Network Marketing For Believers And Non Believers Alike

There are thousands of experts out there who will tell you how to succeed with network marketing. Some of them really do know what they’re talking about, even if their message is often delivered in that rather ‘consultant speak’ manner that makes so many of us cringe and shy away.

After many years of watching the rise and fall of ‘the next big thing’ here are a few observations for any would be online marketer to think about - more a case of how not to go about things, which, hopefully, might save some of us a lot of pain.

1) You get very little in this life for free - if only everyone would accept this simple truth, the network marketing arena would be a happier place. By free, I’m not just talking in monetary terms either. There is no doubt that the internet is still a place where you can find success with minimal initial outlay, but for the most part, the people who have had the greatest success are those who have put a lot of thought and/or effort into their business, along with some investment. You also have to add the downright dishonest folks, who are prepared to make a buck at anyone’s expense and have little or no conscience about what they do - trust me, there are plenty of them out there circling too!

2) A business means a product or a service - you cannot sell thin air to people, other than the downright stupid ones. When the next flash website catches your eye and promises you all the wealth your little heart desires, remember that they know what buttons to push to ignite your interest and talk has always been cheap. If nobody is expected to sell anything, there won’t be any money will there? So, on to the next step….

3) It’s staggering what some people can be convinced will make them money. We mentioned products and services, and if we accept that they form the basis of any business, there is much more we have to accept. Before rushing into an online venture just because it says on the screen that millions of people want to buy what they are asking you to sell, think about it carefully. Would you want to buy what they are selling at the price they are selling it at? I mean, come on, you must have known people who have got involved in a network marketing company and tried to sell you on it too; vacuum cleaners, cleaning products, beauty products, miracle potions, timeshares, beef jerky, online shopping malls - the list is endless. I’m not saying that these products are not valid (well, maybe the miracles are pushing it a bit) but the likelihood of them making you rich, are, let’s be honest here - slimmer than a very slim thing! So let’s move on to what you’ll be given for free shall we?

4) A web page of your own to promote your business! Sounds great in theory for people who don’t know much about websites or marketing and they just can’t seem to get enough of them. I know we all have to learn and start somewhere but I say this because if it weren’t true, we wouldn’t be seeing these awful pages with a low resolution grainy photo of the ‘marketer’ either sitting in their dingy little living space peering in a hopefully vacant way at their monitors or, even worse, a cell phone snapshot of the site ‘owner’ with their little rat like dog. Remember the old saying, ‘would you buy a used car from THIS man?’ It applies here in spades. Like it or not, in this world, image is everything, so think about yours and that of the business you are trying to promote. Showing me a video of some smug fool in a rented sports car does not make me want to be like him, nor does it inspire any belief in what he might be doing. Remember that in advertising yourself and your business, your audience have a huge variation of aspirations and are looking for someone to provide what they need - bragging shamelessly about your own success makes many people want to hit you upside the head rather than aspire to your not so lofty ideals. If you want people to trust you and your business, get yourself a domain name, learn how to build a website of your own and you are already many steps ahead of thousands of affiliates and would be marketers. Oh, and when you write your ad copy, please, please, please….proof read everything. Badly written and misspelled copy makes me click elsewhere faster than anything and if people try to tell you differently, don’t believe them - your professional image takes a huge battering if your writing is below par.

5) Which leads on to a quick thought about offline promotion. Maybe you’ve seen it too - ’Want A Part Time Income Of $6000 Per Week?’ plastered across the trunk of a twelve year old automobile. Erm…need I say more. If the driver of a top of the range Bentley did it, maybe you’d believe them, but then you’ll never see such a display. In the same vein, all those flyers taped to light poles or slapped on your windshield while you’re at work. What am I getting at? One word - desperation. It will not inspire people to flock to an ‘opportunity’ because it smacks so loudly of desperation and the fact that by believing your sales pitch they too may well be reduced to wandering parking lots at night, furtively slapping flyers on windshields. Hardly a business success model is it? You are demonstrating only one thing with these tactics - your own lack of funds or willingness to even invest in effective advertising. Keep your offline efforts professional too. If that means restricting yourself to business cards and small ads so be it, your credibility will at least be intact.

