Expenses for First level package

From what i see, the basic set up is 1300, plus 100 for website, then whatever plus for the leads you choose. I just want to ask any directors out there what expenses i should take into account.

Lion-Child,
that's really depending on how you want to market. If you choose leads as your main marketing source then you can be pretty sure of what your cost will be if you make a schedule to buy them and stick to it. If you choose Google Adwords or something like that then your expenses can vary. There are lots of different ways to market so it is totally up to you to find the one that fits you best and is the least expensive for you. I use adwords the most but I have tried leads also. To work leads you really have to have a lot of time to be on the phone and so it didn't work out for me because I am still working a full time job at the moment. Google adwords has produced almost ALL of my sales except for one which came from posting on forums like this. Notice I said "Posting" and not advertising on forums. I just want to answer questions and compare notes with other Coastal members and if curious people come in and get their questions answered and it turns into a sale then that's GREAT but if it just turns into a friendship then that's GREAT also!

If you have plenty of time and can be very patient, you can get sales from posting frequently on forums and on free classified sites like craigslist and backpage.

This will not give you the quickest results, but you will eventually get sales this way if you learn to write compellling ads.

Harold is right, though, the quickest way to getting sales is to budget money for pay per click, like Google Adwords, and print classifieds - estimate $200-500 per month to go this route.

Good luck!

Dawn

Lion_Child,

This is a great question! The Basic package is $1295.00 plus shipping. Website costs vary between the different groups. Then there is your monthly advertising budget. That all depends on how much you are looking to make and how much time you have to work your business. I would say $200 - $300 at least if you want to go with leads. Your director should be able to go over all of that with you.

Depending on where you live, you may need a business license, a zoning permit, etc... Some places require these things, some do not since you are working from your home.

Also take into consideration your computer, internet service, telephone plan, and all the little office essentials. Most people already have most of that taken care of; I just don't want you to overlook anything!

Hope this helps!

Lora

Remember, many of your expenses will be tax write-offs!

Dawn

Google AdWords is great, but you have to be careful. The costs can add up real fast if you are not too careful.

Part of the reason is that the estimate that you get when bidding isn't always the number that shows up as real cost when you 'get' your bill.

Also, you have to be very disciplined to limit your daily amount. Otherwise, if you say "just a little more" too many times, you'll blow your budget out of the sky.

Another thing, I feel, is that the AdWords are starting to lose their effect. Most surfers are being bombarded with them almost everywhere they go and are now accustomed to tuning them out completely.

And of course, there is the constant problem of people just clicking on your ad just to see what it is, having never had any real interest in the opportunity. I've even heard of people who click on the ads just to rack up the advertising bills of businesses.

I'm not saying that PPC is out. All I'm saying is to be careful with your money and test the PPC market before diving in. Then again, I don't think anyone should be 'diving in' anyways.

I signed up for MIVA pay per call and ingenio pay per call. I figure the only people that will call are people that are serious about the business so there won't be anybody just "surfing". So far I haven't got any calls, but I also don't owe them any money. At least I have an ad out there so people will be aware. I will let you know if I get any calls. I gave them the Call Center number.

I used PPC for about 3 weeks until it got too expensive. I got several opt ins but nobody seriously interested.

I had some bad experiences with MIVA. I tried it out at the same time while trying out Google AdWords and the difference in the results were like night and day.

I got a lot of clicks with AdWords, but only about 12% with MIVA. That's 8% of AdWords clicks. So for every 10 AdWords clicks, I got maybe one MIVA click. Yes, I actually documented all of these for my benefit as well my team's.

In addition, those from the AdWords followed up a lot more in terms of calling the Call Center or requesting a call. Though I don't have an exact percentage for this, I would say it was somewhere around the same ratio. AdWords outnumbering MIVA about 10 to 1. This is consistent with the first ratio and most likely only reflect the general surfing public who end up clicking on an ad such as mine.

All in all, I had VERY little good that came out of MIVA. It was more of a hassle to keep testing it and to maintain it. At least I had some action in the AdWords.

But in the end, as I mentioned in another post, PPC, at least for me, was a lost cause. It was costing me way too much compared to what it was bringing in.

There must be a better way and I shall see if my ideas will prove more successful.

Lead companies weren't better. Possibly worse. The only people making profit from those lead generation is the lead company owners. Anyways, enough on that topic for now. Who knows? Maybe some leads are working well for some of the people here. Just not for me.

Most of my team members invest $150-$250 within their first 30-90 days on marketing.

Jay NaPier

$150 to $250 in 30 to 90 days...

And?

What kind of results do they usually see with it?
From what I've seen, too many people waste their money on PPC others because they don't know how to advertise. I was one.

In my first few months, I must have spent around $300 per month on average.

The results were not too bad when I compared my notes with others, but you need to remember that different people need different ways of doing business as their work style dictates.

I think some people have a very hard time breaking into profit because they try to force change on themselves to fit the business structure. Instead, if you can find a system that fits your characteristics, you're more likely to succeed.

Like myself, hated selling and couldn't sell something to save my life. So I joined the Call Center where that particular problem has been minimized or eliminated.

