Rudi Vanhaecke

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Postcard idea #1. Prospecting. The postcard is the cheapest mailing forum you can use, but it's also the smallest. You'll be limiting yourself to a great headline and a bit of text. So, what's your headline? Over the past few years, I've spent a lot of time on headlines and first sentence technology with Fortune Now readers. You should have a library of great headlines by now. All you have to do is choose the type of headline for your recruiting campaign. For instance, if you're sending post cards to experienced network marketers from a mailing list, your headline will be completely different than a headline used to attract new residents in your community. Don't assume one headline works for everyone. Look at the difference below. ==> Some headlines used when mailing to experienced networkers: * If you tried network marketing and didn't earn the money you expected, maybe you would like to know the secret. * Hot co-op opportunity for experienced networkers only. * I've sponsored one person a month for the last 10 months. Each person has achieved manager status in less than 15 days. Do you want to be next? * Free Report! 13 reasons to use our system to build a full-time network marketing career in just 90 days. ==> Some headlines used when mailing to new residents of your community. * Meet positive new friends while networking with fellow part-time business entrepreneurs. * Start a part-time business that will pay off your new home mortgage. * Trade two hours of television time to learn how your neighbors are collecting an extra check every month. * Free book to new residents (How To Get Rich Without Winning The Lottery.) See the difference? Pick your headlines to attract a certain prospect. Not everyone is the same. Some time ago, I received an e-mail from a lady who had the following great sign-off phrase. It said: "If we are what we eat . . . I'm either Fast, Cheap or Easy!!" I always thought that this would be a great headline for a postcard promoting healthy food supplements. I haven't tested it yet, but it always brings a smile to my face when I think about it. *** Postcard idea #2. Retailing. One networker sold water filters. He offered a free water filter for a month to allow new residents a chance to try his product. The postcard received a 4% response. That means four people responded out of 100 postcards mailed. So, what was his cost? Well, 100 printed postcards, postage, and rental of a new resident mailing list cost about $36. That means each response cost the networker $9. Out of the four responses, only three people would allow the counter top water filter to be installed in their homes. (The other response felt that it was sales trickery, changed his mind, or some other objection.) ==> Here is the bottom line. The networker spent $36 and a little effort to get three people to try his water filter. For every three prospects who tried the water filter for 30 days, at least one would buy a water filter. The retail profit from each water filter sold was $50, plus the networker earned additional money in bonuses from the compensation plan. Okay. So this isn't big money, is it? We've spent $36 and a lot of effort to earn $50. We only have $14 net profit after the 100 postcards campaign. ==> But aren't we missing something here? Imagine that you used this strategy to eventually sell 100 customers. What kind of distributor prospect list would these 100 customers make? Wow! You'd have 100 customers who tried your product, liked your product, ordered your product at full retail and believed in the value of your product. How hard would it be to convince them to take the next step and become a distributor? Not too hard. This is one great qualified list of prospects. *** Postcard idea #3. Turn your postcards into a coupon or free gift certificate. One networker mailed a $10 gift certificate (postcard) to every old customer and product party attendee. She was flooded with phone calls asking for the current product catalog. This was an excellent promotion to reactivate old customers and prospects, and the cost is minimal. Sure, you have to give away $10 in product value, but most customers redeeming the certificate will order more than enough product to make this a profitable promotion. And even if the promotion showed no profit, wouldn't this be a great way to get in front of more prospects? Again, we are building a better relationship through frequent contacts, and that means more distributors. *** Postcard idea #4. Make your postcard a dinner invitation. Why rent an expensive hotel meeting room when you can take your prospects to dinner? Here is what I mean. Let's say that you can rent a local hotel meeting room for $100. You normally average about 10 guests at the meeting, so you're really spending about $10 per prospect to have that meeting room. For that same $10, you could buy dinner for your prospect and meet at a local restaurant (assuming you don't live in New York City or San Francisco . . . but then again, those meeting rooms would be more expensive too!) What's more friendly? An opportunity meeting at a generic hotel, or a personal business dinner with future business associates? Your prospect will feel more at ease at a dinner presentation, plus it's easier to get prospects to attend when the food is free. *** Postcard idea #5. Tell your prospects and customers about the new stuff posted on your web site. Yes, a lowly postcard is a great way to push targeted prospects to your web site where you can educate and sell them on your opportunity and prospects. Use your imagination to motivate your prospects with your postcard. Maybe you can announce a contest, free drawing, free gift for visiting or to . . . ==> Tell distant, cold prospects that you've just posted your secret family photo including Spot, your wonder-dog. If one of your cold prospects visits your site, he'll now see that you are a real person, not just some salesman hiding behind a post office box. Seeing your family picture will help a cold prospect warm up and open up to your business opportunity. *** Postcard idea #6: Find the secret hot buttons and desires of your prospects. Remember the September 18, 1995 issue of Fortune Now? If you don't, here is a quick overview. I talked about using a survey to find out which headline or first sentence was the most popular with your prospects. I explained how to put together a six-option survey that created new prospects and at the same time showed you exactly which headline or first sentence would get the best response. Well, you can do the same market testing with postcards. Here is how. Imagine that you're pondering: "I wonder which would excite my customers more. Would a price discount be best? Or, should I offer a free premium or gift when they purchase my product at regular price?" You don't know. You can only guess. And guessing is what makes gamblers poor and finances large hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada. So you decide not to gamble. Instead, you cheat. You find out the correct answer by surveying your prospects. How? By using a postcard. You design a postcard offer to 100 prospects that says: Special sale! $10 off! Super Skin Cream for only $19.95! You get 5 responses to your postcard. You also design a postcard offer to 100 prospects that says: Buy Super Skin Cream for only $29.95 and get a free dinner at Mario's Italian Restaurant FREE! You get 19 responses to this postcard. Well, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that your customers would rather get a free dinner than a discount. No more guessing. You know the answer. No risk on your part. You know exactly how to go forward with your marketing campaign. ==> Do you have to test product offers only? What about different benefits to join your program? Sure. It's easy. Just put together two different postcards to see which benefits would really turn on your prospects. Remember, guessing is for broke gamblers. You don't want to guess, you want to know. You don't want to initiate an expensive marketing campaign, and you don't want to invest months of your time pushing a benefit that doesn't interest your prospects. So we'll test. Postcard #1 will say: "How to get a new car every two years - and never make a single car payment again." Postcard #2 will say: "How to earn $531 extra every week - without leaving your home." Send out the postcards and watch which postcard draws the most interest. Now you know which benefit will pull the best. If you have more than two benefits in your program (and I hope you do), then test each benefit until you find the one or two benefits that consistently give you massive returns on your promotional dollar. Finally, the good thing about this "real life" testing is that you'll get lots of prospects while you're testing. *** Postcard idea #7: Create goodwill and referrals as a thank-you note. How many purchases did you make last year? And how many thank-you notes did you receive? Probably only two or three. It's rare to show appreciation today. However, people crave appreciation and recognition. You can give your prospects this appreciation and recognition inexpensively with a simple postcard thank-you note that acknowledges their contribution to your success. Customers and prospects will love you for this simple act of courtesy. Customers and prospects? Yes, prospects too! You can thank prospects for: * Reviewing your video information pack. * Coming to last night's opportunity meeting. * Trying the samples you sent them. * Answering your ad. * Having the courtesy to tell you that your opportunity wasn't for them. You get the idea. There are lots of reasons why you should thank your prospects. So, don't limit your thank you notes to just customers. Include your prospects. The goodwill you build can help get you qualified referrals, and your prospects and customers will always feel favorable to you when the time is right for them to buy or join your program. *** Postcard idea #8: Announcements. This one is easy. If you've kept the addresses of your prospects, you can continuously remind them of important events with inexpensive postcards. What kind of announcements can you send? How about: * Special guest speaker, John Doe, shares his secrets for becoming rich on Saturday from 7 - 9 p.m. * Once-a-year diet program sale starts on December 31st. * Free business start-up kit to the first 15 callers. * Brand new product introduction. * All the free food you can eat at Wednesday night's business briefing. *** Postcard idea #9: Why postcards are cheaper than e-mail! This may surprise you, but follow the math. #1. You purchase 100 hot e-mail leads for $1 each. Your total investment is $100. It doesn't cost anything to send them an e-mail or two about your business opportunity. But how many of these leads will actually open and read your e-mail? Most people are pretty quick with that delete key. Let's say that five leads actually open and read your email. If five leads read your email, and you spent $100 for the leads, then it cost you $20 for each reading of your message. #2. You purchase 100 hot e-mail leads for $1 each. Your investment is $100. Next, you send each lead a postcard. Your cost for 100 postcards? About $30 for the printing and postage. Now your total investment is $130. Most leads will read a short postcard before throwing it away. Let's say that out of 100 leads, 65 of the leads read the postcard. Since your total investment was $130, then it cost you only $2 for each reading of your message. Amazing, isn't it? *** Postcard idea #10: Use common sense. Caution! Make sure you use common sense when applying any of these ideas. Here is an example of not using common sense when mailing to customers: There is a story about an upscale jewelry store in New York City that wanted to build customer loyalty and appreciation. Here is what they did. The jewelry store sent a nice note to the homes of their customers, thanking them for their last purchase. Unfortunately, many of the wives read the thank-you note and asked their husbands, "Where is my necklace?" Apparently, the last jewelry purchase by their husbands was not for their wives. *** There you have it. I'm sure you can find many more uses for postcards that will keep hot prospects coming to your door.

