MLM
Woman Issue 66
July 2002
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 From
the Desk of the Editor
Standing
Out From the Crowd
These days it seems like there is more and more competition
in the MLM field - new companies spring up out of nowhere overnight
and everyone else is touting their hot new “product du jour.” So what’s
an MLMer got to do to stand out in this over heated, over hyped market?
Well, fortunately, it’s not that hard. Most people don’t really think
too much about how to market their MLM business in an effective and
creative way. Most people are pretty lazy and will just do the minimum
and sit back wait for the money to roll in.
What you MUST do to stand out from the MLM masses is
to make the benefits of doing business with you so powerful that your
potential customers and recruits will see you clearly as the best
choice for their sponsor.
This is especially important if you want to successfully
recruit people long distance -- you don’t have the advantage of being
able to speak to them face to face -- you need to have a strong offer
that really will convince them that you are the person they should
do business with.
I’m always amazed when I receive information packs in
the mail from distributors who obviously think that it’s not important
to tell me who they are and why they are sending me this information.
They don’t include a letter or note introducing themselves; they just
throw a bunch of company sales literature in an envelope, stick their
name and phone number on the back and expect that to do the trick.
What a waste! With no personal letter or note and no information as
to why I should consider them as a potential sponsor, how can I make
an informed decision about whether this great opportunity is for me?
And if they don’t follow up with a phone call, letter, or e-mail (which
happens 95% of the time); most likely I’ll toss their expensive package
of sales literature and keep looking for something better.
One of the most difficult things for people building
an MLM business is learning how to market their business effectively.
Getting the company literature and becoming familiar with the products
is just the beginning -- you need to really spend some time crafting
a dynamite marketing system that gets results.
So, here’s some tips you can use to make your marketing
efforts more productive and set yourself apart from the crowd:
Target
one or two niche markets to focus on
Develop a marketing campaign designed to get their attention. What’s
a good niche? Here’s some ideas to get you started - stay at home
moms, downsized middle managers, women, men, generation Xers, baby
boomers, seniors. Tip: Pick a niche that you are a part of - this
will make it easier for you to figure out what that group’s needs
and wants are.
Always
send out a personalized letter with your information packages
Tell them your story - this will help make you more
“real” to your faraway prospects and customers and help them get to
know you. People like to do business with people they know and like
-- do everything you can to make an emotional contact with them.
Develop
a “Success Pak” for your downline
Offer them a customized sales letter, free leads, free
postcards etc. Give them a plan to get them started on the right path.
Publish
a short customer/downline newsletter
Send it out at least monthly; include success stories,
info on new products, business tips and resources etc. It can be sent
via e-mail, fax or mail. I have never known any successful MLMes who
didn’t provide some sort of “newsletter” to their downline. It can
be 2 pages, 4 pages or more; letter or postcard size; elaborate or
simple. The idea is to just keep in contact on a regular basis.
Build
a web site that communicates with your customer
Develop a web page that offers “real” information to
help your potential customers build their business. There’s a lot
of MLMer’s with web pages on the Internet that are just basic billboards.
You can stand out by offering a little something more.
Write
and Share Some Tip Reports
Write some helpful “Tip Reports” to share with people
online and off. I know of one superstar MLMer who gives away free
reports to anyone who’s interested. She provides valuable information
that acts as a powerful “recruiter” for her business.
Think
Service!
Put yourself in your prospect's shoes and think of all
the ways you can help them succeed in their business and then DO THEM!
If you help your people to succeed and reach their goals, then you
will be successful too.
Linda Locke, Editor MLM Woman
Developing
the Leader Within You
By Jackie Ulmer
Leadership is the art of creating something powerful
and sharing it with others.
It involves attitudes and beliefs that empower and inspire
those in one's organization.
It takes two simple acts to begin the process of leadership.
It takes the DECISION to become a leader. And, it takes the COMMITMENT
to see the job through.
The act of deciding to become a leader is the easy part.
Committing is where the true test comes in.
When one is a committed leader, people are attracted
to the energy of the leader. It is something more "felt"
than spoken.
Leaders have a large vision. They have a vision for
their business and organization that is much larger than themselves.
They are focused, have defined goals and walk a path toward that vision.
Leaders know that the key to developing a successful
business and partnership with others involves deflecting the spotlight
off of themselves and shining it on others in their organization.
So, how does one acquire these skills and the ability
to lead?
The first step is to take the focus off oneself and
put it on the members of the team.
Are you great at presenting your opportunity? Great,
but give your business partners a chance to learn and grow in that
area. Start out slowly, and give them a role to play in the process.
Before long, they will be confident and competent and you will have
duplicated yourself.
Define your vision for the group.
Once it's defined, let every member of your team know
what that vision is. Keep it at the forefront of everyone's mind by
communicating it regularly.
Don't allow your vision to get derailed by challenges.
Set up a business plan with each of your business partners
and get them on an accountability schedule.
