Wordpress Was a Bomb

Okay, Wordpress and I were not a match made in heaven. Just a tad too techno-geeky fer me ;-)

Have really missed blogging and decided to try my hand at typepad. I think I like it!

Come on over and see what I'm up to :)





andreagoodsaid.typepad.com

See 'ya there!

New Wordpress Blog Replaces this One

Quick update :)

Am revamping my network marketing website and blog L&F and location has changed as well.

All of the posts that are here have been imported to the new 'on site blog' ... plan to have more regular entries and items worth commenting on from here on out.

See 'ya there!

Andrea

The Magic of Forums

Have trouble figuring out how to market online?
Go hang out with your friends!

Literally.

One of the most effective ways of building relationships online is through the use of niche forums. Read this blog entry on a friend's blog and you'll see why:

Forums A Great Internet Marketing Tool

So what do you like to do?

Go let people get to know like and trust you ... leave the marketing to your sig file ;-)

Andrea

Why Friendly Follow-up Works

Follow-up and customer service will set you apart from the crowd every time.

Why do I think that?

People just don't keep in touch anymore.

My friend Sara is a perfect example ... her blog post "Maintaining Contact" spells it all out for us. She's just a 'regular gal' ...

Network marketing is all about building and maintaining relationships ... you stand out from the crowd when you keep in touch.

Andrea

Building Your Brand: Online Writing Opportunities

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I am 100% in favor of branding yourself first ... NOT the company you've decided to rep.

I even wrote a ranting article about it last year called "On Becoming the GoTo Guy" might wanna read it and catch up if you missed it first round.

Article writing is a great wat to 'become the expert' and brand yourself in a particular field. The end result is that you become attractive to the market that seeks that expertise. Kinda cool, huh?

I have a friend who posted a valuable "short list" of places to submit your writing to on her blog:
Freelance Content Writing: Online Writing Opportunities

Happy submitting!
Andrea

Network Marketing Secret: How to Win a Mother's Heart

There is one certain way to win a Mother’s heart in this industry.

Celebrate Her Children!

Last weekend, I went to a semi-annual convention for a company that I rep. Or at least it was just ‘a company’ before I got there … now it’s ‘THE company’.

• Sure the food was great.
• Of course everyone was welcoming and on their best behavior.
• Yes, meeting everyone in person and seeing production first hand was vitally important.
• And the speakers were amazing.
• And I came away with more ideas than I can even make sense of this week.
• And, and, and …

It was an awesome event topped off by Karaoke after dinner the final night (sounds a little out there, I’m sure … but what FUN!)

But none of that held a candle to the power of everyone’s reaction to my kids being there.

Personal Development: Never too Soon

This year my girls are 4 and 12.

The older one I gave a key to our room and turned her loose … I felt that comfortable with the facility we were in. She hooked up with the other ‘tweens’ who attended and was voluntarily exposed to more personal development training that I could have hoped for all year.

The 4yo … well, it’s a good thing she’s cute . We made our fair share of trips to the snacks, that’s for sure … but still, I can only imagine what might be sticking to her little pliable brain in they way of positive and out of the box thinking.

How cool to begin THAT particular journey at such a young age!!

We’ve Heard it a Hundred Times

How many Moms are attracted to Direct Sales and Network Marketing?

I’m not sure of the statistics, but I think we all realize that the WHY that gets many people interested in network marketing is a desire to be closer to their partners, their families.

“Quality time with loved ones” … we’ve heard it a hundred times, haven’t we?

What we want most of all from our networking experience is to have time and financial freedom. Why shouldn’t that be true at the first point of relationship with the company?

9 Ways to Make Your Events More Family Friendly

• Offer a ‘kid ticket’ rate.
• Hold your convention in a hotel that welcomes families.
• Negotiate a decent double room rate with breakfast included.
• Provide ‘kid meals’ as an option (but not a requirement).
• Include a walking tour if possible.
• Have plenty of interactive games and stories are always a plus (for everyone)
• Honor and appreciate them from the podium
• Include them in the presentations
  And last but not least…
• Give everyone the same ‘stuff’ at registration (name tag, pen, binder, etc…).
  