We live in an age of change. That change seems to be focused in part on making everything happen faster. We eat fast food, drive fast cars, and consume information at a record pace. Nowhere are these changes more evident than the Internet. In the time it would take to make one phone call, we can dash off an email to a thousand (or 100,000) prospects. But when it comes to selling, is faster better? I submit that it is NOT better. In fact, I submit that it hurts our selling efforts. Here's why. We've know for a very long time that people buy based on emotion and justify their purchase with logic. That being true, it follows that we must spend enough TIME with the prospect for he or she to develop and feel those emotions before they buy, right? Yet our websites (and other communications) far too often fall into a "just the facts" status. We tell the prospect what we offer, we write concise bulleted lists, we lay out what we do with surgical precision. No fact left unstated. But in so doing we forget to included the romance. We forget the emotion that will cause prospects to become clients and clients to become advocates. We forget the manager who landed that key account by sending a unique gift. The father who saved time by using our services and used that time to attend a Little League game. The realtor who became #1 by using what we do to stand out in a crowded field. We forget to tell them what they really want to hear... what's in if for THEM! Today I'm going to give you a secret formula to inject your selling materials with the emotions that will stir people to action. When you finish this article, review your selling materials to see how they stack up. Then inject them with the words that cause people to buy AND the power stories that illustrate your point. Here's what I believe about people. People don't buy things, they buy what the things will do for them. If you have known me for more than 15 minutes, you know that I'm a believer in the strength of a "Power Story". I teach it in my books, I've preached it on the phone and in chat rooms. I BELIEVE in power stories. Want to know why I believe in them? They work. Let's put them to work for you by looking at three key factors. Why Tell A Story? People love to hear a story. They love to imagine themselves in different situations. Look at car ads on TV. Ever notice how ads for Lexus show people going out to dinner, or enjoying a Sunday afternoon drive? Ah, the good life. Ever see an ad for a Lexus going off road or climbing a mountain? No. The reason is that Lexus knows their audience and what their audience wants... luxury. They tell the story of people enjoying that luxury knowing that people will insert themselves in the story if they want luxury too. HOT TIP: Here's an inside tip about why stories work. Generally, people HATE to be the first to do anything. That's why it's so hard for a new business to get customers. When you use a 'power story' you take the risk out of the equation for the prospect. They can see that others in similar situations bought from you and it turned out well. They relax and can buy from you with confidence. Now for the key questions. What do YOUR prospects want? What story are you telling them? Where Do I Get Stories To Tell? Getting stories is easy. People love to help others and are flattered when we ask. Here are three quick steps that will help. 1. Make a list of your top twenty customers. Contact them, let them know you need their help, and ask how your product or service has made their life better. 2. Categorize their responses. Some will have saved money, others time, maybe they landed a big account or won over a hard to convince buyer. Try to stay with five categories or less. 3. Write out a story about each person who gives you material with a strong emphasis on the benefit the customer is receiving. Type them out as if it was an interview. Now you have material for your newsletter, web site ... anywhere you use power stories. When Do I Use a Story? Power stories can be used in every step of the sale, but their real power is in overcoming objections. When people read your web copy, your newsletter or even listen to you speak, they are asking themselves "will it work for me?" Answer that question before it's asked by including power stories. A great place to use power stories is on your web site. After you finish making an important point about a product and it's benefit, finish with a power story of someone who actually received that benefit. Now It's Your Turn Now take the next step and paint a compelling word picture that causes them to see themselves enjoying the benefit of what you have to offer. Remember, people buy benefits, they buy what's in it for them. Gather your power stories, re-arrange your selling materials as needed and ignite the fire that compels people to buy. When you do THIS, the world will beat a path to your site!

The bottom line in selling is simple. People buy what they want. Always have. Always will. The key for business people like you and me is to quickly tell our prospective customers why they should want what we have. In other words .... benefits! Understanding the difference between a feature and a benefit is vital, and easy. A feature is what your product does. A benefit is what is does for me! Now let's look at how to tell your prospects about the benefits they will get from your product. It is vital for all business people to understand that buying decisions are made based on emotion and then supported with logic. For our site to sell well, we need to very quickly present our visitors with the reasons why they should buy from us. These reasons are the benefits our customers will enjoy by owning our product or service. While most of us can quickly tell any prospective customer what our product does we often forget to take the extra step of telling them how our product will make their lives better. Remember that most Internet shoppers want to either save money or make money. Those are the top two motivations of people who buy online. In that light, be sure your site tells your visitor exactly how you will help them do these two things. Does your product save time? Time is money. Here are four simple steps to help you translate your product or service's features (what it does) into benefits (what it does for me). After you make your list, be sure to review your selling literature, be it a web page, email or brochure, and make sure that you are selling benefits. After all, everybody wants to know what's in it for them. List the key features of your product ... the things that make it worth having. Describe what each one does; how it works. Determine how that feature gives the customer an advantage. Write it down next to the feature. Think through how that advantage makes or saves them time or money. Be able to state every feature in terms of money. Write it down next to the advantage. Write out benefit statements for each feature. Memorize your list. Write it down and carry it for quick reference. You have now created a feature, advantage, and benefit list. By committing these statements to memory and using them often, you will now be speaking the prospect's language, the language of saving or making money. That's the sound they love to hear.

"My MLM program just isn't working out. They don't have this, and this, and this and the company doesn't do this, this, and this. Can you recommend a good MLM opportunity for me to join?" I get a lot of phone calls and conversations like this. I normally recommend that the callers get a government job where everything is perfect. They shouldn't be wasting their time with an imperfect MLM company. There is no such thing as a perfect job or a perfect MLM company. Too many distributors think that if they join the right, perfect, momentum stage, ground floor, stable, 30-year-old, visionary company, then that company will make them rich and successful. Dream on. Companies don't make distributors rich. Sponsors don't make distributors rich. Only distributors can make themselves rich. The reason many distributors are unsuccessful is because they constantly look for flaws and reasons why their opportunity won't work. The reason many leaders are successful is because they constantly look for reasons why their opportunity will work. So, if you call to complain that outside influences (like your company, sponsor, spouse, lawyer, dog, weather conditions, etc.) are holding you back from success, I'll listen. I need the stress for my aerobic conditioning. But remember, after you blame everyone else, don't go out looking for yet another MLM opportunity. It doesn't matter which MLM opportunity you choose not to work. Success will only come where you decide to work.

I was in the industry with some success. Now I'm in online marketing. I have a handicap and had to stop my MLM business.

Want to make more sales the quick and easy way? Then follow this simple formula, and create a sixty second summary page for your readers! The problem is all too common. * People don't have time to read long sales letters. * Long sales letters produce better results. So how can you solve that problem on your website? Easy ... create a sixty second summary. After all, everyone has one minute to spare! Here's how you do it, followed by an example that is working now. First, List The Benefits Of Your Offer The key here is to list benefits, not features. A feature is something your product does, a benefit is something it does for me. Here's an example. Feature: The Directory of Ezines is a database of ezines that sell ezine advertising, publish ezine articles, and do joint ventures. Benefit: The Directory of Ezines helps you save time when you are searching for ezines in which to advertise, publish articles, or do joint ventures. See the difference? People could care less that the DOE is a MySql database driven membership site. But the do care about saving time. List all of the benefits you can. Second, Create A Bulleted List The best way to display these benefits is not by hiding them inside fancy words. After all, just the fact that someone might want to read a 60 second summary page indicates they are in a hurry. So, give them just the facts. People like lists. Simply list the benefits you created above in descending order, from the most powerful to the least important. Every one of the benefits you list will have impact to someone, but do remember to start with the strongest benefit you can offer. Click here to see my 60 second summary page. Third, Test The Page. Now it's time to read the page. Since these are words that you have written, you will read it faster than another person. I recommend asking a friend to read the page, and timing them. After all, you want to keep your implied "60 second" promise. If the page is too long, either shorten each bullet point or remove some until the page is short and concise. Fourth, Include A Clear Call To Action. The objective is to sell to people who are in a hurry. The last thing you want to do here is to give them your short yet powerful list and then force them back to your main page, where the order link might be hard to see. So, always include an order link at the bottom of the list. You can safely restate your main benefit at the bottom of the list, but resist the temptation to say more. What you want here is action ... now! Whether you send them directly to a payment link, or to an order page that recaps the offer, has proven to be an unimportant point. Last, Add A Link To Your Sales Letter. Now it's time to modify your original sales letter and let people know you offer a 60 second summary. I choose to do that at the very top of the page. The thinking is that people in a hurry will hit that link fast, and my testing has proven that to be true. Using long selling copy is smart, because long copy gives the reader enough time to feel comfortable, and you can tell the whole story. Using short copy is smart, because people online are in a hurry, and many sales letters are simply too long for them. Until now, you had to choose. But now, by using a 60 second summary, you can have it all! And having it all is a beautiful thing indeed!

Don't blame the method. "Advertising doesn't work." "Direct mail doesn't work." "Internet marketing doesn't work." "Cold calls don't work." "Opportunity meetings don't work." "Person-to-person doesn't work." "In-home meetings don't work." "Postcards don't work." "Passing out business cards doesn't work." Ever hear these statements from discouraged distributors? Instead of arguing and proving that each of these methods work, try changing the distributors' point of view. Try instilling some personal responsibility for their results. Of course we know that advertising works. If not, who is paying for all those television commercials? We know that direct mail works. If not, who is paying for all that junk mail in our mailboxes? We know the Internet is growing and millions of people are using it daily. And we've all heard stories about how some leaders were sponsored by a cold call, an opportunity meeting, or through a person-to-person presentation. All of these methods work! So let's help our distributors see the real truth in these statements. The truth is: Advertising works. But my advertising didn't work. Maybe I should learn how to make my advertising work better. Direct mail works. But my direct mail didn't work. Maybe I could read a book or visit with a professional about how to make my direct mail work. Internet marketing works. My Internet marketing didn't work. Who could teach me how to make it work better? Cold calls work. My cold calls didn't work. Can I get someone to show me how to make cold calls work for me? Opportunity meetings work. My opportunity meetings didn't work. How can I learn to give better meetings? How can I invite more guests successfully? Person-to-person works. My personal presentations didn't work. Yet, some leaders use this method exclusively. Could I go with one of these leaders to observe how to make person-to-person presentations work? Don't blame the method of sponsoring. All methods work. Simply learn to use that method more successfully. And if you don't want to make the investment of time and money needed to learn how to make that method successful for you, choose a different method.

Thank you. People not having the spirit of helping each other, don't succeed.

The Internet has changed the way the world does business. Today you can sell goods and services to people across the world as easily as if they were across the street. Taking advantage of automation means we can take orders, deliver products, and be paid all while we sleep. While the Internet offers business people many tools, perhaps the most important is the ability to communicate quickly and easily. While this ability offers huge advantages, it carries some dangers as well. People like to buy from people they trust. Since the Web limits us primarily to the written word, how we use those words will either build up or tear down our credibility. Without a voice for our customers and prospects to hear, or a face to show expression, how can we make sure that what we intend to say is what is heard? Below are five keys to building credibility in your written communications. 1. Avoid misspellings. In today's world this should be obvious. Yet, look at your incoming email for the next few days. You may be surprised. Use your spell checker but don't trust it completely. No spell checker I know of will pick up the mistake when you innocently type "there" instead of "their". 2. Avoid using slang. Remember, the Internet is global. An innocent comment in America may be a massive insult in Sri Lanka. Plus, slang is often specific to one country, or even a region of a country, which means your overseas readers won't understand the point you are making. 3. Send all marketing email to yourself first. If possible, look at email sales letters in several email programs. Be sure to include AOL among them if possible, since their email viewer is different than any other. Also be sure to click every link in your outgoing marketing email. Few things are more embarrassing, and bad for business, than an order link that doesn't work. 4. Use proper case and punctuation. Many emails only contain words in lowercase letters. Always remember that all caps is universally understood as shouting. Use bold or italic for emphasis instead. If you are using plain text email, use *stars* or $dollar signs$ for emphasis. 5. Think before you strike. Email makes it so easy, in the heat of the moment, to dash off that oh-so-snappy reply. If you reply in anger, leave the message in your "drafts" folder for 24 hours. Look at it after you have calmed down. Then decide whether or not to send it. The immediacy of the Internet, especially email, lets us hold conversations in fragments. That may be okay if it's an old college friend. However, in business communications, we must sound our best. Take an extra minute to polish up your email and sound like the pro you are.

