Just an update on the sale of the gardening datafeed sites.

What we learned.

Simplify

If we (the kids, mostly) are to do this again, we have to streamline the whole operation. In particular, the order form where you fill in details like domain, login information, affiliate id needs some more error checking. The form needs to force people to provide exact details. There was too much "slop" allowed. Sure, you had to fill out part of the form, but there was no error checking or verification of details.

Unfortunately, this allowed for partially filled out forms to arrive in my email box with important details missing. Which meant, I had to email people asking for details. The result was I spent more time than I thought I would on requesting necessary information.

This was my fault completely.

My Oldest Son Likes Money

... and he likes it right away. Here I am trying to educate him on the value of providing great service and that people will pay, and pay well, for that; and he wants to know when he gets paid.

I told him once all of the sites are complete.

I ended up paying him and his younger brother about 2 weeks after we had the sale - even though there are still a few people that need to provide their details (hint, hint).

The delay in payment resulted in them losing interest. I ended creating about 10 of the 30 sites. Recall, the original plan was for these guys to all of the "grunt work". Well, the lack of "instant cash" kind of made them lose their interest.

For the next batch of sites, I'm going to have a stack of cash sitting right in front of them - they can have payment as they go. Still, I want them to understand that controlling their urge for instant gratification can result in larger rewards (monetarily, emotionally, physically, spiritually, etc.).

People Trust Other People

Most of the people who purchased these gardening datafeed sites did so because of the recommendation of others. In particular Tiffany Dow and Geoff Shaw. I contacted both of these two and asked if they would recommend this offer to their customers - and they did.

The only problem with the recommendation is that some of the people buying are doing so on blind faith - without even knowing what they are exactly getting. That speaks highly of the trust these two have with their customers.

There's more, but that's enough for tonight.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 9:29 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.