How to Choose Your Sponsor in Network Marketing – Three Things to Look For

If you are considering a network marketing opportunity, you may be close to making a decision and signing up. Before you do, it’s important to take a close look at your potential sponsor and upline. You should check them out just as carefully as you evaluated the company and products.
The relationship you have with your upline is important to your success. These will be the people who will help you learn how to succeed and make money. They will be the ones you turn to when a prospect throws out a difficult question. They will be your leaders, and a source of inspiration for you.
Your Sponsor’s Experience
How long has your potential sponsor has been involved with the business you are considering? How many other network marketing businesses have they been involved in, and for how long? Be concerned if they have worked a lot of different businesses in a fairly short time. Unfortunately, there are a few “MLM Junkies” out there who move from one business opportunity to another depending on what is “hot” at the moment. You don’t want to sign up with someone like this. They will likely leave for some other opportunity and possibly try to persuade you to follow them. Bad news.
Your Sponsor’s Personality
I’m not saying your potential network marketing sponsor has to be the life of the party. What you are looking for is entirely different. Do you feel comfortable talking to this person? Do they take time to answer your questions and explain the business in a professional way? Can you see this person becoming a friend and business associate? Be careful here, because if you have chosen a good business opportunity you may be working with this person regularly for a long time to come.
Your Sponsor’s Upline
I encourage you to get the names of 2 or 3 of your sponsor’s upline leaders, and give them a call. Ask the tough questions about the opportunity. Find out how successful they are. Are they full-time with the business, or working in that direction? Are they dedicated to making the most of the opportunity, or just treating it as a hobby? Ideally, you want to see some upline leaders who are working the business full-time and enjoying success. These are people you can turn to for encouragement, because they have been through a lot of challenges similar to what you will face.
Final Thought
I know it might be seem hard, even embarassing, to pose these questions to your potential upline. Just remember that you are seeking to build a serious business, and you want to work with people you like who have the ability and desire to support your efforts. That is the bottom line.

Leaders – What to Teach Your Downline First

Network marketing leaders – when your new downline associates first come on board, they are enthusiastic and ready to go. It is up to you to provide them with guidance and leadership.
If they are new to network marketing (or had little success in past ventures), encourage them to learn the basics first. It is important for them to learn how to prospect and sponsor before venturing into unknown waters (such as building a business online).
Going online is considered by many the way to go these days. Many new network marketers come in and immediately want to build their business online. I think building a business online is great, because you can contact many more potential prospects over time. However, I have some reservations about trying to get started online right away.
I recommend that new network marketers learn the business locally by working with prospects they already know (the “warm market”). This allows them to work on presentation skills and sponsoring in an environment where they will get valuable feedback. Warm market friends and contacts are likely to offer constructive and helpful comments, and ask many questions that the new networker needs to learn how to answer.
Once they have the basics down and have successfully sponsored a few local distributors, then the time is right to move online. They will be much better prepared at this point.
Consider the advantages of having new associates start out with their warm market.

• They can more easily make a connection and a presentation with someone they know
• Their prospect knows them, or was referred to them by a friend, and will be open to listening
• They will have actual products that the prospect can see and possibly try – a huge advantage
• Their prospect, being a friend, will likely ask questions and offer feedback that others won’t

The bottom line is that networker marketers working online will still need to talk to their prospects and go through essentially the same steps they would with a local prospect. To be best prepared for online sponsoring, it is better that they learn the fundamentals locally in their warm market first.

