Archive for September, 2009
Joining and MLM Program.
Historically, Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is a business model built on social values, reminiscent of the days when individuals looked forward to local social gatherings such as neighborhood get-togethers and ‘nights out’ with friends and family. Dating back for decades, MLM lends itself well to the social needs of individuals. Human beings want and need other human contact for their health and well being, and MLM has its roots in these human needs, combining ‘business endeavors’ with the need for group interactions among humans.
This is also the reason why MLM is sometimes referred to as Network Marketing now, the more politically correct term for MLM. Changing what it’s called, however, does not change the foundation of MLM, which is the social grouping needed by humans. This is why MLM programs have a ‘rah-rah’ feel to them and why individuals that are ’social butterflies’ by nature seem to do well in MLM programs.
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For the past two decades, online promotional efforts by all types of business have skyrocketed, and MLM has attempted to make its mark in the online world as well. It’s somewhat more challenging online though, for any MLM program or its products, as so much of the success of any MLM program does depend on ‘making human contact’ in order to recruit members. Any MLM business and the products must ‘touch’ others in their hearts, minds and spirits in order to acquire members.
Joining any MLM program is a major life change (the same as marriage or divorce), as it requires an adjustment of thinking and relating to others from its members, and is of course, a ‘real’ business with a lot of ‘real’ work. Any entrepreneur experiences this major life change; however, MLM requires interaction and support from an upline, a downline, and the public at large to survive, so the life change can be more encompassing and adjustment to the MLM lifestyle more difficult as a result.
MLM programs can struggle with online promotions for this very reason. Online, the ‘human connection’ is many times lost, and recruiting members online can become very frustrating, entailing more follow up, and more dedication to advertising, with sometimes very miserable results.
For this reason, many MLM programs use audio and video extensively in their promotional efforts online. Audio and video can breach the ‘gap of connection’ that is missing online for MLMers. During the last decade there is an absolute explosion of online audio and video promotional tools, with the MLM market being a rather large purchaser and user of these types of products. Audio and video brings more of a ‘human touch’ to promotional efforts and therefore can be a great boon to MLM programs.
Although follow up and increased knowledge of online marketing is necessary for success in online promotion of MLM programs, audio, video and other multi-media type products and services do help MLM businesses bridge the ‘human connection gap’, at least in a small way.
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mort stern
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/joining-and-mlm-program-98653.html
MLM Marketing is a numbers game but at the end of the day, how do you know whether or not you were successful? It’s very critical that you develop clear and concise measures of success before you take on MLM marketing. There is a need to demonstrate value and to do that you must develop metrics to measure yourself against.
Developing Effective MLM Marketing Metrics
Effective metrics for your MLM marketing business take into account the objectives of your plan. Who is your target audience? What are you trying to get them to do? How will your know if you’ve been successful with your efforts? These measures are important to your success and should be included in any MLM marketing plan. If you can’t measure it, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
Measuring the results of your MLM marketing efforts can seem very complex. Many people struggle with developing effective metrics for different reasons. Too often metrics are viewed as overly complicated largely because there is a fear of not being successful. Don’t skip over this part!
While it may come across as difficult, if you ask yourself “How will I know I’ve been successful?” it will give you a great start to developing very effective metrics for your MLM marketing campaigns. Be sure you have a clear vision of what success looks like.
Fear of MLM Marketing Failure
What are you going to do if you aren’t successful and meeting the goals you set forth for your MLM marketing campaign? I realize that attaching your efforts to an outcome makes you susceptible to failure. Understand that you need measurement, without it you’ll never know the degree of your success or the opportunities that exist for improvement.
By developing effective metrics you will be able to analyze your results and improve your MLM marketing campaigns. Try to think outside the box, especially when you are evaluating the metrics you‘ve developed. In other words, go above and beyond. If a marketing campaign works understand why it works, there is always room for improvement. This gives you the ability to tweak your efforts and grow your MLM marketing business at an alarming pace. As I stated above, if you can’t measure it, I wouldn’t do it.
