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Whenever I start a new exercise plan I always want immediate results. Don’t we all? Our common sense tells us that it takes work and that we have to stick to it and see it through for a few months before we can get noticeable results.

So why aren’t you putting that same theory into your MLM business? Out of the people I talk to that are struggling the number one thing they all have in common is that they don’t stick with anything long enough to see the results.

There are two things that they change in the hopes of getting better results, and those are the last two things that should be changed.

1. The Company – People jump from one MLM company to another like they are running for their lives. STOP IT!!!! Each company has new products and compensation plans to learn and each team has it’s own way of communicating and working together. If you aren’t sticking around long enough to get your groove on in that company, then of course you aren’t going to be successful in it! If you find yourself in a company or team that is going against your principles or you are embarrassed to be a part of it or you aren’t comfortable promoting it, then by all means get out. But do your homework before you join another one. You need to be in a company that you feel good about and makes you feel good enough to go sponsor your Grandma.

2. Marketing – There are many different mediums to marketing such as Pay Per Click, Viral email, article marketing, social media, blogging, classifieds, lead lists, home meetings and contacting friends and family. The problem is new MLM’ers will dabble in one for a few weeks and when they don’t see results they move on to another form of marketing. Each form of marketing takes some time to master it and to build up a network of relationships.

If you really want to change something that will bring success to your MLM, then start changing yourself. Analyze yourself and figure out what it takes to motivate yourself to focus and see one plan through to the results. Take a the time to do some research and find a company that resonates with your opinions, goals, mindset and mission in life. Then find the form of marketing that you feel natural and comfortable with. If you are trying to market and reach out to people in a way that doesn’t feel good to you then you aren’t going to stick with it.

Find your zone and get your groove on, focus and perfect your strategy until you see the results you want.

Now, does anyone know the latest exercise craze? The one I’m doing isn’t working.

Popularity: unranked [?]

There is one common fear that we all possess. It makes your heart race, ties up your tongue and makes your palms sweat. It can happen anywhere there is interaction with another person. It’s sometimes easier to suck it up and move on with a few drinks in us, but still, we all dread rejection.

Well, if you are in the MLM industry and you feel the anxiety every time you pick up the phone, then you have a problem. Some people are so afraid of hearing NO that they never even pick up the phone.

Simply put though, if you want to make it in MLM you need to get over it. And the only way any dreaded task gets easier is by doing more of it.

This is why we get back on a horse when it kicks us off, we get back on our bikes as kids, or to get over our fear of water some of us had parents that threw us right into the deep end.

However, mom and dad aren’t here to dial the phone for you. You have to pick it up yourself, and the longer you wait, the heavier that phone is going to get.

The number one rookie mistake in MLM is underestimating the number of people you are going to be talking to. And there’s no way you are going to be able to talk to enough people if you are sitting there looking at the phone and continually getting ready to make a call.

Not everyone you talk to is going to join your business. For one of 2 reasons, either they say NO, or you turn them down and say NO. Yes, you are allowed to say NO to them. (Read why here.)

If they are going to say no, then you actually want them to hurry up and say it so that you can move on and get on the phone with someone that is going to say YES. Your time is valuable.

To keep focused and moving read this before you start calling your prospects:

Some Will
Some Won’t
So What

Someone else is always waiting to join you. You aren’t going to find that person if you are just staring at your phone.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I’ll admit it.  When I started in this industry I was a total noob and knew nothing about marketing online.  I didn’t even know what Pay Per Click was.  I am so embarrassed to say that when I first heard it I was watching a Mike Dillard video and I thought he was saying “paper click”.  So I couldn’t even google it to find out what he was talking about!

In the video I saw Mike Dillard was saying that he only uses Pay Per Click for marketing and that it is the first form of marketing a new marketer should learn.   I have heard others recommend that every entrepreneur starting out in MLM should start out using Pay Per Click.  I’m here to disagree, and to tell you why I will never use Pay Per Click.  At least, I won’t for my primary business.