It’s my opinion that when you treat kids seriously, they take the event more seriously and you get more of what you want out of ‘em.

The Icing on the Cake: Partnership

My kids really didn’t want to leave.

All they could talk about all the way home was “Are we goin’ again in the Fall??” …
“Well?? Can we, can we??”

Think they’re a little better invested in the success of our business now?

But you wanna hear the best part?

We got home Sunday evening all bubbly and excited and it looks like my husband will probably attend next round too.

Can’t beat that … a tax deductible business trip that can double as a family vacation.

Celebrate and Partner with the Children!
They ARE the next generation of sales people after all ;-)

To your partnership sucess!

Andrea

Candles, Gift Baskets, Cheap Wedding Favors

Sometimes we need to find ways to use our products in the gift arena. Finding ways for our teams to generate cashflow is never a bad thing.

Mother's day is coming right up. Mother's Day Gift Baskets are a popular option. Doesn't matter whether it's candles, telephone calling cards or vitamins that you're marketing. A themed gift basket is a great way to get your product out there without having *warm market woes*.

Consider too whether there's a way to create Cheap Wedding Favors with your item. The Spring wedding season is upon us and if you ever wondered whether there's really any money in that industry, just hook yourself up with a wedding planner or local DJ ... anyone who can give you an 'in' with the brides this years.

Might be interesting to see how many leads you can generate by providing (and being paid for) a simple, cheap wedding favor that you can attach your contact info or website information to, eh?

Totally love brainstorming!

Andrea

PS. This is how I help others with cash flow :)

The Smartest People in the Room

PF HEAT Training Newsletter
PassionFire Intl
by Doug Firebaugh
(c) 2006/ all rights reserved


"The Smartest People in the Room."

You may heave heard about it.

There is a film out called "The Smartest Men in the
Room." It is a documentary about the ENRON scandal.
It is a jaw dropping expose about the ENRON deception
and the house of cards they built.

We can all learn something from this debacle. And in
Networking, it is a great lesson for us all to learn.

This article is called "The Smartest People in the Room"
as it is about the people that are TRULY smart in dealing
with our industry. The question is, what makes these people
smarter and more successful than the average person in our
industry?

Simple.

There are 5 things that we will call "Smart Traits" and if you
operate your business with these traits, you will be one of
the "smart ones" in the room, as well as one of the most
successful eventually--never fails.

What makes the "Smartest People in the Room" so smart
in Networking?

for further reading:

Click Here


What kind of sponsor do you want to be?

Andrea

Permission to Vent

Permission to Vent – Two Kinds of Wants

Got a new newsletter from Kim Klaver this morning with a link to an audio that I’d been meaning to go hunt down … way to go Kim!

See I’ve decided to focus on simplicity.

Even re-vamped my wellness website over the weekend and that’s the theme … simplicity is my goal in all things. Granted, getting there may not be simple:

• Coming up with systems that work


• Putting the tools in place that first I and then my team can use


• Settling on ways that work to fill the funnel ‘easily and consistently’


• Helping others to sort all these parts for themselves

And simple also does not mean laziness gets to kick in ever. I’m talking tweaking and streamlining till the process is down to effective … time thrifty… clear … SIMPLE.

So back to Kim.

Kim’s audio (and there’s also a short companion book ... free btw) shares with us in a new way Tom Schreiter’s needs vs. wants reality.

Actually she tweaks it slightly and helps us to understand why even when people say they ‘want’ something, they still may not take action.

Tom’s simple two-question approach to sifting and sorting goes like this:

1. What’s y our greatest ___________ challenge? (stick in health, business, whatever suits your situation)
   
   
2. Would you like to do something about it?

Then he listens … waiting for their words to decode and decipher. Basically, it’s either a yay or a nay … however they say it.

Kim goes a step further.

In the story that she tells on that audio and in her eBook download, she shares something very powerful. A way of working with people that allows us to take the position of coach and mentor over ‘sales person’.

Whether she intended to or not, she shows us how ‘relationship building’ is a really great win/win way to BE.

What do you think about her change/vent list idea?

