Are Network Marketers Their Own Worst Enemies?

I just got done spending some great “learning” time with my good friend and mentor Keith Brown. I have personally been working with Keith for the last 10 years and have found a wealth of knowledge and experience wrapped into him. for your benefit, her is a snippet about Keith from his blog page…

Keith Brown is a dedicated husband, father, cross-country coach, marathon runner and recognized expert in both the fitness and nutrition industries, Keith has been coaching and mentoring people in the areas of business development, leadership, lifestyle management, fitness, nutrition, and weight management. Keith was introduced to network marketing in 1994. After an injury as a construction worker, he quickly realized the need to have a home-based business that would allow him to work full time from home. Because of his burning desire to succeed, on a part-time basis, Keith became one of the fastest growing distributors and income earners in his first company. Due to his success, Keith became a full time Network Marketer in 1999. Keith is a recognized leader in the industry having built large organizations and reaching the top pay plan in his previous company. He has enjoyed seeing hundreds of people reach entirely new levels of personal satisfaction, growth, and financial success.

The topic at hand during our time together today focused on how we are viewed by those out there who are on the outside looking in.This is definately on topic that needs to be considered by everyone in this industry. too many times we run into those who have either left the industry due to what this discussion centered around, or they “know’ someone who was affected by it.

Here is a snippet of the post to Keith’s blog that resulted from that discussion…

The home-based business and direct selling industries are growing fast. There is so much opportunity for so many people to acquire new skills, time, and even financial freedom. The problem is that we network marketers are our own worst enemies – we tend to bad mouth other companies and their representatives.

When working toward a common goal, everyone else circles their wagons and fires outward, but most network marketers circle their wagons and fire inward.

This in no way raises our image among the general public. If anything, it makes us all look like starving vultures.

We also need to stop trying to recruit everyone that crosses our path. It’s okay to tell everyone what you do and if they want to know more, tell them. If they don’t want to know more, build a relationship with them anyway.

When you go into a car dealership, they try to sell you a car, NOT try convincing you to open your own dealership, right?

Here is a link to the entire article by Keith Brown on his blog: Are Network Marketers Their Own Worst Enemies?

The above article is a great summation of a somewhat touchy but utterly important topic. With the abundance of opportunities out there, how do we each position ourselves so that we can succeed while at the same time providing a glimpse of the true value in our industry. Just some food for thought.

To YOUR Success!

Keith A Elder
Legacy Partner
EIROResearch
www.eirobizsys.com

About the Author:
Keith Elder is a Husband, Father, and Entrepreneur who lives in Akron, Ohio with his wife Victoria and two children Briana and CJ. He has been an active entrepreneur for over 15 years and has recently partnered with Bo Short, Ty Tribble, and Chris Cucchiara who combined have well over 40 years of experience in the Network Marketing industry.

While Keith is never inclined to consider himself an expert on all of the subjects he writes about (expert is such a subjective term!), he does admit to simply wanting to pass along as much good information as possible so that others may benefit from the success he has been around.

Helping Others Be Successful…How YOU Can Help

It’s a wonderfully cold, grey day here in the Great Lakes area of the country…Northern Ohio to be specific.  A perfect day to start gathering information to finish an article about one of the main components of Network Marketing, Leads.  All of us in this industry know that this is one area that nearly everyone struggles with at some point in their business, some early and some later.  My goal in this project is to provide an evaluation of the methods, ways, and places that business owners attain leads, how they use the differing types of leads, and what they have found to be the results of those different types and methods.

Since this posting is designed to elicit comments “enforce” from you, the reader, I will provide a simple outline of the data that I am seeking.  So, you can simply comment to this posting and “quote” this text adding your comments after each item.  As always, additional comments are welcome.  This research is not limited to any one business, every business out there utilizes leads in one fashion or another so this will apply across the board.  Lastly, remember that in taking our eyes off of ourselves and focusing intently on helping “others” succeed will ultimately lead to success for us.

I thank you in advance for your participation in this endeavor.

What have you found to be the best method for acquiring new leads?

what are your thoughts/results from “buying” leads?

What are your thoughts/results from “free” leads?

What is your opinion on the amount and quality of training and guidance from your leaders/mentors in respect to generating leads?

Do you personally have any recommendations for others on this subject?

When Trump Speaks, People Listen

The Truth Behind All The Buzz (And It’s Good Too!)

Companies, website, associates, and the Network Marketing industry as a whole have recently been making a lot of noise about Donald Trump and his writing partner Robert Kiyosaki after the release of their book titled “Why We Want You To Be Rich” from Rich Press, and rightly so. The book provides a sorely needed message to the masses… You Too Can Be Successful!

