Spread the Smartt Program

Profile and background

This is a program designed to form alliances with business partners whose main line of work involves interaction with a myriad of different company owners. These could be designers, coaches, consultants, accountants and insurance agents, marketers and advertisers, technical consultants, business centers or other types of business-to-business service providers. To find out if you qualify, contact SmarttNet at 604 473 9700.

A win-win situation

As a business itself, SmarttNet knows the value of good referrals. This program is aimed at rewarding the people who take time out to pitch our company products to the businesses they deal with as part of their regular job. Commissions can be earned simply by spending a few minutes to generate customers and take orders for SmarttNet – not bad since most of the time these clients are people you see in your everyday working life!

This program is not meant to be your main source of income, but rather a supplement to what you or your company already earns.

Products

SmarttNet offers Web development, Internet marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services to its clients, plus a training course on Internet marketing and SEO.

The dough

To clarify, commissions are paid on actual orders, not leads.
The commission structure runs as follows. Retail prices are set and referred clients must not be overcharged for any service. SmarttNet must always receive the retail price in full, as detailed below. After an order is completed and paid for by the referred client, SmarttNet will issue a cheque (worth the amount of the commissioned earning) to the Spread the Smartt agent who sent in the order form.

*Please see downloadable collateral on the right sidebar for extensive explanations on our products and what they include.

*Prices below do not include applicable taxes.

Location and scope

The execution of Web development and E-marketing takes place at SmarttNet’s office in Burnaby.
However, SmarttNet is capable of handling distance projects through technologies such as Go to Meeting (clients watch what is happening on our computer screens and listen to us speak over the phone or Web). Prices and payments are always in Canadian dollars.

To avoid miscommunication, all projects must be delivered in English to English-speaking clients.

The first step…

To get started with the program, you will first need to set up an appointment to meet with a SmarttNet representative. Appointments can be made by e-mailing joyce@smartt.com or calling 604 630 7579. In the meeting is where your detailed questions will be answered and all case-scenarios will be sorted out. You will be shown a portfolio of SmarttNet’s capabilities and we will both have the opportunity to learn more about each others’ businesses.  If distance makes an in-person meeting impractical, other arrangements will be made to review processes via telephone or Web conferencing.

When you like what you see…

If satisfied, we will then book a further time to train you on the SmarttNet sales process so that you can properly present products to potential clients.

SmarttNet cannot white label its products to any business because of technical support issues. If your customer comes back to you with a technical problem, communication will be greatly hindered and efficiency will be lost when you, as the middle person, have to be the main deliverer of information back and forth to each party. For this reason business relationships must remain transparent and clients should be clear about which company they are dealing with for each individual product being sold (whether yours or ours).

Ordering, billing and payment

You will receive a cheque at the end of the month AFTER the project has been paid for by the referred client, since that it is when SmarttNet collects payment. That being said, after SmarttNet has done all it can do to complete a Web site project, clients have between 6 to 8 weeks from the start of the project to submit content, etc. Whether or not the client has met their deadlines, SmarttNet will run the charge through at a pre-announced date (usually the 30th of the month proceeding the month the order form came in. This should be made clear to the client before the project commences. A signed form declaring an understanding of this (and any other terms and conditions) may be required.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: All Web sites made by SmarttNet must be hosted at SmarttNet for the price of $15 a month plus applicable taxes. This is a charge incurred by the owner of the Web site and is mandatory for support and technical issues (i.e. we don’t want to be on the phone for hours with a third-party host trying to get Web site problems fixed…which will then be a cost passed down to the Web site owner. We’d rather have quick and easy access to the server located in our state-of-the art, in-house data center).

Some Questions we think you’re going to ask us

Why do I only earn $200 on the SEO full service package when it costs so much more than your other products?

Our full service SEO package has been specially formulated for companies that prefer to outsource their technical needs, or who need an initial boost of their search engine rankings. In reality though, the full service package brings in very little margin for SmarttNet (especially when factoring in overhead costs). This is because we price our products keeping in mind the need for affordable SEO on the market. Therefore, since we make so little on the package, by the time we pay out a commission on it, we make even less. Any more of a payout would essentially mean that we are doing work and bringing in virtually no profit.

Not only that, if you continue reading below, you’ll find out why we believe taking the SmarttTraining course is a better alternative to having us do the work.

My client doesn’t want to take your course, they want someone to do SEO for them. What do you recommend?

