The Keen Marketer

With the advent of the internet, network marketing has changed so much that one can hardly follow the old ways anymore. Sure you can do it the old way and succeed but it is so much harder than it needs to be.

According to research done by tax preparation services, only 1 to 2% marketers earn substantial incomes. That means that 98% never reach a positive cash flow in their business.

So, being a newbie can be a challenge and there are many don’ts you should be aware of before launching yourself into network marketing.

The first don’t is about sharing your product with everyone right away. Ignorance on fire can be ok, but you really must be provided with training of some kind before you even open your mouth. If not, then you will be wasting your time and that of others and you will quickly get discouraged.

At first, most of us suffer from verbal diarrhea and overwhelm the prospect with too much information. So much so that the next time they see you, they want to run away.

Good training teaches you to shut up at just the right time.

Another newbie faux pas is to think that this business is for everyone. If you’re taught that anyone can do this business, then no wonder you’ll be quitting soon. It should be for everyone but not just anyone has the commitment and will to do this type of business.

If you’re taught to hype and exaggerate claims about your product, you are being unethical.

This is a no no. If you have positive experience, then by all means share your story, if not, then why are you promoting this product in the first place?

If you’re taught to place more emphasis on motivation and belief than learning the fundamentals of sales and marketing, your success may be questionable. A great team will have all the tools needed to educate you.

If you’re taught that your company’s product is the greatest with the best comp plan in the business, then reconsider your position, as there are most likely better plans out there. You just haven’t seen it yet.

If you’re taught that everyone is your prospect, you may be making more enemies than friends.

People don’t want to have anything forced on them. Yes it is important to get customers and some of those will become business partners but it has to be a conscious choice.

In the mean time, keep them informed about the product or special occasions that might peak their interest in joining you later on.

Most often it’s a lack of information that holds a person back from joining you. That’s why follow-ups are gold in this industry and that the drips you let drop on those that said no in the first place, may create a pond ready for swimming in one day.

The key though is to implement an effective marketing system, which will allow you to spend twice as much time in front of interested people and literally double your results immediately.

When you have that kind of marketing machine working for you, you’ll see more cash in your pocket, be less stressed and enjoy real results motivation. You also won’t have to work nearly as hard to get results…and your distributors will be more than grateful at having chosen you to do business with.

John Gray of “Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus” personally sponsored Rhonda Collier into my business opportunity and she had some really good tips when it came to team work.

T: Together: Connecting with people and gathering the right minded people takes time .  You must be ready to listen to their needs and discover the person’s greatness, that is why we share our story together as a team so that this person can identify with others who have gone through the same thing.

E: Everyone: Everyone needs your product but not everyone may be open to the opportunity.  That is why followups are so important because you are supporting this person in their endeavor and using the team to further give support.

A: Achieves:  You are not in business by yourself.  There are others who have your interests at heart because if you succeed it helps them succeed.  It is always about helping others get to where they want to go as it is for your up-line to help you get where you want to go.

Tools such as 3-way calls and training ensure that the team is doing similar challenges so all are on the same page, ie dupllication.

M: More: This is where leverage is really clear.  As your team achieves more, the hours and time you have invested in doing your part the right way also gets multiplied by the others on your team doing the same actions as you.

More actions = more revenue back to you.

Everybody wins!

And don’t forget to have fun.  Do things you love to do and get together for events whether it’s a barbecue or a company event.  This keeps your team awake and vibrant.  Offer incentives and challenges.

We all want a lifestyle of freedom, health, support and greatness.  Using your team and being part of a team with this ideal will certainly get you where you want.

Being in network marketing is simple but when it comes to applying what we learn, there is a learning curve involved especially when understanding and learning how to use leverage.

We know that we will be leveraging other people’s time and efforts to benefit us and others in our team.  But how do you really do that effectively?

First of all, this is a business in which you are not alone. If your team is a great one, there will be daily training calls, weekly calls and even corporate calls to tap into.

It’s easy as one two three.

Just invite one person on a call each day.  This way they will be getting the training they need and you will have more time to prospect rather than be tied down with training calls to your team.  This is leveraging at its most simple.

The advantages of doing this are really clear.