I think it’s pretty cool to consider coaching people about the lists and giving them permission to vent.


Looking to simplify?

Andrea

Dancing to the Music that Matters to You

Dancing to the Music that Matters to You

How important do you suppose it is to have a personal story about whatever it is you’re wanting to sell?

I say it’s the only thing that DOES count if you don’t have one.

To my copywriting mentor early on …

“Target marketing … okay I get that yes; talk to people who have raised their hands .... But who’s my target market??”

“Your market is whoever it is that’s attracted to you.”

Came the cryptic reply.

Great. What the hell was I supposed to do with that?

Like a newly found friend recently wrote to me “That and a dollar will buy a cup of coffee”

Back to soul searching.

See I was torn between marketing for customers and marketing for business builders. (And to the popular idea of covering both bases in any sort of marketing? I say … “poppy cock”).

On the one hand, gaining customers creates immediate income.

On the other, there’s that dream of attracting those somewhat elusive business builders who just go nuts and everyone around them suddenly has pockets lined with gold.

Nice work if you can get it …

Let’s say it does happen for you … what about the rest of your people?

If you’ve read My Story, you know that a big part of my ‘why’ includes being able to take others along for the ride. What earthly good is being at the top if you can’t share it with friends?

Well, I’ve been a marketing approach fence sitter. That is until just a few minutes ago when I listened to one of Kim Klaver’s podcasts.

Some combination of input along this journey of mine finally gelled as I was listening to that and I am crystal clear on how any NWM business has to be approached if you want it to last.

Mind you, not all companies are structured in a way that allows for this way of doing things; in fact, many are not (but that’s a whole different conversation).

If I’m going to build it, this is the process that must be supported:

Phase I – Build the Relationship (with people who raise their hands)

• Market for customers … may involve sampling and/or online benefit laden agenda-free niche market pre-selling (basically answering their “what’s in it for them”) before product purchase.

• Create customer evangelists… point out auto-ship incentives. Auto-ship is the ‘income stability factor’ you can depend on.

• Everyone’s happy.

• Everyone who wants cash flow has some and everyone who wants to be a consumer gets to be just that. Nothing more, nothing less.

Phase II – (and these are two distinct activities)
Build the Relationship

• Market for business interested people… folks actively searching for a way to build passive income … who see the value in an autoship product-user base.

• And I don’t mean go fishing in your pool of customers!

Your customers are not served by you telling them they can make money. They’re consumers because that’s what they want to be. Leave them alone. Don’t try to ‘fix’ them …. They’re not broken!

They are the sole reason you have a business in the first place and their needs HAVE TO BE your priority.

• Help the builders (who raise their hands) find a way that works for them to gain customer evangelists.

• Instill the value of service and problem solving for others … has to be for the right reason, not for the wrong reason (maybe the hardest paradigm shift of them all!).

• Repeat.

So let’s review …

If your goal is a substantial passive income from a NWM business, you need autoship sales … honest end user product consumption. Retail consumers. Customer evangelists … the lovers, as Kim says (you did listen to that audio, right?)

To be attractive to autoship sales, you really need a product story (preferably your own) and a desire to help other people with their wants. Not because of how it makes them feel, but because of how it makes you feel.

To be attractive to business builders, you have to realize who it is that you’re looking for. You will attract people who can relate to who you are. You have to BE the people you want to attract.

In other words, your target market is really other people like you. So maybe change isn’t really all that necessary.

Growth, yes.

But change for change sake?

I don’t think so.

Trust that the people who are like you will be attracted to you. Get clear on your ‘Why’, be brave and let people see who you really are.

Learn to dance to the music that matters most to you…. Everything else will fall neatly into place.

And by all means … embrace the journey! (‘cause once you’re done, you’re dead <grin>).

Best Always,
Andrea

Instant Everything

Instant Everything – NWM is not about getting rich quick

Great reminder from Michael Clouse in my inbox this morning :)

Expect Success!

Andrea
_____________________________________


Instant Everything
by Michael S. Clouse

A man stands in front of that rectangular shaped, nuclear-
particle device some call a microwave, mumbling under his
breath, "Come on, come on, why is this thing taking so long?"

