Advice On Presenting When I am NOT SELLING ANYTHING But People Think I am?

[dtaylor]

HI,

I have just commenced as an affiliate of a worldwide company which uses some Multi Level Marketing techniques, even though it's not MLM.

There is no product to 'sell,' no sign up fee for new members, I am meeting with heaps of people to explain how the concept works because it helps people earn cashback rewards from doing their everyday shopping.

What I am finding, is because of so many other MLM options out there, people are very closed off. Even though this is FREE, no obligation and no sign up fee. All they do is redirect their shopping to those businesses that are part of the community.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of referral business who can offer some advice on how to push past the barrier that most people have to hearing about something that "sounds too good to be true" even though there are no negatives to this program (well none that I have come across). I am genuine in my belief that this is of benefit to anyone wanting to save or even earn some money from everyday shopping.

Thanks for your advice.

[Wozcreative]

I'd imagine the downfall would be that people would need to go out and purchase from specific communities instead of their everyday stores. Is that correct?

What are you doing now to communicate the business? Are you going to these community locations and talking to people directly who are already there?

[MyITGuy]

But you are selling something....Your selling the fact that people may need to enroll into some form of program to obtain these rewards, and your also selling people on the need/desire to shop at a different store than what they are accustomed to.

I don't know about the people your dealing with and what their findings are...but I found that by shopping at my usual stops, I will save more money by paying the shelf price and using my credit card (Cash back rewards there), rather than trying to find deals, use coupons or other rewards programs at other stores.

But then, I also factor in time...because to me time is money. I'm not going to spend an hour looking through/clipping for coupons because the money I could 'save' was just lost in my labor/time that could've been spent better elsewhere.

[Wozcreative]

As a shopper, I'm usually more open to coupons/deals in the stores I'm already shopping at. A good example of time wasting for me is when I'm asked to sign up for all these gas station rewards cards.. why would I drive around to a place that I have coupons/rewards for if I need gas right away and that would defeat the purpose?

My other favourite is the "sign up with us and get a free gift, and a CC with rewards".... that's nice dear.. but I don't want my credit checked every single time there is some type of "CC rewards points" deal going around. Anytime someone checks your credit, it gets affected in one way or another. So no, it's not "free".

No idea what kind of deals your service provides, but you will need to target those places where people are already in (it may be their favourite place to shop), target those types of people who are more likely to use it (women because they carry so much crap with them all the time). Or visit certain lifestyle related places (where people are known to shop for deals).

[Harold Mansfield]

HI,

I have just commenced as an affiliate of a worldwide company which uses some Multi Level Marketing techniques, even though it's not MLM.
Then never use the words "Multi Level Marketing" EVER.


There is no product to 'sell,' no sign up fee for new members, I am meeting with heaps of people to explain how the concept works because it helps people earn cashback rewards from doing their everyday shopping.

What I am finding, is because of so many other MLM options out there, people are very closed off. Even though this is FREE, no obligation and no sign up fee. All they do is redirect their shopping to those businesses that are part of the community.

Yep. That is the problem. There have been a ton of these over the years (ShopAmerica.com and Beanz.com are the first two that I remember from the 90's), and people are burned out of them.

First of all, when it comes to "Cash back offers" the web has been notoriously "scammy" with these schemes, and even the legit ones can't really complete with the cash back set ups that people already have on their credit cards, which they can use to shop anywhere. Not to mention most don't last long and close up shop, leaving people out in the wind.




Does anyone have any experience with this type of referral business who can offer some advice on how to push past the barrier that most people have to hearing about something that "sounds too good to be true" even though there are no negatives to this program (well none that I have come across). I am genuine in my belief that this is of benefit to anyone wanting to save or even earn some money from everyday shopping.

Your approach here comes across as desperation and people can read that a mile away. You are also making the assumption that people will feel the same way about it as you do, if they would just give it a shot. You have to think of it from thier perception, not yours.
In reality, people are pretty loyal to where they trust to shop online, so credibility goes a long way to get them to try something new. For instance, I love, and trust Amazon, so it is doubtful that anyone right now can get me to use something other than Amazon, or to go through an Amazon affiliate.

You already know that people are not receptive to yet another one of these, so trying to sell it just like all of the others is the wrong approach.

I guess I don't have any answers and just reaffirmed what you already know. Hard to help without seeing what the business is all about and seeing if there are any features that stand out that would help promote it.

[DavidDeke]

Nothing Is Free! In your prospects' mind, they are obligated to do something, whether it's give up their email address, refer their friend to something they don't know about, time. And 99.9% of people are skeptical, pessimistic and not willing to do anything, they are not vested in. Even giving something away for free, is a hard sell. (Ever try to give away free bottled water, at the beach, only to have people ask questions, say no, or convince them there's no catch? I have, it's still a hurdle.)

[billbenson]

Nothing Is Free! In your prospects' mind, they are obligated to do something, whether it's give up their email address, refer their friend to something they don't know about, time. And 99.9% of people are skeptical, pessimistic and not willing to do anything, they are not vested in. Even giving something away for free, is a hard sell. (Ever try to give away free bottled water, at the beach, only to have people ask questions, say no, or convince them there's no catch? I have, it's still a hurdle.)

