Linda Locke, Editor MLM Woman
Becoming
A Talent Scout
vs A Recruiter
Copyright © 2002 by Sue Seward. All Rights Reserved.
After being in this industry for over 12 years I've
learned a lot about people and about myself.
One of the most important things that has happened for
me is self development. Folks this IS the ONE thing that HAS to happen
before you will become successful in anything you attempt to do.
You must first build yourself and your own talents!
When this happens you all of a sudden develop posture.
What is posture?
It's when you have so much confidence in yourself and
what you're doing that you begin to look for talented people to join
with you in your business and you're not afraid to talk to the most
successful and talented people you run into.
You become a talent scout vs a recruiter. When I first
started out in this business I was a recruiter. Everyone I saw or
ran into was a prospect. No matter who they were or what sort of attitude
they had I was determined to RECRUIT every single person that I saw
or talked to.
Well folks this was a disaster but it was a very good
learning experience for me. That was over 12 years ago. I've certainly
come a long way since!
Over the last five years I've learned a great deal about
business and about how to do this business and what it takes to really
become successful and it's not just about who's the best recruiter
believe me!
Even those that are recruiting machines may be successful
for a little while up front and then it fizzles out.
Why?
Well, because they just recruit anyone they ran into.
They talk and persuade people into joining with them.....even when
these people don't really want to. In other words they say yes when
they really mean no.
The recruiter is just a shark and people are afraid
to say no to them. Most times people say yes just to get the recruiter
off their back! So what happens? The majority of people usually end
up quitting because they didn't have what it takes to succeed in this
business in the first place. Most times the recruiter doesn't stick
around long enough to train them or show them how to do the business.
He or she is to busy recruiting their next victim.
The recruiter usually doesn't take the time to actually
get to know a person or even ask them what they are interested in
or what their goals are or what sort of talents they even have. All
they want is the sign up. The thrill of the sign up is a rush for
them.
Most recruiters are usually not very good trainers or
leaders.....they just don't have time to train because they're so
busy recruiting.
Folks if you really want to become very successful in
this business you've got to develop the habit of becoming a TALENT
SCOUT!
OK this does take time. You must first develop yourself
as a leader. Hang out with talented leaders, listen to them, learn
from them, read books, listen to tapes, get on conference calls...all
of this is very important.
Getting wealthy in this industry very quickly is a myth.
It just doesn't happen that often folks.
You've got to pay your dues! All the sacrifice, the
time, the hard work it's taken to develop myself into a leader and
a talent scout has been well worth it because people are coming to
me now. Some very talented people are contacting me and I'm constantly
keeping my eyes and ears open for talented women and men that I would
like to work with.
I've gotten to the point now where I can be very selective
in who I choose to work with and folks that's sweet!
I've developed into a top talent scout.... looking for
the most talented people I can.
What is talent anyway? Does that mean they have a Ph.D.
or are very successful already? Well, some of them are.......
But for the most part what I look for are people that
are highly motivated, folks with a winning attitude....I look for
ordinary people that can do ordinary things extraordinarily well!
And it's about not being fearful of speaking with extremely
successful people about what you're doing. Remember you're a talent
scout not a recruiter. When you have this attitude these type people
will know it and they will gladly speak with you because they realize
that you are not out to recruit them.
Will they join you? Maybe, maybe not.
But I think you get the point right? When you get to
this place you will be absolutely amazed at the people that start
to contact you and the success you will have when you start to seek
out the right people.
Try being a talent scout not a recruiter and just watch
what happens!
About the Author
Ms. Seward is an Internet Business Consultant, entrepreneur,
wife and mom, and has been earning an income for five years from home.
She is also a published writer and speaker. She is a member of PANM
"Professional Association of Network Marketers" and also
a member of the Brazosport Area Chamber of Commerce. She resides in
Lake Jackson, Texas with her husband and two sons. To find out more
about how to earn an income on the Internet: Contact Sue at: eCommerceHomeBiz.com
or email her at: SSeward930@aol.com
She also publishes a weekly Network Marketing newsletter email to:
suespowerteam@lb.bcentral.com
5 Bargain
Shopping Tips:
Look Like A Million on A
Minimum Wage
By Shirley Pierce and Janet Behmer
What kind of woman is a candidate for bargain shopping? Working
moms, stay-at-home moms, single women, business women, college students
and senior citizens. In other words, any woman with a reflection
and a pulse.
