There are two kinds of affiliates. The hands off ones, who just want to generate leads, take a cut and walk away; and those who are looking for something to integrate into a business which they are growing.

My advice is to steer clear of the first group. They will do anything they can to get the sale, possibly overcommitting on your behalf, and leaving you with the mess. They could well also be the ones who will bug you for more support in generating a handful of sales, and bad mouth you if they are ultimately unable to sell your services.

If you can find the minority of affiliates where their services complement yours, and you both promote each other, this is the best win win.

For instance, I do a lot of back-end ecommerce work. Building the mechanics of interactive sites. I'm not the most graphically talented person in the world. It makes sense for me to partner with web design agencies who can deliver a killer front end, while I work on ensuring that the mechanics of the thing are exactly what the customer needs. Whichever one of us the customer approaches, we can both offer a complete service.

Jack
mrjhealy@gmail.com