Network Marketing - Change is the key!

It is normal to be uncomfortable with change. Most of us like our comfort zone, and we get nervous when we have to leave it. But unless we do something different, leave our comfort zone, nothing different will happen. We want things to change, more money, lose weight, better job, better relationship, but we don't make any changes to make it happen. Change is scary for most, and sometimes we just don't know what change, to adjust... but doing the same thing is not going to get the result you want.

     I found that baby steps, "the slight edge" is the best way to go      when you are wanting to make a change but not sure of                yourself. If you go for completely rearranging your life, you      are more likely to not be able to keep it up. Small changes made and kept for 30 days will form a new habit and from that new habit you will find other things to change, one at a time, and 6 months later you will be surprised at how much you have changed, and how many changes you have kept!

That is not to say that if you make the change and 30 days later you see that it was not what you wanted, after all you can adjust, the theme here is change, review the change, and adjust if necessary, and do it over and over again until you get what you want.

Is it slow? Not at all... because the changes you make are more permanent and lasting. So the changes stick. Don't spend a month trying to decide to change... change one thing and evaluate the results, ten adjust, and repeat the process.  If you spend too long thinking about it,
nothing will change.

Network Marketing - There are plenty of prospects out there for us all!

I recently had a comment from a friend on my facebook page asking me to not post comments about my company on her page, since she is a friend my posts will appear on her page automatically.  I am still a bit of a novice at Facebook but this was a little surprising.  She was obviously feeling a bit threatened that her contacts would come to me and she would lose them.

When I first started doing MLM I also felt this way.  I felt like I had to guard my prospects from being "stolen" from some other entity. Luckily I have grown to understand that no one can "steal" my prospects, if they go to someone else they weren't mine to begin with!  This is actually a salesman mentality.  And network marketing isn't a sales business, it is a relationship business. So my contacts that have come to have a relationship with me will choose me all else being equal because we have cultivated the friendship and collaborated together to find what works best for them.

The big guys, the real great mentors in this business all give their information and help for free. I know because I have met several of them and they truly do want to give what they can to the people they are helping because they know it will come back to them in spades.  From a philosophy standpoint, I have always believed you get what you give, basically if you give of yourself, you will prosper and there will be friends there for you when you need it, because you have been a friend to someone else.

So as you work on your business, remember that we are cultivating friends and colleagues, not "marks".  I remember being told by one of my sponsors from a company a long time ago that when I talk to someone to think of them as dollar bills because that is what they are worth to you.... wow, what a way to treat someone!  No wonder I couldn't do anything with that company!  The golden rule is the way to grow both yourself and your business, so just think how would you like to be treated if you were in the other persons shoes, and you will find like minded people to join you and you will prosper!

Network Marketing - Are We Still a Land of Opportunity?

I just happened to hear a blurb on tv that a couple of our politicians were questioning the ability of people that have less than ideal situations growing up to rise above their beginnings and make a life for themselves. Our country has been called the 'land of opportunity' ever since I can remember. It was more important what you did with what you had than where you started from. The journey was the thing and the prize was getting there and starting your next great journey!

It would be a sad place to be if you were destined to be what you started with. I was not impoverished or terribly mistreated as a child but I still struggle with a lot of things internally. I have an internal 'life should be fair' monitor and even though I know that a lot of time it doesn't look that way I believe it usually is. We make choices every day that determine our outcome later in life, most are small things but they all add up to what we have and where we are now.  I always loved seeing the stories where someone gets to do a 'do-over' and see if they can make a better outcome if they just did or said something different. We can' t do that in real life but if we just paused for a second to consider what we are about to do or say, it could make the biggest difference down the road.

I believe this IS the land of opportunity, we have the ability to make great changes in small ways.  One kind word to someone that is not being considerate could make his or her change their attitude just enough to not say the next cross word to someone that is at the end of their rope, and instead of a fight they can do the same to calm someone else, and the chain reaction would continue to be positive, not negative.  Just one kind word can really make a difference to someone ready to take a desperate act. If the right words would have reached that horribly disturbed boy that killed all those kids at Sandy Hook, would they still be here?  I don't know but isn't it worth the effort to choose being kind over being right? We know what happens when you leave someone alone that is unhappy, never is the outcome good. Isn't it worth the chance to make the effort to let then know as soon as you notice them that they have options other than striking with in thier pain  before they reach that horrible end?

