A question came in recently from an affiliate asking about how we screen potential affiliates before we sign a contract with them. As the person asking the question said, “Does anyone with $2000 and dream get to be an affiliate?”
You all deserve an answer to that question. After all, we all depend on the strong reputation of the Goats On The Go® brand, and harm done by any single affiliate across the U.S. (and beyond!) has the potential to negatively impact the rest of us. This is especially true in places where we have multiple, nearby affiliate territories being operated by different people. Customers in any given place are unlikely to distinguish between the individual territories when they heap praise or curses on Goats On The Go® on Facebook. Every affiliate in the area benefits from the praise, intended for them or not, and suffers from the curses.
Take a moment and think back to when you were considering becoming an affiliate. I hope one or more of the following describes your experience, because there was intention behind the process:
Information was plentiful, but I had to ask for it.
If I took a step, Goats On The Go® would give me more info and tell me the next step.
It seemed like the ball was always in my court.
I remember wondering why they weren’t pursuing me more.
I was ready to sign on day one, but Goats On The Go® seemed to drag their feet.
I was totally skeptical, even a little ornery, but they just kept answering my questions.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret…Goats On The Go® has a really terrible affiliate conversion rate. We’re not good sellers. Since we started the affiliate program in 2016 we’ve received over 2000 inquiries from potential affiliates. Lately we’ve been receiving 5-6 inquiries per day. We now stand at 36 affiliate territories. You represent the 2% of survivors who made it through the process! You’re like Navy Seals without the crew cuts!
And, like Navy Seals, our candidates mostly self-select. We don’t make candidates announce their dropping out of the process by ringing a bell for all to hear as the Seals do. But, we try to leave lots of room for potential affiliates to lose interest, decide it’s not for them, postpone it for a better time, or simply flake out. We can’t read every corner of a person’s soul in an interview, but we can make darn sure they really want to be an affiliate by making them initiate almost every step through the process.
Speaking of interviews, you’ll recall that we had at least a couple of phone calls with you before you signed your affiliate contract. We didn’t label any of those as an interview, but we were paying attention. We also had you complete an affiliate application. These screening processes tell us something about the candidate’s passion and drive, but beyond that the best we can expect is for very obvious red flags to be revealed. We can only learn so much about a person in advance, which is why we lean heavily on self-selection.
So, be proud, Goats On The Go® affiliates! You’re the best. You wanted it the most. You saw your opportunity and you decided to goat for it. No goats, no glory!