6) OK, time for a little positive relief. There are some good opportunities to be found online. I don’t know about them all and space prohibits a long list of the good, the bad and the ugly here. When you do find something that you think can work for you, don’t be afraid to try it. As the saying goes - if you think you can do it, or if you think you can’t, then you’re absolutely right. Take time to learn from people already involved and try to find out just how much help you can expect. A good network marketer understands the need to help others in his organization and thus enhance his own business and income - there should be no ‘secrets’ and people have to be team focused. The vast majority of people give up on network marketing because they never get any support from the ‘team’ who recruited them in the fist place

7) Once you’ve taken the plunge and start to work on your program, don’t be disheartened after the first week with no visible results. No matter what anybody tells you, it will take time. If you’re looking to give up your day job, sit on the beach and watch the cash flow into your account while you sip Pina Coladas then perhaps network marketing is not for you.

The hardest aspects of network marketing are advertising, marketing and recruiting. These will take up more time than anything else, especially if you are on a tight budget. There are countless solutions on offer; some that work and some that don’t and you will also spend a lot of time sorting through them. This is where having a helpful up line will pay dividends, so get involved with the team and find out how they do it. Overcoming the skepticism of potential customers/members will also be a regularly occurring theme in your days. It’s a fact you just have to accept and it’s thanks to all the cons that have been perpetrated in the past. Never resort to that old enemy, desperation. Many programs now make things a little easier with matrix builders that help you to grow your business without recruiting hundreds of people yourself, but this still relies on the need for an active and effective team working to gain new customers.

9) Give all your strategies time to pay off, but if they’re not working, try new methods. Doing the same old thing day in and day out will produce the same results. When you get new sign ups, help them as much as you can and don’t jealously guard your knowledge, no matter how hard won it may have been.

10) If you want to change your life, network marketing is a viable model for doing so despite the high failure rate. It will take work and it may be frustrating, but people do succeed and there is no reason why you shouldn’t be among them.

The Ebb and Flow of Network Marketing

“And so I say to you: ‘Ask, and you will receive; SEEK, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.’

“For everyone who asks will receive, and he who SEEKS will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks.”

- Luke 11: 9-10. [Good News Bible]

No matter how long you’ve been in this business, you will have experienced what I call the “Ebb and Flow of Network Marketing.” It’s simply the highs and lows you experience from dealing with people. We have all experienced it, even the top earners in the business.

See if this has happened to you. You’ve just made a great presentation to a prospect and, in spite of your being able to neutralize every objection they have put forward, they still don’t sign up. You feel rejected, frustrated, and disappointed. You begin to wonder why you ever got into this business and what you’re doing wrong. You go into a bit of a “funk,” and start to feel sorry for yourself.

After a bit of a lull, you decide to try another presentation to another prospect. This time, they’re ready to sign up almost before you open your mouth. You’re on Cloud 9, you can move mountains, you are master of your domain!

What has happened? You’ve just experienced the “Ebb and Flow of Network Marketing.”

Every MLM distributor goes through it. This emotional ebb and flow is often what stops many network marketers from achieving the financial freedom and security they desire. They let their emotions control how much work they put into the business, and a few “no’s” cause their efforts to diminish. Consequently, their business grinds to a halt.

Successful networkers, however, adopt a posture of emotional equilibrium, not getting too “high” with each success or too “low” with each failure. In his CD series, “Key to the Vault” (which I highly recommend to any network marketer), Bob Schmidt tells the story of John Wooden, the legendary coach of the UCLA basketball program, who won 10 national championships in a 12-year span. Wooden wanted his players to achieve a level of emotional maturity, or equilibrium, regarding their performance on the court. He wanted his players to behave in such a way that, after a game, a locker room observer would not be able to tell whether the team had won or lost. Wooden stressed to his players that if they had simply gone out and done their best, the outcome was not the issue. Therefore, being high on victory or low on defeat never entered into the equation. That’s what he meant by emotional equilibrium.

Remember the acronym S.E.E.K. &ndash Seek Emotional Equilibrium Knowingly

Learn to control your emotions; don’t let them control you. If a prospect’s failure to sign up with you causes you to go into an emotional tailspin, you have lost control of the situation. Because your business depends on you, you are letting your prospect control your business. This is equally true for a prospect that does sign up. If you get too high on that success, and base you next actions on what the prospect has done, you have again let them take control of your business.

