MLM – Are The Doubters Trying To Sabotage You?

I am sure you know all about this one. You know the people I am talking about, they are the ones who as soon as you start to talk to them they say .. "This better not be Amway" or "What kind of shonky system are you trying to sell me". Of course there are even better ones than this and that is with your warm market. You know, you approach someone you know … maybe even your spouse and they say "Oh no, what have you gotten yourself into now? Don't you know they are a scam, it is just a glorified pyramid scheme". Oh boy, talk about putting you on a downer and taking the wind out of your sails. This is rejection at it worst, how can you possible think positively towards your MLM when you have this level of doubt being cast upon you from those you love and those you know. So what do you do ? Do you simply go yeah, maybe it is a pyramid scheme and I am stupid for getting into it or do you go well no, you aren't right and this is why!

The whole pyramid thing comes up time and time again so what do you do about this? How do you counteract someone accusing you, an honest, upstanding good natured citizen about getting involved with a pyramid scheme. The answer is simple, you educate your doubters. In order to be able to educate others you must first be educated so here is some information about so called pyramid schemes. If you think of what an organizational chart looks like for a corporate business? (that's one of those 'legitimate' businesses...lol) IT LOOKS JUST LIKE A PYRAMID!! The ones who are paid the most, control the most and sit at the TOP of it. It graduates down to all the 'poor' slobs on the bottom who eventually, 'if they are lucky', retire after 30-40 years with a small pension, again 'if they are lucky', rarely enough to pay their bills. Do the folks at the bottom of that have anything worthwhile to work for? The saddest part of all is that 'Paul' could have done twice the work, sales, production, etc. of 'Jan', but both make equal pay and retire with basically equal benefits. At least MLM is a system that recognizes performance and pays you based on the performance of both you AND your 'team'...and likewise, right on down the line. To top it all off, you're getting PRODUCT of fair, or equal, value too AND the training and support of the company you represent! Why is this concept so hard for people to grasp? Profits are ALWAYS better than wages, but they are not FREE and it is not EASY.

You have to rise above the doubters and prove to them that it is always going to be better leveraging the efforts of other people to help you all become successful. When you work in a JOB (read as Just Over Broke), you will never be in a position to continue to get paid when you stop trading your time for wages. When you stop working, your pay stops at the same time. MLM offers you the opportunity to be able to sustain a residual income for life, I'm sure you'll agree its worth educating the doubters about this aspect of the business.

Until next time ...

Why You Should Hire Voice-Over Talent

Everyone has heard local merchants read their own commercials on the radio. Perhaps they did it in order to give their spot an air of originality. More likely, they did it to save money. After all, they figure, anyone can read words into a microphone, right? Well, yes. Anyone can do that, just like anyone can make a meal. However, not everyone can do it with flair.

If all the only thing you need to do is fill some airtime, then an amateur voice may be all you need. Similarly, if all you need to do is get rid of some hunger pangs, then a bologna sandwich will suffice. But you don't want to give a bologna sandwich to a potential client you're trying to impress—so why would you want to give the audio equivalent to a bologna sandwich to potential customers?

When you purchase air time, you are not doing it to hear yourself talk: You're doing it in order to convince potential customers to buy your product. Sounding anything less than professional is not going to help you do that. And giving the impression that you're cheap, which using below-par voicing does, is going to give them the impression that you skimp elsewhere as well. If jewelry merchant puts substandard advertising out there for the world to see, how do I, as a potential customer, know that she doesn't also put out substandard jewelry? Yes, people do make that connection, even if they don't admit it. They may not even be conscious of it.

Now, consider this. If you hire a professional voice over artist to sell your product, you are sending the public a message, however subliminally, that you understand how important it is to pay attention to the details. Advertising is one of those little details that it pays, quite literally, to pay attention to. When you are attempting to sell something, the packaging is your first line of attraction, and on the radio, the voice the customer hears is all the packaging you have, the only thing with which to impress him. Why leave that to an amateur? After all, you've paid good money for your advertising. It's much better to spend a little more on effective advertising than a little less on a spot that doesn't work. Or worse, a spot that makes you seem foolish.

Now what, exactly, will a professional voice-over artist give you that you can't do for yourself or get your brother-in-law to do? Plenty. For one thing, you get professionalism. That makes sense, right? You hire a professional; you get professionalism. You get know-how. Sure, everyone can speak, but that does not mean that everyone can speak well. A professional voice-over artist knows how to enunciate words so that people can understand what he or she is saying, while making it sound perfectly natural.

