Your Bizopp Lead Clients. Entrepreneur or Contrepreneurs? Helping Them Stay on the Right Side of the Law.


biz opp leads

 

Call them contrepreneurs — marketers who use hyped-up promises to sell business opportunities to people eager to be their own boss. As part of a federal-state blitz on bogus bizopps, the FTC announced seven law enforcement actions and developments in five other cases against outfits the agency says used illegal tactics to take more than half a billion dollars from two million Americans trying to make ends meet.

The FTC isn’t alone in the effort. The crackdown by the Consumer Protection Working Group of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force also includes 38 criminal actions filed by the Department of Justice, 15 cease and desist orders by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and another 20 from state AGs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, and Ohio.

The FTC actions illustrate the breadth of questionable business opportunities out there: mystery shopper services, credit card processing operations, websites claiming affiliations with high-end brands, promoters promising the inside track on Postal Service jobs, bizopps related to refunds for mortgage insurance premiums, rebate and credit card application processing, and an operation claiming to match companies that have excess inventory with businesses looking to buy. But according to the FTC, they all had one thing in common: They used deceptive tactics to peddle their bizopps.

The new cases dovetail with related FTC actions, including an August 2012 $478 million judgment against John Beck Amazing Profits and the return of almost $6 million to buyers as a result of lawsuits against Infusion Media Inc., AED Inc., and Abili-Staff Ltd.

The tactics targeted in today’s cases aren’t new — the FTC has a history of challenging bogus bizopps — but this time the agency has an additional tool for taking on the contrepreneurs: the amended Business Opportunity Rule, which requires a wide range of bizopp sellers to disclose key information upfront in a streamlined one-page document.

The message for people interested in being their own boss: Before investing so much as a dime, consult free resources from the FTC (also available in Spanish) to help you evaluate what’s out there and spot the signs of a bizopp barracuda.

What do bizopp sellers need to know? First, federal and state partners take deception seriously. Illegal activities can result in tough injunctive provisions, multimillion dollar judgments — and prison time. But for sellers eager to avoid an enforcement run-in, the FTC has materials to make it easier to comply with the law, including Selling a Work-at-Home or Other Business Opportunity? Revised Rule May Apply to You.

  • By Lesley Fair
  • November 15, 2012

For True Quality Bizz Opp Leads vistit www.apexdm.net or email us at leads@apexdm.net

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2012
11/15
CATEGORY
Best Practices for Direct Mail Marketing
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Is Data Your Stock in Trade?


If information is your stock in trade, FTC settlements with consumer reporting giant Equifax Information Services and San Diego-based Direct Lending Source merit your attention.  The cases are a timely reminder to businesses that when buying and selling data, it’s important to build legal compliance into your day-to-day operations.

Here’s what the FTC says happened.  For about a two-year period, Equifax sold Direct Lending and its affiliates lists of people who met selected criteria — prescreened lists. The criterion that got millions of people on those lists?  Being 30, 60, or 90 days late on their mortgage payments. The lists included other sensitive data, like people’s credit scores.  According to the complaint, Direct Lending turned around and sold the information to outfits that were peddling products and services targeting consumers struggling to stay afloat. The FTC says that some of those companies have been the subject of law enforcement actions centering on allegedly deceptive practices.

Is it illegal for consumer reporting agencies to sell prescreened lists and for other businesses to buy them?  No.  The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows companies like Equifax to furnish reports to those who have a “permissible purpose.” But under the law, the only permissible purpose for getting a prescreened list is to make a “firm offer of credit or insurance.” What about using prescreened lists to send marketing solicitations to people in financial distress? That’s not a permissible purpose.  The FCRA doesn’t allow prescreened lists to be sold for pure marketing purposes because there is no firm offer of credit and that’s why the FTC says both Equifax and Direct Lending violated the FCRA.

Among other allegations, the FTC’s complaint charges that Direct Lending — along with its affiliates and principals — violated the FCRA and the FTC Act by getting prescreened lists when it didn’t have a permissible purpose, by reselling reports without telling Equifax who was going to wind up with the info, by failing to maintain reasonable procedures to make sure the people they were selling to had a permissible purpose, and by failing to use appropriate measures to control access to sensitive consumer financial information.

What about Equifax’s involvement? In addition to charging that Equifax provided lists to companies that didn’t have a permissible purpose, the complaint alleges that it didn’t have appropriate procedures in place to prevent that from happening.  For example, according to the FTC, Equifax didn’t properly investigate when it found out that Direct Lending was violating Equifax’s own policies on prescreening.  The FTC also says that Equifax knew or should have known that Direct Lending was reselling the data without telling Equifax who was going to wind up with it — and yet Equifax continued selling prescreened lists to Direct Lending.  The complaint charges that Equifax’s failure to employ appropriate measures to control access to sensitive consumer information was an unfair practice, in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.