All I can do is shake my head, and wonder if anyone ever informed
our got-to have-it-yesterday guy the reason we call it a lunch hour?

Well, the lunch hour is one thing, but now this "instant mentality"
has found its way into Network Marketing. And what's worse is
that more than a few distributors have bought into this "Get rich
overnight! I did. So can you!" ridiculously misguided belief.

Personally, aren't you a bit tired of the all the half-truths,
exaggerations, and lies being perpetuated in our industry? And
yet, we see them every day--hundreds of unsolicited e-mails,
countless ads in opportunity seekers magazines, and even the
occasional postcard--all promising instant riches, and no downline
to build, because they will do all the work for you! Just complete
the simple on-line application--include your credit card number
to cover your required sucker fee--sit back and relax.

Easy street here you come!

Let me give you three examples of what I mean...

To finish reading this week's Nexera e-News article,
go here and select any "Nexera e-News" link!

Blogger for Word ... How Cool!!

Testing Blogger for Word

This may feel a bit off topic, but since I’m writing one of my other blogs as part of a team, ironing out some of the details about posting and blog management are cropping up and I thought I’d share my solution here.

There is a nifty little plug-in that you can download for your Word program. (note: must be running Word 2000 or better on Windows for it to work)

This is the first time I’m using it and if this posts correctly (you can see it … did it??), all I did was:

• Download the plug-in


• Open a new word .doc (notice new buttons)


• Type as I normally would (formatting and all)


• Enter my blogger.com account info


• Press publish


• Select the blog I wanted to post to


• Press enter

Bingo … here it is!

And it allows you to edit from your Word also … I am more than a little bit excited about this!!

That’s all for today ;-)

Best,
Andrea

'Big Al' Cameo on MFF Call

Anyone who's ever had the good fortune to hear Tom 'Big Al' Schreiter (www.fortunenow.com) speak knows how nice it was to have him as a guest speaker on our Mentoring For Free calls this week.

In a quick 15 minutes on the Wednesday afternoon training call Big Al delivered this handy, unique local lead tip.

Only use this if you would like leads who:

• are employed
  
• hate their job
• are local to you
• are exclusive
• offer their email address

And are VERY affordable.

Far fetched you say??
Follow along for a second:

Every office building lets people out for lunch.
Where do they go?
They go to the local deli.

Here's what you do:

• Ask the deli owner if it would be okay if you gave away a free meal every now and then.
• Get yourself a 'win-a-free-meal' fishbowl.
• Have people provide their name and email so you can contact the winner.
• Also have them finish this phrase:
  
  "I hate my job because ____________________."
  
  
• Each week or so, draw a winner and email them that they've won.
• Buy them their $6 deli sandwich.
• Now email everyone else their 2nd prize notification (this could be product info, a sample, a free report ... anything really) and also indicate that they will be automatically entered for next week's drawing.

This will build you an exclusive list of local contacts who have not only opted-in, they've also told you exactly what their greatest concern is re. the work that they're already doing.

All for the price of a sandwich.

Pretty neat, eh?

To Your Success!
Andrea
www.AndreaGoodsaid.com

On Becoming the 'GoTo' Guy

Become the 'GoTo' Guy

For years we’ve been taught to identify ourselves as reps for one XYZ company or another.

• We have our fancy business cards printed, some letterhead, maybe an address stamp.

• We use the company logo and replicated websites as points of first impression.
  
  
• We market ourselves as being associated with that company with abandon … heck, we even have the T-shirts to prove it!
  

Sounds okay on the surface, right?

Not right.

Think Like the CEO That You Are

Dedicating your personal image might be okay (or even required!) when you’re on salary with some company. After all, when you trade your time for money, they do get to call the shots when you’re on the clock, don’t they.

Sometimes a job can even have a say in how you’re dressing or acting in your off hours … all too common.

But what I don’t get is why people, who join Network Marketing companies as independent distributors, feel the need to associate their very being as an XYZ distributor.

Why the rush to be labeled as a part of that company?!
Are we not CEOs and chief bottle washers of our own businesses?

