BJM Free Press |

DO YOU GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS ENOUGH INFORMATION TO WORK YOUR PROGRAM?

Of course you do — right? Check again! More often than not I have watched people join a program, receive a camera-ready circular and are expected to know what to do with it. While the originator of the program knows exactly what to do, most of your customers do not. What may seem like common sense to you is not as understandable to others who purchase it.

Every program you sell should come with an instruction sheet. Just like any product you purchase will come with an instruction sheet. The blow dryer for my hair even came with an instruction sheet and who doesn’t know how to operate a blow dryer? It just makes good business sense to include an instruction sheet or booklet with anything you sell.

And guess what? This sheet or booklet can be used to YOUR advantage. By explaining step-by-step how the program works, what it’s goals are, the benefits of working it and what steps to take in order to work it properly, you can offer different options to your customer to help them. If you supply camera-ready circulars, you could offer to print copies, supply pre-printed envelopes and mailing list names for an additional price. This is called “back-end” sales.

And if you don’t provide these items, you can find a wide range of mail order dealers that can. Hook up with a good supplier who will reduce their prices slightly so you can make a profit and send orders directly to them from your “back-end” sales. This little bit of extra money is what helps your program become more financially solid.

One problem that so many programs fail is because they are not managed and structured properly. Remember the old saying: “A 3-legged stool is not easily broken?” It’s true. The more “branches” you have in a program that generates some cash flow the better. DON’T get this confused with nickel-and-diming people to death. Just give them the product they pay for and offer them extra products they can purchase that compliments what they already have.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when you are the Prime Source of any program is to promote the program your dealers are also promoting. Instead of it bringing in more money it has the opposite effect — it destroys the program!

Let’s say that Melanie joins Jeff’s program. Jeff is the Prime Source and provides Melanie with a camera-ready circular with her name on it. Melanie begins printing and mailing the circular in her own mailings but one day she spots Jeff advertising his own circular in a tabloid. What does Melanie do? She STOPS mailing her circular.

Why? Because Jeff looks like a greedy dealer who is after all the profit. Jeff is only giving Melanie 50% when people respond to her circular and Jeff gets 100% if people respond to his circular. Also — Melanie does not want to be in competition with Jeff and drops out of the program. It’s not fair to Melanie.

And what happens to Jeff’s potential income when all his dealers see the circulars with his name on them? You got it — they all drop out. Now what happens to Jeff’s income? Right again — it drops considerably!

Instead, Jeff should pick out a few of his dealers who are trying their best to make money with his program and offer to mail pre-printed circulars for them free of charge. Remember that Jeff is making money from every sale generated by his dealers, so by promoting his own product he is still making money. Besides — if he helps his dealers make a few dollars, what will his dealers do? That’s right — they’ll keep participating in Jeff’s program and most of them will re-invest the commission money they make into printing and mailing more of them.

Also, when they begin to make a little money, they will tell everybody they know what a wonderful program Jeff has. And guess what? Jeff will get more dealers promoting his program — which means more money for Jeff in the long run. Jeff’s a success because he made his dealers a success.

And finally — Jeff’s reputation will be escalated because all his dealers will know he’s an honest guy to do business with. Guess what? Jeff’s business income increases! Not just because of the program but because people are interested in other things Jeff sells.

It’s only good business sense to help your dealers by providing them with tips and information to work your program. Sure, there will always be people who buy into your program and not work them — but you’ll lose a lot more money if you step on their toes and become their competition! Be wise!

BE NICE - GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE TIPS!!

So often we forget that our customers are our boss. I think I discovered one significant reason why most of us fall into this “rut.”

The day we began our business we were as happy as could be. The customer was king! We didn’t have many orders so we bent over backwards to make sure that all our customers were happy. Some of us might have even went overboard and “went into the hole” just because we were so overjoyed that we had received a customer order! What a thrill!

But, later on, we became much busier. We were putting in long hours, neglecting family and social life and realizing that being in business does have it’s gloomy side. While we tried our best to give each customer personal attention, some customers couldn’t be pleased if we hung ourselves with a new rope!

Therefore, new policies had to be established. Prices had to increase for you to invest into business growth. And somewhere in-between all this we lost the zeal for customer satisfaction. Instead of the customer being “king” he/she was now a “pawn.”

