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MLM Woman Issue 49 This free monthly newsletter is made possible by our advertisers and customers. We thank them for their support!
MLM Woman Issue 49
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 the 49th issue of the MLM Woman Newsletter. This month we feature articles to keep you motivated, on-track and focused on your business.
To get you off to a good start here are:
10 Ways To Jumpstart Your Business This Month!
If your business has been a little sluggish lately, here's some ideas to help you get back into action FAST!
1. Talk to at least one new person about your business every day.
2. Set a goal to sponsor at least 2 new distributors into your group this month.
3. Collect quotes that inspire you and refer to them when you are discouraged.
4. Work with the business builders in your downline. Find out what their goals are and help them determine the best way for them to meet those goals.
5. Keep in touch with your downline. Call, write, fax or e-mail them at least once a month!
6. Join a business networking group and get involved.
7. Wear something every day that’s a conversation starter; a unique pin or some crazy earrings. This helps break the ice and gets people to start talking to you.
8. Know what you want from your business and decide what success means to you. Make a commitment to your business and write it down. Set goals that really challenge you. Set daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals. Make a dream collage, a visual wish list. Cut out pictures from old magazines of things you’d like to have, places you’d like to go, and the lifestyle you’d like to have. Paste all the pictures on a poster board and put it where you can look at it every day to remind you what your goals are and why you are in your network marketing business.
9. Always have plenty of tapes, sales literature, samples, etc. with you at all times. You never know where you’ll meet your next best customer!
10. Never, never, never give up.
Linda Locke Editor MLM Woman
4 Ways To Get Your Prospect's Attention Fast Copyright 2001 By Bob Leduc
Can you remember the last dozen advertising messages beamed at you today? Can you remember even one of them? Most people can't.
This illustrates the biggest obstacle you need to overcome to successfully promote YOUR product or service. You must capture your prospect's attention in the first few seconds or your sales message will be ignored. This is especially important on the Internet where a visitor can simply click away from your website -- forever.
Here are 4 proven techniques you can use to quickly capture a prospect's attention. They apply to all media including the Internet.
1. MAKE A DRAMATIC STATEMENT
Did you ever write a headline for an ad, web page or other sales message? You probably used a dramatic statement. It's the most obvious way to get someone's attention. For example:
"Lose 8 Pounds In The Next 2 Weeks Without Dieting" "My Doctor Uses These Nutritional Products" "Double Your Sales And Reduce Your Advertising Expenses"
TIP: Your dramatic statement will be most effective when it describes a major benefit for your prospect.
2. SURPRISE THEM WITH SOMETHING UNEXPECTED
Unexpected surprises always attract attention. It's often negative attention caused by something going wrong. But you can also use an unexpected surprise to attract positive attention. It happened to me last week.
The office supply company I use sent me a letter announcing an automatic $50 deduction off my total bill for this month. I immediately placed an order for items I wasn't planning to buy for another month or two. I even stocked up on several items I normally buy elsewhere. Their unexpected surprise got my attention and generated a large order during a month I hadn't planned to order anything.
3. ASK A PROVOCATIVE QUESTION
I once saw a direct mail letter that began with the question, "If you're such a smart executive why aren't you making a six figure income?" Not many executives could resist reading that letter, especially if they weren't making a six figure income.
Provocative questions startle your prospects and compel them to find out more. Here are 2 more examples of provocative questions:
"Why are you paying so much for your health insurance?" "Do you really expect to get rich working for somebody else?"
4. GET PERSONAL
Personalization also attracts immediate attention. Your personalization can be individualized or group oriented. Use INDIVIDUALIZED PERSONALIZATION when you're communicating directly with one person by email, postal mail, telephone, etc. Use your prospect's name. It's the number one attention grabber. Merge it into the subject line and the opening line of your email message. Do the same in your postal mail. Include other personal information you know about them. But be careful not to overdo it.
You can personalize with a name when you're communicating directly with one prospect. But how can you get personal with a prospect visiting your web site, reading your ad or listening to your radio commercial?
Use GROUP ORIENTED PERSONALIZATION when you're NOT communicating directly with one person. You can get personal by referring to known characteristics of prospects in your targeted market. For example, use phrases like:
"When you started your business..." for business owners. "Your favorite NFL team..." for sports fans. "Every mother knows..." for women with children.
Group Oriented Personalization isn't as effective as using a person's name. But it still attracts attention because your prospect can react with, "that's me".
Take some time today to plan how you can use these four proven techniques to attract more attention to your sales messages. The results will probably surprise you. So will the increase in your sales and profits.