The settlement with Direct Lending, filed in federal court in California, imposes a $1.2 million civil penalty and puts provisions in place to protect consumers in the future.  Also named in that case are Bailey & Associates Advertising, Inc., Virtual Lending Source, LLC, Robert Bailey, and Linda Giordano.

The proposed administrative settlement with Equifax, which the FTC has published for public comment, includes a $393,000 payment.  Under the proposed order, Equifax will have to tighten up its procedures and make sure that before providing prescreened lists, the company has good reason to believe the people buying them have a “permissible purpose.”

The message to marketers? The Fair Credit Reporting Act puts limits on how companies can traffic in consumer information.  Consumer reporting agencies that want to keep their operations within the law understand the importance of keeping a close watch on who’s getting prescreened lists, what they’re doing with the data, and how it’s being handled downstream.

2012
10/10
CATEGORY
Best Practices for Direct Mail Marketing
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Business Owners. It’s Just a Matter of Time…


@angel__network: Infographic – Small Business Owners: Here’s How to Manage Your Time: http://t.co/U9TALmcS

 

2012
08/08
CATEGORY
Best Practices for Direct Mail Marketing
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USPS Makes Simplified Address Direct Mail Trial Permanent


The US Postal Service is asking regulators to allow its simplified direct marketing service for small businesses to become a permanent offering.

The Every Door Direct Mail service has proved successful since the start of trials last year, USPS told the Postal Regulatory Commission as it filed a request to add the programme to its portfolio of market-dominant products.

EDDM allows small businesses to use Standard Mail to send out advertising materials to every residential address on a carrier route, sending out up to 5,000 mailpieces at a time without requiring a mailing permit.

The key to the success of the saturation mail service is the ease with which an SME can select which carrier route or routes in which to distribute marketing materials through an online tool. Items are then dropped off at the customer’s local post office.

Along with simplified rules, EDDM is seen as an important way to bring onboard small businesses who have not used the mail as a marketing channel before because they lack staff with specific direct marketing skills.

USPS has also been trialling a larger scale version of EDDM for larger companies dropping mail at business mail entry units, but this week said it wants to add the retail version of the programme to its Mail Classification Schedule.

The retail programme has brought in $43m in revenues since trials began at the end of March 2011, the Postal Service said this week, while revenues since the start of April – when USPS launched a major advertising campaign surrounding the service – have already reached $38m.

Up to June, more than 32,000 small businesses had signed up to participate in the programme, while there have been more than 105,000 transactions at post offices.

USPS believes the programme will reach the $50m limit on revenue from a trial service by September.

“The market test has already demonstrated that sending advertising mail to every address within a community, with fewer rules, rates, and regulations, is a popular way to connect to potential and actual local customers,” the USPS told regulators.

Executives have said including the bulk mail version of the service, they want to see Every Door Direct Mail become a billion dollar revenue generator.

Rates to rise

The EDDM retail programme is currently priced at the Standard Mail saturation mail rate, but when it becomes a permanent fixture, USPS wants to set a 16 cent per piece rate, about 10% more than the standard saturation rate.

The new price would set the retail version of the programme as more expensive than the version for larger mailers.

So far the trial programme has proved quite profitable for USPS, with its regulatory filing suggesting that attributable costs for the service have been just under the 8 cent per piece level.

USPS said the higher rate proposed for the retail product was justified because of the added convenience for its customers of being able to drop off items at post offices and avoid paying a permit fee.

Source: Post&Parcel/PRC

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2012
07/16
CATEGORY
Best Practices for Direct Mail Marketing
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What Goes Around Comes Around – Taking Care of a “Problem Client”


By Ron Burley | Inc

 

Several years ago, a single problem customer changed the fate of my company. Here’s the story.

In business, we’re often all about the numbers–occasionally to a fault. I’m not saying statistics and metrics aren’t useful tools. Sometimes, however, the success or failure of an enterprise comes down to individual interaction–say, a handshake or a phone call.

Let me give you a good example.

In 1995, I bootstrapped a tech company, Broadcast Software. We created digital audio and automation software for broadcast radio stations. After four years, we had 16 employees and customers in 40 countries.

But we were at a transition point. If companies need to grow or die, we were in need of a transfusion. We had grown beyond my ability to fund future growth out of my back pocket, and it was time to get outside capital. It also turned out to be time for the tech bubble to burst. Our potential funding sources instantly disappeared.

I was a hands-on CEO. I had written the original code and knew many of our customers personally. I had told my employees that the buck stopped with me, that I’d be willing to speak with any customer they couldn’t help or satisfy. If need be, they should even give out my personal number.

Challenging Customer

So when my cell phone vibrated at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning, I recognized the 618 area as Southern Illinois. That meant the caller was Bob, a crusty old-time radio engineer and owner of a very small rural radio station near Mt. Vernon. He’d purchased one of our systems several months before and had been struggling to get it up and running.

