It’s now been 3 years since I started my latest Network Marketing (NWM) business. And for the longest time it had been a struggle to earn enough money to justify the hours (and hours and HOURS) I’d put into building it. In other words, my return on my investment (ROI) was pitiful.
I already had a history of trying different work-from-home ventures, only to end up scammed or simply unable to do anything with it because I didn’t know HOW. After all the garbage I had to wade through, it was refreshing to find my current company, although it took me two or three years to finally join – due to fear of failure.
Although some of the other home businesses I’d gotten into were also NWM, I had no clue about the business model, much less what one had to do to succeed. That’s WHY I failed! I knew what I needed most was training and support. So when I was ready, I found a team to work with that provided just that.
But it was STILL such a struggle!!! Was I doomed to be yet one of the masses of NWM failures?
Let’s consider that question for a moment… HOW does one fail at NWM?
Maybe a better question is, “DOES one fail in NWM?”
I recently saw a video that Tim Sales (brilliantexchange.com) has on YouTube. In it he says, and I agree, that nobody fails at NWM.
They QUIT!
Tim then goes on to give an analogy using his experience with golf as an example to show the reasons people quit – both golf and NWM. That concept is one that I’ve been bumping into since… oh, around 2000 or 2001. Maybe it’s because my own struggles and the actions that I’ve taken to address them have been leading me to the same conclusions over and over.
So why do people quit?
The number one reason why people quit NWM is due to lack of ACTION!
They just don’t do anything with it! Then every month when they purchase the product – no matter how good it is, no matter how much they like it, no matter how well it address a problem they have – they’re reminded of the “business” that they’re doing nothing with. They start resenting that monthly purchase (if the biz they’re in requires one), then regret ever getting into it in the first place, and finally cancel their account. (I’ve been there, too.)
But WHY don’t they do anything with it? We’ve all had some of those… They’re not doing anything, so when we call them for follow ups they tell us, “Everything is fine, love the products.” We ask if they’ve been to the team site and started the training there and they say yes, but they’re never prepared for our follow up calls nor turn in their “homework.” We ask if they’ve got their “list” and sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. If they do, there are maybe 5 people on it! We try to explain that it will take much more than that to build their business. They indicate that they know that and they’re working on it. Etc.
So what can we do to help them? First, it takes some kind of super duper mentor to figure out exactly what’s going on with that person in order to even know where to start to help them! That means that you’ve got to know a little bit of psychology. Not much. Just enough to know what kind of personality you’re dealing with.
Back when I was that person who didn’t do anything, it was because I didn’t even know what NWM was, much less what actions I was supposed to be taking to make money with it! Although I had heard of Amway (my parents gave that a stab back in my early teens), and had heard the term Multi-Level Marketing (MLM), I really didn’t understand it. I thought that all I had to do was tell everyone I knew that I was in the biz, or that I could sell them some kind of product, then they’d all want it, and want to purchase it from me. To show just how ignorant I REALLY was, I barely even understood that much and it wasn’t on a conscious level. Nobody called me to help me learn the biz, either. And I didn’t know, nor did it even occur to me, that I could call someone to help me with it. (And honestly, whoever is in NWM and doesn’t even bother to call their customers and/or business partners has no business being in business.)
So, if you’re dealing with a person who’s completely and totally ignorant of the industry – a newbie-newbie – knowing the personality types can help because you will know how to speak to them in a language that will make them feel comfortable enough to tell you, “I don’t know what to do, nor where to start.” That’s a hard admission for some people to make! But if that’s their problem, then how will you ever know if they don’t say so? We’re not mind readers.
Another kind of personality might know a little about it, but not know HOW to do the actual marketing (part of the industry name is “MARKETING”). Here’s where knowing what kind of personality type you’re dealing with really helps. There are SO MANY marketing methods and techniques, but some of them work better for some people, and others work better for other people. Yep… Depends on the different personalities types. In this case you’ll coach your new person how to do those, or – if you don’t know, yourself – where to find out how based on what usually works best for each personality type.
Ok, what’s this “personality types” I keep talking about? I first got a taste of this from a training session at my company’s 2007 convention. In this session we learned about the 4 basic types of personalities, how to identify them, understand them and what motivates them, and how to better communicate with them. At our 2008 convention, Dr. Hartman was invited to teach this same concept, on which his book, People Code, is based.
So where can you get that training and practice utilizing it? From one of the Marketing Systems I’m about to tell you about.
But first, I’ve only told you the Number One reason people quit their NWM biz. Don’t you want to know what the Number Two reason is?
The Number Two reason people quit NWM is that they run out of money to market their biz!
