Rudi Vanhaecke

Did you know that email marketing brings in an average of $43 for every $1 you spend? (source: DMA) That's an amazing return on your investment that you can't get anywhere else. If you're on a budget -- and let's face it, all of us are --email marketing gives you a huge bang for your buck. But writing, designing, and sending out all those emails takes a lot of time, doesn't it? IT DOESN'T HAVE TO! Aweber makes email marketing seamless, simple, and more effective than ever, and you can sign up for $1! http://aweber.com/?421703 Just $1 for your first full-featured 30 days with Aweber! After that, the Net's best email marketing service is only $19/month. This includes up to 500 subscribers, unlimited emails, and a 30-day money-back guarantee! * No long-term contracts! * No set-up fees! * Change your plan at any time! Aweber helps build your list, and keeps you in touch with prospects & customers, creating profitable relationships that last. * Email newsletters * Stylish signup forms * Subscriber management * Autoresponder follow-ups * HTML email templates * RSS to email * Instant Facebook & Twitter posts of your newest emails * Email performance tracking * Subscriber segmenting * High deliverability rates * Email & web form template gallery * Amazing customer support And Aweber's knowledge base helps you learn the ins & outs of email marketing with articles, live webinars, and videos! All this for $19 per month, NO CONTRACT & A GUARANTEE. Don't waste precious hours when Aweber can handle your email marketing campaign at such a low price! No more stress, no more guess work. RELAX...Aweber has it handled! Sign up NOW for $1! http://aweber.com/?421703

“I’m working hard, but things just aren’t building. I feel my efforts are scattered and not focused. What should I do first?” That’s a question we’ve all had in our careers. Usually there is one “bottleneck” in our system, one thing that is not working and it keeps our results from happening. Ask yourself, where in your system is your “bottleneck”? Is it: Finding someone to talk to? Knowing what to say to break the ice? Getting an appointment for a presentation? Giving a presentation? Following up to get them started right? Motivating your new person? Training your new person? Teaching leadership skills?Everyone is different. We all have our personal “bottlenecks” holding us back or slowing us down. Professional networkers quickly identity the “bottleneck” and then learn the skills to fix it. So before you go surfing around to the next page on the Internet, ask yourself: What is the one thing holding back all of my progress?

Q. How can I get traffic to my website? A. Ah, traffic. No topic is more written about than getting "targeted traffic to your website" The main thing about traffic to remember is this ... the MAIN way that people get to your site is by clicking a link. So the question becomes, where can you place links so that people see them and respond. And the answer to that question is easy. There are only two ways to get traffic. Search engines Advertising Search engines provide free traffic by ranking your website highly in their search engine results. So, when someone types in "find a great daycare in Houston", and your site is optimized for the word daycare, your site is listed in the top 10 results. Advertising is basically the only other way to get traffic. There are many forms of advertising online. Here's a list for your consideration. Ezine Advertising Pay Per Click Advertising Banner Advertising Viral Marketing Marketing with ezine articles Search Engine Marketing Email Marketing Joint Ventures Teleseminars Publish Your Own Ezine Participate on Forums Publish A Blog Run Your Own Affiliate Program Provide Endorsements Provide Endorsements

Think about it. Most business-builder “Superstars” are sponsored by people who aren’t “Superstars.” What does that mean to you? Spend time with everyone. Don’t prejudge. The next person they sponsor could become a great leader. You don’t personally have to sponsor superstars to build a large, successful organization.

