Mentoring!

I just signed up my first person, I am on my way. I am going to be more successful, in this program, than anyone that has come before me or that will come after me. WHY? Well, because I say so of course.

If it were only that easy. If THAT is really ALL that it took. If all I had to do was say; "hey, because I took the time and put forth the effort to sign this person up, I am going to be successful". WOW, if only it were that easy.

Signing them up is easy. Convincing them that your program is "the silver bullet", is really the easiest part. The allure of easy money, of quick cash, that makes it all worth it doesn't it. They can't get their credit cards out fast enough. "Sign me up".

BUT, it doesn't stop there. If it does, then you have let them down. It is your responsibility to be there for them. To answer all their questions, to lead them and guide them. I'm NOT suggesting that you do all the work for them. BUT, YOU, are responsible, now that you have enlisted them into your program.

SO, exactly what does that entail? Well, for starters, you have to be held accountable. What does that mean? Well, you have to respond to emails and phone calls. You can try to avoid them, but, rest assured, if you don't respond, they will cancel and join under another leader, (if they join at all).

Does a phone call or an email really take that much from you? If you answered "yes" to the foregoing question, you may want to consider another line of work. NO really, I mean you want to QUIT RIGHT NOW, and find something else to do. Because you are NOT a mentor.
A mentor is THERE. There to answer questions, to offer advice, to lead and to guide. Don't do the work for them, BUT, be there for them.

Remember what Jim Rohn said....................."Service to others' leads to greatness...........great respect, & great satisfaction............."  To get to where you want to be, you are going to have to make some sacrifices, and if that means helping someone else get to where they want to be, then so be it.

Health, wealth, & prosperity to you all...............

Pay it forward.

It has been some time since I have written anything. I used to  blog, at least, once a week. But finding ideas for fresh content, ( content that has some value anyway), can sometimes be a challenge. I apologize for "slacking".

In the marketing industry, we hear it all the time, "Pay it forward". But does anyone really have a clear definition of what this statement actually means? I'm not sure if even I know the true meaning of it. But I have my own ideas of what this staement means, and I just wanted to share some of those ideas. If you have a different opinion or more ideas, I welcome your feedback.

By and large, the marketing industry, (MLM, home based business, direct selling, etc.), is mostly a recruiting game. We attempt to convince others of the great benefits of our product, service, or opportunity, and hope to convey to them the "Great Opportunity", that lies before them, to make great sums of money.

The reality of it is that few are "highly successful", or what most refer to as "Top Earners". Not that attaining that status is impossible, it's just that most give up for whatever reason, before they see the results that they are looking for.

One of the greatest reasons they give, (this is only my opinion), is the lack of support from their upline or personal sponsor. You signed them up, you brought them in, you gave them the opportunity to become successful.

BUT, your responsibility doesn't end there. You need to be there to answer question, to offer advice, or to just call and say "hey, I just wanted to see how you're getting along, and ask what I can do to help you". I'm not saying hold their hand every step of the way, ( although I'm sure most of us have that 1 or 2 on our team that seem to want someone else to do all the work for them), but be there to return calls, or answer e-mails.

In my opinion, the best thing that you can do for someone that you "brought in", is to give them the tools necessary to be succesful in this industry. If you do that, chances are that that person will repeat the process, and our industry will grow, and more people will find greater success. That, to me at least, is the best way to "pay it forward".

Health, wealth, & prosperity to you all...............

Are you following up with your leads?

On another social site, geared toward marketers, I spend a lot of time blogging, reading the wall posts and offering to help as much as I can. The wall posts, on that site, roll by so fast it is sometimes difficult to read some of them. Most of the wall posts are advertisements.

I happened to be curious about 2 or 3 of them this evening, and commented to the people posting that I would be interested in learning more about there opportunity, and could they please message me the link to their opportunity.

Of the 3, only 1 responded. Of the remaining 2, someone else, from the same company, messaged me saying that if that person didn't send me the link, they would be interested in helping me out, and gave their link to the opportunity.

I am a little confused. You are on a site, where everyone is pitching, and fishing for prospects, yet when you get a nibble you choose to ignore it. Do you have more than enough people in your downline already? Why are you pitching if you're not looking to recruit more people.

