9 Pointers for Evaluating a Business Proposal
by Ray Burton
Finding a business opportunity on the net is easy. But evaluating the right one for you, takes a little knowledge. With so many scams, takers and failed ventures you need a little more than the, "highest dollar for the least amount of work" approach. So what should you look for when evaluating an opportunity? Here are 9 pointers.
1. Is it legal?
Do they have a product? Many programs on the net are simply "money movers" with no real products. If this is the case then it's probably illegal simple as that. If you are serious about developing an online reputation for quality and reliability, then don't even entertain the idea of quick easy money. It will catch up with you!
Do they know and follow the law concerning matters such as CAN SPAM and other website legalities? There is no excuse for ignorance on the net! Do your home work and check out:
http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt9/canspam_comply.htm
http://www.ipcgold.com/ad/112/CD996
Do a search on the names of the owners and founders of the products.
2. Does their product have value and advantage?
Is the product something that people want with the potential for repeat sales giving value for money at a competitive price? Do your homework. Search the net for equivalent products and do a price comparison. Does it offer a marketing advantage of some kind? What are the selling benefits of the product over their competitors? If they don't have a marketing advantage why would anyone buy their products?
3. Is it residual?
The best opportunities are the ones that have a growing industry and ideally repeat sales. Make sure if you are marketing a product that you get the benefit of the repeat sales. This is called residual income. If you are expected to find customers but only get the benefit of the first sale, this is unethical and unfair. It is a good idea to evaluate what % is paid back in commissions for the cost of the product or service. All good opportunities pay back an absolute minimum of 20%. Decide you are worth at least that much to them.
4. How long will it pay?
The world is a fast changing place. The cyberworld is even faster! Ask yourself where will the product be in 12 months, 2, and 5 years down the track? This is particularly important for digital and information products. Ask yourself the same about the company. Are they around for a quick buck or do they have a plan to establish long term commerce? Will they develop or keep up with new technologies to maintain a competitive edge? If this information is not readily available on their website, ask them. If they are not planners then they will not survive
5. How long will it take?
Take a long hard look at their compensation plan and compare it to your own goals. Is it cost effective on an hourly basis for the final outcome. You may have to make a decision by balancing time for outcome. You may consider it worthwhile putting in 20 hours work over and above a regular 40 hour job for a small return initially, if the final outcome is say 10 hours per week total for a 5 fold income. Of course you will have to decide first of all exactly how much time you are willing to work on the proposal then ask yourself is their program sufficiently automated to be worth your while?
6. Do they want your success as much as their own?
What is their commitment to you in terms of training and support? If they are not willing to train and support you for your success, are you willing to carry the responsibility of training yourself and dealing with product problems? In my opinion you must have online support and training for whatever you need to do for the mutual success of both you and the company. This can be in the form of email support, forums and a FAQ (frequently asked questions) page on their website.
7. What are the hidden costs?
Ask yourself, "What do I need over and above their proposal in order to achieve my goals", then factor this in to your decision making process. In this you should include things like further study, tools, web hosting expenses, stationary, travel expenses, accommodation etc. It is also important with some businesses to find out if you have a minimum purchase requirement, frequency of compensation and the time period between sales and commission. All these will affect your cash flow. You should then work out exactly what it takes to firstly break even, then become profitable and finally achieve your goals.
8. Is their a lead generation system ?
What assistance is given for approaching potential customers through to closing the deal? This is often non existent with you left to do it all. The best opportunities are fully automated for efficiency but flexible enough to have the essential personal touch. It can be hard work sifting through the opportunities to find your "Ticket2Success".
9. Do they have a money back guarantee?
Whether the product is digital or hardware people will expect a guarantee. Are you able to return and refund products quickly and easily with out problem? Is it clear who handles the finances and complaints in the event of an unhappy customer? You don't want to be left with egg on your face after creating a good online reputation!