In my conversations , similar questions often surface time and time again. Here’s a question I get quite a bit. It’s a question I had when I started out. I’m willing to bet that you’ve had this question, too, at one point or another. “I know I need a mailing list of my own but I don’t know where to start.” Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. I’ve boiled the process down to five steps you can take, beginning today. The first step is to choose your audience. It doesn’t help to build a mailing list of people who are interested in playing golf unless you’re selling golf-related products. If you’re in the internet marketing, make money online or business opportunity market you want to choose that audience. If you’re selling health products you want to choose an audience of people who are interested in health products. The second step is to have something to give. You need a premium, a gift. You need something to give them to entice them to join your mailing list. The information you give is valuable. That’s good. Sometimes you need a little extra something. If you notice, almost all sites that you visit that ask for your name and email address will offer you an instant gratification premium. This is something you can have right now. You need that. The third thing you need is something to say. If you had a list of 10,000 people right now, what would you say to them? You might say, “Please buy something from me.” That’s OK. You have to give and take. What would you say to them? Would you make recommendations? Would you ask them to buy? Would you ask their opinion? What would you say? You need a way to capture leads. Sometimes that means a website of your own. Sometimes it doesn’t. This is the biggest sticking point for most people. “How do I get that form onto my website? I can’t even make a website.” We’ll cover that in a minute. You need to launch. You need to look at this like it’s a product launch. This is the beginning of something big and wonderful for you. It’s a mailing list of your own. That’s the most important thing you can do online. Let’s talk about choosing your audience. I want to give you keys for each of these points. First, what is your goal for the list? Do you want to directly sell them products? Do you want to ask their opinion about something? Do you want to offer them affiliate products or sell products of your own? Stephen Covey says to begin with the end in mind. This is very wise. Before you say, “Hey, join my mailing list” you need to know your goal for that list. Have something to give. Here are a couple of key questions to think about when you try to determine what to give to your list. What does your audience want? Do you know people who are looking for a business opportunity? They’re looking to save time, save money or make money. What does your audience want? What do they need that they can’t find now. If you’re doing list-building in a niche that you’re passionate about, you know what they can’t find now because you had a hard time finding it. Maybe that’s the right place to advertise. Maybe that’s someone to write your ads for. Maybe it’s someone to teach you about article marketing. Maybe it’s someone who will create your product for you. Maybe it’s someone who will just listen. What can’t they find now? If you can give them something that they can’t find now, you’ll be their hero. They’ll join your list in record numbers. You need to have something to say, a product to sell, a recommendation to make, a question that you want to ask, an offer of help. It’s important to know what you want to say to people on your mailing list before you begin building the mailing list. The fourth thing you need is a site that captures leads. Sometimes this is the hardest part for people to get started. It’s called a squeeze page or lead capture page. You’ve heard those terms before. I’m teaching people to use an online service. Did you know that there are services online that will build a lead capture page for you today? These are $20 and $30 per month things where you can go in and create squeeze pages that look great and capture the information. If you can use a browser, you can have your own lead capture page. That’s what I recommend. Now, get ready to launch. Where to you get your first subscriber? Where does subscriber number one come from? Start with your address book. Once you have your squeeze page in place, your list ready and messages ready to go out, send the people in your address book a little note. Say, “Hey, I wanted to let you know that I have a free gift for you. I also have information that I think you will find valuable if you’re interested in this.” Send it out to the people in your address book. You might be surprised at what you get. You can use article marketing. If you’re doing article marketing now, change the resource box in your articles from where they point now to your squeeze page. It’s much better than sending people directly to an affiliate offer. This way you’re building your list. You can post on forums. You can go to the Warrior Forum, Tony Blake’s or Michael Green’s. Give helpful answers. You can put “free gift for visiting this site” in your signature line. Add a line to each email that goes out. It can say, “Get a free gift and useful information at this site.” There is social media. The people who are involved in social media love free stuff. Now you’re in a position to give them free stuff. Tweet about it. Set up your own blog. It’s easy to do and a great way to capture this information. Point them to your squeeze page. Give them the gift. They can download it immediately. Then they’re on your list. I hope this helps you jump-start your own list building efforts and look forward to being in touch with you again soon.

My frustrated distributor insists he wants to become a leader and make at least $10,000 a month. And, he insists that he should already be earning $10,000 a month after just six months with the company. After all, the company can’t be any good if you can’t earn at least $10,000 a month after six months of part-time work. So I asked my distributor, “How much do you earn in your present job that you’ve been working for the past 12 years?” He replied, “About $2,000 a month.” Did he get the hint? No. So then I asked my distributor how much sales volume he moved in his organization every month. He replied, “My group moves $5,000 in products every month!” My distributor still thinks he should earn $10,000 a month, even though he provides less than $10,000 a month in value to the company. I can predict my distributor’s future. He will insist that it is all the company’s fault and he will just have to look for another opportunity that will pay him $10,000 a month after six months’ work. It doesn’t matter if he provides very little value and service, he just deserves $10,000 a month.

