When To Say No To Offers

Over the past six months, I have invested some serious (for me) money in buying digital goods.

• Some have been information products which I think can help me to improve my skills
• Some have been software items which I think will help me to do my job better / quicker / cheaper.
• Many have been various types of rights to products which I think I can add to my portfolio.

I haven't wasted too much money of the first two categories. I've been fairly selective, and most of the info products / software items I've used and found useful. If they don't live up to their expectations, I ask for a refund. I very rarely do this, and when asking, I always explain to the vendor why I'm asking for a refund. It's only fair to them.

But where I do fall down big time is in the third category.

I have a butterfly mind. There - it's out; I've confessed!

Currently, I've got 1 product about to be launched, three in preparation, five waiting in the wings for me to look at seriously - and half a dozen which I can't ever see myself devoting enough time bringing them to market.

And I've spent quite a bit of money buying these half dozen products. I'm talking of $200 - $400 each.

That's serious money to me.

So why not learn from my mistakes. Here are my rules on when to say "no" to 'irresistable offers'..

1. Does it fit in with my mainstream product line? If not, say no.
2. Have I got the time to use it profitably within the next 8 weeks? If not, say no.
3. Am I really enthusiastic about this product? If not, say no.
4. Can I afford to spend the time / money developing this product idea? If not, say no.
5. Is it going to improve my cash flow within the next 12 weeks? If not, say no.
6. Do I trust the person selling this product to give me reasonable support? If not, say no.
7. Is it going to lead me into new markets which have a reasonable chance of becoming acceptable within 12 months? If not, say no.

OK, I'll stop there. I'm sure that there are other "rules" which I could think of. Do you have anything else to add? If so, please comment on this article.