I agree. Free to many people implies it has no value. Depending on the item, when I search for something I want to buy on the web, I don't necessarily buy the least expensive option. If someone offered me something for free I'm going to say to myself 'what's the catch?' Of course there will be the really cheap people who don't think that way. Maybe that's your market?

[dtaylor]

Wow, thanks so much for the feedback. It really is interesting seeing so many different perspectives on what I personally see as a "no-brainer" but that's the joy of working with people, right?

This rewards concept breaks most of the molds of those tried in the past, in that it covers all industries, products and services. The idea is one reward card that you earn cash back (not points or widgets or something you need to spend at a specific store), there is no credit check as this is no a CC, but YES the shoppers do need to consider where they are spending their $$ (not on what they are spending it on). Benefits can be earned at Sears, Kmart, Walmart and many other major stores plus lots of online and small businesses.

So, I understand all of the above questions and objections, but whats the answer? This is something that gives people money back for things they would have bought anyway. Isn't something better than nothing? Also it applies on services too, like accountant, hair cut, dentist, holiday bookings - who wouldn't want this for free with no obligation to spend on anything?

So, the way I look at it is this, I am offering something of absolute value to people. This will help them EARN money from money they were going to spend anyway!

With this in mind, what suggestions might you offer that would persuade YOU?

Thanks so much for contributing.

[Steve B]

I would not be interested - there is nothing you could do or say to persuade me. Sorry - I just wouldn't be interested. I'm sure that sounds crazy to you, but I won't give up anything (e-mail, phone number etc.) for any type of a discount.

[Harold Mansfield]

So, I understand all of the above questions and objections, but whats the answer? This is something that gives people money back for things they would have bought anyway. Isn't something better than nothing? Also it applies on services too, like accountant, hair cut, dentist, holiday bookings - who wouldn't want this for free with no obligation to spend on anything?

So, the way I look at it is this, I am offering something of absolute value to people. This will help them EARN money from money they were going to spend anyway!

With this in mind, what suggestions might you offer that would persuade YOU?
Thanks so much for contributing.

I don't know. People have been trying to answer that question with these types of offers for years now. Here's what I think the problem is:

Everything you ( and other simular programs) have said all makes sense from your position. But are you really selling something that people want, or trying to make them see the value in something that they haven't asked for? The words "Cash back" have been so over used by marketers that people are almost numb to it. Everyone knows that there's a catch, and at this point a lot of people just don't have the interest in finding out what it is or singing up for something that now puts them on the mailing list of 100 companies.

Consumers are more open to a discount NOW, as opposed to the promise of a reward later and I think this is where these programs fail. Not to mention, as I said before, most people already have some kind of cash back set up with their cards.

It's been overdone.

So these are your messaging hurdles. How do you overcome them? I wish I could tell you. Even as I sit here, a person who shops online almost exclusively, the idea of signing up for a cashback/rewards thingy just really makes me feel kind of "Meh". I'm just not exited about 3rd party shopping programs. It also makes me weary when new marketers find me, as opposed to me discovering offers on my own.

Now, on the flip side there are people out there who live for deals, discounts, coupons, rewards, contests, sweepstakes and so on. Seems to me that's your target market. Not the average consumer that buys a few things online every now and then. So maybe it's a combination of the message, and who you are targeting.

This...

This is something that gives people money back for things they would have bought anyway. Isn't something better than nothing? ...So, the way I look at it is this, I am offering something of absolute value to people. This will help them EARN money from money they were going to spend anyway!
...will never work as your prime argument. It's a combination of not understanding consumers, and frustration over not knowing how to market your product. It's not about how you look at it. It's about how consumers look at it. Of course your opinion of it is favorable..it's your product.

Online you can't sell to people who aren't interested. You have to bring them to you, and then close them. If the general public is your target audience, you will need to do some creative and honest marketing to get people to look at another one of these. And by all means, make sure it's easy.

If it were me, I would probably do more "10% cash back on all Walmart.com purchases", and "Cashback on all your Sears.com purchases" (that is, if you can use their names in your marketing) than I would beating my head against the wall trying to sell the scheme all at once.

If you can't use their names in your ads and marketing, then I'd do the same thing but with products, "10% cashback on your next brand name refrigerator" or something like that.

I'd use my assets individually to attract people and then insure that my landing page was ready to close the deal. I'd probably almost certainly use a animated video to sell it. And I'd makes sure that signing up was really easy, and let people know that they will not be spammed with offers.

Creative and a well developed marketing plan is what is needed to even give it a shot and draw attention to your business. It has to be as professional and well thought out as the merchants that you are partnered with. You can't put together a $500 website to sell a partnership with billion dollar company.

Like I said, this has been done a million times before, but if I were doing it, that's probably the direction that I'd go.

[KristineS]

Someone is making money somewhere and the people you're pitching to are most likely wondering who that is and how the money is being made. You can make the no strings argument all you want, but obviously, you're not telling people about this out of the goodness of your heart, and the company that is running the program isn't doing it as a non-profit program. So most people are probably wondering what the catch is and how the program generates revenue. That might be something you want to address. Do the stores pay a fee to be involved? How does the program generate revenue for the company that offers it and is there anyway that can boomerang on the people who sign up.

There isn't any such thing as a "no-brainer" when it comes to these programs. Almost everyone has been burned at one time or another and so most consumers are cautious. You have to anticipate their objections and questions and answer them before they come up.