If you think about it, it’s really only to the company’s benefit for you to parade around in company promotional garb and paying for your own ‘official’ business documents to be printed.

Learn to Brand Yourself

Become the ‘GoTo’ guy for your chosen product or service type.

• Promote an image of expertise in a field rather than just another distributor among many.

• Don’t marry yourself to any one company … leave your options open.

• Make every marketing effort that you put forth something that you can benefit from for a lifetime.

By branding yourself, you build that needed ‘know, like and trust’ that makes sales easiest. You become associated in the minds of the people you are working with as THE person to go to when they’re wanting what you’ve got.


To your success!
Andrea

www.AndreaGoodsaid.com

Building Your Own Blog

There have been enough people trying to find the beginning of the 'Start your own blog' series that I thought a post with a link on the template might be a good idea ;-)

So here it is and here are the links to the three part series (which you can now access from the side menu):

Day 1: How to Start Your MLM Blog

Day 2: Pinging Your MLM Blog

Day 3: Syndicating Your MLM Blog

Now of course, 'MLM Blog' are just key words that I want the search engine spiders to pick up on for this blog ... the directions will work for any blog you care to get up and running :)

Be sure and let me know if you should get stuck on any part of it. I'll be happy to help one on one.

To your success!
Andrea

AndreaGoodsaid.com

"A Millionaire's Secret" -by Allen Says

This came through the other day ... it's a keeper ;-)

To your success!
Andrea
http://MentorFirst.com


"A Millionaire's Secret" -by Allen Says
-------------------------------------------------

Washington DC was nasty as could be. As I sat on the bench waiting for my bus to arrive I couldn't wait to get back to the backwoods of Louisiana. I had almost sat in a pool of blood that was on the far end of the bench and I was ready to go. I truly hope people coming to visit our country don't make DC one of their stops.

Anyway, before my bus arrived I was approached by a nicely dressed elderly gentleman in need of directions. I told him I had no idea what he was looking for as I too was just passing through. To this day I'm not sure why, but we started talking as if we had known each other for years.

We talked about life, people and eventually the conversation turned to business. It was here that the gentlemen saw something in me, I suppose, that made him feel like sharing what he said was the greatest secret ever told. He said everyone had heard it but almost no one paid any attention to it, even though it was the one thing that could bestow a fortune upon any man or woman who used it.

My ears where definitely starting to perk up. Something about his tone told me this man knew from whereof he spoke. And I wanted to know what the secret was with a passion. He must have sensed my anxiousness because at that very moment he gave me a warning that was almost a scolding.

I'll try to recount here as best I can the rest of our conversation...

Man: "Do not make the mistake of shrugging off what I am about to tell you because you have heard it before. No doubt you have heard it already from at least one person in your life. You may have even heard it many times. Do you have any aversion to religion Mr. Says?"

Me: "No I don't. I don't believe many preachers know what they are talking about or even what they are trying to teach, but I do know the Bible has a lot of great knowledge in it."

Man: "Good. I would not want you to discount what I am about to tell you because it does come directly from the Bible. But its applications reach far beyond what most people can conceive of. It will take thought, intense pondering on your part, to begin to get some inkling of its
power."

"This simple secret, when applied to business, will draw money to you as easily as water runs down a mountain. Even a fool can apply it and prosper. When applied to relationships, it will create more friends than you can handle" (laughing heartily)

Me: "What is it, I'm dying to know now?"

Man: "Patience Mr. Says, Patience. I will not give it to you as it has always been repeated by fools who have no respect or knowledge of what it even means. No. I will give it to you another way."

"What type of business are you interested in?"

Me: "Well, I'm dabbling in Mail Order right now. I would like to place ads and sell books."

Man: "Fine. Fine. Mail Order it is. Let me tell you how to create a fortune in this Mail Order. All you have to do is create the product you want to buy"

Me: "I don't understand"

Man: "You will"

"You see, you are your market. Whatever you want, there are millions of other people wanting the same thing. That elusive product you are looking for is the product millions of others are also looking for right now."

"All you have to do is create the product you want to buy, the product you yourself have been looking for. Once you have this product, what would you want the sales message to say so that you know this is the product you have been looking for?"

