Dear Fellow Fortin-iacs,

I'm an "old-school" offline business
builder making the transition to the net.

Here's my question for your expertise....

How well do Business opportunity packages
sell on an internet-only basis?

***BACKGROUND SIDEBAR***

I helped a young woman set up a small home business
this fall. It's non internet, non technical,
she works part time from her home, and realistically
grosses about $100/hour and nets about $60/hour.
Clients are just lining up, and she's swamped already.
Every small town will support one such,
and each city of a million or more could support 10 at least.

***END SIDEBAR***

This little project worked out so strongly
I got to thinking I should package it up,
build some manuals and marketing materials
and let it out into the world.

I'm semi-retired and don't really want
to bust my butt... you know?

I'd like to use the net for both sales of the package
and the small amount of hand holding required
to effectively help the buyers of the package
launch their off-line home business.


My research doesn't find much other than well
promoted Agora "courses" in travel, copy, and resume writing...etc
internet business ops, and network marketing plans galore.

Do you guys have any experience selling packages
like this in the $1k to $2k range?

Monsieur Fortin, have you written and sold
a biz-op offer like this?



Jim Van Wyck

Jim,

I don't know if you only want an answer from Michel, but I'll give you my thoughts anyway

The question to ask, IMHO, is who is the target market, and are they searching the internet for this kind of business? OR could people who are searching the internet for other types of opportunities be persuaded to look at your opportunity in preference to whatever it was they thought they were looking for in the first place?

And I suppose the other part of what you're asking is how feasible is it to sell a $1k opportunity on the net. I have no idea - how easy is it to do via direct mail? Personally, I wouldn't spend that kind of money with anyone until I had got to know them somewhat and knew they were trustworthy - on or offline. Not unless, that is, the offer was so amazing that I couldn't say no. Can you break it down?

Hope these thoughts help,

Jane

Dear Jane... and all....

That is a most incisive answer!

Yes, the considerations you mention,
**target market
** their desires
** search terms

in short... the desires and "conversation"
they are already having with themselves
is THE key to the success of any venture.

I was asking the entire group...
of knowledge and experience in marketing
low and mid priced biz ops in general.

This is not a "coaching for success" type of thing,
or an "internet marketing MIRACLE!!!!!"....

just a simple, comfortable little product/service
that folks (mainly women 30-60) go wild over
once they are shown it and get to touch/feel/play with
for an hour or so.

And in a direct answer to your question,
wordtracker shows "few to none" searches
for the product keyword ...
and the biz op keywords are all spammed out...

How is it best done off-line?

There are several models,
most are variations of lead generating display ads
in the daily newspapers offering
... breathlessly offering
free or nominally charged seminars
with relentless followup via mail and phone.

I don't have the energy or desire to do that again
and was wondering if this fine group of marketers
had experience in "nothing but net" sales and support.

It frankly wouldn't have even occured to me
except that I carelessly blundered
into a tiny little niche that I now know
will sell very well through person to person networking
and "party plan" types of marketing events.

Thank you once again for your incisive questions,

Jim Van Wyck

Hi Jim.

I'm guarded in answering your question, because I don't know what you're selling. Or proposing to sell.

But, yes. Biz op is an evergreen market and can be sold from the Internet - why not?


Peter Stone

Thanks Peter... and all

Indeed biz op is evergreen...

The immense attraction of a life easier,
and especially different than,
the one at hand...

Are you aware of any "all internet"
sales of non-internet biz ops?

I've not found much.

As to the specifics of the biz,
it's such a simple, and easily copied thing
I'd rather sit on 'till I decide if it's something
I want to spend a few thousand hours on
for the next year or so.

You know...
the kind of idea where you slam
your forhead with the heal of your hand
and say... "Duh... of course they want that!"

Wordtracker and google sandbox show few online
searches in related keywords.

Most of the biz of sites I've found
have the stink of scam and quick-buck
lingering....

And I'm not that kind of boy...

thanks for the good words...

Jim Van Wyck

It sounds as though you sincerely wish to offer a valid opportunity.

Additionally, it sounds as though you're operating on limited enthusiasm - just an impression and not critical. I'm pointing that out to say that, perhaps you're not conducting your research in a manner that's as effective as it might be, were you jazzed about the project. I wouldn't know, though.

Sometimes keyword research isn't all it appears to be, at first blush. It may be that you're not hitting the motherload. There's also the 'passion index' of your intended market, to consider.

On the other hand, your observations about an idea without a market might be right on the mark.

I'm really not trying to pry, or give you the run-around, but without knowing what you intend to offer, I can't really say much that's not just talking in circles.

But to answer your initial question about selling a biz opp from the Internet, my answer to you is, yes.

Either way, I applaude your effort at finding a market, before investing your resources in the project.



Peter Stone

Hi Jim,

Have a look at Don Alm's site:

www.pjbux.com

He has a boatload of other products, but he always features a couple recent ones on his site. The way he promotes them is by being a very prominent figure on some biz opp boards and giving loads of free advice and stories from his life as an offline entrepeneur - he's probably much like you!

Hope it helps

Erik

Dear Eric, and all

Thanks for the useful link!

Regarding forums, I'm familiar with

Blake's forum http://www.ablake.net/forum/

Warrior http://warriorforum.com/forum/

and Seeds of Wisdom where Don Alm posts
http://www.sowpub.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl?

What other forums are, in your experience,
and the experience of all readers....

are busy and useful?

Thantk again

Jim VAn Wyck
PS.. Don looks better in his PJ's than me,