What it all boils down to is this, if you are going to pitch, be ready to catch. When a fish nibbles, set the hook. I remember reading somewhere that for every 100 people we tell about our opportunity, only 1 would sign up. With conversions like that, I can't afford to let one get away.

Take the time to respond to prospects. Even if they are only "kicking tires", you'll never know unless you follow up with them. My son plays hockey, and I always tell him "the greatest opportunities he misses are the ones' that he never takes".

If you have a fear of talking to people, you are in the wrong business. Get out of your comfort zone, learn to talk to people, with confidence, and watch your conversion rate grow.

Health, wealth, and prosperity to all..............

Taking names!

By most definitions, I am a "Newbie". I have been in marketing for just short of a year, and have made my share of "rookie mistakes". I have had my ads declined on Facebook and on Google, have had "my hand slapped" by the Facebook police. Have failed to follow up with a lead or two. But, by and large, I follow what the leaders say I should be doing. Now I'm not knocking down 6 figures a year, (not just yet anyway), but, I figure I am still in my "learning phase", and I WILL get there.


One thing that I see, that can be very frustrating to someone new to marketing or MLM, is a sponsor who never communicates with their downline, or a mentor that gives bad advice. 


My girlfriend and I, both belong to the same company. She joined about a month before I did, and I thought that I was signing up under her, as it turns out that wasn't the case, and I wound up being sponsored by someone else. Someone that has never bothered to contact me. My girlfriends sponsor has never bothered to contact her either.


I made it a point, as each new team member came in under me, to contact them and welcome them to the team and to thank them for joining my team. I continue to stay in contact with them, offering my help, and keeping an eye on how their business is going and growing. I even make it a point to communicate with other people in my company, that are not in my direct downline, just to see how they are getting along, and to see if there is anything that I can do to help them.


So, my point is this, if/when you sponsor someone into your company, they become a part of YOUR team. It is in your best interest to ensure that that team member is just as successful as the rest of the team. I'm not saying that you have to hold their hand and do all the work for them, but, be there for them when they have questions, offer a little guidance. Be a mentor.


Health, wealth, & prosperity to you all..........

Search Engine Optimization

Alright, well I was going to wait to post another blog, until tomorrow, (just wanted to take a couple of days off), but after reading some comments on recent wall posts, I figured I might as well go ahead while everything is still fresh in my head.


If you've read my blogs before you won't be surprised, if you've never read them, you'll be surprised to see how "raw" I am. I don't hold back, and I usually tell it like it is. For instance, pitching your service/product in 3-5 paragraphs, and calling it a "blog" or an article is a misrepresentation. What it really is, (is), an advertisement. We ALL have the BEST product/service out there, and can offer up dozens of reasons why you should join up and let us become your sponsor. Kinda hard to pitch to someone that is trying to pitch right back isn't it? That's rhetorical, don't answer it.


Anyway, I got a little off track there. What I want to talk about is SEO. I posted a comment stating that I believed that blogging and article marketing would drive more traffic to your site than anything else, and someone responded by commenting that they disagreed, they said SEO would drive more traffic. I suppose that if you paid a company, that provides that service, you could see more traffic from SEO, (by proxy), but if you want to optimize SEO and get ranked towards the top, then you have to be branding yourself. What better way to brand yourself than blogging and article marketing. Build a following, the more that you're searched, the higher you will move up in the rankings.


If you are writing blogs, that contain content that your reader perceives as VALUABLE, then they will keep searching for you and what you have to say. Using "keywords" in your "tags", and inserting them LIBERALLY into your blogs or article will cause YOUR blogs to come up when people search for certain keywords. Learning what keywords have the biggest impact is important.


So, YES, SEO is an important factor in being successful in marketing, (especially internet marketing). The easiest way to achieve this is through effective, value added content, blogging and article marketing.


Health, wealth, and prosperity to all..........

What IS important!!!!!!!

Recently, my girlfriends 18 year old son graduated high school. His plans, 6 months ago, were to join the military. But, he saw the enthusiasm, in his mother and I, when we talked about network marketing. So, he gave up on a career in the military and decided to go into marketing.