No Excuses for Failure in MLM

Have you ever known someone who was unsuccessful in MLM and network marketing, and wondered why they failed?
I have watched people come into this business who seemed to have a lot going for them. Intelligence. Ambition. Money to spend on advertising and promotion. Time to work the business. Still, after all was said and done, they failed.
Often, you can take a close look at what attempts they made to get their MLM business started and learn a lot.
Some Great Excuses
I have heard some of the best excuses ever.
“I ran some ads on Google and spent $500 and didn’t get any good leads”
“I bought 10,000 email addresses for ‘fresh hot opportunity seekers’ and didn’t get one decent lead from it”
“I purchased 25,000 impressions for my web site on traffic exchanges and nobody joined”
Not surprisingly, the ultimate conclusion from the above experiences was, “MLM doesn’t work”.
What Really Happened
Here is what really happened.
The guy who ran the Google ads was advised by his upline to wait and study up on how to use that method effectively, but chose to ignore that advice and rush in. (Hint – you can lose a lot of money really fast with Google Adwords if you don’t learn how to do it first)
The lady who bought the list of 10,000 “fresh hot opportunity seekers” didn’t research and learn about email marketing first. She didn’t realize that most of these lists are not very responsive. The leads have normally been sold over and over to many different people. She had no idea that little things like the subject of the email and the actual message really matter.
The man who purchased the impressions on traffic exchanges didn’t do his research either. He was advertising his opportunity to other people whose focus was on advertising THEIR OPPORTUNITY to him. (Hint – advertising on traffic exchanges can work, if you promote the right product or service. These are not very good for promoting MLM).
In all these cases, people with money to spend rushed in and bought advertising without taking any time to learn about how to make it work. This is the key that so many new MLM’ers miss – you really need to learn what you are doing before you dive in.
Do some research. Talk to people in your upline who are successful. Find out how others have been successfully advertising MLM businesses and learn how they did it. Don’t believe hyped up pitches for “ad blasters”, “free classified ad submitters”, and things like that. They do not work well for our type of business.
The good news is, all of this information is out there on the Internet, and much of it is freely available. You do have to spend some time searching, but in the end it will pay off for you big time.
If you spend time learning the skills you need, and apply them with help from others who have been successful, there really is no excuse for failure in MLM.

Four Keys for Promoting Your Network Marketing Business on Message Boards

Every day, more and more network marketers flock to message boards and forums, in hope of getting their opportunity in front of thousands of prospects with just a few keystrokes and a mouse click.
Of all the things you need to do for success in network marketing and MLM, prospecting for new associates is right at the top of the list. Message boards and forums can be very good sources for leads, if you use them correctly.
Here are four keys for effectively using message boards and forums to promote your network marketing and MLM business.
The Purpose of Message Boards and Forums
First, understand that the purpose of these message boards and forums is for members to exchange ideas and information. On the good boards (the ones you want to use), there is no tolerance for advertising or spam. You never want to post an outright ad or promotion for your MLM business, unless the forum has designated a place specifically for posting ads.
Building Your Reputation
Second, your objective is to build your reputation as a leader and a contributor. Before you begin posting, take time to get a feel for that particular community and what is going on there.
Think of it this way – if you go into a room where a group of people are gathered, do you walk to the middle of the room and shout “Hi, I’m Jack! If you want to make more money, I have something to show you!”
Of course not. What you would want to do is take some time to mingle and get to know the people in the room. Why are they there? What are their interests? The same thing applies to message boards.
Learning to Contribute
Third, when you have an idea what the board is all about, begin looking for opportunities to contribute. Answer questions, join discussions, and start some of your own. People will begin to get to know you, and perhaps have an interest in what you do. This is where you get your leads.
Creating a Signature
Fourth, create a signature to display below your posts. Make sure you participate in forums that allow this – most do. A signature can be simple or elaborate, just be sure to check the rules and forum guidelines to find out what is acceptable.
A simple signature could look like this:
Eldon Beard
Learn How to Build a Profitable Network Marketing Business
Visit http://networkmarketingnow.com
For additional tips on promoting yourself on message boards and forums, including how to find the right boards to post on, check out the short video I made on this subject:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F11nS-rF5k

