What's Your Excuse for Not Succeeding?

The Secret to MLM Success

Although there are many facets of a network marketing business that can contribute to success, the one that comes to the forefront is the ability to ask questions. Most network marketers us the disgusting vomit approach. The regurgitate all the information they've learned on their friends and family. Who in the world would want to join after that? No one! The alternative is to ask questions. Questions that will reveal their deepest pain areas, their hidden passions and dreams, and their motivations.

If you are talking with someone you know, use FORM:

F = Family = ask questions about the family looking for pain areas. For example, both parents working, so kids are raised in daycare by strangers. Working long hours which keeps a parent from seeing kid's sports events. Traveling, causing strain on the marriage or family.

O = Occupation = ask questions about their job or business. You are looking for things like an unstable job situation, unhappiness with the job, not making enough money, working too many hours, etc.

R = Recreation = ask questions about what they do in their leisure time - sports, hobbies, vacations. I like to ask if they have any great vacations planned. Again, your looking for pain areas - no money or time for vacation.

M = Money = ask questions about investments. My favorite is "I've just launched a new business venture and will be making some significant money in the next couple years, so I'm looking for great investments, have you found any?"

If you want to introduce your business to people you meet for the first time, a great question is "Have you ever thought about starting your own business?" If they haven't, they aren't a good candidate. If they answer yes, ask: "What kept you from doing it?" It's usually time, money, or they weren't sure what to do. In which case you can introduce them to your turn-key, franchise-like business that has a low start-up cost, they can work it part-time and develop enough income to fire their boss, can result in both financial and time freedom.

If you encounter a business owner, a great question is: "In this economy it really makes sense to diversify, so all your financial eggs aren't in one basket. Do you keep your eyes open for opportunities to create other streams of income, particularly passive income?

If you encounter someone who is sharply dressed, you might say: "You are a very sharp looking business person, what do you do for a living?"

If you encounter someone who is a good worker, you might say: "You are an outstanding worker. Do you get paid what you are worth?"

Here are some other questions that work:

Do you ever consider other ways of creating income?

Do you keep your eyes open for ways to make some extra income?

Have you ever owned a business?

I have a business I'm expanding into the area and I'm looking for highly motivated people who would like to make some serious money, know anyone like that?

If I could show you how to make some very serious money, decrease the amount of taxes you pay each year, and have a lot of fun doing it, would you be interested in taking a look?

I'm looking for people who are open minded, motivated, and would like to make some serious money in the coming years, do you know anyone like that?

My company is looking for some motivated people who are dissatisfied with what they are doing right now, do you know anyone like that?

If you want to be successful and build a large passive income, you will need to become proficient at asking questions. That is the secret to MLM success!

Key Traits of Top Social Entrepreneurs

Creating Success in Network Marketing

Why Do People Fail?

New Napoleon Hill Book

Just released: A new Napoleon Hill book, Outwitting the Devil. Go to www.OutwittingtheDevil.com to order the book and get your copy of the lost chapter!

Part 5 of Success Principles

Risk Takers are History Makers

Throughout history it has been the risk takers who have broken through and changed things.  Look at the Wright brothers - even with a father who was a Cardinal and said that it was blasphemous for man to fly, they still invented the first successful airplane.  How about Roger Bannister, the runner who broke the 4-minute mile barrier, even though the medical journals at that time said that the human heart could not survive a sub-4-minute mile.

In the network marketing industry, it is the risk takers who change the way we think.  However, the risk takers make up only a very small percentage of the total networkers.  Why?  Because most people are afraid to take risks.  They fear failure and rejection, loss of possessions, and loss of security.  Risk takers risk their reputations, relationships, and resources.  Most people aren't willing to take the chance.

So, what do risk takers look like?

1.  Character - they have strong foundational beliefs.
2.  Godly - they belief in God and give him the control.
3.  Passionate - they have focus, drive and desire.
4.  Trusting - they trust people and themselves.
5.  Gracious - they give the credit to others and to God.
6.  Have faith - they have a strong belief and will continue on.
7.  Listener - they listen twice as much as they talk.
8.  Confident - confident in their abilities, but yet humble.
9.  Visionary - they see what will happen and then make it so.

Are you a risk taker?  How well do you fit the mold?  If you would like to do something big in your network marketing career and in life, you must become more of a risk taker.

Part 4 of Success Principles

Part 3 of Success Principles

Why We Want You Rich

The Big Hairy Arm

Let's say you loved to plant and grow beautiful flowers.  You separated a part of your backyard and through many hours of hard work, prepared it for your flower garden. 

You then carefully planted rows of different flowers.  Over the next couple months you spent time every day in your garden, watering, fertilizing, and weeding. 

Finally, one day the first fruits of your labor, a sprout.  Then another and another.  Soon, you have a beautiful flower garden. You love them all, but there is one particular flower that is unique.  You have never seen anything like it.  Your special flower.  So, you pay extra special attention to that flower.  One day, you are gazing out your window, admiring your special flower, when suddenly a big, ugly, hairy arm reaches through the fence and rips your special flower out by the roots.  To your shock, your special flower is gone, leaving only a hole.

