Build Trustworthy Relationships with your Affiliates

By: Abe Cherian  

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Build Trustworthy Relationships with your Affiliates
By Abe Cherian
Copyright ? 2005


All companies treat their affiliates differently. In fact,
your affiliates are your driving sales force. Unlike in the
off-line world, they don't get paid by the hour, they get
paid for the sales they make.

This means you, the business owner, only pay for what you
sell, but it also means that you need to train your
affiliates to motivate themselves to dedicate their time to
marketing and selling the products that will bring you and
them a an above average income.

No matter if you're an affiliate owner or just a
participant in some or other affiliate program, you make
money when you and your downline make sales. Having 500
affiliates will do you little good and bring in little
money, if they won't sell.

How can you successfully train your affiliates to achieve
the best sales results on-line or off-line?


The key answer is- spread by word of mouth.


You can explain how your program works to people. While
word of moth can be powerful when applied to other areas,
advertising is very weak when applied to sales training.
However, it can function as a good tool with other methods.
Training by word of mouth works primarily on the mind by
acquainting people with something either by confirming or
denying a certain way of thinking.

Sometimes even a single word or sentence read is enough to
unleash an avalanche of new ideas or experiences. Although,
when that happens, the person was already on the verge of
change and just needed one final push to get there.

The Art of Repetition. Either you repeat what you said or
repeat what you've demonstrated. There are only two
possible consequences. 1) either the trainee will accept
what you are offering and build towards critical mass in
this new direction. 2) they will reject what you're
offering and turn inward.

If you say or show things that this person is not yet ready
for pushing, every repetition will generate a new and
greater resentment. By doing this you are building a
critical mass of negative feelings towards whatever it is
you are pushing the person to accept. The best way is to
teach by example. This is the only way that really works in
real life.

People do not generally "do as you say," they "do as you
do." It's also the only method where you can't be
aggressive and doesn't compromise the person's integrity.
Speaking may be welcome if the person you speak to really
wants to hear what you have to say. They may feel unwelcome
and forceful if the person isn't yet ready to open up to
new information.

First, you must show how something can be done and the
right avenue to achieve it. This means you lay out the
exact steps your affiliates should take when marketing your
products.

Give them correct and trustworthy directions with real life
experiences of how those very steps worked for you. Give
them all the sales material you can generate and also tell
them exactly how each piece worked for you and how to use
it best. But do not give them empty words and promises.
Never show them something you yourself haven't tried before
and cannot back up.

People will feel when you are just saying something to make
them sell harder, but haven't really succeeded with it
yourself. This is especially important if you are a only
part of some affiliate program and are trying to teach your
affiliates how to market more successfully.

If you try to teach them things that you are not 100%
certain in they will get worn out and lose faith in you in
the long haul. Most affiliate programs offer their
affiliates old steps that everyone already knows about.

People today are much smarter than before and most know
they don't work anymore. This can be YOUR point of
difference. The most important thing to remember is to say
what you mean when you mean it. Tell your affiliates
everything you know. Show by example and provide them with
all the information you can create. This will help build a
trustworthy relationship.


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