A few years ago I had lunch with my friend, Chris. Why? Because I believe in taking experts to lunch and finding out exactly what they do and say to build their businesses. Chris shared this story with me: *** I wanted to go to Chicago and help my group grow. I was talking to one of my newer distributors and I asked him to set a few appointments so that I could give his prospects a presentation. Here is how our conversation went: Chris: So call a few friends and set an appointment. New Distributor: But I can't do that. I don't know what to say. Could you tell me what to say when I call prospects? I'm not trained. It's too hard ... blah, blah, blah. Chris: If I gave you $1,000 for each appointment you arranged, how many presentation appointments do you think you could arrange? New Distributor: Well, if I got $1,000 for each appointment, I could set appointments with at least 50 people! Chris: So whatever you planned to tell those 50 people, that's what you should say when you call prospects for an appointment. *** Kapow! Right between the eyes. No more excuses. The distributor realized that he already knew enough to make phone calls asking for an appointment. And Chris didn't have to spend hours on the telephone practicing telephone scripts with the new distributor.

Web sites exist for essentially two purposes. The first is to provide information. The second is to sell. If your purpose for being online is to sell products or services, but you don't have tons of sales experience to fall back on, this article is for you! Selling is not some mysterious process that happens in smoke filled rooms or some gift you are born with. At it's core, selling is really finding out what people want and providing a way for them to get it. And you must take the buyer through a certain logical order before they will buy. Like almost any other skill, selling can be learned. Today we look at the five basic steps of a sale. After you finish reading today's article take a close look at your website, selling letters, ad copy and more to see if they take the buyer through these five steps. If not, take steps to make your copy stronger and measure the results. After going through this 'fine-tuning' process a few times you will have a web site that consistently makes sales and creates a reliable income for you. Now, the five steps of the sale. There are five distinct steps you must go through with a prospect in order to get them to say yes. Write these on an index card and use them as a checklist each time you make a presentation. 1) Attention - Without your prospect's full attention, you can't proceed. Make sure that your prospect pays attention to your selling message, not your graphics or hot color combos. Spinning ducks are cute. Powerful words sell products. 2) Involvement - Once you have their attention, get them involved. Have them do something. Ask them to sign up for your newsletter or take an online survey right from your home page. If they are interested enough to take this step, you're headed in the right direction. 3) Conviction - They have to be convinced in order to buy. Make sure your words include the FACTS they need to make a logical decision. Prospects buy on emotional impulse but if they can't defend their purchase with logic you'll lose the sale. 4) Desire - This is where the art of selling lives. THEY MUST WANT IT. Include strong emotional 'hooks' for people to relate to. Tell them exactly what's in it for them. Remember that people are usually motivated by the promise of gain (making more money) or the fear of loss (act now before the price goes up). The simple fact is that people will buy on an emotional impulse. They may defend their purchase with logic (especially to their spouse but they buy things because they WANT to. A great example of this is the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm totally convinced the Golden Gate Bridge is a great bridge, but I don't want to buy it. Dry stats won't do the job, emotion will. 5) Close - If you've done your job in the four preceding points, closing is a matter of arranging the details. But it is in this step that many sales are lost. Here's the key to closing the sale. TELL them exactly what to do next and keep them laser focused on doing that one thing. Do NOT include links to other products or programs on your order page. Keep their focus on whipping out that credit card and buying now. Make it simple and easy to do. Now that you know the five steps of a sale, examine your website and selling material to see how you stack up. No matter what you sell, the prospect must complete the steps before they will buy. The fact that they visit your site at all indicates interest. Gently guide them through the other four steps and success will be yours!

How to Use Cheap, Tacky, Homemade Signs to Earn Fast Profits in Your Network Marketing Business Have you ever notice those cheap, tacky, home-made signs that advertise MLM programs and products? You know the signs I'm talking about. The signs that are illegally posted on street corners, sign posts, telephone poles and curbs. These signs usually read like: "Lose 30 lbs. in 30 days. Call xxx-xxxx." "Work at home. Earn $300 - $500 per week." "Management trainees wanted." Do these signs really work? Or are they useless clutter on the horizon? Art Jonak decided to test these signs to find out the real truth. Here is what he did. First, he called the number on several of the signs and talked to the advertisers. Why? He wanted to find out who made the signs for them. After locating the source, Art negotiated the following deal with the local source for signs: The local source would print up 100 signs for only $220. Very inexpensive. But Art didn't want to spend a day or two climbing telephone poles and posting his signs. So, for an extra $100 ($1 per sign), the local source arranged to have Art's signs posted in the specific zip codes Art chose. For a total of $320, the local source would do everything: the printing and the posting of the signs in strategic locations. This was the major expense in Art's campaign. The local source also informed Art that the signs were technically illegal, but no one ever complains. Everyone posts garage sale signs, house for sale signs, lost dog signs, etc. without sign permits. The signs would stay up an average of 6 to 8 days before they were removed or destroyed by weather. Next, Art arranged for a local voice mail number to answer the sign inquiries. Art didn't have the time to take the phone calls personally, so the voice mail would pre-screen the callers, qualify them, and inform them. Obviously this method would reduce the total leads and sales, but Art felt this was necessary because of his personal time restraints. Cost of the local voice mail number was $10 a month with a $10 set-up fee. The voice mail could handle 30 messages at a time and also provided the daily call count totals. Finally, Art chose to advertise his service instead of advertising for distributors. He wanted to make some retail sales and then offer the opportunity to those customers who showed an exceptional interest in sharing the service. The signs were posted on May 25, 1999. The responses were: Column A is the number of prospects who called the voice mail message. Column B is the number of prospects who left their contact information after listening to the message. A B May 25 17 7 May 26 13 4 May 27 12 3 May 28 9 2 May 29 8 2 May 30 1 0 May 31 0 0 June 1 4 1 June 2 6 2 June 3 10 3 June 4 3 1 June 5 1 0 June 6 2 0 June 7 3 1 June 8 2 0 June 9 2 1 June 10 4 2 June 11 1 0 June 12 1 1 June 13 0 0 June 14 5 3 June 15 1 0 June 16 2 1 June 17 2 0 June 18 1 1 June 19 3 1 June 20 1 0 June 21 1 0 June 22 3 1 Totals 118 37 Analysis: Of the 37 callers that left a message: * 12 did not leave a phone number even though he asked for it * 3 left only their phone number * 22 left both their address and a phone number. The callers heard a two-minute message that explained the service, detailed the price, offered a free premium and asked a few qualifying questions. Art only wanted to hear from very qualified prospects, so that he wouldn't waste his time with follow-up phone calls or personal visits. By insisting on this strict qualification criteria, Art missed opportunities for a few extra sales and possible distributorships. You could increase your results by answering the telephone and personally selling each caller. Art gets even more selective. Art didn't follow up the leads by telephone. Instead, he simply mailed each lead an information package with sign-up forms for his service. Each information package included an audio cassette tape, a brochure, and a one-page sales letter. Art felt this would be a good test to see how effective his mailing package would be. Of the 34 response packages mailed, only one package was returned due to a bad address. Art did not follow up the packages with a phone call. He simply waited for the packages to do the selling. He only visited on the telephone with the prospects who called him after receiving their packages. By simply taking these calls, Art signed up four new paying customers for his service. These customers referred another three customers to Art. They wanted their friends to have the service as well. Total new customers from the campaign: 7. What about distributors? Art enrolled two new distributors from the packages he mailed. Here is a breakdown of Art's expenses: * $330 for the signs and to have them posted. * $10 for voice-mail box set-up. * $20 for two months of voice-mail usage * $68 to mail 34 response packets ($2/each including postage). Total invested in this campaign: $428 and 3 hours of his time. * 1 hour meeting the sign maker * 1 hour putting together response packages * 1 hour doing paperwork for 7 customers and 2 new distributors. Art's figured that his cost per lead was $12.59 ($428 divided by 34 leads). The cost per lead would be lower if he had converted more callers into leads by personally answering the telephone. But what about profit? How much did Art earn from this campaign? First, Art earned $1197 in advanced commissions from sales to his 7 new customers. Because Art is at the top in his pay plan, his earnings would naturally be more than a new distributor just starting. In addition, Art made $342 in bonuses from sales made to his two new distributors. Art's initial profit was $1539.00, minus his expenses of $428, which left him with a $1,111 net profit. But it gets better. Art will continue to collect on his customers as they continue to use and purchase the service he offers, for the lifetime of that customer. In addition, Art will follow-up with these customers and let them know about the business opportunity. He might convert a few customers into distributors over the next few months. Plus, Art now has two new distributors who will be working the business with him with the potential of becoming leaders. If these distributors remain active, Art could earn an additional $1,000 income per year for the lifetime of each distributor. It gets better. One of Art's new distributors is Jim. Jim has two businesses. First, Jim provides a financial service to people. He sells this service and makes a good living. Second, Jim also has a sign service. Jim has figured out that it's a lot cheaper to make his own signs rather than pay someone else to do it like Art did. Jim makes his own signs right from his garage. Jim also doesn't mind putting up the signs himself. He actually prefers it because he knows exactly where they will be. Jim is going to be good in Art's business. Why? First, every one of Jim's present customers needs Art's service. There is a potential of up to 20 retail sales monthly by doing what he's already doing. Second, since Jim already makes his own signs and drives around to put them up, he figures that it doesn't take him any more effort to put up an extra sign on each post. So, now every week he puts up 100 signs promoting his MLM business along with 100 signs promoting his original business. But Art's business can get even better. Why? Art knows that salesman and distributors hate to prospect -- but they don't mind doing presentations to qualified leads. What does Art have? Lots of uncontacted, highly qualified leads! Art had 18 names left with a phone number and 12 with addresses only. A total of 30 leads that he could either offer as an incentive for someone to join his MLM business or to use as a prize to the winners of a sponsoring contest he has for his local downline. Or, he could use the leads to generate more distributor prospects with an ad something like this: "Leads, leads, leads! Salesman needed. Call xxx-xxx-xxxx for more info." But before Art would run this ad, he needed to know how qualified the remaining leads were. After all, if the remaining leads were of low quality, he didn't want to run a misleading ad for more distributors. So, Art called the 18 leads with phone numbers to see what level of interest there was. He gave each person a "courtesy call" that went something like this: "Hello, Mr. Prospect. I just wanted to give you a short courtesy call regarding the information that we sent to you." * Did you get the packet of information? * Did you have a chance to review it yet? * Would you like to meet so we can go over the service in detail? * Do you know anyone else who would be interested in this service that I could contact and put the information in front of? Here are the results: * 3 leads said they didn't get the packet and wanted another one sent. * 6 leads had not reviewed the information yet and said they would by the time Art called them back in two days. * 3 leads wanted to meet to go over the information. * 6 leads were not interested. Plus, three of the leads gave Art an additional seven new leads during their telephone conversation. One lead even wanted Art to send him a few more overview audio cassettes because he wanted to give them to his co-workers. Do you think it will be hard to convert this prospect into a distributor once he finds out that he can pick up a check for simply recommending and promoting the service (which he's already doing!)? Now, some people in network marketing say, "Advertising doesn't work." But these people don't know Art Jonak.