You’ve heard it before – if you want to succeed online you must have a list of your own. Every guru says it. Ever wonder why? Because it’s true! How about you? Do you have a list yet? If not, here are four simple ideas you can use today to start building a list of your own even if you don’t have any money to spend, a website of your own or any traffic! These are all methods I have used, and I still use each of them today. These tactics work for me and have for years. I hope they will work for you too. Idea 1 – Your Email Signature Line Go to your “sent email” folder right now and look at the email you sent today. I’m willing to guess that your email does not include an offer for someone to join your mailing list. But it should! Think about this – If you send only 20 emails a day (including replies) then you are sending over seven thousand emails a year! What if only 1 in 7 people saw your link and joined your list? That’s over 1000 subscribers to your list … free! Idea 2 – Forums Ever visit a forum and ask a question? Many have but they don’t leverage the experience in their favor. Just about every forum out there offers a signature line feature, yet we see thousands of posts with no signature. Don’t make this mistake! If you post on the Warrior Forum or Michael Green’s How To Forum or any other, make sure to include a link where people can join your list. Again, free and very effective. Put time on your side with this one! Idea 3 – Twitter Ah, Twitter – friend or foe? Great marketing tool or time waster? Great marketing tool! Here’s how you can use Twitter today to begin building your list with no money. Start following people you know of and replying to their Tweets. Make sure your reply makes sense and won’t waste people’s time. Fan Tweets – replying to a Tweet with something like “loved your book about ___” are 100% okay and often much appreciated. Once you have been following for a while you will get followers too, and become a recognizable name in your circles. When that happens, send a short Tweet about your new mailing list and where people can join it. Sure, it takes some time and there is software to “automate” this process. But no software in the world can automate the personal touch, and that’s what is needed to build lists. Idea 4 – Your Blog If you don’t have a website you might be thinking “sounds good Rudi but where do I send them to sign up?” Fair question. The answer is your blog. If you don’t have a blog there is simply no reason to wait any longer. Go to Blogger.com and get one now. It’s free, they have templates you can use that look professional. If you can type, you can blog. And you should. Once you get a blog just put a form on it for your list and you are good to go! So there you have it, four ways to begin building a real list of your own with no money and no traffic! Your email signature line Forums Twitter Your own blog Begin using these methods today and you will put time on your side. Sooner than you think, you will have a mailing list of your own. And having a powerful mailing list is a beautiful thing indeed!

Two distributors work the same program, with the same products, with the same compensation plan, in the same city, talking to the same prospects, with the same weather and yet … One distributor makes a huge bonus check. The other distributor starves. What is the difference? The only difference is that one distributor “said and did” something different. That’s it. It’s not rocket science. When you say and do the right things, you put your business on an assembly line and keep producing success after success after success. And if you continue to say and do what you are currently saying and doing … what do you think your results will be? Probably the same. So do what professional networkers do. They continue to learn new and better ways to do their business. Tell your distributors to attend your trainings, learn more, read books, etc. or else their results won’t change.

Q. How Can I Promote a VERY popular site? A. Promoting a heavily-promoted program can be challenging. But because of the huge momentum these sites create, and because people WANT to buy these sites, promoting them is highly recommended. I have found over the years that there are four keys to promoting these programs successfully. Watch what leaders do. The key here is to watch what people do, not what they say you should do. The person who recruited you has a responsibility to help you succeed. After all, he or she made or makes a profit from your involvement. Watch what leaders do and you will learn over time. Be consistent. It seems that everyone in these programs who calls me on the phone wants results today. That's understandable because they paid a lot to get in and want to start earning. But Rome was not built in a day, and many of them get discouraged and give up when there is not an easy answer. Consistent effort will yield results. Don't give up! Some effort every day is better than a burst of effort followed by no effort. Place three ads a day and soon your results will amaze you. The fact is, these programs CAN be promoted successfully. But it does take time, some money, some skills and perseverance. Don't think you are too late. Many people in popular programs fear they may be too late to get good results. They often think that ezines might not work because others have run ads for the program they want to promote. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Repetition is the mother of learning, and people who promote before you do (whether that is in ezines, pay per click, article marketing or any other form of advertising) are actually paving the way for YOUR success. People don't buy the first time they see something and it is very possible that YOUR ad will be the one that causes them to take action. Especially if your ad is unique and persuasive. Remember, it's a big Internet and thousands of new people log on for the first time every day. The fact is that people need to see the same (or similar) ad many times before making a move. I'll bet you have had this experience as well ... seeing an ad for a product three, five, even twelve times before taking action. The more ads that run the better for you, if you have the right mind set. Don't use only the standard ad. While it is true that repetition can work for you in advertising, it's also true that using the same ad as everyone else can be a bad thing. People see the same headline and pre-judge the opportunity, thinking they have given it a fair hearing. Instead, try using proven ads with varying headlines. The key is to test, test and test again to see what works for you.

