Steve’s Marketing Rule, discussed in the previous story, is really just a corollary to a general rule that I’ve always found to be true.
While this general rule doesn’t have much to do with selling online, I think it’s worth sharing.
Steve’s First Rule of Money:
Never trust anyone who tries to sell you anything with a measurable monetary return.
Specifically, this rule says that you should be very skeptical of anyone who is making the slightest effort to sell you financial investments, insurance, marketing services, or anything else with a monetary return that someone could possibly measure or predict.
Proof
There are plenty of professionals who can analyze the expected return of just about any investment. And, smart marketers know how to measure the return of almost any ad campaign or marketing service.
You can be sure that if experts believe that an investment is likely to deliver even a slight advantage (or, in the case of insurance, slightly lower costs than the competition) word will get out, people will rush to buy the offering, and there’s hardly a need to promote it.
Friends in Need
Of course, this also holds true of anyone who asks to borrow money. Individuals who pose an acceptable risk can find ways to secure a loan, whether from a bank or a pawn shop. If you value your relationship with that person, give them money instead of loaning it.
Next, we’ll talk about a costly marketing trap that I discovered the hard way.