MLM Talk Online

by Wendy Weiss

I love my cat. Her name is Ms. Kitty. She was named after Mr. Cat, who died 11 years ago, and after Amanda Blake of “Gunsmoke” fame. Ms. Kitty and I just celebrated our birthdays. She’s 11. I’m… well, I celebrated a birthday, too.

Those of you who are cat lovers are nodding your heads and smiling. The rest of you probably think I’ve totally lost it. But before you tune out completely, let me share some of the fabulous sales tips that I have learned from Ms. Kitty and from all the cats in my life.

Be clear in knowing your goal

Ms. Kitty always knows what she wants. Whether it’s more food or to be petted or not to be petted, she knows what she wants and when she wants it. She spends much time pondering her wants. All that time spent sleeping on the coach is not what it appears. She’s really planning her next move.

Ask for what you want

Once Ms. Kitty has determined her goal, she asks for it. Clearly and concisely. “Meow.” She lets me know in no uncertain terms what she wants. And if I’m not clever enough to understand the first time, she is patient with me until I do.

Ask again

If at first you don’t succeed… Ms. Kitty asks, and asks and asks. She won’t go away. She won’t stop saying, “Meow.” She wants what she wants when she wants it, and she lets nothing stand in her way.

Ask a lot of people

Ms. Kitty has learned over time that I don’t always immediately accede to her demands. That’s okay. She just asks someone else. And then someone else. Eventually, some human being says “yes.”

Be persistent

Ms. Kitty never judges herself. She doesn’t worry about being “too pushy” or “too aggressive.” She doesn’t worry that her prospect might be “too busy” or “already have a cat.” She believes in herself, she knows what she wants, and she keeps asking until she gets it.

Don’t take “no” for an answer

Ms. Kitty is clever and creative. She keeps asking. She asks many people. She reworks her pitch and starts over. She does not hear “no.” She realizes that sometimes humans are slow and she just has to keep after us till we “get it.” It’s a process.

To see Ms. Kitty’s formal portrait,
http://www.wendyweiss.com/ms_kitty.html

© 2005 Wendy Weiss

About the Author

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling & Selling Success,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her book, Cold Calling for Women, and the recently released Cold Calling College, can be ordered by visiting http://www.wendyweiss.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get her free e-zine at
http://www.wendyweiss.com.

Success Habit No. 1 - Don’t let anything stop you from achieving your business goals.

It’s easy to come up with excuses for why you aren’t doing as well as you’d like. You don’t have enough time to book another party or to create your downline newsletter or contact another prospect - what with your family commitments, your full-time or part-time job, and social events. But the real truth of the matter is that you DO have control over your life and your time, and if you make your business a top priority you WILL be successful.

Success Habit No. 2 - Write Down Your Goals.

It’s been proven over and over that people who write down their goals, achieve more. You need to know where you’re going before you can get there. But just writing down your goals isn’t enough, you have to remind yourself of them daily. So write them down and read them every day. Stick them on post-it notes and put them on your bathroom mirror, inside your car. Write them on 3 x 5 cards and read them throughout the day whenever you have a spare moment.

Success Habit No. 3 - Practice Effective Time Management.

Time is easy to waste, but if you get in the habit of practicing time management you can save your energy for the things you really want to do. Make a list of your daily activities and how much time you spend on them. Eliminate the obvious time wasters like watching TV, chatting on the phone, or volunteering too much. Devote your time and energy to what is important to you. Don’t let others use up your valuable time.

Success Habit No. 4 - Keep An Open Mind and Take Risks.

Sometimes we are resistant to new ideas and ways of doing things. You might think to yourself — that’s OK for her, but I can’t possibly do that. But the truth of the matter is that you really CAN do new things, if you TRY. So what if you aren’t successful at first. Just keep on going and do it again. Keeping an open mind and taking risks by trying something new helps you grow personally and professionally. Invest in yourself by taking a training course, reading a new MLM book, or trying a new prospecting technique.

Practice these 4 habits on a daily basis. If you slip up, that’s OK, just get right back on track the next day. Have fun and dare to try something new!

Linda Locke
Get your daily dose of inspiration at http://www.mlmtalk.com

One of my pet peeves are people who reverse recruit other network marketers who advertise on the net or post in online forums.

You know the type, “Hi, I love your post. And I wanted to tell you about my great XYZ company that you need to join right now!” Yuk! This is such an annoying way to do business, yet some people insist on doing it anyway. Go figure.

Here’s an interesting post by Andrew McLellan on his Network Marketing Inspiration blog about the ethics or lack thereof of using this dubious marketing tactic.

http://freementor.blogspot.com/2005/11/reverse-recruiting.html

Linda Locke
Get your daily dose of inspiration here: http://www.mlmtalk.com

If your business has been a little sluggish lately, here’s some ideas to help you get back into action FAST!

