In 1999 I took a leap of faith and left a sweet position with a Fortune 200 company and dove (head first) into an internet start up. It was great – 100-plus hour work weeks, not knowing if you’re going to make payroll, and getting to know every fast food delivery service within a 10 mile radius of my office. What more could I ask for? Or, better yet, why did I jump in the first place? I’ll tell you – the lure of success, the excitement, the challenge of making something from nothing. I guess it was that age-old story of David vs. Goliath. I recognized a shift in power where the little guy could actually compete and ingenuity could (and would) change the way business was done on a massive scale.  It was awesome to watch people starting from nothing, working from home making fortunes.  

Just when things start getting good we have to get careless and punch ourself in the face.

What do you mean these leads are no good?  What do you mean you never signed up for that offer?  What do you mean Donald Duck isn’t a real person? Incentives, what incentives? Here we are at the threshold of really gaining credibility with the big Fortune 1000’s  and I walk in to see a potential new client and they say “we tried that and we got, well, screwed. Too many bogus leads.”  Or “ too many chargebacks.”  Arrghh!! 

 So how do we fix it?  Its like the Wild West anything goes right? Wrong!

First – we have to realize we have a great thing going here. We are changing the way the world does business. But, quality is king.  Always will be.  If quality is removed from the equation, the margin disappears. When the margin disappears we’re done.

Second – sales people get the clients and affiliates run with the offers. We work together. We’re on the same team. If the quality is good we both win.  We have to do a better job policing the industry to weed out those that are tarnishing the marketplace.

Third – the old ABC’s of sales – Always Be Closing – needs to change to Always Be Concerned.  Sales guys need to think performance too. How often do you check in on your clients metrics?  How often do you check on the performance of the landing page? How often do you ask for creative updates?  Let’s try a different approach to keep it fresh.  Keep in mind this is Performance Marketing. Ten years ago most people didn’t know what a cpl, cpa, cpc, cpv, cpp was.  Everyone is watching, we’re on stage and we have to perform well!

Lastly – work with integrity   I’m reminded of a quote from Oliver Clement Stone: “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.”