Introduce them to the tools of your business and show
them how to use them successfully. Take them by the hand and lead
them through their first few action steps.
Recognize and acknowledge even the smallest steps.
Leadership means taking action every day.
It means knowing your people, their goals, their dreams,
their fears and their weaknesses.
Know what their business plan consists of, what single
daily actions they are taking and how you can best support them.
Leaders lead by example. If you want your team to be
sponsoring, make sure you are sponsoring regularly.
Leaders know how to overcome challenges and don't get
caught up in the "small stuff."
Here is a personal inventory to take and define your
own leadership ability -
Do you have written goals and a business plan for your business?
Do you take single, daily actions in your business?
Do you immerse yourself in learning the business and growing as a
person?
Does your passion for what you are doing come through and are people
attracted to that energy?
Do you inspire your organization forward?
Do you continue trying, in spite of perceived failures
and challenges?
Does your team "respect" you more than they
"like" you? (This is BIG, so get clear on the difference.)
Who are you helping today to surpass you?
Getting clear on these questions will move you further
along the track of leadership and success.
The choices you take determine your direction and ultimately
your success. Make the choice of leadership and empower others to
do the same.
About the Author
Jackie Ulmer, a veteran Network Marketer, has coached and trained
thousands of representatives both inside and outside of her sales
organization. Her passion is inspiring others to succeed in their
own dream. Contact her through her website
http://www.streetsmartwealth.com
Sign up for her newsletter at streetsmartwealth@quicktell.net
5 Successful
Marketing Techniques
Copyright 2002 Bob Leduc
Here are 5 successful marketing techniques you can use to increase
your sales. All of them are simple to use. And they're effective
for building any business.
1. KEEP ADDING SOMETHING NEW
Every time you add something new to your business you create an
opportunity to get more sales. For example, something as simple
as adding new information on your web site creates another selling
opportunity when prospects and customers visit your site to see
the new information.
Adding a new product or service to the list of those you already
offer usually produces a big increase in sales. The added product
increases your sales in 3 different ways:
-
It attracts new customers who were not interested
in your current products and services.
-
It generates repeat sales from existing customers
who also want to have your new product.
-
It enables you to get bigger sales by combining
2 or more items into special package offers.
2. BECOME A VALUABLE RESOURCE
Look for ways you can be a resource for your prospects and customers.
Supply them with free information. Help them do things faster, easier,
less expensively. You get another opportunity to sell something
every time they come back to you for help.
3. SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM YOUR COMPETITION.
Find or create a reason for customers to do business with you instead
of with someone else offering the same or similar products. For
example, do you provide faster results, easier procedures, personal
attention or a better guarantee?
Determine the unique advantage you offer to customers that your
competitors do not offer. Promote that advantage in all of your
advertising. Give your prospects a reason to do business with you
instead of with your competition and you'll automatically get more
sales.
4. PROMOTE THE END RESULT
Your customers don't really want your product or service. They
want the benefit produced by using it.
For example, car buyers want convenient transportation with a certain
image. Dental patients want healthy and good-looking teeth without
suffering any pain. Business opportunity seekers want personal and
financial freedom for themselves and their family.
Make sure your web pages, sales letters and other sales messages
are promoting the end result your customers want.
5. ANTICIPATE CHANGE
Change is the biggest challenge to your business success. The days
are gone when a business could constantly grow by simply repeating
what it did successfully in the past ...or even recently. Aggressive,
innovative competitors and rapidly changing technology make it impossible.
Expect change and prepare for it. Don't wait until your income
declines to take action. Develop the habit of looking for early
signs that something is changing. Then confront it before you start
to lose business.
TIP: Insulate yourself against the impact of change by increasing
the number of products and services you offer and by using a variety
of different marketing methods. Only a small portion of your total
business will be affected if the sales of one product decline or
the response to one marketing method drops.
How many of these 5 proven marketing techniques have you overlooked
or ignored? Start using them today and you'll see an immediate increase
in your sales.
About the Author
Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience in
generating low-cost leads. He recently wrote a manual for small
business owners, "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With
Simple Postcards", and several other publications to help small
businesses grow and prosper. For more info: BobLeduc@aol.com?subject=Postcards
Phone: 702-658-1707 after 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV
Guerrilla
Marketing
Comes of Age
By Shannan Hearne-Fortner
When Jay Conrad Levinson first being writing and
speaking about Guerrilla Marketing, he was part of a team developing
the most successful ad campaign ever. The Marlboro Man. Whether
you smoke or not, unless you've lived under a rock you are familiar
with The Marlboro Man.
Guerrilla Marketing is in effect the use of wide
and varied unconventional marketing tactics to achieve the most
conventional of business goals, which is profits. Back in the
day when Levinson coined the philosophy, the internet age hadn't
arrived. And still, he developed hundreds of guerrilla marketing
tactics that millions of successful businesses used to grow and
prosper.
