The New Market Demands A New Strategy

The New Market Demands A New Strategy “The fruits of life will fall into the hands of those that climb the tree and pick them.” Anonymous

Make every move count Your success and survival depend on it. The highest calling of a business manager is to seize the opportunity for growth. That growth opportunity is created when there is a break with the past. The break is here – the current business climate dictates that in order to not only survive but thrive in this new economy you must adapt your business strategy to accommodate a whole new class of consumers. It’s Your Move.

The New Market Demands A New Strategy There was a time when business was done on your word and the deal was sealed with a handshake. Sadly, those days are long gone. Today’s market has changed dramatically and it’s time every business owner faced up to it. If your business, like most every other business in the world has been adversely affected by this economy, you will adjust your business strategies or you will go out of business, period. Those business owners who refuse to adapt and think that they can just ride out the storm that is the new economy until things turn around are sadly mistaken. They will be among those who sit and wonder what they could have done differently while their assets are being auctioned off on the courthouse steps. Author Stephen R. Covey, in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” awakened us to something called a paradigm shift. Paradigm shifts move us from one way of seeing the world to another, whether positively or negatively. 2

The term paradigm shift was first introduced by Thomas Kuhn in his highly influential landmark book, “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.” Kuhn showed how almost every significant breakthrough in the field of scientific endeavor is first a break with tradition, with old ways of thinking, with old paradigms. Covey’s book urged us to evolve and adapt to change in our family and business lives while also empowering us to take advantage of the opportunities such change creates. Albert Einstein observed, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level we were at when we created them.” This isn’t just a slump we’re in, it’s the new reality – a paradigm shift, and if you expect your business to be one of those still standing when the smoke clears, you must face the fact that this is not going to turn itself around. You must be pro-active – make a break from the past, and turn things around for yourself. But that doesn’t mean you have to do it by yourself. Help has arrived. This is your new opportunity. The V.I.P. Payment Program is a product of a privately owned financial services company in business since 1992 headquartered in Central Florida with enrollment affiliates across the US. 4

This company has gained a stellar reputation for providing small to medium sized businesses with unparalleled customer service in the financial services industry. This progressive, forward-thinking company has developed a cutting edge strategy that is increasing traffic and revenue for its clients – retail, business, and medical professionals – by enabling them to offer their customers and patients a revolutionary payment option that is making every major player in the consumer finance industry sit up and take notice. It offers its clients’ customers 0% interest payments for up to 90 days with no credit check. You read that right – there is no interest rate charged and there is no credit bureau inquiry. Over the years the company has provided its merchant clients with state-of-the-art service in payroll, payment collection and processing of checks accepted from their customers. This experience has provided an extremely high level of invaluable insight into the inter-workings of the electronic payments industry. The company has developed a payment option facilitated by its world class electronic payment processing systems that are unprecedented and light years ahead of its competition. 6

While business owners everywhere are wondering where all the customers went, clients of the V.I.P. Payment Plan are finding they didn’t really go any-where, as you’ll learn as you read on. The economic crisis we’re presently experiencing has created a whole new class of consumers that have come to be known as the “Credit Score Poor.” You will read that expression several times throughout this chronicle because that group is the primary market that the strategies we will discuss here concentrate on most. This group of American consumers which currently number over 70 million, are just waiting for someone to invite them back into the marketplace by providing a vehicle by which to purchase the goods and services they want and need. They could be your saving grace if you allow V.I.P. program “coaches” to mentor you as to how to attract and serve them in your business, turning them from “Credit Score Poor” to “Born Again Buyers.” The bottom line is this - If your business is going to remain intact until the economy does recover, you need to learn how to market to this segment of the population. The V.I.P. Payment Program can help. The V.I.P. Payment Program has the stimulus package that actually works, but it won’t come in the form of government checks. 8

It will be your customers’ payments, made on time in the form of electronic debits and they’ll be guaranteed! This is the solution you’ve been waiting for. Prepare yourself for a new way of doing business – prepare for the next paradigm shift. The V.I.P. Payment Program has a very diverse clientele spanning all industries that are, one by one adapting to the new reality of the marketplace. As such, these businesses are better able to take full advantage of this new paradigm through the use of electronic payments as a means to facilitate an unusual short term payment plan for their customers. This is not a loan. There is no “interest rate.” Instead, the customer pays a small ‘convenience fee’ of $5, $10, or $15 that is added to each payment. This process is quickly becoming the most popular and effective consumer goods funding vehicle nationwide. This will be the way business is done for the foreseeable future, and it is so different and so much simpler than you might think. Acknowledge and embrace this new paradigm shift and you, too will be among those who not only survive, but thrive during the current economic storm and any yet to come. Ignore it at your peril. 10

