The fast buck versus longevity. Food for thought. Your thoughts?

Hi!

Tick tock, 12 o'clock. Too early to sleep and too late to really start any intense programming. Perhaps, though, enough time to start an exchange of thoughts?

I've been counting my email lately. I average 200-300 pieces of email a day. About half spam. The other half divided between business prospects and people that want to know how to get rich online while they watch tv. The latter of the two bring to mind a quote that I like...


"In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest."
(Henry Miller)

But, you know, I don't fault these people for asking. Everywhere you turn, there are people offering manuals and programs that will "run your website on autopilot"... "make money by adding a link - it's a no-brainer" ... and on, and on. I'm sure you know what I mean. You've seen them, too.
Maybe you've tried some of them.

Right after I hung up, I got my daily issue of I-Sales. The hot topic of the day is ethics online.
I'd like to share an expert from it...

(exerpt from I-Sales)

I-SALES DIGEST

==> TOPIC: BUSINESS ETHICS

From: (deleted for anonymity)

While not wishing to slam a well known "name" in public, I do think
the whole ROIbot issue is open for discussion. Now, I believe
"Aesop" are the agents for the Jay Conrad Levinson book, so there is
no fraudulent intent there. It is the same as if you bought the book
from a publisher, the publisher would get a cut, the writer would
get a cut.

However I believe ROIbot itself is a slightly underhanded marketing
ploy. After using the free service I was continually offered more
services, saying "why not give it a try, its only $17?" Assuming
this was a one off expense I did give it a try, only to find my
credit card charged this amount each month.

When I found I could get all the same functions from free CGI
scripts on my own server, I sent a note asking to cancel at the end
of my sub, which had around ten days to run. About one hour later,
all my Roibot paid services had been deleted. Thank God I wasn't
using their newsletter service to hold my subscriber list!

I think Aesop Marketing is a very successful marketing company that
has a broad enough base to be able to ignore the odd disgruntled
customer. I see a lot of others eyeing up their market though, so
who knows how long the dream will last.
(end exerpt from I-Sales)

I've been developing websites since 1996. I could have installed stats and referral logs and every other bell and whistle on my domain and let my customers use them for free... fully knowing that their links would drive me through the roof in the search engines. Anyone that understands linkback rate knows the value of those links.
But - I don't do that. Why? Because my bottom line is to ensure that my clients succeed. They succeed by promoting their own site with every link and every ad they run, not by promoting my url.

In the long run, when they succeed, I do, too. Why? Because they tell their friends about what I do.

I know of another "hot" program that has hit the net. It offers all the bells and whistles that you can have on your own site... and only costs about 5 times more than it would cost to put those same programs on your own domain. Cool deal. For the person selling it. But no problem... when it dies it's death, the creator will come up with another handy, dandy program.

Dreams die hard, and I know that people that fall for all this stuff have dreams. That they are looking for guidance to achieve their dreams.. and that far too many of them become the gullible prospects that build the wealth of others. I sit back and watch, and it makes me sad.

I subscribe to an ezine produced by one of my clients. He ran a survey a while ago asking people what the one thing they wish they could find online. I replied. I said that what the web needs most is a "BS Meter" so that people trying to get a business off the ground could hold up the BS meter and if it buzzed, they'd move on. *laughing*

I've had people come right out and ask me why I always go against the flow. With the current statistics indicating that the majority of websites are not profitable, I sure don't want to go with the flow. You know?

So... despite all the rambling, what's your thought. Is there too much of the "fast buck artist" out there? How do you decide who to do business with? What gives you a comfort level? Ever been stung? Wanna share?

Okay... getting off soapbox.

: )
Just my two cents..
(three with the exchange)
Linda




Your image - is my business

Wherever there is great demand dubious tactics flourish..

Think about markets such as replacement windows, insurance, home improvements, second hand car sales and even WEB DESUGN SALES (If you don't believe me about web design sales ask a business owner how many calls the've had over the last month and listen to what he thinks of us as a group!We're seen as the bad guys
out there)

What these markets all have in common is a massive rush of supply to meet the demand. What automatically happens is these conditions attract the fast buck artists loooking for an easy killing.(The automobile market through the 20's and 30's was almost exclusively controlled by gangsters)

So it goes in cycles. First stage villainy. The second stage direct sales people (ie large sales forces selling insurance, home iprovements etc)
And now in the information age the curse is BS.

But the fact is, the people who have the character and integrity to sell ethically in these markets are making millions.

The key is to make high sales resistance work FOR you. If you do this you can turn your product or service into sales generating machines

Whats the next stage? People hypnotising us from a computer screen. Joke Gordon. LOL
Regards
Andy




How to make high sales resistance work for you....

Nice bit of prose there. I was stung more than once, by the promise of quick internet riches. I was gullible and vunerable. the perfect target for the scammers. But here's the thing. It doesn't matter to me now, because that's what it took for me to learn. Andy has an excellent point too. The ones that really have something to offer will make millions. Why? Because the ones who have been burned, will have that much more hunger for the real thing. Although a bit more resistance, I might add. But that's not necessarily a disadvantage, because they will become more educated and be better able to sniff out the real thing. And the smartest marketers will simply find a way or ways use all the hypesters to their advantage.

Just my lil ol opinion,

Tom

Linda,

I fully agree with what you said!

I'm a bit disturbed by some of the practices of some marketers online....

A common practice online on some web sites is the constantly changing "expiry" date.... Order by a certain date, and you'll get all these extras! And yet, that date changes every day.... I think it is generally illegal to do this in a real-world store, yet people get away with doing it online....

How to decide who to do business with? I think, after a while, you can generally tell which people are trustworthy, by how they behave.... Though it is harder to do this online than in person. But I still think it's generally possible, nevertheless.... :)

Thanks Linda for bringing up this important topic.... Many non-business people are uncomfortable about doing business at all, because in some circles business has the image of being something immoral and exploitative -- when it doesn't have to be. I think having a "WIN/WIN" philosophy is important to being ethical in business....

As long as you try to be sure that others you deal with are also getting good benefits, as well as you, I think you can feel comfortable that you are trying to do the right thing.... :)

I'm still learning this stuff, but I really do believe that business is about relationships.... And being based on good relationships, you have to treat people well (as best you can) so that you can have good "long-term" relationships -- rather than just a series of "one night stands"!

Dien Rice