About the Author
Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales Consultant. Bob recently wrote a manual for small business owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more information... Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards". Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time) Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133
Staying the Course By Louise LeBrun
Author's note: Living a balanced life requires that you include, in your day-to-day routine, not only the things you must do but the things in which you find joy and delight. The following piece was written specifically for "Staying the Course" of a dream to create a successful business. Identify your dream and fill in the blanks, following the same principles to help you 'stay the course' of your intentions and take you to where you want to go. And remember - if you don't believe in yourself, why should anyone else?
It's been almost 10 years now, since I first started my own small business. All those romantic notions of independence, freedom and great wealth have been overtaken by long hours, hard work and the uncertainties brought by never knowing what tomorrow will bring. Sometimes, I long for the "good ole' days" and the pay cheque, paid holidays and childcare leave that went with it!
And yet, truth be told, just like you - I wouldn't go back for all the money in the world! To build something from nothing; create and invent on a daily basis; and to contribute how, when and why I see fit are far greater rewards that I could ever have imagined. The key is to keep moving through and past those undeniable, inevitable moments of self-doubt and fear.
Home-based business operators often spend large chunks of time alone. Although telephone contact may be frequent, sometimes two or three days can go by without seeing another life form that has fewer than four legs. The end result is a sense of disconnection from the world. However, this sense of disconnection is minor compared to the sense of disconnection that I sometimes feel from myself: from my hopes and aspirations; from my plans; and from the very dream that started the whole thing, so long ago.
What I've learned over the years is that holding the dream is one thing - continuing to believe in my ability to breathe life into it is quite another. My greatest challenge has been to continue to believe in myself when others didn't; when the evidence in my bank statements, for all intents and purposes, screamed "Give it up!"; and when even my most ardent fans and supporters looked at me with great concern on their faces. Who would hold the dream?
If any of this rings true for you, perhaps the following thoughts will prove to be as meaningful for you as they have been for me. I share them with you with the hope that, in your darkest moments - as they ebb and flow like the tides - you will remember to:
* Breathe! How easy it is to forget to breathe. Notice when you are holding your breath; and when your breathing has moved high in your chest. Whatever you are doing in that moment, STOP! Sit back in a chair; make a conscious decision to drop your shoulders, put your feet flat on the floor; let your arms hang loose by your sides, and take three, long, deep breaths. Focus all your attention on the sound of your own breathing moving in and out of your body. As you hear this sound, know that the Life Force is present, moving and vital; and that as you invite it to move freely through you, you will know exactly what to do.
* Pay attention to the impulses in your body. Notice where your attention is drawn; let your attention go to those places in your body where you are aware of sensations: the knot in your stomach; the tightness in your throat; the knit of your brow. Breathe directly into these places and allow yourself to notice whatever sounds or images come to mind. Use your breath to move into the information, expand that area of the body, and open and release that information into the larger system, meaning the whole body. Your body is the instrument that thinks.
* And finally, allow yourself to know the truth. Even if you never utter a word to another soul, or share this truth with anyone in any way, let yourself - deep inside you - know what is true for you. As you embrace and honor this truth, you will begin to notice that the images and the sounds move and change. As they do, become aware of your desire to contribute; to make a difference; to have meaning in your life; to care. And as that vision that caused you to become who you are today begins to reform, allow all of those other images and sounds to melt into it. Keep your body open and relaxed - and breathe.
What it has taken me many years to come to understand is that the very thoughts I feared were the ones that held the greatest value. When I allowed myself to hold those thoughts, and let them move through my body, they became the markers on the road into the future. I leave you with the following thought, to guide you along your path.
"Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads". (Erica Jong)
Louise Lebrun, Partners in Renewal Inc. http://www.partnersinrenewal.com, provides education and public speaking services on professional development, organizational change and personal growth; as well as Certification training in NLP and Quantum TLC™. Author of the book "Fully Alive From 9 to 5!"
The One Percent Solution By Philip E. Humbert, PhD
Many years ago, someone told me that the key to success is not doing something big or spectacular, but doing the little things extraordinarily well.
When we think of Olympic athletes, it's tempting to pretend that they are somehow "different". We tell ourselves they were born with incredible strength or unusual talent, or had training that we could never get for ourselves. We look at Michael Jordon in sports, or we compare ourselves to Barbra Streisand as an entertainer, and say, "I could never do that."
While there is truth in acknowledging their incredible talent, there is also a lie in pretending that because we don't have their genetic gifts, we are somehow excused from the necessity of doing our best. That is simply not true!