This will look much like in days gone by, when the local grocer would ring up and bag the groceries and hold his most loyal and familiar customers’ checks until payday. This was sometimes a necessary arrangement for both parties in order to maintain the buyer/seller relationship. Those were much simpler times, before the advent of credit cards, which have finally priced themselves out of reach and out of the wallets of many consumers with ever-increasing interest rates, fees and restrictions. Truth is, checks have maintained their position all along as the primary vehicle for the transfer of funds from one party to another. But neither checks nor credit cards have a role to play in the V.I.P. Payment Program. The payment card industry has undergone many changes in recent times. The statements have become all but impossible for most of us to decipher and the number and types of interchange rates continue to increase incessantly, even as credit card use declines at a record rate. While not denying the existence of these concerns, The V.I.P. Payment Program focuses on the single goal of how to best increase traffic and revenues for their clients, thus, improving their own bottom line, as well. 12

The V.I.P. Payment Program is on the leading edge that is combining traditional point of sale advertising and marketing techniques with advanced state-of-the-art consumer payment approval and processing platforms that yield phenomenal results. The end result of this unique strategy is clearly more profits for V.I.P. clients, but that's just the tip of an enormous iceberg. The V.I.P. Payment Program is changing the playbook for the entire electronic payments industry by enabling those consumers who have been locked out of the mid-to-higher-ticket retail market to purchase the goods or services they need now, and take up to 90 days to pay, interest-free, while guaranteeing the customer’s payment to the merchant. The V.I.P. Payment Program cannot be bunched in with all the other merchant products out there because they are by no means typical. The V.I.P. Payment Program has taken the reins of their clients’ business model and learned how to best serve the client’s customer base as though those customers were their own, which, ultimately, they are. For, just like in any other industry, nobody makes any money until something is sold. 14

The V.I.P. Payment Program is clearly leading the pack in this new dog-eat-dog business world where the depressed economy has narrowed the field of available paying customers. The pool of qualified buyers got smaller, but, rather than standing by and leaving its clients to fight tooth and nail for every sale by slashing their price and watching their margins slide, The V.I.P. Payment Program undertook to provide a method to re-capture those buyers who left the market. That method is the 90 day No Credit Check V.I.P. Payment Program. Being in the unique position of having exclusive access to relevant financial data, giving them a firm hand on the pulse of the consumer payments market, the company found that the middle class didn’t go away, they just got “re-classified” by the computers that manage the credit scoring databases, disqualifying them from obtaining loans and credit cards. There are literally millions of Americans who have had their adjustable mortgage rates reset by the banks and other lenders through no fault of their own. They did everything right and followed all the rules as they went about their daily lives in pursuit of the American dream. But the rules were changed, forcing some out of their homes because suddenly they were unaffordable. 16

They downsized and adapted, but now they’re on record as having defaulted on a mortgage. They are still earning a regular paycheck and have always strived to make their payments on time. They just can’t get a loan or credit card anymore because a computer somewhere has stamped a number on them declaring them to be “high risk.” The V.I.P. Payment Program gains back those lost prospects by offering them short term payments at 0% interest and facilitating the electronic transfer of those payments to the merchant. The focus is now how best to invite this massive group of consumers to do business exclusively with V.I.P. affiliated merchants, while refusing to share them with the competition. In short, they found a way to create a pool of qualified buyers for their clients rather than leaving them to fight for a share of what little business was left. Then, they enabled their clients to reserve these born-again qualified buyers for themselves. And qualified they are! The V.I.P. Payment Plan’s focus is on consumers that have steady income, but don’t have the cash for the goods or services they need. They may have been caught off-guard with expensive auto repairs, dental work, or a furnace that’s seen its last days. 18

It has been a source of great frustration for business owners who want to serve these prospects but can’t get them approved for financing. Nothing takes the wind out of your sails like closing a tough sale only to have it taken away when a finance company with rigid credit terms declines the customer based on a credit score. The fed says ninety-five percent of Americans don’t have a rainy-day fund to handle emergencies, and for millions, bank loans and credit cards are no longer an option. Not only are these prospects pre-sold that V.I.P. Payment Program merchants have the only solution to their problem, but this also removes any leverage they might have had in negotiating a lower price. They are less inclined to haggle over price because they’re just grateful to have found a company where they can purchase the product or service they need that will allow them to pay for it over time. That’s not to say the merchant should unfairly exploit these buyers’ situation and charge over and above their regular price. But, it’s nice to give your customers fair value without having to sacrifice profits for a change. There’s nothing wrong in making a fair profit for services rendered. Far from “predatory,” this is like an answer to their prayers for many of these consumers. 20