Warning: This strategy will only work if you are a long-term player in network marketing. Here is the strategy. Every day this year, talk with one person. Simply say: “I just realized a year of my life went right by me. Nothing changed. I’m not going to waste another year of my life. What about you?” Well, most people will let yet another year of their life go by. On the same day in 2014, go to that person and say this: “Hey, remember last year when we said we weren’t going to let another year of our life pass us by? Well, I got serious. Made some big changes. Glad I did. What about you?” Now you have a prospect who just saw a year of his life wasted. This prospect is a bit more open-minded and wants to do something this year. And you have 365 of these ready-to-go prospects to talk to. All you have to do is keep a notebook of who you talked to and when. Then, one year from now you will have a great year with plenty of motivated prospects to talk to.

I'll bet you've seen the ads. "Earn $500 a day!" "No selling. No phone calls. Etc. Etc." "Fire your boss!" Sometimes it feels like everyone is promoting the same thing at one time. Can anyone really make any money promoting a system that is so over-promoted? YOU BET THEY CAN! But it takes a bit of creativity and the willingness to be unique. If that sounds good to you, you'll love what comes next. >>> FIVE WAYS TO PROMOTE AN OVER-PROMOTED PROGRAM <<< 1. Don't Use The Company Ad Or URL Every company I know hires writers to write great ads and promotional pieces for their associates or affiliates to use. Nothing wrong with that. But what happens when literally millions of people are placing the same ads? The ads become almost worthless. This is why you must avoid using the ads the company provides for you. By all means, test their ads to see if they work for you. But at the same time, be sure to write ads of your own that are in your own voice. This is the only way to stand out from the crowd when promoting an over-promoted website. 2. Focus On One Problem And Solve It People get excited. It's a natural thing to get excited about your new business. In fact, it's a good thing. But don't forget in that excitement that your prospective customer only cares about one thing. What's In It For Me Your customer needs to solve a problem. So, when you write your shiny new ad, FOCUS all of the ads attention on one problem. HOT TIP: If you make your ads about saving time, making money or saving money you will do well. These are universal needs. 3. Focus On One Product And Promote It This applies mainly to programs where you have lots of products to promote and you can promote the business too. The best way to go here is often to pick one product and promote that product alone. Write a great ad extolling the virtue of your insurance product. Once a person becomes a customer for that product, use email to introduce them to the rest of your fine products as well, or even the business itself. Using this backdoor approach can often lead to many new sign ups even when creating sign ups was not what you were promoting. Plus, you'll make a couple of bucks selling find products! 4. Never Send Anyone To The Company Website That might sound radical to some, but follow the logic and see if you agree. Let's say you work hard to promote your new-found venture, and spend a few bucks buying some pay per click ads. You insert your good old affiliate link as you've been instructed. And now Paula Prospect sees your ad and clicks the link. Whose business are you building now? The company's business, that's whose. Sure, you might make A sale. But the company will make a fortune.The reason for this is that the company is building THEIR mailing list off of your efforts. You might find that to be a good thing. If you do, that's okay. But remember this. Paula is going to be interested in other businesses as well. You can count on that.And she could just as easily be on your list as well as the company's. All you need to do is put up a simple lead capture page and have Paula fill out your form before going to the company site. There are no lack of companies who will do this work for you for a very small fee. In fact, the prolific Alex Mandossian and Rick Raddus started a service like this at Marketing Makeover Generator. 5. Use An Autoresponder Address Instead Of A Website Why does every call to click have to go to a website? Answer: they don't. For YEARS, one of the top marketers online (a name you would know) operated a highly successful operation without a website. Yep ... 100% email. [Paul - you know who you are!] Can you *really* succeed online without a website? You can, but not forever. Sooner or later, you'll need a site. In the meantime, why not make a few bucks with email? Get the materials that your company provides and use them to create an incredible follow up system. Then advertise your autoresponder email address instead of a website! HINT: You can still make it a link they click by adding the mailto: prefix. It would look like this if I were doing it for my address ... mailto:someone@directoryofezines.com (NOTE: This is not a real address - just a sample) The mailto: prefix ensures the link can be clicked in most cases, and will open a blank email they can fire off! I have to thank my faithful readers for the idea behind this article. In the last six months I've received about 100 phone calls (no kidding) from affiliates of these various programs asking "Is it saturated" or "will my ad for this product even be noticed?" It is through working with you (I donated my time) that I was able to test the methods above and prove they work. There ARE ways to promote even the most over-promoted of programs. It takes thinking 'outside the box' and a willingness to try new things. But if you do that, and succeed, you will have created your own mini-marketing plan that is proven effective. Once you do that, you can share it privately with your downline and watch your business explode. And THAT is a beautiful thing indeed!