So, what does this have to do with network marketing?  It illustrates what happens in people's lives every day.  You see, we all have people in our lives that we are afraid to contact.  We think that they won't be interested - they are too busy, make too much money, or wouldn't be interested in "this type of business."  Those people are represented by the special flower in the story above.  Those people may turn out to be very special distributors, but if you don't make contact with them, the big, ugly, hairy arm will come in a rip them out of your network marketing life.  The big, hairy arm represents a distributor from another company.

Now let me tell you a true story.  About 20 years ago, I was just getting started building a network with a very prominent company.  I had made up my list and was actively contacting them.  Then I arrived at a particular name.  This person owned 7 Domino's franchises and was pretty well to do.  I was consulting for him and we had become casual friends.  We also had a high level of respect for each other.

I kept looking at his name and thinking, he's not going to be interested - he's too busy, makes too much money and wouldn't be interested in "this type of business."  Then one day I saw him at the athletic club.  He told me that we needed to meet to go over something new.  I thought it was a new marketing project, but was shocked to find out that he had sold all 7 of his franchises to do network marketing full-time!!!  He was furious with me that I had not told him about my network marketing business, as he would have joined me instead.  I've kicked myself ever since!

Now, you can learn from the big, hairy arm story, and from my experience.  Don't preclude people.  Contact everyone.  Even if you don't think they will be interested, let them make that choice.  You don't know who will and who won't.  You definitely don't want to find out that your brother or sister are in another network marketing company or worse yet, that they are in your company, but under someone else.  So, tell everyone about your business and then let them decide if they are interested or not.

Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich

Why Network Marketing

In April of 1979, I viewed my first network marketing presentation and fell in love with the concept. At that time, I was a corporate manager for a Fortune 100 company. I had graduated from college with a business degree and set out to climb the corporate ladder to success. However, those circles drawn on a white board opened my eyes to the future of business.

Thirty two years later, I am convinced that network marketing is the wave of the future in business. It is a powerful marketing model that is sweeping through the world and will have a greater impact than franchising. Bold statements? The balance of this article will provide the proof.

Fortune magazine called direct selling (of which network marketing is the largest segment) “the best kept secret in the business world.” It has experienced 91% growth in the last 10 years with annual sales in excess of $40 billion in the U.S. and $150 billion worldwide. Financial experts say that it’s a “recession proof” industry. Billionaire Warren Buffet, after purchasing a network marketing company, called it the best investment he’d ever made. Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence, calls it the first truly revolutionary shift in marketing in the last 50 years. Rich Dad, Poor Dad author, Robert Kiyosaki was so impressed with the industry, he called it the Business of the 21st Century and wrote a book by that title.

Even billionaires and Fortune 500 companies are jumping on board the network marketing bandwagon. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records, launched his own network marketing company in the U.K. Warren Buffett has purchased two network marketing companies. Donald Trump has been associated with a couple of network marketing businesses. Time Warner, Lillian Vernon, City Group, Hallmark Cards, Nestle, Jockey, Readers Digest, and Remington have either purchased or launched their own entries into this high growth industry.

Why the interest in network marketing? The main reason is that it fits the current marketing trends. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are in control. Seventy six million strong in the U.S. and over a billion worldwide, the boomers have dictated what is hot, from baby food and diapers to fast food to minivans and SUVs. Now the boomers are looking for products that will help them look and feel younger and ways to secure their financial future and enjoy more time freedom. Network marketing offers the answers.

Tired of the corporate rat race, boomers are starting home businesses in record numbers. CNN reported that a new home based business is started in the United States every eleven seconds. The home business boom is the next big trend and network marketing is one of the hottest home businesses available. It offers low start-up investment and monthly overhead. Entrepreneurs can start part-time, while still employed, and build the business to replace their job income. Age, gender, and race aren’t barriers in network marketing. In fact, well over half of the success stories are women.

The biggest reasons that the boomers are flocking to network marketing are time leverage, residual income, and tax benefits. Network marketing is one of the few businesses that does not require employees and yet enables the owner to leverage his or her time by building a network of independent business people. This network, which purchases and sells products or services, generates a residual income for the owner. Unlike the income earned at a job, which stops when the work stops, residual income continues on long after the work is completed. As exciting as leverage and residual income are, boomers love the tax benefits of network marketing. Tax expert Sanford Botkin says that a network marketing home business can result in tax savings of $3,000 to $9,000 per year.

The final reason why so many people of all ages are interested in network marketing is the internet. Success requires a business owner to build a large network of people who buy and sell products/services and recruit others who will do the same. The internet now enables network marketers to build national and international businesses from the comfort of their home. No more early morning alarms and high stress commutes. All the work can be done from a bedroom with a computer and telephone.