It's your choice in the end, of course. If you think that your customers don't pay attention to packaging and don't get annoyed by amateur commercials then, by all means, do it yourself. But if you want to send the message that you are a professional who knows when to call in the experts, then hire the best voice-over talent you can afford to read your next commercial.

What To Look For In A Direct Sales Company!

Firstly, when considering a home based business there are several factors you need to take into consideration to see if building a business is something you can actually do. For instance, do you have the time to dedicate to working? No one becomes successful without consistent activity over time. Can you put 10 – 15 hours a week into your own business? If you where going to purchase an expensive franchise, you would make sure you had the time to see it grow. The principle is equally applicable to your own home based business.

Secondly, do you have initial capitol to begin your business? There has never been a successful business built that has not had initial capitol investment upfront. Most traditional businesses take 5-7 years before they are generating a profit. The incredible opportunity in the direct sales industry is that you can begin a legitimate business at home with a much smaller amount of money. You need to be clear on what you want. Do you want to make a little extra money for Christmas presents? Do you want to make and extra $100 a month to put into savings or pay off debt? Or do you want to make a full time income by working from home? All of these scenarios can be achieved by working from home if you have the right team, the right company, and the right attitude about your business. What is even more incredible , it that you even have the opportunity over time to start out just needing extra money for Christmas and graduate to complete financial freedom within 5-7 years. It all depends on you.

Now you have determined whether you have the time and you understand that it takes a little money to get going. Now how do you know if the business you are looking at is a legitimate, reputable, ethical company that will stand the test of time? Look at the company and its leadership. Have they been around and are they established. Most network marketing companies do not last more than 3 years. There are pros and cons to going with companies with a long established name or a newer company just starting to gather momentum and name status. The bottom line remains. What do you want? What do you like? Can you be passionate about the companies' product? Would you buy the product even if you did not want to build a business around it? Then you are getting close to making a decision.

Does the company have consumable product? This is a very important point to consider. You will save yourself time and money in the long run, if you build a network of consumers that love to use your businesses product over and over again. If they get to the bottom of a container and can't survive without your product again, then you are starting to build a distribution system with ongoing product sales that provide passive residual income. Does your company offer a way to sell their product online or allow clients to order products themselves? Think long term. Act as if your business is a multimillion dollar international business that is servicing hundreds of thousands of clients around the world. This is bigger than asking a friend to throw you a party. This is big business.

What are the timing and trends in culture? You surely do not want to be selling VCR's right about now. You would be in the poor house. "Health and Wellness" is this decades and the next decade's business boom. "Why?" you may ask… because of the Baby Boomers. They want to look younger, feel younger and stay fit and energetic well into their 80's. Does the company you are thinking about representing, provide products that hit that market?

Do you have the ability to leverage your time? Leverage is the key ingredient that makes good businesses take off. CEO's get paid off of the efforts of their employees, and there can only be one CEO of a company. However with direct sales, you can teach and train others to do what you do. They get all the benefits of being their own CEO while you get a percentage for teaching and training them how to do it. It truly is a brilliant business model. Everyone wins.

Do you have strong corporate leadership and up line support? These are vital components for long term success. You want to join a team that know where they are going, and have the ability to show you what to do as you are first starting out. More importantly, do you have strong personal leadership? Do you know what you want? Are you going to let anything or anyone stop you? That will get you through the bumps and bruises of your first year in business. If you are committed to working on yourself, developing the skills needed to be successful and give your business time and consistent effort, the sky is the limit.

Direct Mail Services - What All Do They Do?

If you are considering direct mail as an addition to your current marketing program, or if you already use direct mail but are currently handling it yourself, you should consider hiring a direct mail service.

What is a Direct Mail Service?


As the name implies, a direct mail service is any company that support for some aspect of direct mail. These companies vary based on the types of services they offer. For example, some direct mail services specialize in digital postcard printing / mailing, while others offer everything from postcards to more complex direct mail packages.

Direct Mail Offerings


When researching direct mail services, you should start by making a list of the kinds of direct mail service you will need. That way, you can narrow your search to those companies who provide the types of services you need. After all, there's no point in asking about secondary factors like pricing and customer support if the direct mail service doesn't even provide the primary factors you're after.

Here's a general list of services provided by direct mail companies. Not all companies will offer this entire list, so extract that items that are important to you and use them when screening direct mail service providers.