Bob’s biggest problem was that he’d never even used a computer before. My support manager more than once had recommended that we just refund Bob’s money. But we’d marketed our products as easy to use, so we couldn’t abandon someone because they’d found otherwise.

I climbed out of bed, closed the door behind me, and spent the next two hours coaching Bob on how to configure the start-up options for Microsoft Windows. It wasn’t an issue with our software, but it was a problem for our customer, Bob–which made it our problem. At the end of the conversation, I thought we’d made a lot of progress. Bob was enthusiastic. I was hopeful.

That was the last anyone heard from Bob. He didn’t call tech support. He didn’t call me. As time passed, I wondered whether we’d actually fixed the problem or whether he’d just given up. I made a mental note to check in on him as soon as I’d figured out the bigger financial issues.

Surprise Windfall

One situation was about to solve the other. Almost six months to the day after I’d hung up the phone with Bob, I received another call. The chief of engineering of a major media company informed me the company had decided to standardize on our software across its entire chain of more than 300 radio stations. It would be the biggest order in our history–more than $4 million–and would easily provide the capital we’d been needing.

The call was a complete surprise. We’d not pursued their business. In fact, it had been public knowledge that they were selecting one of our competitors. As it turned out, the reason for their mid-course change was … Bob.

That phone call with Bob saved our company. He hadn’t given up on us; he loved us. Shortly after my call with him, the same media giant made an offer he couldn’t refuse to purchase his radio station, and Bob had stayed on as a consulting engineer.

An Internal Champion

Not long after, a company meeting centered on their intentions to purchase our competitors’ products. Bob had raised his hand at the back of the room: “Have you ever heard of Broadcast Software?” he asked. He told his new colleagues the story of our phone call, and how we’d stuck with him for months even when the problems weren’t really ours. Over lunch, and then dinner, Bob sang our praises. At the end of the evening, he scribbled our website and contact info on cocktail napkin and handed it to the chief of engineering. “Check these guys out,” he said. “They’re great.”

They did, and the rest was history. Our history.

There’s a moral to the story: Every customer needs to be treated with respect, and no customer should be left dissatisfied. I’m not saying that every customer call is crucially important. But some of them certainly are–and you never know which one might be your “Bob.”

www.apexdm.net

“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
Samuel Goldwyn

2012
06/11
CATEGORY
The Wonderful World of Lead Generation
1 comment

Payday Collection Deception


 

 

On classic episodes of the Tonight Show, affable sidekick Ed McMahon sought guidance from Johnny Carson’s all-knowing Carnac character. But as demonstrated by a recent FTC law enforcement action — which involved a company’s misleading reference to the late Mr. McMahon — you don’t need a psychic to know that challenging deceptive debt collection practices remains a top priority.

According to the complaint, defendants Luebke Baker & Associates, CEO Kevin Luebke, and other corporate managers used illegal tactics to collect a variety of debts, including magazine subscription debts, many of which they knew or should have known weren’t valid. Some of the magazine debts traced back more than a decade to a company the FTC had successfully sued for deceptive marketing. Despite the fact that the defendants had been notified of a 2003 federal court order that placed special restrictions on anyone attempting to collect payments related to that seller, the FTC alleged the defendants ignored those requirements and repeatedly told people the debts were due and payable.

The defendants’ “rebuttal sheet” — attached as an exhibit  to the FTC’s court papers — offers insights into just how far the defendants went to try to collect debts. For example, when people refused to pay, the defendants directed their representatives to illegally threaten to contact their employers: “I am trying to help you out. I definitely don’t want be the bad guy but our client sent over your employment information and I would like to handle this with you on a voluntary basis before we have to get your employer involved. Blah blah if getting nowhere.”

If the consumer still balked at paying, the defendants read off the person’s work address and threatened to get law enforcers involved: “A sheriff will deliver a summons to either your place of employment or your home. It depends on what we instruct the peace officer.”

If people exercised their right to ask for documentation for the alleged debt, the defendants really turned up the heat: “Typically when someone requests proof and it’s clear to us that this is their bill, you may possibly receive your requested credit card itemization stapled to a summons to appear in court.” In addition, the FTC says they falsely told people that magazine subscription debts are exempt from the statute of limitations and illegally threatened to garnish wages and take other actions with no intention of following through.

So how did Ed McMahon’s name enter into the story? According to the FTC, the defendants tried to hide their identity by sending untruthful Caller ID information — for example, by falsely posing as prize pitchman McMahon.

But the illegalities didn’t end there. The FTC says that in addition to violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act, the defendants marketed a “credit repair” CD in violation of the Telemarketing Sale Rule, which makes it illegal for companies to charge up-front fees for credit repair goods and services. (Note to self: A debt collection outfit charged with FDCPA violation? Perhaps not the best source for information about “repairing” credit.)