Is that a common problem? I hear it all the time. People call me and complain: “I can’t become a leader. I can’t even become a good distributor because my sponsor doesn’t help me.” This is easy to identify as “distributor thinking.” Here is the story I tell the caller to help change his “distributor thinking” into “leadership thinking”: Here’s what happened to me when I first started in network marketing. I was in business for one year and ten months and had no distributors and no retail customers. I was an absolute failure. A concerned leader would come to me and say, “Big Al, you’re not doing very well.” I had to defend my failure so I would reply, “Of course I’m not doing well. My sponsor doesn’t help me. He doesn’t know any more about this business than I do.” Then the leader stared at me and said, “Big Al, tell me about your sponsor. Did he sponsor anybody else besides you?” Oh, oh. This was getting personal now. I had to admit that my sponsor had indeed recruited other distributors into the business, but most of them were not successful either. Maybe just one or two of them became successful. And the leader closed with this cutting remark. He said: “Big Al, tell me about the one or two other distributors who are successful. Don’t they have exactly the same sponsor as you do?” Ouch! That was mean! But all of a sudden, I got it! I understood that I couldn’t blame my sponsor. After all, success had nothing to do with him because he sponsored successful and unsuccessful people. And if it didn’t have anything to do with the sponsor… That left… me! My distributor thinking instantly changed to leadership thinking because of this incident.

In a job, if there is a problem, it may not be your problem. Somebody else has to solve it. And who is that somebody else? The business owner, of course. If the business owner doesn’t solve the problem, he or she is out of business. We are in our own networking marketing business. We are responsible for solving our problems. It is this change of viewpoint that is hard for new distributors to master. For instance, they might say, “Oh, the shipping is too expensive. I can’t build my business with these high shipping prices.” And the new distributor stops working. But what would the distributor do if he had the viewpoint of a business owner? He would figure out how to deal with the high cost of shipping or he would know he would be out of business. With the viewpoint that he has to solve this problem, the distributor could do the following: 1. Only sell to people who could afford the shipping. 2. Find people who wanted the product so badly that the shipping didn’t matter. 3. Realize that there is no competition for his product, and that the shipping is not an issue. 4. Plan ahead and order in bulk so that the shipping would be less. 5. Figure out an alternate way of shipping, etc. Are there obstacles in our business? Yes! Business owners overcome obstacles. That is why they are the owner.

1. Make sure the product being offered matches you. If your passion is embroidery, you probably won't do too well with car parts sites. Stick with what you know at first and, once you learn how to promote on the Internet, move on to different products. 2. Check it out. Don't just jump in because it's easy. Ask yourself this question; is the product or service you are affiliating with something you would bring to your best friend? If not, you may want to keep looking. 3. Talk to current affiliates. Ask for a list of happy affiliates. Ask them some key questions such as did they get the help and support promised? Are they being paid on time? You get the idea. 4. Look long term. If your first arrangement doesn't pan out, don't give up. Many people on the net are making excellent incomes with affiliate programs. You can too. 5. Go for quality. Make a checklist of everything you want, find two who meet the criteria, and go all out with those two. Remember that it will be your reputation on the line. 6. How well do they sell? You need to ask how well the product or service you will be promoting 'converts'. Conversion is simply the number of people per 100 who buy something. Look for sites that convert more than 2% of visitors every day, not just when a promotion is taking place. If you can find a site that converts over 5% every day then strongly consider promoting them. You can expect this number to range from .5% to about 10%. Anything higher or lower and you need to be careful about them telling you the truth. Also, be aware that 'hot' products convert well while they are hot but conversion drops with time. So be sure to get *current* conversion figures.