1. Talk to at least one new person about your business every day.
2. Set a goal to sponsor at least 2 new distributors into your group this month.
3. Collect quotes that inspire you and refer to them when you are discouraged.
4. Work with the business builders in your downline. Find out what their goals are and help them determine the best way for them to meet those goals.
5. Keep in touch with your downline. Call, write, fax or e-mail them at least once a month!
6. Join a business networking group and get involved.
7. Wear something every day that’s a conversation starter; a unique pin or some crazy earrings. This helps break the ice and gets people to start talking to you.
8. Know what you want from your business and decide what success means to you. Make a commitment to your business and write it down. Set goals that really challenge you. Set daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals. Make a dream collage, a visual wish list. Cut out pictures from old magazines of things you’d like to have, places you’d like to go, and the lifestyle you’d like to have. Paste all the pictures on some poster board and put it where you can look at it every day to remind you what your goals are and why you are in your network marketing business.
9. Always have plenty of tapes, sales literature, samples, etc. with you at all times. You never know where you’ll meet you next best customer!
10. Never, never, never give up.

Linda Locke
http://www.mlmtalk.com

You don’t need to be an extrovert to be a success in MLM. There are many methods you can use online or off to promote your business even if you are shy.

On the net you can:

- Write articles and get them published in ezines and web based magazines to promote your business. Here’s some web sites where you can submit your articles.

http://ideamarketers.com/
http://goarticles.com/
http://www.ladypens.com/
http://www.articlesfactory.com/

- Participate in bulletin board discussions offering help and advice to others — check out our MLMTalk bulletin board and the forum on MLM.com.

- Start a ezine to promote your business.

- Start an web based networking group using Ryze.com.

- Send out an electronic press release about your business using prweb.com.

- Create a web site for your business.

- Start a blog to share your knowledge and experience using the free Blogger service.

- Promote traffic to your web site using search engines and pay per click advertising using Google Adwords or Overture.

Off the net you can:

- Join a local business networking group and buy their mailing list and send out a letter or a postcard introducing yourself and offering a free sample or a discount to new customers.

- Attend continuing education classess that are a fit for the types of products you sell and meet people that way.

- Volunteer to be the greeter at a business networking event to welcome people to the meeting or take on a position to help out with some other aspect of the meeting. This will help you feel less shy at the networking event by helping others.

Linda Locke
Get your daily dose of inspiration at http://www.mlmtalk.com

By Barbara J. Winter

Attention-getting device - grab people’s attention with a unique approach: color, a catchy name or provocative headline are a few ways to get noticed fast.

Business cards & brochures - these most common marketing tools deserve to be memorable. A good card or brochure should serve as a mini-billboard, going beyond the bare facts.

Customer mailing list - keep building a list of names and mail to them when you have something special to promote or just want to remind them you’re there.

Demonstrations - television is a powerful medium, because it allows us to see events and products in action. Find ways to show, not just tell, your story.

Easy to Find - ask yourself this question: “If a newcomer arrived in my city and needed my services, how would they find me?” If you’re hard to locate, you’ll miss opportunities.

Freebies - can you create a mini-sample to give away? Everyone loves to get little perks.

Gift Certificates - an easy way to suggest to your customers that they share your product or service with others.

Host an Event - use your imagination to come up with a celebration or appreciation event. Invite lots of people.

Impeccable Service - a commitment to fabulous service will make you feel good…and earn you a ton of word-of-mouth advertising.

Joint Projects - look for ways to multiply your efforts by joining forces with another entrepreneur to create a special project that will benefit both of you.

Klassified Ads - (okay, so I’m stretching here) these inexpensive ads can keep your message in front of thousands of people for pennies. Learning to write a good one takes practice, but it’s worth it.

Letters to the Editor - an overlooked tool for getting your ideas and name in print.

Manners - if yours are wonderful, people will be amazed. Make politeness one of your trademarks.

Newsletters - almost any kind of business can benefit from a customer newsletter. Although these take time to produce, the resulting surge in business will make you a believer.

Offer - give your customers an incentive for acting quickly or buying a certain amount.

Postcards - a wonderful way to communicate with your customers and save postage at the same time.

Quality - this important ingredient doesn’t necessarily have to cost more money, but in order to build quality, you may have to spend more time and attention to details.

Radio, TV and Newspapers - never underestimate the power of a media story to build your bottom line. Look for ways to be newsworthy…and let the media know.

Surprise - customers love the unusual and unexpected. Try dazzling yours!

Teach & Talk - if you have something to teach, you’ll not only create a profit center, you’ll also meet new customers for your other ventures. Think of all those program chairpeople looking for a fresh speaker. It could be you.

