 MLM
Woman Issue 125
June 2007
From the Desk of the Editor
Welcome to the 125th edition of the MLM Woman Newsletter! If
you enjoy this month's issue, please be sure to let your friends
know about it too and invite them to come and visit us.
Also, if you have comments, questions or something to share
after reading this month's articles, please visit our MLMTalk
Discussion Forum and join in the lively conversation!
And also be sure to check out our new MLM
Marketing Blog for lots of additional tips and resources which
are added throughout the month.
Yours in Success!
Linda Locke, Editor MLMWoman
Women and
Network Marketing
6 Trends of Influence
© Linda Locke, Editor MLMWoman
It's no secret that women make up the majority of the network marketing
industry (about 82% according to the Direct Selling Association).
But it's not always clear just how big that influence is since it's
the guys who are often the ones in the spotlight.
So just how do women influence the network marketing industry?
Here's some of the major trends that I've been noticing over the
past few years that clearly show the powerful influence that women
wield in the $30.47 Billion plus network marketing industry.
Trend #1 - Explosion of New Products and Services
The huge explosion in new network marketing companies is a reflection
of our niche-based society, but it's also driven by the fact that
women make most of the buying decisions in their families. And they
like having choices - and lots of them. They want products and services
that fit their interests and fast-paced lifestyles. And the emergence
of so many new products and services in the network marketing industry
is a direct response to what these women want to buy.
As a result, more companies now see network marketing sales as
a viable way to offer their products and services, prompting more
retail companies to start using network marketing sales to reach
new markets. As an added benefit, more women, and in particular
young women have been attracted to network marketing, bringing new
growth and opportunities to the industry.
Trend #2 - Focus on Customers, Not Recruiting
The success of the network marketing industry depends on sales
- and customers equal sales. In the past, many successful network
marketers trained their downlines to focus primarily on recruiting
and not retail sales, which generated a lot of negative criticism
for the industry. But women have generally rejected this practice,
instead choosing to focus on their customers and building a retail
sales base as the foundation of their business. Women have found
that recruiting from within their customer base is a much more stable
and positive way of bringing people into their business, rather
then the old method of recruiting everyone and waiting to see who
sticks.
Trend #3 - Social Networking Is HOT!
Social networking is all the rage right now, and Party Plan companies
are back big time because of it. Why? Because women love to socialize
and build relationships, not just sell. And Party Plan companies
are enjoying a big renaissance because of this and are changing
with the times by offering an easy startup, low-cost business option
to women. The Party Plan concept is very appealing to younger women
(especially single moms), who need a part-time income, but want
more flexibility and a less restrictive option to a regular 8 to
5 office job.
Party Plan selling also offers women the convenience of buying
quality products in a fun, relaxed environment - it's what social
marketing is all about. And best of all, party plan sales generate
immediate income for women (a huge plus!) -- there's no waiting
for a minuscule commission check that's in the mail.
Trend #4 - Part-time Business Income
Many women only want a part-time business with part-time income,
they don't want to build a million dollar business and the huge
time commitment it takes to generate that kind of income. And the
industry is moving towards favoring these part-time women who make
up the majority of the industry. As a result, more companies (if
they are smart) are offering better compensation plans that reward
the part-time seller and not just the full-time heavy hitters. Also
more companies are offering all their representatives the chance
to get health care benefits, a big selling point for many women
who have no coverage elsewhere.
Trend #5 - Just the Facts
Women love to do research before they buy something. They want
to get the details, facts, and opinions about a product or service
first before making a decision. This need has helped drive the profusion
of information now available online and off about the network marketing
industry and its products and services. We now have magazines, videos,
blogs, podcasts, teleconferences, web conferences, web sites, search
engines, newspapers and the media providing information about networking
marketing companies at an unprecedented pace. Having all this information
readily available has also helped to broaden the appeal of the network
marketing industry, which brings us to our final trend.
Trend #6 - Network Marketing Goes Mainstream
The Network Marketing Industry has finally caught the positive
attention of the mainstream media and women have a lot to do with
it. From morning talk shows to local newspapers, the media have
been focusing on all types of women in network marketing -- moms
who work from home, women who start network marketing or party plan
companies, women starting a business after retirement etc. For example,
CBS's Early Show recently did an interview with moms making money
at home and only featured moms in direct selling companies like
Pampered Chef and Creative Memories. This kind of positive publicity
from the media is a huge leap for the industry and women are leading
the way.
