When a Prospect Isn't Worth Your Time
I own and operate several successful businesses on the Internet, and I take extreme pride in my follow-up skills, patience and the ability to virtually teach anyone how to start a business on the Internet with virtually no skills or financial backing.
There is hardly a day that goes by that I don’t receive an email requesting my help to teach someone how to get started. While I always return these emails and offer my help, 99.9% of the time, I know by the first email if this person is worth my time or not.
Starting a business on the Internet is not hard, but it does take patience and a lot of time invested before you see any return. It will also take a financial investment of at least 10-30 dollars to build a website.
Most people understand that starting a traditional business offline will require a huge investment of time and money. They also understand that this will require some planning before they see a profit…so why don’t people who start Internet businesses understand that?
Here is an example of the type of emails that I get:
“I’m looking for an Internet business to start and I don’t want to pay anything to get started. I have tried virtually every program on the Internet and been scammed by all of them. My family and I can hardly make the bills each month. I need money fast! Please help me!”
I just cringe when I see these types of emails. First of all this guy is looking for an “Internet Job” versus an “Internet Business”. There isn’t any Internet jobs that I know of that will pay you by the hour for doing a certain task for them.
Next, he has tried virtually every program on the Internet. These people jump from program to program
looking for “instant” cash and never concentrate on one opportunity long enough to see any success. These are the people who scream that they have been scammed and put a bad light on every legitimate opportunity on the Internet.
This prospect can hardly pay his bills, and will probably have trouble paying them for the rest of his life, because he doesn’t manage his money. How do I know that? He obviously has Internet access to be able to email me, and if I was really struggling to pay the bills each month, I would think that the Internet would be a luxury that I could do without. If you can afford the Internet you can afford to start an Internet business.
And lastly, this guy is running on pure desperation. Desperate thoughts lead to desperate measures and he will never think clearly enough to successfully start and manage his own business. He will be thinking of only the moment at hand instead of working toward a future goal.
I would of course send this prospect an email in return, because you never know when someone might prove you wrong. But set them straight right from the start with some realistic expectations, or these types of emails will overrun your own business and take precious time away from your own goals.
Best wishes for your future success and prosperity!
Rebecca Gilbert
http://www.101homebusiness.org
Rebecca has been a successful entrepreneur since July, 2002. Visit her at: http://www.101homebusiness.org for free tips and mentorship on how you can get started with your very own home based business.
|