Will the great debate over offline and online methods ever be settled? Probably not completely. But I have a prediction for the future of MLM methods. I also know Daegen Smith, Mike Dillard and David Wood agree with me on this.

The future of MLM lies in the merging of the two methods.

MLM is simply an industry of relationships.

Even when marketing online relationships are being built. Online marketers call it “building their list”, offline marketers call it their “warm market”. Essentially offline and online methods are the same, yet different.

The online methods allow for more time leverage. There is a potential for unlimited exposures to your primary business through the use of the internet using the effort it would take to make one offline presentation. However, even if you record a live presentation of yourself, it’s not very personal and it loses some of the intimate connection that an offline presentation can give.

Building excitement for a live webinar presentation can be effective and be used with online invites and in a home presentation. With technology it is possible to do an in home presentation with your guests watching a live broadcast together with 100’s of others that are watching through the internet.

Sitting around a computer screens with your home presentation guests may sound silly but I’m challenging you that it can be effective when done properly. When prospects can see that there are other people interested in an MLM opportunity it creates a phenomenon. Just the presence of other participants creates a testimony that this MLM opportunity is attracting attention and is worth listening to.

That is the purpose of building anticipation and excitement for home presentations. This same thing is being utilized in the online marketing setting. By creating a feeling of urgency, value and limited registered guest spots people will get on a webinar presentation and feel the same synergy and the excitement of an offline presentation.

Already marketers use a combination of offline and online techniques, if you’re marketing online you’re doing it without knowing.

Do you have a Facebook or Twitter? Your friends list/followers are part of your online warm market.

You aren’t going to make a fortune in this industry by looking at your computer screen. This is an industry of building trust and relationships. In order to build trust and relationships you must connect and communicate with people, which is exactly what offline marketers do. Pick up the phone and call your prospects or initiate a conversation with someone on your friends list, and ask the Magic Question.

Really, I mean it. Go do it…. Read what the Magic Question is first though.

Your response will dictate your success in your MLM so think about this before you answer.

Have you taken full ownership of your MLM business and assumed the responsibility of making it a success?

I hope you aren’t a renter. These are the people that decided to join an MLM opportunity to “try” it out. If you are “trying” and “hoping” that it works, just quit now.

I’m not joking. I’m the one that tells you what no one else will… remember?

This is a business. There’s no “rent to own” program here either.

Get yourself in the mindset to take on full responsibility and OWN it. Make it yours and make the dedication, commitment, choice, promise, devotion,,, whichever word works for you and OWN your MLM.

Renting doesn’t give the full sense of pride. There’s a huge difference between renting and apartment and owning a home. If something happens to the apartment, you can just move and forfeit the deposit. When something happens to your house, it’s up to you to fix it.

So….. Do you RENT or OWN your MLM?

Promoting your MLM on the internet is 99.9% impossible if you are just sending people directly to your replicated company website. Everyone in your company has one. (Why your website is ruining your MLM)

You need your own customizable website with your face and your message that promotes you as THE person to join in your company.

It’s possible to create your own website to do this, but it’s highly technical, labor intensive and can cost a lot of money. There’s a lot of research on how to create the content and how to design the website code. Your job is not to be a technical guru, it’s to market.

It makes sense to use someone else’s system because you are wasting your valuable time if you are going to try and do this technical work on your own.

There are several different systems available but not all of them are up to par. There are certain criteria that a marketing system needs to meet. If it doesn’t meet all of these criteria it is not going to be fully effective for marketing your MLM opportunity.

1. Training – The actual creators of the marketing system offer consistent and up to date training on how to market and how to use their system. Getting training from your sponsor and a few others is not enough. Most likely they are just learning how to use the system too. You need training bigger than that.

2. Custom Capture Page – At no extra cost. I’ve come across free and highly expensive systems. I’ve only found one system that let’s you FULLY customize your capture page without having to do any upgrading. This is important because you want to be able to put your pictures, videos and content on your page. If you can’t do this with a marketing system then it is worthless to you because this is the whole purpose of using the system.

3. Promote ANY Company – Marketing systems are a tool for promoting your PRIMARY business. Be sure that the system you choose allows you to use it with any business. There are some that only allow the usage of a primary company that has previously been integrated and approved by the marketing system.

