Although it is not as difficult as some people believe it to be to get accepted into an affiliate/CPA network or affiliate program in general, there are some requirements to be met before you get approved. Some affiliate networks require nothing at your side to join. Clickbank is the best example for this. As long as your country is listed within the allowed countries, you can join by simply signing up, no requirements. And better than that, you can start promoting whatever you like from their marketplace immediately. This is not the case for all the networks around however. Some of them require a website, some require decent traffic, some ask for a tax ID, some needs phone verification and so on. Even when you get through all these and join, that will not necessarily mean that you will be able to promote any products/offers that network serves. For most of the affiliate/CPA networks, once approved, you will need to apply to each advertiser’s affiliate program individually in order to promote what they offer. While some networks and advertisers don’t care much about the quality and the quantity, meaning that they will accept you once you meet the minimum requirements -website, phone verification-, some have really strict rules. Now, I will talk about the things to keep in mind that will increase your chance of approval. The rest of the story here: The Essentials to Get Accepted into Affiliate/CPA Networks
Yeah a lot of times it seems like account managers are more interested to know that you promote or are capable of promoting the verticals of their advertisers then other specifics. The best thing for acceptance into cpa networks in my opinion is to be willing to establish contact with the program. Picking up the phone and calling after applying can help getting approved quite often with many networks.
Being an AM myself, I agree with you. Most of the times people try and follow 'tips and tricks' from gurus and fail at the very basics. Most important key, according to me, is just be yourself and explain what you have in mind in as much detail as possible.