Why do people act the way they do? Why do people make silly decisions that you can't understand? Why do prospects avoid your money-making opportunity? Because people make decisions based on their personal value system. People don't go out of their way to make bad or illogical decisions. They make the best decisions they can based on the values they put first in their life. Since each individual is unique, everyone has slightly different values and goals. That means most people won't look at and judge opportunities the same way we do. Instead, they will use a completely different standard to judge what's best for them. We all have different values and different emphasis on these different values. However, here are some common values that we can study. Understanding these values will be invaluable in our path to understanding people. Once we understand which values are dominant in people's lives, then we can understand and better communicate with them about their needs and desires. Let's get started by investigating some common values. Power John organizes the church choir and the local homeowners' association. These are not elected positions, he simply assumed them. When John wants to get projects done, he doesn't hesitate to delegate and assign duties to anyone and everyone. Is John satisfied with the results of his delegation? No. John feels he could have improved on every duty with more personal intervention. John doesn't listen to critics. He strongly believes in what he does, and how he does it. If you wanted to get something done you'd call on John. He sees the big picture (with him on top) and won't let frustrating circumstances, regulations and negative people stand in his way. People who are focused on power are assertive, confident, and productive. They are strong organizers and supervisors. Decisions are fast and certain. They are also controlling, nosy and bossy. They are also never wrong. Just ask them. With energy to spare, people who value power like to delegate jobs and tasks to others but are rarely satisfied with the results. They always want and expect the best. Power people are always looking for new opportunities to gain more power. Changes of jobs or opportunities are common if the new position offers more power, authority or control. Money takes a secondary role in the decision. You can find power-motivated people as leaders of the church choir, politicians, and officers in organizations. They love to give meetings and won't back away from a challenging situation. Financial security Steve is only $1,000 in debt. This bothers him though, so he takes a job as a part-time taxi driver to pay off this bill. He drives a sensible car, seldom eats out, has conservative clothing, and has a reliably stable job with the government. With savings accounts in two different banks, Steve feels obligated to make regular deposits from his biweekly paycheck. Steve saves his frequent flier miles from business trips and uses them for his holidays and often integrates business meetings in those holidays for tax purposes. Those concentrated with financial security accumulate lots of assets in bonds, CDs, etc. They are safety-conscious and conservative. The mere thought of bouncing a check can give them hives. They carefully accumulate money for the future, while postponing the small luxuries that can make life easier. Avoiding risk is extremely important in both financial transactions and personal relationships. Every decision considers how the choice will affect an uncertain future. Common signs of financial security values? Look for people who take part-time jobs so that they can contribute more to their retirement fund. Look for loyal employees who stay with one company. These people will talk often about money and are always open to new ideas for financial independence. You can find them cornering financial consultants at parties. Desire to be rich Carol lives in an exclusive apartment complex. Her apartment is furnished with top-of-the-line appliances, entertainment system, and decor. Every week she has a housekeeper come in and she routinely meets with her personal shopper. All of her credit card balances are high and she has very little in savings. She spends money on lotto tickets and betting pools. Recently, on two weeks notice, Carol moved halfway across the country for a new job with higher pay and better benefits. Already Carol, a highly social person, is well-connected with people all over the city. This group of people has the philosophy that if you look like you have wealth, and live like you have wealth, someday you will surprisingly wake up with wealth. They buy expensive clothing and jewelry on credit cards. Luxury salesmen love them as they lease big luxury cars and belong to the elite country clubs so they can lunch with their idols. Like those who value financial security, this group often talks about money. However, instead of discussing how to gain money, they talk about how to spend money. Exact figure amounts (the higher the better) of their latest new boat, car, or house pop up frequently in conversation. A big motivating factor is envy of others and keeping up with the Joneses. As aggressive risk takers, they put money in high-risk stocks and other big-earning (if unstable) investments. They can be hard workers if the job looks prestigious enough to complement their lifestyles. They are open-minded to new opportunities in order to attain their goals. Desire to look good Tim is a gym fanatic who works with his personal trainer five times a week. He is not a professional body builder but takes six different herbal steroids and weight-gaining protein formulas every day. He has standing monthly appointments to get his hair cut and colored (along with his beard) and a manicure. In his bathroom are seven types of shampoo and conditioner and four different styling formulas for his hair. The stylish gym bag and bottom drawer of his office desk each have duplicate sets of his hair care products. Focused on the appearance of their body, these people spend all their time and money going to health clubs, spas, and salons. This used to be primarily a woman's value but today more and more men are joining them. We've all seen the increase in ads for men's hair coloring, belly busters, etc. It's not a bad thing - vanity has now become an equal opportunist. Frankly it may be good for men as it will make them appreciate what women endure in the name of beauty. Of course men will never truly understand a woman's plight until confronted with a full leg wax... Their work schedule must compete with the spa appointments and workout times. Their first loyalty is to their physical appearance, so they are receptive to opportunities that would enable them to enhance their appearance. Attention to detail is another trait they embody as well as a tendency towards perfectionism. You won't find this group working where store uniforms are mandatory. Designer clothing and smart dressing is the norm. The key word in their vocabulary is "accessorize." Look for the stylish watch, bracelet, or pendant and don't forget the oversized ring. If you asked someone from this group to speak at your meeting, they would first want to check the lighting to make sure they'd look good. Loving relationship with partner James is a newlywed. He and his wife, Sara, have just bought their first home and spend most weekends working on the renovations together. Although they often have friends over, they rarely go out for the evening. James has a stable job but is constantly looking for new opportunities to improve his and Sara's lifestyle. He takes off several days a month to spend quality time at home with Sara but makes up the work on lunch hours. He rarely takes business trips and avoids work-related dinners and events. People who prioritize a loving relationship with their partner rely heavily on their mate for decisions and are rarely seen alone. You can find them kissing in public, wearing matching outfits, and holding hands. They call their "significant other" 12 times a day from work. You can hear them when you pass their office door making smoochy noises into the phone. Codependency makes their relationship work. They make slow, calculated decisions while taking into account how it will affect their partner. They work hard but are not work-obsessed. Finding a line between work obligations and personal life is important to them. If you want to be nurtured, this group makes a perfect upline. Not only will they call you regularly, but they will listen to your personal problems and opinions for hours. They are the ultimate in support. Family Paul is a family man with four children. He makes certain he attends their little league games, recitals, plays, swimming meets, Christmas concerts, fundraisers, and parent nights. Every night the family sits down for dinner together and talks about everyone's day. Paul can change a diaper, fix a leaky sink, call a plumber (when he's finished breaking it), and brandish barbecue grill tongs with authority all at the same time. The house is always bustling with kids, two dogs, a cat and a goldfish named Squeak. He and his wife take the family out to the lakeside cabin for two weeks every year. Family-oriented people have different priorities and values other than work. The majority of their time is devoted to the family. Family vacations and dinners are important to them. They are loyal and can be motivated by opportunities that will benefit the family. Decisions are ponderous as they will discuss decisions with every member of their family including the 4th step-cousin twice removed living in Europe. You see them at Disneyworld with an extended family group of 200 - all wearing identical T-shirts with "Reunion '97" on them. Commitments mean a lot to this group. Long-term goals and relationships come easily for them too. This group is especially popular with grandmothers, but not so popular with teenage children. Look to this group for stable and consistent leadership. Career fulfillment Michael powered his way through college and found a good job with opportunities for advancement shortly after he finished. Since then he has changed jobs once, and only then for a nearly identical position with a larger company. He and his wife communicate largely by phone and e-mail because he is often on the road for business trips or spending late evenings and weekends at the office. Although he is very successful and the youngest VP in the company, Michael is still frustrated about his progress with the company. Michael's schedule is fast-paced and high-stress. He receives pressure from work and compounds it with pressure he places on himself. Because of his career goals, he refuses to take time off to relax and regroup. Instead, Michael relies on pain relievers for his chronic migraines and visits the chiropractor. People focused on career fulfillment are often workaholics whose time is focused on getting ahead, getting the promotion, and being handed the key to the executive washroom (the "golden key" so to speak.) Where do you find them? Rarely seen outside the office, you can sometimes catch a glimpse of them on planes buried behind files and pounding furiously on a laptop. They feel undervalued at work and believe their efforts lack acknowledgement and appreciation. New opportunities are not always considered unless they lie directly in the pre-mapped business plan they have made for themselves. When defining the word "focus" you would have to include this group. They are constantly watching for ideas and opportunities that will help them reach their goals. Leadership is easy for them as they are quite willing to set the example for the group. You won't have to call them to remind them of an upcoming opportunity meeting. Desire to feel needed Cathy is a second-grade teacher. She volunteers at the local hospital and works with the youth group at her church. Her husband owns a business and she takes care of the books and payroll. Every morning she makes lunches for her children and drives them to and from school. In addition, she has an extensive network of close friends who rely on her for advice, favors, and a general sounding board. She has a cell phone "in case anyone needs her" and a beeper in case she's on the cell phone and it's an emergency. People who want to feel needed are always willing to give you the shirt off their back in return for a smile and a pat of appreciation. They can sometimes become a martyr. They willingly make sacrifices for everyone and actively seek acknowledgment. Many are social workers, volunteers, charity workers, and hospital staffers. Because they like the responsibility, people who value their usefulness are efficient and productive. They are loyal friends and employees. If you wanted to delegate a monthly newsletter project to someone in this group, you would know that the project would shine with excellence. Personal enlightenment John would rather meditate than watch cable television or play Nintendo. He has checked out every philosophy book in the library and is an avid attendee of self-development courses. Understanding who he is and how he fits in the universe is more important than money, job promotions, weekend sports and lawn care. People who are focused on personal enlightenment are intent on "finding themselves." You can find them in New Age bookstores, yoga classes and self-help workshops. The CD players in their BMWs and Volvos are often playing audio books about simplifying their lives and the understanding of the universe. Because their personal journeys of exploration offer them positive rewards, they spend a lot of time and energy sharing their insight with others. They choose activities based not on the activity itself, but on how they feel about the people involved. Alternative careers blend well with their lifestyles and they will sometimes will take on odd jobs to move away from the rat race. They are often open to new ideas, but if they are looking for the child within, don't offer to baby-sit. This group possesses incredible teaching and explanation skills. They can decipher complex information and present it clearly and with insight. If they give a lecture on a subject that interests you, it will be a fun learning experience. Adventure/Travel/Adrenaline junkie Pat lives for the next quest, escapade and journey into the unknown. He has started several businesses over the years but has abandoned them one by one for long-term adventures around the globe. Once it was a six-month endurance challenge in Antarctica. Another time he explored southern Asia on mountain bike for almost a year. He knows pieces of several languages - most if it consisting of phrases requesting beer and bathrooms and a few to compliment the women. The adrenaline junkie misses the meeting because he's off on a whim. He's moving double-time through the airport to catch a flight to Africa, planning to hunt lions - barefoot with a pocketknife. He is easily influenced. When a new obsession hits, he takes off full force and focuses all his energies. Highly productive, he charges through new projects. On the down side, he also has a short attention span and needs a constant source of new challenges. He can tell you where to get the best cup of coffee in 58 countries. He's been parachuting over Guam, rock climbing in the Andes, scuba diving with the sharks and crossed a busy street in New York City. He is very spontaneous. As distributors, this group surges ahead with tremendous growth and momentum. However, unless there are new challenges, their focus will quickly turn to the next adventure. Aim for fame Jerry was once in a crowd that saw President Clinton walk to the podium. When Jerry meets a new person he says, "When President Clinton and I were in Tampa back in July…." Jerry loves to drop names of anyone famous and hopes their reputation will rub off on him. Look inside Jerry's house and you'll see every trophy and award he won displayed in his living room. There is even a copy of his kindergarten graduation certificate complete with two gold stars for coloring within the lines. People looking to become famous save every magazine article that has their name in it. If an article they write is published, their byline and picture will be larger than the headline. They will then proceed to send a copy of the article to everyone they know. Because of their desire for fame, they are easily swayed by the media or celebrity endorsement. They trust big names and equate fame with importance. If a celebrity endorser goes on tour, this group would volunteer to make the arrangements, carry the luggage, and to personally escort the celebrity endorser from city to city. And, because of their attention to detail, everything would go just fine. Popularity Stacy is a personal assistant for an advertising executive. At work she volunteers to assist others and run extra errands. She knows the names of every person in the office and makes uplifting personal comments to them in the morning. Every week she brings flowers and homemade cookies to the office. Although she is well liked, she has been passed over for many promotions. Her work is fine, but she doesn't have the time and energy to go that extra mile to qualify for a promotion. Why? Because she is too busy helping others. Stacy's social calendar is full, but often the commitments she makes are overlapping one another. Everyone loves Stacy. That's great because that is what Stacy wants -- to be loved. It's easy to spot people who place a high value on popularity. They were popular in high school and now want everyone to be their friend. Often times the popular person will agree to anything in order to please someone. You want the perfect "yes man?" Here is your person. Sometimes when this person says, "Yes," they will have a hard time following through because they have already made too many commitments to help others. "Popularity-minded" people are great confidence builders and are able to motivate those around them. People and prospects are naturally attracted to this group of people. Accomplishments Martha leaves the house with her "to-do" list clipped prominently on the outside of her organizer. She also has a duplicate copy of the "to-do" list for the sun visor in her car. Every task on the list is assigned a certain amount of time and Martha knows she can increase her productivity by taking a shortcut down Ninth Street. These lists are important to Martha. Shas to balance her time carefully as she is actively involved in the Boy Scouts, PTA, Community Center, and the Republican Party. There are no unfinished projects in her hobbies. The person who values her accomplishments compulsively writes out list so that she can cross things off and feel productive. Her home is filled with diplomas and trophies. She sets up milestones in her life and likes to refer to them. A talkative person, she will explain in great detail the course of action she took in achieving her latest goal. She likes to tell stories about conquering things and is easy to find in a social setting. Look for the person animatedly telling stories to a crowd - endlessly. While the rest of humanity believes in setting goals and wish lists, this group sets goals and achieves them. When they make a New Year's resolution, they keep it. This trait makes them consistent achievers in networking. Desire to have a good time Kenneth has an office job. Technically he has an office - he's just not sure exactly where it is. When he's at work, he is usually on the phone with out-of-town friends or making plans with friends for that evening. He takes off work early two afternoons a week for his racquetball games and is king of the three-hour lunch. When he tells everyone at the office, "I'll be back in a minute," they assume he's gone for the day. This group is relaxed and easy-going. Work to them is a necessary evil but a great way to meet new people. Obviously they prefer jobs that have lots of flex time and free time. You will find them having dinner with friends or at sporting events instead of working. They favor conventions, web surfing and motivational meetings instead of bookkeeping, building a business and telephone calls. As extremely social creatures, they spend time playing tennis and golf, going to the bars and hanging out with friends. Organization is not a big priority to them, but they will motivate themselves to work hard for a travel bonus. Open-minded? Yes. This group finds alternative careers and opportunities exciting as it fits in with their values and lifestyles. And there is no danger that anyone in this group will become a workaholic. The Test. These are some of the basic values people have. I'm sure you recognize that many of your friends and acquaintances are strongly aligned with certain values. For instance, I have a friend named Mark. Mark's values are travel and adventure first and everything else is a distant second place. So what happens when you talk to Mark about network marketing? If you describe the financial security and the residual income, Mark will politely turn you down. If you didn't understand Mark's values, you would think, "How could anybody turn down financial security?" However, if you describe the adventure, travel and challenge in network marketing, then Mark will grab you by the throat and demand that you give him an application to join immediately. Why? Because that is what is important in Mark's life. He makes his decisions based on how they will affect his values of travel and adventure. Once you've established the values of a prospect, it's easy to show him how network marketing can help him satisfy those values. Some people join to make friends, others join to build a residual income. And yes, some even join for travel and adventure like Mark. Before you evaluate and establish another person's values, why not practice on yourself first? Here is a chance to rate your own values in order of importance to you. Once you've arranged your list with your most important values at the top, ask yourself this question: "Do these top few important values explain why I do the things I do?" I think you'll find that the answer is "Yes." Values List 1. Power 2. Financial security 3. Desire to be rich 4. Desire to look good 5. Loving relationship with partner 6. Family 7. Career fulfillment 8. Desire to feel needed 9. Personal enlightenment 10. Adventure/Travel/Adrenaline junkie 11. Aim for fame 12. Popularity 13. Accomplishments 14. Desire to have a good time Take a pen and paper and write down which of the 14 values listed here are the most important to you. Then, write down the next most important value, etc. When you are finished, your most important values will be at the top of your list and your least important values will be at the bottom of your list. This should tell you a lot about yourself and what criteria you use to make decisions. And finally, notice how these most important values shape the direction of your life.

