Do You Provide Tools to your Team or just Affiliate Links that put Cash in your pocket?

Clearly affiliate marketing is important in the big picture of what we do as Internet Marketers, but is your bottom line to milk every extra penny for every tool you refer your downline to, or to provide tools that will help your team?

I've struggled with this one early in my MLM business, but finally decided that my bottom line was providing my team with every resource I have available regardless of how much affiliate money it put into my pocket.

When I started my business I didn't realize how much money could be generated from affiliate marketing. That changed quickly with my AWeber account. But referring my team members to this affiliate isn't always the best option for them.

I'm fortunate that early on I found some tools that I was able to pay a flat fee for and then provide my team with a few key tools that they could use to promote their business. It was a pretty simple program that provided them with a url rotator, ad tracker and a web page that they could use as their landing page.

I would give these tools to my team to help them get started without having to reach into their pockets and the tools have been well received by my team members.

Over the years these programs have been improved and now include many more very useful tools at no cost to the people I refer to the program. The system now includes a fully functional Autoresponder which has been a stumbling block for my team members on a budget.

Yes I realize that $20 a month isn't much for me, but if I had a couple of kids at home it would be.

I've been criticized and asked if I was setting up a "welfare mentality" with the free tools I provide and I even was asked if what I was doing was "duplicatable". Forgive me, but the ability to duplicate something isn't really what "my" business is about. It's another one of those old school marketing techniques that sound great but in reality work for only a few.

So as the release of the new program was announced providing a multitude of awesome online tools including an advertising module, I had to decide how to present it to my team. It was clear that the best thing to do was give it to them and let them decide for themselves if it was a system they wanted to use.

I did let them know if they were currently using other resources to keep those in place until they had evaluated the new program. Doing this allows my team members to have the tools they need for their Internet marketing without having to dig into their pockets to pay for the tools. It also meant that I would lose some of my affiliate money each month, but the bottom line is always to provide the best tools at the best price for my team. What I will gain in their own business growth by them using the free tools will far outweigh the small affiliate commissions I lost.

And then there's the obvious...

The less they have to spend on websites, autoresponders, advertising and other things, the more money they have available to buy product which they can sell and put money into their pocket as well as my pocket. Win Win.

If you are curious about what I provide my team members use the banner to check it out. No money goes into my pocket by promoting this program.

MLM Soldiers and Sharks

Just looking at that title, which would you prefer to be known as? My guess is that the majority of those who read this will identify with the soldier mostly because of the bad conation associated with sharks.

Soldiers have their marching orders and rarely go against their Generals. Sharks are efficient and exert as little as possible to achieve maximum outcome.

I closely associated with the soldiers the first 18 months of my home business and in the process I learned some valuable lessons which have led me to do things that most in the MLM industry would not dream of doing.

MLM has such potential to be a viable option for so many to stay at home with their family and just be in control of their own financial future. Whether we choose to continue to be a soldier or make the transition to become a shark can have serious implications on the success or failure of our MLM career.

Over the course of 18 months I was a good soldier. Like any soldier I wanted to be recognized as a good soldier and this recognition would come with my success.

Over time I came to realize that my hard work was not benefiting my business but I was building up those who came before me. I was encouraged to purchase leads and buy product or sign up for this magazine and oh you should take my training. The whole time I was never asked if my business had achieved profit.

After hosting two regional events and going in the red for both I came to the realization that I needed to run my business efficiently and get it into profit. I needed to become as efficient as a shark if I was going to survive.

I mustered up the General within myself and laid out my battle plan. I needed to continue to be a good soldier long enough to rebuild my business so I could live the life of a shark.

This meant breaking all the MLM rules. I tossed out my lists, stopped preaching about working your warm market and I set a clear intention to reinvent the wheel. I stepped out of my box and refused to let anyone kick it out from under me.

I came to realization that I could either continue to dream about my life, or I could start living my dreams. My choice was clear.

What I put into place is not duplicatable. I have yet to see a business that you can change the name on the stationary and achieve the same level of success as those who came before you. What I put into place is up to date with the world we live in and it is totally customizable to suit the dreams of each of my team members.

Rome was not built overnight and neither will my business. I am now swimming with the sharks and proud to be there. The payoff of these efforts are I now have a business that is consistently in profit each month and a group of dedicated team members who are beginning to grow their own business’s.

I have also have a firm grasp of my own industry and product line and no longer need to rely on the buzz words or catch phrases (or the 3 way calls) that are common throughout our industry. Instead have learned to use those buzz words to my own advantage and still market my products and opportunity honestly.