* Planning and strategy


* Copywriting support


* Design support


* Mailing list rental


* Mailing list certification


* Digital printing


* Offset printing


* Variable data printing (VDP)


* Folding / scoring / finishing


* Mailing services


* Web-based postcard services


* An industry focus, such as real estate or automotive

The Convenience Factor


One of the main reasons marketing professionals use direct mail services is for convenience and time savings. When you get down to it, there isn't much a direct mail service does that you couldn't do for yourself. You could design, print and mail a postcard or letter. But when you multiply that postcard or letter times a hundred, a thousand or more, you can see where it makes sense to bring in the professionals.

We hope you have enjoyed this brief guide to direct mail services. If you would like to learn more on this subject, we recommend visiting the website listed below.

* You may republish this article online if you retain the author's byline and the active hyperlinks below. Copyright 2007, Brandon Cornett.

Information Marketing - How to Get Clients to Pick Up the Phone and Call You

What Is Information Marketing?

Information marketing techniques involve a completely different way of thinking. It's centred on 'giving' not 'getting'. It's a powerful way of building a relationship of trust and credibility with your prospects by giving them what they want which is information and advice and taking away what they don't want, a sales pitch. Now doesn't that feel as though it falls in line with your values?

Information marketing materials come in many formats from an email newsletter, special reports, a course of email tips, articles and ebooks to name but a few. You may well have come across some of them already.

The Benefits of Information Marketing Techniques

Stop 'Chasing' and Start 'Cultivating'

When you share your knowledge with your prospects and clients it enables you to stop 'chasing' them for business and to start 'cultivating' long-term relationships.

People love those that are generous and helpful. Think how happy you would be to receive valuable information about a subject that you are interested in and that is packed full of helpful tips and advice.

With time people become familiar with you. They get to know who you are and how you think and they begin to understand exactly what type of service you offer. They begin to trust you because they see you as a credible source of valuable information and advice.

Believe me, it won't be long until they pick up the phone to ask for your advice!

Convert Prospects Into Paying Clients

When you create info marketing materials whether it's an email newsletter, a special report or an ebook you have the opportunity to introduce people to your services without risk. Through your writing prospects begin to understand the results they might expect to achieve as a result of working with you.

The reason most solo-preneurs struggle to turn a prospect into paying clients is because they have not yet overcome their buying concerns. For example, coaching can be perceived as being quite costly. Most coaches expect their prospects to jump head first into purchasing a service that they have no real understanding or experience of.

By offering a variation of information-based products at different price points you give your prospects the opportunity to experience you and your services at a lower risk free price before committing to the purchase of your higher priced one-to-one services. It helps break down scepticism and builds a sense of familiarity and trust.

Create A Passive Income

Here's the good bit! Info marketing techniques provide an extra revenue stream that enables you to make money with little effort. Once you have created your products and materials they will work for you effortlessly, earning your extra cash whilst you are away, busy on other projects or even whilst you sleep!

Become An Expert

The other major benefit of info marketing is that you become a credible authority within your niche. You are perceived as being an expert and this builds credibility amongst your prospects thus allowing you to charge higher fees.

Conclusion

As business owners we are very much focused on supporting and helping our clients to achieve their desired results. Isn't info marketing a great way to share valuable information that will help them, whilst at the same time successfully marketing your own business? Compare this with sales-based marketing and decide which you like most! Which method do you think is congruent with your business? How does this fall in line with your beliefs and values? Which would you rather be doing, info-based or selling-based marketing?

So come on, if you want to attract clients, build client relationships and make more money get writing today and create some information-based marketing materials!

© Victoria Player 2007

6 Ways To Create A Powerful, Persuasive P.S. For Every Direct Response Promotion

The postscript or PS is a vital part of any direct mail on online sales letter. If it's worded properly the PS will inflame your prospect's desire for your product or service right before they sign on the dotted line or type in their credit card number. If you want to build a PS that really reaches your prospect, you must create it with passion. You must return to the original promise that brought your prospect into the copy and stir the emotions that are burning inside of them.

Here are 6 ways you can do that.

1. Restate Benefits. The easiest way to evoke emotions is to remind your prospect of all the things your product or service will do for them. I'm talking about restating the benefits you mentioned earlier in your copy.

2. Make another promise/introduce a surprise benefit. Hold back one or two strong benefits or promises from your letter and introduce them here.

3. Provide more creditability. Give your prospect an extra dose of credibility…an ironclad reason to believe that your product or service is the real thing. You can do this by adding another testimonial from a satisfied customer.

4. Communicate Urgency. Motivate your prospect to take action. This is very important, because most people are procrastinators. So the PS gives you an opportunity to remove any foot-dragging on their part by reminding them how important it is right away.

