Mail Order Tips

There is a lot of excellent material being written and sold for beginners to the mail order field. It seems everyone is ready, willing and able to offer their "words of wisdom" to the new business owner _ and this is GREAT! This action on the part of almost every stable mail order dealer only goes to further prove my point in this report.

Mail order is loaded with the best people in the world! Walk into any corporate-owned establishment and be introduced to "greed" first-hand. Please don't get me wrong - there are some very well run organizations, but any time you hire employees, the dedication to your product or service begins to deteriorate.

In the early 1800's most of the businesses were owned by one person or one family. They took pride in their product and took the time to provide their customers with high quality. The other day one of my customers called to thank me for a publishing job I had completed for them. They said they couldn't find my company's type of quality at any price locally. They explained that the majority of people don't take "pride" in their wares.

But what is mail order filled with? Small, one-person-owned businesses. We have built them from the ground up and we are PROUD to be able to service our customers. And when we have a customer complaint, we normally do every- thing and anything under our power (even if we lose money) just to make that customer satisfied! This is PRIDE! And I'd like to believe that most of us have it!

Multi-level companies also sell excellent quality products. The shampoo and conditioner I use, the cream I put on my face every night, the mail order printing company I utilize as well as the many other products and services I order through the mail are products I could NEVER purchase locally. So don't forget to let the beginners know who we really are! Beginners are like children (sort-of-speak.) They come into this industry with the willingness to learn from experienced professionals. They do not know when they are told to hand address their envelopes in red ink that this is ridiculous!

If you take a 2-year-old child and tell them that people in Russia all have green skin - they will believe you without question. They will never doubt your word until someone else comes along and convinces them otherwise. Beginners to mail order are the same way. We have a duty to train them correctly and give them honest and sound advice.

The problem is that some people are greedy and don't want to train them properly. They are afraid if they teach them what they know that the beginner will be better than they are; make more money than they do; outshine them and be more successful.

Unfortunately this is greed talking. Any beginner you help to become successful will take you right along with them. They'll never forget your taking time and educating them on exactly how to make money. The more money they make - the more money you will make. But even besides this - they will benefit the mail order industry as a whole. You won't live forever. The mail order industry will continue thriving long after you are dead and buried. Shouldn't it be our concern to teach people to carry on what we started?

Sure, there are some beginners that are only looking for a fast buck and a way to make some easy cash. These people don't need your time and dedication, but they don't need you lying to them either and robbing them. Instead, steer away from these types and concentrate your energies on people who really want to succeed. The beginners who have pride in their business are the same beginners that will grow up and remain dear to you.

Treat beginners of today like they are big companies of tomorrow. When I first started in mail order, I didn't know that SASE meant a self-addressed stamped envelope. I saw an advertisement from TOD House, PO Box 4769, Chicago IL 60680 that I answered and I didn't enclose a SASE as requested since I didn't know what it was.

TOD House wrote back a dirty note that said: "Your business tactics are typical of women and we have more bad customers that we know what to do with. We don't need another bum like you."

These words hurt me deeply. But guess what? Now 7 years later, I can tell other people about this incident and educate them. Where did all this get TOD House? Nowhere! And to think all this started over a simple first-class stamp? Come on folks! Don't you think it's time to start helping instead of hurting? Don't you think it's time to contribute to our industry?