Legitimate MLM Opportunity or Pyramid Scheme? How to Tell the Difference

Getting involved with a network marketing and MLM business is an attractive option for many people. You have ready-to-go products, help getting started, and ongoing support and training from an upline dedicated to helping you succeed.
In addition to the ease of getting started, you have tremendous opportunity in MLM to make a substantial part-time income, and much more if you choose. Unfortunately, because of these advantages, a lot of illegal money-making schemes spring up daily and call themselves “MLM” or “network marketing” in an effort to appear legitimate.
What is a Pyramid Scheme?
These schemes typically work under names like “investment club” or “gifting program”. People participate by paying a fee to join or by giving a “gift” or “donation” to people further up the chain who joined previously. In return, the expectation is that they will get paid in the same manner by new participants who join later in the scheme.
In some pyramid schemes there may be a “product” of some sort involved (in an effort to look legitimate), but the clear focus is on recruiting and getting a big payout or benefit later in the plan.
Pyramid schemes come in different varieties, and many are made to look just like real MLM business opportunities. To help tell the difference between what is a scam and what is legitimate, watch for certain red flags.
Red Flags that Mark a Pyramid Scheme
- Do you have to pay a lot of money up front to get started in the business? Legitimate MLM opportunities do not require a lot of money up front.
- If there is a product, is there any emphasis on selling or using that product? True MLM businesses put focus on their products because they are the foundation of the opportunity.
- Is the focus strictly on recruiting and how much you can make by signing people up?
- If there is a product, and your up-front payment is for purchase of an inventory of that product, will the company allow you to return that product for at least a partial refund? Legitimate MLM and network marketing opportunities will do this.
Where is the Emphasis?
A good network marketing or MLM opportunity will have a balanced approach to building a real business. In a pyramid scheme, there will be a strong emphasis on recruiting and you will make your money just by signing up people. In MLM, money is made when products are sold and consumed by distributors and retail customers who are not involved in the business.
Bottom line – be wary if you see any of these signs: a large investment up front, emphasis on getting paid just for recruiting, promise of a big payoff later, no real product, or simply a cash payment required to join with payments to you for recruiting others to do the same.

Network Marketing or MLM: Which is It?

What is the difference between MLM and network marketing?
You often hear the terms “network marketing” and “MLM” used as if they mean exactly the same thing. I often use the terms interchangeably in my posts. Have you wondered what the difference is?
In everyday usage, both terms typically refer to the same thing – a powerful home based business model that capitalizes on the power of referral marketing. Here is what is generally considered the difference between MLM and network marketing.
Network Marketing – The Fine Art of Referring Others
The term “network marketing” generally means a business where you sell a product by referring it to others. For example, let’s say you decide to sign up and become an affiliate for an ebook titled “Fast Easy Ways to Make Money Online”. You create an email promoting the ebook, and send it to 100 of your friends and acquaintances.
Each time someone purchases this ebook through your affiliate sales page, you make a commission. In its most basic sense, this is network marketing. You have a product, and you reach out to your circle of friends and beyond in an effort to make sales and earn money.
MLM – Referral Marketing on Steroids
MLM (short for “multilevel marketing”) is a form of network marketing, but carries the potential for making money a few steps beyond. In MLM, you also have a product that you refer to others and you make money from sales of the product. In addition, you can sponsor people into your business and earn a percentage of the profit from products they sell.
This can go down several levels, depending on how much money is available for bonuses on the products. MLM is actually a form of network marketing, but network marketing is not necessarily a form of MLM.
Why “”MLM” Became Known as “Network Marketing”
I have an opinion about this that I believe is pretty accurate. In the early days of MLM, some distributor groups adopted an approach to the business that met with controversy. This approach involved persuading prospects to attend opportunity meetings, while doing whatever it took to avoid revealing anything about the business prior to the actual meeting.
While this was justified by saying “the prospect needs to see the whole picture” and things like that, the term “MLM” soon became synonymous with this approach. Any business described as “MLM” met the reaction “Oh, that is just like ‘Company X’. I’m not interested”.
Thus, I believe the term “network marketing” became popular in order to avoid the misconceptions that became common when “MLM” was used.
Today, many people look for information about this business under both terms. Because of this, many authors and writers use the terms interchangeably when publishing information and promoting opportunities in the industry.