"If someone else where selling this product, what would you want the ad to say, what would get you to buy this product?. When you have that answer, that is the ad you want to create."

Me: "I see" (hesitantly)

Man: "See the business across the street here? Pizza. I could triple the business that place does inside of 10 minutes. That's what I do by the way" (smiling)

"All I would do is walk into the business as a customer. I would sit there and imagine all the things that could be done to me that would make me a loyal customer to that business for life. What could they do for me that would make me feel this way?"

"Once I had the answers to that question, I would implement them across the board. Every customer would be treated the way I had imagined. And without any doubt what so ever that business would triple the profits it now makes."

Me: "I think I know..."

Man: "Wait, you don't really know anything yet. That's the problem with people. They brush something off because of where it came from or because they heard it many times. Leave that for fools. You won't "know it" until you have deeply pondered it and put it to use."

Me: "Ok"

Man: "What I am telling you has power undreamed of. The simple words used to describe it cannot contain it. Does not do justice to it, and has been prostituted by blabber mouths who let wisdom fall off their lips with not even a single brain cell grasping what they are rambling
about."

"What I am telling you is Law, not man's Law, but the very Law's of nature herself. It's the way things work and those who truly understand it rise to the top in every field known to man."

"What people don't understand is that it applies to everything. This secret can be applied with virtually every step you take, everything you do, every word you speak and everyone concerned profits by it."

"If you are a writer, write like you would like to be written to"

"If you are a salesman, sell like you would like to be sold to"

"If you are a speaker, speak like you would like to be spoken to"

"If you want more love, then love like you would like
to be loved"

"If you want more friends, be the friend you would like
to see"

"When you infuse everything you do with this secret it takes on a magical power. Businesses dominate the market, books become best sellers, leaders attract huge and loyal followings."

"How would you like it?"
"How would you respond to it?"
"How would it make you feel?"

"Those are great questions to think about every time you do or create something. You will get into the hearts and minds of everyone who comes under your influence if you will first think how you would have it done to you."

"I'm certain you already know the quote from the Bible I'm referring to. But don't repeat it, just ponder it and pratice it."

Me: "I do. But I've never thought of how it could actually apply to everything in life. I too was one of those fools who passed it over without so much as a second thought. I really want to thank you for sharing this with me."

Man: "It's been a real pleasure talking with you
Mr. Says, have a safe journey home."

-----------

And with that, he was gone. The funny thing was, as I was riding home on the bus I realized I never got his name, nor do I remember ever giving him mine. Maybe he saw my luggage tag. I'm not sure. It really doesn't matter. What does matter is that I've profited from that advice for the last 15 years.

I'm not even really any good at it either and I've still pulled in huge amounts of money. Especially from the Internet. This is one place this knowledge can really shine. People have always asked me my secret. How come the Warriors is still here, with the same products, with all this competition, after all these years?

This one simple secret is the answer. I always ask myself how would I like to be treated by this company? What would I like to see? What would I like to get? How would I like to be dealt with?

Those simple questions are all you have to answer. When you do get the answers, put them into action and watch what happens.

Create The Site You've Been Looking For

Write Like You Would Like To Be Written To

Sell Like You Would Like To Be Sold To

Talk Like You Would Like To Be Talked To

Deal Like You Would Like To Be Dealt With

Create For Others What You Would Like Created For You

Excite Others The Way You Would Like To Be Excited

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


www.MentorFirst.com

Building Relationships: The Enemy Within

Building Relationships: The Enemy Within

What is it about people?!

What is it that makes us live our lives in judgment of each other and ourselves day in and day out?

Programming is the culprit.

Think you don’t fall into this category?

Guess again!

We’ve all got it to deal with to one degree or another.

There will always be someone who has an opinion they want to freely share when they probably shouldn’t. Always someone whose self-esteem doesn’t allow them to see us for who we really are.

We are not what we drive, what we wear, what we eat or even for that matter where we live.

But wait just a minute (and I want you to brace yourself here)… what if it’s actually we who are ‘they’?!

Scary thought isn’t it?