What originally began as an eager desire to please your customers has now turned into a daily struggle. But who could blame you? You can remember spending $100 and 30 hours of time trying to help a beginner get started in mail order. However, after that beginner learned all your trade secrets they left owing you money and never giving you the time of day again. This made you cautious.

Then how about the customer that pretended they were going to send you a $500 order, wasted an hour or so of your time (and long-distance phone charges) just to get them quotes before they sent in their money. Then — after all the toil and added expenses, you never heard from the customer again. How irritating! At least, you thought, they could have sent you a “Thank You Note” for all the trouble they put you though.

But 20 minutes later, you get another phone call from a customer wanting to put you through the same thing. Only this time — the guy is serious. Do you give this guy the same treatment you gave to the first customer? As a human being — you normally can’t because you are ruled by emotion. It takes someone with a lot of self-confidence in their own character to treat each customer like a big business!

Hey — that’s it! Just treat every customer you talk to the same way you would treat someone from a big business — who was getting ready to send you a $10,000 order! That will do it!

Unfortunately, some business owners allow owning a business to go to their heads. After they start becoming successful, the owner will think he/she is “king” and makes all the rules. He/she feels that their reputation speaks for itself and customer’s are eager just to do business with them.

This normally happens because income increases and you don’t “need” certain customers who you feel have been a thorn in your side. But although it is perfectly fine to do this — if you dispel a customer solely based on the “amount” and “quantity” of orders he or she sends you — that’s a BIG mistake. Those small guys and gals might just grow up and become BIGGER businesses than you someday! Wouldn’t you rather have them on your side? Wouldn’t you rather be in a position to work with them — perhaps on a multi-million-dollar contract together? One never knows what the future holds so try to BE NICE — even if you have to grin and bear it!

That’s why it’s even more important to stop and think again. Are you guilty of having a business ownership ego? If you allow it to go too far you could lose your business entirely. Egos are a very tricky thing to deal with. A hurt ego’s downside is normally jealousy, deceit and even criminal activity. Rage does nothing but tear you up emotionally inside and always erupts in bad behavior and lost relationships. Never, ever, go into a rage over the phone. If other people are screaming at you — you will either calm them down by remaining calm ourselves or show them up for being emotionally unstable. Rage is truly the result of an unstable personality trait. It’s really NOT normal. So get with the program and be calm (and nice.)

Everyone is in business to make money — however, making it at someone else’s expense is suicide! Perhaps some of you reading this are laughing inside yourself. You know I speak the truth! If you are the least bit intelligent you can easily see that making a fast buck through the expense of other people is a way to live a very short life. If you can only see the moment and not the future in your life — you belong back in grade school, perhaps kindergarten! It’s true that . . .

Humility Demonstrates Superiority!

WHY DON’T WE HAVE A GOOD PEOPLE ALERT?

I’m glad to know that “Hambro Sudefy” is a scam artist but I want to deal with a good mail order company. Where do I turn? What do I do?

This problem faces many of the beginners in mail order today. That’s why it’s important for publishers to not copy the news media and only report derogatory information — but publish the good stuff too.

While scams and rip-offs should NEVER be ignored and are the best ways to prohibit their growth, why don’t more people start writing about the company who “did” issue them a refund check? Or the dealer that was late processing their order but “did” put 250 extra copies in the box to compensate for the delay?

Yes folks, they’re out there! People just don’t take the time to point them out to other people. It’s really not fair! They get their order and everything is fine so they have no reason to complain. They will place another order in the future but will never tell anyone else about them unless a problem arises.

I think it’s time a lot of us started bringing out the “good” side of the coin. People need to see the “Right” and “Wrong” of an issue. Being exposed to “Wrong” all the time is a distorted way to conduct your life and your business.

In fact — here’s a partial list of some GOOD people to help you get started. Please take the time to write these people FIRST because this report may be old by the time you read it. I have taken precautions to only list people who have been in business quite awhile and are likely to stay in business for a long time to come. However, people can die, move, become ill and get out of business altogether. Keep trying until you do hook up with some of them and they will help introduce you to others like themselves.