Don’t let your mood, your emotional state, control your efforts. S.E.E.K., and you will find the path to achieving the success you desire.

Bruce Bailey, Ph.D.

Is Your Understanding Of Network Marketing Outdated?

I knew things in our industry had changed, but I didn’t realize just HOW MUCH they had changed until recently. Now we all know nothing stays the same, and progress is always welcome in Network Marketing, but I don’t think many of us are truly aware of the vast differences we’ve seen technology bring in just the past few years.

Ten years ago–even five years ago–a successful couple or individual working in Networking limited themselves to a single program. Why? Because working direct sales or MLM took a TON of work.

Mike and Rita were about the best Networking team around a few years ago. They held weekly meetings at the public library and held even more meetings at their home. If you made any contact whatsoever with Mike and Rita, they would keep your phone and fax warm for days until you finally signed up on their program.

Not only that, but a BIG part of Mike and Rita’s success was due to their non-stop mailing of sales letters and postcards. Rita spent many a night posting their prospecting ads on Internet sites and newsgroups.

More than once they got kicked off of AOL and other ISP’s for being too aggressive when contacting prospects — a new no-no in the online age.

I supposed all the work Mike and Rita did was worth it, but at what cost? They worked night and day for years. And even then, I don’t think they were pulling in more than a few thousand dollars a month.

Now let’s fast forward to today. Mark and Sandra are the talk of the neighborhood. They live in a big expensive house and drive a luxury car. Most people can’t figure out how Mark and Sandra afford it. They’re seen at home all day and go on lengthy vacations five or six times a year.

That part makes me smile, because I KNOW what Mark and Sandra do. They’re working in direct sales and MLM from home. Only there is a key difference in what they’re doing from what Mike and Rita were doing a few years ago.

Mark and Sandra use completely automated online systems to find huge numbers of leads, then filter through the leads to find only the best. Only then do Mark and Sandra start talking to their leads.

You see, Mark and Sandra don’t spend their days prospecting. They let the technology do all that prospecting and cold calling for them. The only time Mark and Sandra talk on the phone or answer an email is when a very hot prospect calls them to place an order.

And here’s the good part: Because the technology takes so much of the work out of direct sales, Mark and Sandra are able to work several very successful networking businesses. Rather than earning a few thousand dollars a month, they’re bringing in TENS OF THOUSANDS.

Plus, with all that automation (and help from their upline organization) Mark and Sandra are able to take off and travel the world just about anytime they like.

Now that’s progress!

Training the New Network Marketing Distributor: Working Depth With Your MLM Downline - Step 3 of 3

In Step 1, “Laying Down a Track to Run On,” we talked about how to get your new distributor started the right way. In Step 2 “Being a Good MLM Sponsor,” we discussed how you should go over “The Rules” of your operation with your downline so they can develop the discipline to grow their (and YOUR!) business. In this, the third step of the series, we’ll discuss “Working Depth,” or making it too expensive for your downline to leave the business!”

Step 3 — Working Depth With Your MLM Downline

Working depth means sponsoring your downline when they sponsor their new distributors. It means assisting your business partners to help them get their downline (and YOURS!) started the right way.

Essentially, you’re taking the track that you’ve laid out for your downline to run on and getting them to pass that knowledge on to their personally sponsored distributors. Naturally, they’re going to need help helping others and that’s where you, as their sponsor, come in. This is the essence of network marketing, i.e. building relationships and helping others succeed.

How deep should you go? Theoretically, you only have to go down two levels, i.e. lay out the track for the people you enroll and for the people they enroll. If everyone follows that format, the method perpetuates itself.

In reality, however, not everyone is going to approach the business the same way. Some will work a their own pace (usually more slowly than you would like!), or will want to “tweak” the methodology to fit their style. So, don’t just think “one or two levels.” Realize that you can do this with EVERYONE in your downline that’s willing to be coached, whether you personally sponsored them or not. The downline pays the upline; if a new distributor enters your downline, and is willing to work to grow the business, why wouldn’t you work with them? They may not bring money to you directly, but they will bring it to you indirectly. Who pays the downline that pays you? Their downline. Your success depends on their success, so don’t be afraid to work deep into your organization.

Remember, one of your goals should be to make it too expensive for your downline to leave the business! If you don’t build builders, you’ll never acquire the lifestyle that can come from having a significant passive residual income stream.