What the book doesn’t do that the vast majority of voices out there want to believe it does is provide a proof positive and glaring endorsement of Multi-Level Marketing as “the” way to achieve that success. While this may appear as a let down to some, the reality is that if you dare to dig deep enough into the whole thought process behind the book, you will find that the truth is actually better than the false quotes. MLM “is” a viable way for the average person to achieve the success they seek, along with a whole group of other avenues that are available to Johnny Public. If one remembers that both Trump and Kiyosaki created their wealth in real estate, Trump in Manhattan with his developments and Kiyosaki on the other side of the country with holdings ranging from developments to oil rights and neither one of them actually owning or running an MLM business, it would be safe to say that as truly successful businessmen, they understand the dynamics of many different industries. The link between these two men and MLM in fact lies more closely with Kiyosaki than it does Trump due to the wildly successful mentoring and coaching abilities that Kiyosaki has through his previous writing, nearly all of which are near required reading in the MLM industry.

So what does all of this hold for us? Very simply put, the business acuity of two utterly successful men. And what better way to gain a portion of that knowledge for our own use then to explore some of the traits of one of those authors and how it can benefit you in your Network Marketing business.

Trump’s Traits
Some would say that Donald Trump is not a very good role model for your success, but I would beg to differ. The man who is ridiculed, laughed at, even has his hair made fun of at a nearly light-speed rate, has amassed quite a fortune for himself over the years and with that fortune came a well deserved sense of success. So what can we learn from him that will help us move “our” success forward? Let’s go through a handful of those things…

Passion! Passion! Passion!
if you want to be successful you must come to love what you are doing to get there. Be passionate about your product, your company, your training, your compensation plan. Get sold out to what you are doing and stand behind it Passionately!

Think Big!
Big thinkers focus not on the past or the present, they focus on the future. Concentrate on where you want to be and do the things necessary to get you there.

Know Your Audience!
Make it a point to learn something about who you are talking to, whether it is a client or a potential business associate. Listen to “them” and learn about “them”. The old saying goes “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason!” Listen twice as much (or more) than you speak.

Think Like A Winner!
This one could also be called Positive Thinking. How you think effects how you come across to others. If you constantly doubt yourself you plant that same seed of doubt in others without even knowing it. We ALL have the seeds of greatness within us just waiting for us to plant them in fertile ground so they may grow and flourish. You ARE a winner!

Be Authentic!
This one is very simple and I think Donald’s words are the best… “Be who you are, believe in what you say and deliver the goods”.

Be Tenacious!
Never! Never! Never! Never quit! Failure is not falling short of success in anything, it is the act of giving up that defines failure. We all look to Walt Disney as a massive success story yet he had to try seven times before he finally found his success. What if he “quit” after trying six times? A world without Mickey Mouse!

Leverage Knowledge!
learn from those who have gone before you. Use the knowledge that your leaders and mentors have to your advantage, and if you don’t currently have leaders or mentors like that… FIND SOME!

Lastly… Be Your Own Best Asset!
Brand your YOU! get yourself out there and create a brand called you and use that to leverage whatever it is that you do. Part of this is to deliver what you promise and then deliver one percent more!

To YOUR Success!

The Secret To Success…The Answer We All Want

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts online from a wide array of sources touting to have “The Secret” to your success in Network Marketing.  The problem with trying to write about, or share with others what the actual secret is, is that there really are no secrets!

What?  Exactly how can you justify telling me that there is NO secret to success, Keith?  Well, let’s look at some simple, common sense points about just that.  If there were “secrets” regarding being successful, don’t think for a minute that someone would simply give them away to you and I for nothing!  A secret is called a “secret” for a reason… it is meant to be kept in confidentiality so that only the holder is able to benefit from it.  If there is no benefit from giving the secret out, then it doesn’t get let out.  It really is that simple.

But let’s get back to where we really need to be here.  The real truth behind the whole Secrets issue is that again, there aren’t any secrets, those are just catch lines designed to get you to think you are getting something special that not everyone has.  This is not to say that there isn’t some validity to the information.  There is actually a lot of good to be gathered from these posts.

So, the secret is that there are no secrets, there are only bits of great advice and actions steps that either we have not been exposed to yet, or someone actually said it to us and it just didn’t register.  Following is a sort of list of some of those items and how they can greatly impact your business.

 

·         Take Your Eye’s off of You!
This is a simple yet profound idea.  Stop looking for ways that someone else can help “you” or “your” business.  Instead, focus completely on how you can help “others”.  In creating success for someone else, you will automatically create success for you.

·         Help Others To Win
An expansion of the tip above.  Pass the success on to the next person.  Help them win and you give them belief that they too can succeed.

·         Concentrate On The “Next” Person
In network marketing, it’s all about building a group of people that are positioned for success.  Don’t get hung up on that “one” person who you thought was a “big hitter”.  Always move through your organization and get to the next person.  Doing so not only places the growth of your organization in your hands, it is “your” business, but also shows each new person that you are going to do what you told them you would do… help them build “their” organization.