And because we help women of all shapes, sizes and economic backgrounds,
we know that new clothing is a luxury many can't afford. But, economics
aside, every woman, no matter how little she has, wants to buy herself
something new. So, read on and learn how to enjoy the splurge with
none of the guilt.
Here are the five ways to look like a million on a minimum wage.
1.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Let us marvel you with our psychic powers. How much prep time do
you put in before you go shopping? We know what your answer is going
to be. Zip. Right? You just get that primal urge or that extra space
on your credit card and off you go. All we ask is that you take
two seconds to take a deep breath what you need, how much money
you have, what's in, what's out.
Your first step is to go shopping in your own closet so you can
make a mental or written note of what you want to add to it. See
what needs to be replaced or if there are any basics you're still
missing like tops to go under blazers or shoes that go with everything.
You know the drill. Then try to think of a few classic pieces that
might help to stretch what you already have like a white shirt with
a French cuff or a little black dress.
2.
KNOW WHAT TO BUY
What should a shopper look for when buying a "bargain"?
Check the merchandise carefully. Is it well constructed? Are the
seams stitched properly? Are there loose threads? If there is a
pattern, does it match at the seams? If a store is selling seconds
that are slightly flawed or irregular, there should be a sign or
a tag from the manufacturer telling you so.
If merchandise is marked down, make sure you know why. Check for
rips, tears, dirt or make-up smears. If you find a problem that's
easily cleaned or repaired, check with the sales people to see if
you can have the item at an even bigger discount.
3. TIMING IS EVERYTHING
The best time to find bargains? Discount stores offer bargains all
year round. But you can catch great buys at your favorite retail
watering hole faster than you can say ... holiday. And there's a
slew of them. If you can time your urges, try to make them coincide
with the following dates.
HOLIDAY SALES -- President's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday,
St. Patrick's Day, Easter/Spring Week, Memorial Day, Fourth of July,
Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, The Day After Thanksgiving
(A big one!), After Christmas and After New Year's.
And there's more! In addition to the racks that every store keeps
permanently stocked with sale items, each individual store or chain
has developed their own schedule of advertised sales.
STORE SALES - Liquidation Sales, Fire Sales, Manager's Sales, Summer's
End Sales, Winter's End Sales, Anniversary Sale, Inventory Sale
and Closing Sales. (Some stores use the "Going Out of Business"
banner to get you in for jacked-up prices. Some have been going
out of business for years.)
Then every few weeks some stores will have a "take an extra
25% off" sale just for the heck of it. So, if you've seen a
"must have" item but it falls into the "can't afford"
column, just keep your calendar and local paper handy. Don't just
check the advertising pages. Flip quickly to the business section.
If the economy is down, stores will be using the "sales"
bait to get you in.
4.
WHERE TO GO
If you want movie stars, try Betty Ford. If you want bargains, hit
outlet and off-price stores. And don't think they just get the items
that didn't make it in the big time. They also get items that are
overstocked, discontinued or that stores just had to get rid of
to make room. It's like buying retail but without the cost. Try
the following --
Department Store Outlets - 9.9% of your major department stores
have one. Just check with your favorite and ask where they've stashed
theirs.
Factory Outlets - Check your Yellow Pages for the one nearest you.
Beware: quality can vary widely. Some items are not the expensive
designer pieces you expect from the manufacturer.
Off-price Stores - TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, Dress for Less and
the mother ship, Loehman's, to name a few.
Discount Catalogs - There are catalogs that specialize in discount
items like Chadwick's and Bedford Fair. Some established manufacturers
like Clifford and Wills puts out several sales catalogs each season.
The Internet - We offer discounted fashions on our site but you
can also recommend searching out the "clearance" pages
on the websites of your favorite retail outlet or manufacturer.
Discount Chain Stores - Target, K-Mart etc. They're stocking great
basics these days - like cotton shirts and anything made of denim.
Television Home Shopping - This is a way to shop for basics in your
bunny slippers. Often, during late night, they will have fashion
close-outs for even better savings.
