Wow! I wonder....

To finish that ...Wow I wonder topic line.
I wonder after reviewing all the coastal topics if any active coastal owners have lost potential business?
If first impressions are everything, (and they are) I wonder who just got turned off to this opportunity by several recent statements under the Coastal topic. Read the topic headings. I see people looking for help; they need answers, and reassurance. What I have noticed is less and less of that and more egotistic posturing.

See, if you have an opportunity that fits someone's needs, wouldn't it be terrible to loose that person because of harsh or even derogatory statements? I really believe that if you turn someone off by your actions, that person may never get a chance to reach the full potential, this opportunity may have provided. So whether you call yourself a business developer, team leader, or even friend; remember your actions are open for everyone to see in this forum.


God bless all of you!
Brian

Quoting: CarolinaConsignI really believe that if you turn someone off by your actions, that person may never get a chance to reach the full potential

Brian,

I totally agree. I get alot of calls from people who have bought Coastal Membership and not gotten the training and support required to allow them to reach their full potential.

There are groups within Coastal who talk the talk - yet few walk the walk.

As one of the top income earners in this business, I'm simply here to provide my experience with Coastal - The Product and The Business.

I have experience with BOTH!

Jay NaPier

Quoting: CarolinaConsignmore egotistic posturing
Sadly I must agree. It seems that since about a week or so ago, things have started to get a little sour on the forum.

There are a lot of good postings that are aimed at addressing people's concerns and questions, but now I'm seeing more and more of the sales pitch type of postings. Short postings that often repeat what was already said without adding valuable content.

Let's all try to keep the forum a valuable tool for all involved; those who are in Coastal already as well as those who are researching it.

Thomas

I agree whole heartedly with Brian and Thomas. I have been reading this forum for almost 2 weeks now, to learn more about Coastal before I join. In the past 2 days it has been less informative and more about egos. I'm sure all groups have their strong points, let's hear about them in a positive way.

Great Jay and Thomas.....you first

Can use all the tips we can get. Those in the call center, how do you get the prospect to call the call center?

Thanks

Terri

There are lots of things you can do. Basically, it's the same as in the traditional method of running the Coastal business. The difference is when the prospects actually call. Instead of you answering the phone, the Call Center answers it for you, then present the business, close the sale, etc...

So off the top of my head, the ways to create leads will include, but not limited to:

-classified ads, both online and offline
-PPC ads
-website organic ranking if you have the time and the skill necessary
-cold calls
-warm calls
-vacation voucher donations to causes (e.g., fundraisers)
-vacation voucher give aways (e.g., businesses as incentives for employees)

In these and other forms of marketing, you can decide if you want to put your contact information or if you want the Call Center information.

This largely depends on what you want the Call Center to handle. In other words, what jobs you've delegated to the Call Center in your business model.

Thomas

Thomas thanks! I will be trying local newspaper ads.
I listened to Stephanie's Q&A call today and she mentioned that BOD will have announcements at the convention in March that has somethi ng to do with a new software for directors, wonder what thats all about.

Terri

Hi everyone,
FYI: Stephanie Johnson, Coastal Product Director, will conduct an "Alternative Marketing" teleseminar tomorrow which is a 'must listen to' for those who want to expand their business in other areas.

If you are new to the business or are considering it, our business model extends beyond only sponsoring people into your organization - there are other ways to build your business!

Thursday February 22nd at 3pm Eastern time
(620) 294 3000 xt. 1103#



Roger

Thanks Roger

It's hard for me to keep up with all the Callas I need to listen to
I have
Coastal Calls,
Traverus calls,
WCYS calls,
MiaBella calls,

Sometimes it's a matter of choosing BUT I must say that Coastal will take preference.

Terri

You're welcome Terri,

I remember something one of my mentors said and that is if you're chasing four rabbits you won't catch one so be mindful of where your energy is going; we all get bombarded with so much on the 'net.



Roger

Quoting: SbowmanI agree whole heartedly with Brian and Thomas. I have been reading this forum for almost 2 weeks now, to learn more about Coastal before I join. In the past 2 days it has been less informative and more about egos. I'm sure all groups have their strong points, let's hear about them in a positive way.

Hi Sbowman,

It's good that you're asking questions, an important step on an important journey. Out of curiousity, why are you considering Coastal Vacations?



Roger

Terri,

Speaking of search engine, you might want to see this thread started by Harold.
http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/22_2932_0.html

In there, I tried to distill what I've learned so far. Hope it helps.

And here are some of the other ways we get people to call the CC. I can't take credit for these, as these ideas are from our back office.

