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MLM Woman Online This free monthly newsletter is made possible by our advertisers and customers. We thank them for their support! From the Desk of the Editor Welcome to this month's issue of MLM Woman Newsletter hot off our virtual press. This month we offer articles to help you with sales fears, tips on how to successfully work at home with small children, how overcome the "get-rich-quick" mentality that affects many people in MLM, creative techniques for overcoming procrastination, and how to be a "rainmaker" for your business. Enjoy! Linda Locke, Editor MLM Woman "You CAN Sell!" By Julie Frost Copyright 1999 Have you ever said to yourself "I'd like to start a home based business, but I can't sell!" If so, maybe I can help. You see, I didn't think I could "sell" anything, either. But now I own a successful business where I sell quality products that I use and love. But for two years before that I owned a service business. I started that business, in part, because I didn't think I had to sell my services - Boy, was I wrong! Many times, people - like me - start a business where they offer services instead of products because they don't think they have to "sell" them. But this is very far from the truth. Even when you provide services, people will raise "objections". For instance "Why do you charge that much? The guy down the street charges half that!" or "How is your service better then any other in town?" When you answer these objections, you are "selling" yourself, and your business! Sure, you may be thinking, I can sell myself, but not products! If you believe in yourself enough to sell you to someone, isn't it possible that you could believe in a product that much, too? Sure you could! You just need to be careful in your selection of what you're going to offer for sale. Make sure it's a quality product that you can feel confident about representing. Something that works for YOU. And think about this... What was the last really phenomenal book you read, movie you saw, or restaurant you ate in? Did you recommend them to your friends and family? If you're like most people, you DID. And you know what? You were "selling" them on that book, movie, or restaurant! Think about the words you used to describe them... "It was a real page-turner, I couldn't put it down!" "It was so funny I nearly spilled my soda laughing!" "The desserts were divine!" You were "selling" them on it! And I'll bet your recommendations have worked. Am I right? Maybe not all the time, but the same goes for "selling" in a business situation... Sometimes people will buy, and sometimes they won't. But your honest enthusiasm in your recommendation - or sales pitch - will always show through! You see, you're most likely under the impression that selling involves high pressure tactics or sleazy maneuvers in order to make someone buy something they really don't want or need. Let me tell you one of the rules of selling: You can never MAKE someone buy something! You may convince them that it is worth more then they originally thought it was. Or help them realize that they should, indeed, own it. But you can't MAKE them buy it. Unless you use threats and/or bodily harm, which, I must add, aren't good for repeat sales - talk about your "High Pressure!" ;-) And really, are you a high pressure person? No? I didn't think so! So what makes you think that if you sell a product to someone, you'll automatically become so? You won't. You'll be the same person you always were. Another rule of selling is: You can't say the wrong thing to the right person and you can't say the right thing to the wrong person. (My mentor and coach taught me that one!) What a relief that can be! To know that if you have the right person in front of you - You Can't Mess It Up! Wow! And if you have the "wrong" person in front of you? No biggie, just move on. One of my favorite sayings is "Some will, some won't, so what, NEXT!" I only wish I knew who said it first. Selling CAN and SHOULD be fun! If it's not, maybe you just need some support and training. And let me tell you, besides believing in the products, being educated about them boosts your confidence in your selling abilities tremendously. So if your belief that "you can't sell" is standing in your way of success, don't you think you should give it a shove and try something new? I do! About the Author . . . Julie Frost owns YourHomeBiz.com. She is also an independent rep for I.D.E.A. Concepts, Inc., a company she found after months of searching for the perfect home business. http://www.ideaconcepts.net/HealthyMom Find out more about her search, and how you she can be your Home Business Success Coach with I.D.E.A. by sending an e-mail homebizidea@getresponse.com and put REF632 in the subject. Advice from A-Z Help! My two-year-old is destroying my home office By Azriela Jaffe, copyright 1999 Oh boy, could I relate to a woman who asks for help about a common work-at-home quandary - how to protect your office from the destructive curiosity of a toddler. With three toddlers at the moment, I can't even begin to tell you how many books have been whisked off my office bookshelves in under a minute, water spills that have turned my neat piles of paperwork on my office floor into a sopping mess, and then of course, the crayon scribbles all over the letter about to go out the door to a client. Ah, you say, why don't you just make your office off-limits to a rambunctious toddler? Mine is. . . mostly. It's not a place for the kids to play regularly, and certainly, they are not allowed to enter unsupervised. But here's a familiar scene: I'm at my computer working while Daddy is watching the kids downstairs. A little one decides that she absolutely must see Mommy this moment, and comes bouncing up the stairs, barging into my office just to say, "Hi!," or, "Can I have a snack?" or, "Mommy, when are you going to be done? We're bored." I don't want to be too rejecting, or be the kind of mother who shoves her kids aside for her work, so I pick up the baby on my lap, thinking that I'll try to work for