Say someone (like I use to be) gets started, and the mentor is someone who understands that the fortune is in the follow up. They call for the 48-Hour, and after a very brief conversation realizes that this newbie really is a newbie. They know NOTHING about NWM, much less “marketing.” So the mentor coaches them to start the list, and even teaches how to approach and set appointments. Of course they’re so new that the mentor will be doing all the presentations. But…
This approach really only works for certain personalities. So the mentor teaches the newbie how to work with leads. The newbie might actually love this approach at first. Imagine talking to people who’ve actually requested the information! So the newbie starts buying leads… We know where this is going don’t we? Cheap lead sources, cheap leads, cheap people – just not the kind of people you want to work with. So the newbie starts purchasing better quality leads – which are also more expensive. The newbie gets tired of this run around, too, because even these are of questionable quality. Where did these leads come from? The unemployment line? The food stamp office? AAARRGGHHHH!
So he starts doing his own marketing to generate his own leads – usually some kind of advertising. He might buy newspaper ads, post cards, or purchase advertising online – there are MANY places to do that!
Next thing you know, the credit cards are maxed out on all this advertising and there’s nothing to show for it! You know Einstein’s definition of insanity, don’t you? Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
This leaves the Network Marketer shouting to the heavens, “There’s got to be a better way! There has to be a way to get a return on the investment – of time and money. A way to get better results. So that money is coming in. Which I can invest into more marketing. Until my business is large enough to pay for itself.”
This is where I was late spring/early summer 2008. I’d reached the end of my rope on the traditional NWM methods and started studying current online marketing. You see, one of my former paid hobbies was creating and promoting websites. And I was good at it. So I knew that there was more to marketing than this. I also knew that my skills were most likely obsolete already. But I wasn’t about to just jump onto paid advertising. I started researching affordable yet effective means of marketing online.
I’d been studying under quite a few NWM gurus to get better at those traditional methods, so I’d learned the concepts of leadership and posture, and attracting better prospects to me with them. Taking that concept a step farther, maybe you’ve even heard of the term “attraction marketing,” too. Attracting qualified prospects to YOU, causing people to hunt for YOU instead of you hunting them.
The concept behind attraction marketing is that someone who chases you is an easier sell than someone you chase. In other words, getting those who want what you have to hunt you down instead. Do that one thing right, and you get to pick & choose who you want to work with.
In trying to find out more about that, I stumbled across the term “Magnetic Sponsoring.” Which also happens to be the name of an ebook that you can purchase for $39. (Don’t purchase this ebook, though. You’ll see why below.) It’s a part of a whole marketing system set up by a fellow named Mike Dillard. About the same time, I stumbled across Renegade Network Marketer, also a marketing system based on this same concept, created by Ann Seig. (Turns out that a LONG time ago, I had somehow gotten her free ebook, “7 Greatest Lies of Network Marketing.”) About this same time, I started talking to one of my teammates (neither of us are in each other’s organization with our company) about these two systems and she introduced me to Mentoring For Free, yet another marketing system that she was investigating in addition to these two.
The Marketing Systems
They all utilize the concept of Attraction Marketing. Attracting better, more qualified prospects to you through real marketing methods.
The idea is that there are two kinds of people who’ll buy into these systems:
- People like me who already have a NWM business for which they’re searching for an economical means to produce their own leads – a better quality of leads than is available to purchase from lead companies.
- People who want to earn money from home via the Internet and are investigating how that is done.
So, you’re marketing the system, and through the system you find better prospects for your biz.
Ok, I know what you’re thinking, because it’s what I thought, too. “I don’t want to market something else! I don’t want another business! I want to build the one I’m already in! By marketing yet something else, isn’t that just watering down my efforts?”
No, it’s not.
First let’s get back to the original problems:
- Not enough people to talk to.
- The ones we do talk to either really aren’t interested (warm market – we really NEED to find out what their problem is before we can offer our business or product as a solution), or really aren’t qualified.
- Those who do qualify may or may not show up for the appointment. They have no qualms about standing us up because we’re just “some beggar” who called them on the phone. Home businesses are a dime a dozen, so there’s no perceived value in this particular one (yet) nor you (unless you’ve got GREAT posture or have put a carrot in front of them to entice them to be there regardless).
- If they do attend the appointment, most likely they’re so new to the industry that they wouldn’t know a good deal if it sat in their lap, slapped ‘em in the face, and called ‘em Mama!
- Even if they do get started with you, what do they know about the biz – marketing and/or NWM? How steep is their learning curve?
- Who’s gonna teach these newbies all the skills they need to know to be successful? YOU? Where are you going to find the time to do that AND build your business?