Bonus Tip – An Independent Autoresponder – An autoresponder is the service that sends out your follow up emails. Having an independent autoresponder guarantees that you own those leads and not the system that you are using. You want to be able to take your list of contacts with you. Also, if in the future you do become a technical guru and start creating your own webpages you can insert capture boxes that drop prospects into your autoresponder.

One More Bonus Tip – Premade Follow Up Emails – Eventually you will want to customize all the emails in your autoresponder but to get started immediately with marketing a generic list of emails will give you a jump start.

I’ve done the research and found a lead capture system that already meets this criteria. Access this simple system to promote and market your primary business online.

The MAGIC question to create a YES answer.

After today, if you ever ask someone if they are interested in starting a home based business I’m going personally find you,,, smack you on the forehead, and ask if you’ve had your V8.

The words you choose when asking someone to look at your business opportunity are either going to make you or break you.

If you don’t know how to ask someone to look at your opportunity, then no one is going to look at it! If no one is looking at your opportunity, then no one is going to join your opportunity. And you’re going to be broke.

Even if you have already exhausted your entire list of contacts, both offline and online, you can go back and get people to view your opportunity using this strategy.

What is your answer if I asked you:

“Would you be interested in a home based business?”

A big fat NO.

Nobody wants to join a home based business opportunity.

What if I asked you:

“Are you open to the idea of making more money, or are you completely locked in to what you are already doing?”

Everybody wants to make more money. People may be really tied up in what they have going on at the moment and don’t have the time to get involved in something new. But you know they would like to make more money.

Nobody is interested in your business, but everyone is open to opportunity.

Go through your list of contacts. Yes right now! All of them, offline and online, and ask them if they are open.

The most common MLM recruiting strategy that sponsors give the their new distributors is to make a list of 100 friends and family. Then invite them to a home meeting to give a business presentation.

And everyone hates doing it.

For those that have done this, they have usually done it wrong. And it’s not your fault if you have. The blame goes back up your upline for not showing you the right way,,, if they even know how to do it the right way.

Anyone that has used this method could share a story about friends not returning phone calls anymore and awkward moments around the family during the holidays. Everyone is on alert for a sales pitch.

In this industry it is necessary to at some point tap into your list of family and friends. It’s better to do it sooner than later. Doing it sooner is better than later because getting started in online marketing takes longer than getting started with your friends and family. Contacting those you already know can be done in 1 minute.

What do you do if you already went through your list of who you know?

You didn’t want to do it the first time, (some of you may have done it a 2nd time) so you may be thinking it’s out of the question to approach them again.

Wrong. You can.

First you have to APOLOGIZE. And do it sincerely. Don’t just say the words “I’m sorry”. Acknowledge that got them involved in something that just wasn’t that great of an opportunity and then use the words “I apologize”. It carries more meaning.

It’s ok to admit to them that you were naïve, foolish, ignorant or whatever and that you are not with that company anymore and that you have learned from your mistake.

If they don’t throw you out of their house or hang up before you finish, it’s ok to ask them if they are open to the idea of making more money. If they say no then leave it at that and tell them that you won’t bother them again.

Anyone that has already talked to their list of friends and family before actually have an advantage over those who haven’t. The initial fear has already been conquered.

Still terrified of approaching your friends and family. Seek an alternative with this simple system.

Breaking through writer’s block.

Hit the wall and run out of topics in your article marketing? Article marketing requires consistent release of content. But what are you supposed to do when you get writer’s block?

First of all, if you chose articles as your form of marketing I should hope that you truly like to write. Because you will need to be doing a lot of it.

To get thru a writer’s block, professional writers say to just keep writing. It doesn’t matter if what you write turns out to be good enough for publishing. The writing itself leads to productive ideas.

“What do I write about?”

This is the number one question I am asked by new marketers choosing to use article marketing.

Every article should be based around a keyword to create top search engine results. The article should stay on topic for the keyword that is chosen. Here are the 5 categories of keywords to use for article marketing, starting with the easiest one to rank high for.

YOU – Writing an entire article about yourself isn’t effective when you are new because no one is going to care who you are at first. But here’s why I mention it: when someone does learn who you are they are going to research your name. Put your name as a keyword in any content you produce. Also, put a single biographical line about yourself in the “about the author” section. Write this section in 3rd person and write out your name. I also include this because article marketing is based on attraction marketing and your purpose is to attract people to YOU.

