Archive for the ‘network marketing’ Category

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.

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.

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!

Many people often think that the best people to recruit for their network marketing business are network marketers. It is a reasonable assumption, especially for someone who is new to the business or perhaps has not had any quality training. The faulty logic says “if I show them a better product or compensation plan, surely they will want to switch companies.” Here are a few reasons why this is not true:

1. So few people are successful in network marketing that chances are you might get a new rep without seeing any positive impact (i.e. income) to your business.

2. If they are not committted to their current company, they most likely won’t be committed to yours.  You will sign them up and have them on your team until they find the new “flavor of the month.”

3. Most network marketers are lazy and not willing to work for the money that is sitting right in front of them. If you are offended by this, then you have some work to do (on your personal development).

4. Most network marketers do not invest in training or personal development, therefore will likely share more misinformation about your company, products, or services (and maybe even your team) to people they talk to. You need to make it very clear up front that you have a solid training program and that is mandatory for them to go through it in order to work with you.  You will “filter out” some people up front, but this is not a loss, it is just saving time.

5. If you recruit them based on your compensation plan, they won’t stay.  Why? If they don’t beleive in the product, they will never sell enough or recruit enough to earn money at the lowest level of the plan, let alone “real money”.

So where should you seek to find prospects for your business? I would start with your satisfied customers. If you don’t have any you need to go get some customers, after all that is how money is made in network marketing, right? Assuming you do have customers, go back to your customers and ask them for customer referrals. If you get referrals then pitch them on your product or service and try to acquire them as customers. As you close those referrals, simply go back to the referral source and thank them and then ask if they would be interested in getting paid for their referrals. If they say yes, then move into your recruiting dialogue. If they say no… move on. Do not try to convince them that they need to join you, simply keep on getting those referrals and getting paid.  They may come around and they may not; it doesn’t matter as long as you are building your customer base and giving people the opportunity to join you.  Sure it’s a soft sell, but keep in mind that most people can’t sell and if you “hard sell” someone into your business or product, they will pick up on that and you will never recruit them because they will realize that they don’t want to have to hard sell people to make money.

I hope you found this insightful  For more helpful tips, please download my free ebook, Why People Fail in Network Marketing.

Sounds crazy, huh? Stay with me and you just might get a new perspective… one that could make you a fortune.  Now you really think I am messing with you, but I’m not.

If I asked you about your goals, there is a good chance that money would be in there somewhere. Sadly, for many people a goal based on money would be the only goal.  The real question is “what would you do if you had more money than you could spend?” Whatever the answer is to that question is the goal that your network marketing efforts need to be working towards helping you accomplish.

For me, it is seeing people set free spiritually, physically, financially, and emotionally. For you it might be something different, but my point is that you should set goals based on what you can attach your emotions to, not just money.  If you do this and you can connect your emotions to goal setting, you will be amazed at how much faster you see that goal coming into being. Thankfully, I am seeing it more and more every day.

One of the biggest things I have alway heard about goal setting is that your goals must be written down. While this is true, you will accomplish your goals much more effectively if they are written down AND you read them aloud twice a day while connecting your emotions to them.  What I mean by this is you have to not just read it aloud, but visualize yourself being in the moment or living as you would while fulfilling your goals and dreams.

If you want to learn more about goal setting and attaching your emotions to your goals, I highly recommend reading “Think and Grow Rich” by Napolron Hill (the new version). If you have read it and you are not 100% clear on the process or not getting the results you want, reading this new version will help. If you are reading it for the second time, read it slowly maknig sure you grasp all of the points, but most of all, do all of the exercises. You will be amazed at your results!

Wishing you success!

Imagine you are shopping at the local department store and the sales assocaite walks up to you and asks you “if you are making all the money you want to”.  You hold your purse a little closer and reply something about “ahh, I’m ok… I am happy with my job”.  They proceed to tell you why you should want to own your own department store (and that your J.O.B. is keeping you Just Over Broke) and start selling you on all of the benefits of  “business ownership”.  You kindly thank them and ask where you can find a shirt.  Rather than telling  you directly they ask  a series of questions… “how many of your friends buy shirts?” and “wouldn’t you like to get paid every time one of your friends buys a shirt?”  “what if you could get a cut on every shirt sold in your local community?”  Let’s not stop there… “I am sure you and your friends know people all across the country, and eventually you could be getting paid for shirt sales all across the country from people you don’t even know!!!” “Can you imagine how much money you would be making?” (provided you personally bought enough shirts every month to qualify).