My girlfriends 21 year old son is a Psych major at the University of Missouri, ( Go Tigers), and is very skeptical and analytical of almost everything. When his mother first mentioned our primary, he asked if it was a "ponzi scheme". He is coming home for the summer, and is going to learn all that he can about marketing, and is joining our primary.

My 15 year old daughter understands the importance of "branding yourself", and wants to get involved in network marketing. She is a straight A student, took high school math in middle school, and took college geometry in her freshman year of high school. To say that she is a very bright and gifted young lady is and understatement. To say that I am a little biased is also an understatement.

But the point of this blog is "FOCUS". I work a J.O.B., Monday through Friday, 5:30 AM till whenever, then I come home and spend 5 to 6 hours every night on my laptop, trying to brand myself, learn all that I can, and share what knowledge I have.

I get my kids every other weekend during the school year, and for 1 week, every other week, during the summer. Suffice it to say, I don't get to spend as much time with them as I'd like.  In as much as I live an hour away from them, I don't get to see them as often as I'd like.

As eager as I am to "brand myself", get my content seen, deliver "real value" in my content, and build my business, I have to remind myself NOT to lose focus of what is important to me. Is being financially independent important to me? YES it is. But, WHY? So that I have the freedom to spend more time with my family. BUT, I do have to remind myself, when my kids are with me, to take a break from marketing, and focus on them.

I heard someone say, a long time ago, focus on what's important. Marketing, branding myself, building my business, sharing my knowledge, etc.., these things are all VERY important to me. BUT, even more important is the reason WHY I am so eager to be successful in this industry. So that I have the financial freedom to spend all my time with my family. So, I have to remind myself to NOT lose focus.

Stay focused on what your goals are, what you have to do to achieve them, and at the same time, DON"T lose focus of the things, (like family & friends), that are important to you.

Health, wealth, & prosperity to you all..............

You better get your mind right!!!!!

Monday through Friday I get up and I go to my place of employment. I actually enjoy the work that I do, and for the most part I enjoy the people that I work with. But the idea of spending the rest of my life, "punching the clock" DOES NOT appeal to me at all.

So, about a year ago, I made up my mind that I was going to do something else. I was going to do something that I enjoyed, something that gave me the freedom that I wanted, to be able to spend more time with my family. But not just anything, it had to be something that I really enjoyed. Something that EXCITED me. Enter network marketing.

By most definitions I am a "newbie". Luckily I haven't learned by the trial and error method that a lot of marketers have and continue to use. I, (and everyone in, or interested in, marketing), have the very fortunate advantage of being given all of the resources necessary to be succesful in this industry.

The mentoring programs, marketing social networks, and information on the industry are readily available. All you have to do is be willing to put forth some effort and be willing to learn. The most succesful people in our industry are only too happy to share, with the world, their knowledge. For that and for them, I am eternally grateful.

Thanks to Tony Robbins, one of the first things I did in my new career, was to strike the word "failure" from my vocabulary. I literally DO NOT use that word at all. I believe that "failure" is a mindset and not a result of an action, and I refuse to let myself fall into that mindset.

Another word that I have recently struck from my vocabulary, is "impossible".  Because there is nothing that is impossible. "Speak those things as if they were"...., That is the mindset you have to have, you have to BELIEVE that you are going to get the results that you want.

I realize that some days it is difficult to stay focused, and it is easy to lose sight of things. The early stages of this industry are very impressionable and very trying. But, if you persist, and have the right mindset. If you take advantage of all of the knowledge and tools that are at your disposal. The results that you are looking for WILL come.

Remove negative words and thoughts from your life. Focus on your goals. Keep looking through the windshield, and never use the rear-view mirrors. You can't see where you're going if you're always looking behind you. Keep your head up, stay focused, get motivated and let's all go to the top.

Health, wealth, and prosperity to you all.........

What is your WHY?

I have spent over 30 years in the working force. Living the corporate lie. "Get an education, get a job, save for your retirement, buy a house, go into debt.......blah blah blah. That's what it sounds like NOW. Ask me that 12 months ago, and I would have told you that is the American way. Robert Kiyosaki opened my eyes. He showed me that there is more to life than "all that"

I delved into the marketing world, headfirst, in October of 2010. I, like most, believed that marketing programs, MLMs, ( whatever you choose to call them), were nothing short of a "con". A pyramid, a ponzi. Boy, was I wrong. 