Ubiquitous - a grand word meaning “appearing to be everywhere at once.” Keep it in mind as you go about your marketing and find many ways to appear.

Variety - try different ways to get your message out. Most businesses get stuck in one way of doing things and miss the fun of trying new approaches.

Write - establish credibility and visibility by putting your ideas on paper and getting them published. You might even consider doing a regular column in your local newspaper.

X - some extra ideas include…get yourself listed in local and/or national business directories… gather testimonials and use them on promotional pieces and ads…put together a tip sheet of useful info to give out.

Yellow Pages - not an inexpensive way to advertise, but many businesses report it is their single best investment.

Zest - we all love to do business with people who are enthusiastic about the service or product they offer. If you love what you’re doing, everything will fall into place.

Barbara J. Winter is the author of Making a Living Without A Job and is the editor of Winning Ways Newsletter. You can visit her website at: BarbaraWinter.com

Every day I get lots of email from women who are just starting out in their first network marketing business, who are looking for training tools and other resources that can help them learn how to successfully launch their new venture.

When I started (more years ago that I like to count), the resources were very slim and most people took their basic training in the MLM school of hard knocks. Without a savvy sponsor with a good training system, you were destined for a lot of difficult times ahead.

How things have changed since then! Newcomers in the 21st century have it a lot easier — they can pick and choose from a wide variety of books, tapes, and publications available to help guide them smoothly through their startup phase and beyond.

So here’s a list of a few of my favorite business building resources for women (and men) that I wish I’d had in my backpack when I started. And the really good news is that all of these training tools are affordably priced to fit into even the smallest business budget.

My all-time favorite MLM training book is Venus Andrecht’s, MLM Magic, How an Ordinary Person Can Build an Extra-Ordinary Networking Business from Scratch and its accompanying workbook. This book is not only fun to read, it details the author’s own success secrets which she used to build a $100,000 MLM business in a year. This is recommended reading for anyone who seriously wants to build their own successful MLM business and offers a distinctively female view of how to do it. Venus covers goal setting, recruiting, prospecting, and downline support and gives you the real scoop on what it “really” takes to build a profitable MLM business. You can get her book on Amazon.com.

A wonderful and creative newsletter that is an excellent source of ideas and resources for small business owners is Barbara Winter’s bimonthly Winning Ways. Each issue is a delight and I always read it from cover to cover the day I receive it in the mail. I’ve been enjoying it for over 10 years now! You can subscribe to Winning Ways here. And be sure you sign up for her free Joyfully Jobless ezine too and check out her online articles at BarbaraWinter.com

Barbara is also the author of the popular bestseller, How to Make Money Without A Job. This is a fantastic book for aspiring entrepreneurs and is available at your local bookstore. Although its focus is not on MLM, it offers lots of advice for the entrepreneurial newcomer and the challenges they face. You can find this book in major bookstores everywhere.

Another great website resource is Lisa Wilber’s Winner in You site. Lisa’s site has lots of great free resources and information and she also offers books, tapes and sales aids for women in network marketing.

You should also check out the Direct Selling Women’s Alliance (DSWA) at mydswa.org. They also offer a free newsletter and other resources and if you decide to join the DSWA you can take advantage of their learning library, networking and support.

And finally, you should take some time to visit our sister site — MLMWoman.com. We publish a free newsletter each month and have 10 years of archives from all our past issues with hundreds of articles on recruiting, prospecting, downline support, and other good stuff for you to read and enjoy. We also host the MLMTalk Discussion Board where you can network with other MLMer’s and share marketing and business tips.

These resources only scratch the surface of the incredible amount of information available to new network marketers today. But if you want to start smart and avoid a lot of the headaches and challenges that MLM newcomers face, you can’t go wrong with this short list of my favorites.

Enjoy!

Linda Locke
http://www.mlmtalk.com
http://www.mlmwoman.com

The holidays are looming and if you’re like me you have too many things to do and too many people asking you to do them. Here’s an article I found to help you take control of your holidays and learn the power of No.

Ten Tips for Doing What YOU Want this Holiday Season

Enjoy!

Linda Locke
Get your daily dose of inspiration here:
http://www.mlmtalk.com

By R. Droppa

Can you imagine finding this advertisement in your Sunday paper?

Help Wanted - Full Time Pay for Part Time Efforts. Work at Home. No supervision. Pick your own hours. Free training. Constant support available 7 days a week 24 hours a day. Use only your best skills. No experience required.

As unrealistic as it may seem, this was the job I was looking for as I scoured the classifieds. You see, shortly after the birth of my son, I realized that my heart’s desire, my focus, was changing. My successful 10 year career in the corporate world, that I had been so proud of was taking a back seat to my desire to stay home and raise my baby.