In closing, let me reiterate something from Part 2 &ndash you can’t change human nature. People will only do what they are willing to do. However, people can change themselves if they are willing to change. Being a good sponsor means showing your downline the benefits of (a) following a proven track, (b) being a good sponsor themselves, and (c) working depth.

When you work with your downline to create an independent network of builders, and help them to develop other builders who, in turn, develop more builders, you’ve found the winning formula.

One last thought: don’t take it personally if some of your downline distributors don’t turn into dynamic business builders. As long as you have done your part in educating them, you’ve done all you can do. You can’t build their business for them. While you can provide inspiration, they must provide the perspiration!

Work with your distributors; give them tasks to accomplish each time you contact them. But, that’s about all you can do. If they don’t want to build their business and be responsible for their own success, then you must spend your time on those who have earned it, i.e. those who are willing to take responsibility.

To your success!

Bruce Bailey, Ph.D.

Home Business Network Marketing : Your First Time

Network marketing is not always easy for everyone. There are individuals who are very natural at talking with others and find it quite easy to be in a room full of strangers and talk about what they have to offer. Then there are those who are terrified of the very idea of network marketing and needing to talk to anyone about anything.

Network marketing does not have to be a horrible experience for you and you do not have to have a panic attack at the thought of attending one. When you prepare for network marketing and do not go in with your eyes closed, you will find that it will make an enormous difference in the productivity of your business. Network marketing can be beneficial in building a plethora of resources and contacts that you can have at your fingertips to propel your business forward.

If you do not have a briefcase, it would be wise to purchase one. In your briefcase, you can keep your business cards, brochures, and informative documents about your business and other items that you can use to talk to others about what you have to offer. Keep your briefcase with you at all times, especially when you go to events to network.

Decide in advance how many people you want to talk to and do just that. If it is your first time, you may only want to talk to three people. Although once you are there, you will probably find yourself relaxing and notice that you came home with more than three contacts. Do not forget the business cards of the people you meet. In the excitement, you may forget their names. It is a good idea to jot down some relevant information on the back of the card to help you remember why or why not you like that particular contact.

One way to get to know those who come to the event is to volunteer to greet people as they come in. You are the first person they meet and then you can go up to them during the meeting with some ground under your feet and not feel so terrified.

Being a good listener is a key to being a good at networking. If you spend all your time talking about yourself, and how good you are and very little time, listening to them you will be wasting your time. Remember, people like to talk about themselves and if you let them, they will and they will leave the event thinking how much they enjoyed talking to you and will remember you. This is also an excellent way to glean information about them and the business they have to offer.

MLM - The Bad, The Ugly And The Plain Old Fashioned Liars

What is MLM?

It is a system of marketing where the majority of the income and cash flow comes from recruiting new members, rather than selling a product. Where the emphasis is on recruitment

Are Multi-Level Marketing and Network Marketing the same?

Basically, yes. MLM has a bad reputation, so the term is rarely used nowadays. It is a matter of degree. Network marketing companies require their distributors to sell a certain minimum amount of product, as well as recruiting new distributors.

How does MLM work?

One person has a product, he gets ten others to pay him (or her) to sell the product. These ten people each get ten more to sell the product. There has to be a product. Part of the payments from these third level people is passed back to the one person at the base level. These hundred people recruit another ten each. Again the income is shared between the previous levels. 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000, 10,000,000, 100,000,000. Well before eight levels of this upside down pyramid have been reached the product will have reached saturation point. BUT, the company keeps on recruiting, keeps on taking payments from would-be distributors to sell this killer product.

Does anyone make money?

The person with the original idea, and the people he or she recruited, but that’s it. The money they make comes from everyone who joined later; they all lose money.

What’s wrong with MLM?

1.There is no knowledge or control of market saturation.

2.MLMs take your money, to set up a distributorship, and you will lose it.

3.The MLM system destroys people’s self-confidence, by knowingly taking their money, building up their hopes, while all the time, the system guarantees failure for most of the people in it.

4.MLM promoters tell lies to get people to join, and mock those who doubt.

5.It is fraud.

Why is MLM still around?

It builds up an individual’s hopes of becoming rich for only a small payment. There is a percentage of people who will always be persuaded. MLM presentations are very persuasive, that’s how the company makes its money after all. These people are going to be very good at telling lies, maybe they even believe them themselves.

