Brad Richdale

Brad Richdale has been in and out of the TV infomercial business for about a decade. I first learned about his business opportunities back in 1993. He was pushing an opportunity that was tied into direct marketing.

I saw his offers on late night television for about a year or two and ignored them. Then he came out with a new program and mini course that cost only $39. For that price, I figured "what the hell, I'll check it out."

The name of the info product was "The Secrets to Making Money Now". The name of Brad's company behind it was called Health Tec, Inc.. This cheesey course turned out to be a classic TV guru strategy of "backend loading" of products on customers. First they sold me a cheap $39 "course" of basic direct marketing information.

Here's what the course claimed on the back cover of the companion video tape. I quote:

"In Brad Richdales Quick Start Strategies for Making Money Fast, Brad teaches you time tested, proven strategies for starting a successful direct marketing business. In this powerful, full-lenghth, information packed video, you'l discover:

• How to spot and select products that will make you a fortune
• Exactly what to say in your ads to increase response by as much as a 1000% or more
• How to buld a successful, highly profitable business, quickly and efficiently."

Those were the general claims.

Then about 2-3 days after buying the course from Brad Richdale's infomercial, a telemarketer called me to pitch a $1,600 Internet Mall business opportunity. It was called "IMALL".

At this point in time, people were really starting to push the Internet as a medium for making money. The "hypesters" were out in full force on TV, the Net and in opportunity magazines. I had been working with the Internet in my job for some time and thought that the IMALL opportunity might be a good opportunity. So, I bought the program for $1,600.

When their so-called "big package" arrived it turned out to be a "tiny package" so immediately I felt ripped off before even opening the damn thing. Regardless, I forged ahead and went through the course and started my part time business. I went down to the county courthouse and set up my DBA, Net Profit Consulting. I had business cards made up and had a booth sign/banner made up for an upcoming tradeshow..

About a week after throwing $1,600 at IMALL, the telemarketing calls began to flow again. They tried to sell tons of stuff on the backend: cheesy products to sell from your IMALL store, slick color glossy brochures, more ad space, webpage development services, etc.

First, the business model of IMALL had several flaws. The biggest problem was that they were banking on the fact that most small, medium and even large sized businesses would jump on board with the "storefront concept". They figured since the Web was relatively new and most people and businesses didn't yet have a clue yet about getting their own website, that they could convince a large number to sign on board. On top of that they had their credibility enhanced somewhat by contracting some big names for IMALL's "anchor stores". Names like Breath Assure, Big Dog Sportswear and others.

As for myself, I put a lot of work and even more money into IMALL. I bought brochures, placed ads in my local pennysaver and even met people 1-on-1 at public places for appointments. In December of 1995, I rented a booth at a fledgling Internet Technology Tradeshow and Conference that was sponsored by the Westchester, New York Chamber of Commerce. I had a computer setup with a connection to the web and I demo'd people for TWO DAYS on the IMALL concept.

I spoke with DOZENS of business prospects in an attempt to sell them classified ads and storefronts. I found that most businesses wanted their OWN web domain for their stores, not some cheesey low level domain extension like: www.imall.com/merchant_services/merchant_stores/my businessname.html. Also, the concept of having a business website was not yet appreciated as a beneficial business and sales tool. There was a lot of what I call "missionary work" to educate the market. And, when people were interested in doing something, they wanted their own domains and full control over their websites. They were also put off by the $1200 to $3500 cost for a "custom-developed" customer storefront.

Attendees at the tradeshow seemed impressed, but the bottom line was that most people and businesses were not yet ready to spend money on websites, particularly what IMALL was offering at the time. Out of the whole 2-day show, I sold a measly 2 classified ads for $149 each. This was one of the most frustrating bizop experiences I've ever had.

The other major flaw with IMALL was that the company seemed to be understaffed all the time and more focused on selling and marketing rather than on helping its customers and resellers succeed. I can tell you from experience, you must balance your operations across the board and provide customer and reseller focused support. Times have changed and people expect a lot MORE for their money.

A SIDE NOTE: The telemarketer who sold me the IMALL opportunity lied to me stating that he was a "consultant" and I could call him with any questions or concerns I had after purchasing the product. I tried contacting him and was told he worked for a separate entity i.e.an outsourced telemarketing firm, not the IMALL support staff. This slime had thrown everything at the wall in the hopes that something would stick. He told me what I wanted to hear in order to get the sale.

Back to Brad Richdale, more recently in the late 90's he was collaborating with an organization called NDIYP, an acronym for The National Direct Internet Yellow Pages. This too was a total flop for the poor folks who bought into it. For Brad Richdale, things "went south" quickly . He was subsequently investigated by the FBI and IRS. His offices in Florida were actually raided and documents and assets were siezed. In essence, he was shut down. You really have to be doing some bad things or are associating with bad people for this to happen to you.

Note: Did you ever notice that many of the questionable marketing outfits and so-called real estate gurus have offices in Florida??!! That's because Florida is protective of these kinds of organizations with its liberal business laws and codes.

Anyway, I have not heard, nor seen Brad Richdale on TV in a long time.