Focus, LLC; Unsolicited High Pressure Sales, Buyer Beware!
Today, my wife who is a realtor got an unsolicited phone call from Focus, LLC trying to sell a sponsored ad listing in Google. Their rep was really putting the hard sell on, not letting my wife talk, then proceeded to force a sale asking how she would like her ad to appear. At no point was my wife asked if she was interested in their service or an offer made to send additional marking materials, for our consideration.
When I searched Google for “Focus, LLC”, I found their Facebook page, which lists the same website as they gave us to try to sell their product with one like and next to no content. Given that they claim to be a Facebook marketing partner, why don’t they have an amazing Facebook page? Also they claim to be a Google partner, but they don’t feature on the first two pages of Google under their own company name.
Additionally, when looking up the whois information for their domain name, it came back as registered by Registration Private (Domains By Proxy, LLC), which was really designed for individuals, not companies, every legit company has all their company information listed on their domain names whois.
They asked us to search Google using the term “NW Portland Homes“, which did bring up a website that they claim to be one of their clients. Of course, a single example could be set up as a sales tactic. I work in Internet marketing myself, so I know how easy it is to set up a flashy website to sell a non-existent service.
The thing that raised alarm bells for me is the pushy nature of the sales spiel trying to push the sign up. Of course, once we asked to be sent information before even considering giving credit card details, the rep immediately went into “if you don’t sign up now, you’ll lose out as we have to sell this today”.
I question the effectiveness of sponsored ad marketing, most people I know avoid paid ads instead opting to click the first organic link. I looked at the search rate for “NW Portland Homes” using Google’s Keyword Planner and it showed an average of 320 searches/mo with low competition for that keyword.
My wife mentioned to the rep that I was an Internet marketer and I had been listening in. Which is when I chimed in and said we will not be forced into purchasing any service because we might “miss out”. When it became clear that the rep was not going to get a sale; she took a swipe at me, saying something along the lines of “I hope he can get you better positioning as he won’t let you use our service”.
This is when my wife took it off speaker as my reaction would not have been good. If this is the sort of people who Focus, LLC have working for them, I’d advise you to run in the opposite direction as quick as you can. I will never do business with anyone that cold calls me; nor any company that tries to scare me into buying with time limited offers. That’s not how to do business in my personal and professional view.
NOTE (4/9/2019): This blog was written in August 2016, Focus LLC might have changed their policies since it was written. I have not been in contact with Focus LLC since this incident, but they now have a real Facebook page with content and their website does appear organically at the top of Google under their company name. Overall, the comments below are a mixed bag, so I would suggest buyer beware.
What an utter pillock. They deserve all the bad press you can direct their way.
They phoned me today. Agreed on all your point.s Additionally, I looked up the company name with the Better Business Bureau out of Portland, OR, They have an “F” rating. Thank you for your post,
I hate scammers!! you should go post this link on their website.
Thanks for the information. I am a Realtor and I got the same call yesterday and told them I would think about it. I was doing research when I came across your blog. I had the same experience. I basically had to talk over the caller just to get her to stop talking. Like you said they don’t show what the product will look like or what you are actually paying for, which seems a bit shady. Thanks again for posting this.
Ok so of course there are three other options in the sponsored results….google is a dinamic bidding system so why would they bid against themselves to put more then one on a page? That wouldn’t make sense….plus if they work with people all over the country they have lots of places to call. Lastly if you know anything about google there are only a few ways people search consistently no matter where or what you search for so I don’t think you are educated on this subject as you say you are.
Deedee, you have missed the point of this post; you have elected to pick on one aspect, which might be true, I have not worked with PPC marketing since 2003. However, I stand by my comments as Focus LLC claim to be able to provide the service for a fixed monthly fee, which would be a huge risk with a bidding system. Unless they use low competition keywords that very few people are searching for or cap their expenditure meaning that your listing disappears after that $ amount is reached. Anyway, thanks for your comment, should my employer want to move towards pay-per-click marketing, I will update my knowledge accordingly.
THIEVES AND SCAMMERS 😡😡😡
I went with them and have been with them for 5 months works great for me!
Angela Haynes, can you emphasize on why you state they are thieves and scammers?
I found this blog when I got a phone call from them this morning. I will not make a decision like this without researching it first and the seller was very pushy. However, when I tried to go to their Facebook page, Facebook said it not available, so that didn’t make me feel very comfortable to start with.
They 100% are scammers. They own multiple companies including Relevant Media LLC and of course Focus LLC. I was once a client until they didnt do anything for me, continued to steal my money after I told them to stop charging. Clayton, their finance person should be terminated from his position and somehow found my card information after I changed it. After i finally got out of everything a person from relevant media called to sign me up… was the same person who called me from Focus… If you were legit you wouldn’t need multiple names. I could go on but..you get the point.
How can you bash a company & call them scammers without actually being scammed? That’s nonsense. The sales world is highly competitive & most sales people (including some realtors) are highly aggressive to get the sale. Being pushy doesn’t necessarily make them a scammer. I think you should refrain from your judgment – or slander – until you have actual facts to back up your allegations.
Lori, thank you for your comment. A few things, it’s not slander, it would actually be libel, as it’s written, not spoken. Second, I can judge whoever I want based upon their behavior, that is my right to do so. I expressed my opinion, claiming likely scammers, I don’t need proof of anything, if Focus, LLC don’t want bad press, they should change the way they operate, cold calling a person on the National Do Not Call Registry and proceeding to be aggressive and rude is not a way to cultivate new business or good will. Clearly a lot of people feel the same as me as the top search term that this page is being found under is a variation of “Focus, LLC scam(mers)”
They called me today and they were rude and pushy. As soon as I started asking questions the lady went nuts. She even asked “why I didn’t trust her.” If it walks like a scam, talks like a scam its probably a scam.
ok so I signed up today. I reviewed over a lot of what I see here as bad customer service. My experience was good and informative, we reviewed their site and facebook and all the reviews here, for example. I was assured any complains had been addressed and specific people let go including the yougn woman on 4-5-19. My thought is even if they are a tiny bit honest, and Nicole seemed extremely honest, then I would get at least 3 customers that would get my money back. I will keep you posted on how it goes. I expect my 2 ads to be complete by Wed (now Monday). -[business and contact info redacted, this comment section is not for business promotion]-
Found this page while I was online with the “sales manager” who was extremely pleasant and polite. They were going to “give” me top status for the town where my mail is delivered from, not where my customers come from. I told her I am the ONLY business, other than a religious scammer, with this address. She promised me a lot. Used the classic “two bookings will pay for you ad,” as the previous poster seemed to believe. As a business owner, you should know that marketing costs should be no more than 10% of your costs of doing business, so I suspect your assumption that if you get 3 customers actually should be if you get 30 customers the ad will pay for itself. Thanks to Jason for posting this red flag! I’ll do my own Google adwords campaign and get something for my money!