I know it is idealist thinking. So I am an idealist. I think that anyone can change their life for the good, and network marketing is the one place where anyone can make it with a little effort and the right support system to aid them. I used Mentoring for Free, because of the personal developement attached but you can use whatever resource you find to help you. But you need help and support to make it. A good idea can either die without ever getting off the ground, or can be improved on and be brought to the world to make a great change, maybe all someone needs is a little encouragement to believe they can do it! Just one kind word can turn a decision to do good or bad.

As a network marketer you have a tool that can really change lives, but you do it by making relationships. Your 'prospect' most likely needs to believe he or she can do it! Most of us are greatly lacking the belief in ourselves more than anything, so that once the excitement wears down and we are met with obstacles we have the belief in ourselves to continue. Many people stop just short of the gold, if we just would have gone one to dig a few more feet, we would have found what we were looking for. If we don't every quit we will get there.

So help someone to believe in themselves and you will have a star. They will go on and you will both prosper. Remember Zig Zigler's famous quote, 'If you help other get what they want, you will get what you want'. It is true, the way to pay your bills or get that trip you want to win is to help someone else to do the same, your problems will disappear along with the people you help.The land of opportunity is here, and it lives in you and me, in our willingness to help and support each other.

Network Marketing - Success or Failure, whose fault is it?

I get many different kinds of ideas and pictures on my face book page as many people do, and once in a while I find a really good idea, not new one mind you but something said in such a way that it sparks a recognition, and seems to be sent to me as reminder to help me in what ever I am working on at the time.  The sender has no idea they are sending me a much needed nudge, but I do believe that we all get what we need when we need it, we just sometimes don't pay enough attention to notice it.  

This time I noticed and this is what I saw.

I have been feeling a bit inadequate lately. I am taking care of my aged mother, working a close to full time job, working on a vitamin and nutrition business, and working my crafts and artwork when I can. Yet all I do, never seems to be enough for everyone and I have been feeling 'not good enough' at my many hats.  It has been pointed out to me by many people that I am doing the best I can, and trying to be everything to everybody is plain impossible. I know it in my head but my heart has not been agreeing! The 'shoulds' have been taking over!

When I read this it was perfectly clear to me that I was thinking only of me, not of other people... even though I FELT I was somewhat of a saint and must the able to provide for everyone and if they didn't get what they needed or didn't succeed at whatever I was helping them with, I was inadequate... WRONG!  I am human.. and as this saying says, what other people do even with your help is what they want to do. You are not responsible for anyone else's success. You are responsible for being the best you can be, and that is enough. It is enough for God, so it is enough for you. NO ONE WILL FAIL BECAUSE OF YOUR EFFORTS, NOR WILL THEY SUCCEED. They will do what they do because of themselves.

Wow, does that take the load off or what!  I know, easy to say, not so easy to feel, especially if you are coming from a negative feeling, guilt maybe or fear...?

I will relate this to business, all of us have had that person we sponsor that we have such hopes for and want to help so bad, we try to do it all for them, and then blame ourselves when they do nothing and quit, sometimes blaming us in the process. But some people are still learning, not everyone is ready to succeed. We have to be ready for success, and I believe  that as we grow personally, we will grow financially as well. They weren't ready, or they would have done it in spite of anything we do, because no one succeeds because of us or fails because of us, it is because of themselves. So if you find yourself looking at yourself in the critical light, think about this quote. You are a perfect creation of God, and you are on a never ending and exciting journey, and you will get there as long as you keep working at it. Just be responsible for your success and the people you are helping will be responsible for theirs.  I believe in you, and ME!

