30. November 2008 by Pat.

There are several distinct advantages to being in a direct sales opportunity vs. a multi-level marketing opportunity. 

First one must know the difference between the two.  In direct sales, one profit from the sale of one product pays one person.  In MLM, one profit from the sale of one product is split numerous ways between the person making the sale and that person’s upline.

Immediately, you should be able to see the disadvantage of the MLM system.  When you make a sale, you only get a portion of that sale.  Therefore, in order to earn a significant income, you must build a downline of several hundred or even several thousand (depending on the profits and the compensation plan of the company) individuals each selling the company’s products. 

The order of the day here is duplication and if you can’t get your downline to duplicate your efforts, you might as well stand facing the wind and urinate on yourself because that is the reward you are going to get.  This is why the failure rate of MLM home businesses is something like 95%.

With a direct sales business model, you are primarily dependent on your own efforts to generate the bulk of your income.  If you get the sale made, you get the commission.  Period. 
 

Now, with that said, the best direct sales companies build duplication and residual income into their compensation packages to “sweeten the pot”, so to speak. 

In these instances, you get the best of both worlds.  You get the total profit from your own efforts and if you are a great team leader, you will also get some of the duplication efforts from your team and residual income as your team grows.

When you are looking at a network marketing opportunity, keep these two very distinct differences at the forefront and you will ensure that you find the best opportunity for you to reach your financial independence.

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26. November 2008 by Pat.

It is no secret that America is facing its biggest financial crisis since the great depression. Companies are closing their doors and cutting jobs by the tens of thousands each month, hundreds of thousands of people are becoming unemployed each month, and currently millions of people without jobs. As it stands, Corporate America is no longer a viable and reliable source of security nor has it ever been.

Do You Have A Way Out?
I was speaking with a friend of mind just the other day that is from Detroit about the auto industry and how it will affect that city. Come to find out his parents are both retired from one of the BIG THREE (Ford, GM, Chrysler) and they are highly concerned about what happens to their pensions if those companies fall.

There is a since of concern, urgency and desperation on the faces of people nowadays to find other sources of income to gain that financial security. The buzz has been home businesses that have very low risk and very low financial commitment like MLM, Network Marketing, or Direct Sales. This is a $105 Billion industry with approximately 175,000 people joining per week in the U.S and 495,000 people joining per week world wide.

So what’s the deal behind this type of home business that people are flocking to during this time of financial crisis?

Robert Kiyosaki, a self made millionaire and author of best selling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad says, “Network Marketing gives people an opportunity, with very low risk and very low financial commitment, to build their own income generating asset and acquire great wealth”.

Warren Buffet, the world’s richest individual and owner of 3 direct sales companies says, “One of the best investments I’ve ever made”
Donald Trump, a self-made millionaire says,” It has proven itself to be a viable and reliable source of income”.

Network Marketing has changed the lives of people all over the world who have decided to take on the opportunity presented to them. You hear testimonial after testimonial about rags to riches stories and how great wealth has been achieved. It’s really pretty simple, there is nothing magical about it, and these are ordinary everyday people who decided to take ownership of the financial security and gained the freedom they’ve only dreamed of.

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11. November 2008 by Pat.

There is a new kid on the block and it’s called Click2Sell. Click2Sell is similar to Clickbank, but has more features and options for sellers and affiliates.  It’s a complete all-in-one system for merchants to sell products online (mostly digital products such as ebooks, software, etc.), run affiliate programs and recruit affiliates. It’s also an affiliate programs network for affiliates to select and promote products from Click2Sell Marketplace and earn affiliate commissions.Click2Sell is a merchant platform, affiliate marketing portal, and online payment processor transaction coordinator.  Really, it’s an easy to use, all-in-one solution!According to various super-affiliates like Rosalind Gardner, Allan Gardyne, Zac Johnson,

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29. July 2008 by Pat.

I recently attended a meeting of my mastermind group in Las Vegas. They’re a group I’ve been meeting with for the past two years. Those meetings have always been a phenomenal experience for me… experiences that helped me catapult my business from struggle to success. This latest meeting, however, truly changed my life. I had the extraordinary experience of enjoying two days with like-minded colleagues in the most powerful, authentic mastermind I’ve ever attended.

So, you may be wondering what was so different about this one? Well, let me tell you.

This mastermind had no leader. It was the first one I’ve been to that was a result of a group of individuals coming together on their own accord to support each other. Nobody got paid; nobody was responsible for the group; nobody was “in charge.” And, it was pure magic… which brings me to the first gift Las Vegas taught me about business.

Gift #1: Show up as a leader.