Internet Marketing Vs Network Marketing?

Which one do you want to venture into?

Internet business? Or, network marketing business?

In my opinion, you have to find out what you really want (money, good contact, getting new knowledge etc.). Then learn and investigate. Yes, you might fail in either one of both - be it in network marketing or internet marketing. But sometimes, you don’t really fail but you’re actually progressing towards your goals.

Let me give you an analogy. You build a website and do lots of traffic generations, and you are spending your hard-earned money for two months now. Results - no sale. No income.

Then you quit, put down your website and look for other avenues of income.

What you didn’t know was…

If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you will make your first sale on the third month, fourth month and so on. You will be generating income from your internet business. But, this all will never happen if your story was written only until month 2.

You might think that this story is fictitious and yeah, a story to make you feel good but nothing more than that, but what if I said that this actually happened to me? To tell you the truth, it really did happen to me and I hope it can be an inspiration to anyone reading this article too.

I made my first sale only after three months on the internet and by that time, I have spent lots of money powering up the business. But, it all is worth it now - knowing that I’ve got more than I invested before.

Back to internet marketing vs. network marketing…

My take is… find a way to do both.

I got a chance to read an ebook by Daegan Smith ( .NetMLMProfit.com ) and I believe it will be a good start to know more about doing network marketing on the internet.

Daegan talks about lead generation from the Internet and building an effective website to drive quality prospects to your network marketing program. All of this can be setup once and can passively attract prospects over and over again. For some of you, these are not something new but it works for him and it will definitely work for you too.

If you study carefully, there are many other internet marketers joining or considering to join an internet based network marketing program. I know that they already make lots of money from their internet business, but why are they still looking into network marketing?

Probably it’s not money they are looking for.

Probably it’s because of the value in the network marketing program itself.

Probably because they are having fun just to be around successful people in another business field.

Whatever it is, you can have both internet and network marketing as your income generator.

In summary, I hope you’ll consider internet marketing and network marketing at the same time. Entrepreneurs are always open for new ideas and new business ventures.

Find out what you really want.

Fishing & Lead Capture - Part Two of Three

In part one we skimmed over the basics of fishing for leads, and turning them into customers. Now let’s break that down and get into a little more detail.

Bait & Presentation

Traffic isn’t all that easy to get. You will have to either pay for, or work hard for traffic to your website. You don’t want to waste it, do you? Of course not.

When a visitor hits your page, you don’t want him to just look around and swim away, right? No. You want him to buy. However, that doesn’t happen often enough on just one visit. So, you need a way to stay in touch with your visitor so you can pull them back from time to time. Getting him to opt in to your mailing list is a great way to keep in touch.

But how do you get someone to give up their contact information to you when they don’t yet know and trust you?

Well, while your visitor is at your site… while the fish is in your pond - offer the right bait.

What type of fish are you after? …and what do they eat?

You know your niche better than I do.

What are YOUR visitors interested in?

What are their biggest problems?

What keeps them awake at night?

What do the want the most?

Find the right bait, then present it in the right way and I guarantee they will bite.

Through a joint venture, a little search time, or some desktop publishing, locate or create a product that your visitors will bite on.

…and setup a lead capture page using this product as your bait.

Fishermen know what bait to use for different fish because of experience, their own or someone else’s shared wisdom.

Take a look around. Someone else may be selling in your market. Who am I kidding? Someone else IS selling in your market. Find them. How are they fishing for new leads?

A little research will reveal what the fish are biting on at any given moment. Find or create it something similar, then bait YOUR hook and start fishing.

Good baits - Nearly anything related & free.

Viral software, articles and ebooks

Prizes (contests)

Product samples

Valuable tips

etc…

The right bait STILL must be presented in the right way. Portal sites, link & banner farms - they have their place, but the best way to present you bait when fishin’ for leads is with a simple lead capture page.

You’ve seen them many times already, I’m sure of it. A basic page with few graphics, some well written copy, bullet points and a subscription form … that’s about all it takes. You may have to experiment a bit with your presentation, but once they start biting - you know you’re on the right track. At this point, make only minor changes (one at a time) and test, test, test.

When they do start biting, you better learn to set the hook with a subscription confirmation to ensure your email gets delivered … and delivered only to those who actually want it.