Network Marketing - Low Cost, No Cost Prospecting Ideas

Everywhere you go, you see ads for someone wanting to help you get leads... for a price, and then you don't know what you are going to get.  Thing is, you can generate your own leads/ prospects better and cheaper than any company ever could. After all, you know what kind of person you want to work with and what you have to offer, and remember, people join people, not companies.

That's right, rule number one, people you meet may be asking how to make money on line, but the final decision is based on the prospect thinking "can I do this and can you show me how".  If they like and believe you can help them, they will be the best prospect for you, and that only happens if you start a relationship with them, something that doesn't happen with an ad or website.

You are creating a warm market, you are making friends. One way to make them is to ask for advice, that's right, ask what they think about something, preferably about your business.  Everyone likes to talk and most like to talk about what they know, so getting an opinion is a great icebreaker.

Idea 1:  How about making up several difference business cards, each one featuring a benefit you offer. Ask your possible prospect what do you like better and show him maybe 3 different cards. He is sure to tell you what he thinks and while he is looking at them just might ask for more information. Now you have a prospect and he came to you... zero rejection!

Idea 2:  How about making up a quiz, everyone likes to test their knowledge and if you do one for network marketing, you will attract people that already have an interest or they probably wouldn't take the quiz. When you make up answers do multple choice so they can choose and make some of the answers fun, like Who makes the best network marketers.... A. houswives,  B. businessmen,   C. comedians   When you give them the answer you can explain why that is the best answer, but don't give it to them right away.  If you are posting it online, give them their score as a percentage of right answers with some fun  facts or something that will make them smile. Everyone is more open when they are smiling, it is much easier to get someone to listen to you in this frame of mind. Then ask for contact info with the answers, they will most likely wnat to talk to you anyway and give it to you. This can work at a fair or convention, you can even have a contest for product for the highest grade!

There are many more, if you have something you would like to add, please comment below and let us see what you are doing. There are as many ways to find people and get them to open up and talk as there are people, so don't  think of yourself as a salesman, think of yourself as a good will ambassador. You will have much more fun, meet some super people and have much more success.

Network Marketing - How to get followers... and friends!

I have been guilty of alot of things lately, and one of them has been wondering where all the leads went. Why is no one clicking thru to get my info?  I have myself planted out there, I am branded, I have sent out good feelings and have visited my social networks once in a while.. so where is everybody?

Well, I have to blame myself. People come to see what you have to say, and if you stop having anything new they move on. I put out my name on the social networks, made up ads that run continually, and would visit with much irregularity the sites and blogs I have set up including this one, but would not have anything to say.  I was looking for some inspiration, something that would bring people around to what I thought was obvious, that is I can help them to be successful in network marketing!  I know what to do... but don't do it with regularity. I listened to all the positive thinking tapes and would do some of the exercises I was told to do but didn't follow thru with consistancy on anything I did. 

I had a good reason... life and family got in the way.  I was still telling myself that people would find me anyway and I could step it up anytime I wanted. But when you stop, you don't start from where you left off, you start from the beginning. I have found it is ok to stop or slow down... sometimes you have to, just don't let it stop you from getting up again and moving on. As long as you don't quit, you will succeed.

Because the good news is, no matter what you have done in the beginning, or the last year, month or week... you can start again and be even more successful the next time around.  Listen to this video now....  http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

If you stop and give up, you will fail. But isn't it a great country we live in where we can always begin again?  No matter where you stopped, years ago, months ago or even days ago, you can get back up and go again. As he says in the video, it matters how you finish.  You can finish strong no matter how you began or how long it's been since you fell down, as long as you keep getting up!

I am getting up again.  I have been on a weight loss journey which I am going to finish and I still have a passion for network marketing. It is still the best way for anyone to build a business with little to no experience or capital and it is by far the best way to self improvement as you work, no job I ever had included a course in self developement like I have received from my network marketing company.  I have the knowledge to build it and I now have to commit to doing the things I need to grow the business. 

