I have met lots of network marketer in my local Chamber of Commerce. I am not sure how much success they have had, but I know that one in particular confessed to not having much success. The comment made was that “people looked at them as if they had the plague.” Truth be told, network marketers don’t always have the most welcomed reception, and it’s often their own fault.

The Chamber of Commerce is a great place to network with business owners and others in the community, so it’s a great place for any business owner to network. The key here is to realize that most business owners won’t be interested in what they see as another money making scheme. What they might be interested in is your products or services and this is where you will find success if you play your cards right. I cringe when I hear amateur network marketers throw up their own shield by blurting out these catch phrases:

• It’s an MLM (people don’t like MLM’s)
• It’s network marketing (people don’t like network marketers)
• We are in pre-launch (what does that mean? You can’t really do business with me right now?)
• There is a great business opportunity also (Are you trying to recruit me, or do you really have a product to sell?)
• If you are looking to make some extra money (I don’t know you and I want you to think my business is successful… why would I tell you that?)
• If you want to be a millionaire (that’s why I started my business, are you saying I should join yours instead?)
• If you are sick of what they are doing (We just met, why would I discredit my company by admitting that to a stranger?)

I hope you enjoyed the side commentary, but that’s not far off from what many will think when they hear those kind of things. If they are sincere, they may even say them out loud.

The Key to Success
Sell your product or service and nothing more. Keep in mind, money is made when you sell something, not when you recruit someone.  Treat it like a business and it will pay you like a business (have you heard that one… it’s true!). Make the sale, ask for referrals, and then when you have a referral about ready to purchase, you can go back to the referrer and thank them for the referral. At that time, you can also introduce your referral program by simply saying “Thanks for referring Mary. She, too, is ready to become a customer, so I wanted to let you know about our referral program where we pay people a commission for their referrals. Is that something you are interested in?” If they are, then set up a time to discuss it, if they aren’t close the sale and move on.

You will earn money and you will also earn respect for being a straight shooter.

One of the things that frustrates me so much is hearing network marketers blow an opportunity to have credibility or make a sale. I guess it’s because I am so passionate about this industry that I want to see people do it well and succeed.

When you are approaching a prospect, you need to decide whether or not you are approaching them as a customer or as someone who wants to build a business. If you have read my book, Why People Fail in Network Marketing, you know that my philosophy is that you should always approach people as customers first because you get paid to generate customers, and it is easier to get someone excited about selling a product they use and love as opposed to getting them excited about money first, and then convincing them to like your product or service.

I cannot tell you how many times I have listened to someone give a pitch about their company in a professional setting, and lose an opportunity to gain a customer (which I assume was their original intent) because they feel the need to throw in the line “and their is a business opportunity also.” Why is this a problem? Because so many people have been turned off by the clowns that misrepresent network marketing, that any mention of an “opportunity” can discredit the actual product or service being sold. The goal in any business is having customers, network marketing just allows you to turn your customers into paid advocates that get their products for free.

The next time you are in front of a prospect, resist the urge to tell them about how they can make more money than they have ever made before, and just get a sale.   Trust me, a sales commission feels far better than recruiting a rep that does not produce.

I am amazed at the stories I hear about people who work under the tyranny of systems built by idiots in Corporate America. Does any of this sound familiar?

• I am sorry you were sick, but we are still docking you points for missing work. A few more and we will write you up. If we write you up enough, you will lose your job. Now get back to your cube and give us 100% .
• I know you are 20 years older than me, but the next time you need to use the bathroom, I’ll need you to let me know in advance. Some people are just taking long bathroom breaks and we can’t have everyone taking breaks all at once.
• I know we don’t have a sales team Mr. Business Development Manager. Can’t you generate leads and also close them? Oh yeah, you’ll need to write the proposals too, we got rid of the admins.

Should I go on?  I am amazed that more people don’t just walk out of their jobs. But you know why they don’t, right? They have BILLS to pay.