Resale Boutiques - The very rich clean out their closets and bring
their clothes here. They're a great place to buy honest-to-God real
designer labels without the sticker shock. Check your local Yellow
Pages.
Thrift Stores - Check out a thrift store swarming with the very
young and hip . Find out the day the "buyer" is in or
when the store gets its deliveries. That way you get first shot
at whatever comes in.
And don't forget the obvious haunts that you just may have overlooked.
Garage sales are good bets but go early on Saturday. And if you
need the right blazer for a job interview or a dress for a one-time
only social occasion, there's always the closet of someone you love.
And see if there's something they want to get rid of. One woman's
fashion mistake is another woman's "find".
5. BE IN CHARGE
The question you must ask yourself before putting down your hard
earned plastic for a bargain is, "Why am I buying this?"
If it doesn't go with two things in your closet, put it back! It
is a waste of money. Either you will never wear it or you will have
to buy more things to go with it.
When it comes to bargain shopping there are two categories: Impulse
and Laser Guided. Don't buy anything you don't love or need. Don't
let a sales person, friend or well-meaning stranger talk you into
buying anything that you're not comfortable with. They don't have
to wear it in public, you do.
The information in this article comes from decades of personal and
professional experience. We are not ashamed to admit that we are
card carrying members of the Imelda Marcos Center for the shop-a-holic
and that our book was a form of occupational therapy. Happy shopping!
About the Authors
Shirley Pierce and Janet Behmer are the authors of the book
that's changing the way women think about clothes and themselves
-- "Dress Me Now: How to Make Your Wardrobe Behave". http://www.dressmenow.com
Gaining A
New Perspective
By Michael Angier
Have you ever watched an artist paint a picture? He
or she works close to the canvas--painting small sections at a time
in the process of bringing the whole creation into being. But every
once in awhile, the artist must step back from their work and look
at the whole picture. Only by stepping away from what we're working
on can we gain the proper perspective. The proper point of view
is crucial to the end result.
It's no different for any other creation. Whether it's a business,
a project or your life, you need to step back occasionally in order
to get it right.
From a distance, you can see things you can't see when
you're up close and personal. The difference is in working ON your
project instead of working IN it. It's all too easy to plug away
at something but miss the important distinctions needed to create
an elegant result.
Stephen Covey calls it "sharpening the saw".
It would be foolish to keep sawing away without stopping from time
to time to make your tool more efficient. But unfortunately, that's
what too many of us do.
Just as in music--we need spaces between the notes in order to create
the melody. A continuous collection of notes with no spaces is not
harmony--it's noise. You may need to take a vacation--to get away
from it all with no work or study. At other times, it's best to
take a course or attend a conference to harvest some new ideas.
Sometimes, it may be better to take a complete break; to go away
and just do something totally different--take on a volunteer project,
build a house for Habitat for Humanity or some other worthy cause.
The important thing is to take the breaks. Without
them, we lose our creative spark. We don't enjoy our work or our
life as much. Our stress increases and both our work and our health
suffer.
We need breaks in our days, in our weeks, our months
and our years. Try taking mini-breaks during the day--a 10-minute
meditation, an exercise class at lunch. Even a 60-second, stand-up-and-stretch
break makes a difference.
Just like we need to sleep to rest our body and our conscious mind,
we need interruptions in our routine. We need a change of pace in
order to keep pace with our best.
Be sure to schedule your time off and then take some spontaneous
breaks as well. Orient your life so it becomes easier and affordable
to do it on a regular basis. People in the academic world are expected
to take a sabbatical--a year off every ten years. Why should business
people or those in other occupations be any different? Just because
you've never done it before doesn't mean you can't--or you shouldn't.
Step back from your masterpiece of choice and gain a new perspective.
Get a new attitude. Reap some breakthrough ideas. Put some spaces
between your notes. You, the people around you--and your work--deserve
it.
Note: If you want to create some major breakthroughs
in your business, check out "Building a World-Class Business"
on May 17th in Palm Springs, CA. Go to http://SuccessNet.org/wcb.htm
About the Author
Copyright 2002 Michael Angier & Success Networks International.
Success Net's mission is to inform, inspire and empower people to
be their best--personally and professionally. Download their free
eBooklet, KEYS TO PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS from http://www.SuccessNet.org/keys.htm.
