Pass the baton, or carry it yourself?

Recently, earlier this month, the Chinese Women's relay team had a horrible baton passing incident. The net-net is that they were not able to pass the baton fluidly, and it was a mess to look at, and just total confusion on their part. This resulted in a failure for the team, and videos of this horrible error probably being seen by many competitors over the years to come.

This resonated with me as a person who, in the performance marketing space, relies on others to "grab the baton" from me. A performance marketing sales person can bring in the best opportunities for their company, whether it be a name brand, a company on the rise, or a vertical that should resonate. Without, though, a strong affiliate management team, a robust list of affiliates, and creative media buying, there is a sense of concern as to whether the team can get the baton over the finish line. One of the reasons I have accepted a role outside of performance marketing is that I want to carry the baton myself, and not have to rely on others to get me across the finish line.

There are, of course, ways to assure that your team can grab the baton, and pass it flawlessly through the finish line. First, check with your team. If they have the media, and partners to get your client what they need, great, move forward. If there are certain restrictions, like no search, make sure your team can still execute on the campaign. Email is quite effective for cpa and cpl opportunities. If your team has emailers who can do both, great. Make sure, though, that the emailers who run your campaign are reputable, and are experienced in the vertical they are running. Too many times emailers will drive acquisitions only to get a fraud notification from the client a month later. Having numerous emailers is key; if you rely on one you are lost. Especially if you have an emailer who will not do cpa. That in itself should raise a red flag.

I am not a fan of pop traffic. When a team can only run pops because they cannot do search traffic I wouldn't even run the campaign. Pops are limited, and the quality is usually not good. Display traffic is much more effective, and if you can set it up in a programmatic manner your path to success is much more feasible. If your team can only do Run Of Network, or native advertising, there may be a spike in leads but, ultimately, the relationship with the client will not last long. Tread carefully when considering this tactic.

Mobile has become another great source to reach your customers goals. Knowing KPI's, caps, minimum traffic accepted, etc., will all play a part in your decision to run a campaign. I have, personally, had campaigns run knowing KPI's could be hit, but that reaching the client's minimum threshold would be challenging. This should not even be a discussion! As sales people, we are ALWAYS looking for new leads to bring our services to. But why are media and affiliate managers not held to the same standards? If my clients are doing well, and are constantly delivering over my number, what's going to happen? Yes, my quota will be raised. But this never seems to happen to the people you pass the baton to. You should never have to be in a spot where you don't have enough sources to deliver quality traffic as long as your team is always looking for new sources. If they aren't, that's a major problem.

When you are looking at a campaign to run, make sure your team is comfortable with the payout and anything else pertinent to getting a successful campaign going. If the payout is low, stay away. In addition, if the offer is coming to you from a third party walk away. If I have an agreement with a third party, and they send me offers, I cannot go directly after those offers. If, however, a company I have no relationship with send me their "hot" deals weekly, or daily, then it is fair game, and I can pursue them directly. This usually means it is an established company in the space, and the payout the third party is offering me is going to be much less than what I can get it for direct. And, of course, you can always check Offervault. If the payout is low, and the team believes it should do well, even with minimal profits, run it! If there are sources, and its going to make some money, hopefully the budget will open up with initial success.

One of the most important people in the process is the Account Manager. While I never stray too far from my client, and am in contact with them regularly, it is the Account Manager who is their day to day contact. It is that person who will make any changes to the account to maximize success on both sides. A good AM will be proactive with the client, and make suggestions on price increases, best sources, new opportunities, etc. If not, the account will not grow as you anticipate. And if things go south, it is the sales person, and the AM, who have to take the beating and try to salvage the partnership. Many years ago I had an AM who did not return calls, so ghe client called me, knowing I would always be there for them. Think of it like this: If you pass someone on the highway too closely, and they are about to give you the finger, give them the "Sorry" wave. It's amazing how a little thing like the wave, or being there for the client, will keep things afloat.

Then there's the clients. Shockingly, they are not all honest. They will claim numbers less than yours, or say why a lead was scrubbed, etc. Not saying this is always the case, no, on the contrary. To assure this doesn't become an issue make sure you have login information fromt he clients to compare numbers. If they don't, get numbers daily so there are no surprises down the road.

Under the right circumstances, affiliate marketing can be a lucrative, rewarding, experience. Make sure to tread carefully, and that th opportunity is one that your team can deliver on. If so, it's a win!