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Articles by Cathy Fothergill

To follow are some of the original articles by Cathy Fothergill . You may use them in your double opt-in ezine or on your web site under the following conditions: 1. Do not change the content. 2. Include my resource box. 3. Your web site must display clear ownership information. 4 You may not redistribute this as part of another "free content" list or web site. 5. You may not charge a fee for reading these articles.

Excuse Me If I'm Not Impressed

I'm sorry, but the title, "guru' just doesn't impress me. I don't want to be considered a "guru". I don't necessarily embrace everything that is taught and touted by someone just because s/he is supposed to be a "guru".

In recent days, there is a lot of talk on the internet regarding the departure of one supposed guru. It seems he's hanging up his mouse in favor of other pursuits. I understand he has decided that internet business just isn't fun any more.

There is an opportunity to purchase the knowledge of this particular guru for a mere $1000. This offer is limited to the first 2000 people to come up with the money. I guess he's found a way to make a cool $2,000,000 as a parting shot.

I won't buy it.

Why would I want to purchase a bunch of outdated and outmoded products? Why would I want to duplicate someone whose customer service was terrible and ethics were questionable?

I wouldn't.

Ad tracking services using redirect URL's trigger filtering. Start up pages and exit pages aren't viewed by most.

Yes, I understand that there are programs and ideas in the package that have never been implemented.

I don't care.

My experience with this particular guru was not a good one. I'm sure I am not alone.

1. My credit card information was automatically forwarded to his web site when I purchased an ebook from another site. This is definitely not ethical. I question whether it's legal.

2. I joined the ad tracking service. When I cancelled, they kept taking my money, even after sending an acknowledgment of my cancellation.

3. It took 5 months, three email contacts, one contact by certified letter and a report to the Better Business Bureau to finally get my money back.

4. The company denied ever being contacted by me.

5. Every time I tried to remove myself from his mailing list, I was put back on it.

These are just a few of my complaints.

Do I want to pay $1000 for his expertise? Not on your life.

Do I appreciate people telling me I should make the purchase? Nope!

This is what scares me.

Now there will be 2000 "wanna be" gurus, duplicating his techniques.

Great! That's what we all need, 2000 more businesses offering poor customer service, promoting outdated techniques, using questionable tactics and keeping our money.

Just my opinion.

** Article by Cathy Fothergill, copyright 2001. First Published You Plus Two 11/02/01. Do you write articles? Great! Webmasters and ezine publishers are just dying to hear what you have to say. Get on over to: http://www.connectionteam.com and start submitting.

Word Count: 435 including resource box

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Are You Inspiring Trust?

Everything you do affects your future relationships. If you treat a customer or prospect poorly, trust is destroyed. My own recent experience with an online marketing guru (I'll call him Mr. Guru) has offered a great illustration in trust.

I offer the following case in point:

Several months ago, I joined an ad tracking service owned by Mr. Guru. When I realized I would not have time to properly implement the program, I requested cancellation. I received a fairly prompt confirmation. That was easy!

A few days later, the Mr. Guru's company drafted $17 from my account. I let that slide, considering that they may not have had time to remove me from their monthly charge list.

The next month, it happened again. I contacted the support desk. There was no response.

Another month passed and another $17 disappeared from my account. I notified Mr. Guru's company by certified letter. Again, I received no response.

More time passed and more money was taken from my account. I contacted the Better Business Bureau in Mr. Guru's town. I filed a report.

Miraculously, ALL of my money was refunded. Mr. Guru's customer service representative basically told the BBB that it was all my fault.

Back to the present: Mr. Guru is now heavily promoting an online investment club/education opportunity. I'm already suspicious because of my past dealings with his company. I won't knowingly do business with him again. That leaves me out of doing business with anyone in his matrix. (I'm not interested in the opportunity for other reasons as well, but this is my top reason)

Will my decision adversely affect Mr. Guru's bottom line? I doubt it. Unfortunately, as a result of my experience, I am also suspicious of others who are touting Mr. Guru's opinion as the best reason to get involved. Frankly, I don't care what Mr. Guru thinks. I happen to think he only cares about HIS bottom line.

Now I'm back to my original question, Are you inspiring trust? Are your decisions or actions inspiring trust in those around you? Are you building or destroying future relationships? Irresponsible or unethical actions hurt others and destroy their trust in you. Those you hurt will stay as far away as possible from you and everything you promote. This, in turn could eventually destroy you and your business. Build trust.

**Article by: Cathy Fothergill, Copyright 2002. First published, You Plus Two, 09/08/02. Do you write articles? Great! Webmasters and ezine publishers are just dying to hear what you have to say. Get on over to: http://www.connectionteam.com and start submitting.

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Sometimes It Just Doesn't Feel Right

There is one person in particular that used to call me with every "new" opportunity to come along. In a 2 1/2 year period, I would estimate that I said, "No." to about a dozen of this person's "opportunities". NONE of those companies is still around.

Part of the reason I didn't fall for any of those failed programs was that I developed a pretty strict set of guidelines to use when deciding whether to join an opportunity (or a sponsor/upline). These evaluation guidelines are fairly straight forward, cut and dried.

I also have an internal list of promotional and prospecting methods I will not use. My Mother used to ask, "How would you feel if someone did that to you?". That question is precisely what I ask myself when deciding whether to use a particular technique.

These two tactics help keep me from getting involved in a bad opportunity. They also help me stay on good terms with most of the people I deal with in my business. In general terms, though my decisions may disappoint some, I am still respected.

With all of my cautions and guidelines, there are times when I can't see a logical reason that would prevent me from following through. Sometimes, I just don't like the "feel" of an opportunity or technique. I get what I call a "niggly" feeling in the pit of my stomach. You probably know the feeling. You think, "I shouldn't do this and I don't know why."

I have been fortunate. I usually obey my niggly feeling. Often, I find out later that there was a good reason for it. More times than I can count, listening to my instincts has saved me personally, financially or both.

Sometimes I ignore my built in warnings. When I do, something will happen later that illustrates to me that I should have listened to my "gut".

My advice? Set up a firm system of guidelines to use in evaluating opportunities. Then stick to your guns. When considering a promotional or prospecting technique, always ask yourself "How would I feel if someone used this on me?" If your own response would be negative, don't use it.

Above all, even if what you are considering meets ALL of your criteria and you still have that "feeling", don't do it! Your pocketbook and your conscience will thank you later.

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