The Agreement Seekers Blog

How many times have you heard… the key is NOT to sell?. People do business with people? People don’t care how much you know until you know how much you care? There are a whole host of these phrases that have curb appeal but you never seem to get invited inside of the house to get a sense of what it really feels, smells and looks like. Without taking this analogy to the front door and into the foyer, I want to respect your time and intelligence and talk in very plain terms about some very practical “stuff” you need to get your head around. I respect the fact that you are seeking to change your financial situation, this inherently involves risks; and your experience (in all probability) is littered with false starts, disappointments and skepticism. I’ve been there. So , if the premise (the goal) here is to create and maintain a predictable source of income, what are the real world factors that enable it? There are a lot of people “out there” saying that your head-has-to-be-in...

One of the bad raps throughout the history of Affiliate Marketing is that it is a family and friends business... make a list of your warm market (your dentist, landscaper and dry cleaner, etc) and then once that warm market "dries up" - then what? We do not recommend going anywhere near your warm market until you have built a successful business and you have results to share and a story that demonstrates how you got there. So, if we are advocating cold markets... and not wanting to sift through thousands of people to attract a very low percentage of them, then where do we find an easy, natural market? The bottom line here is this:  choose something and get going.  Getting into profit as quickly as possible is essential to your business, both as personal motivation, as an example to those you are wanting to attract to your business.  "What you did" becomes a part of your story.  It gives you credibility and moral authority.  A reasonable "first goal" ...

Provocative title?  If I were to paint the world with a very wide brush and allow my jaded skeptical side to be the paint, I could characterize every person who does not "see it" and join our business this way. However, for better or for worse, I have come to learn and accept that people not "seeing it" boils down to one of three things; The first is timing.  When your "thing" comes across the awareness of someone who may be potentially interested in your business, it may simply not be the right time in their life.  They may have all the skills and motivation, but due to other things going on in their life, it would simply serve as too much of a distraction to make everything make sense. The second is lack of commitment and discipline.  To make a business work requires time and effort.  Many (most?) people simply do not have what it takes and can not change their lifestyles to the extent that it takes to focus on business building activities. The th...

If you have ever been swirling in debt; and- If you currently have bills not met. If retirement planning seems like a cruel joke And in your golden years it appears you’ll still be broke. If your fate looks cloudy and most unclear, Then heed these words and face these fears. With values and purpose people come together, Interdependently, with great care and measure. Supporting the idea of economic gain And in the process shed financial strain. Some call it community, some form a tribe, Mastermind groups, there’s good reason why – Common purpose, support and “group” thinking Can buoy lives and keep them from sinking. What we offer, or what we sell, Matters much less than our ability to tell A straightforward story that is clear and true Develop trust and friendships for all they’re due. Ambiguity, risk and lack of skills Make those who stay poor head for the hills. But those who give patience and knowledge a chance. Can learn and gr...

There is a problem most of us share.  We struggle to get by, financially.  I am not certain you would want to wear the label, but I am certain I among the working poor. In my view, this is a relative term based upon how your income stacks up against your bills.  I define the working poor more in terms of the amount of stress that is induced by not having enough money to do the things you want. For most of us, there are reasons we have continued to live hand-to-mouth, have little to no investment income or simply have no money in savings.   We each have our cross to bear...  my wife characterizes our lifestyle as, "the very low end of comfortable". What this means as a practical matter is that we can meet all of our bills, go out to dinner once in a while... but we do not hold season tickets to the theater, we drive a 3 year old sub-compact car and we have not gone on a real vacation in a few years.  When we did, we decided to splurge and blow our tax ...

Of all the ways to make money, from the conventional to the less conventional, there has to be value in what is offered - significant enough to compel a purchase.  From a 6 year old selling lemonade in front of their house on a hot day, to a mansion on a bluff overlooking the ocean - both have to have perceived value.  A neighbor wants to quench their thirst and help a child, or a family with the means to afford it, wanting a stunning view of the harbor.  In either case, there is something driving the decision. Opportunity Marketing is a bit different, in the fact that the "value" is in the "opportunity" to make money.  Although with all companies that promote money-making-opportunities, there has to be a product for sale, the real ethos that drives participation is not the products, but the money that can be earned.  The question is, is this inherently a good or bad thing? So, let me ask a question:  Is earning money an end in itself?  Or, why do ...

I want to talk about the maligned reputation of Network Marketing.  There are companies that utilize this model and have the naming rights to a professional sports franchise stadium (Amway Center), sponsor a major league soccer team (HerbalLife), and credibly post on major job boards as "legitimate" careers (Avon, MaryKay Cosmetics). The problem, frankly, is not the business model itself, but the failure rate of the people trying to make it work.  These are two separate issues. Network Marketing, Multi-Level Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Word of Mouth Marketing... notice that they all end in the word marketing.  So what is marketing, anyway?  The simple explanation is that it is the practice of getting your message in front of someone to evaluate.  Marketing is engaging people in a conversation. But do we need to use the word "marketing" at all?  After all, marketing presupposes a lot.  It infers there are skills, tools, strategies, budgets, va...