But alas, our family budget depended on my income. Where was I going to find a company that would pay me to stay home? I considered my alternatives. I arranged with my employer to work part-time from my house, but after a few weeks it became obvious that this was not a solution. I knew what I wanted. I wanted to be around my son full-time. I wanted to be able to not work for days in a row and then work as long and as hard as I could on weekends or during the night. I wanted a job that involved few clothing changes, and as little face to face contact as possible. I needed to be self-employed, but how could I afford it? I was determined. I had to find a way. I stumbled across some information on Multi-Level Marketing and discovered the perfect business for women like me. Here are just a few of the reasons Multi-Level Marketing makes sense for working mothers.

You can begin building your business, part-time, while you keep your regular job. This may seem like an extraordinary feat, considering you are already overloaded with family and work responsibilities, but keeping the goal in mind, couldn’t you find an hour each week night, and maybe a couple more on the weekend? The first 3 to 6 months in any new job are considered a training period. How many new businesses can you try out while keeping your current job as a safety net?

The top quality MLM Co’s have compensation plans that are designed to reward the part time distributor and emphasize depth. This means you will be working with a sponsor who is financially motivated to help you succeed. Any sponsor will be thrilled to take on a majority of the “work” knowing that they are helping you build towards a goal of working the business full-time.

The start-up costs of your business are lower than most any other type of home based venture. Even if you are planning to start your own business providing consulting or some other type of service. Realize that in order to be successful you will probably need some or all of the following: logo, letterhead, forms, business card design & printing, newspaper/trade advertising, legal counsel, accounting services, permits, licenses, yellow pages advertising, brochure production, office supplies and equipment, and so forth.

Also, remember you can’t be out “selling” the business if you are at home “doing” the business. The reputable MLM’s have minimal start-up costs. In my case, I paid less than $50 for a distributor kit, and then invested a small amount of money in the products I wanted to use for myself and my family. My total start up cost was under $300.00.

You can leverage other people’s efforts for your own financial gain. Yet, you do not have the hassle, liability and other problems associated with having employees. If your family schedule will not allow you to devote normal working hours to the business, but you feel it is critical to contact a prospect base that only operates from 9 to 5, then recruit someone who can work those hours. If you feel your business would be best built on door to door sales you can find someone who enjoys this and sponsor them into your company. Think of yourself as the coach, not the quarterback of the team. You don’t even have to be out on the field. This way, you can still be building your business through other peoples sales efforts, while you are home, managing the business.

You can work when and how you want. One of the key factors in successful network marketing is staying in control of your prospecting activities. Therefore, you are encouraged to let people leave messages so that you can get back to them, when you are ready. Think about this. You do not have to run around the house, panicked, rounding up and hushing the kids while the phone rings, because you are expecting an important call. One of the basic principals a good MLM’er will teach you, is - let your prospect leave a message.

You can schedule your return calls for when the baby is asleep, the kids are at school, etc… I do much of my communicating through E-Mail and voice mail. Instead of holding meetings in my home, or setting up one on one presentations, I send my prospects videos. When they are ready for the next step, I will attend a business opportunity meeting with them, but in my company, these are held at 7:30 pm. Conveniently, this is half an hour after my son goes to sleep.

You can be “working” while you do normal parenting things. The world is your client base. Think of all the “warm” prospects you have with other children’s parents, school personnel, or church acquaintances. You don’t have to be annoying. You can simply share a product success or drop a hint during a normal conversation. The best sales tool is your own success. If you look great, and are obviously doing well financially, people are going to start asking you about that weight loss product they heard you were selling. If you are happy and everyone around town sees you out with your children during the day, some conventionally employed moms might start asking what your secret is.

You can save money as well as earn it. Most experts will tell you to ask yourself this question when evaluating MLM’s - “Would I buy this product for myself if I wasn’t a distributor.” In my case, the answer was an overwhelming yes. I represent a manufacturer who is selling over 100 products via network marketing. Many of these have replaced more expensive items that were already in my family’s monthly budget. An additional benefit, is that through our use of the products, we have become living testimonials. Many of our friends and family members have approached us about trying something before we even had a chance to ask them.

In my situation, another benefit is that I have been able to help other mothers realize their goal to work at home. I highly recommend this business to anyone who is looking for a way out of the “rat race”. Thanks to Multi-level Marketing, I can now earn a living and still have time to play peek-a-boo with my son, read him stories and rock him to sleep at nap time.

Just found a great resource of self-promotion ideas and inspiration from Heidi Miller’s Diary of a Shameless Self-Promoter audio podcasts at: http://heidimiller.libsyn.com.

Heidi broadcasts weekly and also offers a transcript of the podcasts at her Talk It Up! blog.

Enjoy!

Linda Locke
Get your daily dose of inspiration and news here:
http://www.mlmtalk.com