*Tip: Articles should link back to your blog or website where there is a section all about you with your story. Prospects want to know you and trust you before they join you.

YOUR COMPANY – Once people find you and research you they are going to figure out which MLM company you are in. When they do a search of your MLM you want them to find what you have to say about the company. Not someone bad mouthing your MLM opportunity. Write a positive 3rd person review of your company. Make it informative and honest without hype. Readers will see right through that.

*Tip: Everyone thinks that their company is “the best” speak positive about your company without hype and include a story of success. Remember FTC law and NO income claims.

OTHER COMPANIES – Why should you write a review of a company you aren’t in? Because people who are looking to join MLM research a lot of companies. If you present yourself as an expert in MLM and write about other companies you will attract prospects because you are knowledgeable about more than just your MLM. Again, be honest in your review. Be sure to state that you are not with the company you are reviewing so there is no confusion later.

*Tip – Never trash talk and don’t write about things you don’t know about. If you don’t understand compensation plans don’t try to explain one. Summarize the company history. You can include a marketing strategy on how to make money in XYZ company. and keep it factual.

*Bonus Tip – Write about NEW companies. Ones that have been around for awhile will have a lot of articles about them. If you are one of the first to write about a company your article can be found faster and easier.

PRODUCTS and PEOPLE – There are a lot of big names in the MLM industry. Those big name marketers usually have released their own training or affiliate products. Write a review of their product or a biographical story about them. Again, be honest and keep your facts straight. Do your homework on a person first. And NEVER use the word scam along with a person’s name. Successful people can afford lawyers, don’t bring a lawsuit on yourself. This topic is why you want to make yourself rank high in search engines when you first begin article marketing. As you become successful other people will write about you. You want to be the one in control of the content that people see.

*Tip: Write about a product you actually use. If you are an affiliate of that product you can include a link to it in the resource box of the article. Most article sites allow 2 links in the resource box. One should always be back to the original content on your website. The other can be to your affiliate link.

GENERIC – Topics on the “how to” of MLM. How to choose a domain name, how to choose a sponsor, how to create article content, how to find the right company, how to make money in MLM, how to market online, how to prospect offline… This topic is endless. But since it’s generic it is harder to rank in the search engine results. It is easiest to write about though.

*Tip: Watch one training video or webinar on MLM and you will have plenty of topics to write about. Choose one and elaborate.

Make your content original. You can write about the same topic or idea that someone else has written. I’m sure someone else has written on this same topic before, perhaps even with this same format. What matters is that the words are your own. You can use the same idea, not the same words.

If you submit to more than one article site you must “spin” the article. Change the wording of the article with synonyms and different sentence structure. Search engines will ignore your article if it is posted everywhere exactly the same.

Free access to the Article Marketing Training Video from the back office of the most effective marketing system used by top producers.

If you say the names Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos at a marketing event or around anyone that has been in the MLM and network marketing industry they will immediately think of Amway.

If you say the name Jay Van Andel in the town I grew up in people think of Elton John, NCAA Hockey, AFL Arena Bowl Games, Kenny Chesney, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The Who, or The Harlem Globetrotters. The Van Andel Arena was named in 1996 for it’s largest benefactor, Jay and Betty Van Andel.

Jay and Betty Van Andel also founded the Van Andel Institute in 1996 to enhance lives through biomedical research and education. With their son David Van Andel now as the CEO, the primary focus of the Van Andel Institute is cancer research but studies also include osteoporosis, Parkinson disease and diabetes.

And the DeVos name? That makes people think of the DeVos Children’s Hospital. DeVos Children’s Hospital and the Van Andel Institute collaborate in a fellowship program focused on the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancer and blood disorders.

The DeVos name also makes the people in my area think of the DeVos Place and DeVos Performance Hall. This facility includes a 40,000 sq ft ball room and a performing theater. It is host to conventions, ballet, opera and broadway shows.

All of these are within a short distance of the Amway Grand Plaza which puts any other hotel in the area to shame and the Gerald Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I’ve never been a part of the Amway opportunity, but I don’t need to in order to know the good that has been done by Van Andel and DeVos. The second largest city in Michigan is host to their contributions to society.