You may be wondering how my weekend in Las Vegas even occurred when nobody was in charge. Here we were; a group of 10 entrepreneurs from across the United States and Canada, sitting in a meeting room in Las Vegas having some of the most powerful conversations of our lives… and nobody was in charge. So, how’d it happen? How did we orchestrate such an undertaking if nobody was at the helm? The secret is… we were ALL leaders.

So now, you may be wondering… if we were all leaders, how did anything get done? How could we be productive with ten leaders at the helm? You’d think it would be mayhem. But, it was the exact opposite. It was easy, calm, fun and totally ‘in the flow.’

The key to this was that everyone showed up as a leader… but, not in the same role at the same time. For example, two people worked together to negotiate the hotel contract, another person worked on the agenda, I coordinated our “night on the town” (where we danced our hearts out until 4:00 in the morning), someone else kept time during the meetings, someone else conducted a round-table conversation about our accountability/buddy system, someone else brought the movie “The Moses Code” for us to watch together, someone else facilitated our closing, etc. Everyone contributed their piece exactly as it was meant to be. The whole experience was 100% perfect. We were all in charge… and we were all changed.

What I’m taking away from this, and what I want you to consider for yourself, is that you ARE a leader, even if you’re not in a designated leadership position. As an entrepreneur, you have built-in leadership skills, so use them outside of your own business. Be willing to step up, to chip in, to do your part as an individual… for the good of the WHOLE.

As I spoke with Donna (my Online Business Manager) for our weekly meeting, she asked me why it was such a profound weekend for me. And, the answer somewhat surprised me when I said it, but the most profound piece of the weekend was that as I experienced everyone showing up as a leader… everyone taking responsibility, everyone knowing when to step up (and when to step back)… I couldn’t help but imagine what our world would be like if everyone showed up as we did, as leaders working together for the good of the whole. We’d live in a different world if this were the case.

So, I invite you to take a look at the groups you belong to, the communities you participate in, the teams you’re a part of… and see if you can contribute more as a leader, not for your own sake but for the sake of the highest and best good of everyone involved.

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25. July 2008 by Pat.

Unfortunately, most mlm training does not cover improving website conversions. By website conversions, I am referring to the crucial process of converting website visitors in to list subscribers or customers. This articles will reveal 3 easy tips for dramatically improving your website/landing page conversions.

People who surf the Net are generally looking for relevant information regarding something of interest. In order to find that information, they must provide search terms for the search engines. Upon arriving at a website after providing a search term, the visitor is anxious to find the appropriate information. If they do not find the information they seek, THEY LEAVE….

QUICKLY!

Obviously, for a visitor to become a customer, they must stay long enough on your page/site, to make a decision about you and your offer. Consequently, your landing page must provide key points regarding the information that visitors are seeking. Arranging topics with bullet points can be an effective way for your visitor to quickly determine how interested they are in your offer.

Make SURE your headline is compelling and emotionally charged! Create a high level of curiosity.

The next conversion strategy is called “social proof.” Customer testimonials are the most common type of social proof. These testimonials can be written, by audio messages, or video. Video is by FAR the most effective form of social proof.

Arrange a minimum of 3 video testimonials on your landing page. Give your visitors the option of listening to the videos. To enhance the chance that they will listen to them, be sure and provide compelling reasons to do so. The videos should be no more than 45 seconds. Always provide directions involving the visitor’s next course of action after they listen to the video(s).

Finally, offer your visitor an incentive for providing contact information. These incentives are most effective when they come in the form of a free offer. Preferably, the free offer should be something that the majority of your visitors will be interested in. It is also important for them to receive the free offer IMMEDIATELY. Free ebooks, reports, or e-courses can all be used effectively.

The best resource for learning how to market with video, in addition to creating quality landing pages is Renegade University. The FREE members only site is a fabulous tool for network marketers wanting the essentials of attraction marketing.

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21. July 2008 by Pat.

Looking for the best way to recruit for network marketing? Then keep reading, because what I’m about to share with you is extremely important, if you want to succeed in MLM.

More and more rookie network marketers are learning the hard way, that approaching their warm market (friends and family), is not the best way to recruit people into their network marketing business, even though their sponsor instructed them to do so.

The harsh reality is that it is not that easy to recruit people into your MLM, period.

The key is to have a system in place that generates leads and cash flow on the front-end and also covers your advertising expenses at the same time. This is known as an MLM funded proposal and this is exactly how the heaviest of all the heavy hitters in MLM do it. This is also the easiest way to build any MLM business since you can be generating a full-time income in just a few short weeks on the front-end while you are building long-term residual income on the back-end.

You need to have a recruiting system in place for your MLM that pays you for your time and efforts while you are hard at work building your business, so that you always have more money coming in than going out.