The costs for the customer to use this option are far less than what traditional lenders and credit card companies would charge if they would allow this customer into the game at all. V.I.P. Payment Program clients are filling a need and their customers are happy they’ve found someone who wants their business enough to accommodate them. The V.I.P. Payment Program is on the cutting edge of a brand new genre where expert marketing and a good old fashioned desire to please the customer just so happens to culminate in their clients gaining customers away from their competitors, along with these “Credit Score Poor” prospects who were not in the market at all due to their credit score disqualifications. To be clear, The V.I.P. program is creating this market segment by enabling those buyers – who are unable to put together enough cash to pay 100% of the merchant’s bill – to buy now and pay later. This unique strategy can result in unprecedented, very large, and rapid increases in sales – some in the hundreds of thousands – for these merchants. This, in turn, creates great confidence from merchants that they are aligned with a company that not only talks a good game but delivers extraordinary results as well. What's more is that The V.I.P. Payment Program creates new customers in a 22

market where many of their competitors are in near-panic mode, wondering when, if at all, business will pick up. This pro-active approach to restoring their customers’ ability to purchase their goods or services may literally rescue many businesses whose future existence may have been in doubt. Any company that wants to grow their business is always looking for new strategies to increase traffic which, in turn willgenerate more revenues and produce more profits. When you advertise the fact that you offer something unique that the other guy does not, you undermine whatever relationship once existed between him and who he thought was his “loyal” customer. If you can get them financed at terms they can afford while he cannot, little else matters. In a financial pinch we buy what we need from whomever makes it affordable. The truth is, during tough economic times, quality sometimes becomes secondary in importance to affordability. One auto repair shop or orthodontist or well driller becomes as good as the next if the only difference between the two is that one will carry your account on his books while the other will not. That doesn’t have to be the case. V.I.P. Payment Program merchants can “up sell” customers into a higher quality of goods or services when they don’t have to worry about how they’ll pay for it. 24

But, even better is that you don’t have to settle for the low profit margins generated when the customer chooses the “advertised special.” You can offer the better quality they want because it’s in their budget, and everyone wins. The definition of a loyal customer is one who only checks your price against one or two other companies before doing business with you, again. This comparison shopping is now even easier to do, thus, more prevalent since a price comparison in most industries is just a few mouse clicks away. Far from being fearful of this practice, The V.I.P. Payment Program merchant embraces this new transparency, since it enables the prospect to search for the best payment options, as well, an area where he has the clear advantage over the rest of the field. In today’s market nothing can be left to chance – no prospect taken for granted. The diligent V.I.P. client will ensure every quote and advertisement includes the message that he offers interest free payment terms that his competition does not. The best customer is the one who can afford to pay for what he wants or needs from you when he wants or needs it. The smart business owner will take the trouble to find out how to make that happen without lowering the bar – 26

meaning without cutting quality or dropping his price. It is crucial to the success and growth of your business that you adapt your method of doing business to accommodate the largest number of prospects, while preserving your profit margins. The V.I.P. Payment Program helps it’s merchants achieve this goal by guaranteeing payment from their customers over time, while earning a small profit and leaving enough meat on the bone for the merchant to not only get his costs covered but add to his profit as well. Even so, often, the challenge in enrolling new clients is to convince the merchant that he’s missing out on these “credit score poor” prospects, or that they even exist at all, and want and need to do business. Until you are convinced of that basic premise, The V.I.P. Payment Program can’t help you. When V.I.P. Payment Program clients advertise 0% interest with no credit check they will discover very quickly that the buyers are out there, because their phone lines will light up and their showrooms will gain customers who previously were denied credit and now return to the merchant’s business as approved buyers. Generally, people won’t ask for what they don’t think they can get, out of fear of rejection. 28

They won’t ask if you have interest-free payments, and don’t expect to hear, “Hey, I’d do business with you if you would extend some sort of payment terms that I can afford!” Instead, they just stay away and do without, so you don’t even know they’re out there. Advertise 0% interest, no credit check payment terms or “90 Days Same As Cash” and watch them line up to do business with you. Once a new client comes on board, often the first thing he will do is get on the phone with those buyers his sales staff were able to close but couldn’t qualify for financing. You might be very surprised to find most of these prospects still haven’t bought. The guy with a car sitting in his driveway on blocks with a blown motor while he imposes on friends and family members for a ride, or takes the bus to work. The dental patient who was scheduled for a root canal but now must opt for a tooth extraction, instead, because she can’t qualify for the dentist’s “medical care credit card” program. As long as they have documentable income and have a valid checking account, there’s better than an 85% chance of approval. This is like found money for The V.I.P. Payment Plan merchant. 30