Be a soldier long enough to build the foundation for your business. Then make the shift to be more like a shark. It does not mean you have to devour everything in your path, only that you have done your soldier time and now you can work efficiently to accomplish great things.

Stop dreaming about your life and start living your dreams.

Are you an MLM Junkie?

How many MLM companies are you with? 1? 3? 5? More than 5? If you are currently working more than 3 MLM's it may be time for you to take a step back and do an honest evaluation of what you have and what it's doing for you.

Are you using different MLM's as a "Backup" system in case you can't sell a prospect on your primary MLM?

In the course of my own business I've run into many team members who are promoting several home base business or internet business opportunities. At face value it seems like a good idea but the reality is that it can make all of the opportunities look like a backup system in case one doesn't work.

Multiple home business opportunities also put you at risk for spreading yourself too thin and making it impossible for you to focus on any one business. Lack of focus is a surefire way to set yourself up for failure.

Here's what I tell my distributors to do if they have multiple business opportunities that they are promoting.

Take a piece of paper and draw three columns. The first column will be for the business, the second column is for how much that business costs you and the final column is for how much money you are earning from that business.

Get it all down on paper and then start to evaluate each of them. Mark each business that is into profit with a star. For each business that is breaking even use a check mark and for each business that is costing you money (in the red) put an X.

It's important to do this honestly and not fudge on the business's that you think could be profitable.

Clearly if you have a business in profit, you will want to keep that. And if the business is costing you money each month you will want to get rid of those. The ones you will struggle with are the ones in the middle that are breaking even.

You will have to evaluate these based on their product line and the amount of profit you believe you can make from marketing the products as well as building a downline. You also need to consider the structure of the MLM and what you will be required to do to get your residual check each month. Cut out the ones that you have to jump through multiple hoops to collect your residual. Leave the ones that you have a ton of product sitting on the shelf.

Trust me, if you have product sitting on the shelf it's costing you money!

What you should be left with is only the cream of the business's and you should be able to work those without losing steam.

I tell my distributors that find themselves in this situation that every business isn't for everyone. It may mean that they cut out the business that I brought them into, but I'm totally OK with that because the bottom line is that if they can't sell a candle they are in the wrong business.

Downline Appreciation, Time To Lose The Step Up Or Step Aside Mindset

Do you truly appreciate your downline? This is a question we should all ask ourselves from time to time. If you do ask yourself this question it will help you focus on where your mindset is in regard to your downline.

Over and over I have heard sponsors and uplines publicly state that they keep their focus on the team members who are producing and don’t have time to waste on those who only produce a small commission each month. This “Step Up or Step Aside” ego trip makes me angry.
In the MLM and Direct marketing industry, there are generally two types of people that will end up in our downlines. The ones that perform and the ones that make the minimum purchase required by the company.

Visit Cherrie's personal website to view the complete article

Downline Prospect Raiding

Ouch! Not something you want to be known for regardless of your industry! So what exactly is Downline Prospect Raiding?

It’s when you sponsor someone into your business that someone in your downline is already working with and sharing information with. This is bad form and bad business especially if you are building a downline for residual income. It demonstrates a total lack of regard for the wellbeing of your team and tells your team members something about you that should never be said or even thought about!

One of the first things a responsible sponsor will do when contacting prospects is to find out if they are working with someone else. Why would you do this? Simply to find out if they are getting information from someone in your downline. Once you have made that determination, you can decide how to proceed with this prospect and take the correct approach.

Lets say for the sake of this exercise that Susan is in your downline. In the process of contacting your leads (prospects) you come across Linda. Linda already has information about your products and services so clearly she has been talking to someone. She is very excited and ready to get on board with you. At this point you as a Team Leader have a responsibility to your team to stop and ask, who else are you working with.

If you find out that they are working with someone in your downline, then you need to use this platform to build up your Team Member Susan and encourage Linda to sign up with them.

My approach is to ALWAYS as each of my prospects if they are working with other sponsors. The only thing I need to accomplish with this question is to figure out if they are working with someone who is already on MY team. It is YOUR responsibility as a Team Leader to ask the question and do the right thing! If Susan is already sharing information with Linda, then Linda finds me and I sign her up directly under me what message does that send to Susan? Certainly not a message I would want Susan to get. And it has the potential to put doubt in Susan’s mind about the type of Leader I am and create bad feelings for my entire team.

When you are in a business that generates residual income from the efforts of the people in your downline, it is crucial for the wellbeing of your Team and your Business to draw that line in the sand and NOT CROSS IT! It will always be more beneficial for you to build up your downline and encourage these prospects to sign up under the Team Member they are already talking with. The prospect will then be able to benefit benefit from the knowledge of the person that sponsored them in, and from you as the team leader.