Your associate will get the right training and tips they need to be successful, in the same manner you did yourself.  It is duplicable and offers flexilbity.

Using the 3-way call is another under-rated tool.

The more you learn to use the 3-way call, the more your business will explode.  Use it even with someone that is not interested in doing the business.  It will offer comfort to the product users and expose them to other people’s stories.

Remember that it is the story that sells.

If you are not comfortable with 3-way calling yet, then practice using the 24/7 replay line.  Just ask your prospect to listen to the message that you go and get for them.

What could be simpler?

It all boils down to you working in an environment that provides superior training that will allow all associates to be as successful as they wish depending on the energy they give their business.

No matter what, it is a recipe for success!

In network marketing, there are 2 income producing activities you should be doing.

1. get customers
2. recruit business partners

This is easier said then done, of course.  But here are a few tips that might take the edge off.

First of all you want to attract people to you and you do that by giving value.  Find out what that person need.

In order to do that, ask questions.  Your’e not a mind reader!  Once you know what they need then you can better identify if your product can help.  Hopefully it will do all it is supposed to do or why else are you promoting it in the first place?

Secondly, when you’re not looking for customers, you want to attract other networkers.  Why? Because you don’t have to sell them on the benefits of network marketing.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are inexperienced people who start network marketing every day and they do quite well in the long run, but they need more time and training than someone who has already tried it before, even if they might have been unsuccessful.

Short of finding other networkers, you can broaden your search to business owners, teachers, people in areas of influence that have a large circle of friends.

You can find them at the Chamber of Commerce meetings, BMI’s, at the Y, the list is basically endless and  don’t forget going online.

Find out what makes them tick and what you have to do to change or improve in yourself in order to attract more of them in your life.  If you need to get a haircut, update your wardrobe, etc, then do it.  How you look physically can be a turn on or turn off.

You can even think of writing an e-book and give out for free.

Make sure that you enumerate the many positive aspects of network marketing.  Some opportunities, like the one I am involved in, has no overhead, no stock, no boss, no geographic constraints, no specialized education and best of all no limit on income.

When recruiting networkers, lead with the business.  They know there is always a product attached, but they also know that the compensation plans can vary greatly as can training.

This post is by no means complete as to how to find either customers or prospect other networkers, but just remember that attraction is a most compelling tool that will bring you some of both.

“It’s easy! We do it for you.”

You go online and you’ll find tons of opportunities that guarantee outrageous money while they do all the work. Sounds too good to be true?

It usually is!

Pt Barnum always said “There’s a sucker born every day”. There will always be people who want to believe that getting rich is quick, easy and risk free. I may be prejudging here, but these people are lazy.

Network marketing is a unique business venture that appeals to many people but it is not easy. However, perseverance and hard work can bring financial success much quicker than any You will be selling your product but you are also selling people on the business model which can satisfy their financial goals for the future.

Thing is, the average person has mainly been exposed to the employee model and may not know a whole lot about having their own business.

They may not understand basic business principles. So coming across a “hands-off” system that can generate big bucks with no investment of time or effort and little money invested can be appealing to many.

But if these systems did what they say they did, then why would they need you?

They wouldn’t! In a real network marketing business you are contributing a monthly investment in time, money and indispensable human interaction.

I am not saying that automated systems are bad. On the contrary, some are excellent but in the end it still is only half the equation and building a relationship with your clients and prospects is what will insure your success for the long term.

Personal interaction and mentoring is the glue that holds an organization together. When distributors hit those “rough spots” in their business, the coaching and advice that they receive from you or any other leader is what will keep them going.

You are really getting paid for managing an organization. Help your people succeed by developing leaders.

This, automation cannot do! It takes a human being to do this and that’s why you’ll never get paid for doing nothing.

Plus, all systems – no matter how automated they are – still require a human being to monitor and manage them.

Nothing runs on its own but don’t turn against having an automated system to help you in your prospecting. It can be the difference between achieving success the first year rather than 2 years down the line.

Get a grip people. If you’re in network marketing you’re in sales.

It’s always nicer to say that you are sharing though. At least I like to think of it that way but I do realize that underneath it’s sales.

So you’re a beginner and you were told to share with family and friends. Were you trained first?