People ask if they should try a certain strategy, how certain leaders become successful, what type of presentation generates the best results, and what is my advice on their new brochure. Well many (but not all) fall into one category. They are people who spend time investigating, analyzing, and looking for an easy, cheap way to become an overnight success. They find it easier and safer to stay in a state of continuous investigation to avoid actually doing something to build their business. My advice to many of these callers: "Go out and actually do something. Maybe even make your first prospecting presentation. Even if you make 20 more calls investigating network marketing theories, nothing will happen." Okay, I'm not very popular with some of these callers, but I do feel I should at least tell them the truth. What about you? Do you have distributors who do everything except contact prospects? Are they always putting together a new brochure or presentation that will fix all the problems of network marketing? Are they so busy with "busy work" that they don't have time to recruit? Do they spend hours every day sending e-mails back and forth to people they've never met? Do they focus their time pretending to build relationships with the 800 nameless people they've captured in their autoresponder? What are you going to tell them? Are you going to say: "Nice brochure. You're really accomplishing a lot." Or, are you going to tell them the truth? Will you say: "Go out and actually do something that will build your business. Make a phone call. Meet a 'live' person. Make a presentation. Sign up a new distributor." Maybe I should have titled this article, "How to delay success."

Q. I'm new to the online world and confused. I don't know if I should spend time and money creating a product, or become an affiliate first. What should I do first to make money online? A. The best things to do are avoid information overload and learn the process of marketing. The process of marketing can be summed up this way. Find a hungry market of people who want to buy. Choose a product that appeals to this market. Choose marketing methods that will ensure you reach this market. Test your marketing - repeat what works and learn from what does not. If you apply that process to your online business consistently, success will soon follow. The main mistake that people make online when choosing what to do first is to find a product they like and try to sell that product. First of all, starting with the product means you have to find an audience for that product, which is harder than finding a product for a market. Secondly, very few people online thrive by selling one product. My advice is to begin as an affiliate. Doing this means you will be selling someone else's product for a commission for a while, but it relieves you of the burden of writing a great sales letter (or the expense of having it done) and is the most pure way to learn the process of marketing. So, find a hungry market, find a great affiliate product, then learn the process of marketing by selling that product. Once you learn, create a product and apply what you learned to your own product and keep all the money!

Texas and Oklahoma are bitter college football rivals. There's no middle ground. One day a Texas football fan was driving through Oklahoma on his way to another state. (Texas football fans never drive to Oklahoma, they only drive through Oklahoma to get somewhere else.) The Texas football fan stops at an Oklahoma gas station to refuel. A little girl walks by and suddenly is attacked by a vicious pit bull. The dog tears her dress and grabs her arm. The Texas football fan sees the screaming little girl and runs to her rescue. He grabs the pit bull and struggles valiantly. The dog tears into his flesh. Blood streams from his arm and leg. Finally, in a desperate move, the Texas football fan gets the upper hand and kills the pit bull. A reporter for the Oklahoma Times Newspaper watches the drama unfold. After the pit bull is dead he approaches the Texas football fan and says: "Wow! What a hero! This will make great headlines in tomorrow's paper. Let me take your picture and ask a few questions." The Texas football fan wipes the blood off his arm and leg and has his picture taken. "We'll put a great headline and story under your picture in tomorrow's paper," says the reporter. "Maybe, the headline could read, Hero Saves Little Girl. By the way, where are you from?" "From Texas," says the hero. The reporter thought for a moment and replied, "Well, since you're from Texas I guess we could change the headline to read: Man Rescues Child. I can kind of overlook that you're from Texas, but tell me, you at least root for the Oklahoma football team, don't you?" The Texan replied, "No. To tell you the truth, I am a avid Texas football fan." The reporter left to write up the story. The Texan decided to stay around for a day so he could read his headline and story in the next morning's paper. The next morning, the Texas football fan picks up the Oklahoma Times Newspaper and on the front page was the headline: Man Kills Family Pet! It's a matter of perspective. Not everyone looks at opportunities and events the same way. While you may think you are offering a tremendous opportunity to a prospect, the prospect may see the presentation as a thinly veiled attempt to take his money. Empathy: Identification with and understanding of another's feelings, situation, and motives. Would you like to increase your closing percentage? Use empathy. Would you like to increase your group's motivation? Use empathy. Would you like to understand why people respond the way they do? Use empathy. Great network marketing leaders don't sell, they understand. When giving a presentation, they try to present the opportunity from the prospect's point of view. If the prospect has experienced a bad situation with high-pressure salesmen, the leader gives advice and options. If the prospect is worried about his daily living expenses, the leader emphasizes the possibility of immediate part-time income. If the prospect is afraid of what his friends will say, the leader shows how the prospect can market to strangers. To understand how effective empathy can be, imagine if a salesman used empathy to understand your point of view. Let's say you were a prospect for a network marketing opportunity. You sincerely want a part-time income, but also want quality time with your family. Compare the following two presentations: Presentation #1 "You'll just love this network marketing opportunity. You get to go to rallies, trainings, opportunity meetings, conventions, and presentations in prospects' homes and our weekly idea session. I've been in this opportunity for over a year now and I can't think of anything else. I'm doing this business 24 hours a day. You'll love it too. It will become a obsession." Presentation #2 "You'll just love this network marketing opportunity. It only takes a few hours of quality time per week. We have many successful leaders who set aside six hours a week for presentations and group building. This leaves them plenty of time to enjoy their family, friends and other activities. network marketing is great because you can set your own hours." Since your goal was part-time income and quality time, which presentation would appeal to you? It's easy to see that Presentation #2 had empathy while Presentation #1 only showed self-interest. Empathy works for recruiting presentations, but it works even better when trying to develop network marketing leaders. Let's say you want to develop Mary into your next superstar leader. Why not find out a little about Mary's background? Is she conservative or liberal? Does she want to earn big money fast, or is she willing to build long-term? Does she want an aggressive upline sponsor and an aggressive promotional campaign? What's happening with her personal life? Is her job fulfilling or boring? In other words, find out what Mary really wants and help her achieve it. When the upline leader and the potential leader operate on the same frequency with the same goals and strategy, magic happens. That's why some network marketing leaders can develop leaders and inspire loyalty while other network marketing leaders never seem to get anyone beyond a dependent distributor level. It's just like the Oklahoma Times Newspaper reporter. He saw things completely different. Succeed in network marketing by seeing things through other people's eyes. Why I retired at the age of 51