I think it's abundantly clear from these trends that women have
had a huge positive influence on both the image and the substance
of the network marketing industry and that they will continue to
do so in the future.
About the Author
Linda Locke is the Editor/Publisher of the MLMWoman Newsletter and
the MLM Marketing Blog. She has been involved in the networking
marketing industry for over 10 years and enjoys mentoring women
in the business through her website, discussion forum and blog.
http://www.mlmwoman.com
-- http://regentpress.typepad.com/mlmmarketing/
 Let
Go of Total Control
by Lisa Martin, The Working Mother’s
Coach
If you find yourself constantly griping about
having too much to do and never enough hours in the day
to do it all, you may be the cause of the problem. As working
mothers we are used to taking charge and getting things
done. For many of us, time is limited for decision-making
and negotiation and it doesn’t take long to get to
the point where we think, “It’s just easier to
do everything myself.” But is it? At home and at work,
we need to consider how much control is necessary and how
much is unnecessary.
Even though you may complain about shouldering
most of the responsibility, and want others to do more, do
you have difficulty sharing tasks with your colleagues? Do
you seek ultimate authority over everything that happens at
the office? If you answered “yes,” you just might
be a workplace control addict.
It often seems like the more control women demand
over their careers, co-workers and workloads, the more insane
their life feels. Trying to be in charge of everything often
leads to bedlam. To gain balance in your life, you must be
prepared to relinquish total control. (There’s a big
difference, of course, between totally relinquishing control,
and relinquishing total control!)
You may be in a situation where you are working
long hours, juggling endless family responsibilities and finishing
the night off with extra work you’ve brought home from
the office. And on weekends, between soccer practice and ballet
lessons, you might even find yourself back at the office “catching
up” on the work that you were unable to complete during
the week. Inevitably, the need to be in control at work will
leave you on the edge of burnout. Oftentimes, this type of
burnout stems from a defeating belief that tells you that
you are the only person who can do the job right and there
is no point in delegating it to anyone else because you’ll
just have to re-do it yourself anyway. In this situation,
total control is on the way to total chaos. By being over-worked
and over-stressed, mistakes happen and business can be lost…not
to mention your sense of work-life balance.
Trying to control all aspects of your work may
have the opposite effect. It may be time to figure out how
to let go and lighten up. Making an inventory of the clients
and projects you have on the go, and determining which tasks
you absolutely love to do, and which tasks you would be prepared
to let go, is a great starting point. It may be difficult
at first to ask for support from your colleagues for fear
that you may appear vulnerable or needy. Asking for help will
also demand that you show a considerable amount of trust in
others. But doing so will create a sense of teamwork, responsibility,
and involvement, and by learning to lighten up, you may realize
that it is not as necessary to take everything as seriously
as you may have in the past.
With more support on the work front, you can
choose to gradually shed those weekend office hours and put
more balance into your life. Ironically, by letting go of
total control at the office you can gain more choice and ultimately
more control in your life.
© Copyright 2007. Lisa Martin.
All rights reserved.
About the Author
Lisa Martin is a certified coach who inspires working mothers
to achieve success that’s balanced. Author of Briefcase
Moms: 10 Proven Practices to Balance Working Mothers’
Lives, Lisa is a sought-after expert and speaker on work-life
balance issues. Known for her very personal and practical
approach, Lisa coaches working mothers to know what they want
and get what they want. A mother herself, Lisa’s powerful
presentations and programs have helped thousands of women
define success and balance on their own terms. www.briefcasemoms.com
 The
Truth About Seasons
in Network Marketing!
Copyright © 2006 by Sue Seward. All Rights Reserved.
Well school is out here and summer is just right
around the corner!
Some people consider summer a time of slow down
in our industry. Here's the truth which will set you FREE!
I never slow down in planting seeds and speaking
with possibility seekers during the summer!
Remember the Ant & the Grasshopper story?