The terrible reputation and trash talk that the MLM industry gets usually comes back to focus on Amway. The success that Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos with Amway is seen throughout West Michigan. Before believing or spreading more trash talk about Amway, look up the places and foundations mentioned above because they do more than I can begin to mention.

I am proud to say that I grew up in the home state of Amway.

My favorite advice I ever got about marketing an MLM opportunity I learned from Mike Dillard in Magnetic Sponsoring. He didn’t come up with this on his own, Perry Marshall said it, and he’s not the only marketing expert that uses this example. The idea has been passed around between marketers and is a fundamental lesson.

“Nobody who bought a drill actually wanted a drill. They wanted a hole. Therefore, if you want to sell drills, you should advertise information about making holes. – NOT information about drills!”

It’s so simple it sounds like a riddle and doesn’t make any sense at first.

Think about the purchases you make.

If you want to get somewhere faster than what it would take driving, you buy a plane ticket. You don’t buy it because you want to sit in a plane for a few hours.

If you want to be a lawyer you get a college degree. People don’t go to college because they like sitting in long lectures.

If you want to hang a picture, you buy a hammer and nails.

You get the idea.

These purchases are a means to an end. They are “tools” to get the end result that we want.

Did you really join your MLM business opportunity because it had the best product or the best comp plan?

You may have joined it for the extra money. But it wasn’t really for the money either was it?

You joined because you had dreams about what you could do with that money. You have big dreams, hopes and a vision.

You want to provide a lifestyle for your family and give back to your community. Along the way you’ll be able to have an awesome house and car and whatever else you desire, but you have a dream of being financially free without stress and without worrying about bills.

The list goes on, because everyone’s idea of a dream is different.

You might want to be living in a huge lodge on the side of a mountain. Or to be sitting under a palm tree drinking out of a coconut. Or starting a community housing project.
Or sailing all over the world. Or maybe you want to do what I do and have a martini while watching the sunset on the water any night I feel like it.

It doesn’t matter because there are as many dreams as there are people.

The point is people don’t join MLM opportunities because they want a business. They join because they have a dream, and you are providing the tools.

As MLM marketers we are truly the marketers of dreams.

Dreams of being free of a boss and stuck in a 9 to 5 job. Unlimited income potential. Taking command of your career and life. What we do beats any other occupation hands down because we change lives. Your job is to build a strong organization and build strong relationships, deliver what you promise and stand behind what you deliver and it is fueled by desire.

This means you had better be able to deliver an MLM opportunity that will be the tool to get to that dream. You had better deliver the tools, such as training, books, videos, marketing systems that will fuel that MLM opportunity to success.

As a marketer in an MLM opportunity you have a responsibility to those you sponsor to provide the tools to get the to their dream. A car dealership doesn’t sell a new car with an empty tank of gas! What good is the car if it can’t be driven off the lot.

Realize the dealership doesn’t teach people how to drive, there is some responsibility on both sides of the deal. There needs to be commitment from both parties involved in the transaction. Dealerships check driver’s licenses before handing over the keys. Are you making sure your prospects are qualified?

Hear Mike Dillard’s version of the drill story here.

Are you backing up your MLM opportunity with the right tools? Click here to give your downline a trump card.

This may have happened to you and you aren’t even aware of it. A staggering amount of Americans have fallen for this scam. Those that are trapped in the snare of this scam have no clue it exists and therefore don’t know how to get themselves out of the trap they are in.

Worse yet, when confronted with the scam people deny that there is a way out and that they are even caught up in a scam. The scam is that good. The scam has brainwashed people that well. Chances are you have fallen for this scam because you were presented with it a vulnerable time in your life and you felt it was your only hope. Since it is likely that you have fallen for it then chances are you have been brainwashed by it, and will most likely deny that it is a scam.

It is hard to say who first fell for the scam or who invented it. That is how long it has been around and it further proves how effective the scam is. Although I do not know the historical origins of the scam, I can outline how it works.

It starts with a company that has a brilliant product idea. The owners of the company believe that the marketplace cannot live without this product. However, the business owner cannot possibly distribute his exceptional product to the world on his own. He must recruit others to do that for him.