a few moments with her in my office. Yeah right, that works for about a minute, until she delights in hitting my computer keyboard and making my file go away, or scrambles off my lap to go "exploring" in my office. Then, I try to watch her out of the corner of my eye while I'm writing, and it's often too late. In less than two minutes, a toddler's creative urges have wrecked havoc. To my toddlers, my office is just another playroom. I can close the door behind me when I leave, but if they enter the office while I'm working, controlling their exploration isn't so simple. I am learning that when a toddler needs or wants attention, it's usually wise to leave my work for a few moments to give them what they need or to return them to their babysitter, rather than deluding myself into thinking that I can focus on my work with a tornado in my office. The following request for help is from a mother who shares my dilemma: "I have had two very easy-going children who are now 12 and 8 years. old. Now I have this large, active two-year-old boy who doesn't seem to fit any of my previous experiences with children. He is loud, funny, doesn't listen or respond to any discipline, has a mind of his own, and he's hard to deal with! He won't take a nap, likes to mess up the entire house, laughs when we get mad at him, and he makes us laugh when we are trying to discipline (and we are fairly big disciplinarians)! "I'm particularly having a hard time working or keeping the house clean when he is around. He has found a way to get from his playroom over a fence I have put between the playroom into my computer/sewing room. Not only does he disturb my working, but I am concerned that when I am not in the room, he might hurt himself with scissors, sewing needles, etc. Do you have any advice?" I do have some advice, but realize that no matter what you try, you aren't going to entirely eliminate this problem until your "wild boy" grows up and becomes old enough to reason with, or you relocate your business outside of the office. Don't get suckered into thinking that if you just find the one perfect thing to say or do, you'll magically be able to make this problem go away. Here are some ideas to consider: 1) The "fence" you have erected to corral your son isn't working, so stop relying on it as if it should. You need to find a more child-proof means to separate the playroom from your work area. 2) Look at your son's patterns - is he more destructive and "curious" at certain times of the day? Try to schedule your work around his emotional and physical cycles, rather than around your own, until he becomes easier to manage. 3) It sounds like you need some in-home babysitting for this child if you want to work uninterrupted for awhile - especially if he doesn't nap. It would be good for him too, as he appears to be the kind of child who will thrive with individualized, focused attention, something you can't always give him if you have an at-home business. 4) If you don't have a door on this work-area, you might need to get one, or switch your office with another room in the house with a door. Then, put a lock on your office door and make the office off-limits to your toddler when you aren't in it. At least lock up the dangerous tools. You need to keep your son safe from your office. You have been setting up your home-office as it worked for your other children, and this child is catching you by surprise because the systems that worked before don't work now. Start from scratch and design a system that will work for your son. And lastly, don't lose your sense of humor and your gratitude for this wild, impossible boy who will likely give you the biggest challenges, and also, the greatest joys of your life. God willing, he will grow up to be a brash, wealthy entrepreneur, and he'll take care of you in your old age when your fingers aren't nimble enough to work that sewing machine anymore! About The Author . . . Azriela Jaffe is a syndicated columnist and author of the New book "Starting from No: Ten Strategies to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection and Succeed in Business" and several other self-help books. She welcomes reader response and questions to PO Box 209, Bausman, PA 17504 or az@azriela.com. For free online newsletters for entrepreneurs, visit her Anchored Dreams website at: http://www.isquare.com/crlink.htm MLM Is Not a Magic Show By Janet Wilson (c) 1999 As a kid, I was fascinated by magic. Even Grandpa pulling quarters out from behind my ear invoked wide-eyed wonder. Try as I might, I was never able to recreate that trick. . . no matter how many times I reached behind my ear, no quarters magically appeared. As I grew older and learned the secrets behind the magic, I of course realized that something can't come from nothing. I found out that you have to bring something to the table in order to get something back. Throughout my years in network marketing, I saw that same principle applied to my business. In other words, nothing was going to come out of my business if I didn't put anything into it. Every ounce of effort, no matter how small, had an effect on my success. But, if I sat back and waited for success to magically appear, well, it just never happened. Now, as the owner of a very successful network marketing company, I see scores of novice networkers who still, for some reason, believe that something can come from nothing. This is one of the tragedies of this great industry--one of the misconceptions that has kept our reputation shrouded in negativity. Where did that belief come from--the one that says, "All I have to do is pay my money then sit back and wait to get rich"? Do the people who believe this fallacy arrive at their 9 to 5 jobs each day thinking that all they have to do is show up and the job will get done and they will get paid? I don't think so. Effort is required; tasks need to be performed. Working to fulfill the job requirements for which they will be paid is why they were hired and why they are paid, right? Why, then, do so many people enter into an MLM opportunity with a completely opposite