I know, you’re thinking I’m crazy to disagree with Mike Dillard.  But here’s why.  Pay Per Click is rather technical and takes an analytical mind to perfect it.  It holds a reputation of being highly competitive and can be intimidating to many people.  And it has an expensive trial and error period.  For someone just starting out it may get more exposure quicker, but it is going to cost more.

Therefore, I do NOT recommend Pay Per Click to anyone that is new to internet marketing because there are too many basics in this industry to learn. This industry attracts a lot of first time opportunists who are inexperienced in MLM and internet marketing and have never heard of Pay Per Click. I should know, I’m the one that thought Mike Dillard was talking about “paper click”.

Also, in MLM you can count on that what you do in your business is going to be mimicked by those you sponsor.  So if the majority of your marketing is Pay Per Click, that’s what most of your downline is going to think they need to be doing.  And when it doesn’t work for them, they are going to leave.

Now if you are a person that has the technical skills needed to be effective with Pay Per Click then I strongly encourage you to pursue this form of advertising, because there are a lot of noobs out there that don’t have the knack for it and they won’t even be competition for you.  But if you haven’t discovered your natural ability in marketing yet, or you know for a fact that you don’t have the skills for Pay Per Click, leave it for those that do, because they will crush you.  Even if you study Pay Per Click advertising, if you don’t have the natural patience and skill for it, the competition does.

You need to find the form of marketing that is fun for you.  Something that you will wake up everyday and be happy to do it.  So happy that you would do it even if you didn’t get paid.  OK, so maybe not that happy, because everyone wants to get paid for their work.

If you believe that Pay Per Click is your calling for marketing learn how to do it from the best.

Popularity: 14% [?]

There are going to be three types of people you sponsor into your MLM business.

1. Get Rich Quick – These are the ones that are so enthusiastic to get started that it’s almost scary.  The problem is, when they see that there is work involved and that they can’t just make millions reading junk emails in their pajamas, they are gone.  This person will quit within a month.

2. Try It – I picture this one as the person at the pool who keeps putting their feet in the water to test the temperature.   They just won’t commit and jump in and swim.  They eventually might make it into the shallow end of the pool, but they keep trying out all the cool floating toys and gimmicks.  They don’t stick to one thing and see it through and make it work.  They’re outta there in 1-3 months.

3. Hungry – These people want success so bad they can taste it.  They have the drive to stick with something until it works.  They find ways to bend things to work for them.  There is no finish line for this person because they keep raising their level of success.

The person you want to sponsor is someone that has passion and gives their full effort into whatever they do.  They project confidence and can instill it in others.  Visualizing success is second nature for them.  They are not afraid of putting out effort and doing real work.

Not only do they set goals but they can create a clear vision and plan for reaching their goals.  Without a vision and a plan a goal is just wishful thinking.

There is something within them that is driving them to remain dedicated.

Above all, they eliminate excuses.

This is not just a list of what you need to be looking for when you are qualifying your leads.  This is what you need to find in yourself in order to make you be a success.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Could Failure Be The Key To Success?

I just love how everyone in MLM is such a huge success.  Oh, wait, that’s right they’re not.  97% of people fail in MLM.  So why are there so many people advertising see how I made $blah $blah in MLM?

Because they are trying to sell a dream and appeal to the inner greedy desires of people.  Having only the desire for money isn’t going to bring you long lasting success in this industry.  So anyone using this type of marketing isn’t going to attract long lasting quality prospects to their MLM.  Also, the FTC will send you a nice big fine for using income claims in your advertising.

I believe this is the worst type of MLM advertising for another reason.  It sounds like bragging.  So many people fail in the beginning of this business and I’ve found the ones that are now doing the best in this business share their stories of failure. They also share their story of success, but they don’t throw around dollar amounts.

It’s boastful and they also know that their prospects don’t find it believable.  When something sounds too good to be true our instincts tell us to believe that it isn’t true.

