The sharks feed in the murky waters of emotional turmoil and mental confusion caused by redundancy.
Sharks are easy to recognise. They offer quick solutions to your predicament. Their answer will often be neatly packaged and accompanied by a glossy brochure.
Three favourite types of product that sharks offer are:
A guaranteed job – this might be a professional Career Consultant offering a Career Development Package. But, can they really guarantee you a job?
There are good and reputable Career Consultants who could prove very helpful in enabling the next step in your career. A good Career Consultant can:
* Help rebuild your morale.
* Boost your motivation.
* Provide a good, well written CV.
* Train you to present your strengths well at interviews.
* Train you in job search techniques like networking, database research, approaching search consultants, tapping the so-called “hidden job market” and searching in the open market.
* They may also have a Vacancies Database. However personal research has, so far, failed to reveal a really good quality Vacancies Database.
You can identify good Career Consultants by asking:
* “How long has your company have been in business?”
* “Could you please supply the names and phone numbers of former clients so that I can take up references on your service?”
* “How long have you, the salesman, worked for the company?” Be weary if he/she has just been drafted in to cope with a recent expansion in the market.
If the Consultant cannot answer these basic questions, and if they ask for an outrageous amount of money for their services, beware. Sharks know that when they ask a very high price for their services the amount is often assumed to indicate that they are offering exceptional service – this is not necessarily the case, don’t fall into the trap.
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) or Network Marketing programmes. Good MLM programmes, and there are a few, offer high quality products. Their success is based on selling large volumes. Your earnings in such programmes will be dependent on your sales and on the sales of distributors in your network. This means that it will take time to build both your network and your personal sales and income.
Beware those schemes that offer the opportunity for quick, high level earnings. Quick earning projections are nearly always based on bonuses paid for recruiting distributors rather than for selling products.
It is probably not a good idea to join any MLM scheme that requires you to pay a joining fee to buy a distributorship or to buy large amounts of stock up front. A large part of any joining fee will probably be paid to the distributor who recruited you. Programmes that require you to pay joining fees are probably sailing very close to the wind and could be contravening Pyramid Selling legislation.
Success in MLM demands hard, devoted work.
Before joining any programme you should ask yourself:
* “Do the products offer customers real value for money?”
* “How do the prices compare to the prices of other similar products?”
* “Will I be happy to sell these products to my family and friends? Or, is this something I would feel uncomfortable telling my friends about?”
* “Do I really believe in these products and can I see myself promoting and selling them for the rest of my life?”
Do NOT get involved in any business opportunity as a “stop-gap” between jobs. You will never make a success of anything that does not have your full commitment.
Business for sale. The reason for the sale is often stated as: “owner about to retire” or “due to owner’s ill health.” Treat these reasons with a pinch of salt. If you are thinking of buying a business as a going concern I would recommend that you:
* Approach the business as a potential customer to see how you are treated and whether you are satisfied with the products and services supplied.
* Access up-to-the-minute accounts and rake over them with a qualified accountant.
* Carefully read the marketing plan. Are the managers operating the plan?
* Study the mailing list to see how up to date it is and how frequently it has been used.
* Talk to existing customers.
* Work for a few days in the company so that you can get an idea of what goes on, the state of the business and the strength of relationships with customers.
You may also be offered a Partnership in a business. Such an offer will nearly always be dependent on your investing in the company. Be careful, such offers can be genuinely because they need someone with your particular skills or contacts, but very often they are simply a way of generating much needed cash to get the business out of a hole. Apply the same judgement criteria as listed above BEFORE parting with your money.
If the idea of starting or joining a business appeals to you it would be a good idea to read my book How To Prosper In A Recession before taking any action. You can read more details about the book here: http://davidferrers.com/prosper1.htm
If you would like to talk to me about your situation and how you might use ‘Inspired Thinking” coaching to perform at a MUCH higher level, please get in touch. You should know that I am a business and personal development coach. My interest is in inspiring people to perform at levels they never imagined possible so they can achieve MUCH better results in any situation. Please click the tab and use the form at: http://davidferrers.com/contact-me/