If not, you are not being prepared properly and are being set-up for failure.

Sharing does sound less confrontational than selling and approaching your family and friends is less stressful, I admit that. But it gives a false impression of being easy. That’s one thing network marketing is not. It is simple but not easy.

The main reason people are told that it’s sharing is because everyone hates being sold to and sharing gives it a much cozier feeling, which can be ok if done right.

Although your role changes when there is monetary compensation involved, this should not deter you from tapping into your warm market.

Understanding this early may save you some sleepless night. But also understanding this should motivate you to learn effective sales skills.

Just recommending your products to people you know is not enough. You need to give them a good reason to buy from you.

Just because someone is your friend/relative does not mean they will or should spend their money with you.

It is not wrong to approach your warm market, in fact you should not need to go out of your warm market, but you have to give them strong enough reasons to buy your product rather than Joe Blow’s who lives next door.

You have to address their needs! Money is secondary to the help you can provide this person whether it is with a new product or even with the business opportunity attached to your product.

What does that person need in their life to improve it? And how can your product or business op address that need?

Good upline training will get you ready before you approach anyone in your warm market. If that is not the case, then find someone that will help you and be there at every step of the way.

It may very well be the best and the company may have a really good compensation plan but we’re forgetting the most important thing here: it’s not about the product, the plan or the company.

It’s really about how you’re going to market your product.

When investing in a house you focus on location –location-location. Your network marketing business should get the same focus except it should be marketing-marketing –marketing.

How many people dive in headfirst into one company or another just because it has the greatest product or the best comp plan only to wonder later why they aren’t making any money?

Your product may be the most wonderful one in the world but if you’re not using effective marketing, who will know about it and who will care?

Effective sales & marketing is bar-none the most important function of any business including network marketing.

Your sales and marketing system will determine your success or failure.

You need something in place that can produce the cash you need to cover your expenses of prospecting, training, conventions, etc. Your sales are your revenue and the driving force behind everything.

That’s why you need to be concerned about the strategies you’ll be using above all else.

A good marketing system is crucial. Some people see the difference immediately and some just don’t get it.

Don’t get me wrong, you may believe that your company is the best on all counts but so do many other networkers believe theirs is the best too.

What will differentiate them from you is your marketing strategy.

Therefore, the person who succeeds is not the one with the best company, but the one who can do the best job communicating the idea of their company and product.

Of course having the best product is great but if you think about it, how many millions of mediocre products are sold daily because of the great marketing?

If you’re lucky enough to have a company that focuses on creating marketing tools that will help you with your marketing strategy, then great. But such companies are few and far apart.

Your goal is to put the marketing back into network marketing.

You’ve gotta believe that your network marketing business will  make it big!

You mean to tell me that all I need is to really believe that my business will be successful and it will be?

I don’t think so.

Don’t get me wrong, believing in yourself is important but you don’t need a dream board to make that $40,000 per year at your day job, do you? Of course not!

It boils down to the tools you are using to be successful. You don’t use a shovel to dig a foundation, you get the backhoe. Well network marketing works on the same principle.

You need a system other than just word of mouth.

The right tools will bring you consistent, steady progress. Motivation will be the side-effect of a good marketing strategy.

Would not talking to highly qualified prospects every day be a good motivator?

But motivation hides behind shyness or lack of self-esteem when you have to personally go out there and find a prospect that would be interested in your offer.

Staring at your vision board or reading your goal statement to remind you of why you are doing this in the first place can get tedious.

It’s when you stop worrying about belief and apply yourself to learning about how to market your business that you will find the people you want for your business, because they will be searching you out and not the other way around.

Motivation Isn’t The Solution. It’s A Copout.

That’s what your upline will tell you when you get discouraged and are looking for answers. They just don’t know what else to say.

Instead they should be asking you what type of marketing strategy have you implemented. If they taught you how then this should never be an issue in the first place.

You cannot do without a good marketing system.

Internal drive will get you where you want and it’s the real results that will motivate you.

It was never very clear to me what my upline meant when she said to build 3 generations deep until the other day.

There are many different compensation plans out there but I would think that using a training planning of building 3 deep applies to all plans.

I will be using the one I am familiar with as an example.