So why are so many marketers making these hugeass income claims?  It really blows my mind.  The biggest lessons we learn in life we learn as a result of our failures.  What is to be gained in a series of successes?  If you’ve never felt the humbling experience of defeat how are you to truly appreciate the feeling of success?

There are enough marketing fanatics out there exaggerating their best month or week in their business.  They hype their income claims without stating expenses. They inflate their lead list claims, never mentioning how many people unsubscribe.

The real experts with real success aren’t afraid to talk about their failures, the stupid things they did, or how much it sucked for them when they started in MLM.  They tend to brag about it more, because it’s a real story that people can relate to.

The bigger the failures in someone’s past the bigger their success story becomes.  Even if their success is small, if there was some huge obstacle they had to overcome to get it, it makes it all that much more of a sweet success.

I personally don’t feel there is much to learn or gain from someone who has had nothing but a string of successes.  There is more character and wisdom in the person who has had to fight for what they have.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Internet Killed the MLM Star

MLM isn’t what it was 20 years ago. Back then when your sponsor told you to go out and tap into your warm market, it was usually the only choice! Using that approach now is almost MLM suicide. Yet so many MLM teams are still using the warm market approach as their primary form of marketing.

There are many who have succeeded with using warm market tactics, but those are few and far between gifted and very charismatic people. In recent years it has become more difficult and the internet has almost made it extinct.

There are two reasons why the internet has killed your warm market approach. The first one is very easy to see just through numbers.

With a warm market you are limited on the number of people you can speak to at a time. You are either giving your sales presentation one on one, or 5-10 people in a home presentation. Hotel presentations usually aren’t that much more promising, I’ve heard dozens of stories about completely zero attendance! People just don’t want to stop and take the time out of their day to remember to show up. You have to chase them down to get their attention.

On the internet you have access to millions of people at once. There are 1.7 billion internet users world wide. 250 million of them are in the US. 80 million of those are searching for ways to make extra money. In December alone over 300,000 of those searched for the exact word phrase “home business opportunity”. Your warm market friends and family list contains about 100 names, but do you know how many of them are looking for a home business opportunity?

Just looking at numbers alone is a good reason to be focusing your attention on internet marketing. But here’s another reason to stay out of your warm market.

You tell your friends and family about your business opportunity, they say they want to talk it over and think about it. What they end up doing is “googling” your opportunity. They find a marketing leader on the internet talking about it. They do more research and not only do they NOT join your business, they join a different one with someone else! Now the holidays just became more awkward.

Marketing to the millions of people online that are already actively searching for ways to make money at home seems much more logical than handing out flyers and business cards to only 100 at the supermarket. All you’re doing at the supermarket is annoying customers and risking getting thrown off the property.

So leave your warm market alone! Once your friends and family see your success they are going to be begging to join you, so you will recruit them anyway.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Prelaunch is a dirty word. Prelaunch should be a four letter word. And we just don’t use it in this house!

I cringe a little when I see the word prelaunch. When a new MLM company comes on the scene it’s necessary for them to do a prelaunch so when they go live they already have active distributors. But quite often a prelaunch brings disaster for the distributors.

By the time an MLM reps advertise “get in on the ground floor”, it’s not really the ground floor anymore. Other seasoned MLM reps are already on the ground floor and have brought their downline from their other company over. So, joining when you see this ad is quite like NOT going to get you on the ground floor.

Those that jump into a prelaunch and bring their downline with them are professional MLM jumpers. They make their money after the prelaunch, find another prelaunch MLM company to join, and then they jump ship again. This ends up destroying large sections of distributors in a company, and if you sponsored one of those distributors that does that, then you just lost your downline.

It’s this type of actions by MLM reps that give MLM a bad name and makes people think the entire industry is just a scam. That’s why I despise prelaunches, they bring a real bad name to the MLM industry.