Once this system is in place, you won’t have the stress and anxiety of not having enough sign ups because your MLM recruiting system will be generating the best MLM leads possible for your network marketing business, non-stop, around the clock.

This is MLM recruiting on steroids!

This is the best way to recruit for network marketing, period.                                                

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28. February 2008 by Pat.

A lot has been written about what makes a good salesperson. Education, experience, training, and even a certain inborn “killer instinct” have all been mentioned as necessary qualities to be good at sales. From my experience, however, the best salespeople are the ones who are the best “people watchers.”In other words, to be able to sell to your customers, you have to be able to know who they are, what they want, and what they are feeling. All of these can be determined with good research, strong observation skills, and an attentive nature.

Knowing your customers is not just a one-time act — you want to pay attention to your customers before, during, and after the sale:

BEFORE THE SALE:

You should have a feel for your “ideal” customer before you launch any advertising or marketing campaign. What newspapers, magazines, and e-zines do they read? What topics interest them most? What groups or associations do they belong to?

You can devise a questionnaire to send to your best customers and prospects. Entice them with a free offer or a big discount.

Many actors start developing their character by writing down a long list of words that describe the character. This helps the actor think deeply about the part they are going to play.

This strategy works well to help you figure out what kind of people buy often. You likely know far more about your prospects and customers than you realize. This method helps you get a clearer understanding of what you probably already know.

DURING THE SALE:

You can save yourself time and energy by paying close attention to your customers during the sales process. One thing you should definitely do is watch for signs that the customer is ready to buy.

The more expensive your product or service, the more time it takes to sell it. Customers want to know all about how it works and what it can do to make their life or business better. Help them work through this process and you will make more sales.

Here are a few signs customers give you when they are ready to buy.

The customer suddenly speeds up the pace. She has decided she wants to buy and is moving with more purpose toward the sale.

Some people are just the opposite. They slow down the pace when they get serious about buying. Rush them and you will lose the sale.

Your customer starts asking a lot of questions. Remember that customers only ask about things that really matter to them. Take this as a good sign you’ve got a serious prospect.

Others will ask all about terms of payment, delivery, and guarantees even before they tell you which item they want. They feel more comfortable doing this because they can show serious interest in buying without letting you know exactly what they want to buy.

AFTER THE SALE:

This could be the most important time to pay attention to customers, especially if you want to make repeat sales or get referral business.

Contact your customers to see if they are satisfied with their product or service. If the customers have questions or complaints, do your best to answer the situation quickly. Remember that you can sometimes head off future problems by paying attention to customer concerns.

If you find that your customers are completely satisfied, ask if you can get a testimonial. Nothing helps you make a sale like strong testimonials from satisfied customers. Prospects are impressed when they hear positive things from those who have already bought your product or service. “This gadget doubled my gas mileage and saves me $200 a month! Buy it!”

Some types of customer recommendations work better than others. “This is great stuff” is a good testimonial but “This stuff cut my costs by 20%” is even better. Try to get customer recommendations that tell what kind of results the user got.

When customers say something good about your business or products, ask them if you can use their comment in your marketing. Almost everyone will be delighted and flattered that you want to use their words. Write them down and file them away for later use.

Even though the Internet is probably the most technological thing in our lives, we need to remember that Internet BUSINESS still revolves around PEOPLE. We should always make sure that we pay attention to the people we do business with — there really NO better way of doing market research.

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21. February 2008 by Pat.

Show Me The Money! Have you constantly read posters and signs that read ” Make 1 Million In 30 Days!!!”. If you haven’t well I have and I am sick and tired of it. It’s about time this work from home companies put up or shut up. Now I am not knocking every work from home company, there are many great ones out there. What I am knocking is the fly by night companies who are just looking to rip people off. Before you join or buy into any work from home company there are some basic steps you should take. I call them the Show Me The Money steps.So here we go. First you want to do a background check on the company. How long has the company been around? Does the CEO have a good reputation or is he a crooked con artist? What are people saying about the company? One thing to remember is some people will always have a bad impression on these work from home companies. So take everything you hear, bad and good, with a grain of salt. And do not judge on other people’s results because they may or may not have skills which you have.

Next what is the training like? Will they teach you how to build your business? Or will they leave you high and dry once they have your money? Talk to people within the company, your support system is key! Most people are just starting a home based business so the help is vital. If they do not get good training or have a support system in place they will fail.

Lastly do you have the money and the time to build a business? This is also a very important question as well because no matter what anyone tells you building a business does require time and money. Now if you have lots of spare cash you can always hire someone to get a lot of the work done for you. But if you are short on cash then you will have to devote a larger portion of your time. Which can be tough if you have a demanding job and a family to support.

So these are just a few things to think over before joining a work from home business. Remember though the main purpose of any business is to “Show Me The Money! “.

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