theory? Network Marketing is a job--it's not the lottery, as many people unfortunately believe. This great industry is a means to an end. Yes, that end can be so much more rewarding than a typical 9 to 5 job, and can even come more quickly than most other jobs, but not without effort. If you're expecting others to do the work for you, then maybe you should fire yourself or take a leave of absence. Like any other industry, you have to EARN your paycheck in network marketing. Choosing to enter MLM is just like a career change. It is simply applying specific skills and knowledge to gain success in a different field. The only "freebie" part of network marketing is that once you have applied these skills and helped others to start their own path to success with you, then you can reap the benefits of their work. Depending on the compensation plan, you might even have tens of thousands of people whose efforts increase your paycheck! But even at that point, with several thousand downline, does that mean you no longer have to work? Look at it this way, if you're earning $100,000 per year in a J.O.B., does that mean that you're home free and don't ever have to lift a finger again? Of course not! Unless you want to lose your job or be handed a pay cut, that is. In MLM, the minute you stop supporting and working for your downline, you are risking a cut in pay. One of the most common complaints I hear from my members is "it didn't work for me." My reply is, "What is 'it' and why should 'it' work for you? Did you work for 'it'?" Another comment we hear often is, "I'll just wait and see what happens." Does that mean you are under the impression that MLM is a waiting game? I believe it's time for a wake-up call in this business, so here it is: MLM is not a waiting game, nor is it the lottery or a free ride. It's a career that takes time, effort, some level of monetary investment, and actual WORK! People who believe otherwise are the ones who continue to keep network marketing labeled as immoral, illegal, and scandalous, when in fact the opposite is true. My advice for everyone in this industry, and for those who will join in the future, is to take pride in your choice to improve your quality of life. Don't belittle yourself by treating your future like a game or a magic show. Don't insult this industry by thinking of it as anything less than a respectable, fulfilling career. If you want the rewards that come with a successful network marketing business, ask yourself what you are willing to bring to the table in order to find success. Are you willing to learn? Are you willing to put effort into following in the footsteps of those who are already doing what it takes to reach the pinnacle of success? Let's say that someone with really deep pockets came to you and said, "If you will work five to ten hours every week, whenever you can fit those hours in, then after you have shown your commitment for one year I will start paying you $1,000 a week, with substantial bonuses and raises every month." Would you do it? Do you have what it takes to keep your eye on the prize? I challenge you to take a good, hard look at what you want from your networking career and decide what you are willing to do to get there. Do you really want to retire from your J.O.B., buy your dream house, travel the world, and work from home? If what you are willing to do is filled with excuses of why you can't/don't have time/etc., then either you don't want it badly enough or MLM isn't where you need to be right now. But, if the light comes on, if excitement is spurred by knowing what's at the other end of your efforts, then jump in right now with BOTH feet! Take an active role in your future! You have the potential to become a phenomenal success in network marketing. Yes, YOU! Whether you are young, old, male, or female--no matter what race or religion-- YOU can achieve your dreams in this business. But you will ONLY ever get out of it what you put into it. No smoke and mirrors, no pulling rabbits out of hats or quarters from behind ears--only effort and determination will pave your path to success. Make your decision and act on it now! On behalf of successful network marketers around the world, I welcome you to a most honorable and rewarding career. About the Author . . . Janet Wilson is the President of Life, Education And Prosperity, Inc., a company focused on enriching the lives of networkers worldwide through personal and professional development. LEAP specializes in training new and traditional networkers, as well as entire MLM companies, to become successful via Internet marketing. For more information on this generic training, please email janet@leapnews.com or visit http://www.leapnews.com. How to Market Your 'To Do' List to Yourself By Dr. Kevin Polk Copyright (1999) All Rights Reserved If you are like a lot of people, you have some things to do that you have been putting off doing. Maybe you have scheduled time to do them repeatedly with no luck. Maybe you have gotten started a few times, only to suddenly find something else to do. In other words, you are avoiding spending time. You may be beating yourself up over not getting it done, but it's still not done. You may be offering yourself a reward at the end of getting it done, but it is still not done. Beating yourself up does no good because you don't like getting beat up. The reward does not work because it's just not enough to convince you to spend the time. It seems that you need to market the task to yourself. Using marketing to help sell yourself to do things you otherwise avoid doing makes perfect sense. Doing things requires time, and time is like money. We use the same words for time as money (spend, save, invest, etc.). So in essence when you are trying to convince yourself to do something, you are trying to sell yourself on the idea of spending the time to do it. But a lot of the time you're not buying. You need to put on your marketer's hat, do a good pitch, and get yourself to shell out the time. While I am certainly not a professional marketer, I have heard lots about selling benefits over features. That