The craziest advertisement for a prelaunch said that it was free to join the prelaunch, so if it doesn’t work and you don’t sign up enough distributors then you can just quit before it goes live and then you don’t have to pay. That’s true (for most prelaunches), but there’s no way that mentality is going to bring you success. And if you’re advertising that way, then there’s no incentive for your distributors to sponsor anyone because they can just quit!

Prelaunches also attract the types of prospects that are not business oriented and are looking for a get rich quick plan. And a seasoned MLM distributor knows that this is not a get rich quick industry and that it takes more than getting into a company early. You have to know how to market and how to choose the right company.

Successful MLM distributors won’t even touch an MLM in its prelaunch. If the company and its product is good, it will be even better in 5 years. An experienced distributor will wait to see if the company will survive their prelaunch stage, because so many don’t even make it past that point! Then, 50% of companies fail in the first year after prelaunch, and 90% fail by the second year.

A contributing factor to the failure of prelaunch companies is their attraction of distributors that jump from one MLM to another. They are always looking for the next best thing when the company they are with doesn’t bring them success. This is because they don’t stick around long enough to create any success.

Now with great success there first must come great risk. With joining a new company there is tremendous risk. But if the company survives the prelaunch and the first few years of business the payout will potentially be huge to those who got in early and stayed with the company.

With so many risks to joining a company in prelaunch stages I would recommend anyone new to marketing to shy away and go with a company that is well established with a strong track record. There is a lot to learn in the MLM industry and researching a start up company would just be a distraction from learning what’s most important: marketing!

Popularity: 18% [?]

Did your MLM company provide you with a “personal” website to market your opportunity?

Does your “personal” website look like everyone else’s in your company except for the super tiny text at the bottom with your name, email and phone number?

Are you finding that your leads from this site have NO CLUE who you are when you call them?

That’s because when the company created this site their primary concern was to promote the company, not you. Unfortunately, this website makes your life as a marketer more difficult, not easier.

And one more bad piece of news, the leads that you generate with this site aren’t your leads, they belong to the company.

You will not find a single top earner in this business that will use a replicated generic company website. That also means you are not going to become a top earner in this industry with a replicated website either.

Here’s a story to tell you why:

Say you want to buy a low cost fuel economy car. You look up fuel economy autos in the yellow pages or online and find an ad for the Most Affordable Fuel Economy Vehicle at Dealer X. So you go to Dealer X’s lot and you see rows of huge trucks on huge tires with huge suspension. (Most people would just leave at this point because they feel duped, but you are curious and check it out). You ask the smooth sales guy about the Most Affordable Fuel Economy Vehicle and he takes you to the back lot where there’s an old diesel van that’s been converted to burn used vegetable oil. You burn more gas leaving the lot as fast as you can that what it took you to drive there.

This is similar to what happens to the people you bring to your company website. You interact with people on social media sites, or you send out an email, or you wrote an article, something that you’ve attached your website to. Potential leads click on the link and then, BAM you’re gone. There is nothing on this site about you to keep you in their mind. They might fill out the optin form, but still, you’re not there.

Solution: A truly customizable personal website to capture your leads.

1. You become branded in your prospects mind. They will remember who you are.

2. SEO! A custom site can be optimized with keywords for search engine rank.

3. You own your leads because they are on your list, not the company’s.

The top producers in this industry are not promoting a replicated website, they have their own personal site. If you want to make it big in MLM or Direct Sales, then you need a personal website. (Is A Personal Domain Name Important For MLM?)

Stephanie Deneke
Massive Marketing Mentor

http://www.StephanieDeneke.com

Stephanie.Deneke@gmail.com

Popularity: 29% [?]

I’m on a Top 10 roll right now.

MLM and network marketing often get associated with scams.  Some of them are.  Many more of them are legit.  The tricky part is choosing one that is the right fit for you. The most outstanding MLM company could fall in your lap tomorrow, but if it’s not the right match, you might end up feeling burned in the end.