About The Author
Ray Burton is an internet marketer specializing in affiliate programs, business opportunities, joint ventures and resources to create your online success. He has paid special attention to online training programs for new marketers. You can visit his store and collect a "ticket2success" at http://www.cyberchoices.net The mini site - mega store.
r.burton@clear.net.nz
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
More Online Business Help Articles
More By Developer Shed
 developerWorks - FREE Tools!
|
Learn how to do more with your reusable assets with the free Rational Asset Manager eKit. The eKit includes demos on how Rational Asset Manager tracks and audits your assets in order to utilize them for reuse. Plus you’ll find white papers and a Webcast that discuss the challenges of a Service Oriented Architecture and how Rational Asset Manager can provide quick and effective solutions.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
As organizations integrate software into every aspect of business, they are constantly pressured to deliver faster, better, and cheaper results. Unfortunately, a “dis-integrated” software delivery approach reduces returns while increasing costs. This IBM Rational White Paper shows how Integrated Requirements Management aligns organizations around maximizing value and keeping pace with change.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Download a free trial version of IBM Rational Software Analyzer Developer Edition V7.0 to identify bug defects earlier in the software development cycle. Rational Software Analyzer is an extensible software development solution that reduces the expense of bug-fixes by enabling static analysis code reviews and bug identification very early in the development cycle.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
This webcast outlines the best practices that must be instituted to gain the maximum benefit from SOA while maintaining high quality of service. Whether you are deploying new applications or managing and monitoring your existing infrastructure, learn how you can ensure high quality of services with SOA based solutions from IBM. All registrants who attend this live Web Seminar will receive complimentary access to a white paper titled “Maintaining QoS in an SOA Environment”.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
In this webcast, IBM Rational will discuss the importance of Web application security and will share techniques and best practices to introduce application security testing into current QA processes including: understanding common security vulnerabilities and techniques to integrate security testing with defect tracking and remediation systems in an effort to safeguard sensitive online information.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Analysts, architects, and developers who have existing COBOL or PL/I skills and want to extend those skills to deploy new workloads on the mainframe can use the IBM Enterprise Modernization Sandbox for System z to find hands-on walkthroughs of common real world scenarios. The scenarios provide examples of how to rapidly design, create, assemble, test, and deploy high-quality Web, Web services, portal, and SOA applications for IBM CICS, IBM IMS, and IBM WebSphere Application Server.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Join this Rational Talks to You teleconference, to hear how Enterprise Generation Language (EGL) eliminates the need for tedious and error-prone low level coding, so developers can focus on business requirements. EGL extends the Rational software development platform with a simplified programming language that enables developers who have little or no experience with Java, Web technologies or Service Oriented Architecture, to create enterprise-class applications and services quickly and easily. It also allows developers who may have little or no mainframe programming experience to quickly create traditional mainframe components.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Join this webcast to learn how IBM Rational's Functional Testing solution enables you to implement automation your way, at your pace, with your existing staff. In this webcast, you’ll learn how you can eliminate redundancy of manual test scripts, reduce errors, and increase test coverage through test automation. After this presentation you will understand how IBM Rational Functional Testing solution can streamline your manual testing and make test automation easily attainable.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Hear how IBM Rational Project and Portfolio Management integrated solutions help teams put the right tools and processes in place to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of project teams and ensure that the business vision is being executed correctly. Learn how to automate and integrate requirements prioritization, top-down project planning, communications and controls, and methodology deployment to keep your scope, costs, and schedules under control. Tackle with an end-to-end approach the management of scope and scope changes, usage of methodology to control and empower project teams, and optimization of resources to align activity costs with the overall project plan.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
As businesses grow increasingly dependent upon Web applications, these complex entities grow more difficult to secure. Most companies equip their Web sites with firewalls, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and network and host security, but the majority of attacks are on applications themselves – and these technologies cannot prevent them. This paper explains what you can do to help protect your organization, and it discusses an approach for improving your organization’s Web application security.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
All FREE IBM® developerWorks Tools!
|