Setting Goals for Your MLM Business

A lot is said about setting goals, both for our MLM  / network marketing businesses and other aspects of our life.
Much has been written about setting goals and objectives. It is important to know what your goals are for your network marketing business. Without knowing where you want to go, you have no clear direction and may tend to just drift along. Drifting along does not build a strong, successful ongoing business with the residual income you desire.
I attended an advanced seminar for network marketers that was all about setting goals and how to approach and plan your business. In one of the presentations, there were three key points that I believe are crystal-clear and to the point. Keep these in mind when setting goals for your business.
1) Many folks enthusiastically sign up for a network marketing opportunity with a simple goal in mind: “I really want to make some money” or “I hope to make enough to quit my job”. These are excellent thoughts and the beginning of a good goal-setting process. However, you need to be much more specific for them to be effective.
For example, instead of saying “I really want to make some money”, try something more focused and specific. “I want to make $2000 per month by next December, so I can afford to quit my job and stay home with our children”.
See how much more focused and meaningful that is? You have a clear “what, when, and why”. With a specific goal, you have direction and can plan your business activities accordingly.
2) Visualize some of the expected benefits and pleasures you will have when you achieve your goal. In this example, you could picture and feel the joy of staying home with your children. You could also feel the freedom you would enjoy when you have more control over your time. Pick things that really mean a lot to you, visualize them, and literally feel them inside.
3) When you have chosen and clearly defined your goals, and supported them by visualizing all the benefits and pleasures you will have, write them down. This is so important, but often overlooked. Writing your goals and desires down gives them more solid meaning. You can then review them often, and modify them if needed. You never know when you’ll surprise yourself and achieve things faster than you thought!
Take all the time you need to set your goals and visualize the benefits of achieving them. This is the first thing you need to do when starting your network marketing business. This is your initial foundation for success. Don’t let this slip.

Network Marketing and MLM – Getting Past the Startup Bumps and Flying High

If you are beginning to build a network marketing business, you will find that you experience a few highs and lows as you go along. There will be days when everything seems to fall in place perfectly. There will be other days when nothing you try to do goes well.
You know you are having a bad day when:
1) You call six prospects. Two of them answer and don’t recall asking for information. Three are just voice mails and you have to leave a message. One plays a message that says…”sorry, you have reached a number that has been disconnected, or is no longer in service”.
2) Your number one prospect who seemed so excited yesterday announces he has signed up with another opportunity.
3) You tell a good friend about your network marketing business, and they give you a lecture about the evils of “pyramid schemes”.
After you have a few days like this, it can really be discouraging especially if you are new to network marketing and MLM.
Here are three things you can do to get back on track.

• contact your sponsor or upline leaders who have successful businesses. They have most likely been through many of the same challenges and roadblocks you are encountering. They can tell you what they did to get back on track and moving again.
• remember your “why” for doing your business. What are your goals and objectives? If you don’t have these clearly defined and written down, now is the time to do it.
• move forward and continue doing the fundamentals – advertising, contacting prospects, sponsoring, and helping those you have already sponsored.

Your network marketing business is the key to a bright future for you. Building a strong business isn’t easy. It takes determination and dedication, but the rewards are more than worth the sacrifice!

Network Marketing – Six Top Resources to Help You Succeed and Make Money

Today, I would like to share six excellent sites where you can learn how to really succeed in MLM and network marketing. One thing for sure – to do well in this business, it is important to always be a student and learn all you can.
FortuneNow.com
Tom “Big Al” Schreiter is a long-time network marketing industry leader and trainer. His membership site at “FortuneNow.com” is a compilation of proven business buiding techniques from his years of successful experience and teaching. Included is a no-nonsense private forum where members can ask and discuss the toughest questions about building their business. I am pleased to say that Tom himself actively participates in these discussions. The knowledge and insight you can gain from the forum alone is worth the membership.
Greatest Networker
Excellent training and motivation for network marketing leaders (and future leaders). This is a membership site, but the monthly fee is very reasonable for what you get. Note: visitors have free access to the complete audio and written (PDF) version of the MLM classic “The Greatest Networker In The World” by John Milton Fogg. If you have not read this book, it is definitely worth a visit.
The Mastermind Sessions
I love this site. John Milton Fogg, a respected author and leader in the network marketing industry, has put together a masterpiece here. Each week, John interviews top network marketing leaders and mlm industry experts and digs deep with probing, thoughtful questions. These sessions can be downloaded to your Ipod or you can listen online. Most sessions include extensive support materials in PDF format as well. This is not lightweight stuff – this is for those who want to become a leader in this industry. Excellent MLM training.
MLM.com
This site offers a lot of good information about network marketing and MLM. There are many articles and tips to help you succeed. One especially good part of mlm.com is the “Distributor Forum”. You will find a lot of good discussion and food for thought. Quite a few top MLM leaders frequent this board.
Magnetic Sponsoring
This will help new network marketers (and many veterans as well) learn how to sponsor more effectively. Instead of trying to convince people to join your opportunity, have them come to you anxious to learn more. I learned a lot from this particular course and many of the principles are exactly what brought me to success in MLM.
Network Marketing Now
This is my own site. Visit us to find lots of information about choosing and successfully building a network marketing business. Content is updated daily.  .