Here’s a list of the top 10 things to consider when choosing an MLM company for network marketing.

10. Who You Gonna Call?

Other than the person that signs you up, who can you talk to?  Is there technical support for the website?  A member’s forum? Is there a team of people you can call for marketing, leadership and member support?  Having access to a high level support shows a company’s seriousness to maintain its existence and dedication to your success.

9. History In The Making

90% of marketing companies fail in their first 2 years. The company you choose should be around for at least 5 years.  If they’re not, then look at the company founders and CEO. Where did they come from? Do they own other businesses? Do they have a successful track record?

8. KISS,,, Keep It Short and Simple

Compensation plans can be complicated. If you don’t understand the plan before you sign up then don’t join that company. You will be responsible for explaining it to anyone you sign up. Even if you master the understanding of the company’s compensation plan, your distributors still have to understand it!

7. Show Me The Money!

The payout of commissions should not rely on a qualification process.  Commissions should not have to be passed up to your sponsor during a probationary period, nor should you have to wait until you have a qualifying amount of distributors under you before you can be paid.  Your cash flow should have potential to be immediate so that you can fund marketing and expansion of your business. It also allows you the flexibility to keep your full time job and use your limited time efficiently.

6. Product, Product, Product

Just like Real Estate says Location Location Location.  The product has to be able to survive on it’s own, meaning is it something that people would purchase if it wasn’t attached to a business opportunity. The product should be unique and without a ton of competition. There are TONS of companies selling juice and vitamin out there, those products are not unique anymore.  The product should be something that people will be purchasing for years to come so avoid trendy items that are just this seasons fad.

5. Back To School, Back To School,,,,

Training and education is invaluable in this industry and a forward thinking company is going to provide you with top training and tools. The first company I ever signed up with offered “training” that consisted of a 3way call with my “leads”. In other words, I gave a list of my friends and family to my sponsor and they called all of them while I listened in.  Obviously this is not training. Look for live training webcasts, forums, recorded “how to” videos, examples, live Q & A calls, and a support center.

4. It’s a Techie World

The company should be taking full advantage of technology and have a system in place that anyone can plug into and start generating leads and income immediately.  The company should offer customizable webpages and the ability for you to brand yourself and not promote a generic page.

3. Pay It Forward

A company devoted to giving back is looking to stay in business long term.  They focus on providing value to the community and all of society.  Their primary concern is not becoming a bunch of filthy rich millionaires with a mansion and a yacht.  The leader of the company should be someone that understands true wealth is taking responsibility for the good they can accomplish in the world.

2. Too Hot For Teacher

The person you sign up with should be a leader and someone that you can connect with and will mentor you.  A sponsor is someone that will mentor, guide, and teach you.  A recruiter simply sees dollar signs for themselves in you.

1. Just Wanna Have Fun

You HAVE to like what you are doing and find it fun.  This isn’t like any other job that is just a temporary means to money.  This industry is a totally different mentality and requires a entrepreneur mindset.  You are in business for yourself and don’t answer to anyone else, so if you don’t like it and have fun with it, you aren’t going to do what it takes to make it work.  Don’t fall for the “overnight success” stories, there was work involved to get to that point, but those people enjoyed it and that’s why they made it big.

Stephanie Deneke
Massive Marketing Mentor

http://www.StephanieDeneke.com

Stephanie.Deneke@gmail.com

Popularity: 52% [?]

There are some things in MLM and Network Marketing that make me sick.  In fact they make me wanna say that I hate MLM.

Mostly the things I hate are the one liners that most marketers cast out with great high hopes.  I’m totally amazed when they get a bite.

Here’s my top 10 list of worst one liners created for MLM.  I like top 10 lists, maybe because I’ve always been a Dave Letterman fan.

I urge you,,, BEG you, please do not fall for these lame MLM lines!

10. 100% free to join.