So stay tuned... and learn how to build a life, not just a business. Build it so it lasts and you don't have to do it again!  Build relationships first, and business will follow. We are here to help each other. Alone any task is difficult to complete, but together we can do anything we set our minds to!  Check back or contact me and we will get up and get going... together!  Let's finish strong!

Network Marketing - Auto Suggestion

One of the best ways to boost your business and grow yourself is to use auto suggestion. I had tried this many times with limited success, but only recently  had an insight that made me understand why.

Auto suggestion is a term 
bandied about by a lot of people, and has had a lot of articles and books written about it. What I had always read about it or maybe interpreted was that it was something you listened to over and over again so your brain would hear it more than the negative and take it for truth. I listened to all kinds of tapes and spent time repeating what I wanted over and over, trouble was I didn't believe it nor did I put any emotion into it except maybe doubt. What I didn't know was without faith, without emotion and a belief in what I was saying it wasn't going to be effective.

Think for just a minute about what faith is...  it is BELIEVING something without proof, so it is a CHOICE to believe something. We operate so much on remote control, that we don't even consider that we can CHOOSE OUR BELIEFS, thereby creating FAITH!  

So auto suggestion is most effective when accompanied by the emotion that can be fueled by FAITH that what you are saying is TRUE and WILL HAPPEN if you just keep saying it and thinking it and CHOOSE to believe it to be true. 

The idea that I could CHOOSE what to believe and what to let in to my mind was something that I never heard before listening to Michael and the mental cleanse.  I find that I am using this idea not just with my business but with me, what to believe and hold true about ME.  My opinion of myself and what I can do is totally up to me, it is my CHOICE! I believe I can get what I want, it may take me a month or a year, I may make changes in my plans and falter at times, but I will never give up and as long it is my truth, nothing anyone tells me can change my plans and my belief unless I let it.

So my auto suggestion or my self talk has the emotion of my faith in other people and myself, and it not just a wish or a dream, it is TRUTH. A great byproduct of this idea is that other people's opinions and criticisms of what I believe no longer causes me to feel so uncomfortable, I can look at what they say and consider it and DECIDE to agree or not, and not feel threatened by it.  My truth is mine and totally up to me... a great comfort and relief, and a great KNOWING that gives me confidence that I didn't have before. I can make changes but they are mine, I am not at the mercy of all the hype. I use my auto suggestion to fuel my DESIRE OF CHOICE, and I will succeed.

Network Marketing - What is Network Marketing?

Bet you have heard "I don't want to do 'network marketing', that is an illegal pyramid! Or I can't sell stuff, or I don't know anyone that makes money at that! There are so many incorrect ideas about this industry that it can be difficult for the person new to the industry. But when it comes down to it, WE ALL DO NETWORK MARKETING, SOME OF US JUST DON'T GET PAID FOR IT!

 So, just what is Network Marketing?!

Network marketing is just promoting and recommending products and services that you like to other people.  We have been doing this since about age 5, when we told a friend what kind of candy to get our parents to buy or what tv show to see. Network marketing is just doing something right one time, and getting paid for it over and over again. J K Rowling, wrote her Harry Potter series of books once, did it right and now gets paid for it when other people promote the books and movies. If you told anyone about the last movie you saw and told them to see it too, you were promoting the movie for the actors, directors and writers that made it. Did you get a check in the mail for you help?  Of course not, BUT YOU WERE DOING NETWORK MARKETING, YOU JUST WEREN'T GETTING PAID FOR IT!  If you explain it to people properly, they will see and understand the concept and can't help wanting to get involved!

Pyramid you say... how about this picture.  The large corporation has the owner at the top. the ceo and his secretary under him, department managers under him, more department heads under each to those, more employees under them and so on.  Familiar shape isn't it?

Use stories to tell people what you want them to understand, with a story they will put themselves as the star character and see your point without you 'selling' them on it. Remember no one wants to be sold. You are building a relationship and you are teaching a marketing system to those that are unfamiliar with it.

Start with questions about them. The theme should be "How can I help you?", not how much can you spend so I can make money. Remember the old quote, help other people get what they want, and you will have everything you want!