List of Good People We Recommend:

Don Harris, PO Box 1052, Oviedo FL 32765
Artcraft Press, PO Box 225, Mankato MN 56002-0225
Ken Weiand, PO Box 624, Cherokee Village AR 72525
Harland DeGroot, 2765 W Jefferson #H, Springfield IL 62702
David Dye, PO Box 1002, Battle Creek MI 49016
Robyn Marie Hormel, 4615 Takilma Rd, Cave Junction OR 97523
Marianne Hunter, PO Box 50027, Reno NV 89513
Gary Davis, PO Box 80, Foyil OK 74031
Coal Publishing, 27 So. 4th Ave, Highland Park NJ 08904
Graphico Publishing, PO Box 488, Bluff City TN 37618
Lori Thorn, 1807 Stillwater #5, St Paul MN 55119
Glenn Bridgeman, PO Box 10150, Terra Bella CA 93270
Tom Leash, 64 W Main St, Dallastown PA 17313
C J Nelson, 1825 Domanik Dr, Racine WI 53404
William Thrailkill, Jr, 4811 - 16th Ave, Chattanooga TN 37407
Thomas McCrary, PO Box 64, South Holland IL 60473
Carl O’Shea, PO Box 700, Baldwin Park CA 91706
Jerry Goodwin, PO Box 429, Johnson City KS 67855
Gail Lamothe, PO Box 46, Derby VT 05829
Dale Rolland, 2045 Deer Trail, Floresville TX 78114
Don Smith, PO Box 7600, Newark DE 19714
Maynard Hawkins, PO Box 3403, Wichita Falls TX 76301

And Remember:

You have to ALSO be a good person to benefit the rewards and help of a good person. You can’t go into a relationship with any of these people with the sole thought of “using” them until you make some money. Instead, you should treasure these people as a breath of fresh air. Dealing with honest people will save you lots and lots of money. Treat them like the gems they really are and you and your business will certainly be successful in the long run. Good luck to you.

HANDWRITTEN NOTES ARE FINE IF YOU CAN WRITE

My intentions here are not to make you feel horrible and degraded because you write handwritten notes. Besides, it’s easier to pick up a sticky note, write the words “Send me more information,” stick it in an envelope and respond to an ad.

The only problem is. What happens if the guy or gal on the other end can’t read your writing? What happens if they can’t read your address? How can they possibly fill your order?

One of the major problems I have experienced with beginners is that they don’t put their return address on the envelope. There is no excuse for this! Walter Drake will sell you 1,000 address labels for $1.00. They may look cheap, but I can read your address without any problem and at least contact you if I don’t know “what” you’re ordering.

Let me give you an example of how an order was submitted to me a couple months ago. Please understand this is only a facsimile (not a real address.) I don’t want to embarrass anybody:

POB 9776 RNV

Now, you tell me — what does this say? Instead of throwing the request away, I put it in my “hold” file, hoping that somebody would come along that could decipher this address or claim it. But do you know “what” the above example is translated as?

PO Box 9776, Reno NV

That’s right! The guy wrote me a few weeks later wondering what had happened to his order and I was able to finally decipher his handwriting this time.

People in Nevada might know that “RNV” means Reno, Nevada but I sure didn’t. I thought it meant “Registered Nurse something!”

However, this incident also alerted me to something too because I had been guilty of the same thing in the past. In fact — I used to write “Cols” for “Columbus.” People in Ohio automatically knew that “Cols” was an abbreviation but the other 49 states and foreign countries didn’t.

One problem with many people who begin a mail order business is that they have NEVER been in business before. They have no idea how to fold a business-size letter to fit in a business-size envelope. Many have never worked in an office environment before and have no clue about running an office effectively. They are taught by some to hand-address envelopes so that people will open them. In fact, I just read something the other day that came through the mail that said: “Using mailing labels on your envelopes will get 88% of your letters tossed in the trashcan!” THIS IS INSANE!! They tell you this nonsense because they know their mailing list is bad and they want to have an excuse for not bringing you any orders.

The fact is — ANY legitimate mail order dealer will open an envelope REGARDLESS of what is on the outside. They are only concerned with the contents INSIDE the envelope. Ask yourself: Do you go through your mail each day and throw away anything with a label on the outside? If you do, you are definitely part of the minority. EVERYONE uses labels these days.
It is the age of the computer folks! No one has the time to hand-address envelopes anymore. Hand-addressing them only show that you are a newcomer to business.

But, back to the problem at hand. If you have been mentally programmed to believe that hand-addressing envelopes and hand-writing your return address on your materials is okay, make sure people can READ your writing plainly. PRINT rather than write. Make sure people can easily see your “a” is not an “e.” And by all means — if you have an uncommon name, print it plainly. You wouldn’t believe how many people scribble their name for me to typeset on an ad, then complain when I spell their name wrong. One customer’s first name was “Armuond” and I could only make out the “Ar” and “nd.” I naturally had to assume the name was “Arnold” but the customer got very upset and mad at me because I didn’t read his writing correctly.