We all hear that you have to be in 'affiliate programs' to get ahead on the Internet. We hear about people making huge incomes being a 'super affiliate' and how these programs are the greatest thing since sliced bread. While it IS true that you can make very good money with affiliate programs, it's equally true that you can waste tons of time on them. Let's look together at the basics of affiliate programs as well as some things to watch out for if you decide to affiliate. First, what does the word 'affiliate' mean? Webster's Dictionary defines the word this way... Affiliate: [verb] To associate as a member <affiliates herself with the local club> That's exactly correct. When you become an affiliate you are associating with the product or service you will be selling. So being an 'affiliate' is simply a fancy Internet way of saying that you are going to be a commissioned salesperson. Just like your car insurance agent collects a percentage of your premium (a commission) when you pay your bill, so you too will be paid a commission when you sell someone's product or service. Now that you know what being an affiliate is, here are five quick things to look for BEFORE you associate yourself with someone's product or service. 1) Be yourself. If your site is all about embroidery, you probably won't get too many clicks for car parts sites. Stick with what you know at first and, once you learn how to promote on the Internet, move on to different products. 2) Check it out. Don't just jump in because it's easy. Ask yourself this question; Is the product or service you are affiliating with something you would bring to your best friend? If not, you may want to keep looking. 3) Talk to affiliates. Ask for a list of happy affiliates. Ask them some key questions such as did they get the help and support promised? Are they being paid on time? You get the idea. 4) Look long term. If your first arrangement doesn't pan out, don't give up. Many people on the net are making excellent incomes with affiliate programs. You can too. 5) Go for quality. Make a checklist of everything you want, find two who meet the criteria, and go all out with those two. Regardless of the enticing book titles, you probably won't get rich in the next 3 days with affiliate programs. But you CAN begin today to find the right two to start with and, in time, be making buckets full of money. Now that's a great place to be.

Do you ever notice that the successful network marketers have a positive personality type? Does the positive attitude come from them being already successful? Or, maybe these successful network marketers had the positive attitude first — and that positive attitude propelled them to success? You be the judge. While it is easy to have a great attitude when you are already successful, usually the positive attitude comes first and demonstrates itself by attracting success. How can people overcome their fear of contacting prospects? It’s a matter of desire. People usually get what they want most. For instance, there is a choice between a good television show and attending an opportunity meeting. Some people will want to see the television show more than they want the success that comes from attending opportunity meetings with guests. So, they watch television because they truly want that more than the long drive to hear a boring speaker at the meeting. The same holds true when talking to people. What does a person want more? Does this person want the calm, non-threatening day-to-day life void of rejection? Or, does this person want prospecting success more than he desires to avoid rejection? Sobering, isn’t it? Many people say they want success, but deep down they want activities that pose a lesser challenge.

In the beginning, we don’t have any of the 25 commercial skills we need to effectively go out of our comfort zone. We are stuck with our current “social” skills that we learned from parents, teachers, jobs and from our social life. So we should start by finding prospects in a way that works for us. Something comfortable that we can feel good about. So this could be: Asking for referrals. Running newspaper ads. Sending out postcards. Networking events. Breakfast clubs. Signature file marketing. Joint ventures. Internet marketing. Talking to people from a booth at a fair. Buying leads. Passing out samples. Creating your own leads. Using bird dogs, etc. So, what method of prospecting is currently working for you? And do you like the method? It is common knowledge that you can’t win the race by following the crowd. So let’s make sure we are not blindly following a prospecting technique that is comfortable for others, but not for ourselves. So what is your natural market? Your natural market will be easier and more comfortable for you to build. This way you will look forward to networking every day. Some examples of a natural market: 1. Teachers, especially if you are a teacher and know their problems. 2. Small business owners. Maybe you have a job where you are in contact with them. 3. Young mothers with children. You also have children and enjoy mingling with other mothers. 4. Chat rooms. You may be addicted to late night chat rooms and find them fun. 5. Co-workers. They want the same thing we do. More money, more time away from the job. So keep asking yourself, “What is my natural market?” Let’s determine that, and then make a plan for you to reach them effectively.

He's a friend.

Should you help your distributors to grow into leaders? Of course, but you have to be selective. You don’t have time to help everyone. So ask yourself this question: “How do I know that this distributor is really willing to become a leader?” If you ask your team, you’ll see that almost everybody wants to become a leader. But the world is full of wishers and hopers. So, how do we know who the serious distributors are? Give them the Leadership Test and see who passes. Just loan your distributors a book, any book, and say: “Here is a great book. Please read it. It should help you start on your path to becoming a leader. And give me a call on Friday to let me know your thoughts.” 1. If the distributor calls you on Friday, here is someone serious you can work with. 2. If the distributor doesn’t call you on Friday, the time isn’t right to start becoming a leader. Think about it. If reading a book is too hard, the path to leadership will be way too hard for this distributor.

