Will the Big Dogs Program
Ever Become Saturated?

I’ve been involved in a number of businesses, both online and offline since 1971.  Several of these ventures have made use of “affiliates,” or "distributors,” or “salespeople,” or “agents” – whatever you wish to call them.  And down through the years the most FRUSTRATING question I get from folks new to the business world is…..

“Gee, am I getting into this business too late!?  Is the market saturated!?”

NO product or company in the history of the world has ever been immune to this question posed by “newbies,” and Big Dogs is naturally no exception.  This, DESPITE the fact that there are a few quality programs on the Internet that have been around years longer than Big Dogs – companies that are still going strong!

“I see so many ads for Big Dogs.  Isn’t it too late to get in?”…is a question I consistently get from potential Alpha Dogs two or three times each month.  The surprising thing is that our Home Office used to get that many EACH WEEK…..when we were only a month old!  A time when our company was so young that the question of saturation (even if there WERE such a thing) was almost humorous.  Nevertheless, this topic seems to continue to be of concern to inexperienced beginners and therefore SHOULD be addressed.

First of all, let me make a blanket statement that covers ALL products, both on the Internet and off the Internet…..

“A good, reputable program, product, or service that offers the consumer a genuine value can NEVER become ‘saturated.’  A company that is willing to EVOLVE with the changing marketing environment can NEVER become antiquated.  In other words, a GOOD company with a GOOD product, that is responsive to evolving trends will always CONTINUE to be in demand”

And now let’s look at the Big Dogs program in particular…..

1. The Big Dogs program is built around the concept of traffic and lead generation.  This is a concept that is so universal, so basic, and so NECESSARY to the needs of all types of marketers, both online and offline, that Big Dogs simply will never “go out of style” or become “saturated.”  The bottom line is THIS:  As long as there are SELLERS, they will always be in need of BUYERS.  And that is what Big Dogs is in the business of – providing sellers (Internet marketers) with leads of buyers (Internet purchasers).
2. Things change RAPIDLY on the Internet!  Concepts and ideas that worked very well a YEAR ago may not necessarily be effective TODAY.  To remain viable and useful, a program must change and EVOLVE according to the changing business environment.  Unlike the majority of Internet programs which continue to use outmoded techniques, the Big Dogs Home Office constantly has it’s fingers on the pulse of Internet marketing.  Once each year (and sometimes even more often), the Big Dogs program in general, and the “Secrets of the Big Dogs” ebook in particular, are revamped, modified, and changed to reflect the changing conditions of the Internet.
3. Bear in mind that the programs that constitute the Coordinated High Income Portfolio (the C.H.I.P.) are completely separate, independent entities which are NOT owned nor controlled by Big Dogs.  They are hand-picked companies which, through thorough “due diligence” have shown to offer a true value to the consumer.  In many cases these are companies that have been around for YEARS and have withstood the test of time.  BUT!…That does NOT mean that the Big Dogs Home Office is content to rest on it’s laurels.  If we feel that an existing company is no longer being responsive to the needs of the consumer, it is ELIMINATED from the C.H.I.P.  Likewise, if we feel that a newer company is worthy of inclusion, is ADDED to the C.H.I.P.  In this respect, Big Dogs is, once again, unique in the marketplace since we ENCOURAGE our membership to be a part of the “winnowing” process in the selection of new programs to be added to the C.H.I.P.  Big Dogs is a program designed, not merely by it’s ownership, but by it’s membership, as well!

Actually, the very concept of “market saturation” is a ludicrous one.  Let us use a few examples to make our point…..

Our first example begins in 1959 with two enterprising entrepreneurs by the names of Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel who started a “little” company by the name of AmWay in their basements.  Today - HALF A CENTURY LATER - AmWay has over three MILLION distributors in 80 countries and territories, and does five BILLION dollars a year in business!  Regardless of what your personal feelings may be about AmWay – love ‘em or ‘hate ‘em – they are a true American success story.  In fact, their success is even more phenomenal, given their somewhat “tainted” reputation!  Now, I have no doubt that most of the first AmWay distributors decided to “drop out” because they felt the market would soon be saturated with AmWay distributors.  In fact, Jay and Rich personally sponsored a hundred distributors in their first three months of operations.  All but four dropped out.  But within ten years, those original four were multi-millionaires!

AmWay – fifty years old and a few MILLION distributors.  Big Dogs – “born” March 24, 2001, and a few THOUSAND distributors.  Saturation!?  I think we have a LONG way to go!

Our second example concerns the telephone solicitation or telemarketing industry.  Regardless of what you, personally, think of it, telemarketing is a thirty BILLION dollar a year industry in the United States alone – and GROWING!  Now what does telemarketing have to do with the Internet and Big Dogs?  Simply this:  Virtually EVERYONE in the industrialized nations ALREADY has a telephone.  By contrast, according to the latest estimates, “only” 10% of the world population has a computer and Internet access!  Even in the United States, the world’s only “hyper-power,” less than 80% of the population has Internet access.  Talk about a virgin market!  Do you think YOU would have liked to have started a telemarketing company fifty years ago when only one person in ten had a telephone?  You BETCHA!

