Help & How-To

Sales & Marketing
What is the best way to generate leads for my cash-back shopping portal?
I own www.shoptoearn.net/james. I love the business model but am having trouble generating leads so I can show the site to them. It is an MLM, and a number of people are turned off by that form of selling. But it's a great product and a true money-maker. You are basically promoting shopping online with the largest retailers and getting cash back. Can you offer suggestions?

Asked by jamesadam66
Posted: Sunday, November 16, 2008  |  Found in Sales & Marketing


More answers by Pattie Simone
Answer by Pattie Simone
This is a tough one for me to answer James, because I’m one of those folks who are turned off by MLM! I go for it when I am supporting a non-profit (like a publically funded radio station or charity) but it’s going to be a hard-sell to get a bunch of people to shop from your site when it’s not your stuff you are selling.

With that said, there will be those people who don’t mind as much. The best advice I can offer is to turn your site into a place where people can actually learn something—or more importantly—save time and money.

If you can post the newest sales information from the various vendors they can access and sell one-stop shopping with discounts. If you do something that makes the end consumer see a direct benefit (and in this economy who isn’t looking to save some cash) then you might be able to turn more people into customers and even raving fans.

Best of luck with your business!
As president of Write-Communications and founder of WomenCentric, Pattie Simone shares her sales and marketing savvy and communications expertise with executives and entrepreneurs across the country.


Recent Articles & Resources
Insight from Business Experts
Lightweight Nuclear Power?
One of the trends in small business we follow is the shift to lightweight business infrastructures. This is the trend towards business infrastructure of all types (IT, manufacturing, distribution, etc.) becoming cheaper, smaller and easier to use. Computer controlled manufacturing tools are a good example. A decade ago computer ...

7 Resolutions for Small Business
If "The Most Wonderful Time of Year" is behind us, what does January bring?  For some, there are those nasty post-holiday blues.  But for many, we design our New Year's Resolution chart to plaster around the house. For small business, you can do the same thing, too.  Let's take 7 of ...

Building Your Crack Export Dream Team
If you've been following our blog series on internationalizing your company, On Your Mark, Get Set, Go Global, you will have made considerable strides by now. You've considered the pros and cons of exporting, weighed your chances for success and learned the importance of choosing a promising product or ...

Discipline is the Key
It seems that everywhere you look today, companies are going out of business.  I believe that a lot of these business failures have to do with one thing ... discipline, or more accurately, the lack of it. There are four areas where small business owners must have a high level of ...
Have a burning question? Ask now!