Yes, I'm on the soapbox again, but that's my passion in life, helping you help yourself!  Today's topic is customer control and lists.

I recently was speaking to a vendor that I use on a fairly regular basis. I have a product that I am going to sell to others, or a method that I will share with others, and I was seeking an affiliate relationship from my vendor going forward. You see, the businesses that will learn this method will need this resource as one means of success and there will be a lot of people trying to get it.

When I called the vendor, I explained my intention and that I thought that I might (we'll say WILL) be sending a lot of folks his way and I was seeking a referral fee or affiliate arrangement. The vendor told me that he had another person that was doing this and that instead of having the new clients call the vendor directly, the other person would get a 25% discount and forward the requests to the vendor. He said he would do the same for me and was not interested in working with the new clients directly.

Now, what do you see is crazy about this??????????

First of all, the vendor is discounting the product 25% to a client that was already paying 100%......on this particular product, that is $25.

Secondly, the vendor just eliminated himself from up sells and other promotions to the new clients as he has no idea how to get in touch with these clients directly......and if the one vendor client decides to go somewhere else, the vendor completely loses out on all future business and referrals.

Moral of the story, don't miss out on an opportunity to speak DIRECTLY to new clients and maintain the relationship. Ensure that any opportunity to grow your list happens.

Just looking out for ya! What do you think?

If you need help with building a list or reaching new customers, contact us.We have a great new program starting called The Farm: Grow Your Business Organically from Seed to Success.