The vast majority of highly successful people, in any area of life, are simply those who worked a bit harder, stayed a bit longer, and did a bit more.
The highest paid people in any industry earn many times more than the average income. Is that because they are 100 times smarter? Are they 50 times more ambitious? Do they work 20 times harder or do they have more hours in a day? Of course not!
The highest paid, most successful people do the little things extremely well. They remember the details, acknowledge their friends, and they keep their promises. They return phone calls on time. They remember to say "Please" and "Thank You!", and they smile. They get to work just a bit earlier, make one or two more calls or stay just a bit later at the end of the day. The simple truth is this: They go the extra mile, and it makes a difference.
They take care of the "little things", and the difference is reflected in their paychecks! What opportunities do you have to improve your performance by just 1 percent this week? It's call the "1 Percent Solution", and over time, it makes all the difference!
Copyright © 2000 by Philip E. Humbert, PhD. Email: Coach@philiphumbert.com Visit Dr Humbert's website for over 250 pages of articles, Top 10 lists, humor, quotes, tips and tools for your success! There's a free book on making (and keeping!) more money, a FREE motivational newsletter, and "FREE SPEECH" - a resource you'll want to know about! Check it out at: http://www.philiphumbert.com
Direct Sales Tips By Regina Baker
As a Direct salesperson, you serve a vital function in our society. You create a market for products. To be a good salesperson you must take pride in your profession, be it part-time or full-time. Below are eight sales tips to help you along in selling your products.
1. You must honestly believe and feel that what you are selling is a worthwhile and has value in order to be a success in selling. When you have the conviction that you are selling a worthwhile product, you will sell with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is contagious. When the prospect becomes enthusiastic, he buys.
2. Don't be impatient. Too many inexperienced salespeople call on one or two prospects and quit if they don't get immediate results. It takes time for people to gain confidence in you and your products. Many people will buy at once, but a big proportion will wait to think things over. Most of your business will eventually be repeat orders from customers. Almost all business depends on repeats.
A retail establishment will lose money for quite a period until they build up a flow of repeat customers. Any worthwhile endeavor requires effort. The amount of money you will make will be directly proportional to the effort you put forth. Some people believe there is an innate trait that makes some people good at sales and others failures. Several marketing authors have dispelled this fallacy. You can and will make money selling your products if you put forth an effort.
3. Be yourself. Many people visualize a successful salesperson as a hail and hearty person with an outgoing personality. If they are not the image of what they expect is a success, they try to imitate. I recently read..., "One of our most successful salespeople is a man who "never sold a thing in his life" before he joined us. He turned to selling in desperation, when he lost his job and needed an income to support his family. He didn't like to dress in a jacket or tie so he called on his prospects in his everyday "house" clothes. He was terrified at selling and the first two calls took more courage than he thought he had. He sold both prospects! When you are not yourself, you'll appear phony." Just act your natural self, and you will do well.
4. Don't try to sell by force. If you do pressure a person into buying something they don't want, you haven't developed a customer.
5. Don't plead. "Please try my product because I need the money badly." Maybe you'll get a sympathy sale, but again, you haven't developed a customer.
6. Emphasize value, need and satisfaction, and your prospect will buy if you can explain to them that your product is a good value, it serves a need, and that he or she will derive pleasure or satisfaction from the sale. Of course, you must know your product before you can convince others that it is worthwhile buying.
7. Ask for the sale. Closing the sale is the critical part of any sales approach. You must not be afraid to ask for the order. The close naturally depends upon the proper overall presentation. If you have shown the prospect that your product has value, need, or potential enjoyment, you're ready to ask for an order. Test closes are made by asking, "Which do you prefer the peach or the aqua color? I can deliver your order overnight, or would Saturday be preferable?
8. Set goals for yourself. When you're in sales you must be self-motivated. You won't have any boss or foreman telling you what to do and when. It becomes too easy to find excuses for not making calls unless you establish goals for yourself. Keep accurate records of all sales by the week and by the month.
Copyright 2000, do not reproduce or copy without written consent of Christian-Ads.net
Regina Baker, Founder of Christian-Ads.net, Marketing Solutions for the Christian Community. Visit her web site, http://www.christian-ads.net or contact Regina via e-mail, webmaster@christian-ads.net
Don't Procrastinate Your Way To Success Copyright 2000 By Ron Knowlton
When you find a good idea, do you take it and immediately get to work and "do" it?
