You Beg
Nobody wants to be USED and business people are not stupid. I get two kinds of calls daily: those who have their budgets in place, see the value of what I do and are ready to buy NOW (these are the clients I LOVE the most) and those who want to use my brand to make money for themselves but they position it like they are helping me. For example. A man from an “established” Internet company called me a few weeks ago and was bragging about all the major corporations that use his services and how successful they have become and how much money his company has made. Then he asked me to do “affiliate advertising” for his company on my site, a brand that I have built for 18 years. “Affiliate Advertising” is when you run their ads, basically for free and if anyone contacts him and buys his services he will give you a percentage of the sale. To me, that##Q##s a foolish gamble. I don##Q##t work for you. You need MY services. In addition, I have employees to pay and that##Q##s real estate on my site that I can use for a paying client. Finally, how do I KNOW who is buying your services from my site and whether or not you WILL pay me for it. NO THANKS! If you are making SO much money from the other corporations, invest in your own corporation and RESPECT other business owners and PAY for the space you want on my site. When you have established your brand NEVER and I mean NEVER give anything away for FREE, the potential client will never see the monetary value in what you do if you do. Another annoyance is people who have ideas that involve my brand and me doing all the work to get THEM in the door then there is the promise of using me once they get hired. These are what I call “Beggars” and “Carrot Danglers” they are telling you everything you need to know about them. Your business is not a welfare agency, a volunteer service or a bathroom at a gas station. KNOW YOUR VALUE and stick by it. People like this KNOW YOUR VALUE because they are reaching out to you in the first place. Yet, they are full of shit/game and they are trying to use what you have worked hard for to THEIR advantage not yours. If they don##Q##t have money or contacts today, they won##Q##t have it tomorrow. Screw a promise Marry COD.