I love this business, it is the only level playing field no matter what kind of education you have, what kind of background you come from, or what you have been doing for a living. A company CEO has the same chance that a grocery store clerk has or a construction worker, or a kid just out of college! We can all be successful and build an income with this business model no matter what our background or education, or financial situation.

network marketing - We all have a mastermind group, just didn't choose them consciously... But we NEED TO!

We all have a mastermind group, several I think. We just don't always choose it consciously.  A mastermind group is people that you hang out with, people that share a common goal, have similar wants and desires, and participate in the same activities.  Their thoughts and attitudes combine with yours and form a power to get whatever the group seems to be going after. A football team works together to form a winning team, they work together on a common goal. They work together in harmony to win a game, and band together even off the field many times as friends, participating in the same activities. They form a mastermind group just as a company of people do that are working for any common goal. 


Take a look at your circle of friends growing up, if you hung out with kids that got in trouble, you probably did too. Growing up I was crazy about horses and art and generally not interested in the dances and the popular crowd, when the prom came around we had our own party and celebrated without the crowds. My friends were the animal lovers, the ones that were more prone to go camping than to dances. We had similar interests and participated in the same kind of activities. They were my mastermind group, they gave me power to pursue my interests in art just by supporting me and giving me positive reinforcement when I needed it. They gave me energy.  


When it came to money we had the same idea in art school, nobody thought we could ever get rich. Worse when I went to art school, most of us shared the same starving artist mentality. I don't think any of us ever got rich and famous, now I think because we didn't think we could. After all there are wealthy artist, wealth can come in any profession, and not necessarily to the most talented one, I went to school with many very talented people, and none of them that I know of have gotten past a middle class income, even though they truly were creative people.  Money only came to those that sold out and didn't stay true to their art, they went commercial, we stayed pure. What egos!


I participated in an outward bound climbing class for 14 days when I was in my late 20's, we climbed mountains and camped out in the Rocky Mountains. I was generally the last one to get anywhere because of my weight and not so great physical shape. But I persevered and caught up to them at the end of each hike. The last thing we did was a seven mile run (in my case a walk). I was so tired and sore, I just kept putting one foot in front of another, setting my sites on the next five minutes or the next tree to get thru it. Even the person that waited 3 hours to leave and make sure no one was lost passed me up... but when I was almost there, I spied my group, my mastermind group there ahead of me. They came out to meet me as I hobbled into view. They came to walk/run with me the last mile. All of a sudden I had energy I didn't know was there and I actually trotted the last mile with them, something I couldn't do by myself. I was really touched and empowered by them. That is the power of a mastermind group.


I think one of the greatest thing a mastermind group can do is give you energy, fuel that burning desire for success. When everyone is working towards that common goal, working as a team to get where they want to be, the universe responds just like it did when we were telling ourselves we would be starving artists for the rest of our lives, and gives us what we want. The mastermind group fills that physic river with positive energy if we can just align ourselves with it and gives us power that we can't get alone. We need each other to get the energy, the power we need to be really successful. We need to consciously choose this group, not just take whoever comes along. We need to get the best 'batteries' we can to help power our dreams.


You need to consciously and with purpose pick your mastermind group. Pick people that you look up to, that will inspire you.


I found is mentoring for free and they tell me I can own my life, I can make lots of money if I just believe I can and I can fulfill my dreams. I never thought I liked money, I have the same negative ideas given to me by my past mastermind groups from the past that I just fell into. I now consciously choose who I am hanging out with and most importantly listening to, and when I hear well meaning friends and family both past and present, sometimes just in my head, tell me I am not supposed to have money and my dreams are just wishes that I will never see fullfilled,  I know to tell them and me they are wrong, I own my life and will get what I am after.  


The power of prayer is a great example. It has been prooven that when many minds gather to pray for the same thing, it creates a real powerful force. When we get together and all start to work to a common goal, we form one powerful mind, with more energy than one can ever produce by themselves. It's true you can't get what you want alone, we need each other, we need our mastermind group to succeed.