That’s appealing for a moment.  But then my logic takes over.  If it’s free for me to join, then it’s free for everyone to join, and any money I make isn’t going to be much.  This sounds like more work than it’s worth, because I can put the same amount of effort into a large sale as I can a small sale.

9. Get Paid To Play On The Internet

These are the “read emails” and “read junk mail” ones.  They aren’t always tied with an MLM, but I see this one once in a while.  There are also those that claim you can get paid for what you already do on the internet.  These are pretty equal to “It’s Free”.

8. It sells itself!

Really?  If you buy a truckload of “it” and have it delivered to your door, you will make a ton of cash?  I don’t think so.  You will have to perform some level of selling.  Even if all you’re doing is displaying “it” on a card table at the end of your driveway with a “4 sale” sign.  You can add “No Selling” to this one.  I’ve seen that too.  What they mean is “No Distributing”, you aren’t going to have to physically deliver the product to someone’s door.  But there will be an element of selling involved, we are dealing with marketing here.

7. Best Opportunity Evahhhh!

They can’t ALL be the best opportunity ever.  I will agree that there are some really impressive opportunities out there.  But your best opportunity may not be the best for your next prospect.  Everyone has their own idea of what the best is.

6. Easy Extra Cash.

This one isn’t as bad as the rest.  In fact, it’s really ok.  This is a perfect way to target people that only have a few hours a week to devote to internet marketing.  The downside of using this is that you are going to attract part timers and not serious inquiries and marketers.

5. Check It Out.

This one isn’t really bad either.  It just sounds like whoever is using has completely run out of things to say and doesn’t believe in their business anymore. Or they don’t know what to say in the first place.

4. Work in your PJ’s

At first this sounds so comfy.  Working in the comfort of your own home, wearing whatever you want.  Being lackadaisical. Go a little deeper and this starts to scream lazy.  Working in your PJ’s is cool for part of the time, but you need to maintain a level of professionalism and self discipline.  I wouldn’t sign up with someone that slept late everyday and worked in their PJ’s.  This does not make a good impression. Having posture in this business is crucial because people can sense your professionalism even through the phone.

3. Try It!

If you’re going into a business with a “try it” mentality, then you aren’t going to make it.  Trump did not “try” to build his empire.  Bill Gates did not “try” to create Microsoft.  If you know anything about this industry you know that Mike Dillard did not “try” to create Magnetic Sponsoring.

2. Autopilot.

This doesn’t really exist in a pure form.  There are some amazing businesses and tools that come real close to being automated, but in order to get to autopilot there is a lot of set up work.  Then it is possible for the system to generate leads on its own, but there is maintenance and fine-tuning required.  Many of these require setup of other tools (that have a monthly fee) to run along with them.  If you aren’t prepared for that, you might find yourself spending more than you were ready for.  The few good companies that can come closest to truly claiming “autopilot” rarely use that word. (Hint: look for “leverage”)

1. Prelaunch!

Get in on the ground floor! This one definitely deserves the #1 spot.  Anyone who has been in this industry for the long haul has seen the bad effects a prelaunch can have on existing MLMs.  I believe prelaunches are the number one cause of what I call the “scam effect”.  So many people get burned either because they joined a prelaunch, or half their downline leaves them for a prelaunch in a new company. And that is why so many people scream “scam”.  It’s just a mess, and I look away everytime I see the word prelaunch.

PLEASE don’t jump at these.  That’s like falling for a cheesy pick up line in a bar, the guy using those has to be incredibly good looking and do it with a knock out sense of humor for it work.  Just like that guy at the bar, there are cases when using these lines will work.  But it’s rare, and if you’re new, the best advice to follow is to steer clear of these phrases!

If you want to make it in this industry you need to learn what the top producers do and how they set up their marketing.

Stop casting out one line hooks and praying for a bite, cast a net and reel in the masses.

Get training and the truth.

Stephanie Deneke
Massive Marketing Mentor

http://www.StephanieDeneke.com

Stephanie.Deneke@gmail.com

Popularity: 33% [?]