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.