Network Marketing Online – First Steps For Getting Off to a Successful Start

In this day and age, we have the ultimate tool for creating networks of people who consume and sell products – the Internet. No longer is network marketing confined to just working in your local area. With more and more people coming online each year, your potential for making money is huge.
The First Two Steps to Building an Online Presence
There are two basic steps you can use to start building a successful network marketing business online. Once you get rolling, there are many more things you can do. These are the first two things you need to do.
1) You need an online presence – the way to do this is create a web site. You should purchase your own domain name, and set up your own personal site. If your MLM company has strict rules about how you can use the Internet to promote your business, that’s okay. What you really want to do is create a site to sell yourself and the concept of network marketing first. In most cases, though, it is perfectly okay to talk about your business on your own site.
Once you have created your personal web site, you need to add some content. Don’t worry about having a ton of information right at the beginning – it isn’t necessary. You want to tell your story. Who are you? Why did you decide to get involved in network marketing? What business are you in?
The idea is to let potential prospects know more about you, and why they should consider you and your opportunity.
2) Once you have your site up and running, with some good content in place, it is time to start advertising. Here are three inexpensive, cost effective ways to do this when you are just starting out.
- write and publish articles that include links to your website
- start your own blog
- participate in forums and message boards
Once you have all this in place, you will begin to get leads. You simply contact them and tell them about your business. You can also direct them to online information about your opportunity, if your upline group or company provides it (most do).
Other Ways to Advertise and Promote Your Business
Depending on your budget, there are other effective ways to advertise your web site and business. Pay per click advertising is one method, but I don’t recommend that in the beginning unless you already have experience. It is very easy to spend a lot of money with little result.
Participation in social communities like Facebook or MySpace can be very effective, but the secret is building relationships and making friends. You won’t have much success just posting ads and waiting for people to contact you.
Whatever method you choose, just jump in there and get started. Don’t get too bogged down into detail. People are waiting to hear more about YOU!

Time Management for Work at Home Moms

I was thinking recently about how difficult it can be for moms to juggle all the responsibilities of working a business from home as well as keeping up with kids, laundry, meals, and a million other little details all at the same time.
You may be involved in network marketing, direct sales, or another type of home based business. Regardless of the type of business you have, it still requires you to set aside time to get your work done. How do you do this without going crazy?
I found some good articles I’d like to share. I hope these tips will help you find ways to manage your time better. Sometime we need 30 hours in a day but we have to make do with 24.
Time Management Tips for Work at Home Moms
Good time management skills are the key to successfully operating a home business and keeping a household running smoothly.
Easy Time Management Tips for WAHMs
Many people assume that work at home moms have it easy; however, if any of those people have ever lived a day as a WAHM they would know it isn’t so simple. There are children to take care of, a house to clean, a dog to walk, …
Time Management
Routines are my best time management tool. A routine helps keep your day on track. If you want to learn to manage your time effectively then a routine is a critical key to being able to follow through with your daily tasks. There is a …

Do You Recognize the Four Early Warning Signs of Armchair MLM?