Don’t put yourself in a situation where your team members refer to you as a Prospect Raider! As a team leader regardless of your level, you always need to take the highest road possible when dealing with these situations. That way in the eyes of your team, you are the Leader and you have earned the respect of the team. Having the respect of your team is priceless! Losing the respect of your team will cost you more than you can afford to lose.

Taking Control, My Three Step Business Evolution

My business came to a stalemate in January of 07. After two years of trying very hard to do what everyone else was doing I came to realization that my instincts (that small voice you hear in your head) about carving my own path to success was something I should have followed from the beginning.

I have always worked on personal growth, it has been something consistent throughout my life. What I do and how I do it has never been something that I shared openly with others. I have always believed this is something very personal, and I still believe this.


I have made many mistakes throughout the course of building a home business. One of the biggest mistakes was sharing my "Why". What drives a person to achieve is so personal and if shared can show vunerablities that you would never show strangers. Its important to note that everyone in business needs to understand their why, I just don't think its anyone else's business what your why is.


My ability to always find something good in every experience is one of my strongest assets in my personal life, and now in my business life.


In early 2007, I was unceremoniously removed from a leaders board and had my moderator privileges taken away from a team board. Both of these events occurred without explanation and to this day I don’t know the reason why these decisions were made.


My attempts to find out why failed as the person who made the decision refused to tell me via email and I was not going to be manipulated into a phone conversation. In the end it didn't matter why because I realized that my knowing why was not going to change what had been done. This was the beginning of my taking control of my business.


I decided to evaluate the course of my business over the previous two years and this opened up a Pandora’s box that I was ill equipped to handle on my own. I credit the friendship of a single person with guiding me and helping me to keep my focus where it belonged as I evolved.


The first thing I realized while doing my business evaluation was that I had fallen into the herd. This was a shocking realization because I had always prided myself on not being a “follower”. Step One of my evolution was to stand up and take responsibility for my business as an individual.


Step one was huge because it meant that I couldn’t assign blame to anyone but had to hold myself responsible for straying from my own personal belief’s and making poor choices in regard to my business.


This is not to say that I did anything wrong only that I should have listened to my little voice who kept telling me that there was a better way. I also firmly believe that the people guiding me the first two years really belive that what they are doing is the correct path to follow. Ignorance can be bliss.


Step Two was the realization that the foundation of my business was not built on what I wanted or believed in. I kept a positive attitude as I tore down everything I had built the two years before by constantly telling myself that a successful business had to have a firm foundation.


As I rebuilt my business foundation, it was difficult for me not to be angry at what had led me to this point. This is where my friend played a key role in teaching me how to turn those bad feelings into something good.


Up until January, the foundation of my business had been built on old school methods of marketing like the three foot rule, working your warm market and some very long and boring training documents that were just tired and lacked any real substance. These were the tools I was given and I was told if I used these tools and didn't try to reinvent the wheel I too would be successful. Hogwash!


My process of rebuilding my foundation meant that I needed to learn how to market not only my product, but myself. It was silly of me to think that people with no formal training in marketing could ever teach me how to be a successful marketer. And it was stupid of me to not use my own common sense when making decisions about my business and business tools.


Step Three was a grueling process. It wasn’t enough to take responsibility and rebuild my foundation, the tools I had been given and in turn provided my team members simply did not work for the majority of people in our company. This conclusion is based on the number of people who actually promote to the higher levels within the company structure.


I had to look at what I had, and evaluate what really would be beneficial for my team members based on what worked for me and what my team members asked for. The actual process of building usable tools and putting training programs in place for my team was exhausting, frustrating but one of the most rewarding things I have done in my business.


I put my new marketing education to work and kept my focus where it needed to be and started working with my partner to produce quality tools that were simple and filled the need of my team.


In the beginning of the tool development, I struggled with each and every aspect of what I was doing. After the first tools were complete, things just started to flow like honey. I went against the old school rule and I reinvented the wheel.


My evolution is not yet complete. It will be an ongoing process as I learn more not only about myself, but about business and marketing. I am no longer angry or bitter over the culmination of events (not just the two I mentioned) that led me to this evolution, but look at them as part of my growth process.


I've learned that my responsibility as a Team Leader means that I lead my team and support my team. It is not my responsibility to lead and support someone else's team which is what I was doing prior to being tossed out of those two groups.


I have a firm grasp of why I got into this business and what I want to achieve within my business. I have also drawn my line in the sand and will continue to trust myself and believe in my own ability to be a leader and a moral and ethical business person.