My plan is binary in structure and requires a personal business volume (BV) of 100 each month in order to stay active and collect commissions.

During a one week period, if the total BVs reach 600 in one leg and 300 on another, then you cycle and get paid a commission. Whatever is not used is transferred to the next cycle.

For simplicity, I will strictly stay with the cycle example and not comment on any additional bonuses one can earn, of which there are many.

My example has the associate sponsor only one person per month.

That first month, there is you with 100 BV. You recruit Josie who will also have 100BV. This gives you 200BV the first month. You will not cycle.

Month 2, you recruit one more person, Charles, and you help Josie recruit Sue.

So you have a personal 100BV; Charles with 100BV; Josie with 100BV and Sue with 100BV. So for month 2 you end up with 400BV. Still not enough to cycle.

Now in month 3, things start to get more interesting. You recruit Sam and Help Charles with Tim and guide Josie as she trains Sue sponsor Liam and personally enrolls Allan that month for a total of 800 BV.

This is what is meant by going 3 deep. You trained Josie and helped her train Sue. She will do the same with Sue and so on.

At this point you will cycle once. How come since your total is 800 BV and not 900BV as required?

Well don’t forget your structure. This is a binary system and your up-line is also working one of your legs.

The total business volume is counted not the total of what you bring in personally, although personal enrollment will help you achieve different levels of success which will boost your earnings. I will not discuss that here.

So now we get to month 4. All these associates, you included, find 8 more people for a total of 16. You will cycle twice that month and Sue will cycle once which will energize her to continue spreading the word.

Let’s skip month 5 and go to month 6 where you now have a total of 32 people and 3200 BVs. You will cycle 16 times.

WOW!

And that is all from only finding 6 new persons in 6 months.

How great is that?

Just to make this more interesting let’s jump to month 10. At this point you will be cycling 226 times and by the time your first year is over your cycles will have reached 910 per month.

You’re talking here about $50,000 per month. Not a bad exchange for having recruited only 12 people into your organization.

But you say that is only if I give this 100% of my attention to finding one person per month. Well, what if you gave it only 50%? You would still be pulling in $25,000 extra per year.

And if 5% was all you could do? That still translates into $2,500. It could be what you needed for that special holiday or small fishing boat. This is extra gravy for you to do with what you want.

But do you think that after you see your commissions growing that you might want to boost your efforts by an extra 5%?

That’s very possible.

You may even get to the point that instead of working full-time on your day job and part-time on your fortune, you could work full-time on your fortune and say hello to freedom.

As I said before, the above is a very simplistic description of how a binary plan works but it is also one of the easiest to be successful with.

It’s really not that scary. A newsletter campaign is quite easy and it all starts by staying true and relevant to the topic of interest that has brought those people to be part of your newsletter in the first place.

Staying relevant is key. Quit hinting and be direct. You want to impart your information without confusing the issue but you also want to give information that will educate, something they can take to the bank. And no, I don’t mean money. I mean something that will be useful to them in their daily lives.

For example, there is a newsletter I know of that discusses all the different ways a person can be exposed to toxins in their life.

The important point to note here is that there is always a solution given to reverse the toxic state and improve health. Having readers who are part of your downline will typically help them get better educated about the topic and feel more confident when sharing with friends the benefits of a cleansing program.

Asking for testimonials will also add another dimension to your newsletter. People love to read about another’s experiences. So with that in mind, always get permission from the person before adding it to your newsletter. It is unethical to do otherwise.

A great tool to get your newsletter off the ground is to use an autoresponder which will welcome them aboard. But more importantly, offer them the opportunity to unsubscribe if they want to. I hate having to look all over the place just to get my name off a list I am no longer interested in.

Now it’s possible that you could get a spam complaint. It happens to all of us. Don’t worry. Chances are the person forgot they opted into your newsletter service.  A good autoresponder will take care of such headaches and make life much easier for you.

It also makes it so much easier to send newsletters. A good autoresponder will have ready-made templates and all you need to do is fill it with your information and send it on at the time you have chosen for your readers to receive it.

So setting up a newsletter can be very easy to manage and can be a lot of fun because you will be sharing information and experiences with many people who have the same interests as you.  It’s all in the training.