Confirmation can and probably will lead to a few “big one that got away” stories, but your list will be better… more responsive.

On your ‘thank you’ page, remind your visitor to confirm their subscription. Nothing fancy, just a little something like this…

“In order for me to send your (bait)… please

remember to confirm your request.

The confirmation email should be in your inbox

very soon. This step, though a bit inconvenient,

protects us both from unwanted email issues.

Also - please white list my domain.com and

emailmydomain.com to ensure receipt of the

information you requested.”

Set that hook - get on your reader’s list of acceptable publishers, because you want your email to get through every time you send mail. You want ALL subscribers to receive ALL email. It’s not likely that it’s going to happen, but it’s still a great target.

It’s also a good idea to test your emails to ensure they won’t be eaten by filters.

You can use software for this, or one of the many autoresponder services that have spam testing features built right in.

Now … we’ve baited, presented and set the hook - and I am worn out.

Let’s rest up a bit and land that biggin’ in part three. Don’t miss it.

Stop Wasting Thousands of Dollars on Leads

Written by: Timothy J Langen

Jul 1, 2006

If you are like me, or I should say, as I once was, then you probably buy a monthly allotment of supposedly fresh leads of people who are looking to start a home business. You then sit and get your script ready and probably modify it and re-modify it and then sit with your hand on the phone drumming up the courage to pick it up and dial the first number. The fear is something most of us have to conquer and is of course the fear of rejection. There are thousands of people out there who would have been able to start and run a successful business had it not been for this fear. When you finally do work up the courage and call and are lucky enough to get in touch with a live person, they end up either being angry for being called for the 20th time today, or they want to start a business and don’t want to sacrifice the time or the money necessary to build one. This type of rejection over and over can kill the spirit of a new business builder and cause them to close up shop before they have even got started. There fortunately is a solution.

We are told that we have to sort and sift, work the numbers, look for diamonds in the rough. In the 8 years I have been in Network Marketing I have wasted time sorting and sifting, working the numbers and finding those diamonds in the rough. I have had a fair amount of success however I can not say that those I enrolled have had this type of success. It is really NOT a system that is easily reproduced unless you are extraordinarily driven to make it work! This bothered me and I spent years searching for a system that was easily reproduced so that all the people I enrolled had the same chance as me to build a business that would grow and eventually build momentum on it’s own.

This system does exist! The system is called a Funded Sponsoring System.

The secret to earning residual income in a business on the internet is Duplication! By helping others online to build their business, without leads and rejection, our personal income grows at a much faster rate as does the income of those you enroll. This Funded sponsoring system helps those that are just getting started as well as those who already have a primary program they are working. The best thing about this system is that it will create income for you and those in your group in multiple streams. The system will allow you to profit even if you are not initially getting enrollments into your primary Business.

The way this system works involves using free and low cost advertising methods that work to generate traffic to a low cost business that you use as your qualifier. This business is not your primary and should have a free trial with a very low cost to join and maintain membership. This type of business will generate a relatively small income but the main purpose of it is to qualify the people who sign up for your free Funded Sponsoring System as people who are worth your time and effort in helping.

Using the Funded Sponsoring System you spend no time with anyone until they have committed to the low cost opportunity or they signed up with one or more of the low cost advertising methods which also generates a small to moderate commission for me and will for them as well as they promote their own Funded Sponsoring System. The system lays out a step by step method for each and every person to follow so that they can recreate your success. The only way for them not to get results is for them not to follow the system. The success of this system means never having to cold call leads ever again to build a Business and it automatically introduces the people under me in the system to my Primary business and allows those under me to either join my primary or if they already have one to enter their own for the system to introduce it to their members. In My 8 years of marketing this is the only system I have found that gives everyone the same chance to succeed without having to be a Pro presenter or sales person. It is without a doubt the best, well thought out system for reproducing Home Business success that exists today.

Top 10 Tips For A Successful Network Marketing Presentation

As network marketers, we often have important information to impart and our role in doing so is a major one. Many, many times I have had the pleasure of having people approach me to say how hearing me speak literally changed their lives due to the powerful message and the persuasiveness of the delivery. Most people in MLM are not trained presenters or salespersons but there are a few steps everyone can take to make sure their message has the best possible chance of being well received. Here are my top tips:

1. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE: Not every pitch will work for everyone so before you go to present the products or the business, whether it’s to just one person or to many, do a little research to ensure you’re presenting at the appropriate level. If your presentation is too lightweight, you’ll bore them; too in depth, you’ll confuse them. Either way, they will switch off and your vital words will fall on deaf ears.