If you are new to network marketing, you are no doubt excited and want to get everything organized and prepared before you begin.
It’s a great idea to get your basic plan and your business tools together before you get started, and I do recommend spending time doing this.
While getting things ready, be careful not to fall into a common trap. This trap might be called “Armchair MLM”. Your intentions are good, and you really believe you are on the right track. There is one thing missing, though.
The Four Symptoms of Armchair MLM

• spending time trying to plan every possible way to do your business

• organizing your workspace, promotional material, everything over and over

• thinking about what you are going to do…going to do…

• reading anything you can get your hands on about building your business

All of these things are good if you do them in a timely fashion. The trap is when you spend the majority of your time doing these things. Sometime, if you lack confidence or are afraid to get started, you can become an “Armchair MLM’er”. This makes you feel like you are doing something, but in reality you are repeating the same things over and over and not really accomplishing anything.
How You Make Money in MLM / Network Marketing
The only way you make money in network marketing and MLM is to see the people. Talk to prospects. Present you business. Take action. Endless planning and preparation might give you the feeling that you are “almost ready”, but it won’t put any money in your pocket.
Here is the bottom line. Many new network marketers find themselves consumed with working on details that are non-essential. This detailed preparation does little other than take time away from doing the fundamental things that build your business. Talk to people, advertise your business, pick up the phone and call prospects, answer questions, make presentations – these are the things that make your business

Dealing with Email the Easy Way

All of us with home-based network marketing businesses, if we do a lot of our business online, will have to face the problem of dealing with email. The more successful your promotions, the more email you will get.
As your “Inbox” grows, this can be both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is (hopefully) lots of inquiries from prospects. The curse is dealing with all the other mail you get that isn’t really very important. You will find that home business entrepreneurs get a lot of spam mail.
Quick suggestion – use one primary email address for correspondence with your prospects and customers. Try to keep this one private (don’t publish it on a web site). Create another address to use for everything else, such as signing up for mailing lists or posting on public message boards. This type of address will get most of the spam.
Here is a simple procedure I learned that might help you.

• Check your email only when you have a few minutes to respond and deal with whatever is in there

• Read the oldest mail first, and work your way up dealing with only one email at a time

• Follow this path: read it and reply, or —> read it and do right now whatever action is needed, or —> read it and delete

Keep this cycle going each time you work with your email.
Don’t allow yourself to leave things in your Inbox, thinking “that’s interesting, I’ll take a look later”. I remember when I used to have 400-500 emails accumulated in my Inbox at any given time. Talk about a nightmare!
If the email is about something you must do but can’t do now, make a note on your calendar but then DELETE the email. Don’t let things stack up in your Inbox and get cluttered. Don’t create a bunch of folders to store emails that you “might need someday”, unless there is a really valid reason to do so.
It all boils down to dealing with your email as it arrives, and not letting it get backlogged and piled up. Try it – the reduction of stress you’ll feel is a joy!

Avoid Dwelling on Your MLM Prospects

It often happens, especially when you are new to MLM and network marketing. You are really excited and anxious to start sponsoring…and you find a few prospects.
Suddenly, you begin to feel like you MUST sponsor these prospects. You don’t have many to fall back on, so the importance of sponsoring each one is magnified.
I have a downline associate who became very disappointed when a promising prospect decided to delete themselves from our followup system. To say the least, this associate was crushed because she had put so much emphasis on sponsoring this particular individual.
After speaking with her, I wrote this brief email to summarize what we talked about.
Hi Michelle,
I understand how badly you wanted to sponsor Mr. Johnson. I know you are disappointed because he told you he would be joining as soon as he received his tax rebate check. It seems strange that he deleted himself from our followup system a week later.
Many times, we have prospects who are really not ready to start a home business. They might be looking more for a guaranteed income (like a part time job). They may need money now and can’t wait to build up an income. Sometime, they feel bad about telling you “no”, so they come up with an excuse to wait until later. Then, they either delete themselves as Mr. Johnson did, or simply refuse to answer your phone calls or emails any longer.
Please remember that your business does not depend on any one person. While you don’t have that many prospects in your pipeline right now, your goal is to work consistently and diligently each day to increase this number. Once you have a good number of prospects who are receiving followups, you will find that you start sponsoring people on a regular basis. Until then, I know it is hard not to focus on sponsoring each individual, sort of in a “life or death” sense. Don’t worry, it will get much easier. Just focus on introducing your business to others, and everything will fall into place.
Talk to you soon,
ElevFreak

Top Ten Best Examples of MLM Hype

Anyone involved in MLM has seen some “stretching of the truth” when it comes to promoting MLM business opportunities.
While most network marketers are professional in their approach, there are always a few making claims and promises that are misleading and out of bounds.
Some of these claims are really funny and downright silly when you think about it. The shame is, they make our industry (and our legitimate opportunities) look bad.
Please feel free to comment and suggest your own additions to this list.