The Grasshopper took the summer off to play and fool around
didn't he? He didn't have much to show for it when Fall rolled
around either.
Well, I've always been the Ant, continuing to
plant seeds all summer long even though some call it a slower
season with people busy with summer activities, etc.
Yes we do have fun during the summer going on
vacation, going to the lake, the beach, etc. but my job is
so enjoyable that I just keep plugging away all summer even
though people may not be getting right back, I still keep
my business and products in front of them!
I've been through many a summer season over
the last ten years and have never slowed down and the benefits
are really reaped during the FALL because of the summer
activity! <smile>
What happens is come Fall people who have been
plugged in are ready for the season and trust me volume really
picks up in the fall! Especially when you've been planting
seeds ALL summer long, watering and cultivating your garden,
you're gonna have quite a bountiful harvest!
Try not to become discouraged during this time
because it will slow you down and hamper your Fall harvest!
Instead of thinking of the outcome focus on the ACTION you
are taking every single day to make connections with people!
You DO want a big fall harvest don't you? Of
course you do! So keep calling your possibility seekers, sending
out your website, packets of information, following up, speaking
with people when you are out and about with your kids and
on vacation, etc, planting seeds every single day and...
Come fall you'll have a bountiful harvest of
product users and new business partners that will pay you
residuals over and over for a lifetime of summers!
Make sure you have plently of possibility seekers
to call! Are you buying leads? If you cannot afford to buy
leads make sure you're making connections with people locally
and with people you know every day! So they know that you
have products and/or an opportunity for them when they are
ready to buy and/or start their business from home!
Never give up because your harvest is just around
the corner!
About the Author
Sue is a wife, mom, career
Network Marketer and Internet Marketing Coach who has been
earning an income from home online since 1996. She teaches
others how to make connections for profit. She is also a public
speaker and published author of numerous print and electronic
articles as well as coauthor of the book 'Build It Big: 101
Insider Secrets From Top Direct Selling Experts'. To find
out more about how Sue builds her business online visit http://www.eCommerceHomeBiz.com
 Generate
Website Traffic
With Postcards
Copyright 2007 Bob Leduc
Promoting your website is getting more difficult
these days. New marketing tactics come and go fast. They work
for a while then quickly fade away. Just keeping up with the
changes can be a full time job.
Here's a proven way you can generate lots of
traffic to your website ...one that hasn't faded away. In
fact, it actually works better now than ever before - and
you probably haven't even tried it.
What is it? Go offline and promote your website
with postcards.
But, you say, "I'm an internet marketer,
not a direct mail marketer." Right, and so are most of
your competitors. That's why they don't market with postcards
...and why most of them are not likely to try postcards anytime
soon.
You won't have much competition. Maybe that's
one of the reasons why postcards work so well for internet
marketers.
It Costs Less than You Think
The cost for printing postcards starts at just
a few cents each, depending on how you print them. And you
can send postcards by First Class Mail in the US for just
26 cents each if you keep them between 3 1/2 to 4 1/4 inches
high and between 5 to 6 inches wide.
OK. So you're ready to give postcards a try.
But where do you begin?
1. Start with the Mailing List
You'll get a good response to your postcards
if you send them to prospects already interested in what you
offer. You'll get an even better response if those prospects
also have a proven history of acting on offers they receive.
For example, get a list of prospects who previously
requested information (or actually bought) something similar
to what you sell - or a list of paid subscribers to a publication
targeting the same interests that make them good prospects
for what you sell.
You can get these and other similar lists from
most mailing list brokers.
2. Don't Forget Why You're Mailing Postcards
The purpose of your postcards is to get the
readers to visit your website (take an action). It's not to
close a sale for money (make a purchase). Postcards are too
small to be effective at closing sales. Closing sales is what
your website is designed to do.
3. Decide What to Say on Your Postcard
You don't need to come up with a strategy to
persuade people to read your postcard. It will be delivered
with the message exposed and ready to read. So get right to
the point.
Don't focus on your product or service. Instead,
spotlight the major benefits your product or service provides.
That will arouse the reader's interest and motivate them to
find out more about those benefits ...by going to your website.
Tip: Offer a bonus to those who visit
your site before a specific deadline. It will boost the response.