Network marketing is the first true equal opportunity, as there are success stories from every age and ethnic group, gender, personality type, education level, and walk of life. However, this is not a get rich quick scheme where supposedly everyone will succeed. This is a business that requires financial and time commitment and the willingness to work hard until success arrives. The great part is that network marketing, similar to franchising, is a turn-key business. Others have forged the trail and all a person has to do is use the proven systems and follow the path. Don’t expect to make millions the first year or the second, but do expect to make enough to give you time and financial freedom.

The first key to success is to find a company, out of the over 3,000 available, that operates with high integrity and offers a product/service that brings out passion and excitement. The second key is to find the right compensation plan. There are six basic types – Stairstep, Matrix, Unilevel, Binary, Hybrid, and 2 Up. Each has positives and negatives, so study the plans and find the one that fits best. The third key is to study those who have already been successful and duplicate what they have done. Last, never, never, never, never, quit. The success you seek may be just around the next corner.

Network marketing is over 60 years old, so it’s not a new concept. However, it is a concept whose time has come. In the movie The Graduate, a young Dustin Hoffman was told that the future was in plastics. I’m here to tell you that the future is in network marketing and that future is now.

Direct Selling News: Top 100 Direct Sales Companies

Direct Selling News
6/20/11

When we published the DSN Global 100 ranking last year, it was the first time in the history of the industry that a comprehensive list of the top 100 revenue-generating direct selling companies was researched and presented.

When we committed to the project, we committed to do the research necessary to produce a ranking that would reflect the advantages of the direct selling industry. As the trade journal for the direct selling and network marketing executive, we know you hold us to high standards. So with that in mind, we delved into our research, compiling data from financial sources, professional researchers, personal interviews and corporate websites.

Our research is really not an opt-in/opt-out opportunity. Information on publicly held companies serves to form the backbone of credibility to a list that contains so many private companies. When privately held companies submit their information, we enhance the value of strategic objectives to showcase a much more transparent industry; when they do not, we extrapolate the data to the best of our ability and publish it with the appropriate journalistic qualifiers.

For this year’s ranking, we contacted every company that appeared on our 2009 list. We were excited to learn that last year’s offering had made an impact, and more companies willingly participated this time around. In fact, only a few companies declined to share financial data. We also researched dozens of companies that did not appear on last year’s list—ones that had come onto our radar screen over the past 12 months. That is why we feel confident that the 2010 DSN Global 100 provides a comprehensive and accurate representation of the industry.

However, we do acknowledge that challenges persist in compiling such a list, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to continue expanding our research so that each year provides even greater data and greater insight. For us—and ultimately, for you—there is a far greater reason that we do this than simply ranking one company above another.

To read the rest of the article, go to http://www.directsellingnews.com/index.php/site/entries_archive_display/the_top_direct_selling_companies_in_the_world

Isn't This One of Those Pyramid Deals?

Here's another of the most common objections you will hear in network marketing. The first step in answering this one is to clarify what they mean by asking: what do you mean by a pyramid deal?

Their answer will dictate the next step:

If the indicate that they think the business is an illegal pyramid scheme, then you can lead them to you state attorney generals site for their definition of an illegal pyramid and then compare that to your business. The main differences are that a legal network marketing business has a product that people would buy if they weren't in the business. Also, all commissions and bonuses should be based on sales of those products.

If they indicate that it's like Amway or some other NM company, then ask them what they know about that company.

If they answer that it's one of those deals where the people at the top make all the money, you could respond by saying, oh you mean our government or corporate America. This will flush out their experiences or what they've heard.

Once you've answered their objection, confirm that they are satisfied and then share with them the benefits of your business - what's in it for them.

I Don't Have Enough Money

This is another common objection in the network marketing industry and for most network marketers, it means death to their business. However, just like we saw in the last post on not enough time, the not enough money can be easily overcome. What I've found is that if people want or need something bad enough, they will find the money. If the water heater went out, they wouldn't say, I don't have enough month and take cold showers. NO, they would borrow the money or sell some stuff to get the money. It's the same with your business, if you handle it correctly.

The first step is to avoid this objection by building value and you do this by asking questions to uncover pain and passion areas in their lives. Ask questions about their family, occupation, recreation, and money to find those pain and passion areas and then deliver your business as a solution. If you do a good job with this, you will not hear the no money objection very often.

If you do encounter this objection, I first like to qualify their comment by asking as questions, "Are you telling me that you absolutely don't have the money, can't borrow it, can't sell some things to get it, or are you saying that you just haven't seen enough value in this to pay the money? If they answer with the former, then you work to help them find the money, ask them what they would do if the hot water tank went out today or if their child needed emergency surgery, what they would do. If they answer with the second one, you have to go back to the pain and passion areas and find out what those are worth to them and build up that value.

So, there you go. Avoid the objection by asking questions and when you get the objection, help them see the value your business has in their life and you will see a higher percentage of the "no money" people join your business.