1. Don’t delay….get in now before your downline does!
   The classic tactic – fear of loss – used to the max. Gosh, makes you want to jump right in so you can sponsor your existing downline into this hot new deal, doesn’t it…
   
   
2. You will be just three levels down from a heavy hitter…
   Ummm….so what is he going to do for me? Is he good enough that I don’t have to do any work? I can just collect a check every month? What a deal…
3. The absolute hottest new program of the year…
   Well now that is nice to know…so what does this become when the next great “wonder-tunity” comes along? Chopped liver?
   
   
4. Join now, before it is too late…
   Yes, do it right now, because the doors are shutting at midnight…
   we won’t take any more recruits after that…promise…
5. Pre-launch, ground floor, get in now…
   Don’t hesitate a minute…this opportunity will really stink after the
   launch is complete…
6. No products, no selling…
   No selling, no products = no money…all home businesses sell something to someone, period…
7. Drop what you’re doing and call now for top placement…
   Rush to get in on top of this deal…when it fizzles we’ll be on the next hot one and we’ll give you ADVANCE NOTICE so you can get on top again…
8. Once in a lifetime opportunity, don’t miss out…
   Darn, I let this one get by me….but I just found another “once in a
   lifetime opportunity”. I must be a cat – nine lives?
9. Joe Heavy Hitter made $6000 his first month, you can too…
   They forgot to tell me that Joe came over from another opportunity and brought an existing downline of 500 people…
10. We will build your downline for you…
    This one is my favorite. Please do build my downline for me. Do I then build the downline for the people you put under me, or do I sit and do nothing and make money, or just what do I do…

Two Keys to Success With MLM Online

Starting your MLM business and building it online is easier than ever. With more and more people searching for information on the Internet, the number of home business seekers you can reach is awesome.
Now, let me qualify my comment “building it online is easier than ever”. Building a successful network marketing / MLM business is not easy. Doing it online makes it possible to reach many more prospects than you can locally. You have more tools and options for reaching these prospects than ever before. Building a successful business online takes time and smart, focused effort.
For many networkers, the best approach is to start working your business with local prospecting, then gradually branch out and expand your business online. In many cases you can sponsor new associates and make product sales more quickly locally (and be in profit).
This will give you time to learn the basics of your business and how to answer common questions you’ll encounter. This is a good start, and gives you a foundation for expanding your business online.
Beginning your business locally gives you practice in skills you will need to work with your online prospects. If you don’t like the idea of doing any business building locally, here are a couple of thoughts to consider. These are two keys to success with MLM online .
Why Does Network Marketing Online Appeal to You?
Do you feel good about talking to people and working with them?
Working online lets you reach many more prospects than you can working strictly in your local area. However, there is a bad reason for wanting to work online. Some folks don’t like to talk to people, and want to have all communication about their business through email and automated systems.
There are many home businesses you can do online strictly through email and autoresponders. Real network marketing, in my opinion, is not one of them. This is a people business, and the income potential is far greater than most other home businesses can offer. Be sure you enjoy working directly with others and don’t mind picking up the phone to call your prospects and downline associates.
You Are In a “People Business”
Are you willing to call total strangers who have indicated an interest in your business and begin building a relationship with them?
The Internet makes it possible to reach a vast number of people who are actively looking for a home based business. You can do this in many ways, including pay per click advertising, blogging, and participating in message boards.
The key to success is what you do after someone contacts you for information. If your prospect has provided a phone number, make it a point to call them. Most will welcome a phone call. Making this call puts you at the top of the list, because most other marketers won’t do it.
By calling and talking to your prospects, you begin to establish a relationship with them. This is especially important with online contacts, since you will seldom have the chance to meet with these folks in person.
The bottom line – starting your MLM business and working it online can be very rewarding. Just be sure you are going online for the right reasons.