There are no "get rich quick" programs. Short of winning the lottery or a lengthy prison term, if you want to get "to the top", you are going to have to work at it.

Now everyone in marketing believes that their product/service is "the best". If you didn't believe this, you wouldn't invest so much time and money into it. The thing is, what works for you may not work for someone else. Having a good mentor, a solid upline, support staff and a lot of other variables come into play.

BUT, if you put in your time, and you do what you are supposed to be doing, you WILL see success. Maybe it will come overnight, (as in David Woods' case), maybe it will take you years to unravel the secrets. Maybe, just maybe, you'll invest some money in a mentoring program like MLSP, The Elevation Group, Carbon Copy Pro, etc., and they will guide you to your success.

I often mention a lot of names, individuals or programs, in my blogs. I do this, not because I received any compensation from them, but, because I have learned a great deal from them, and believe that others will benefit from them as well, and, who knows, perhaps they will return the favor someday.

Back to my point of this blog. It's not enough to just say " I want to make more money", I want to be financial independent/stable, I want to be wealthy. Those are NOT good reasons. Yes the money is a "means to the end", but if money is your motivator, you're more likely to end up with results that you don't like.

My "why" is family. I would like to be able to provide a better quality life for my family, and be able to spend more time with them. Being financially independent would allow me to achieve this. Therefore, my family is my "WHY". Money is just what it takes to get me there.

In summation, whatever your "WHY", it MUST be strong enough to motivate you to do WHATEVER it is that you have to do to achieve your goals. Get out of your comfort zone, find a leader/mentor and follow them. Do what they tell you to do. The way to get to where you want to be, is to follow someone who knows the path.

Health, wealth, & prosperity to all..............

NO EXCUSES

I recently returned from 5 days in Vegas. 3 of those days were spent in the presence of greatness. Literally. Some of the greatest marketers in the free world. True leaders in our industry. Each and every one of them had something great to say. Each of them delivered some great content. If you ever get the opportunity to attend one of the "No Excuses Summits", it will be money well spent.

The attrition rate for the marketing industry is high. Why? Perhaps it's because people have the wrong impression. They think MLM translates to "get rich quick", or perhaps they think that they wont have to do any work. Perhaps their sponsor misled them, or led them to believe that "if you join it, people will come". This is almost never the case. You have to work for it, YOU have to make it happen. Your only limitations, are those that you impose upon yourself. Want proof of this? At the No Excuses Summit, there were 2 blind men in attendance. Have they let their physical disabilities stop them from pursuing their goals? Quite the contrary.

The first thing you must do is to establish your "WHY". Why are you in this industry? What is your goal? Yeah, okay, everyone wants to make more money. But the money is just the means to the end. What is it that drives you? For me, it is wanting to provide a better lifestyle for my family. I want to be able to spend more time with my family. Financial independence will allow me to do this.

You need to brand yourself. Get your name out there. Provide valuable content. Be someone that people want to know. Be someone that people trust and want to follow. By branding yourself, and giving value, you build trust. If the people trust you, they will follow you. If they follow you, they are more likely to recommend you to their friends. And, if they trust you, they are more likely to buy whatever it is that your selling.

Develop a personal relationship with your leads. Connecting with them on a personal level leads to trust. Don't like talking to people? You either need to learn to, or find another line of work. Because if you're not calling your leads, someone else will. If they don't join you right away, stay in touch, follow up. Eventually, they either will or they wont.

Start connecting with people in the industry. If you have something valuable to share, via articles or blogs, then the people that you are connected with will begin to share your content. Step outside of your comfort zone and do the things that your competition wont do. Always be honest with your prospects. Be sincere when pitching them, and when they do sign up, and they are now in your downline, be there to answer questions. Be a mentor.

Health, wealth and prosperity to all............

Blogging

How often do you blog or write articles? I used to think that I had to do it everyday, just to get my name out there. Then it went to every other day. Now I blog 2 to 3 times a week. I would like to blog more. But, the truth is that the words don't always come that easily. I have ideas for material, but putting all into blog form can be a challenge sometimes.

