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In this issue:
Food For Thought
MLM Facts or Fiction - Plus How You Can Be Successful
Business Books
Should Your Business Be Online?
We all have two choices: We can make a living or we can design a life.
I used to say, "I sure hope things will change." Then I learned that the only way things are going to change for me is when I change.
We can have more than we've got because we can become more than we are.
I've been involved with Network Marketing for over five years now. This is the greatest concept around and will be for a long time to come. But this industry is like many others. It is filled with a lot of misinformation about what it is and is not.
"You don't have to sell"
Network Marketing IS Sales. Someone has to Sell something (otherwise it is called a pyramid and is illegal) for anyone to make a profit. Selling is not Evil. Selling is hard. Selling does not come naturally to most folks. Selling is not generally taught in school unless you pick up some basics in college or grad school and then, it most likely is not direct sales information you got anyway. But, selling is something that anyone can LEARN. Just like going to school for the first time was hard, it was only hard because you didn't know what you were getting into that made it seem so. Selling is the simple act of filling the needs of a customer with a product that solves his problem.
"I'll build your downline for you"
Even if that is true, what are -->you<-- going to do for -->your<-- downliners? This scam has been around for a long time, the idea being that if enough folks bite, you will build a big downline before it collapses and get out with a big profit. That only works if you are the one perpetuating the scam! Don't fall for this. Binary pay plans seem to perpetuate this and are closer to truth than most others. In a binary, you only have two "legs" under you. Your sponsor may build the right leg of your downline but YOU have to build your left leg. And, most likely, there are balance requirements so even if your sponsor is putting thousands of folks under you in your right leg, you have to match his efforts to fill your left leg just as fast or you lose the benefit of having those folks in your right leg.
"This product sells itself"
I don't know about you but I've never had a product jump off the shelf and present itself to the cashier while it got my wallet out to pay for itself! Almost every company around has a "sizzle" product, a unique patent, a first of its kind... you know the score. See lesson # 1: You still have to sell the product. Match the need of a customer to a product that fills the need.
"XYZ Downline Club will build you a downline before you join a company"
Not really! You may signup people in your downline "club" but there is no guarantee that your club downline will move into a company with you. Remember lesson #1: Products must move before profits are made. Those club members are not your business partners even though the club may make you think they are!
"Every family in the world needs this <fillintheblank> product"
This company would certainly like to think so! And, truth be known, they just might have a product that this is true for. BUT, the problem is that not every family in the world knows of your <fillintheblank> product or what it will do for them. In fact, families might not even know that they have a problem which the <fillintheblank> product will fix for them. So now you have a two-step selling dilemma: First, convince the family that they have a problem and second, convince the family that <fillintheblank> product fixes that problem. Then, if the price is right, the timing is right, they like you and they have had a good day, you might get a sale. Sounds tough doesn't it! IT IS!
"Selling is hard"
This is TRUE. Let's try to find a way to make it easier on you than to have to try and convince someone that they need your <fillintheblank> miracle product. Psychologically, people tend to resist being "sold". We have been taught to raise our defenses whenever someone calls on the phone, knocks on the door, or offers to "help" in a department store to prevent being sold.
What if we find a problem that already exists or a better solution than is currently being used. In other words, if the family already has a problem, knows of it and is looking for a fix, then half of your job is done: They realize they have a need for your product. They would be happy to have you knock on their door and would welcome you with open arms. Now, sales doesn't sound so hard does it! Now, your job is simply to introduce the product and let them know that it solves their problem. Boom, a sale, product moves from company to consumer and profits are made and distributed.
Here is a short list of "problems" that everyone or nearly so, acknowledges:
Money Free Time Overweight How we look Love Immortality
So if your product fills one of those needs/desires, you have an "in". Be careful though: Don't try to sell someone on looking better if you aren't sure it's a problem with them!!
But, if your products/company can give them more money, more free time, the ability to shed pounds or look better or give them love or immortality, then you have a winner!
Advice
Choose a network marketing company which has products you understand, products you already use, and products you feel comfortable talking about. XYZ nutritional company with its <fillintheblank> miracle product may not be the right one for you no matter how hard your potential sponsor tries to convince you! And, it still might not be the right company for you even if you have managed to convince yourself that the <fillintheblank> miracle product is indeed a miracle come true. Remember, although you are convinced, your JOB in network marketing is to sell this idea to others. It may or may not be easy. Most of us are not born salespeople.
What products that you routinely use are marketed via MLM? Most all! Vitamins/minerals and long distance service are not the only products marketed via MLM though it may seem so at times. You can buy your soap, shampoo, laundry detergent and other routine items at a lower price with a higher quality through MLM. CDs, software, legal services and other items you use on a routine basis are all marketed by MLM.
The big draw in MLM is residual income. What this means is that the income keeps coming, month after month, from an initial sale you made. That means people are still buying, month after month. So, it makes sense that you want to have a product line that gets USED month after month so that your customer will have to replenish his product month after month. Companies with a one-time buy are not good candidates for residual income because they rely on more and more people doing the one-time buy. You want to find a company that has products that get used month after month and replenished at that rate. Remember, profits are generated by products moving.
Fred & Christina Raley have been in network marketing for five years and work several successful businesses. They can be contacted at FVRaley@erols.com or via their websites at http://www.tssolutions.com/megaline/fraley.htm , http://www.macor.com/d/10061.htm, http://members.tripod.com/~raleyf/Fred_Raley
Visit the NEW Small Business Bookstore - You'll find great information for starting your home-based business, plus marketing tips, motivational and self-improvement books and information on how to write effective sales letters. Check out the some of the tools available to help you succeed!
Go To: Should Your Company Be Online?
Next Issue: More Small Business Marketing Strategies On Shoestring Budgets!! Plus writing ads that pull.
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