MLM Woman Newsletter Issue 131

MLM Woman Issue 131
December 2007

From the Desk of the Editor

Happy Holidays and welcome to the 131th edition of the MLM Woman Newsletter.

If you like 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 MLM Marketing Blog for lots of additional tips and resources which are added throughout the month.

Yours in Success!

Linda Locke, Editor MLMWoman

Stop Promoting
Your Business
By Tina Wells

Yep, you read it right! Stop promoting your business. How many times a day do you surf the net and see ad after ad full of hype. You just roll your eyes and go on about your day totally forgetting that you even saw those type ads. I know we all get so tired of flashy, big promise making, ads. Who are they kidding? I don’t know about you but I can’t seem to take those seriously.

On the other hand you see an ad that doesn’t appear to be promising the farm and has that “down home” appeal. You immediately click on it and see a “real” person’s site with “real” information that appeals to you. Wow the whole story about where they are from, how they got started, their family life- it’s all there in black and white. This immediately sets this person apart from all the internet hype. You read on and they even have a phone number where you can actually “reach” them! Now you’re really excited. You just don’t see it in that fashion these days.

Yes it’s someone who’s learned the ropes. They’ve hit the gold mine of network marketing. It’s not the most expensive ads about their business. No, they’ve learned to “brand” themselves online. It’s not about the business. Well, it is somewhat but take this scenario. You walk into a car dealership. Immediately a guy walks up and gives you a 30 second commercial and you’re waiting for someone to scream “Cut!” In the back of your mind you think “oh no, not one of these guys.” You absolutely can’t stand a “pushy” salesman; neither can the rest of us. But say you back up. You walk into the same dealership. A nice young man walks up and asks you how you are and looks down at your 2 year old whose just waiting for some attention. He tells her how pretty she looks today. Wow, he’s not trying to stick me into the first car we see? He then proceeds to ask you if you’re from around here and tells you where he’s from. A decent conversation is going on. Finally he asks what he can do for you. By this time you are relaxed and ready to look around.

Now, compare the two situations. Which one would you most likely buy from? The pushy big mouth, or the guy that didn’t try to sell his “business” first but made a connection to you? Yes it’s all too often looked over in this industry. It’s all about the almighty dollar. We find ourselves wanting that new partner and we forget that it’s not the business that sells; it’s YOU. Stop promoting your business and promote YOU. Establish a connection with your potential partners or buyers first. Build integrity before the sale. Show them who YOU are. Then the business will come naturally. Try being honest and see what happens! It never hurts to try the road less traveled!

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

About the Author
Tina is a wahm of 4 with a passion for helping other women be successful on the net. She loves working from home and has written some helpful articles. Visit her site at www.clubcandles.com

Effective Advertising
on a Low Cost Budget
By Lisa Willard

Many people begin their network marketing career with a low cost budget. So, what type of publicity can you get when funds are low and you need to keep your costs in check? The following are some ideas that you can incorporate, whether you are just beginning your network marketing business or if you are a veteran network marketer.

1. Submit "Letters to the Editor". There are newspapers, magazines, online ezines and websites that accept and publish "Letters to the Editor." In addition, webmasters are generally looking for solid testimonials that they can use on their website. Take the time to read a few publications or visit a few websites and notify the publisher of your thoughts. You could find your comments being published in all sorts of locations.

2. Write press releases. I have received some great exposure from these. Submit your press releases to your local and surrounding newspapers and let people know about the latest news in your network marketing business.
Check out http://www.prweb.com. There are great tips on how to write a good PR as well as post it on their site for free.

3. Submit articles. There are many ezines and websites to submit your articles to. The key to writing a successful article is content. Make sure it is informative and adds value to the reader. Resource and tip oriented articles do well. Submit your articles to publishers and webmasters that you know....PLUS to article directories where publishers and webmasters go for content. Remember, just one ezine could reach thousands of potential prospects.

4. Blogs. Another great place to have your articles published is blogs. Search engines spider blogs more frequently than regular sites. The more your article is picked up around the net the more incoming links will show up to your sites with the SEs. This does wonders for your PR (page rank) and ultimately traffic to your website, which is what network marketing, is all about.

5. Join a civic group or volunteer at a local charity function. Creating an identity with your community can be very valuable. How about your team volunteering? Have signs, t-shirts, something that says who you are. Be sure to network, create visibility and have fun while you network.

6. Post to free classified ad websites. There are many of these, but the key is Consistency.

7. Safelists is another avenue. Be consistent in your posting. Join 5-10 safelists and post consistently and see what happens.