Here is what I am proposing. Why not put yourself in a position where you can have a corporate job that you like if you want, but not because you have to? I propose that you take a look at a business opportunity where you can build a long term residual income for yourself and your family.

Can you imagine what it would be like to have extra money to:

• Become debt free.
• Take more vacations.
• Walk away from your job.
• Watch your kids grow up.
• Live the life you have always dreamed of!

It can happen and it does happen every day to people just like you who are willing to take a stand for themselves.  Leave the rat race! Stop making your boss wealthy… start building YOUR wealth today with a home based business.

Are you ready? Contact me today!

Most people don’t think about this, but the average person will earn over a million dollars over their lifetime. If you get that annual update from the Social Security administration, take a look at see how much money you have made over your working life.  You might be surprised to see how much money has gone through your hands; in fact, you might be really surprised to see that you have made over $1,000,000 in your lifetime.

Like everything else, it comes down to setting goals, writing them down, having a plan, and working a plan. I put together a free guide called “How to Earn a Million Dollars” and I invite you to download it and see if it helps you along your journey to success.

In this guide, you will find a simple chart to show you what you need to do to earn $1,000,000 either one time or annually. Also, you will get my recommendations for resources to help prepare you to manage your millions.

I welcome your feedback on the guide.

~ Anthony

“Whose wealth did you build today? Yours, or someone else’s?”

If you guessed Pre Paid Legal, then you are correct. To my knowledge, that was the first time a network marketing company was featured on Fox Business Network in that manner.

It says a lot about the company, but in case you didn’t know much about Pre Paid Legal (PPL), let me share with you a few highlights about the company.  Before I do, I will let you know that I am happy to be an Independent Associate with PPL and I have been for several years.  If you are looking for an opportunity to build a business (either part time or full time), I would have to say Pre Paid Legal is at the top of the companies you should consider and here is why:

• They are Stable – Launched in 1972
• Publicly Traded – on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
• Offers great products (Legal Service Plans and ID Theft Protection Plans).
• Trusted Brand – over 1.5 Million customers
• Offers great training.
• Offers great compensation.
• Low Risk – It does not cost a lot of money to get started.

I could go on, but these are the main characteristics you want to see in a company you are considering entrusting your reputation, income, and future with.

If you want to learn more about this amazing company, watch this video, then call me at 800-453-9290 to set up a call with myself and the #2 income earner in the company to learn how you can get involved.

Have you analyzed what you did right and what you did wrong last year and come up with a plan to WIN in 2011? I hope so, but if not, it isn’t too late. Just get started TODAY!

If you are running a part time home based business, perhaps you want to just grow that income slightly or perhaps you want to move from a part time income to a full time income from your home based business.  Both require a plan, action, and accountability.

If you are looking for a new opportunity, now is a great time to get started as well because the year is still new and you can win big in 2011 if you simply get started.

If you need a game plan for 2011, let’s chat.  I’d love to help you succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

To your success!

Recently, I saw an ad for a great product on a Social Networking site.  I clicked the link in the ad and noticed that the product was offered through a network marketing company.  I replied to the person telling them that I would check out their product and that it looked great. I also offered to add this person as a connection on the site.

Her reply was something to the tune of:

Yes, it’s a great product… if you want to learn more we have a meeting on Tuesday night at 7… it is a great product and a great opportunity.

I replied and thanked her but also asked if I could offer her some business  advice related to network marketing.

Problem #1 – If someone shows interest in your product or service, they most likely want to buy it, but I am sure they don’t want to go to a meeting to learn more about it.  Can you imagine if Amazon invited you to a book signing every time you showed interest in a book?

Problem #2 – Opportunity?  I will use Amazon again as an example.  If you were going to buy a book from Amazon and they had a popup that stopped you from buying but let you know that they had an affiliate program where you can make money by referring people to the site, do you think that would annoy most people? (the answer is YES!)

 Most people that show interest in your product will not be intersted in your opportunity, but MANY will be turned off by an offer of a business opportunity and people will miss out on the quality products and services.

Most network marketers fail by never knowing what message they are sending to their prospects or sending a mixed message. 