Every day – every single day – 100,000 NEW people “log-on” for the very first time.  This rate of NEW exposure cannot be equaled by ANY other form of mass communication – not by radio, or TV, or newspapers or magazines.  And yet the amount of business being conducted by radio, and TV, and newspapers & magazines continues to INCREASE every year – even though those methods of marketing should long ago been theoretically “saturated.”

Not only have we not even scratched the surface of the Internet market, we haven’t even TOUCHED the surface!  By golly, we have yet to even APPROACH the surface!

I live in the town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, which has a population of around 50,000. During it’s heyday in the late 1940’s and 50’s, when it was one of the principal railroad towns of the nation, the population was actually DOUBLE what is today, and yet there are more restaurants in town today than there were 40 years ago! I’m sure you’ve had the same thought in YOUR particular town – just when you thought that your area was "saturated" with fast-food places, ANOTHER one springs up!

Several years ago an associate of mine by the name of Jim Stevens was fond of telling this (true) story: Back in the 50’s he was looking around for a business to get into. He was approached by a friend of his about a new franchise opportunity, but he declined the offer with these words, "Gee, Ray, I think I’m going to pass. The country is already saturated with restaurants, and I don’t think your idea has any long term potential."

Jim’s friend’s name, by the way, was Ray…Ray Kroc. And the franchise opportunity that Jim turned down at the time because the market was "saturated" was a completely unknown company by the name of McDonald’s – ever hear of ‘em?

And there are other factors at play, as well.  As we stated above, each day 100,000 MORE people go on the Internet for the first time. Of course, not all of them are in our market – the business opportunity seekers market. But if just 1% are business opportunity seekers, then that means that every day we have 1,000 brand new prospects for the Big Dogs program.

ONE THOUSAND NEW PROSPECTS A DAY!?  I think I can live with that!

You see, my friends, the fact that we are seeing more and more ads for Big Dogs is a good thing – a VERY good thing. In the advertising world "exposure equals acceptance." OFFline statistics indicate that the average person does not react to an ad until they are exposed to it five to seven times. ONline, that figure is much higher, and advertising experts tell us that on the Internet a person needs to be exposed to an ad over TWENTY times before they take action.

Now, as many professional marketers do, I glance through my "junk" email box a few times a week to stay in touch with what’s happening on the net. And believe me, I receive THOUSANDS of emails each day in that box. Do I see Big Dogs ads?  You betcha!  About one in every three hundred! (I take the time every so often to actually do a count) To us, of course, it SEEMS like a lot because they’re "OUR" ads, so we have a tendency to spot ‘em over all the other ads, and it SEEMS like more than a mere one third of ONE percent.

Market saturation for the Big Dogs program? Talk to me about it in twenty years!

"No thanks, Mr. Ford. I don’t think I want to get involved with one of your franchises. By 1930, everyone in America will have an automobile, and the market will be saturated."

This week I received an email from one of our new people who stated...

"Gee, Stan, every time I open my mailbox it seems like 40% of my messages are advertising the Big Dogs opportunity!"

Well, this one statement is grounds for a LOT of comments that I'd like to air.....

First of all...it's sorta like that old "is the glass half full or half empty" adage.  The optimist looks at the glass and sees it as half full, while the pessimist looks at the glass and declares it half empty.  It's a matter of perception, isn't it, and for the pessimist, NOTHING is going to change his mind.  Personally, when someone tells me that 40% of the ads he sees are Big Dogs ads, MY reaction is.....

"What!  ONLY 40% - why that's less than HALF!
You guys aren't working HARD enough!"

Secondly...let's assume (for simplicity's sake) that 1,000 marketers post ads for 1,000 different products each day.  (It's a whole lot more than that, but remember, we're trying to keep it simple)  Let's further assume that YOU ARE THE ONLY MARKETER POSTING A BIG DOGS AD!  All things being equal, when the "newbies," the folks that are looking at ads for the first time (and there are THOUSANDS of them each week!) open their email box, the chances of someone clicking on your link and joining the Big Dogs program are just one in one thousand, right!?

Now let's look at it from the reverse point of view.  Let's say that ALL one thousand of those ads are ads for Big Dogs.  Now, when the "newbies" open their mailbox all they see are 1,000 Big Dogs ads. Does this change your individual chances for someone to click on YOUR link?  Not at all!  It REMAINS at one in one thousand - your chances of a click are the same as if you were the only one advertising Big Dogs!

But WAIT just a doggone second!

We're not putting an important factor into the equation!  The Big Dogs program is essentially multi-level in nature, isn't it?  So, let's say that you have a mere 10 people in your downline, and each of THEM are posting the SAME ad with the SAME headline for Big Dogs. Your chances for a click have just increased 1,000 percent, haven't they!

In multi-level marketing, when one of your downline advertises, it's virtually the same as when YOU advertise!

In fact, it can be even BETTER!