That's it. Just 3 simple steps. Try it. You'll
discover a profitable way to generate lots of website traffic
- one you can use for many years to come.
About the Author
Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find
new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition
of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With
Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter
to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his
low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com
or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas,
NV
Are You A Hunter or A Farmer?
By Nicole Bandes
Farmers, as opposed to hunters, must be much more
patient. Rather than waiting for a day or two to bring home the
bacon (or venison), a farmer must wait an entire season to bring
in the bread. However, where as the hunter must go back out and
hope he didn’t shoot the last of the game available (or scare
them all off), the farmer can replant every year and get a whole
new harvest.
In network marketing, there is a technique that
is often passed on from upline to downline called the 3-foot rule.
What this means is that anyone within 3 feet of a networker should
hear about their business and products. The idea is that the networker
can’t find prospects unless they are talking to people and
they should never assume which people would be interested in their
business and which wouldn’t. Therefore, talk to everyone
and let them make the decision themselves. This is the hunter
approach to prospecting.
As a hunter goes out in search of their prey, the
networker goes out in search of the next distributor or customer.
The hunter is not selective in their target and does not concern
themselves with what will be available the next time they come
out. In the same way, the networker does not consider the impact
their approach will have on future prospecting efforts. The networker
only considers the immediate future in their desire to find a
good prospect right away. The hunter approach is wrought with
problems and often leads to extinction of prospects.
Who is going to lose if we take this approach?
· The networker loses because he's turned
off the person he's trying to interest.
· The person he alienated loses because they
think their experience is because MLM is bad rather than a misguided
process.
· Other networkers lose because once again
MLM gets a tarnished name.
While this may seem like the only way to build a
business if a networker doesn’t want to talk to their warm
market, there is a better way if long term results are what’s
desired.
The network marketing farmer is much the same as
a real farmer. The farming approach to prospecting requires the
networker to plant seeds, cultivate, and then harvest.
How is this done? By creating and building relationships.
Network marketing prospecting should focus more on what the networker
can do for the “prospect” in terms completely unrelated
to the networker’s business or product.
There is a philosophy taught in a very popular networking
organization called Giver’s Gain. By giving out unconditionally,
the person will gain more in the long run. If the networker looks
for opportunities to help others and truly does so from a place
of giving with no intention of what they will gain, then they
will gain though it may not be from that individual or from where
they would expect. Here’s an example.
Jane goes to the park with her children and sits on a bench
while watching them play. Another mother, Kate, joins her on
the bench and a conversation about the weather and children
ensue but Jane doesn’t talk about her business other than
in passing. Jane and Kate begin meeting regularly at the park.
One day Kate mentions how she has an important appointment to
go to but can’t find a sitter and she is very worried she
will miss it. Jane volunteers to help out. Kate is very grateful.
Three months later, Kate introduces Jane to one of her friends
that is looking for a work-at-home business. Kate’s friend
becomes one of Jane’s best distributors.
This is just an example of thousands of different
ways this could potentially take place. In this example, the chances
are slim that Jane would have ever met Kate’s friend if she
had decided to push her business on Kate. Instead Jane looked
to build a relationship and sought out ways she could help Kate
without expecting a return.
When we become farmers, we go to parties, networking
events, socials, activities and all the other events that take
place in our lives with the goal of making a new friend. Making
these friends is the act of planting the seeds. Developing, or
cultivating, the relationship while finding ways to give is the
next step. Harvesting is simply accepting the results of our efforts.
Doesn’t that sound a lot more fun than worrying if you might
turn someone off by your presentation?
Let’s all be farmers.
About The Author
Nicole Bandes has been an entrepreneur from the young age
of about 8 when she started selling homemade candles and hand
painted rocks that probably weren't very good. She enjoys working
in her own business and being at home for her family and has found
that perfect business to allow her to do that and achieve all
of her success goals at the same time. Nicole builds most of her
business through Relationship Marketing. You can learn more by
visiting her blog at www.ilovesendoutcards.com/blog.
Back
to the MLM Woman Newsletter Index
We want your feedback!
Send e-mail comments to
Linda at: regent@west.net
Copyright 2007,
Regent Press
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