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Topic: Is it a good opportunity???
| Author | Message |
| mushkambaryan | Posted – 3/4/2008 6:45:20 PM | show profile Hello, guys! I have been freelancing on a part-time basis. Obviously, money doesn't come easy. And jobs are scarce. One online publisher wants me to do sales for him from home. This is commission-based only. I have to encourage people who click on his website to put up their logos and taglines for $556 (six months sponsorship). He will pay me 30% commission. It will come down to $166 per sale. On the one hand, I got nothing to lose. On the other hand... Does anyone know anything about this type of business? Can you make any money doing that?? |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 3/4/2008 6:53:19 PM | show profile The first question is whether you want a sales job. If so, there are always lots available, especially if you're working on commission only. So don't look at this in a vacuum as if this is the only sales job. |
| mushkambaryan | Posted – 3/4/2008 7:58:42 PM | show profile Hi, Dribble. It is good to see you again. This job sort of fell into my lap. I have been trying to find a full-time position for a long time. But I am still unemployed. This guy is ready to hire me. He got a great website. And I don't have to spend any money on transportation. But I know very little about selling advertising space online. This could be a good opportunity. Or maybe a waste of time. I have no idea... |
| flight risk | Posted – 3/4/2008 8:11:37 PM | show profile Maybe you should ask if he'll give you a draw. Why should you take all the risk? You're essentially working for free. And selling online ad space is difficult at best. |
| foodlit | Posted – 3/5/2008 12:02:30 AM | show profile | email poster A couple of questions. Why did this online publisher offer you this job? Do you know him somehow? Will he train you? Here's a very important question for you to ask him, is anyone else doing this for him, and how many sales per week have they been averaging? What is the normal sales cycle, meaning how many times do they normally have to discuss the sale with a potential client before they commit? How long a period of time does that usually take? One call same day, or over several weeks/months and multiple calls. (most likely scenario by the way). Honestly, it sounds difficult. There are lots of places people can advertise online, so in order to make this sale, you will need compelling data to justify the dollars, such as number of daily visitors, etc. Have you ever done sales before? I've done it for years and love it, but it's not for most people. Have you done cold calling? Calling up people and trying to sell a product or service? You will hear many more no's than yeses, and have to keep going. Most people just hate the constant rejection that you have to deal with to make a sale. However, having said all that, if you work hard in sales, then the sky is the limit if you find the right product or service. Good luck, Pam |
| Canadiana | Posted – 3/5/2008 10:26:37 AM | show profile Here's to Foodlit! Foodlit: you should have your own job-hunting column on MediaBistro. You always give such sage advice. |
| foodlit | Posted – 3/5/2008 11:16:32 AM | show profile Thanks Canadiana! :) Pam |
| mushkambaryan | Posted – 3/5/2008 1:20:32 PM | show profile "There are lots of places people can advertise online, so in order to make this sale, you will need compelling data to justify the dollars, such as number of daily visitors, etc." Foodlit, thank you so much for your wise insights. You are the best! Here is the deal. He guarantees 500 visitors per 6 months. Or 1200 per 12 months. If clients get less than that, they can extend their presence until they get this number. Prior to making a purchase, people can list their contact information for free. Then I have to follow up and offer them to put up a weblink, a quote button and a tagline. There is a 6 -month deal and a 12- month deal. (So, it's not really COLD calling) When you advertise on Google, you can only place text ads. When you advertise with a logo and a tagline, you might have a more powerful impact. |
| InsomniacNOT | Posted – 3/5/2008 2:46:23 PM | show profile Actually Google offers display ads but not on the search results, only on its "content publishers." It has also recently been experimenting with video ads on the search page results. |
| foodlit | Posted – 3/5/2008 5:07:18 PM | show profile I think I'd walk away from this one. Those numbers are incredibly low. I'm no SEO expert, but even my sadly neglected food blog which hasn't been updated since Thanksgiving, still averages about 35 visitors a day or just over 1000 per month, which is practically nothing, and he only gets one tenth of that? Very overpriced in my opinion. If you want to do sales, you have to offer something of value and unless I'm missing something, this doesn't seem to be a very good deal. Pam |
| mushkambaryan | Posted – 3/5/2008 5:21:53 PM | show profile "If you want to do sales, you have to offer something of value and unless I'm missing something, this doesn't seem to be a very good deal." The thing is, this site attracts highly-qualified prospects who are looking for vendors. Not just casual visitors. They go to Google or Yahoo first and eventually end up on this site. And when they start looking for vendors, they see those colorful logos and taglines, as opposed to dry text ads. I might seem a little ignorant when it comes to technology. That's why I posted this question. Please bear with me, guys :) |
| foodlit | Posted – 3/5/2008 5:40:35 PM | show profile Well, you could always give it a try and see what happens? Good luck! Pam |