ADVERTISING RESOURCES:
Online Search: PPC
Forums & Chat: There's about 26 links or so to these.

Online advertising
Banners
Sponsor Listing in Yahoo Directory
Pop-Ups
Guaranteed Traffic
Auction Sites
Online Shopping Directories
Classifieds

Print advertising:
Newspaper, magazine and direct mail postcards

Get published:
Ezines: top sponsor, solo-ads, etc...
Press Release
Write an Article
Create a Podcast
Blog

Leads & Autoresponders:
Email marketing
Co-registration service
Autoresponders

There are more, but I think that's enough for now. Whew~ Actually I just copied and pasted, not too much work.

Hope that helps.

Thomas

Thomas, do people really read emails sent by autoresponder?
For the first contact isn't it better to send a personal email?

I send a personal email first along with the drip campaign because I sent myself the emails from the autoresponder and my ISP placed my email in my spam box.

Terri

I can attest to the effectivness of the autoresponders. They do work. I have gotten many replys to autoresponder emails that actually think it is me sending them the email. If the person actually sent it to a good email that they read, they will probably be looking for it but they really do a good job of reminding the person to go back to your site. In our back office, at the call center, we can tell how many times a person has come back to our site from one of our autos. It's a GREAT tool.

Harold, what about the emails from an autoresponders that go to their spam box?

It really is a issue and it happens.

Terri

Hi Roger--I came across Coastal quite by accident, surfing the web. It sounded like a great possibility to work at home and be involved in one of my favorite activities--traveling! I've been in touch with Harold, and another director from CSG, and just weighing the pros and cons of the business and how it is run. The forum has been very helpful with alot of my concerns and questions. Thanks to everyone, and hope to be joining Coastal in the not too distant future. (another former educator!)

Shelby

I am not an expert at knowing exactly what causes a message to be considered spam but I do know there are certain words that can kick a message out to the spam box. I know our autoresponders won't make it to an AOL account and I know that if I send an email from my [email protected] address to an AOL account it will go through. I don't know if it puts it in the spam box. If a person wants to read the auto that person will be looking for it and will put it on the white list of his isp. I guess the best thing to do to be absolutely sure is do like you say and alert the person with an email that they need to be looking for the emails and not to let them get put in their spam box.

Hi Shelby,

Wow, all these educators!
I don't feel so lonely anymore.

Congratulations on finding Coastal. We all wish you the best and look carefully at your needs.
Make sure to find the business model that best fits your needs and goals.

Thomas

Terri,

Autoresponders definitely work. Like Harold, I've received numerous emails telling me "Thanks, got your email" or they start conversations thinking that they are sent personally from me.

Even if they know that the emails are from autoresponders, I don't think it diminishes the effect, because then they'll see that there is an automated system in place. It's just another perk or selling point.

In terms of emails going to spam, some can't be helped and there are some things you can do.

If the whole IP address is blacklisted for spam, then there is very little you can do to change the spam folder issue. And this done by the ISP (Internet Service Provider) as a company. If they block out your Coastal autoresponder's IP address as a source of spam, then no one using that ISP will be able to receive your email.

I suspect that this is the case with WCYS and AOL. If you know of these cases, you can simply tell the prospect to use another email account since everyone nowadays has multiple accounts.

Another possibility is the words used in the message and the subject line. If this is the issue and you can change the autoresponder messages, then it would serve you well to make a few adjustments. Here's what to do.

Copy the email content and paste it into the fields at http://www.lyris.com/resources/contentchecker/

This will give you a report of how likely it is for your email to be mistaken for spam and how to fix them. I think they give you a score as well. Below 5 is good and above 5 means there is a chance of rejection from some of the more strict ISP.

Also some words used on websites should be avoided in emails. These words do wonders on webpages, but are easily mistaken for spam in emails.

amazing
buy now
congratulations
dear friend
free
great offer
guarantee
investment
maximize
money
new
opportunity
order now
powerful
profit
sale
special promotion
winner

As you can see, eliminating these words cut down on our choices of what we want to and can say. Think of it like a game of partial Charades.

Hope this addresses some of your concerns and questions.

Thomas

Oh, and one more thing.

Terri, you mentioned sending a personal email. Personal emails are definitely better than an email that sounds like an automated, machine -like, corporate-speak kind of emails.

Having said that, there is no reason why you can't change the autoresponders to make them more personal, to resonate with you as a person, if you have that capability.

After all, they need to get to know you, the person, not a machine. I haven't implemented this change myself yet with my autoresponder, but it's high on my list.

Coming from the frame of mind of the email recipients, most people view their inbox as a personal space. If you are invited into it, make sure that your message gets through to them as being personal.

Thomas