We Are Our Own Victims

What if every time we value (or de-value) someone because of their politics, their education, or the way they look, we actually hurt ourselves?

Surely it doesn’t make it easier to know that person or have them know us.

Once I went to a friend’s wedding reception in a borrowed car because it was being held at a country club and I couldn’t bear the thought of being seen in the common one I drove. How silly … no one even noticed but me.

You Already Own the Secret

What if the real secret to building strong relationships in our personal and business lives starts with changing how we look at the people around us.

What if it’s as easy as loving and respecting who we are first.

‘It’s none of my business what other people think of me’

What if.

To your success!

Andrea

Agenda free mentoring ... Period.

http://mentorfirst.com/

Network Marketing Tip: Do You Re-invent the Wheel or Just Drive the Car?

Network Marketing Tip: Do You Re-invent the Wheel or Just Drive the Car?

There are those in the Network Marketing industry who would have you believe that their way is the only way for a booming business to be built.

Others will say ‘Here, here’s your business, now just out there and get cracking!’

Most sponsors fall somewhere in between in terms of support (IF they have any real business knowledge to share in the first place). The reality is that no matter what they’re saying out loud, it’s what they’re actually doing day to day to build their business which is the example that you will measure your own abilities against.

This is something that we often forget about when choosing how to build our own businesses … it’s easy to look upline and see the glitches and inconsistencies. It’s not so easy to be deliberately dublicatable ourselves.

Nothing Happens Until Something Moves

Let’s take a look at what the sales of any given company look like. These are what keep the cash flow going year in and year out after all.

I’m not one to ‘crunch the numbers’ exactly, but I think we can agree that any product driven company is made up of lots of little sales that add up to the larger whole. This is the basis of Capitalism too, no?

Consumer spending is what makes the world go round in my neck of the woods. How about yours?

Blurred Lines Can Drive Customers Away

In Network Marketing , the line between distributor and customer can often become very blurred. Some companies do this more intentionally than others with the systems that they model or sometimes the model comes from an upline sponsor.

Either way, the message can become one that will attract mostly ‘business builders’ and leave would be happy customers with a bad taste in their mouth.

Is This the Right Car?

Okay, so you’ve been presented with a ‘system’ that is ‘proven’ to make the sale to a certain type of person … generally the ‘business builder’. Now, granted … adding builders to your business is probably the fastest track to a big check, but is it a lasting check? What about the real world truth that it’s customers who drive the market place?


Referral Marketing is Meant to Build a Customer Base

What’s the reason for selling things via referral marketing?

Well, from the company’s perspective, they have a volunteer sales force.

From the distributor’s perspective, the goal is to create a distribution network of goods and/or services that builds towards a recurring passive income stream. And if you’re approaching this from a perspective of service, you’ll want that to be a true ‘possibility’ for those you sponsor as distributors as well.

Promoting a Network Marketing company from a position that attracts mostly builders and leaves customers out of the loop does not set-up future downline members with access to the widest possible pool of revenue for long-term sustainable growth.

At some point, the ‘builder pool’ will grow thin. How often do we hear of one downline being robbed for another’s start-up?

Happens all too often for my taste.

Finding a Happy Medium

All the blocks that are involved in the building of this kind of distribution system have to be deeply considered. A one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work for everyone who can build a sizeable business and even if it did, it won’t build the kind of business that has it’s roots in consumer spending.

Yet how many upline sponsors that have ‘systems’ in place have more than one way of presentation?

Sadly very few.

Most are looking for people to ‘sell the dream’ with product taking second fiddle … no wonder this industry has such a crummy reputation! Somewhere along the way, the customer and doing business with an eye towards their wants and needs FIRST has been all but lost.

Should You Re-Invent the Wheel?

It might seem like the obvious thing to do would be to create your own ways of doing things and move on, to go the lone ranger route. If you’re built like that and can create a system and action plan that will work for more than just the ‘sales personalities’ you’ll come across, well more power to you.

The only problem with that is that nobody does this business alone. No one can be an organization of one. That just isn’t how it works.