You nod, and excuse yourself for interrupting and ask where the restrooms are.  They not only tell you, but proceed to walk you over there and continue to talk to you about how many shirts they sell through their network of “friends”.  Finally, you make it to the restroom. While inside, you look for an emergency fire escape becuase you know that “a certain someone” is waiting outside… and very likely with a department store franchise appliction in hand.

You concede and decide to re-emerge from the restroom, only to find “Mr. Happy” sitting on the couch outside of the restroom.  You decide to take a rest and just sit down (and not so close to him). Suddenly, you sense that someone is rubbing your back…. you are curious… then… you wake up.   Thank God it was just another dream sparked by the deluge of people trying to get you into MLM lately.

So what is the moral of this story? If you are in the network marketing business, keep in mind that you need to actually make a sale to earn money.  If someone wants to buy your product or service, make the sale and do not sidetrack a customer by trying to turn them into a rep for your company.  I would much rather have a customer advocate who refers me customers, than try to convince someone (who has not tried my product or service) that being a rep is a good thing for them.  If you pursue customers than become customer advocates you will make for more money because they will “sell” without ever selling as a rep. Their testimonials will pre-sell the customers they send you and you will be paid well for what you do.

I hope you enjoyed that little story.

For more insight on network marketing and how to effectively run a profitable network marketing business, visit www.NakedCEO.com and download your free copy of “Why People Fail in Network Marketing” (scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see the book offer).

If you aren’t getting the results you want in your network marketing business, you’ve got to ask yourself if you are doing the right things. Take a serious look at what you to market your products or services and how you recruit and ask yourself if you want people to model you.

One of the things I realy appreciate about network marketing is the emphasis on personal development.  The sad thing is that so many people don’t even take advantage of those resources.  I would venture to say that if someone joined a network marketing company any just plugged in to the trainings, they would be happier and live a more fulfilled life. They would most likely earn more money in their “day job” and eventually come around and earn money with the network marketing company they are associated with.

So let me ask you; are you leading by example when it comes to personal development? Don’t tell me you don’t have a team so it doesn’t matter. If you become a leader worth following, people will beat a path to your door to join your team. Leaders are leaders because they do the right things, not becasue they have a team of people looking to them for help.

Maybe you don’t have a great role model in your company? If that is the case, I invite you to condider joining our amazing team. We have some of the best leadership and training in the network marketing industry – hands down!

If you’d like to learn more, please download my ebook, “Why People Fail in Network Marketing“.  After you have read it, you will have my contact information in the book, but also it will answer many of your questions about our team.

I wish you success because you deserve it!

Network marketing has a bad name for many reasons.  One of them is that peolpe often try to “sell” someone on a network marketing opportunity promising them that they will somehow get rich.  The real clue should be that the person “sharing” this information is rarely rich. In fact, many times they are in fact, quite the opposite; poor, and destined to be poor until they learn that the only way you get rich quick in life is through the lottery.   Next they need to learn that stastistically they could survive two plane crashes before winning $1,000,000 in the lottery.

Sure, there are those companies out there that will tell you that they have “high profit margins”, but the problem is that they want you to buy one first, then give up your first few commissions to your “sponsor” (who rarely does anything to deserve it), then go out and find more uneducated dreamers (suckers) to drop 4 or 5 figures on your product. Let me also say, this is not true network marketing, it is high pressure sales and it continues to discredit network marketing.

If you want to build a business from the comfort of your home, and over time generate a solid residual income that you can leave as a legacy to your family, then let’s chat.  I promise I won’t try to sell you becuase if I have to “sell you” to join, I will have to “sell you” to work, and you wouldn’t work and you would just become another disillusioned dreamer who thinks that network marketing doesnt work. Learn how to join our team.