Lots of things combined to put us into the economic deepfreeze that we currently find ourselves in. Some negative trends were unseen, others were seen but ignored. Way too many Big-box stores have replaced the local hardware and drug stores – the mom and pop operations – and our manufacturing jobs have been shipped to third world countries. The retail buyers were dwindling in number long before the real estate bubble burst and the increase in job losses. Now, it is as clear as the empty aisles in Walmart: We have come to the end of an era. Nearly every industry has hit a wall. And none of us took this possibility seriously enough to the extent we had a contingency plan in place or even had one under consideration. There are not enough customers to go around in any industry. That means the typical business sells less and earns less, which means fewer jobs for sales reps, consultants, office staff, production workers, quality inspectors, delivery people, setup persons, and marketing, and ... pick a trade, any trade. If the sales aren’t coming in, everything stops, and nobody makes money. But, a new era with new opportunity is opening. 32

There will be winners. There are already plenty of losers. There will be many more before the shaking-out process is over. The action you take in this New Era – today – will determine your success tomorrow. The house you live in, the car you drive, your vacations, your entertainment choices, what and where you eat, where your kids and grandkids will be educated, and to a large extent, which direction their lives will take, good or bad, all will be determined by the decisions that you make today. The market trends that are already growing out of the desperateness of this economy are creating industry incoherence—a break with the past – a paradigm shift. A rebirth of trade and industry is happening at this very moment and soon will have morphed into something entirely different and unrecognizable to those who don’t participate in the shape-shifting process or at least follow along very closely. If you choose not to participate, the outcome for your business is predictable. The relationship between buyer and seller will change—out of necessity to the survival of both—to a more congenial, empathetic, and mutually beneficial one. Much like in days long past, when the neighborhood grocer held his customers’ checks until payday, and he was happy to do so. 34

The new business mantra: “I need you and you need me. How do we make it work?” Author Peter Drucker said, “The highest calling of a manager is to seize the opportunity to cause growth.” And, “Opportunity is created when there is a break with the past.” Your job is to act on the break before your competitors catch on. They could just as easily be reading this as you. Your task as a business owner is to outlast your competitors, who are, you should hope, less determined than you to ride it out, and to figure out how to profit from this break. Drucker calls it, “A future that has already happened, we just have to have the eyes to see it.” Do you? While every American business seeks new ways to ring the register, produce a decent living wage for its employees, and profits for its stakeholders, The V.I.P. Payment Program is providing them with a strategy that is the best guarantee for success: A perfect blend of marketing, creative financing, and good old fashioned ingenuity that embodies the American entrepreneurial spirit. Typical media advertising methods are obsolete and largely ineffective. There is simply no better way to attract the buyers who need or want your product or service but can’t find a way to fund the purchase than to employ the ‘one-two punch’ of proven strategies that The V.I.P. Payment Program delivers. 36

When these two distinct strategies are working in concert, the results are well above client expectations. Viable payment options that meet the challenges of this new economy, combined with attention getting advertising are the best, most sure-fire ways to achieve business success today. By employing the tools offered by The V.I.P. Payment Program, you can and will put your company well ahead of your competition, realizing significant results in the form of greater traffic, sales, revenues and profits. This will define your company as the unequivocal leader in your market. Most marketing and advertising firms are still toiling away with antiquated techniques that will take forever to deliver tangible results, if at all. Without providing the consumer with a way to buy, they may as well be putting billboards on the moon. The V.I.P. Payment Program is singlehandedly revolutionizing the consumer payments process while employing the payment plan itself as an effective marketing tool. It’s simple: “Find a way for them to buy and invite them in to use it.” 38

“While every American business seeks new ways to ring the register, produce a decent living wage for its employees, and profits for its stakeholders, The V.I.P. Payment Program is providing them with a strategy that is the best guarantee for success” Enroll in the V.I.P. Payment Program and start offering your customers 90 Days to pay with No Interest and No Credit Check today.V.I.P.paymentprogram.net

Make every move count. Your success and survival depend on it. The highest calling of a business manager is to seize the opportunity to cause growth. That growth opportunity is created when there is a break with the past. The break is here – the current economic climate dictates that we have the eyes to see a future that has already happened, and to adapt to it. You will adapt your business strategy to the new paradigm, or your business will perish. It’s Your Move.

The New Market Demands A New Strategy