We meet many people in the course of our careers. Some we will get to know casually while others will become close friends and trusted allies. Then there are those I call ‘centers of influence.’ These ‘centers of influence’ people are like the hub of a giant wheel. As you look back, you can see where so very many good things, things like contacts, sales and help just when you needed it most, have come from this one person. Wouldn’t it be great if you could know that a person was to become a ‘center of influence’ in your life *before* it happened? Here’s the good news… you can!! In fact, we will see today that not only is developing such relationships possible, but that such relationships can be developed without greed or manipulation. If developing a ‘center of influence’ relationship sounds good to you, and you want to develop it using win-win methods, today’s article is just for you! Create a ‘Center of Influence’ Let’s begin with a short quiz. One question. No pressure. What is the best type of advertising? When asked this question many people answer “the kind that works!” While no one can disagree with that, I submit that the BEST type of advertising is the one that is most overlooked. I’m talking about word of mouth advertising. While targeted email, banner ads, billboard ads, and even television ads all have their place, nothing compares to the power of word of mouth advertising. Here’s why. When one person tells another person about your product or service, the very fact that they are speaking about you constitutes an endorsement. While people might not trust advertising (in fact, they don’t) they do trust people. If Jane feels strongly enough about what you do to tell Jim, Jim will take notice even if Jane gets the facts wrong. When Jane tells 15 or 20 Jims, she has become a center of influence. This is exactly why no serious marketer can afford to overlook social networking for long. Social networking is the perfect place to begin developing relationships – in fact, it’s all about relationships! Unlike paid advertising or article marketing, social sites like Twitter, Facebook and more encourage dialog, not the usual sales letter monologue. How can we develop a powerful word of mouth advertising campaign in our businesses? By recognizing, developing and rewarding those people who can become a ‘center of influence’ in our lives. It’s done in three steps. Let’s look at each step. 1. Recognition In order to become a true *center* of influence, a person needs to be in regular contact with the type of people who can benefit from what you do. This begs a critical question. Do you know what your ideal prospect looks like? Once you know, do this. List the type of clients that you would like to have more of. List what makes them an ideal client for you (they need what you do, they are open to change, etc.) Find common characteristics. Do these super clients go to the symphony, play golf, visit certain web sites, participate in online forums? As much as you can, be where they are. Get to know them on their turf. Let them see you at events they attend. Volunteer to help their favorite charity. Make yourself visible. Before people will buy and recommend us, they need to get to know and TRUST us. 2. Development This is NOT manipulation, but education. Have you ever had someone you know buy what you sell from a competitor because they just didn’t know YOU sold it? We are not at the top of people’s minds. They have kids, mortgages, college to pay for, as well as work pressures, just like you do. We need to position ourselves at the top of their minds by being in constant contact. We have so many tools at our disposal for this purpose. Here are three to start with. * Send them an email once a month to announce something new in your business. * Phone them to say hello and announce your next big event. Ask them how they are first, and keep notes so you have a point of contact for the next call. * A personal note works very well for developing this type of relationship. Have you written a new article or been in the newspaper? Write a brief note and send it along. Notes take time, which shows that you value this relationship. 3. Reward No, I am NOT talking about only money here. This relationship goes much deeper than that. What I am saying is that, while you are getting to know them better and educating them about what you do, take the time to LISTEN to their needs. When you can meet one of their needs, do it immediately, even if there is no immediate return for you. This person is important to your business. Don’t TELL them, SHOW them how important they are. If this relationship does not include reciprocity, it will degenerate into a ‘what’s in it for me’ situation that will not stand the test of time. Please understand that these relationships must be open and honest in order to work. People like to help other people, especially those they know and trust. Develop that trust relationship with people who are well positioned to help you. You must earn their referrals. When you do, your marketing will become supercharged with what is clearly the best form of advertising … positive word of mouth. And that is a beautiful thing indeed!

"Sure it sounds good, but it takes too much time!" One evening next month, your new distributor comes home from work and picks up his mail. As he looks through the stack, he says: "Bills, bills, junk mail, bills, junk mail, bills, overdue notices, bills, junk mail . . . and what's this? A newsletter from my upline leader?" Guess which piece of mail your new distributor opens first? You're right. He is going to delay the pain of opening the bills and overdue notices and look to your newsletter for hope, tips, and inspiration. You see, your new distributor has totally forgotten about your business opportunity. Work, bills, family obligations and other day-to-day activities have crowded your opportunity from memory. Your newsletter might be the only reminder he receives that, yes, he has an opportunity in his hands. Does your new distributor only read your newsletter for hope, tips and inspiration? No. Your new distributor also opens your newsletter to see: If his name is included anywhere. Personal recognition is high on most people's priorities. If you have included any juicy gossip about other distributors he knows. Soap operas and news exposés sell well. If his group out-performed his friend's group. If there are any new products announced or other special inside information. If you have news of any special deals or contests. If there are any exciting meetings coming next month, etc. Your newsletter puts you in your downline's home. And, you don't have to make that time-consuming personal visit. Newsletters are more than a downline communication tool. Your newsletter is not only an obvious asset to building your downline, but it can also be a great prospecting tool! Think of what happens when a prospect reads those juicy testimonials for your products. Or, think of how a prospect will react when he reads how you are helping others succeed with their part-time businesses. By carefully including selected testimonials and success stories, your newsletter can be your best recruiting tool. Why? Because a newsletter has credibility. Your newsletter is designed to be a communication tool for your present distributors and not a sales brochure with inflated claims. Your prospect feels that he is peeking into your business and getting a fair, unbiased look at what really happens. Many of your newsletter readers will ask for extra copies for their friends and fellow business associates. Your readers will actually find hot prospects for you. Make sure to mention in each issue of your newsletter that extra copies are always free for the asking. What else can you include in your newsletter to make it a more effective sponsoring tool? Pictures. Pictures help your prospect identify with live, breathing human beings. Pictures help pre-build the relationship necessary to sponsor a cold prospect. You can have a picture of you and your family. Or, how about some pictures of your downline enjoying themselves spending that bonus check? You could even have pictures of happy distributors and customers who are using and benefiting from your products or services. Product usage tips. Your newsletter can instruct your downline on new and effective ways to use your products or services. Your prospect will sell himself while reading this section of your newsletter. It's important that you print an informational and educational article, not a commercial sales pitch. You want your prospect to be reading information, not sales puffery. Any hype or over-selling will cause your prospect to put up his defenses against your sales presentation. Why not mail a prospect three or four issues? Think about it. If you were a prospect, wouldn't you like to feel comfortable with a new opportunity? Each issue of a newsletter creates security and support in a prospect's mind. I like talking to informed prospects who already know a lot about my opportunity. But how do I create a newsletter without eating up valuable prospecting and selling time? You know what happens. You stare at a blank sheet of paper. You try to think of something interesting to write . . . and nothing comes! Then there is the problem of what to put in, how to make the newsletter look good, how to come up with enough new stuff every issue . . . it's painful! Well, that's one way of attempting to do your newsletter. How about a simpler way? Don't be a pro. That's right. Forget about formatting and design. You don't have to make your newsletter look good. Your readers are interested in the information, not the design. You can type it on an old typewriter. That's okay. Just make sure you don't write it by hand as handwriting is hard to read. And if your newsletter looks a bit amateurish, don't worry. This makes you look sincere -- just interested in getting this valuable information out to your distributors. So how do you avoid writer's block and come up with enough information for each issue of your newsletter? It's simple. Just use a checklist. Here is the checklist that I use when writing a downline newsletter. The headings in this checklist will create plenty of ideas for each issue. Just pick and choose which headings you need, write a little bit about that topic, and presto! You're done. Ready? Here are the headings in my checklist. Feel free to add some of your own. The names of the new distributors in your group and who sponsored them. This gives each new distributor a chance to see his name in writing, plus you're giving recognition to the sponsors, the people who are building your business. Sponsoring tips. Distributors like to get short, easy-to-use tips that will help them sponsor more people. Maybe it can be something as simple as a good opening sentence. Product testimonials. This reinforces the company products to the distributors and also pre-sells the prospects who read your newsletter. Opportunity testimonials. Tell a success story about how someone is spending his bonus check. Tell your readers how this check helped the family to take that dream vacation they always wanted. Product information. Quote some research or interesting articles about one of your products or services. Education will help build credibility and belief in your products and services. Say something nice about your upline leadership or home office staff. Talk about their professionalism and helping attitude. Prospects want to be a part of a system of support. Pictures. People love pictures. That's why they buy People Magazine. Pictures make your newsletter interesting. Why not include a picture of a recent group meeting or of a special accomplishment by one of your distributors? Recognition. It is said that people will work for money, but kill for recognition. Don't underestimate the motivational power of simple recognition. You can recognize distributors who advance to a new rank or someone who made ten sales his first month. The possibilities are endless. Industry gossip. You can quote a news report about how networking is the wave of the future or how certain legislation affects your product line. Opportunity meetings and training schedules. Let your downline know the latest schedule. Here is a good opportunity to tell your downline about the advantages of attending the next super training session. Special sales and contests. They are a good marketing method to boost sales during slow periods. People love contests. Promote a good vendor or resource to your downline. For instance, you might have a special contact who can do business cards quickly and inexpensively. Or maybe you can recommend a tax preparer who is a specialist on network marketing returns. This is an excellent place to mention Fortune Now to your leaders or soon-to-be leaders. Book reviews or excerpts from a training book or resource. Most times you can simply quote a paragraph or two from your company's training manual. Most distributors have never read it. List the top retailers for last month. This gives your distributors extra incentive to promote a little more so that they can see their name ahead of their co-distributors. A little competition is fun. Motivational quotes. We all need more positive input in our lives. Here is your chance to provide it. Humor. People love humor. A funny story or cartoon livens up your newsletter and makes it fun to read. Recipes or innovative ideas on new ways to use your products and services. A feature story about one of your downline. Tax tips. Quizzes. Create a test to see how much your distributors know about your product or opportunity. Endorsements. Reprint an endorsement from a well-respected source. Advertising and promotional tips. An editorial or special message from you or the president of your company. Price changes or other special announcements. Well, let's stop here. You get the idea. Feel free to add more headings to your personal idea list. So, whenever you have to write a newsletter, just take an hour to choose a couple of these headings and presto! You're on your way to a fast, interesting newsletter. And what if you don't like to write? How about putting your newsletter on voice mail or audiocassette? You're not limited to just a written newsletter. Don't let the fear of writing prevent you from using this great marketing tool.