How to Combat the Bad Reputation of MLM

Todays MLM or Direct Marketing carries the weight of many ill conceived notions and negative connotations. Much of this bad press in the MLM industry comes from within the industry itself.

How can that be? We all remember our parents telling us that our “Actions speak louder than words” and that is the main way that we have created this negative view from the general population in regard to direct marketing.

Perception

Perception is everything in our industry. How we portray ourselves and our industry is the key to everyone else’s perception of not only our products, but also the MLM industry.

When you promise the sun and moon and deliver an asteroid it tells a lot about who you are as an individual and it also delivers a message about the industry you are involved with.

Market your product line with honesty and integrity. Its easy to fall into the trap of misleading your site visitors into believing that what you offer is more than what it is.
This happens when you misrepresent what your product is and what it offers.
Certainly play up the qualities of your products, but don’t exaggerate or be misleading about what you offer.

In addition when you are sharing information about your business opportunity, its important to be real. Provide accurate information about the history of the company as well as the residual structure set up by the company.

When you provide information in a clear and accurate way, your prospects and customers will be able to draw their own conclusions and make their decision based on facts not hype.

Deliver what you promise

Direct Marketing has huge potential to provide an affordable way for people from all walks of life to realize their dreams. It also has the one of the highest failure rates estimated at 95%! How can this be when we are supposed to be in control of our own future and success?

Many who sign up in an MLM quickly become disillusioned when the support and tools provided to them fail. This is also because of the lack of true leadership within our industry.

Our industry is filled with the empty promises of our sponsors and uplines. Its up to us to educate ourselves on what works and doesn’t work and then to pass that information and training along to our downline.

We promised to help them and we can’t do that when we don’t answer our phones or use double speak when answering their questions. Its important to make ourselves available to our downline and provide them with accurate information and usable tools.

Realizing that deviating from the “standard” tools is not a practice that is smiled upon in our industry, how can we continue to promote these tools knowing that they don’t work. I know I got pretty tired of hearing, don’t reinvent the wheel, but if the wheel is broken, it needs to be fixed.

Back to Basics

Somehow we have gotten away from the products in our business and started focusing only on the opportunity, and our dropout rate continues to climb.

You can combat this by teaching your team to build a strong foundation. Pay attention to keeping your training focused on the products. Allow your team members to develop their own individuality when it comes to marketing, remember they got into this because they didn’t want a “JOB” or a “BOSS”.

The ability to break down the different aspects of what we do in their simplest form and relay that information to our team will help us to help them start building their dream and ensure that we continue on the path to achieving our own dreams.

Its up to us to keep focused and consistently provide what we promise. Our ability to do this will do volumes in building the reputation of our fast growing industry. It will also do wonders in our own retention rates and start a trend of lowering the percentage of folks that quit out of frustration.

Todays MLM and Responsible Leadership

Multi Level Marketing is different today than it was just a few years ago. When the World Wide Web opened up it changed how we promote our products, our services as well as ourselves. It changed the way we do many things in our business and our personal lives. Our ability to adapt and our openness to developing new, up to date tools to help our own business grow as well as that of out downline should be a major concern for all of us.

My experience is that the majority of the “Old School” marketing techniques just don’t work in todays modern, electronically driven Multi Level Marketing businesses.

I've been told that in the not so distant past when you wanted to share your Multi Level Marketing opportunity with someone you would invite him or her to an Opportunity Meeting at a local hotel. If they showed up, you relied on the Key Speaker to “Close” for you. Conference calls, online meetings and digital recordings sent over the Internet now relay our message to our prospects.

We have a huge advantage over Network Marketers of the past. We are able to reach more people and have the ability to target exactly who we are looking for. It is in our best interest to develop the tools and training to teach our downlines how to do exactly that.

The Internet has made it possible for MLM prospects to look at many different business opportunities at once, without leaving the comfort of their homes. Today’s prospects are savvier and rarely fall prey to the old school pressure tactics. They also have the ability to shop for their sponsor, which can make the competition stiff. Knowing this, you have to find a way to stand out from the crowd and offer something special to your prospects and your customers.

Working Your Warm Market

We have all been told to work our warm market. The warm list is an MLM standard. Make the list of your friends and family and then introduce them to your business. Is this really a method that works?

If you think about it, this method is ineffective in todays MLM. Look at the top money earners in your company. When they show up at a company function are their friends and families there with them as top money earners? A better way to work your warm market is to send out an announcement about your products and leave it at that. This gets the word out and you will still be invited to family dinners. Working your warm market may work if you have a quality product that is affordable, but if you are looking to build a downline your warm market is the last place you should start.