Now that the Internet age is moving beyond its infancy,
and the majority of homes have at least one PC with access to
the Internet, guerrilla marketing is ready to come of age. The
Internet lends itself to guerrilla marketing because it makes
optional so many low-cost, viral marketing alternatives.
By the standards of a guerrilla, a successful business
is one that is making a profit. Obviously, Amazon.com wouldn't
have been considered successful by guerrillas even though they
were growing by leaps and bounds.
Guerrilla marketing is perfect for small business
working on shoestring budgets. As I've heard many a Success Promotions
client say, "frayed and short shoestring budgets". According
to the original list of Guerrilla Marketing Arsenal Techniques
(which included 100 weapons) sixty-two were free. Guerrilla marketing
is incredibly useful to Internet marketers because there are so
many free and low cost advertising tools and tactics available
via the Internet
Jay Conrad Levinson always preached using ALL the technology available
to you. Your computer. Your fax machine. Your telephone. Your
cellular phone. Your pager. Your Palm device. Your laptop. Your
digital camera. Your wireless accessories. EVERYTHING.
In an age where technology is advancing by leaps
and bounds, Guerrilla Marketing is truly coming of age. I was
just cutting my teeth in marketing when Levinson was fine tuning
Guerrilla Marketing. And I bought into the concept lock, stock,
and barrel. As a result, I am all about marketing on a frayed
and short shoestring budget.
So the next time you are in the store or on e-Bay
or thumbing through a catalog and trying to decide if a digital
camera or a web design program or a contact management program
is a good investment, listen for the drum beat and the rolling
thoughts of Jay Conrad Levinson. If you don't think the technology
item is a good investment, perhaps you should pick up a copy of
one of Jay's latest books. If you do think it is, instead of letting
it lie around your office collecting dust while you wait for time
to learn how to use it, plug it in and get rolling.
The day of the Guerrilla is upon us. And the worm
no longer just goes to the early bird. It goes to the bird who
uses every tool in his work hunting arsenal to catch the worm.
Be the Guerrilla. Buy the technology. And get started marketing.
Guerrilla Marketing has come of age.
About the Author
Shannan Hearne-Fortner is the President and Wizard
of http://www.SuccessPromotions.com
Marketing Your e-Business Better through creative marketing and
knowledge. Guerrilla Marketing. One-to-One Marketing. Relationship
Marketing. Your Marketing.
Trick
Your Brain
into Creating Beliefs
By Anita Foley
"The reason man may become the master of his own
destiny is because he has the power to influence his own subconscious
mind." This statement by Napoleon Hill is probably one of the
most important inspirations you will ever read. This is not just his
opinion, this is a truth you can accept as your own. Once you have
accepted it as truth, you can change your life.
First, be sure you understand exactly what the statement
means. It says that each and every one of us has the power to create
our own reality because we can control our thoughts and beliefs. By
influencing our subconscious minds, we can achieve our goals.
The difficulty most people have is in HOW TO control their thoughts
and beliefs to influence their subconscious minds. There are many
techniques available, and through reading motivational material you
can find what works for you. One technique you can try is something
I call 'trick your brain'.
You know that your subconscious mind will believe anything - right
or wrong - that your conscious mind convinces it to believe. So you
can make a conscious effort to achieve a goal by using phrases in
the present tense (in other words, talk as if you already achieved
the goal). For example, if you weigh 150 lbs and you want to weigh
120 lbs, you could say to yourself, over and over again, "I weigh
120 lbs."
The problem with this technique, however, is that your
subconscious mind is not stupid. It knows you don't weigh 120 lbs,
so when you make that statement, your brain says, "yeah, right"
and rejects it as a deception. If your subconscious mind cannot easily
accept what you consciously tell it, the creation of a belief will
be more difficult. So you have to find a way to "trick"
your brain into achieving the goal, and the trick is in the wording.
First, establish the reason for the desire (why do you want to weigh
120 lbs). If the reason is not important enough to YOU, it will be
difficult to create a compelling belief that will help you achieve
the goal. Once you've established the reason (I feel great when I
weigh 120 lbs), you can develop phrases that are more believable to
your subconscious mind.
Here's what you could say to yourself, over and over
again, "I feel great at my ideal weight of 120 lbs." Well
your brain can't argue with that! "I only eat the kinds of food
that will maintain my ideal weight." Hmmm, now your brain is
busy thinking about what kinds of foods to pick out at the supermarket!
Before you know it, your brain is convinced that your
ideal weight is 120 lbs and you will automatically only buy and eat
foods that maintain your ideal weight. A belief has been created,
because your subconscious mind could easily accept what your conscious
mind told it.
You can use this technique in all areas of your life
to trick your brain into believing that something is true. When the
brain buys into it, belief gets created.
About the Author
Anita Foley of http://www.wealth-happens.com
publishes a motivational e-zine to help you achieve wealth online.
What's the secret to creating beliefs that will change your life?
Find out here: http://tinyurl.com/dln
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at: regent@west.net
Copyright 2002, Regent Press
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