The defendants entered into a settlement  that bans illegal tactics in the future. The order doesn’t just apply to the corporate defendant and the CEO. Also named individually are the Director of Operations, the General Manager, and a Collection Manager. In addition, the settlement imposes monetary judgments against the defendants totaling $3.1 million — including a $420,000 judgment against Kevin Luebke’s wife, Julissa Luebke. Most of the judgments are suspended due to the defendants’ inability to pay, but if it’s later determined they gave false financial information, the full amount will become due.

Two message for debt collectors. First, the law draws clear lines between lawful practices and illegal tactics — and debt-related abuses remain a top enforcement priority. Second, should you conclude that even with an “Inc.” after a company’s name, defendants may be held individually liable for law violations? In the words of Mr. McMahon, “You are correct, sir!”

By Lesley Fair

S. Tyler Stapley
Apex Direct Marketing – CEO / Owner
Office- 714.203.7577

Cell – 714.717.9303
E-mail – tyler@apexdm.net
Website | LinkedIn |Twitter |
“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
Samuel Goldwyn

 

2012
05/31
CATEGORY
Best Practices for Direct Mail Marketing
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Hard Work Wont Get You Ahead


Late last week, I had several different challenging projects on my plate, each with fast-approaching deadlines. Feeling the pressure, I awoke earlier than usual in the morning and got to my desk by 7:00 am.

Four hours later, I was still sitting there, barely having budged from my chair. To my surprise and frustration, I still hadn’t finished my project.

At first, I attributed my failure to the difficulty of the task. But the more I thought about it, the less that made sense.

A Faulty Instinct to Work Harder
Suddenly, it dawned on me. Anxious about all the demands on my plate, I’d defaulted into a way of working that doesn’t work.

I hunkered down, powered through, stayed the course. Along the way, something insidious, inevitable, and mostly unconscious happened.

I started reading emails, and responding to them. I remembered little things from my to-do list, and decided they were actually quite urgent. I made some phone calls. I rewrote my to-do list. Feel familiar?

This isn’t the sort of thing that should happen to me. I run a company called The Energy Project, and we’re in the business of energizing individuals and organizations to be more productive and higher performing by learning to balance work with strategic periods of renewal.

Alas, I’m also human. I violated the very lessons we teach.

Professionals live today in a world of relentless demand. To meet their obligations, their default instinct – including mine, if the pressure gets high enough – is simply to push harder.

The problem is human beings aren’t meant to operate the way computers do: at high speeds, continuously, for long periods of time. To the contrary, people perform best when they pulse rhythmically between spending and renewing energy – not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally.

Unfortunately, rest and renewal get no respect in the organizational world. Most managers view the need for downtime as weakness. The problem is that when their employees work without pause, they very quickly get decreasing incremental returns on each hour invested.

Just as I did, you stop thinking as clearly, creatively, and strategically, and you take more time to get less accomplished.

Though you may not realize it, you’re physiologically designed to operate in cycles of approximately 90 minutes, during which you move from higher to lower alertness. These phases are called “ultradian rhythms.”

Don’t Ignore Your Body’s Signals
When you need a break, your body sends you clear signals, including fidgetiness, hunger, drowsiness and loss of focus. But if you’re like most people, you override them. Instead, you find artificial ways to pump up your energy: caffeine, foods high in sugar and simple carbohydrates, and your body’s own stress hormones – adrenalin, noradrenalin and cortisol.

Relying on these hormones for energy prompts the state we all know as “fight or flight.” It’s great for escaping danger, and terrible for performance. In fight or flight, people become less capable of thinking clearly and reflectively, more emotionally volatile, and burn down their energy at a rapid rate.

The Value of Working in Spurts
The counterintuitive secret to great, sustainable performance is to live like a sprinter. In practice, that means working with the high intensity, uninterrupted, for periods no longer than 90 minutes, and then taking a break to renew and refuel.

For the first several books I wrote, I typically sat at my desk for 10 or even 12 hours at a time. There was no way to stay fully engaged the whole time, so I found ways to distract myself along the way. Each of the books took me at least a year to write.

For my most recent book, I wrote without interruption for three 90-minute periods in the morning, and then took a break in between each one. I wrote no more than 4 ½ hours a day, and I finished the book in less than six months.

Obviously, it’s not possible for most people in most companies to work in a series of uninterrupted sprints the way I did. Let me challenge you instead to try a smaller experiment.

For the next week, take on your most challenging task first thing in the morning, for 60 to 90 minutes, uninterrupted. Then take a break. You’ll get an amazing amount done – and feel better the rest of the day.  By Tony Schwartz

www.apexdm.net

2012
05/03
CATEGORY
1
Best Practices for Direct Mail Marketing
The Wonderful World of Lead Generation
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