Here's an example:

P.S. We've only printed a limited supply of this free report. Since this report will be shipped as soon as you pay for your subscription, why not get it immediately by enclosing payment now?

5. Restate/expand your guarantee. You can never mention your guarantee too many times. If you want to remind your prospect that they have nothing to lose or if you want to spell out your terms further, you can do it right here.

6. Finally, you can also use the PS to introduce a new promotion or bonus.

P.S. If you respond within the next 10 days you'll also receive Insider Secrets to picking great stocks. Some of the valuable information you'll discover in this information-crammed report includes…

When done right, the PS can't help but please and surprise.

Business Card Design for IT Professionals

IT professionals need to maintain their business just like everyone else. It is because of this that they must design business cards in a way that are professional yet attract attention. The following tips will help IT professionals design their business cards in a way that will help them get more business.

Color Business Cards

Color business cards are an exceptional way for IT professionals to show their professional skills and present themselves to new clients. The color in the business cards really catches the eye and it is exactly what one would expect from an IT professional. In fact, you can design your own cards and choose the colors you feel best represent you and your skills. But whatever you do make sure you make it tasteful so that when you hand your card to someone they will look at it and think that it looks great instead of looking at it and thinking that it is overdone.

Contact Information

Another important aspect of your business card design is to incorporate your contact information in a very clear and concise manner. Most of the time when people look at a business card they are doing so to find a name and phone number or email address. If this information is not readily available then it will potentially lose you customers. As a result you should focus on the actual layout of your contact information first and then add your color and graphics.

Do it Yourself

Believe it or not but you can design your business cards yourself right on the computer. You can create your computer business cards on software you buy or else you can create them on websites that offer this service.

There really are a lot of options available to you when it comes to business card design for IT professionals. You can choose to use the plain black and white cards of the past or else you can choose to differentiate yourself from all the other IT professionals out there by designing a business card with colors and graphics that are tasteful yet help you get the clients you need! If you don't have any good ideas of your own then check out some of the websites that offer free business cards and see what graphics they have available for you to choose from. You will see that you can have professional and colorful business cards even as an IT professional.

Button Making Ideas for Convenience Stores

The rotating specials and sales at a convenience store are not only hard for customers to keep up with, but they're hard for the employees also! What you need is an easy and obvious way for everyone to keep up with things. Well, how about your own button maker? For less than $300 you can get a button making system and make your own buttons so that everyone can keep up, and those spur of the moment sales won't go unnoticed.

Imagine how great all your employees will look with their sale buttons on their uniform. Think of how easy it will be for customers, who interact with them, no matter what, to spot what's on sale. Also, if your convenience store offers additional services like a car wash or ice cream, you can put those on your buttons. Or, if you have just started offering a new service, putting it on a button with your own button maker is a great way to get the word out.

Our society is very visual. Having your own convenience store buttons with your logo and your information will brand your store into people's minds. For a lot of us, stopping at convenience stores boils down to which one we remember. Which one is at the front of our mind because of their great logo, slogan or the sale we remember seeing. Having your own button maker will make this a non-issue for your store, because you will have a visual right there on each employee for everyone to see! You could also hand out your buttons, and with the low cost of making them it won't hurt your budget. When people wear them or give them to their kids you get free walking advertisements!

Getting a button maker today will also help lower some of your costs. If employee turnover is common in your type of business, this can greatly lower the costs of nametags and the like. Also, your store logo on a button that you've made will be much more cost effective than trying to mass purchase them. Do your employees sometimes hit a down time? A great way to keep everyone busy and not give them just random things to keep busy with is to get them all making buttons! If you know your next few sales, if you need some more store logo buttons, or if you just want them to have a bit of fun making new name tags for themselves, they can do it easily. No matter what you have in mind for your new button maker, it's sure to be very useful for you and your convenience store. From logos to nametags to advertising your latest and greatest product and service, this is an opportunity to do something great for your business that truly won't cost an arm and a leg.

Richard Branson Time and Future Revenue

I often speak with business owners who wonder how much time they should be spending marketing their business. Do you know how much is enough?

In a recent interview with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Richard Branson explained how he managed his time. The owner and founder of the The Virgin Group - an empire of 350 companies that includes Virgin Atlantic airlines as well as ventures in telecommunications, trains, cosmetics, credit cards and several other industries - said that he spends about a third of his time on trouble shooting, another third on new projects, both charitable and business, and the last third on promoting and talking about the businesses he has set up.