Determining MLM Marketing Measures of Success
The following are measures of success that I’ve collaborated over the years. These are meant to be used a guide and give you the ground work to developing your own metrics. I personally have used these metrics and found them to be very effective. It’s a way to hold yourself accountable for your efforts and being successful with MLM marketing.
Measure your volume of calls to prospects for your MLM marketing business. Track the number of calls you made and how many of prospects you converted either to a sale or took the desired action you wanted them to take. Total your results at the end of each day, week, month and I even total my results at the end of the year. This will allow you to understand how effective your prospecting script is. From there you can make adjustments to the script, your tone of voice, or your prospecting and closing skills. You’ll be amazed at how much a small improvement can dramatically affect the results of MLM marketing efforts.
If you have a website that you are using to capture MLM marketing leads, be sure you are measuring how many visitors are coming to your site each day and how many of those visitors are converting to a lead. Meaning the visitor took the desired action your MLM marketing message conveyed throughout the website copy.
Analyzing your website is crucial to online MLM marketing in order to really see the maximum value of an ROI. Otherwise you will spend a ton of money trying to generate leads. You must understand how users are interacting with your site and constantly improve it. Having a website for MLM marketing is a game of test, test, test and test some more. Keep testing until your website is ideally converting between 10%-15%.
Having a website is crucial so if you don’t have I would suggest getting one. And I don’t mean the replicated website that was provided by your company. I’m talking about a lead capture page that has compelling ad copy that converts your visitors into leads. It’s one of, if not the best way to generate leads in MLM marketing. Lead capture pages are relatively inexpensive and easy to set up.
Using any other medium to advertise in MLM marketing can be measured in much the same way as a website. If you are using print media such as newspaper, magazines, etc monitor the number of people who call from the message you delivered and measure that against the amount of money you spent on the ad. Why keep spending the money if your phone isn’t ringing? Keep testing until you find the right ad that is generating the amount of leads you so desire. Keep in mind you’re going to spend some money during the testing phase, but once you get through it, it will be smooth sailing.
MLM marketing is a numbers game. You must hold yourself accountable for your efforts by measuring your results. If you aren’t effectively managing your numbers, how can you expect to improve them? I know we all want to improve how effectively our businesses grow, that’s why I am constantly measuring my results everyday and why you should too.
I’ve found the measures above to be very crucial to my success in MLM marketing. Hopefully they will do the same for you or at least give you a head start on developing effective metrics for yourself and your MLM marketing ventures. I would love to hear your success stories so feel free to contact me anytime at the website listed below in the about the author section. I wish you all the best with your ventures.
Eric Wilkes
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/measuring-mlm-marketing-results-362155.html
You might have heard of “Network Marketing” as a get rich quick scheme. I am here to tell you that that is just not true. As a matter of fact, it is so far from the truth, that that phrase is quite comical to me. Well, on the one hand it is comical to me, and on the other hand it’s upsetting. “Network Marketing” requires a lot of hard work. You will hear me say frequently that this business is simple, even fun, and frequently exciting, but it is not easy.
Have you ever heard the statement, If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is? Well, take caution to what you hear and say as you build your “Network Marketing” dynasty. To tell anyone that this is easy, is utterly untrue ! To say to people that they need to only bring in a certain amount of distributors and then sit back and collect is also utterly untrue. Network Marketing is a legitimate business work program. Network Marketing does offer unlimited income and time freedom after you’ve built a large organization, and it certainly can be tempting to sugar-coat the process to get people to get involved, but such practices are a set up for disappointment and in the end, they don’t help anyone. So network marketing is far from a means to “get rich quick”, but the great news is your rewards will increase over time and your efforts don’t necessarily have to increase with it. Good network marketing companies are designed to reward significantly and increasingly over time with lesser effort, as your network picks up momentum (and the duplication or compounding effort of your downline takes off.)
The Get Rich Quick Delusion is the Problem
The promise of a fast and easy fortune does appeal to people in this world of fast food, drive up service, one-hour dry cleaning, and getting everything one wants immediately by putting it on a credit card. We are bombarded with advertising that says we can (and should) have it now. “Drive it home today, no interest for 12 months, and sleep in your new bedroom set tonight. But, this idea of earning $10,000 an hour without having to lift a finger is enticing, but it’s just not true and propagating this fallacy only adds to the negative image that this industry has had in the past. We need to work together to invite people into these great opportunities on solid ground, so that our organizations do not quickly degrade into a rope of sand.