So think about it, think about what you really want, what your goals are. You need to pick a group of people that will uplift you. Leave the negative people behind, as hard as it may be, they just drag you down and you will stay where you are.  You can do it if I can and I am doing it.


See you there!

Network Marketing - The most important thing... Why?

If you are working on building a home based business, one of the most important things you need to figure out is WHY!

Knowing what you are working for will keep you going when you meet those bumps in the road.  It will make them just that, a little bump, not a chasm to fall into or a mountain to climb.  Growing any business is at best a challenge so you need something to get you going and keep reaching for what you want.


Recognize and believe that You have the power to become anyone you want. If you are willing to lay out the plan, plot the course, and work at it, you can become the person you want to be. Your "why" will keep you on course.

To craft your 'why' think about who you have been, what you have done, and what is important to you. What do you do when you have free time?  What makes you energized, and what brings a smile to your face?  What would you 'give your right arm for!'

Think about places that you have been that really made you feel good.  How did you feel, that can be the first part of your 'why'.

All of these things will help you to figure it out. It is a work in progress, and will change and grow with you.  Try not to make it about things, make it about people and goals, and what you want to be remembered for. Make it something that you feel so strong about it makes you cry.  You will be glad you did.

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If you want help with this exercise, contact me for a really neat worksheet to help you out!
I am here to help if and when I can!

Network Marketing - Knowledge is important, but Specialized Knowledge is essential!

One of the things we need to succeed in network marketing is knowledge, not just any knowledge, but specialized knowledge. We need to know how to do a business that is not like any other. Just like a surgeon needs to know a special kind of medicine, we need to acquire a special kind of business knowledge.
In the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, one of the principles he talks about is specialized knowledge. We need this education and need to apply it with emotion and desire. Dry knowledge without application will not make us successful. It needs to be applied with emotion, with a burning desire and with the support of a mastermind group.

I recently attended a seminar for my company. What a way to get the specialized knowledge you need to succeed! It was a gathering in essence of some of my mastermind group. When you meet with like minded, positive people and come together to learn and exchange information, there is a natural energy that really charges you, and you are bound to leave with a burning desire to apply the knowledge learned. Attending your company's functions is a really good way to acquire this knowledge and in a fun way you also get that burning desire and emotion to make you want to apply what you learned when you get back to working your business.

So become a student of the industry. Learn all you can and never think you know it all. There is a multitude of knowledge out there and all of it helps you get better at what you do. Success comes from work but from working smart not hard. Be coachable, find a mentor, a mastermind group and an organization with integrity that puts the distributors first and attend as many meetings as you can. Don't spend all your money on books and training, you should be getting that mostly for free. If they are making the money by having you buy books and tapes and training manuals, you need to find another mastermind group and another company. Most of the best training is free or nearly free, just be a critical thinker and don't blindly accept all you see and hear. Knowledge will get you there and your good instincts will keep you on track.

See you at the top.  We are all winners, you have left the mundane and ordinary because you are seeking something better. You can own your life, just don't give up!


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One good source for knowledge for anyone in any company is Big Al seminars. Check out his schedule for a seminar near you!  Here is the link to his schedule... http://www.fortunenow.com/public/department33.cfm   Let me know if you want to attend, I can get you in for free!

Recently I recieved this email, it was so good and to the point I want to share it with you.  It is from my mentor and friend, her wisdom and advice has proven very valuable to me.


Hello, Judy here~

Recently I was on a Leaders call that was full of powerful information about why you need to read your company Policies & Procedures.

In 27 years of network marketing, we've learned the #1 feature you must have in place for success:

Company management experience with integrity.

People ask all the time, "How do I know if my company has integrity?"

The answer is simple: read your company Policies & Procedures. If you can't find them on the website, it's a big red flag. Some companies say you can't read them until after you join. Big red flag.

Why are they ashamed of their P&Ps? Why don't they want you to read them? The P&Ps are YOUR contract to be in business with them - written by the company lawyers! Every time any distributor ever gets a termination letter, it says, "You have violated the Policies & Procedures." They never say you violated "Terms & Conditions." It's always "Policies & Procedures."