I do believe that blogging is a great way to gain exposure and as a result build a following, which can help your business a great deal. Delivering blogs that are full of content and offer real value to the reader, keeps the reader coming back for more. A blog should enlighten, engage, & entertain it's readers. Thank you Mike Klingler for that lesson.

You can blog about whatever you'd like. A blog can give direction, it can give insight, it can teach. There are a lot of purposes that a blog serves. I, personally, use my blogs to try to help educate people on what they SHOULD be doing to brand themselves and build their business.

When blogging, take the time to proof read your post before you publish it. Use spell checker and editing software if necessary. Poor grammar and misspelled words are not very appealing to readers, and if you don't care enough to deliver well written material, then people are not likely to care much about reading it.

Use your own words. Don't take someones' blog from five years ago, copy and paste it and try to pass it off as your own. According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary to "plagiarize" means to  

• "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
• to use (anothers' production) without crediting the source
• to commit literary theft
• to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone elses' work and lying about it afterward."

If you are going to quote someone elses' work, be sure to give credit to the author. It is a good idea to link the quote, or at least the authors name, back to their website. I recently mention some industry top earners in a recent blog, and create a link for each of them back to their respective websites. I then informed them that I had done this. They appreciate that. It's free advertisement for them.

So, keep the blogs coming. Deliver VALUE filled content that entertains, engages, & enlightens your readers, and they will come back for more.

Health, wealth, & prosperity to all...........

Mentoring

Who is Mentoring you? Who are you mentoring? The marketing industry is a "pay it forward" business. What does that mean? Well, it means that it becomes the responsibilty of all of us to give back to the industry.

Hopefully, each of us has someone that we can turn to for answers. Someone that has been in the business long enough to know what it takes to be successful. I assure you, all of the top earners are sharing their knowledge. Do they charge for their knowledge? Most of them do yes. They have earned the right to do so.

People like Todd Falcone, Mike Dillard, Ray Higdon, David Wood, Jay Kubassek, Diane Hochman, and the list goes on and on. Each of them have their own formula for success. But, I assure you, each of them is giving back to the industry that made them who and what they are today. 

Everyday, I look on social sites, ( I won't name names), and I see post after post after post of someone trying to pitch their service, their program, or their product. The irony of it is that the site, and the wall is full of other marketers and most of them are doing the same thing. Did their mentor tell them to saturate the wall posts' with advertisement? Or do they think that this is the right way of doing things? Do they even have a mentor?

I spend almost all of my time, on these sites, looking for CONTENT. I am constantly reading other peoples' blogs, trying to learn more, and seeing what others are writing about. I see "blogs" that are advertisements for their product/service/program. THAT is article marketing. 

If this is what their mentor is teaching them, shame on the mentor. A mentor should be a positive influence in their life and contribute to their success. Wikipedia defines mentor as a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development;mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protégé)"

Does your mentor need to be someone in your upline? NO, they don't even have to be in your company. I offer help to anyone who asks for it. I recently received a call from a woman on the East Coast, (I live in the Midwest), and she actually had just joined the same company that is my primary. She was very disatisfied with her sponsor, who wouldn't return her calls or answer her e-mails. She found my name and website while researching our primary and gave me a call asking for help. I was more than happy to help. Contributing to the growth and success of someone else, (I believe), will lead to your own personal success.

So, if you're mentoring, keep up the good work. If you are in need of a mentor, their are plenty of them out there. Do some research and find one that is where you want to be. They know how to get there, and who better to show you the way.

Health, wealth, & prosperity to you all...........

Who is calling your leads?

" If you're not calling your leads, someone else will"


If you have any doubt that the foregoing statement is true, just look at your track record. Are you as successful in your business as you'd like to be? If you are then you're probably not reading this right now.


Let's face it, "get rich quick schemes" generally involve lengthy prison terms, and frankly, that's not really very appealing to me. There are no legitimate "get rich quick" programs out there. A lot of people are looking for a program that will allow them to join up, then just set back and watch the checks roll in. It doesn't happen. You have to invest some time. Sweat equity is still required.


For some, it does seem like they "get rich quick". You hear the stories about people like Mike Dillard, Cedric Harris, David Wood, etc. who literally went from nothing to something, seemingly overnight. I assure you this, the aforementioned, and everyone that is experiencing any kind of success in this industry, has put in their time, and continues to do so.