- Do you have the skills to teach those methodologies that will be suitable for them? No matter what personality type?
So, we’re marketing this system to find better-qualified prospects. If they “buy into” the system, then they’re getting trained (through the system) and we’re making money back from our marketing efforts on the front end (not so with Mentoring For Free). If they like what they learn, and we’ve done our follow up correctly, they just might want to work with us in our biz. At that point, they ask, “So, which business are you doing?” Then we can share that info with them. (So… if you’re not in a NWM biz, you just say so, telling what kind of biz you ARE in – even if it’s just selling this marketing solution to NWMers looking for a better system!)
Not all of your leads will join you in your business, but you’ll have more qualified and better-trained business partners among those who do. So even if you only produce 10 prospects per month and only enroll 4 or 5, you’ll be making good profits in both the short-term and long-term.
Ok, so here are the systems.
Mentoring For Free
MFF is the one I think you’ll appreciate most. This system was started by Michael Dlouhy, and the purpose of it is to mentor ANY one in ANY (or no) business for free. No one is being prospected into anyone’s business, so no businesses are even mentioned. There are a couple of products to purchase but you never need to. (They are “Color To Success” CD and “Powerful Networking Secrets” ebook, both pretty much about the 4 personality types. Helps those in NWM learn to understand how to help each type AND how to communicate with them throughout the training and mentoring process). Everything taught on these products is also taught in the free training. There are no commissions paid out on the purchase of the products, nor the $19.95 monthly fee for using the marketing system. (This is because there are some companies that were threatening to discontinue their reps’ accounts for participating in this system.)
Here’s how MFF works. Someone downloads the free ebook, “Success In 10 Steps.” This ebook is customized with YOUR information on it so they can contact you, as well as links to the “not free” tools that can be purchased. To download this ebook, they fill out a form with… You guessed it! Name, phone, email. Then you call and follow up with them to make sure they were able to download it ok, if they’ve started reading it yet, if they have questions, etc. Again, you’re not prospecting, so NEVER mention your home biz. Your job is to help them 1) know now to find and recognize a good company to work with and/or 2) learn how to leverage their time and skills (or learn some skills) to market more effectively online. Advise them to call you when they’re done reading the free ebook, and keep in contact via email (the system does this for you, also).
Once they finish the ebook and want more info, you can direct them to two more websites that have training audios and a schedule for the live trainings. Via these audios and training calls, they learn leadership skills and marketing methods which they can start implementing. Learn a skill, implement it, master it, learn another, and so on, building their income.
Renegade Network Marketer
RNM is similar to MFF, yet a step more advanced – thus not free. One provides their contact info to download the free ebook “7 Great Lies of Network Marketing” (customized with your contact info and a link to WHATEVER you want to market – this system, another retail product, or website, etc.). The system starts emailing them with educational marketing messages, which they can start learning from and utilizing, as well as invitations to download the $67 ebook “Renegade Network Marketer” (also customized with your contact info). If they do decide to download RNM, you earn a $33.50 commission. At each step, you’re following up with them to provide the human touch and mentoring services. They can start learning from RNM and start implementing lessons from it. Most importantly, once they’ve purchased RNM, they can start using the marketing system for free, which includes training audios and videos, and step-by-step tutorials about how to do real online marketing to build their biz. They then have their own site from which people can download the free ebook, etc. And every time they sell RNM, you also earn $6.70 commission. In the back office of this system are MANY affiliate programs that you earn commissions on as well.
The benefit of RNM over MFF is this: it starts with a free ebook, then automatically markets the commissionable ebook. When people purchase it, you’re now earning an ROI. Whether or not they ever work with you in your NWM business, you’ve made money from your marketing efforts – whether those methods you used were free or paid.
Magnetic Sponsoring
I want to talk about MS last for a few reasons. Foremost is because it’s the only system that doesn’t start out with a free ebook download. That means that you’re not building a relationship with these prospects before asking them to shell out the cash. So if someone comes to your site & purchases any of these products, they’re doing so based only on the conversion power (converting shoppers to buyers) of Mike Dillard’s “sales letter” sites, and their own desire to buy.
With this system, you’re marketing a few different products: Magnetic Sponsoring ($39), Building On a Budget ($39), Black Belt Recruting ($147), and MLM Traffic Formula ($997). None are downloads, but are actually shipped to you via snail mail. None of these products are customized with your info, so when someone purchases any of these (for which you do earn a commission) it’s your responsibility to contact them and offer your mentoring services. The marketing system is free once they’ve purchased any one of the products, though.