Most reps never actually read their P and P's. You need to do it ... it may really open your eyes. At least you'll know exactly what to look for and how to protect yourself.

To Your Success,

Judy Narum


So think about it.  I too joined many companies without even thinking about the p & p's but have since heard some real horror stories about how  you can be affected by them.  If you were getting a job you would want to know how you were paid, what you were paid and what you had to do to get paid... and most employers will tell you what will get you fired!  Shouldn't you have the same knowledge if you are building a business that you want to pay your children's children... you want security!


The only way to be sure is to read them, not take someone's word for it, but read it before you sign on. You will be doing yourself a favor and practicing critical thinking.  Protect yourself and your family by being informed.




Tell me what you think... any experience that would benefit my readers?

Optimized MLM Leads - The best way to find them and keep them!

Lead generation can be a real bear!  When asking people what their biggest struggles are, they almost always say finding people to talk to, finding MLM LEADS. 

Generating leads should be easy, and fun!  If you are struggling, you are not working smart, you are working hard. .

There are many ways to generate MLM leads. You can generate them offline, the old fashioned way or you can generate them online, the easy and fun way.

Generating MLM leads offline is,the old way to get them, it is hard and filled with rejection. These leads are found by:

• Making a list, friends and family, very much not targeted and a warm market.
• talking to people on the street, people you meet at the grocery store, the laundry mat, anywere else you go as you run your errands through out the day, a very cold market!
• buying leads, mostly scams and working hard and making money for the lead generation company, many times the same people that recruited you in the first place to that great MLM!
• buying booth at trade shows and flea markets, can be really expensive, again a COLD market and not targeted at all.
• postcards and other direct mail. Really expensive and really random, not targeted.

While these strategies have worked in the past by a select few, they don't work well for the majority of the people that get into network marketing.  If it did, the dropout rate wouldn't be at 90% on an average!  Truth is most of us just don't have that salesman talent to convince someone that network marketing is the way to go to make money working from home, and then to 'sell' them on our particular company.  Most of us also don't have the ability to keep doing that so that as our 'sold' leads drop out because they can't do this, we can replace them with new associates.  The old way of selling your leads on your opportunity will not give most of us the success we are looking for.

Using the 'age way' of generating leads online is the way to go. It eliminates most of the problems you have doing it the old way, if you do it properly.

A modern MLM company needs to use the internet, it is the level playing field for all of us to find TARGETED OPTIMIZED LEADS for our organizations.  This way we make our own warm market, and ensure that we are talking to people that are already interested in Network Marketing, and already wanting to talk to us about what we are doing.  Remember that network marketing is a relationship business, not a sales business. Don't try to sell your leads like they were marks, make them your friends.  Give them reasons to like and trust you, and them tell them what your are doing. but always with their best interests in mind. Zig Ziggler's famous quote, "if you help enough people to get what they want, you will get what you want" is especially true in this business.

Finding leads online doesn't mean paying for them, it means attracting them to you.  Here are a few ways you can do this:

•  The social networks, a great place to let everyone know what you are doing and invite them to check out what you have to offer.  For the most part it is free advertising, and a great way to make friends first.
• Safelists.  A great way to share your company with like minded people. 
• Articles and blogs. There are many free places that you can post articles. Blogs are just a string of articles and ideas in one place. You can pay for a self hosted blog or use on like this, both will help to get the word out and show others what you can do for them.
• Traffic exchanges are also a free way to advertise. They take more time than some and it really is a matter of getting your ad or webpage out there consistently so people seeing it will start to find it familiar and stop to see what it is.
• Commenting on other peoples articles and blogs. One of the most important things you need to do is brand your self, get your name out there so people relate you with an authority on network marketing. Your comments can create links that will help the articles and blogs you write get noticed and the people you comment on will appreciate it and many times comment on your articles as well. This give you a more favorable rating and gets your pages found much easier.  More exposure, more interested people in what you are doing. You will be recognized and more sought out by OPTIMEZED TARGETED LEADS.

