I’ve seen a marketing tactic being used more and more often.
It may appear to be effective on the surface, but in the end, I find it disturbing, harmful, and short-sighted.
You may or may not agree, but here’s my two-cents on the subject…
Go into Google and do a search for your company.
What do you find in the sponsored ads at the top and right side of the page?
There’s a very good chance that most will read something like this…
W—– M—– Review
Why —– wasn’t for me. Easier way
you can make 6-figures this year!
www.——-.com
Why I Passed on —— Automated Travel Sales. Earn 1K-9K per sale and Talk to No One.Turnkey www.——-.com
An —– Alternative Free Income Success Secrets w/ Top Earners! $25K/ mo. without Selling. www.——-.com
C—-l, L—, E—- etc No. No. No! You Will Be Squashed See What Is Taking The Net By Storm www.——.com
Alternative to —— Grow Real Wealth and Keep It Immediate Business Overview www.——.com
Got G—-, X—-? Get V—- New E—– 2.0 The Most Potent Liquid Dietary Supplement Drink www.——.com
Compare Before Joining All 3 in One – $125,000 in 6 Months Superior Product, Pay Plan, Systems www.—–.com
Why I Didn’t Join. The untold story. Real facts they don’t want you to know. www.—–.com
You probably get my point.
Negativity. Company bashing.
Pay Per Click advertising is glutted with people playing the “mine is better than yours” game.
And here’s what must be considered…
Yes. Negative ads that elicit questions and warnings will get the highest click-through-rates because they tap into a primal human instinct…
Fear.
No one wants to make a mistake. No one wants to look like a fool, and so they’ll click and they’ll read. Doubt will be shoved down their throats, and the person who owns the site will undoubtedly offer to show them the “true” path, and save them from making a “big mistake” with that other company…
But is this really smart? Is this responsible? Is this truly serving people and this industry, or is it creating a mess of confusion, mistrust, and petty cannibalism?
Are these people truly serving themselves and the prosperity of their business?
In the short-run, yes… These tactics will lead to new distributors and more sales, but in the long-run, no because this continued cannibalism will only lead to a business that resembles a revolving door.
Furthermore, I personally think pursing personal gain at the expense of others (company bashing by name), shows a lack of respect, fear of loss, maturity, and the complete absence of an abundance mentality.
If you truly have value to offer a prospect, then sell your merits and the merits of your company. Do not give yourself the perception of value by placing others beneath you.
If what you’re selling is truly beneficial, then sell that. Sell what makes you and your company great and that alone.
No I’m not saying that you can’t have an opinion. If you like one business model better than the other, great.
If you like one business building method better than another, great.
You can have an opinion. I definitely have one.
But trying to steal distributors away by planting doubts, fear, and calling each other names is another thing.
We are all in this industry, and if you live in abundance then you know there’s more than enough people to go around.
Place yourself above the fray. Your prospects will respect you more. They’ll join you for the RIGHT reasons, instead of the fears and doubts you placed in their minds, and they will stay with you longer.
You’ll attract a higher-caliber of person and more of them as people learn of your rare professionalism.
Sell yourself and what you have to offer. Sell prosperity. Don’t prey on the fears and lack of experience of those who are joining this industry.
Be a leader who can stand on his/her own value alone without putting others down.
You’ll be glad you did in the long run, and the benefits will definitely out-weigh your inflated click-through-rates.
Best wishes,
Tom Miller
#1 by Jenny Fletcher on September 8th, 2009
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Tom – I know what you mean – i go into Google and search for ‘Xocai’ and I find destructive and totally inaccurate ads that Google permits to be displayed with no check on the truthfulness. I can’t fight this, I can only bring it to the attention of MXI, the parent company and leave it to their lawyers if they think it is worth pursuing.
My only consolation is that the sort of people who will be most apt to believe this pathetic negativity are not really the committed ones I want on my team.
The facts about the product stand for themselves, as does the compensation plan, and I am living proof that the health benefits are honest.
However, we are living in a dangerous world and it is INCREDIBLY difficult for a newbie to networking to figure out what is and isn’t honest and workable – or even LEGAL!
In the last few days I have seen a completely phoney ‘business’ that I KNOW is a scam because I got caught first time around. They re-branded themselves, changed the name and are now out to catch more people with their PONZI schemes. At one time they were being checked out by the FBI and financial/legal institutions in half a dozen countries.
That is what we are really fighting. That is why networking/MLM has a bad name – believe me it is as tough in the UK as anywhere – undeservedly so. Before I even get around to talking about my product, I have to convince people that what they are considering is legal, honest and not some kind of satanic plot to divest them of their cash.
More than anything else, I need the right words to pass on to prospects to convey the right message.
#2 by James on September 9th, 2009
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Great sentiment – but never easy in a competitive market place. I live in a small town where there are 3 other direct competitors, we all compete for a slice of the cake, but without being nasty to each other. It works – in fact on occasions I have even referred clients to one of my competitors because I was unable to help them directly.