Here is a strategy that I recommend, that will make you lots of money:

1. Close your sale first (which puts money in your pocket). If someone asks about your product, sell it to them. End of story.

2. Follow up with your prospects and ask them for customer referrals. Again, resist the temptation of sharing the business opportunity with them (no matter what you have been taught). Your customers WILL refer you customers if they are happy with your products.  Keep in mind that making sales is how you make money.

3. After you close at least one of the referrals, go back to the referrer and thank them again for the referrals.  THEN, drop this line “by the way, I get paid for all of the business that my customers refer me… I am curious to know if you are interested in getting paid for the referrals you’ve been sending me?”  Some will want to know more, but most will not. You should be happy with this referral source, and I would personally give them a gift certificate or something depending on how much I made off of their referrals.

4. Find out how you can help them. Ask them if they have any needs that you might be able to help them with. If they have a business, ask them who their ideal client is and sincerely try to send them referrals (and do not ask for a referral fee).

The key here is finding customers because happy customers make the best referrals.  This is how traditional business works, and how most network marketers fail.  If you are prospecting for reps, then do just that.  Sell the opportunity and focus on the money making, but in the end, know that your reps will have to have passion about your products or services or they will rarely succeed.

I hope this helps you build a solid business.  I’d love to hear how this helps you or if you have any questions.

Have a great day!

Yesterday I went to an amazing Independence Day celebration at my church.  We honored those who have fought for our freedom which was a very moving time.  So few give thought to those who have given their lives for our freedoms, starting with those who signed the declaration of independence to all of those who have fought for our great land and continue to do so.  This isn’t about whether or not you beleive in war or not, so don’t let your personal opinions cause you to neglect to honor those to whom honor is due.

If you are in another country, then just bear with me as this is written toward the US audience.  As you think about freedom, I ask you to think about several things:

1. What is means to live in a free country.  We are the most blessed nation on Earth, and it’s not because we are better or deserve it, so we need to be thankful every day and remember that everything we enjoy today is because of the sacrifices of others. This includes those who put their lives on the line every day to protect our great land.

2. What it means to be emotionally free. Take a good hard look at how any toxic emotions that you are holding on to might be holding you back in life. Most of us are not prepared to correct this on our own, so if you need to seek out someone help you get  through your emotional past, know that there is honor in doing that (and no shame). Here is a resource that might give you some guidance.

3. What it means to be spiritually free.  God send His son Jesus to set us free from the power of sin and death.  It is a free gift and the walk of faith is a wonderful life.  Being free spiritually also leads to emotional freedom. If you want to learn more about how to live a life of spritual freedom, I recommend visiting Billy Graham’s website.

4.  What it means to be financially free.  Most people are stuck in the bondage of poverty and debt and have no idea how to become financially free.  The good news is that because we live in a free country, we have the freedom to start our own business and take control of our financial destiny.  This site is dedicated to helping people along that journey. If you want to learn more about how we can help you become financially free by building a business of your own (with a proven system), then visit this page to learn more about what we do.

Don’t let anyone hold you back from enjoying your freedoms. Often you will find that the people that want to hold you back in life are those who are not free themselves and want to keep you where they are.

I wish you freedom in every way (physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially) on this July 4th weekend!

Wealth means different things to different people. If I asked you what it means to be wealthy, you would most likely think of a sum of money that sounds like a lot of money.  It would be a different number for everyone, but let’s say you said having $5,000,000 would make you feel wealthy.  Most people cannot envision having that kind of money, nor do they have a realistic game plan to help them obtain that kind of money.  In the end, many people fail to acquire wealth simply because they have a mental block that tells them they will never have that kind of money (and it is often based on their past).

I would like to challenge your thinking and offer you a new definition of wealth. Think of wealth as “how long you can survive without working”.  We will look at a combination of your savings and your residual income, with a focus on building both.  This will help you see exactly what it takes to be “truly wealthy” by building a residual income that matches, then exceeds your monthly expenses.