Four Tips for Sponsoring Your MLM Prospects

You have prospects for your MLM / network marketing business. You are calling them, sending email, perhaps even mailing out information packets in hope of sponsoring them into your business.
This is the life of your network marketing business – working your leads. Working your leads can become discouraging, unless you understand how the sponsoring process really works.
Here are four helpful tips that will help you along with your sponsoring.
1) The time your prospect inquired might not be the right time for them to get involved. The right time can come months later. Life events sometime get in the way of your prospects, and they may need time to get to the point where they are ready to start their home business. Never give up on a good prospect. One of my top business builders signed up three years after our initial contact.
2) Set up a system to send out occasional reminders and follow-ups to your prospects. Some MLM companies have autoresponder sequences set up just for this purpose. Add your own personal (non-automated) follow-up from time to time as well. This can be a quick email, or perhaps a brief phone call.
3) Each prospect has their own agenda, and their own reasons to inquire about a home business. Be sure to put the “YOU” in your approach, and find out what they want in a business. If you know what they are looking for, you can show them more effectively how your opportunity can be the answer.
4) Don’t get discouraged. It takes time to make everything work. The key: get all the good prospects you can and do consistent follow-up. The average network marketer probably gives up after 2-3 follow-ups. Stick with your MLM prospects for the long term if you want above average sponsoring results.

Ground Floor Opportunities – Are They Really Worth the Risk?

If you’re looking at network marketing and MLM opportunities, you’ll find that many of them are touted as “ground floor”. Generally, this means they haven’t been in business very long, and are promoted as the best opportunity because they are fresh and new.
Ground Floor Opportunities Can Be Exciting
Signing up with a new network marketing company can be very appealing for a number of reasons. There will be a new product line that no-one has seen before. There will be benefits that no other products have (at least this is what the promotions will say). There will likely be a highly touted compensation plan that may have a few new twists and bonuses built in.
“Get in now, this hot new product will take the market by storm. Don’t delay, do it today!”
Here is the bottom line. Going with a new startup opportunity is a gamble. If you have time and money available to promote it, and understand the odds of a startup making it long-term, the possibilities can be exciting. After all, the most successful network marketing opportunities today were at one time startups.
Thus, it might seem that going with a ground floor opportunity is the best bet. But wait, think about it a minute. Listen to the hype. If they say you have to get in now…if the opportunity is only good in the beginning stages…what will it be like one year, two years, and ten years down the line?
What Happens After the “Ground Floor”?
A solid, legitimate network marketing business will still be a great opportunity long after the “ground floor” stage has passed. The newness or freshness of an opportunity is not what gives it longevity and stability. The key is having great products, fair prices, and smart management that knows how to lead a successful business into the future.
My recommendation is to focus on established opportunities that have stood the test of time (at least two years of successful business, preferably longer).

Setting Your Home Business Income Targets

When starting your home business, it’s important to decide how much you want to make. With network marketing you have a lot of income potential, but you need to put some thought into what you want.
To begin setting your income targets, here are two things to consider right off the top:
What do you want to make from your business (full time or supplemental income)?
How much do you need to earn to achieve this?
Once you are clear about how much money you need, you can begin to plan how you want to work your business. It will be easier to figure out what to do next.

To get started:
1) Be specific about how much you want to make. Don’t say “I want to make some extra money to help pay expenses”. This isn’t clear and specific. It is better to say “I need to be making $2000 per month by next August”. This is specific and gives you a foundation for creating a plan to achieve that level of income.
2) Make your income targets realistic. Consider your business and what you can really achieve over a given period of time. It might be quite realistic to plan for $1000 per month after six months, but unrealistic to expect that level of income in two months. For help with this, get with those in your upline who are successful and making the kind of money you want.
3) Set both long and short term targets. Short term might be something like $1500 per month net after one year. Long term could be $4000 per month after three years. You can then break these targets down further and create a plan of action for achieving them.
The purpose of doing this is to give yourself some firm direction. Going into a network marketing business with the idea of “making all you can” is not really very clear. Without some vision and direction, it will be easy to drift along and make a little here and there, but never what you really want or need.
Let this be one step of your overall plan for your network marketing or MLM  home business – I promise it will make working your business the right way a whole lot easier.