what do YOU think a rep's job should include?

[basschick]

different programs seem to have very different ideas of what a rep's job should entail and what their responsibities are. some programs seem to feel a rep's only job is to get more and more and more active affiliates. some feel a rep should help existing affiliates make more money. some feel that a rep should take care of their affiliates, finding out what they need and getting it for them, answering all sorts of questions, helping with suggestions, etc. i like that one the best.

and a surprising number of programs that aren't doing well hire reps, ask for their input on things that fall within what i'd consider a rep's job is, then either ignore the rep or for other reasons fail to produce what's needed - nor do those programs give their reps access or permission to do it themselves.

if i were hiring a rep, i'd prefer a rep that is not just a board whore always working frantically to get more affiliates. i'd like a rep who spends some time on boards but doesn't treat that as a primary function. that person would get to know the affiliates, encourage them, help the ones who are having trouble sending traffic or getting conversions, would find out what affiliates need - there are so many programs out there with useless blog content because no one at those programs found out what their blogging affiliates minimum requirements are. this person would have some say over the affiliate area, what's in it, etc. and some kind of ftp access, as well.

other webmasters may have different needs or opinions than mine. so what's yours?

[QueerLust]

You pretty much hit the nail on the head, IMHO.

I like the way that Intense Cash does it. Mark trusts Lloyd and gives him a lot of leeway to do whatever he determines is best for the program.

That is how it should be.

[basschick]

true. on the other hand, for years mark was his own rep and an extremely responsive rep he was, too. repping successfully for his program probably gave mark a very good idea of what was needed for a rep to do their best for his program.

[Gaystoryman]

For myself, I try to look at a rep, as just that.

In a sense, they are the mother in a family. Daddy being the almost unapproachable sponsor, the authoritarian, and it is the Mother who bridges the gap between daddy and the wayward teenager.

Like most families, it is the mother who is the guiding force behind the man, and the one who nurtures the kids, who gives them the attention the daddy isn't capable of showing.

Okay, been a long day lol

[RDude]

I couldn't put it any better than how you did Basschick. Trust is a huge part of it. Why hire someone if you can't trust them? Access to all content and the freedom to dish it out as the Rep sees fit in order to bring in sales would certainly be up there for me as a program owner. I would just have to trust the Rep that they would not abuse that priviledge. Of course, I wouldn't hire them to begin with if I didn't trust them.

[QueerLust]

true. on the other hand, for years mark was his own rep and an extremely responsive rep he was, too. repping successfully for his program probably gave mark a very good idea of what was needed for a rep to do their best for his program.

True. At the same time, most programs start off with one or two people and the owners act as their own rep.

For far too many, something changes at some point.

I think for many it ends up being a control issue. Program owners do not want to give up any control.

And then you have the "nobody can do it better than me" types...

The ability to successfully delegate makes a good manager great.

I do think that affiliate reps should receive some of their income from performance incentives. I am fine with salaries, but collecting a straight salary with no performance requirements tied to it is not the best motivator for the rep to help affiliates be all that they can be.

[Tube4Gay]

Thank you very much for bringing this up, Basschick!

I recently approached some reps for help with improving conversions, and have not had a particularly positive experience, which left me thinking what the job of an affiliate rep is, if not to help affiliates. Maybe its just that I am not a big affiliate ...

[abostonboy]

true. on the other hand, for years mark was his own rep and an extremely responsive rep he was, too. repping successfully for his program probably gave mark a very good idea of what was needed for a rep to do their best for his program.

Mark has a very good idea of what a rep should do and is not afraid to give the people that work with him the authority to make decisions. You don't know how many times in a day I ask Mark something and he tells to do what I feel as best as he trusts me.

That is something that I feel is important. For a rep to get the authority to make decisions, they need to earn the program owners trust. It takes a while on both sides for that to happen.

[AnthonyDeAngelo]

if i were hiring a rep, i'd prefer a rep that is not just a board whore always working frantically to get more affiliates. i'd like a rep who spends some time on boards but doesn't treat that as a primary function. that person would get to know the affiliates, encourage them, help the ones who are having trouble sending traffic or getting conversions, would find out what affiliates need - there are so many programs out there with useless blog content because no one at those programs found out what their blogging affiliates minimum requirements are. this person would have some say over the affiliate area, what's in it, etc. and some kind of ftp access, as well.

other webmasters may have different needs or opinions than mine. so what's yours?

I agree 100% with you on this BC - and I know that Michael B has been contacting our affiliates one by one to review their needs and discuss ways in which we can work with our affiliates - its a tedious process but is working for us.

And in our case, Michael has just moved to the CA Coast to be close to the DADDY of all teams here at T&C headquarters so that we can all work closely together - as much as I like the notion of the "cyber workplace" I also appreciate the importance of hands-on interaction that can only come with physical contact AD

funny how I just noticed that BC comes before AD - odd coincidence?