Now, I’ve read many so-called-reviews of Mike’s system and products online, and I can tell you just by reading them that the writers don’t know what they’re talking about. They’ve never actually gotten their hands on these materials and studied them! In my review below, I’ll give you enough information to know the difference between these products, general information about what’s contained in them (without giving away the bank), and what each product is intended to do for you.
Let me give my honest opinion of him straight up. Mike desperately needs an editor because his writing skills are very lacking – but not desperately so. His sentence and paragraph composition are barely acceptable, and he has serious problems with grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Every once in a while, I did find myself having to stop & “translate” what he wrote into something that made sense – just enough to get the concept of what he meant. That aside, with these products, he shares some very valuable skills that he worked HARD to learn for himself. If you choose to take advantage of his knowledge, it’s well worth your time and money.
Let’s review the products already…
Mike’s first product is called “Magnetic Sponsoring.” This is written for those in NWM. It takes him an entire book to tell you that if you’re struggling, it’s not your fault, you’ve just been told to sell everything except the one thing that matters: YOU. When people join someone in a business venture, the thing that matters most is the person who told them about it: YOU. It’s not the company or the products or the comp plan that matters. It’s YOU. So you should be working on yourself and selling You, Inc. Maybe it just seemed basic to me, but not to you. He then discusses why the old school methods taught in NWM no longer work and introduces the marketing model that does: Attraction Marketing and the Magnetic Sponsoring system. So, if you’re in a NWM biz already or just considering one, you might want to get this book to decrease your learning curve on this concept alone. This book is $39 dollars and you earn a $20 commission.
Another product Mike has for those in NWM is “Black Belt Recruiting. ” This is a 6 CD set that demonstrates how to recruit in a professional manner. The trainers in the videos: Mike Dillard and Mark Wieser, one of the industry’s top recruiters. If you’re struggling with this, you really need this one. Just hearing how the pros approach in a manner that doesn’t provoke objections and overcome those that do come up is awesome. You’ll have quite a few “ah ha” moments! This CD set costs $147 and you earn a 40% commission ($58.80).
Now here come a couple of products for those who may not be in the NWM industry.
Mike’s “Building On a Budget” (BOAB) will be a harder read for those of you who are grammar snobs like me. But if you can get through it, you’ll learn some marketing techniques that will help you no matter what type of business you’re considering (or may already be doing). These are real sources to use, how to set them up, and tips and tricks to use them for better online marketing results. This book costs $39 and you earn a 40% commission ($15.60).
Last is a more thorough course for online marketing, “MLM Traffic Formula.” Yes, it’s geared toward MLM/NWM, but it applies to any marketing efforts, no matter what kind of business is being marketed. It contains step-by-step methods to create your online marketing tools to generate more traffic for your website, no matter what the subject is. This is not the marketing resources that you learn in BOAB, but how to create your websites, lead capture pages, blogs, and such (the tools) for which you’re generating the traffic that results in sales. This book costs $997 and you earn a 40% commission ($398.80).
Bottom line is that if you can get past Mike’s poor grammar and poor writing skills, his system not only provides a way to make money on the Internet, it also teaches you how to do just that. The benefit of MS over the others: you can make handsome profits marketing just these products. Of course, it’s only one-time sales and not residual as with NWM…
So, you’ve got one system which has completely free training (MFF), costs $19.95 per month to use the marketing system, you earn no commissions from using it, but create leads for your primary biz, growing it and your income. Then there’s another (RNM) which offers an up-front ROI, requires a one time price of $67 for free access to the training in the back office and free use of the marketing system, plus you earn a commission on the sales of the ebook and other affiliate programs in the back office. And then there’s one more where you pay anywhere from $39 to $997 to get started, have free access to training and the marketing system, as well as 4 products you can market and make handsome commissions for a nice up front ROI.
All three systems are designed to help you generate better quality leads for your NWM business. The things to consider are:
- How refreshing would it be (for both of you) to call people for the follow up knowing you’re not trying to sell them anything? Then if they do decide they want to work with you, they’ve already benefited from the free training and can plug into a real marketing system for a small monthly fee – which costs a LOT less than you’d spend on bought leads!! (MFF)
- Wouldn’t it be nice to have a REAL marketing and training system in place that costs a minimum amount of money for your organization to plug into, which also offers a means to get an upfront ROI – for you and them? (RNM)
- Wouldn’t it be nice to have a REAL marketing and training system in place that costs a minimum amount of money for your organization to plug into, which also offers a means to earn a handsome upfront ROI – for you and them?
- ALL of which generate highly qualified and trained leads for your NWM biz?
- ALL of which pay you (either up front or on the back end) to generate those leads?