At SmarttNet we offer SEO and Internet marketing services to people who just really don’t want to do the work themselves, or who want it done faster. However, we recommend they take the SmarttTraining course as well. The reason is that we believe business owners should be educated on what goes on with their Web site. Ultimately, it’s best if they take the course with their SEO package for the following reasons:

• They’ll save money in the long run because they’ll always be able to do it themselves, or have staff do it for them, in the future.
• They’ll know they aren’t being scammed, no matter who does SEO for them in the future.
• The course comes with a lot of value-added, such as the free keyword research consultation, the two articles, the list of 10 quality directories, plus the bonus sessions on Google Web Master Tools, Google Analytics and Google Adwords. When you add all those ‘freebies’ together, it’s only a fraction more to take the full course and not have to worry about being billed every time Internet marketing needs to get done (which is ongoing, every few months by the way).

My client only wants one, or a few, of your SEO service products, not your entire package. Do I earn anything on that?

Since these services are usually add-ons to our main line of work (Web development and SEO training), they are inexpensively priced and don’t make a large enough margin for us to pay anything out for single product orders (e.g. for only a pack of articles, or only directory submission, etc.). Therefore, you wouldn’t be able to earn a commission on these one-off sales.

Can I get a discount on your services?

You get the wholesale price on our services AFTER you have sold at least one product at full price.

Can clients pay in installments?

For Web sites, no.

For SmarttTraining they can pay in two installments because the course is given in two sessions. The payment must be received before the start of the course and the training dates must be pre-scheduled to occur. Keep in mind that this method of payment should be offered as a last resort and that you will only receive your commission payment when the entire course has been completed (i.e. if the referred client takes half the course and then disappears, we cannot pay you until we receive funds in full, for BOTH parts of the course).

For a Web site and SmarttTraining together, no (because there is already a discount offered).

If I sign on with SmarttNet, am I committed to only sell SmarttNet products, or can I refer my clients to other Web development and e-marketing companies?

We think our product sells itself and our people make us great to work with. If we’re performing inadequately compared to other companies in our industry, let us know and we’ll take your suggestions into consideration. That being said, it’s a free
market. We’d rather neither party is tied down with an unpleasant contract that will turn things ugly for the both of us when one wants out.

I already have a Web developer I send clients to, will you work with him/her for SEO and Internet marketing?

In some cases we can perform a site optimization of your Web developer’s work, based on an hourly rate of $125 for under 15 hours and $85 for over 15 hours. We’ll let you know how long we think it will take before we agree to the project (it usually depends on the size of the site, its complexity and the number of pages).

Unless you are very confident of your Web developer’s optimization capabilities, we strongly recommend this service if you plan on sending your clients to us for SmarttTraining only. The reason is that the course will teach about site structure and its importance to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If, during the course, your client finds out that your Web developer did not properly design their site, it may create an uncomfortable situation between you and them.

Will you provide marketing materials?

We can provide marketing materials and collateral for you to use, but many times these will be electronic files for the following reasons:

• We want to save planet earth (if you need hard copies, you can print only what you know you will use).
• Collateral on Internet marketing needs to be updated often.
• It’s faster, it lasts longer and we find people respond to it better.
• It’s cheaper.

Will you put my logo on my clients’ site and have them link to me?

That’s between you and your client, but for SEO reasons we don’t recommend it.

If you’re asking about white labeling, please see the above section titled “When you like what you see…”

Can we barter our services to each other?

Probably not. If we’re interested in what you have to offer, we’ll let you know. We prefer that any reciprocal purchases be invoiced and paid for as per usual, even if discounts are involved.

Will you market my product to your clients if I join the program?

No, you get rewarded with commission payments only, not advertising.

Do you give discounts to charities? Do I earn a commission on Web sites I sell to charities or non-profit organizations?

We do simple non-profit (the kind with a registration number that are recognized by the government) Web sites for free or at a discount. These free/discounted Web sites are scheduled into our project task list sporadically throughout the year and we cannot guarantee every charity will get a complimentary Web site from us (it could be that the scope of the project would take up too many resources for us to be able to afford the volunteer work).

Since simple non-profit sites are free or heavily discounted, you don’t earn a commission on them. Special circumstances (i.e. large charity projects) can be negotiated with SmarttNet for a commission payout, provided no discount is involved.

Are ALL your Web sites $1,500?

No, that is our small-business price. For major corporations, governments and very large Web projects (usually with many layers and complexities, such as travel sites), SmarttNet has other options and pricing models.

Can I earn commission on bigger-ticket items?

Currently we don’t have a commission program set up for these types of projects since they are usually taken on via Requests for Proposal (RFPs). Also, the consultation and sales process will involve a lot of SmarttNet’s time, information gathering and internal resources, so all you could really do, in the end, is send us a lead, which we don’t pay commission on. (We’ll probably send you a very nice gift as a ‘thank you’ though!)