Free subscriptions, memberships, eCourses, eBooks and SuccessMark
Cards are available at http://www.SuccessNet.org
-- InfoPlease@SuccessNet.org
Developing Your
Verbal Logo
By Gary Lockwood
The next 30 seconds may determine whether you get your
funding, make the sale or establish your point-of-view!
In this fast-paced, mile-a-minute world, you often have
only a few seconds to get your message across. Most modern television
and radio commercials are no more than 30 seconds. Where could you
use an effective 30 second commercial message about your business?
These mini-messages are ideal for investor meetings, networking meetings,
trade shows, interviews, sales calls or any situation where you need
to quickly promote your business.
How do you develop these messages effectively? Think
in terms of "sound bites". Prepare your brief message just
like a speech, with an opener, the content and the closing. Let's
examine each of these in more detail.
The Opening
The purpose of your opening is to grab attention. You
must assume that your audience is generally as busy and preoccupied
as you are. So you need to first get their attention with a question,
"grabber'" words, humor or an interesting visual.
Using a question as an opener causes the listener to
stop and think. "Do you want to change the world?" "How
many new prospects do you want today?" "When do you want
to feel good again?" Once you have their attention, your message
can help them answer the question.
Grabber words are designed to startle, shock or at least
cause your listener to want to listen to what's coming next. The first
sentence of this article is an example.
A funny comment or an eye-catching visual are always
effective ways to get the attention of your listeners in a hurry.
Obviously, any of these openings must be relevant to your message,
or they will confuse your listeners.
The Content
Once you have their attention, relate your main message.
Since you usually have only three or four sentences, you need to craft
this message carefully. The most effective message is the one that
states what your business can do for the listener. In other words,
talk about the benefits to be received by using your product or service.
Don't say "I'm a dentist". Say "I improve the health
and well-being of my clients. Healthy teeth help you look good and
feel good".
The bottom line is that your listeners don't care what
you do. They care about what you can do for them. Talk in terms of
results, feelings, benefits, outcomes, ideas. Imagine your listener
with a sign on their forehead that reads "So What? What's in
it for me?" Remember, you only have 30 seconds. There will be
time later to explain how you do these great things.
The Closing
Here is where you ask for action. As a result of your
30 second commercial, you want your listener to do something or think
something. Ask: "When can we meet?" "Give me your business
card". "Call today". "When you think of shoes,
think of The Shoemaster".
Also appropriate is your catchy tag line. The closing
may be the only part of your message that your listener will remember.
What do you want them to remember?
So, there it is. Your miniature speech takes only 30
seconds. And it has a beginning, a middle and an ending. What can
you do to make all this come out sounding and looking smooth, confident
and compelling? Prepare and practice. Prepare by writing out your
message, thinking through the key elements and deciding exactly what
you want your listener to be doing or thinking at the end of your
message.
Practice by saying your message aloud. Rehearse this
brief speech. Saying it aloud causes you to pay attention to the sound
and cadence. Practice in front of a mirror and you will see the gestures
and body language that make up such a large part of the communication.
Remember, it's not just what you say, it's how you say what you say
that makes the difference.
For your 30 second commercial to really be effective,
you must act like you mean it, sound like you mean it and look like
you mean it. How do others realize that you really mean what you say?
They notice your enthusiasm, your mannerisms, your tone of voice,
your posture.
Part of your preparation is to be consciously aware of
your non-verbal communication. If possible, video yourself giving
your message. Replay the tape several times. Once to listen and observe
the overall effect of your message. Watch it again without sound.
What are you telling the audience by your posture, body language,
facial expressions and your gestures? Do you look and act like you
really mean it?
Replay the tape again with your eyes closed. Listen for
distracting sounds such as "uh", "ah", "ya
know" or sighs. All these things subtract from the effectiveness
of your main message.
In our MTV-world of excessive sights and sounds and experiences,
make your point and get your message across in a well prepared, well
rehearsed 30 second commercial. Think of it as a brief speech. Mix
preparation with inspiration and you'll get a standing ovation.
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
- subscribe@BizSuccess.com
Email: Gary@BizSuccess.com
Web: http://www.BizSuccess.com
Office: (800) 272-1575 (USA) * Fax: (760) 325-9608
From
the Desk of the Editor 