Or do you spend hours, days, weeks, etc. talking about it before anything ever seems to happen?
Perhaps you are procrastinating your way to success. I know, most people need to study something out, ponder it, then decide before ever taking any action on it.
Of course you have to make sure it's right for you. So you ask yourself: "Is this move going to ultimately help me, or hurt me?" Find the answer to that. Then you can move on.
But don't take forever to make up your mind. It's better to make a few mistakes, get up, dust yourself off and go on. We often learn the quickest from our mistakes. And sometimes our greatest growth comes from making monumental mistakes.
It's better not to make the mistake if you can avoid it. But procrastinating and doing nothing gets you nowhere fast. So get as much information as you can. Find out what others (who you respect) are saying. Then make up your mind as quickly as you safely can. And then go on! Simple advice, I know. But it works!
Ron Knowlton is a former journalist and the founding editor at http://www.soaringprofits.com. Helping You Succeed On The Internet! Subscribe to the Soaring Profits Success Ezine! A free weekly Internet marketing course by email! subscribe@soaringprofits.com
And Never the Twain Should Meet By Elena Fawkner
For many people, working from home sounds like an ideal arrangement. You don't have to waste time commuting to and from the office, you can be there for your children when they come home from school, you don't have to answer to anyone but yourself and you can work the hours that suit you ... not your boss. All very well in theory.
On the other side of the coin, though, are the challenges of working from home. "Working your own hours" all too easily can become "working all hours" if you don't set a workday schedule, while rowdy children can become an almighty challenge when you need to present a professional image to the prospective client you're speaking with on the telephone.
The fundamental key to a successful transition to a home-based business is to keep your business and personal lives as separate as possible. Decide up front how many (and which) hours of the day you are going to allocate to your business and stick to this schedule. What you don't get done during today's business hours can and should wait until tomorrow. Don't succumb to the temptation of allowing your business to encroach on your personal and family time.
One trick to keep your business and personal lives separate is to have separate areas of the house for each. If at all possible, allocate a room of your house or apartment exclusively as your business office. Make sure that all members of your family understand that when you are in that room, you are working and are not available except in an emergency. Likewise, don't use that room for any non-work activity such as a TV room.
By strictly separating areas in this way, you will reinforce in your mind (and the minds of other family members) that your office is a place of business and is to be treated as such. Just as your family will learn to respect these boundaries, it will also help you to "switch off" at the end of your work day if you can literally shut the door of your office and return "home" to your family.
One temptation that, if indulged, will blur the line between your business and personal lives, is attending to non-business tasks during the hours you have allocated to business. Avoid leaving your office to run a load of laundry, unload the dishwasher, clean the bathroom or organize the kitchen cabinets ... any of the myriad of things that can assume an almost overwhelming urgency in the face of that business task you are putting off starting. These sorts of distractions will only serve to keep you in your office much longer than necessary.
Another important tip for keeping your two worlds separate is to have separate business telephone, modem and fax lines. Do NOT allow your children to answer your business phone. Arrange for an answering service to take your business calls during your non-business hours. Similarly, when you are working, try to ensure your children are otherwise occupied when you make business calls. The last thing you need when trying to convince that prospective new client that you should win his account is a screaming five year old right next to you.
If you have very young children, hire a sitter for the times of the day or week when you know you will be conducting business on the telephone. If you have older children, deputize one or more of them to occupy younger siblings. You might want to pay your 'deputy' for this service as a way for him or her to earn some income or pocket money. The money you spend on sitting services will be more than outweighed by the professional image you will be able to project to prospective and existing clients and customers. As important as it is to choose for your business something you love to do, don't allow your business to take you away from your family. After all, your family was likely one of the primary reasons you decided to work from home in the first place.
It is one thing to be present physically. It is quite another to be present mentally and emotionally. The more rounded you are as a person, the more you bring to the table ... both personally and professionally. The enjoyable activities you engage in in your non-business hours can energize your business life. So, instead of thinking about the work you could be doing on Sunday when you're at the beach with your spouse, think of the fun you have on that day as an investment in your business for the coming week.
Give 100% of yourself to work during the time allocated to work. Then shut the door on it. Your family deserves 100% too.
Elena Fawkner is editor of the award-winning weekly ezine, A Home-Based Business Online, a down-to-earth publication containing practical home-based and online business ideas, telecommuting job listings, original articles, free e-books and much more. She also runs the A Home-Based Business Online website at at http://www.fawkner.com. You can subscribe to her newsletter at the site.
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Copyright 2001, Regent Press
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