  

Yes, that was a very short, but also very sweet list of tips that could help everyone move their business further forward.  I intentionally kept this list short for the purpose of enticing you, the reader, to add your thoughts and “tips” to this article.  So don’t hesitate to jump right and post your thoughts, it is for the benefit of all that we focus on the other person and help them win, thus taking our eyes off of us.

 

As a closing thought, here is one of the most often spoken but least listened to tidbits that is out there…

·         Build It Fast

 

 

This is also known as “massive action leads to massive results”.  I think we all can agree that we can expect at least a ten percent positive response to our activity.  That’s a pretty reasonable expected return for our efforts, so let’s put this into the massive action equation.  If we go out expecting massive results and only speak or present our opportunity to ten people in a month, then our results, using the above ten percent return figure, would be one.  Not a very massive result, correct?  Even if you take this out to a length of time, let’s say 10 months, you will then have resulted in 10 conversions after promoting to 100.  Now let’s actually take some MASSIVE action and actually present to 100 people in a month.  That truly is massive action, and the results become massive as well.  Instead of just having 1 conversion per month for a total of 10 over ten months, you now have a conversion of 10 each month for a MASSIVE end result of 100 conversions at the end of ten months.  Definitely massive results there.  Now this doesn’t even take into consideration the effect this has on your organization that is benefiting from this massive growth.  While you are out actually doing the work and building your organization, those people are witnessing that action and learning from it.  If you lead them properly by teaching them to have the same massive activity and get the same massive results, then the growth becomes exponential and the massive becomes OUTRAGEOUSLY MASSIVE.

 

So those are the “secrets that I have to share at this time.  What are “your” secrets?  Post them in the comments for others to benefit from and see how helping others can actually benefit YOU!

Social Media IQ Test… Where Do You Fall On The Scale?

Over the last several days (maybe even a week or more) I have been inundated with requests to become friends with, link to, participate with or have gotten spammed by individuals who are using Social Media sites to expand their sphere’s of influence. Now don’t get me wrong here… that’s exactly what social media is all about, isn’t it?

What really is the truth about how to “properly” use social media sites. Well, that would depend on why you are there in the first place. Since the mid 1980′s computers have become more and more prevalent in the home as well as in business. As time went by, people were able to do more and more on those computers… from early on versions of the Internet to what we have today, millions of people are now using their computers to do things that they might not have done before. While that in and of itself is not really a bad thing, there are still some problems that surface.

In order to keep this discussion on track with its topic, lets stay focused on the title above: Social Media IQ Test. Just like the fact that while there are millions of people driving on Americas roads every day, and those same drivers had to have some form of training before they received the license… the fact remains that there are quite a few “bad” drivers out there (and I am sure there are those out there on the roads I travel that will swear “I” am one of those bad drivers!). The same line of thinking holds true with Social Media. Lots of great people on these sites with lots of great things to offer others, but unfortunately some of those people will drive their Social Media car right off the cliff.

So how do we avoid those pitfalls when, as business owners trying to expand our businesses, we venture into this Social Media universe? The simple answer is Look, Listen, and Learn.

Look…
Look at what others are saying and doing and do some research on the people you are meeting in these sites. Much can, and should, be learned from those who have found success in this medium.

Listen…
This actually is a two fold step. You need to interact with those who you have found to determine if they have learned to utilize the Social Media services properly and also have been successful in doing so.

Learn…
This is by far the most important part of the whole process! Learn from those whom you have found to be knowledgeable and successful. As business owners we have all had this point hammered into our minds over and over… find a good mentor in what you are doing and pick their brains for information and application.

Too many times, someone starting a business that is also new to Social Media hops on to one or more of these sites and starts blasting away with “ads” for their product or opportunity. I call this “Blamming”… almost identical in appearance to the traditional Spamming but in this new type of media interaction. All the same, blamming is nothing more than an indication that the relationship side of the equation is being left out. Blind, mass directed blurbs that tend to simply take up space where otherwise good information might have existed.

Now this is not to say that advertising on Social Media sites is improper altogether. The opposite is true. Most, if not all Social Media sites provide a place for “shameless promotion” of your business. And those are definitely good places to do that. As well, we “are” on these sites to promote our businesses and as such should utilize all of the proper methods for doing so to their fullest… promotion areas, links to your websites in your profile, short “bio” spots along with links in your signature on posts. But most of all, make some acquaintances. Meet some new people and get to know them by participating in discussions. Bring whatever knowledge you have to the table and share it with others. Most of all, don’t be afraid to make a mistake or ask a question if you don’t know something. If you do make a mistake, own up to it… Learn from it and move on. There are plenty of good, honest and hard working people in this arena that are more than will to give before they receive.

To YOUR Success!
Keith Elder