Network marketing is about team effort , the strength of collective knowledge and universal support. If you haven’t got that in place, you need to look further upline for it, create it for yourself or find yourself a better organization to hitch your wagon to. Always with duplication in mind.

Organizations built of people who need to be sold will always need to be sold. Businesses built of business builders alone will crumble and fall at the next whisper of the grass being greener elsewhere.

If you haven’t got the right systems in place that support customer acquisition as a primary purpose, get them. You need them.

Build your business as if you were the customer.
Don’t re-invent the wheel, just find the right car to drive.

To your success!

Andrea


About the Author

Andrea Goodsaid was first attracted to the NWM industry in 1996. Since 1997, she has been unravelling the mysteries of marketing & relationship building online. Visit her and see what’s new http://AndreaGoodsaid.com

The Folly of Presumption

The Folly of Presumption

Recent discussions with fellow networkers have centered on whether true ‘walk-away’ and lifetime residual incomes are really possible. I don’t know … I’m not there yet.

But it has set me to thinking.

There’s one thing that's probably a common thread between all of the people who have succeeded to this end (or as close as the industry allows for ... let's not get hung up on finite statements, shall we?).

Why People Succeed

These are the same people who when faced with disasters like their companies going out of business (or any other number of fatal flaws), are able to pick up and rebuild again.

Why are they able to do this?

Here’s my theory.

• They believe that they can.
  
• They believe that they deserve it.
  
• Their ‘Why’ is strong enough to carry them to their destination

Sure, we can get into ‘mine is better than yours’ debates. We can say to each other, why are you not working as smart as I am? Why don’t you wise up and see the light already?

What's the goal here?

Force Feeding Fails

All you can do is put what you feel is *right* information out there. Unless it's sheep you want following you, you have to let the information speak to whomever it may, trying to sell those who are already committed to a certain perspective seems downright silly to me.

Surely working with the people who raise their hands makes more sense.

Sheep get lost when you leave them and go to the beach. They also have to be eternally re-sold. They have no internal direction or creativity. I too am sorting and sifting, but not by way of feeding tube. Presuming that my way is the right way for everyone around me would not only be arrogant, it would be self-defeating.

A Better Way?

This is what works for me ...

I want to attract the people that I want to attract ... everyone else is a distraction.

The people I want to attract most are those who have been there, done that with mlm, know it should work and just haven't found the right path until this point. I also have a leaning towards helping anyone who is unfamiliar with what residual income is. I feel a person can’t make an educated choice until they know what the offer is. My job is to make it accessible.

Second best to that is attracting and making connections with other like-minded networkers. These are the folks who will at the very least be a great source of industry specific resources (as I hope that I can be for them) with whom I can build a relationship now and file away as future joint venture partners.

Getting From Point A to Point B

Any situation that puts me into contact with people in those groups is where I want to be. Setting up systems that pre-sort people in mixed groups takes my own pre-judging (human) ways out of the equation.

The folly of presumption is mine no more.
Now, people contact me.

To your success!

Andrea

PS. Want to know more about me?
Read 'My Success Story' or even better email me from the profile link above ;-)

Straight Talk About Who’s Worth Talking To

Straight Talk About Who's Worth Talking To

All right now, before you go getting your knickers in a twist, let’s get one thing straight.

When I say ‘who’s worth talking to’, of course I mean, when thinking about your NWM/MLM prospecting, where should you be setting your sights? How can you make the most of the time you have and be certain that you’re spending it in the best ways?

Time is as Precious as Cash

There’re only 24hrs in the day after all. And then there’s this pesky thing called sleep. And if you’re anything like me, there’s always more than enough to fill those waking hours.

Deciding what’s most important to do next can become very important.

A Cool Pair of Tools

Well, this morning a handy tool came into my inbox from Art Jonak. His newsletter, btw, is one I can highly recommend. If you don’t get it, here’s the link that points to the one I got this morning.

The tools that he shares are a 'Prospect Rating System' and a 'Prospect Rating Chart'. These are the links to the printer friendly .pdf files:

• Prospect Rating System
  

• Prospect Rating Chart

(you'll need the free Adobe Reader to view these)

I hope you find these tools as useful as I do.

To your success!
Andrea

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