Let me repeat what Richard said:

1/3 on trouble shooting

1/3 on new projects

1/3 on promoting and talking about the business (i.e. marketing - this is a key point)

He also makes time for family and vacation.

Other research suggests that successful consultants and independent professionals spend up to 30% of their time in marketing related activities.

What does that mean for you?

Marketing takes time… and you must make time for marketing.

This is probably the most critical concept for a service provider to understand. Time spent on effective marketing ensures future revenues. Think of it as working "on" the business, rather than "in" the business.

If you have read my special report "6 Marketing Myths That Can Ruin Your Service Business" you will know why you cannot always get clients immediately when you want them. Advertising is not effective for every service business. And the more intangible your service is, the more time it takes for potential clients to understand what you do and to trust you.

So you must plan ahead.
As a starting point try planning to spend around 20% of your time on promoting your business. This means that out of every week you should be spending one day on marketing stuff.

OK – right now I know many of you will be saying to yourself – "Stuart doesn't know what he's saying. One whole day! Every week! What would I do with all that time?"

Think about this. Your marketing "stuff" could be:

Meeting new people/contacts/networking.

Writing information sheets, articles or newsletters.

Dealing with media contacts or event organisers.

Speaking with potential referrers and alliance partners.

Delivering presentations/seminars to industry groups and prospects.

Preparing material for new services or products you are offering.

Actively selling – meeting with prospects.

Fine tuning your web site (of course you have one, don't you).

Working with your marketing consultant.

Spending one day per week is easy to do. It's only 1.5-2 hours per day. That goes pretty quickly when you're busy with the activities listed above.

Even if you start with only 1 hour per day – or half a day per week – you'll be sowing the seeds of your future success.

Let's Go Fishing...Fishing For Mortgage Prospects That Is

Let's Go Fishing...Fishing For Mortgage Prospects That Is

OK...here's our question:

"Would you pay for "dinner for two" at your local eatery in exchange for a number of new contacts that can be added to your mortgage database?" I hope so, because this is an inexpensive way to get your name out there, and more importantly, build your contact list.

Simply contact the owner or manager of your popular local restaurant and offer to pay for a "dinner for two" each month. You then place a fish bowl in a prominent place to collect the business cards for the monthly drawing. Historically a fish bowl has been the traditional drawing container and people recognize it as such...so stick with the idea and buy a fish bowl(s).

Most restaurants love the idea since this means more business for them. They'll happily give you the couple of square feet you need to promote this idea. In fact, some will even give you a discount on the gift certificate for the drawing. Don't forget to ask about a discount when arranging the final details of the campaign.

The nice part about this is...you actually control the cost and implementation of the promotion by choosing the restaurant(s) that fit you advertising budget:

1. If you can afford gourmet...then go gourmet!

2. Add as many restaurants (fish bowls) as you can afford.

3. Think outside the box and use the idea at your local hardware store, dry cleaner, florist, gift shop, auto repair, oil change facility, or whatever.

4. If you can afford twice-monthly drawings or more...go for it.

5. If after a few drawings you notice a significant drop in the number of new contacts and only repeaters...drop that particular location and find another.

Important...Don't forget to empty the cards (keeping track of their source) so that they don't become a temptation for other businesses and your competition. This is your promotion and your money...the last thing we want to do is assist someone else in building their list. Depending on traffic, a daily stop-by and pick-up may be required.

Create a small sign announcing the name of the previous month's winner and place it near your fish bowl. Contact the winner and arrange delivery of the gift certificate. Remember to place your name and company on the winner's sign...this is your opportunity for some free advertising.

Add the contact information of all of your entries into your mortgage database and work them into your contact schedule. Since most of these are business cards of professionals, you are now the proud owner of some great information such as their name, company, a business phone number, fax number, and an email address.

The steps that you take next will ensure the success of your efforts:

1. Mail a letter or postcard to each of them thanking them for participating in the drawing. This is worth the effort and an important first step.

2. Follow up with a phone call. Ask them if you can add them to your email list and periodically send them mortgage and financial information. Be specific about asking permission to add them to your email list...as you will find, it's easier and cheaper to do an email campaign versus a direct mail program. Always ask if you can provide information and news about financing, refinancing or purchasing a home or investment property.

3. Maintain a contact schedule that keeps your name and business in their mind. Remember, you are building a relationship that is based on your knowledge, expertise, and the trust they place in you as a result of this information.

This idea works...it's a great way to build your list! Try it...you can go fishing anytime and more importantly...the fishing is always good.