Growing a business with a sustainable residual income that continues to grow and thrive for years to come and utilizing the internet as a tool to do so offers significantly greater rewards but can certainly be just as difficult as building any traditional business. There is no fully automated means by which to develop this kind of business. To build and grow this type of business requires effort and developing personal relationships with repeat customers as well as suppliers and a distribution channel. These are the things that highly successful entrepreneurs know and love to do. Even all the so called internet gurus that have supposed fame and fortune online have this in common. Nearly every one of them to the last, stays in contact with customers, distributors, and suppliers. They almost always add an element of personal touch, most do not use the internet exclusively, and nearly all make contact with their business associates, customers, and partners in a personal manner (either face to face, over the phone, by mail, and frequently also using electronic mail) on a regular basis.

Electronic mail is a great medium, as is postal mail, but they can not replace a phone call or face to face meeting. In fact some of the most successful self professed online marketing gurus have outbound telemarketing sales teams calling customers once that customer purchases their initial product or service, or takes them up on a free offer. They do this in an effort to up-sell another product or service. This is business folks. A phone call, a personal contact, that little something that the masses are unwilling, unable, or simply refuse to do is what all successful entrepreneurs are doing and are always willing to do to grow their businesses. That’s the difference between a wealthy marketer and a struggling one. The lesson here is you must pick up the phone, speak to your customer or prospect, show them you care and be value focused not dollar focused. Feeding prospects into an automated system may generate some sales but it is unlikely that it will ever build true wealth for you. Maybe for the automated system owner it can, but even they had to start somewhere and be talking to people (Customers, Suppliers, Distribution Channel, System Development Teams, etc…). Even they had to go through this important phase. Again, this is very important to understand, the lesson here is that to make it big you have to add that little personal touch and be value focused not dollar focused. This applies whether you are selling a consumable repeat order type product, multiple products, a business system, traditional offline business products or services, or even Network Marketing / MLM products or services. In every case the same rules of business apply. It’s a leadership and relationship game. Focus on these and you will be far ahead of the masses that are trying to make it in cyber space.