?? to sell or not to sell to fellow wa members ??

Is this a good idea or not such a good thing to do? The question has raised its head as a controversial one. Some think it’s a great idea. Others harbor concerns about the risks involved. This short missive attempts to address the issue.

We’ll use a simple decision making technique for which Benjamin Franklin gets credit; aptly called the Ben Franklin. It takes some critical thinking saturated with honest objectivity. We simply state the pro and con sides of the question. Then we weigh the value of both sides to determine the winner. If reasons in favor outweigh those against, guess what. But if the risks embedded in reasons against are stronger, guess what.

PRO – Latin meaning: “FOR”, loosely translated: ‘in favor of”, “Go for it.”, Hoorah!!”

1.There is a decent chance that 1 of 5 in the WA community might be interested in my niche and make a mad dash for my website. 20%, not bad.

2.Members are a captive audience.

3.This is a natural source of customers. I have tons of followers who know me and whose comments are generally positive.

4.The membership as a whole likes me and would be tickled to help. After all, I’ve helped many of them. They will be happy to reciprocate.

5.New members join every day and they are ripe. All I have to do is follow everybody who shows up and encourage them to follow me.

6.Because they already know me, they may be more inclined to be repeat customers. My product fills an ongoing need for continued replenishing. Think of address labels.

7. Mine will be a dedicated website just for members inclusive of a blog page directed to their interests.This will mean repeated WA visitors to my site with more sales. Nice!

8.Targeting WA members can give me a quick start in my business which I can later expand to sell to the remaining people in need on the World Wide Web.

CON –Latin meaning: “AGAINST”, looslely translated: “Are you nuts?” No Thanks.", Booo!

1.A 20% response may be possible, but maybe not. All statistics carry a certain margin of error. They represent averages. The largest groups give the lowest margin of error. The more risky smaller groups yield the greater margins of error. Dreams on an average of 1 out of 5 of WA members could very well be unrealistic. And many members on the books are inactive. This statistic should reflect only active members.

2.Oh, really? Do members here really want to be captured? The WA community largely consists of those trying to escape the Internet marketing predators. Our community is a safe haven, an oasis, in a world of “Hooray for me and down with you.” It is based on trust and communal support. It walks its talk. Freedom from fears of solicitation from fellow members should not be compromised regardless of product.

3.Just because the fruit is ripe on the tree does not give us license to pick it.

4.They like me now because I respect them. If I were to show myself in wolf’s clothing. How long would they respect me? Helping should be a free gift with no pay back.

5.The easiest way out can be robbing the baby from the cradle. That does not take much effort. Building an online business does. Leave them alone to learn and grow. Help, don’t take advantage. The community is a support group, not a store front.

6.Fact of the matter is that most community members would not want to be our customer in the first place if they experience us attempting to sell them. We are risking resurrecting their memories of abusive marketing scammers. Those negative instigators hurt the overall group, especially the newbie.

Most people love WA because of its absence of those tactics. They do not sell their stuff to members because the purpose and integrity of our community would be compromised. It could open up a Pandora’s Box of destructive abuses; everything could be up for grabs at that point.

7.I thought the WA community site had a blogging feature already in place. If I’m concerned about its adequacy, maybe I should write a blog there on its usefulness. But, would I be trying to fix something not broken; trying to reinvent the wheel?

8.Chances are that selling to fellow WA members will have very limited success. There are too many assumptions in the PRO section about who the community is and how it manages to operate within a healthy, successful environment.

The best bet is to learn and absorb the offered training and concentrate on building a niche market that does not attempt to take advantage of the WA community. Why bite the hand that feeds you. Whether our product could benefit them or not, is not the issue here.

Now you know where I stand on the issue. But you judge. Does the PRO or the CON group come out on top? Some will agree with me; some will not. It is the division of minds and ensuing debates that most often result in the best choices.

Help the community; offer your thoughts. – Al Hurley