The Company Convention

How many of you have been told the importance of attending your company conventions? I know I was. I even hosted a couple of events myself. “If you attend the company convention your business will grow!”

I will be the first to tell you that what I got from attending company events was some warm fuzzies and an empty wallet. Yes these events are exciting and get you pumped up. If you determine that is what you need to be successful, then you should go.

I'm not "anti-company convention”, but you have to keep in perspective. I personally can't justify telling someone in my downline who is struggling to show a profit each month that they should do what they have to in order to attend a company function because attending company conventions does not generate income or leads.

Get Them Into Profit

As sponsors we have a responsibility to help our downline get into profit as quickly as possible. This is not accomplished by sending them to meetings they can ill afford or by getting them hooked up with all of our affiliates before they really need those services.

We do need to provide our downlines with these resources, but only when it is appropriate. Our first efforts need to be focused on getting them into profit so they can generate the income to pay for the affiliate services they need using the money they earned.

Provide Accurate Information

Another change that the Internet has brought about is the amount of information that our customers and prospects have access to. As a young adult I attended some of the opportunity meetings for several different companies. The only information I was given came from the person who invited me to the meeting and those who ran the meeting. Now they have it all at their fingertips and it amazes me how much wrong information is being given out.

As responsible business people we do a disservice to our company and ourselves if we represent our products using incorrect information. If you have to misrepresent your product to make a sale or recruit someone you should reconsider what you are marketing.

Empowerment

Much of the MLM world is focused on empowering your downline. However, to accomplish this you must provide the tools of empowerment. If someone in your downline asks what they should do to build their page rank and you tell them to write articles and submit them, is that really empowering them? What if they have no clue about article writing let alone where to submit one? Telling someone who has never written an article that this is what he or she needs to do is only going to put another obstacle in his or her path.

A better option is to tell them they need to write articles and provide some resources for the basics of how to write an article. Not providing this simple type of resource has the ability to make your team member feel trapped and anyone who feels trapped is not very productive.

Whats Your Bottom Line?

Lets face it; most of us are in business to make money and because we were tired of having a JOB and a BOSS. As Responsible Leaders we need to provide our downline with up to date tools that produce and stop telling them to do things simply because that is what we were told.
Don’t short change your own or your teams creativity because you are more comfortable with the old school ways.

Allow yourself and your team to “Step out of their Box” by not shooting down their new ideas and exploring the possibilities because it doesn’t fit into your way of thinking. Empower yourself and your team by looking for new avenues that teach what is necessary to be successful.

Conclusion

Take the tools you were given and find a way to adapt them to our time. No you don’t have to reinvent that proverbial wheel. But you do need to modernize it. But keep in mind, if the wheel is broken, you are going to need to get out your saw an hammer. If these means putting in some extra time and developing tools that work, then get to it! Teach your downline to build a firm foundation and lead them by example!

When to NOT Work Your Warm Market

Warm Market

Whether you are new to Network Marketing or a Veteran, one of the first things your sponsor or upline told you to do was to make a list of your friends, family and the people you know and start sharing your new business with them. This list is called your “Warm Market”.
When I started my business back in January 2005 I was told to do just that. It didn’t make sense to me at the time, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Now with a little time and a lot of experience under my belt, I know why being told to work my “warm market” put a knot in the pit of my stomach.

Working your Warm Market

If you have a product or service that is of interest to those on your warm market list then it is certainly OK to share the product or service with them. Your warm market can help you to create “Buzz” surrounding your new business and what you offer. This is also an excellent way to get you into profit quickly.

I would encourage you to use your warm market for retailing your product or service. However in Network Marketing, there is a time and place for everything and attempts to prospect your warm market for your business opportunity is a mistake!

When NOT to work your Warm Market

Sharing the “Business Opportunity” part of your business with your warm market can create a situation that can leave you without friends and the brunt of family jokes.

Beware of using your warm market to prospect for your business opportunity. If you do you could set yourself up for some unexpected pitfalls in your business. Because your warm market is your first affordable choice for marketing your product or service, you want to ensure that they are comfortable calling you or having you call them when they make a retail purchase or contract for your service.

If your warm market feels like they will be “attacked” by a sales pitch each time you call or come around, you risk alienating them from your products, services and personal life. If they expect that each time you call you are going to try and “get them onboard” with your business opportunity, they will just avoid you and that will not put money in your pocket.

Stay on the invitation list of your friends and family by providing them only with your high quality product or service. They will see your success over time and the enjoyment you are experiencing and will want to be a part of it…IF they are interested. Your success through action speaks much louder than words. Get out there and Share your Passion!

Mindset is Nothing without Action!

Cherrie