There is no list of the top MLM companies. Who would be in charge of the criteria? Who would set the ideal ethics scale? Who would be the final judge of the product quality?

I get the following call: “Hi, I just need to have a list of the top 100 MLM companies. And, if you have it, a list of new MLM companies, too. I’m going to find the best one and make a million dollars.” What should I do? Should I humor him? Lie to him? Tell him the truth? I told him the truth. There is no list of the top 100 MLM companies. Who would be in charge of the criteria? Who would set the ideal ethics scale? Who would be the final judge of the product quality? I told the caller, “Most companies are good. If they were bad, had terrible products, and ripped off people, they would eventually go out of business.” And about a list of new companies? Gee, we could sign up in at least ten new companies every day on the Internet. So “new” means these companies are “old” 24 hours later. I’m not sure what “new” has to do with quality anyway. I guess if we joined something because it was new today, what would we tell our prospects tomorrow? It is not “new” anymore. I think there should be something else besides “new” in our decision. The really bad news about all of this is that this caller thinks that finding the “right company” will be the key to solving his problems. It won’t help him at all. He doesn’t have the skills necessary to be successful in any company. Finding a company to join isn’t what it takes to build a successful network marketing business. It will take skills. And unless this caller is willing to learn the skills to build a networking business, he will be sentenced to a lifetime of company research, joining companies unsuccessfully, and surfing the Internet for one more new thing to join. Sad. I hope he stops looking for the top 100 Network Marketing companies. I hope he stops looking for new network marketing companies to join. But the reality is: He will find sitting at home surfing the Internet, comparing company compensation plans, etc., much more safe and comfortable than actually learning the skills and building a real business.

The cause of stress in network marketing is having too few prospects. When we only have a couple of prospects, we press, push, and strain to make them join our opportunity. Prospects feel this pressure and instinctively back away from us. This leads to fewer prospects and the vicious cycle gets worse and worse. When we have an abundance of prospects, we’re happy. We are not desperately waiting for a single decision from a single prospect. We aren’t married to the outcome of a single presentation. Instead, we’re relaxed. We simply share our opportunity and take the first prospects who volunteer and step forward. Now we’re working with volunteers and we have more great prospects waiting in line. Which scenario describes your network marketing career? A. Are you pressing and struggling from too few prospects? B. Or, are you simply accepting applications from the best volunteers from your large pool of quality prospects? The solution is simple: Increase your marketing so that you have an abundance of prospects. Why not increase your personal contacts now? Here are some quick ideas: 1. Host your class reunion. You don’t have to wait for a 10-year or 20-year anniversary. You can do it anytime. 2. Take your best three or four headlines and first sentences and test them. Mail out 100 postcards and test the response for each. 3. Start your own breakfast club. The attendees will gladly send you pre-sold referrals for your efforts. 4. Offer to be a guest on a local radio talk show. 5. Establish some contacts that will send you referrals. 6. Pass out 10 product CDs. 7. Pass out 10 product samples or information packs. There are plenty of ways to expand your universe of quality prospects. Just pick a method that’s comfortable for you.

When you contact a referral, or when you call a prospect from a list of leads, you don't have days or months to build a relationship. So how do you present your opportunity? Don't start with all the neat benefits of your opportunity. Don't tell the prospects about the wonderful bonus checks, the trips, the cars, the incredible products, the company founder's background, etc. Instead, remember that people buy things to solve a problem. So position your presentation to solve a problem for your prospect. Talk about how your opportunity will make it easier for the prospect to take more time off work, how your opportunity will make it easier to pay bills with that extra check every month, or how your opportunity will provide the extra car for the spouse. Prospects don't care how great your opportunity is. They simply care about their problems. That's the shortcut when you don't have time to build relationships.

Many new distributors in network marketing think that choosing a different network marketing company will make them successful. These distributors think that success is “outside” of them, and that the external factors will make the difference. But success in network marketing is an “inside job.” You have to learn some skills. And if you don’t have skills, changing companies just means that you’ll be unsuccessful in a different company. If you can’t recruit now, changing companies won’t fix that. In every network marketing company there are some successful distributors, and some unsuccessful distributors. So it is not the company that makes the difference. Learn how to prospect, learn how to sponsor, learn how to build … that’s what will make the difference. Then you can be successful anywhere you choose.