2. WIIFM: Yes, that old chestnut, but it’s worth repeating as it’s so often forgotten. Bearing in mind tip no. 1, what are the challenges faced by this person or this group of people? How does your business opportunity or your product solve their problems? Focus on answering these questions rather than trotting out the mechanics of your offering. Your audience must feel you’ve prepared your presentation specially for them, even if it’s essentially the same one you’re giving all the time.

3. CONTINUALLY LEARN AND PRACTICE PRESENTING: One of the most important skills any network marketer can hone is that of becoming an accomplished speaker. It impacts so many other areas of your life as it massively increases your self-confidence. The more professionally you can deliver your message, the more readily it will be received, the more lives you will touch and the more money you will make in your business. Learning to present well is an investment in yourself and can give you the greatest return on the capital you’ve invested.

4. HANDLE DISSENTERS WELL: One of the major fears I hear from network marketers is that of being faced with doubting prospects or those who dispute what they’re being told. Unfortunately, the tendency is to dig in and fight your corner but this can turn the discussion into an argument and work against you, especially if you’re giving a presentation in front of a group. When you’re faced with negativity, always start your answer with “That’s a very good question…” and continue with your viewpoint. Wherever possible, turn things around to make your audience right. Download a free “one-sheet crib sheet” on this important subject at .laddersofsuccess.com.

5. SHOW, DON’T TELL: Show the products you’re talking about. Let people feel, smell and see for themselves instead of just hearing what they are like. If you’re making a presentation about the business opportunity, remember that your company has probably done a lot to make things easier for you. Make sure you get the prospecting materials they offer, show the pictures of the top distributors, talk about them as if they are real people .

6. LET YOUR GUARD DOWN: People buy from those they know, like and trust. How can they do any of this if you won’t let them get to know the real you. You don’t have to be perfect, you can talk about your own challenges, beliefs, family, hopes and dreams. Doing so gives your prospects more opportunity to identify with you so you can use the similarities to build rapport.

7. STORIES INSTEAD OF FACTS: When we get excited about our products, we often delve into the features of the products, what works and why. This is all very exciting once you’ve had your first wonderful product experience, but it doesn’t make for a very exciting lead-in to your presentation. People want to know about results. They want the bottom line. There’s plenty of time to get to the detail later but to start this way could send most of your prospects to sleep (apart from the professors in the audience, of course). The best way to illustrate what your products or business opportunity can do is through telling stories. Use your own story or a case study of someone you know. Use emotive words. Remember, not just the facts, the feelings too.

8. MAKE ‘EM LAUGH: When people laugh they feel more relaxed and amenable. Every situation has a humorous side and if you’re telling a tragic story your prospects will welcome the respite that comes with a moment of levity. The golden rule is to move people: make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry, then they buy. This is something I aim to do in every presentation because it means I’ve moved my audience emotionally. I appreciate this is an advanced technique, but if you learn how to do it, you’ll increase your success rate exponentially.

9. DON’T TELL &ndash ASK: Instead of telling your prospects everything, get them answering questions. Rather than saying “Did you know that only 1% of people retire financially free?”, ask them “What percentage of people do you think retire financially free?”. This gets your prospects involved and if you word your questions correctly, you’re coaching them to the purchase decision rather than having to push them into buying. This is a technique I teach that I’ve perfected over the years. It works great for network marketers and women and I call it “pull selling”.

10. GIVE A REASON TO ACT NOW: Again, not being salespersons, many network marketers give a great presentation and then wimp out without asking for the order. Your prospect’s motivation will never be higher than it is at that moment so make sure you use this to your advantage. Think of reasons why they should place their order today. Some possible reasons might be because you are offering a special bonus OR prices are about to increase OR there’s an order deadline coming up so they’ll get their goods sooner OR you’re placing an order too so they’ll save on the postage OR you’re offering a discount on orders placed today OR you’re seeing someone else who could become a distributor and will go beneath them. Whatever it is, tell them, and secure the sale.