From there, as I get more comfortable with selling, I might venture out to different methods of doing business.

Thomas

There are free ways to advertise and market (many use a forum like this).

As others have stated it all depends on your budget and your business plan and goals that you set with your sponsor.

I think a lot of Directors forget that you can retail the product to others as well as to those wanting to be a Director.

If you do PPC with Coastal. You must make a opt in a page. By giving away something free. They would be in your list. I suggest that you called them within 48 hours.

The inherent problem with PPC is that even with a squeeze page, you are looking at around 10% to 12% opt in rate. Then, you need to weed out the tirekickers and those only wanting to see what the commotion is about.

Then, you need to further refine the list by weeding out those who are not money qualified and whatever other criteria you have.

By the time you get to your I-am-really-serious-about-this list, you've likely reduced the original opt in list to about 6% to 9%.

So let's do the math.

1000 clicks.
12% opt in rate = 120 original list
9% of 150 original list = 10.8 people (let's round it up to 11)

That might not look too bad, but consider the big picture. You ended up with 11 people from a 1000. From here, don't forget you need to weed out more and more people (not money qualified, etc...).

In the end, you would most likely end up with maybe one or two people who meet the criteria and are still interested. Of course, if they will join, then the cost is justified. But at the end of the day, it's still luck and anyone's guess as to what they'll actually do.

So considering that most keywords in AdWords nowadays cost around $1 more or less, you are looking at about $1,000 in advertising expenses. To be honest, this is probably an understatement as most people will try leads too.

And decent leads will cost you around, depending on your volume of purchase, $2 to $5 per lead. I have seen leads go as high as $10 and have to seriously wonder if they're worth it.

So it's really easy to jack up your advertising expenses, but with nothing to show for it.

This is the reason that I stopped using AdWords and leads. It just wasn't working.

Quoting: tomcha9% of 150 original list = 10.8 people (let's round it up to 11)

A typo. It should read like this:
9% of 120 original list = 10.8 people (let's round it up to 11)

And sorry for the multiple postings, but I just thought of something while we are on the advertising topic.

It's real easy to overspend yourself with AdWords without great amount of self-discipline. Seeing your ads cost about a dollar, it's hard to limit yourself to just 3 to 5 clicks a day. After all, the right person could be just a click away!

So when I started, I set my daily budget to $10. It didn't seem too bad. But when you go for a month with those, it totals to $300. It doesn't seem so friendly now, does it?

Then add the expenses of the leads as I mentioned, and you're easily into $500 or more in advertising expenses.

And the most evil thing happens.

Knowing how much your leads are costing you, you begin to plead with your prospects to join your business. You begin to beg at a subtle level. But it's very much noticeable to them when listening to you because you start sounding desperate.

And believe me, that's the last place you ever want to be in when talking to a prospect.

So what is the bottom line? Do adwords work but are very costly?

Are other advertising means more cost effective? And what is the closing ratio for classified ads in small newspapers VS USA Today?

Thanks
Terri

Adwords works for some and not for others. My first 5 sales came from adwords. I had run over 4 weeks of classifieds in the Charlotte observer and tried some safe lists.(what a joke-lol) When I made a couple of changes with my keywords the sales came in. BUT, Thomas is right in saying that it can get VERY expensive Very quickly. You have to predetermine how much you can spend and keep an eye on it so you don't go over your limit. I luv them pause buttons. lol Adwords is NOT the magic bullet but just another tool in our advertising toolbox. There are many other internet advertising options coming available like pay per call through Miva.com . Also, using options like Roger has with radio ads and others do with parties.

Quoting: tomchaI think some people have a very hard time breaking into profit because they try to force change on themselves to fit the business structure. Instead, if you can find a system that fits your characteristics, you're more likely to succeed.

Here's what I KNOW! People want to DO WHAT WORKS! They don't want to play games trying things and hoping things work.

I use a proven system that contines to produce six and sevel figure income earners in this business. This is a good example of a lack of training and support.

It's not about changing your character to fit the business. It's about DOING WHAT WORKS.

I do not recommend pay per click. Most can not afford the investment AND do not have the success required to make it profitable.

Jay NaPier

Quoting: tomchaKnowing how much your leads are costing you, you begin to plead with your prospects to join your business. You begin to beg at a subtle level. But it's very much noticeable to them when listening to you because you start sounding desperate.

Wow...I don't know where you got your training in this business, but I know you've not been training by someone who is a leader in the industry.

Leaders in this industry will NEVER plead or beg anyone to become a part of their team. We KNOW that this newbie who has not been training.

Jay NaPier

lubtravel,

The bottom line is that AdWords were over-hyped at the time of their introduction. And maybe rightfully so. It was a revolutionary idea (being mass marketed) to put content relevant or search relevant ads by a search engine.

And as Harold indicated, a lot of people thought that it was the magic bullet that could do almost anything. But as it turns out, it still has a learning curve, which some people failed to recognize in time, which resulted in them wasting a lot of time, money and effort.

For me, classified ads didn't work too well. But I constantly hear from others in the industry that classified ads work wonders for them.

Perhaps it depends on your wording and copy style.