Network Marketing is work. It is a real business. I often refer to it as being similar to owning a franchise, but without all the headaches. If you attend to this like big business, it will treat you back like big business, but if you consider it as a side venture, it will only pay you accordingly. Of course, there are a myriad of reasons people have when pursuing this industry. Some want to come in to build an organization which will help them to achieve goals that are beyond their wildest imaginations. And, they can do that, if they take strategically implemented, and persistent action toward the attainment of their written goals. They must also be mentored by those with the experiential know how.
Others come into the industry to supplement their income by a few hundred to thousands of dollars per month. They may even see this as an opportunity to start a business part-time around their current business in the hopes that they may eventually be able to replace their current income, which is also a worthy goal. Generally speaking though, a person gets back according to what they put in, but part-timers must also be persistent and consistent in the attainment of their written goals, even if it is done on a part-time basis.
So, who gets involved with Network Marketing? People from all walks of life! For example, executives from major corporations see Network Marketing as a ticket to freedom. This is a great opportunity to earn the same type of income they are used to, and more! There is also the freedom to do it alongside their current schedules and career! Once the income passes and/or exceeds their current income, they can then go forward full-time in their Network Marketing endeavor.
Network Marketing attracts people from all walks of life- everyone from CEO to Indian Chiefs! Age (some companies require a legal guardian), color, gender, business background, educational background, just doesn’t matter! Geographical boundaries only apply according where a company is currently open for business. But, once involved and building in this industry, you are free to transact business in every country where the company is open.
get rich quick, get rich fast, get rich quick scheme Let us consider this simple scenario: You live in Florida and sponsor someone in New York, who sponsors someone in Canada, who sponsors someone in Texas, who sponsors someone in Singapore, who sponsors someone in Taiwan, who sponsors someone in California, who sponsors someone in Australia, who sponsors someone in Alabama and viola, you have business in all those locations!
Everyone of these individuals got into this business because they saw it as a viable opportunity for themselves and their family, and they are building their businesses to achieve their goals and dreams in life. Instead of putting a fortune into advertising, a Network Marketing organization focuses on 1. the production of high quality products and/or services and 2. into paying their highly valued distribution force for spreading the word. I think J. Paul Getty, one of America’s first billionaires, said it best, “I would rather have 1% of the efforts of 100 men than 100% of my own efforts.” That is a great description of Network Marketing.
Patty Cepeda
http://www.articlesbase.com/coaching-articles/network-marketing-is-not-a-get-rich-quick-sceme-124639.html
There are two main ways to get appointments and contacts for your MLM business. I have personally found one to be more profitable than the other. Get this key strategy, as well as other training points in the words that follow.
I really hope you will thoroughly study the process of learning how to invite, because this is where you get good at network marketing.
I’ve said it for 10 years: you can be terrible at everything else and still earn good money in network marketing if you’re good at inviting. If you can invite well, you can always put prospects in front of good presenters and good trainers.
The word invite in the context that I’m using it is the act of asking someone to do something. Go to a movie, meet for breakfast, watch a video, etc.
In this business you’re inviting people to look at either the business or the product or both.
1. Business: This is where you show and educate your prospects about the MLM industry. Have them really understand and believe in its ability to provide adequate income and time freedom. Then show your product or service. This style is sometimes called “top down” or “business first.”
2. Product: Show your prospects only the product (skin care, nutrition, telephone services, Internet services). After your prospect falls in love with the product they’ll know the business is viable. This style is called “bottom up” or “product first.”
The lack of understanding of these two methods causes much frustration in MLM.
Why are People Confused? Perhaps the best way for me to explain why the confusion takes place is with an example of a stockbroker. What does the stockbroker sell? You may reply, stocks. Well, not really. What the stockbroker actually sells is that you can make money with a stock.
So the money you’ll make is the product. You may have heard this referred to as “marketing intangibles.” This is very much like network marketing because often the presenter prefers to “market the intangible,” i.e., that you can make money. This isn’t necessarily a bad method, unless you’re talking to someone who doesn’t understand this conversation.