A good friend of mine used to say this …”You’ve heard that the goal is to work smarter, not harder, right? Well I say the goal is to work LESS!” Jeff was an accomplished man and very wise. He saw the Internet for what it really is … a tool that offers the ability to set up a business that runs on autopilot. And Jeff achieved his dream, seeing his online business earn over $250,000 almost completely on autopilot. Every time I spoke with him he would remind me how lucky we both were to have discovered how to do business online. “Not everyone finds it, no matter how hard they try” he would say. “They get distracted and forget to do the little things, the simple things, that really work.” And he was right. In the years since my meetings with Jeff I’ve worked hard to automate my business so that I could focus on what I wanted to do, not what I had to do. It’s been an interesting journey and I’d like to share five truths I’ve learned from the process. The wonderful thing about working online is that there are tools that can almost completely automate your online business, saving you time and money. And the more you automate the more free time you create too, so it’s a win-win! But sadly these tools are promoted in such a way as to make us think that just owning them will help us make the money. Not true of course – you and I both know people who’ve had Aweber accounts for five years and don’t have a list or aren’t making money from the list they do have. Likewise, there are many people who know how to build blogs, and have in fact built dozens of them, but still aren’t making any money from blogging. I think a huge misunderstanding about making money online is this... … it’s not the million dollar launch or being #1 on Amazon for a day that creates true freedom. It’s having a business that creates multiple streams of Internet income that creates true time and money freedom. From small and steady streams a giant river can flow. If you can create a marketing system that creates $400 a month you can duplicate that successin as many markets as you want. Not only that, you can extend and expand that $400 into much more over time. I fully believe, based on my own experience and that of my consulting clients, that the following is true … Automating your business so that you can have many small flows of income is the thing that most people should be working on more than anything else. So here are five ways that you can automate any online business, whether you are an affiliate marketer or you are selling your own products.These are not the only ways to automate but they make a good start. I do each of these in my own business and recommend you give them a try as well. 1. PAY PER CLICK AUTOMATES YOUR PAID TRAFFIC Let me say straight up that pay per click can be a pain in the neck. Too many courses are still spewing out strategies that worked in 2002 but simply don’t work today. Even so, far too many have written off pay per click as something that “used to work”. Or something that is not “affiliate friendly”. Others believe you can’t send pay per click traffic to a squeeze page so they have given up on this method. All are, in my view, incorrect. The fact is that pay per click still works wonderfully well. And today you have far more options when it comes to pay per click than the mighty Google. Facebook saw to that. The beauty of pay per click advertising is that you can set it and forget it. The key is to create an account with your preferred provider and establish a fair bid price, which is what you will pay for every visitor they send you. Once you have done that, you can tell your pay per click provider how much you will spend and they will keep sending traffic to your site until they reach your budget amount. What could be better than that? Now you are getting the traffic you need for a price you choose and at the rate you choose. Notice here that you are calling the shots. If you want to pay $1 per click you can do that. If you want to pay 10 cents per click you can do that too. Few other methods of marketing online put you in the driver’s seat this way. All you need do now is log in to your pay per click account once a month and make sure things are going well, and make any adjustments you want. Super easy traffic control. Profitable too! One more word on this – I’m not saying that pay per click is the only way to automate advertising buys. Solo ads, banner buys, links and more can be automated once you find the sources you want to use long-term. 2. AUTORESPONDERS AUTOMATE YOUR FOLLOW UP If your site is wildly successful, you will convince about 2% of first time buyers to buy now. But what about the 98% – the ones that don’t buy today? You’ve got to remind them to return and buy. And the way to do that is by using an autoresponder. Email marketing is still the most powerful form of online advertising, and it can begin working for you today! How does it work? It’s quite simple actually. First you need a landing page. Some call it a squeeze page but any page will do actually. Your blog will work perfectly. Next you need to drive all the traffic you can to that page and not to the sales page of the product you are promoting. It takes courage to do it this way, but it works. By the way, I would never ask you to do anything I don’t actually do so feel free to check out the home page of my top two sites and you will see me practicing what I preach. Directory of Ezines Follow Up Selling Systems Now make a list of the top ten reasons why someone should buy from you. Then make each reason into a short email message. This is your basic follow up message sequence. There are many more things one can do but this is a real way to make a strong start. Then set up a form on your site (your autoresponder company – like Aweber or GetResponse will show you how) and invite people to learn more. Those who do want to learn more – your best prospects by the way because they have self-selected – will get your ten messages over time and be prompted to return and buy. This is TRUE marketing automation. If you aren’t doing this now, you ARE losing money. 3. BLOGGING AUTOMATES YOUR CONTENT Whether you love them or hate them, search engines are here to stay. Only email is used more often than a search engine by the average person using the Internet. So we have to be aware of search engines and learn how to get them to send us highly targeted traffic so we can build our lists, sell products and more. And that means blogging. When it comes to getting traffic from search engines I believe there are two major factors that anyone can use to their benefit. For the sake of full disclosure I will readily admit that I’m no Danny Sullivan and don’t pretend to be a Search Engine Optimization expert. But I do know online publishing and do know how to make money by publishing online, so here goes. The two big factors when publishing online are: Publish only high-quality unique content that will be helpful to human readers in your niche market. Publish often That’s it really. If you write articles for humans instead of search engine spiders and publish often you will do well over time. So what does this have to do with automation? Everything. The beauty of blogging is that you can enter an article on your blog today and decide when it gets published as far into the future as you want. You could literally set up articles today to be published a week, month or year from now. If you do this the search engines will love you because you are always publishing new content. And new high-quality content is the lifeblood of the search engines. They will find you and like you and they will send you free traffic. Now that is a win-win-win! You win by getting traffic. The search engines win because you give them the new content they need. And the people who come to your blog win because your helpful articles show them what to do and what to avoid! 4. CLICKBANK AUTOMATES YOUR AFFILIATE PROGRAM Clickbank is a company through which you can sell your product and have affiliates too. Selling through Clickbank is easy and fast. I sell all my products through Clickbank and have for years. I’ve been blessed to be a top affiliate and top vendor in Clickbank for many years now. The best part of working with Clickbank by far is how they manage your affiliate program for you. They literally do all the work. They provide the form you need to sign up affiliates. They track clicks and sales. Best of all … they pay your affiliates for you. Want unlimited flows of super targeted traffic free? If you have a strong affiliate program your affiliates will send you all the traffic you need. The more you work with and reward affiliates the more they will reward you with highly targeted traffic that buys! Motivated affiliates can send you all the traffic you need to succeed. 5. VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS AUTOMATE YOUR SUPPORT You have heard the term ‘virtual assistant’. A virtual assistant (VA) is simply a man or woman who works from home, has a specific set of skills and will work for you for a fee. In the old days, we had answering services that would answer our phones and take messages. This was a win-win because your phone was answered by a live person and the message got through. Now fast forward to the 21st century and discover the power of virtual assistants. These well-trained individuals work at home and, thanks to the power of the Internet, can do almost any task you need done. They can … Answer your phone Answer emails Do your article marketing Post to your blog for you Set appointments for you Find people for you to interview Run a forum for you Do light programming Run a support center for you And more You will lose some personal touch by using assistants, but if your goal is to work less, it is a very cost effective way to go. My favorite resource for virtual assistants is VA Classroom. The big question … Should you automate your business to the point where you no longer have to work every day? If you set up a solid plan and follow it closely that is a question you will need to answer, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now. Only you can decide how much automation is right for you, and how much you want to personally interact with clients and others. I chose long ago to keep working in my business even though I could walk away anytime thanks to my automated systems and VAs. I love people and love working with members and consulting clients. By using these methods you can work alone, make a full time income, and have the free time you want to enjoy life to its fullest. And THAT is a beautiful thing indeed!

Politicians use it. Newscasters use it. Advertisers use it. Shouldn't you? What am I talking about? I'm talking about "sound bites." What are sound bites? They are just little bits of the conversation that stand out in the prospects' minds -- and these bits of information are the only things prospects remember. Here is an example of a sound bite. When George H. Bush was running for president a few years ago, he made a long campaign speech to a group. One of the things he said was: "Read my lips. No new taxes!" This small part of the speech was reported in the news for several days. Everyone knew the phrase, "Read my lips. No new taxes!" Can you remember anything else from that long speech? No. All you can remember was the sound bite, "Read my lips. No new taxes!" Commercial advertisers know the power of sound bites. They work hard on catchy phrases, repeat them often, and then hope that sound bite will stick in your mind. Some examples? "Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should." "Things go better with Coke." "Burger King: Home of the Whopper." "You deserve a break today." What is interesting about the above examples is that all of them were created over 20 years ago! We still remember them. Sound bites are a great way to communicate. Prospects will choose to remember only bits of our presentation. Make it easy for your prospects. Give them catchy, easy-to-remember sound bites that create a desire to purchase your products or to join your opportunity. Let's get started with some real life examples of sound bites that I enjoy. It's easier to get the feel for sound bites by experiencing them. Weight-loss tablets. 1. Use these tablets to lose weight while you sit. Enjoy watching your favorite television program while excess pounds are just melting away. 2. These herbal fat burner tablets will burn away excess pounds -- even while you're eating! 3. If you want to lose those extra pounds, don't spend your day suffering and being hungry. Instead, use Product X. It's like having willpower in a tablet. 4. Why not lose weight while you sleep? Enjoy a good night's sleep while your body dreams away those excess pounds. 5. Try our calorie-killer weight-loss tablets now. Chocolate Breakfast Drink. 1. Instead of cooking and cleaning breakfast dishes, why not have a delicious breakfast shake? It only takes 20 seconds to mix and you'll only have one dirty glass and one dirty spoon! 2. How about breakfast for only 80 cents? And you'll be getting thin on chocolate! 3. Instant breakfast that's faster than a microwave. Long Distance Telephone Service. 1. Make money every time you make a long distance call. 2. Make money every time your neighbor picks up the telephone. 3. Earn money while you sleep when other people are talking on their telephones. Nutritional Product. 1. You will be the only person awake and happy at 9:00 a.m. on Monday mornings. 2. This product will make you feel like you are 16 years old all over again -- but with better judgment! 3. You will be the only person at work who doesn't have to take a nap at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon. 4. When you come home from work, you won't feel like watching television. You'll feel like dancing! 5. We call this the "nap buster." 6. Instant energy in a capsule. 7. Attitude in a bottle. Water Filters. 1. All water is recycled. This unit just takes out other people's contributions. 2. Chlorine is great for bleaching clothes, but not for our stomachs. 3. Great-tasting water for just three cents a gallon! 4. Now you can taste clean, clear water. You won't have to worry about those little unidentified objects floating around in your glass. Fiber Product. 1. This is perfect for pizza lovers who hate eating rabbit food to get their daily fiber. 2. Results you can experience in just 24 hours. 3. For hemorrhoid sufferers. You'll never have to say "Ouch" again. 4. The perfect diet supplement. Just take it 15 minutes before you eat and stop worrying about weight problems. Skin Care. 1. Makes your skin look so good, you'll never have to wear makeup again. 2. Will make your skin look like it is 16 years old all over again, but without the acne. 3. Your skin will look so smooth, everyone will want to touch it. Are you getting the feeling of how sound bites can work for your business? All of the above examples were for products. It's easy to come up with three or four great sound bites for every one of your products or services, right? Simply pass on these sound bites to your distributors and watch your retail sales increase. But what about opportunity sound bites? Wouldn't it be great to have plenty of opportunity sound bites for prospecting and presentations? Let's try a few. It's like getting an extra paycheck in your mailbox once a week. It's like having a paycheck from a part-time job, but you don't have to go to work. We call this the "boss silencer." This plan is called "winning the lottery." You won't have to plead and beg for a day-off from the "almighty boss." Now you can take off any day you choose. You work 50 weeks a year for the company -- and you get only two weeks a year for yourself. Does that seem fair? How much time do you get to spend with your spouse and children after work? You got married to have a family. Wouldn't it be nice to get more time to visit them? Now you can get a $300 raise and you don't even have to ask your boss. Does your boss laugh every time you ask for a raise? Can you talk to your boss tomorrow and get a $300 raise? Can you imagine no bills to pay and still having money in your checking account? Here is your chance to send your mother-in-law a postcard from Bali. If you were your own boss, how much vacation time would you choose to take? Who makes more money, the employee or the boss? Who has more fun, the employee or the boss? Every day while you sit in commuter traffic, I bet you say to yourself, "Wow! This is fun!" Our parents told us what to do. Our teachers told us what to do. Now our bosses are telling us what to do. When is it our turn to choose what we want to do? It's just like being a rock star. You write a hit song and collect royalties for life. Now you can sponsor some people and collect bonuses for life. There are two groups of people in the world: those who get a word-of-mouth advertising bonus check in their mailbox once a month -- and those who don't. Which group would you like to be in? Now it's your turn. Why not come up with some great sound bites for your next presentation or meeting? Your downline is waiting for your tested, winning sound bites.