8. Conduct low or no cost seminars. If you share information that can bring value to others, you can then share your products and service at the conclusion of your workshop, seminar or open house. Creating relationships and bringing valuable information can get the relationship building process started.

9. Get involved with discussion groups and forums. Bring value and content once again to your readers. These are not meant to be blasted with ads. Find your niche and your interests and then become a "go to" person.

10. Use three lines. The most effective method of creating publicity starts with Three lines

Your Name
Your Business Name
Your Domain Name

Use these three lines with every message, email, letter that you send out.

During your network marketing career, you never know where your next prospect might come from, so take the time to try some of these avenues. You might just find more and more traffic coming from places you never thought about.

About The Author
Lisa Willard is a mom, life time learner and entrepreneur. Lisa has been involved in networking marketing for two years, coaching and training others on how to be successful in a home business. As a mom of three, Lisa is creating "freedom" for her family through her online business. To find out more about how Lisa builds her business online and her plans to fire Corporate America visit http://www.OnlineCandleTeam.com.

Three Ways to
Find Your Joy Spot
By Lisa Martin, The Working Mother’s Coach

Have you ever stopped to consider what personal interests or passions bring you pure joy? Do you know what your J-Spot is -- that special something that you do only for you that leaves you feeling euphoric and energized?

More and more women today are looking for ways to add more balance and meaning to their hectic, demanding lives by engaging in personal interests that send them soaring. Whether it's quilting, gardening, tai chi, hiking, painting or jazz singing, a joy-based activity or hobby can add years to your life. Is finding your J-Spot like discovering the ever-elusive fountain of youth? Yes. Participating in joy-based pastimes has many benefits from improved mental and physical health to enriched friendships and increased levels of happiness and self-esteem. All proven to keep us living longer.

If you are wondering where to start, here are three steps to help you find your J-Spot.

1. Create a Joy List

Write down everything you can think of that brings you joy, from eating a chocolate to running your first 10K. To get started, think of things you used to like doing as a child - you can ask a parent or sibling to help you remember.

2. Clue into Your Interests

Look through magazines and old photos and pay attention to what sparks you. What excites you? These are all clues to what you care about. Perhaps you continually focus on rock climbing...that might be your next passion.

3. Follow Your Gut

Notice what you get emotional about or feel connected to. Even if it seems out of the ordinary for you...it is probably something your intuition is directing you to notice. Ask yourself how you could turn that feeling into something just for you.

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

What's Holding You Back?
By Pam Lawhorne

How many times have you made it up in your mind that it was finally time to pursue your dreams or to accomplish something that you have wanted to do for a very long time only to come up against mounds of discouragement from friends and family? Perhaps you decided to quit your job that paid you a nice salary and provided you with major perks and benefits. You felt in your heart that it was the right thing to do only to have your friends and family tell you "you'd better not!"

Purging negative people in your life is a must if you plan to really live your best life. You have to learn how to listen to your own inner voice, step out on faith and move in the direction that you want to head in. in addition, it's also important that plan in writing. Thoughts in your head are only wishes. Thoughts written down on paper are goals and eventually become reality!

Once you have your goals and dreams in writing, you will need to ask yourself several difficult questions. Why do I feel the need to accomplish these goals? What do I need to do to make them come true? Are my goals reasonable and attainable? Do I have a definite, set time frame in which I want to accomplish them? How will my life be better if I am successful in reaching these goals? Will I have more money? More time? A new car? In the end, will my life be what I want and expect it to be?

You'll find that by writing out and evaluating your goals and dreams that they suddenly seem more tangible. This is the beginning of developing your plan of action. Take each goal individually, along with an estimated time that you believe it will take you to complete it and put it in chronological order. Start by typing up or neatly writing out a checklist. Make sure to put a box next to each items so that once they are complete you can check it off of your list.
Next set up what I call a "dream board". On your dream board put pictures of all of the things that you desire to accomplish or take possession of. Gather up pictures, travel brochures, magazine articles or whatever you can find to symbolize the things you will have accomplished upon completion of your goals. Arrange these items on a large sheet of construction paper or poster board using your plan of action as the center. Hang your dream board above your desk or in any other highly visible place where you will have to see it often. Refer to this board frequently to help keep you on track.

Before you officially start your day, look at your dream board and remind yourself of why you're doing what you do. Close your eyes and picture yourself enjoying the items pictured in your board. You should do this as many times as possible throughout the day but at least once in the morning for fifteen minutes.