So the business owner takes his new recruits and begins to sell his fantastic product to the masses. As his product reaches the public the demand for the product increases and he must recruit new distributors for his fantastic product. He promotes his top producing distributors and turns them into recruiters as well.

More people join under the businessman. The businessman can now sit back and watch all of the recruits doing all the work. The recruits work their little butts off with little reward except for the occasional pat on the head and a little plaque that says “good job”. The recruits create a life full of debt and stress for themselves working hard to create a big profit for the businessman that sits at the top of the company reaping all the benefits of those doing all the work down the long line of recruits below.

The scam that has been created allows the few people at the top to make money and provide a rich lifestyle for their families. The people that are doing the hardest and dirtiest work at the bottom of the scheme have no chance at an opportunity to reach the level of those at the top. There is no room for them to advance. And those that got in at the top are the only ones making any money.

You might know one of these people at the bottom of the scheme. In fact you probably are one, and you don’t even know it. They have a special name for the millions of people that are stuck in the bottom of this scheme. EMPLOYEE.

The EMPLOYEE is stuck as a prisoner for 30 to 40 years working for the company that makes the owner rich. Then as a reward at the end they get to retire and be broke. It’s the biggest scam in history. And I’m sorry to say that the statistics aren’t in your favor, and that you are probably one of the millions that have been duped by this scam.

It is my sincere apologies that you were suckered in while you were at your most vulnerable and still a child. It is a shame that the people you trusted most, your parents and teachers, exposed you to this scam. I’m sure they told you for years to get a good education so you could get a good job.

There is still good news. Because you are now being exposed to this scam you have a chance. You now have an opportunity to get out of the scheme and take charge. You can leave behind your status as employee and change it in for ENTREPRENEUR.

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The idea that Narc That Car is an MLM Network Marketing opportunity makes my mind go blank, and a little numb. The only words I can think are “What the ????” Narc That Car is an example of just how crazy our world is. I might be ranting a bit here, but I’m feeling adamant.

The idea of the Narc That Car opportunity is for members of this MLM to document the location of vehicle license plate numbers. They get to be active members of the stalkerazzi and big brother. The information that they gather is then for sale. The plate number can be searched and then the location can be known by purchasing the logged information.

The benefit of placing this information for sale through Narc That Car is for lien holders to be able to locate the collateral vehicle on a defaulted loan. Another benefit is to help law enforcement in tracking offenders, people who have skipped bail or have not reported to probation/parole. What really sells people on the idea is using Narc That Car in conjunction with Amber Alert.

What this means for the law abiding typical citizen is that if there are Narc That Car members in your area, then your daily activities are going to be on sale for the world to purchase. Your driving habits will be known to anyone willing to pay for it. My guess is there are more predators willing to pay for this info than there are law enforcement agencies and lien holders. That’s creepy.

Do you stop to check your PO Box at the same time everyday? What about stopping to pick up a coffee? Rent a video? Pick up a prescription or dry cleaning? Do you leave your car running? Do you leave your child in the car? It’s only for a minute right? If there is a Narc That Car member in your area, these habits of yours are possibly logged on their website. Anyone looking to target you away from home is going to have an easy time of it. They don’t have to risk being seen following you, they can just pay for it!

And someone is getting paid to do provide this information.

Looking at Narc That Car shows that it is a legit way to make money. It’s not really an invasion of privacy since your vehicle is out in public for anyone to see.

It doesn’t seem like a very profitable way to make money though. For every minimum 10 license plates a member inputs per month they receive $25 – $75 compensation. There are promotional bonuses as a member signs up other Narc That Car members and teaches them how to be a Narc. As members work their way up in manager status they see larger commissions. When a Narc signs up a client (someone who purchases and uses the Narc info) they also receive compensation.

I don’t like to bash on MLM companies. I support the idea of commissioned sales. If there is a product I need or want and I can get it through direct sales, I do. I’m a supporter of marketers in other companies because I believe in this industry and I like to see an MLM distributor make a commission off of a sale rather than a massive corporate conglomerate. It’s rare that I come across an MLM opportunity that I cannot and will not support.

If you are looking to join the MLM industry ask yourself these two questions about every opportunity you find:

1. Does the company make me feel good and am I proud to support and sell the product?

2. Will I have access to marketing training?