is, don't sell on the number of cup holders in the minivan; sell how great it feels to have a place to put your drink. So it would seem when you are trying to convince yourself to do something and you are not convinced, you are probably trying to sell yourself features. When you're putting off doing laundry maybe your selling yourself the fact they will smell nice, forgetting the benefit of keeping your friends. The point is that you need to focus on the benefits of getting things done. Write these benefits down next to the things on your "to do" list. Practice thinking about the benefits before you can think of why not to do something. Benefits trigger positive emotions that can make you spend your time. That is, people (including you) buy because of the positive emotions connected to the benefits. You will spend time (and money) based on positive emotions. So when you write down benefits for your "To Do" list, come up with ones that trigger passion. Not necessarily sexual passion, though we all know it sells, but passion toward anything. Put these benefits where you will see them and connect them to your things to do. You could go so far as to insert your own homemade ads in magazines, or videotape your own TV commercials. You get the idea, use the marketing you know and apply it to your "To Do" list. With some trial and error you will be able sell yourself on spending time in the right places. If you can do that, you can surely sell others on spending their money. About the Author . . . Dr. Kevin Polk: Time/Life Management Coach, Speaker, and Writer. Are you a busy woman feeling like a high tension wire? Rather have more time for romance and fun? Stop by http://www.timedoctor.com for a Free newsletter, A FREE Sample, and a weekly drawing to WIN a Free time management booklet for busy women. The Rainmaker By Gary Lockwood  Copyright 1999 Remember when scientists used to seed the clouds to try to make it rain? They would fly over rain clouds and dump salt pellets to try to force the rain from the clouds. I guess they figured that they could just help Nature along a bit. In my years of helping business owners and professionals discover ways to grow their business, I've seen many who sat around waiting for rain. They would wait by the phone, hoping a prospective client would call or come to the business. Their attitude seemed to be a combination of passive hope and resignation. They hope someone will do business with them. They hope that others will initiate contact with them. They seem resigned to whatever business floated their way. Others, including some of the most successful, took positive action "to make it rain". These are the ones who made calls, ran ads, got out of the office to make their own contacts. Through their activity, these business professionals created opportunities for new business. A few years ago, my own business went through a slow period. As the business slowed down, revenues decreased and demands on my time decreased, too. For awhile, I enjoyed the slower pace. Then I figured out that we were on a path to financial disaster. I realized that something had to change drastically. Verna, my wife and business partner, finally said, "Get on the phone and stir up the cosmic dust"! So, I took her advice and started making calls. I called everyone I knew. I called past clients, old prospects, people from my old phone lists. I even called people I knew in a previous company. Also, I got out of the office and attended business mixers, seminars and other events where business professionals (my target market) tended to show up. Sure enough, after I started all the activity, we began to notice that the phone was ringing constantly. We were getting calls from prospective clients wanting to know more about our services. Even more interesting, many of the incoming calls were from people we did not contact. It seemed like the very act of outbound activity was causing inbound business. Time and again over the years, I've seen this phenomenon. Positive action, directed outward seems to stir up the cosmic dust. It doesn't work if the actions are directed inward. No matter how many times you count the inventory, rearrange the furniture or have internal meetings, these inward-focused actions won't cause clients to show up or prospects to call you. So what does this mean for you? Consider a couple of things. First, brainstorm the types of outward-focused activities that are appropriate for your business. Would it be appropriate to make calls (to whom?), go visit (where?), run ads (what type, when?). Would it be reasonable to attend mixers, seminars, do some direct mailings, conduct a telephone survey, or canvass the neighborhood? Next, pull out your calendar and start blocking off some time for these tasks. Generally, this type of business-building activity is best done in blocks of time, so pencil in blocks of one to three hours for this. Clearly, most of these actions require preparation. To make sure you don't make a career of just the preparation, schedule the set-up tasks on your to-do list for specific days. That way, you're more likely to get them done. Finally, just do it. You know in your heart that you enjoy the results of this business-building action, especially when the revenue starts to come in. The benefits to you and your enterprise are legion. More clients, more revenue, better client relationships and happier employees are just a few of the advantages you'll realize when you take action to make it rain. So, what are you waiting for? "Stir up the cosmic dust"! About the Author... Gary Lockwood is Your Business Coach. Get the Unique, Do-It-Yourself Business Consulting Kits - FREE. To get yours, go to http://www.BizSuccess.com/freekits.htm Free business newsletter - mailto:subscribe@BizSuccess.com Email: :Gary@BizSuccess.com Web: http://www.BizSuccess.com Office: (800) 272-1575 (USA) Fax: (760) 325-9608 Go back to the top of the page Back to the MLMWoman Newsletter Index We want your feedback! Send e-mail comments to Linda at: regent@west.net Copyright 1999, Regent Press http://www.mlmwoman.com