Oh, you may not receive the $8.72 commission on the sale of the ebook but so what?  That new member who joins the program under one of your downline generates a RESIDUAL income for you.  In other words, over the long term, it's actually better for one of your downline to sponsor a newbie than for YOU to sponsor that same person!

A lot of our leaders have already recognized this fact, and have drastically cut back on their OWN promotional efforts to devote time to developing the skills of their downline people.

Thirdly..."repetition automatically builds credibility."  When you are the ONLY person advertising Big Dogs, that hardly builds credibility in the minds of the prospect, does it?  BUT...when that same prospect sees HUNDREDS of Big Dogs ads, whaddya think he's gonna think!?

I had a conversation recently with one gentleman who said,

"Y'know, Stan, I've seen ads for Big Dogs since you guys started.  At the time I didn't think too much about it.  But then when I saw more and more ads for it, I KNEW it was something I had to join!"

Repetition builds credibility!

Number four...I am constantly asked for "examples of ads" and various headlines for promotion of the Big Dogs program.  Now, we DO provide a large number of sample ads for use with the Big Dogs program.  HOWEVER (and this is a BIG "however"), we try to make it very clear that these sample ads are to be used only until you "get your feet wet."  The most successful marketers are always those who continuously hone their copywriting techniques and write their OWN ads.  In other words...

WE WANT YOU FOLKS TO BE INNOVATIVE AND COME UP WITH YOUR OWN AD IDEAS!

If a prospect sees fifty subject lines for the Big Dogs, all saying, "Revealed!  Secrets of the Big Dogs," THAT builds credibility for the PROGRAM.  BUT...when he sees your subject line that perhaps VARIES a little - maybe, "What's the Big Deal with This 'Big Dogs' Thing, Anyway!?" which link will he click on?

THAT builds credibility for YOU!

In the fifth place...we try to very specifically point out that using the FFA networks is just the FOUNDATION for your marketing efforts, NOT the end-all-and-be-all of it!

Each different source of lead generation approaches a DIFFERENT segment of the marketplace, and NONE should be ignored.  Let me give you an example.....

A friend of mine owns the largest new car dealership in the area.  His name is pretty much a household word in town.  He advertises consistently on every radio station in the area.  But he ALSO advertises on TV, in the daily newspapers, the many weekly papers, and yes - he even has his own website.  He recognizes that each different form of advertising has it's OWN individualized prospect base, and he recognizes that he must take advantage of ALL of them!

But don't misconstrue our above comments!  Our example does not mean that you should advertise on the radio, TV, and in newspapers.  What we mean is that, in addition to the C.H.I.P. programs you should not ignore OTHER traffic generation methods the Internet has to offer.

There is no such thing as TOO much traffic!

Sixth, and finally...I want to make a comment that may be misconstrued by some.  I DON'T mean it to sound harsh, and I DON'T mean it to sound unfeeling.  Nevertheless, I feel it needs to be said - and anybody that's experienced in marketing and management will tell you the same thing.

Whenever we "old pros" hear the old, "Is this program saturated?" question, it IMMEDIATELY sends red flags up - and in many cases tells us right off the bat what a person's chances are for success in ANY program.  You see, there are a lot of people who have unsuccessfully tried a dozen different businesses - online, offline, and underline (if there is such a thing) - and SUBCONSCIOUSLY they are looking for a reason - a justification - for another unsuccessful venture. 

"Saturation" is always a very convenient scapegoat for failure!

My very first online venture was FFANET.  Now if there's any program that should be saturated, FFANET should be it.  Virtually everyone on the Internet has at least HEARD of FFANET and it was the very first FFA network.  At the time, though, I was too naive and just outright STUPID about Internet marketing to know the difference.  Believe me, friends, not ONE of you could possibly be as utterly clueless about the Internet as I was - I was lucky to know where the "enter" key was!  But I plunged ahead anyway.  Needless to say my first two months were embarrassing, to say the least.  But just one year later, I had built what continues to be one of the largest ProMember downlines in the FFANET network...

.....a program that by all accounts SHOULD have been "saturated" a long, LONG time ago!

I would be the first to say that we've been very lucky with "Secrets of the Big Dogs."  Big Dogs was never designed to be an Internet phenomenon (which it HAS turned out to be).  Before Big Dogs was officially launched, I felt that I'd be happy with 100 ebook sales and 10 new Alpha Dogs each MONTH.

Now, you folks are sometimes doing that in a DAY!

We're lucky enough to have attracted genuinely talented, hard-working people who are really FLYING with the Big Dogs program - and I wish I could personally thank everyone of you.  We're lucky enough to be in the RIGHT program, at the RIGHT time - a program that continues to break records at a dizzying pace!

Saturation?  Talk to me in twenty years!

“A good, reputable program, product, or service that offers the consumer a genuine value can NEVER become ‘saturated.’  A company that is willing to EVOLVE with the changing marketing environment can NEVER become antiquated.  In other words, a GOOD company with a GOOD product, that is responsive to evolving trends will always CONTINUE to be in demand”

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