Suppose we’re talking to a person who comes from a retail sales background. Let’s say she owns a wax candle shop. If she hears a presenter talking about all the money she can make in the business, she’ll constantly be struggling to understand where the money is coming from. Many times these people are walking around after the typical presentation saying, “I don’t get it.” The reason she doesn’t get it is because she’s used to holding in her hands the tangible product that makes her the money.
This also works in reverse. If you approach a stockbroker and rub hand lotion on his hands and say, “You can make a lot of money doing this,” he won’t get it either. He’ll see it as a little “pretty party thing.” Certainly not something that could create a lot of money.
What’s My Point? How you invite, whether it’s the MLM business plan first or product first will have much to do with “knowing” your prospect. This is the reason networking with people you know is so effective. This is also why you should master both MLM business and product invitations.
In your business, take the approach that you’re starting your own company. You need a board of directors. In MLM we call them leaders.
The most important thing for you to understand at this point is you don’t necessarily have to know these people. You probably won’t. You may personally find these leaders or someone in your organization could lead you to them.
What character traits do you want in your network marketing leaders? What character traits do your leaders want in you? Why is this important for inviting?
Your greatest asset will become your eagle eye at picking leaders that will contribute to the success of your organization. I’ve not found a better way to teach how to spot a great MLM leader than just plain experience. However, you can look for certain traits.
Here is a list of character traits you do want in your board of directors…
- high self esteem
- goal driven
- entrepreneurial
- business minded
- owner mentality
- ready to act now
- decisive
- mentally tough
Conversely, here’s a list of traits you don’t want in your board of directors…
- passive
- wishy-washy
- employee mentality
- not ready to act
- low self-esteem
- easily influenced by others
- worries about what others think
How well you do at inviting will greatly depend on the growth of your communication skills. Most people have difficulty with communication. I did! However, the more I study it, the more I realize that communication is what makes or breaks us in life.
It’s your ability to woo your significant other. It’s your ability to get a job, get a raise, get a promotion, get along with others in the office. The signs on the road are the City communicating with us, giving us driving instructions. Whether written or verbal, communication is life. Don’t most conflicts stem from miscommunications? Ever hear “You don’t understand me?” It’s definitely a skill worthy of much research and study.
Ever heard your MLM prospects say “I don’t like sales?” Often when your network marketing prospects don’t think they’re good at communication they’ll use the phrase, “I don’t like sales” or “I’m not a sales person.”
Sales has nothing to do with it. In fact when you picture a sales person, what you’re picturing is a poor communicator. When you’ve been sold, you knew it. You felt it. When you’re in the presence of a really good communicator you may have bought something, but you were never sold anything.
A good communicator will never sell what his prospect won’t buy. There’s no way they could get there. A good communicator, whether a nurse or a networker listens and helps people get what they want.
That’s all. A nurse has to learn the appropriate questions to ask so he/she can find exactly what the needs of the patient are. The nurse must also learn the appropriate responses to the standard questions and concerns the patient has.
A networker also must learn the needed questions and the appropriate responses to common objections so they can help their MLM business prospects get what they want.
Now let’s look at this from the perspective of how to qualify an MLM business prospect. Both of the invitations below are the truth. Which one do you think will work?
Invitation 1
An invite call asking a girl on a date:
Boy: I saw you on campus the other day and I’m interested in finding out more about who you are. I grew up in Boston, my parents are from New England. My dad’s in the banking business. I’m studying finance as well. What are your interests? Are you available should I want to marry you? How many kids do you want? I want 3 kids. What’s your religion? Shall we sit down and discuss the possibilities?
Invitation 2
Boy: I’ve seen you on campus and you seem to be a fun person. I’d like to take you to lunch and get to know you better. How does that sound to you?
Both have the same purpose in mind for meeting.
The argument in the industry is which one is better? People who are pro invitation #1 will tell you that they’re pre-qualifying their MLM business prospects. So they’re not wasting their time on people who don’t qualify. The outcome was that this guy had to make 72 calls to get a girl to say “Sure, why not.”
