.

Finding Leads:

With the site up, I joined Ann Sieg's mlm team and am now able to work her leads, as I develop the marketing strategy which is bringing a growing stream of prospects to me directly. 

Network Marketing Training: 

Then came Renegade University with Mike Klingler.  Once again, the information and training I have received is incredible!  I started out in the free Renegade University program and took advantage of the training there.  I very quickly realized I wanted more and upgraded to the Professional level for $39 a month. 

I am given step by step visual instructions on all kinds of low to no-cost marketing strategies.  This blog is one of them.  I took Mike's tutorial on blogs.  At the end of the first hour, my blog was set up and had it's first article posted.  This is because you watch his screen as he builds his blog, and you are in your own screen creating yours at the same time!  To get tips on attraction network marketing, visit his Marketing Merge  Network blog.  

Summing Up the Second Six Months in Business: 

So, in this second half of my first year in business I have gone from buying huge amounts of inventory, and spending $21 a week on training with my mlm which wasn't helping me to make any real progress. 

 I have talked to people who have hired webmasters to build a site for $3000!  SBI and all its bells and whistles is $299 a year.  I spend $39 a month for Renegade U, and $7 a month for this blog.  My inventory for my mlm business runs $31 a month.  All other training - on every business topic you can imagine - comes free and over the internet so I don't have to travel anywhere.

I am one of the trainers for my team, giving a class on the Consultative Approach to working with clients.  I offer personal coaching for network marketers and small business owners at  Renegade University. The professional caliber of the people who are mentoring me is outstanding and I'm really seeing that this thing is going to be all I hoped it would!