bean-aid

12clicks:

12clicks' Position On Cross Sales
After reading the rash of threads recently regarding cross sales, it's clear that most people don't know much more about the subject other than whatever it is that's been yelled the loudest on the boards. As someone who is in the cross sale business, I thought I would respond to the hysteria.

Pre-checked cross sales are a legal, commonly used way of doing business that both Visa and Mastercard allow. When done correctly (as in, how I do it) there is a huge benefit to the program owner with very little risk. There is also a correct way to handle the surfer so as not to scare them away from adult sites altogether. When done incorrectly, the industry is put at risk.

Hidden, pre-checked cross sales are misleading, wrong, and most likely illegal. None of us should be surprised to see some large programs prosecuted by the DOJ or FTC for this underhanded practice.
I do not support them, condone them, or do anything besides pray for their demise. They hurt us all and we do not now, nor will we ever, do business with people who practice hidden cross sales. If we have a partner who turns to the dark side, we will drop them in a heart beat.


However, there has been way too much lumping together of properly done cross sales with the hidden, shady cross sale practices that we all know are going on. This is done mostly by the uninformed but also by some who's agenda it is to discredit a business practice that is not their own (in typical GFY style)


Take our model for example.
Our prechecks are fully visible and explained in detail above the submit button. There is nothing hidden about them. They are right in the surfer's face. However, if the surfer doesn't understand or somehow doesn't see the checkbox, he WILL receive an email in plain text (so as not to get caught in a spam filter) explaining that he has joined along with the website URL and more importantly, the CANCEL PAGE URL. There is simply no deception. But we go even further to protect the surfer. If, somehow, they didn't see the checkbox and didn't get the email, our descriptors that show up on their credit card statement have our toll free customer service phone number and our cancel page url. If they contact our customer service and ask for a refund, we refund them in full NO QUESTIONS ASKED. It doesn't matter whether they say,"I have no idea what this charge is" or "I just want to cheat you out of money" we give a full refund. All of that is to take care of the surfer!



We also have a few proprietary ways of protecting the program owner who sells to us from the small percentage of disgruntled surfers as well but that's not for public consumption. There's a reason we're better than our competition and I'm just not going to give it away on a chat board.

And just a quick word on retention. Since I also sell off some cross sales, I too, am very concerned about retention. Because of the way we operate cross sales, we've always enjoyed great retention. At a time when you hear people struggling for 3month retention, we're looking at many many many surfers staying with us for over a year. The myth that cross sales hurt retention is just that, a myth.

I'm currently working with some of the biggest most ethical companies in our business and there's a reason for that. If you're a program owner who's interested in cross sales, contact me and find out why.

the Shemp:

good post, 12clicks..

12clicks:

thanks Shemp

lazzlo:

do u have revshare? x sales even above the submit with revshare, the affilaite should get a piece

KRM:

Yes they have %60 rev share and they have the cross sales on those. Unless the affiliate gets a piece of that sales the revshare is bullshit. I understand having the cross sales on the pps as they are taking a much bigger risk but the revshare cross sales are bullshit if the affiliate is not getting a piece. Then again I hate all prechecked cross sales. I have no problem with unchecked since it's an option for the surfer and not shoved down their throat. Nice post though it's always nice to hear opinions from all sides.

12clicks:

I pay 60% instead of 50%
It's my business model. As an affiliate, you want stop asking for more until you're getting 100%
Those requests are irrelevant to me. You either like my business model or you don't.

lazzlo:

Do you always talk down to affiliates like that? Must do wonders for business.

12clicks:

xclusive and I go back a long way and can speak frankly on many subjects.

Who are you again?

lazzlo:

wtf?

lazzlo:

I'm not even going into it with that fucking lame ass "who are you again" bullshit. You made a public announcement here, then all the sudden now its only for xclusive? Here and GFY you talk down to affiliates, your not popular over there and I wonder why. I really dont care who you are btw. asshat.

12clicks:

that "who are you again" bullshit is always a tough one when you're a nothing.


And yes, dear troll, when I quote xclusive, my response is for him.

lazzlo:

troll? wow

12clicks:

What an arrogant ass.
I agree

lazzlo:

really

Dario:

LOL

Let me guess, Cyn wrote the initial announcements and 12clicks handled it from there.

Such waste of breathe

lazzlo:

12clicks gets a time out. It's a free world and we can all debate and not agree about things, call me a nothing, that's fine, but I'll be dammed if I will be called a troll on the board I mod at.