You will find that your mind will start to embrace your dreams and move you into action. You will then begin to speak the dream. You will begin to love the dream until ultimately; you will have accomplished all of your dreams!

About the Author
Pam Lawhorne, a small business expert, provides advice, guidance, and encouragement to aspiring CEO's around the nation. She is the Chief Empowerment Officer of Empower U, Incorporated, a training and consulting firm that specializes in interactive workshops, seminars and coaching programs. Pam is the creator of Youth Empowered 2 Succeed and Women In-Powerment Network which are training programs developed to promote entrepreneurship education and empowerment to women and youth. For more information please visit her websites at www.PamLawhorne.com or www.Empower4U.com. She can be reached at 704-569-EMPOWER or by email at Pam.Lawhorne@empower4u.com.

WHAT are you marketing? WHY are you marketing what you're marketing? WHO are you marketing to? HOW are you marketing?

The answers to these four questions lay the foundation for your network marketing business. You need to be clear about the answers yourself, AND you need to be able to convey those answers to your prospects.

Of course, it's obvious to you WHAT you're selling, and you probably have a pretty clear idea of WHY you're selling what you're selling. (Something to do with a beach house in Jamaica, right? Or is it Maui?)

I'll bet you're really good at explaining the WHAT when you're recruiting, too, giving out an abundance of info on your products and services, your company, and your compensation plan.

I'll also bet you know that to be an effective enroller, you need to explore your prospect's WHY, encouraging her to open up and share with you all her frustrations, hopes, and dreams. You want your new recruit to be motivated, after all. And you want to be able to demonstrate how your
opportunity can help solve her frustrations, and turn her hopes and dreams into reality.

This is all good.

But when we come to the WHO and the HOW, many network marketers fall flat on their faces.

Your prospect needs to be able to envision herself doing this business. She wants to know exactly HOW she's going to market your company's products and opportunity and WHO she's going to sell them to.

I'm sure a prospect has asked you this before. "What, exactly, will I be doing?"

What do you tell her?

If you give her the usual lame explanation that she'll be "sharing" with her "warm" market of family and friends and that she needs to make a list of everyone she knows right away, chances are she's going to be skeptical.

Anyone who's done network marketing before or whose brother-in-law or coworker ever hounded her to join a business is already hip to the fact that this approach will take her down the road to humiliation and social isolation. No one wants this.

Plus, there's the dirty little secret that out of all the highly successful people in network marketing, hardly any of them got there by recruiting friends and relatives. I'm not saying it never happens, but in general, you can't rely on the warm market strategy to get you where you want to go.
And recommending it to your prospects just compounds the problem.

So what IS the HOW? And who IS the WHO?

What if you don't really know the answers to these questions yourself?

To shed some light on this, let's take a look at another group of professionals - real marketers. In other words, professional business people who actually make a living
marketing products and services.

You don't see them hitting on their family and friends. Or putting flyers on windshields, or tacking up posters on coffee shop bulletin boards, or dropping their business cards in restrooms, or inviting their neighbors over for product parties.

This is the scatter-shot, if-I-just-shoot-enough-bullets-in-that-general-direction-maybe-I'll-eventually-hit-a-duck approach. You're going to run out of ammo long before you see any results. You do these things if you want a hobby, not a business.

By contrast, professional marketers know exactly WHO makes up their target market - people who already see a need and have a desire for the marketer's products or services. Their HOW uses laser-focused, thoroughly tested strategies to reach that target market.

If you really want to have a business that will allow you to quit your J.O.B, to support you in your retirement, to give you the lifestyle of your dreams… then you need to treat it as a business and start using the marketing strategies that real, successful businesses use.

You need to discover how real marketers reach thousands of prospects and sift and sort and qualify them so they only talk to the best ones?

If you learn to do that, and learn how to teach it to your downline, what will it do for your organization?

I know -- it takes digging, and researching, and lots of reading to learn real, effective marketing techniques. Fortunately, you can find plenty of resources out there to help you. And when you're done with your basic research, you'll want to try things out and experiment to see what works best for your business.

You'll experience a very steep and exhilarating learning curve for a while. But believe me, you'll think it's SO worth it when you've joined the ranks of the really successful network marketers and you're sipping Mai-tai's in Maui.

About The Author
Would you like to get started learning effective 21st Century marketing techniques today? Liz Monte is offering a 7-part mini-course designed to cover all the basics. It's called "Attraction Marketing for Networkers," and you can enroll for free at http://www.wisenetworkmarketer.com.

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