UFirst Financial published this letter to its agents sometime in 2008, I offer it, in full:
Dear Agents,
2007 has been nothing short of phenomenal in UFirst growth, sales and promotion.
This is due to the undying and unwavering efforts of the field force, which stands second
to none in the industry and is a shining example of what can be done when people share a
common desire, goal and purpose.
American homeowners of tomorrow will have greater opportunities and the possibility of
a brighter future because of your individual and collective efforts as Agents selling the
Money Merge Account system.
There have been challenges to be sure, but the focus has always been on the solutions and moving forward with a resolve to stay a leader in this industry. One such challenge has been negative influences surfacing on the Internet as an attempt to turn the heads of homeowners researching for a better way – a better way to free themselves from their current financial situation of debt.
These influences have not been able to maintain the attention of the public, yet some are distracted enough to turn to other, less effective (or opposite) avenues, placing a bandage on the broken arm of their mortgage. In the attempt to educate these investigators, many good-hearted Agents have made the effort to offer their views with a valiant desire to convert others to our program.
We commend many of you who have done so, within the confines of policies and procedures, to spread the word to the country, as well as the world (yes, we get e-mails from around the globe asking questions). However, we also found this effort to be a twoedged sword.
While seeking to make both side of the coin known to all who inquire about the Money Merge Account system, Agents have also been limited to posting on competitors’ Web sites/blogs/message boards. This has only increased the popularity and search engine rankings of those who would like to see our program fade into the sunset never to return in other words, it puts the naysayers on the first page of Google. In short, good intentions have fueled the very sites opposed to us, giving them an advantage over us on the Web. In other words, we must stop giving them an advantage by posting on their sites.
At the same time, UFirst has seen a need to provide a vehicle online, where our qualified Agents can respond in full to comments made against us and our program, in a professional manner and in full, without the fear of deletion. We see that it is imperative to address ‘both sides of the coin’ to educate the public, and to provide complete information on all issues concerning our program.
So it is our pleasure to announce a new set of official UFirst Blogs, created to address the online challenges made by less than savory opposition. We are confident this tool will allow our combined intelligence, experience and views to dominate the search engines, possibly increase your personal and team sales, as well as lend official credibility across the board. We also feel this will allow those who have built a professional image online to ‘pull’ their sites to the front of multiple search engine listings once these blogs dominate the existing front page results.
To eliminate confusion and to keep all comments professional, guidelines will be established, regulated and enforced by an independent moderator who has been trained in compliance and the dynamics of this program. This is to prevent ‘bashing’ or inappropriate language and/or comments being made in an attempt to defend the company and product.
Therefore, all comments must be reviewed and approved before being posted. This will apply to both UFirst Agents as well as those who may desire to challenge us, which will no doubt happen as time goes by and their own sites lose momentum due to a lack of UFirst Agent participation. The advantage you now have is the ability to answer comments made, in full, without fear of deletion or improper modification.
Another advantage all Agents will have is the ability to leave a signature with a link to your own site and contact information, which will open the possibility of sales by those interested in your own point of views. This will also increase the rankings of your own Web site in search engine queries. UFirst is very excited to provide this service for our field force to take advantage of.
It is our hope and desire each and every Agent will take time out and engage in topics of interest, or even start topics that will change the perspective and views of the American homeowners, as well as convert professionals to the business opportunity. United in purpose, we can change the financial landscape of America and create a niche in history that will affect families for generations.
We look forward to hearing from each of you at:
www.ufirstforum.com (this site is now down)
and its related links:
The Whole Truth
Both Sides of the Coin
ProViews
What You Should Know
Answers from the Source
– UFirst Executive Team
I visited their forum, the traffic there is virtually nil. As it becomes clear to the folk at UFirst that the numbers show they fail to provide any value, they can only move their focus to their Google ranking and increase their marketing.
Joe
At least you have their attention. 🙂