The outcome was 72 calls = 1 date.
People who are pro invitation #2 will say that you sit down for lunch and you put your agenda aside and you just talk and be friendly. You listen to them. Find out what their needs and desires are. Help them get it.
The outcome was, she isn’t interested in going out with you but she thinks you’re a great guy and has 3 roommates and 2 sisters who she wants to set you up with.
The outcome was 1 meeting = 5 dates.
I’m suggesting to you that invitation #1 is “sales” and that invitation #2 is “networking.”
I’ve heard distributors invite people to look at an mlm business opportunity much like invitation #1. I’m not kidding. To show you, pick up a tape recorder and record yourself. Even though you know you’re recording what you say, your conversations will still resemble invitation #1. Example: “My company does this, I’m making x amount of money, my company has this, and I have this, etc…”
Learning how to properly invite prospects to look at your MLM business and truly network with people is not always easy, but can be profitable for you. I commend your willingness to study it. Be a student of this inviting subject forever, but don’t wait more than a week before doing it, even if it’s just tiny steps.
Tim Sales
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/mlm-training-the-formula-to-easily-contact-and-close-more-prospects-65258.html
“The Inter Killed The MLM Business Model”
I know this may sound like a bald statement, and honestly, i don’t think that the internet actually “killed” the multi-level marketing business model, but it certainly redefined it in many ways. Let’s go into depths with that, and try to learn what did changed in the MLM business model and/or what needs to change, since online advertising and marketing has been integrated into many network marketers’ business plan.
If you’re a network marketer, and you just got started, or you already have a solid customers base and downline, do you think the internet could actually help you build your business or would the internet make it more difficult for you?
There are many ways to see this, and for my part i believe that the internet somewhat killed the MLM business model as we know it, and if the internet didn’t kill it, it certainly made it more profitable for the people that knows how to use it. The internet offers endless possibilities, it is a 24/7 marketplace and millions (or should i say billions) of people are clicking on webpages every single day.
With that said, why would someone use the internet to promote his or her business opportunity?
Of course there are multiple reasons for not promoting your business on the internet, here are some examples:
- Your company doesn’t want you to
- You don’t know how to do it
- You don’t want to go through the learning curve
- You are not yet convinced that it would be profitable to you
- You are afraid of all the scams on the internet
- How to train your downline if they live far from you?
- Any other reason is just as good
Now let’s take a look at some reasons why you should seriously consider promoting your mlm business opportunity and products using the internet.
First, It cost almost nothing to build a website or blog, and you probably already have a website (from your company), which can be seen by thousands of people from all around the globe day and night, and you would also cut your expenses. Think about it for a second, how much do you spend on a weekly or monthly basis to meet people and do those meetings?
Typical meeting example:
You go for a coffee with your new prospect, get in your car and drive to that coffee-shop, you also grab something to eat on your way, oh and don’t forget to print the documents you will need before you leave. The total cost per month if you do, let’s say, from 4 to 6 presentations per week can easily be in the couple hundreds of dollars. Of course if you do all those meetings and presentations, it surely means your business is growing.
But…
What if you could cut the time you spend on your MLM business and meetings by half?
In the end, MLM is simply your vehicle, on your way to financial freedom…
Are the prospects you meet pre-qualified before you leave the house?
Do they know what MLM is and if they do, are they interested in starting their own business?
You know, using the internet you can set up advertising campaigns that will run for you 24/7/365. And if you carefully choose who you target with those ads, the people who will contact you will be pre-qualified. I’m not talking about having people running to you with their credit cards in hand, it doesn’t work that way. But the internet can make your business grow exponentially, just like that. In a matter of hours, you could have new prospects coming to you, new customers, more sales, more money in your pocket and you could cut your expenses. How does that sound?
I am not saying that the “old-school” way of doing MLM is bad or doesn’t work, i know many many people who are extremely successful doing it this way. But if take into account the number of people using the internet, there is no doubts you can reach way more people than by doing those home-meetings and 1-on-1 presentations. Why not combine traditional MLM, and online advertising? You could end up with a faster growing business.
Jonathan-C. Phillips
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/the-internet-killed-the-mlm-business-model-103313.html