Do you want to sell more online? Do you want your ads to get more clicks, your sales letters to convert more visitors into buyers and dramatically increase your bottom line? If you answered yes then you need to know about benefits. You need to know what benefits are, how they differ from features. It’s time to learn to create what are called “benefit statements”. Knowing this can make life easier. It can help you sell more. Why? Because the bottom line in selling is simple. There is no “secret” to selling. There is only this one staggering truth. Understand this and you can sell anything. Fail to understand this and you will be doomed to forever wonder why you aren’t selling more. Ready for the truth? Don’t be fooled by its simplicity. The truth is … People buy what they want! Always have. Always will. If they want your product they will buy it. If they don’t want it they simply won’t take action, no matter how logical your argument for them to buy is made. People buy on emotion and defend that purchase with logic. Let me put it another way. Let’s look at that again. They buy based on emotion (they buy what they want) but then defend their choice using logic. Here’s an example. This actually happened to a friend of mine. You have a good car, a car that is almost paid off. But your car needs new tires. So you go to the car dealer and, since you are there anyway, you look at the new models. The salesperson offers you some trade in values for your existing car. You suddenly realize that your old beater is worth more than you thought. Two hours later you are driving home in a brand new car! How did you get from needing tires to buying a new car? Emotion! You saw the car. You smelled that new car smell. You saw yourself driving a new car. And, after all, you deserve it! This is your life. You work hard. You sacrifice for your family. You don’t ask for much. You DESERVE a new car! See the emotion there? But how will you defend that purchase to your spouse, your friends or even to yourself? You bought a new car when yours was almost paid off? Are you nuts? You bought a new car in this economy? Are you kidding me? But you are ready with your answer. Logic will save the day! It goes something like this. New tires were going to cost me $1100! Who knew tires cost so much? My old car was almost out of warranty anyway. And you know that’s when expensive repairs start to happen. We are taking a trip later this year and I wanted to make sure we were all safe. My new car is costing only $65 per month more than my old car. My new car gets 10 miles more per gallon than my old car! I’m helping save the environment! On and on it goes – logic trying to defend what was a purely emotional buy. You bought the new car for one reason and one reason only – you WANTED a new car! Nothing wrong with that. But logic was not the main factor. FACT: If humans bought cars based on logic we would all drive the same car … the cheapest and safest car on the road! But we don’t. We buy what we want – and then justify it to the world with the logic of why it was the right choice for us. So how does this apply to doing business online? The key for business people like you and me is to quickly tell our prospective customers why they should want what we have. In other words, don’t talk about features but instead talk about benefits! We have to understand the difference between features and benefits and then let our prospects know why they should want what we offer. That’s important enough to say again. You must let your prospect know why they should want what you offer. It all starts with understanding the difference between a feature and a benefit. Understanding the difference between a feature and a benefit is vital, and easy. A feature is what your product does. A benefit is what is does for me! Let’s look at one example from the real world. I’m in a car mood today so I’ll stick with that for now. One of my favorite cars has always been the Corvette. I love the look of the Corvette and am old enough that I grew up wanting what we called the “Stingray”. As a boy I fantasized about driving down the road driving my shiny new red Corvette. The Corvette has some outstanding features. Here are two. The Corvette can go 205 miles per hour The Corvette can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under 4 seconds Sounds like fun, but are these the reasons that people pay between $48,000 and $105,000 for these cars? (Prices according to Chevrolet.com for model year 2010) In my view, the answer is no. The reason people buy Corvettes is not to go from 0 to 60 in under four seconds. The reason people buy Corvettes is to be seen driving a Corvette. A Corvette is simply a rolling envy machine! People who buy Corvettes often do so for the feeling they get being seen driving a Corvette. The same can be said of many products, including yours. Here are some products that are sold everyday using a very emotional approach. Clothing Jewelry Houses Art Business Opportunities Competitive “spying” programs Ad trackers How to make money on Clickbank products And many more! How can you sell your product using emotion? That’s a great question. While I don’t know your specific situation I can offer some guidelines to help. There are two super-motivators that apply to almost every product. These are very emotion-driven reasons to buy something, especially something online. Both create powerful emotions that will cause people to act now, which is what all online sellers (Product owners and affiliate marketers) want. Promise of gain Fear of loss Promise of gain almost always applies to making money but can sometimes be another type of gain. People want all sorts of things (including making money) like prestige, power, fame, to leave a legacy and more. QUESTION: How does your product help your customer gain something? Fear of loss is the other side of the coin. This is where all the scarcity selling online comes from. Offline merchants use it too. How many times have you heard your local department or furniture store claim their current sale is the “biggest sale of the year!” That’s fear of loss telling you to act now or pay more later. QUESTION: How does your product help your customer avoid losing out? The more you know about how your product satisfies these two needs – the need to gain and the need to avoid loss – the more you will sell. Your ads, your sales letters, your tweets, your signature lines — all of your marketing needs to be filled with benefit statements that drip of promise of gain or fear of loss. ACTION STEP: How to Translate Features into Benefits Here are four simple steps to help you translate your product or service’s features (what it does) into benefits (what it does for me). After you make your list, be sure to review your selling literature, be it a web page, email or brochure, and make sure that you are selling benefits instead of features. After all, everybody wants to know what’s in it for them. :-) List the key features of your product … the things that make it worth having. Describe what each one does; how it works. Determine what that means to the customer. More free time? Feel safer at night? More financial freedom? Write it down next to the feature. Be able to state every feature in terms of money. Either making a gain or avoiding loss. Write it down next to the advantage. Write out benefit statements for each feature. Memorize your list. Write it down and carry it for quick reference. You have now created a feature, advantage, and benefit list. By committing these statements to memory and using them often, you will now be speaking the prospect’s language, the language of saving or making money. And that is the sound they love to hear.

Get help. Engage the spouse to provide consistent day-to-day motivation for your distributor. How? Back in the 1950s, one company had a contest for the salesmen to find new accounts. All of the salesmen were male. The grand prize for opening 20 new accounts was a full-length mink coat for the spouse. Since this was quite a luxury in the 1950s, most of the wives were quite excited. They provided plenty of motivation for their husbands to go to work and accept the rejection that comes with prospecting for new accounts. But the company was taking no chances. Each week the company mailed a postcard to the salesman's home with the number of new accounts opened so far. Of course the wife saw the postcard first and knew that if she wanted the mink coat, she would have to continue motivating and inspiring her husband. The company got help. The company used weekly postcards to engage the wife into helping them motivate the salesman. There is a lesson here. You don't necessarily have to motivate the distributor. Instead, maybe you can engage the distributor's spouse, children, co-workers or friends to help you inspire the distributor to greater heights. A company with a mostly female sales force could motivate the husbands to inspire their wives by offering a grand prize such as an 82" 3D home cinema TV with surround sound. Most husbands I know would chauffeur their wives to each appointment. Of course, many goods and services are desired by both sexes these days. The key is to figure out what motivates the majority and go with it. Some good examples of motivators would be vacations, vehicles, appliances or even a creative prize that will allow for the winner to not have to pay his/her mortgage for a certain period of time (this is a very current desire as demonstrated by today's economy).

And that's because there is so little competition. When 500 distributors are invited to attend a three-hour company training workshop - why is it that only 50 will attend? Where are the other 450? They feel that investing time in training and working their MLM business interferes with their daily cable television schedule. When their small bonus checks arrive at the end of the month, they say: "The business doesn't work, the checks are too small." Or - "The check got smaller all by itself." Well, they are partially right. The business doesn't work - they have to do the work. Ouch! That's really inconvenient. And, "The check got smaller all by itself?" No, the bonus check only reflects the sales volume of one's downline organization. There are three types of people in MLM: 1. Those who joined because they love the products. 2. Those who want to receive bonus checks, if it doesn't require work. 3. Those who want to earn a bonus check. Type 3, those who want to earn a bonus check, represent only a small percentage of all networkers. Most networkers will give great lip service to the idea that they want to earn bonus checks, but their actions speak louder than words. They are easy to recognize by their actions. They . . . can't go to opportunity meetings because "The Simpsons" have a special episode that evening; won't go to opportunity meetings because they attended one once before and they already know the ending; won't make phone appointments because the prospect might say no; wish the company would make it easier for them by lowering prices or do their retailing for them; won't make up a prospecting list because everyone they know just wouldn't be interested; and wish beer was served at the training meetings. The great part about networking is that 95% of all networkers fall into product users and people who wish for bonus checks. That means there is little or no competition for dedicated leaders who want to earn their way in this great business. That's why it is so easy to work and earn large bonus checks in network marketing -- there's no competition at the top! Distributors and prospects are naturally attracted to leaders who lead by example. Good network marketing leaders don't have to prospect for new distributors -- distributor prospects come to them. You'll always hear the non-working network marketing distributors say: "How is it that my upline leader gets all the good prospects?" Because prospects look for leaders - not non-workers. Can you imagine a prospect saying: "I think I'll find a sponsor who whines, complains, and doesn't work the business." No way. Good prospects look for energetic, enthusiastic, dedicated, working sponsors. So, if you want to work where you'll encounter little competition, start at the top. Be a leader.

This helps new distributors overcome failure and negative thinking by saying: “So what if your first six months might be bad, or if you have some embarrassing failures. So how long did it take you to learn to talk? To learn to drive? It took a while, and there were some embarrassing failures, but now you enjoy the benefits of talking and driving. It was worth it.” Use this simple story to help your distributors face the challenges when building their business.