So, before you get upset and wonder “why” you never received an order ask yourself if you originally sent it with a handwritten note and/or abbreviated address. Chances are the company may not have been able to read your handwriting! And to combat this problem in the future — please invest $80 in a typewriter or $300 in a starter computer. If you can’t make this investment right now, then work your regular job until you can. And last but not least — if you have no exposure to office procedures, go get a book at the library and learn the bare minimum basics, please!

BUSINESS IDEA FOR BEGINNERS

Did you know that you can market mail order materials in your own area, to your own friends and co-workers without losing any money? It’s easy! All you have to do is find a product, mark up the price to take care of your commission and sell it.

One of the easiest items to sell in your local area is printing. Call any print shop (Minuteman, Quik Print, Pip, etc.) and ask them the price for printing 1,000 copies of the same original (one-side). Prices will differ across the nation, but I have found the medium range to be between $60 and $90. However, most mail order printer’s prices range between $20 and $30 for the same job! That’s about a 50% difference — even going by the lowest local rates.

Okay — now we have an idea. Let’s do our preparation and I’ll lead you step-by-step into the marketing of this idea. Let’s stick with our example of printing. Before you begin to advertise printing services in your local area, you need to locate an honest and good mail order printer. If you don’t, you will be stuck with unsatisfied customers if the order isn’t right.

In order to locate a good printer, you will need to read mail order publications. Compare prices and services. Look at the quality of their advertisement. Is it professional looking? Does the printing look sloppy? Find a printer with the lowest prices but the most services. It is more important to have someone who is reliable, ships on time and never lets you down versus saving $1 per order.

Three printers we recommend are, however, there are many other good ones in mail order:

Kem’s Graphics
549 Friendship Rd
Seneca, SC 29678

JRS Printing
PO Box 2508
Calcutta, OH 4392

Tom Leash
64 W Main St
Dallastown, PA 17313

To get a current Big Mail of up-to-date information, write to the following and request a copy of their current publications to get you started:

George Norr
PO Box 70268
Salt Lake City, UT 84170

G&B Records
PO Box 10150
Terra Bella, CA 93270

Once you’ve narrowed your company selections down to a few choice ones, you probably will want to send each of them a small order. Keep records of the date you sent each order and how long it took to get back. I would mail all my orders on the same day. This way, you would automatically know “which” printer was the fastest in shipping orders. (This fact is very important when dealing with local customers who want their order yesterday or last week.)

Now, compare the quality of the printers you have selected. Choose the best! Remember, when you deal with local customers you will have to provide the same type of commercial quality they are used to receiving locally. Even though they will be paying less, no customer should expect “less.” Your business will grow if you offer the same quality for less money.

After you have selected the printer you want to use, write them a letter. Explain that you are going to market their services locally and would like to obtain their “best” price. Often times, they will discount their prices even more just to get repeat business. This brings you in more commissions.

Now, all that’s left is to make yourself a price sheet listing YOUR prices (marked up from the prices your printer charges you and how much the same item sells for locally). Pass these price sheets out at work. Place on car windshields. Tack on bulletin boards. Advertise in the paper. Drop off at small business establishments. Contact people in the paper who are planning a wedding or pass out flyers in your neighborhood. When you get an order, you keep your portion of the customer’s money and send the order to your printer, who normally dropships to you or your customer.

This is only one idea for selling mail order printing in your local area. There are 1,000’s of other mail order products that are superior as well as a lot of talented folks who provide exceptional products that cannot be purchased at all locally! Just choose one that interests you and find a way to sell it in your neighborhood.

Another way of selling locally is by contacting Coal Publishing, 27 South 4th Ave, Highland Park NJ 08904. Start a newspaper in your area and have local businesses place advertisements. When you have secured advertisers, send the ads and payment to Coal’s “Small Business Keeps America Growing” newspaper services. Copies are professionally printed and shipped back to you. Have kids and teenagers help you distribute them and you’re in business. This idea can net you as much as $1,000+ per week once you build up the advertisers for it.

Selling locally is the quickest and easiest way to start a business of your own without any money. It’s better than working for McDonalds. Just look around — opportunities do exist everywhere!