Let’s say your monthly expenses are $3,000 per month, and you make just enough money on your job to pay your bills, but you’ve got $1,500 in savings.  At this point, you are about two weeks wealthy.  The obvious question is how to correct both the lack of savings and lack of residual income .  The answer is a home based business that pays you monthly for every customer you acquire. 

You can choose different strategies, but one strategy might be building your savings up by an additional $1,500 which would give you a one month cushion, or make you one month wealthy.  Next, set a residual incone goal to shoot for such as one weeks worth of your salary.  At $3,000 per month that would require that your business earns an additional $750 per month.  It certainly won’t happen overnight, but imagine how it would feel to know that you cold pay for 1/4 of your bills if you somehow lost your job?  Your next goals could be doubling that residual income so that you have 1/2 of your monthly expenses covered by your business income, and then the final phase is to have your business income match your job income. Even if it takes you 5 years to reach this goal isn’t it worth it? You would be able to save as much every month as you earn on your job, building up your savings, and therefore increasing your wealth position.

I hope I conveyed the message effectively here as this is a challenging topic to share in print. In closing, I have a few questions for you:

1. How wealthy are you? Literally, sit down and figure out how much your expenses are and how long you could survive if you somehow lost your job tomorrow.

2. If I could show you an affordable way to get started in a business that allows you to generate long term residual income for each customer that you acquire, allowing you to increase your wealth position, would you be interested in learning more? (if so, call me at 800-453-9290 and leave me a message).

3. If you answered no to question 2, with unemployment at an all time high, what is your plan for building wealth… or just surviving a layoff?

This is something that I am passionate about and I welcome your feedback. I am happy to answer any questions you might have, so feel free to leave them in the comments below so others can benefit as well.

Until next time…

Coach Tony, The Naked CEO

This strategy is effective whether you are in traditional business, have a solo pratice, are a network marketer, have a home based business, or are the CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation.  I experienced it firsthand when it was modeled by a lawyer that I met at a networking event, and I have also seen it work firsthand in my own business. Best of all, it won’t cost you a fortune. I am referring to the lost art of the handwritten letter.

Let me first say that most people don’t even have the courtesy to send a typed letter anymore as email has nearly destroyed our sense of professionalism.  If you don’t feel that you are able to write a simple handwritten letter to someone who has just paid you money for your product or service you need to re-evaluate how you spend your time (a life coach / business coach may be a great investment for you). It also means you need to learn about the lifetime value of a customer, not just in terms of what they pay you, but their referrals to you.  If you truly have a massive number of customers, then at a minimum make sure they get some sort of written thank you in the mail as opposed to just an email.

Trust me, I am as busy as anyone else,  and likely more busy due to being involved in multiple businesses and other professional activities .  In fact I owe a few people letters that I am going to work on today, but I know the impact it had on me when I casually met a partner of a law firm in a networking setting and I got a handwritten card from him.  It said that although he was busy as a practicing partner of a law firm, he valued meeting me. It also said that as a networker, he was serious about building a business relationship and he wasn’t just “collecting business cards” as most people do. When you spend money with a business, don’t you want to feel like they appreciate your business and don’t just take you for granted? Your customers are no different.

Recently, I wrote a handwritten thank you card to a business associate that had sent me a referral.  She replied via email and said that she was impressed that I sent her a handwritten card ans also said that she was going to talk to more of her customers to try and send them my way.  If I had just sent her a thank you email, I am confident that the response would not have been as great.

So who should you send handwritten cards to?

(High Priority)
- Anyone who spends money with you.
- Anyone who sends you referrals.

(Highly Recommended)
- Former customers you want to reconnect with.
- People you meet at networking events
- Friends and family that may not know about your business

(Bonus)
- If you can track birthdays of your friends, family, and customers those go a long way. Even more effective if you don’t put a business card in them, so it seems more genuine.

One of my favorite trainers and business coaches always says “it’s so easy to beat the masses” because they are rarely wiling to do what it takes to be successful.  Are you willing to do something simple to set yourself above the masses and create success?