One of the reasons the leaders have been able to enjoy success is lead calling. Every leader out their has spent countless hours with their phone glued to their head. Calling lead after lead.


People fear rejection. But think about it. In most instances, the person on the other end of the line, (your lead), is a complete stranger. The worst that could happen is that they tell you no, or simply hang up on you. I'd be willing to bet that you spent at least the first 13-15 years of your life being told "NO" quite often. So get over the fear of rejection.


90% of the people in Network Marketing make less than $10 a week. The attrition rate for marketers is HIGH. People don't get the results they are looking for, for various reasons. But, I'd be willing to bet that one of the biggest reason has to do with their leads.


If you are not someone that likes to talk on the phone, or talk to people, you have 3 options. 1) Hire someone to do it for you. 2) Learn to like it. 3) Find another line of work.


Okay, now you're ready to start making some phone calls. BUT, are you really ready? Do you know what you are going to say? Will you convey confidence to the person you're speaking with? If you need to, prepare a script, practice it, then practice it some more. If you're trying to pitch your product or your service to me, and you're fumbling through your sales pitch, chances are pretty good that I am going to pass.


Commit. Make time everyday to set down and call your leads. If you are not calling leads everyday, then you're not very serious about getting far in your business. Make sure that you are comfortable, and in a place where there will be no interruptions. 


When you call your lead, introduce yourself. Don't immediately go into your sales pitch. Take a moment to develop some rapport. Be confident, (don't mistake confidence for cockiness or arrogance). KNOW what you're talking about. Your call should last 3-5 minutes, sometimes longer. NEVER lie to your lead. If you destroy the trust, you will NEVER convert that lead. If they sign right then, great, if not put them on your follow up list and call them again in a week or two. If they are adamant about not joining, remove them from your list and move on.


Be knowledgeable about the product, program, or service that you are representing. Have answers for their questions. Don't speak in monotone. If you don't know an answer, DO NOT make something up. Be honest, tell them that you're not sure, but you will find out and get back with them.


Keep calling, and you will see your confidence and your conversions grow.


Health, wealth, & Prosperity to all............

No Excuses

I recently  returned from 5 days in Vegas. 3 of those days were spent in the presence of greatness. Literally. Some of the greatest marketers in the free world. True leaders in our industry. Each and every one of them had something great to say. Each of them delivered some great content. If you ever get the opportunity to attend one of the "No Excuses Summits", it will be money well spent.


The attrition rate for the marketing industry is high. Why? Perhaps it's because people have the wrong impression. They think MLM translates to "get rich quick", or perhaps they think that they wont have to do any work. Perhaps their sponsor misled them, or led them to believe that "if you join it, people will come". This is almost never the case. You have to work for it, YOU have to make it happen. Your only limitations, are those that you impose upon yourself. Want proof of this? At the No Excuses Summit, there were 2 blind men in attendance. Have they let their physical disabilities stop them from pursuing their goals? Quite the contrary.


The first thing you must do is to establish your "WHY". Why are you in this industry? What is your goal? Yeah, okay, everyone wants to make more money. But the money is just the means to the end. What is it that drives you? For me, it is wanting to provide a better lifestyle for my family. I want to be able to spend more time with my family. Financial independence will allow me to do this.


You need to brand yourself. Get your name out there. Provide valuable content. Be someone that people want to know. Be someone that people trust and want to follow. By branding yourself, and giving value, you build trust. If the people trust you, they will follow you. If they follow you, they are more likely to recommend you to their friends. And, if they trust you, they are more likely to buy whatever it is that your selling.


Develop a personal relationship with your leads. Connecting with them on a personal level leads to trust. Don't like talking to people? You either need to learn to, or find another line of work. Because if you're not calling your leads, someone else will. If they don't join you right away, stay in touch, follow up. Eventually, they either will or they wont.


Start connecting with people in the industry. If you have something valuable to share, via articles or blogs, then the people that you are connected with will begin to share your content. Step outside of your comfort zone and do the things that your competition wont do. Always be honest with your prospects. Be sincere when pitching them, and when they do sign up, and they are now in your downline, be there to answer questions. Be a mentor.