These are just a few of the ways you can make your search for like minded people much easier and more fun. It is a great way to expand and give you a never ending stream of targeted leads to talk to. The way to the steady walk away income is to find associates that will stay and grow with you.  The more you retain, the easier your task will be and the more successful you will be in making network marketing work.  The old way is out, the new way is in and working. Try it, you will like it!

NOTE:   Finding a system to help you and give you guidence will be a great asset.  Find a mastermind group that can help show you the pitfalls and keep you from making the same mistakes they have will be a great help as well.  There are many such groups out there and most will want you to pay for the information.  While it is information you need, it need not cost you.  I found a group called Mentoring for Free that teaches you jus thow to do it and it is totally free. They will coach you and help you to weed out the expensive methods and how to apply the free ones so that you get all you can out of your efforts. They are teaching me to work smart, not hard, and I am having fun?  Want proof, the people I am working with have a retention rate of  65% up to even 90% by one mentor, that is opposed to the 10% the industry averages. They must be doing something right! .

MLM Work From Home - Avoid the pitfalls to be a success at MLM network marketing

You have a business opportunity and boy are you excited!  You dream of all the great things that will happen when you are successful with your MLM work from home opportunity and you are up and positive and eager to get going.  So you start talking to people.

Pitfall #1      Your sponsor tells you to make a list of everyone you have ever known, family, friends, the mailman, your pastor, and anyone else you know by name.  You are excited and think all these people, including your closest friends will want to be in it with you. You are doing them a favor by inviting them in to this mlm opportunity with you.   After all you are going to be rich and you want to take your family and best friends with you.  But somehow they all one by one aren't interested, and some are actually offended you even asked!  What happened?  They have no interest in network marketing MLM.  Some even laugh, to some it is a pyramid scheme, some just don't want to work, and many don't want their own business!  DON'T BOTHER FAMILY AND FRIENDS WITH THIS NEW BUSINESS, WAIT TILL YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL, THEN LET THEM ASK YOU WHAT YOU ARE DOING.  Now you have a receptive audience to talk to.  Don't try to sell apples to someone that hates them and prefers oranges.  Don't take it personally, they just don't get it yet, and may never get it.  Don't get stuck on them.

Pitfall #2      You've used your friends and family up, no one left to talk to, but you are still all excited. You need leads!  You are going to be just like that person they told you about that replaced their income in 3 months and quit the job and took off for an island vacation in the Caribean for a couple of months.  Your sponsor or your company has leads for sale, the better they are the more expensive they are, some are opportunity seekers that inquired about your company, these are gold!  For the company and your sponsor that is.  What you don't know is they are making more money from the sale of leads than from network marketing.  If the leads are so great, why don't they use them themselves?  You are your best lead source.   There are many  free or nearly free sources for leads that are optimized and targeted for a MLM work at home business.  You need a lead generation system that you control and can use to find and keep track of people that want to talk to you about MLM.  DON'T BUY LEADS!  They do not work.

Ptfall #3      So now what.  You aren't quite as excited, you have been told no many times, and yes very few sometimes not at all. How do you keep that enthusiasum going?  This is where alot of people quit before they even get started.  Get hooked up with a mastermind group.  What is that?  It is a group of like minded people, not necessarily in your company, but interested and successful in the MLM work from home industry.  Find a mentor, someone that has your best interests at heart, ABOVE THEIRS!  Getting hooked up with a group like this will hold you up through the difficult times when things just aren't going the way you want them to.  You can't build a MLM business all by yourself. DON'T TRY TO DO THIS BUSINESS ON YOUR OWN.  Take advantage of others experience and learn from thier mistakes!  Become a student of the industry  Take the time to build it strong, and build it once, build it right. Build it for your children and your children's children.  It is a great business, and you can do it with the right tools and encouragement.

Pitfall #4     Your company has the greatest products, they are going to cure the world of disease, or replace the utility company at a fraction of the cost, ect...   Every company has great products or they don't stay in business.  You are looking for a way to make money, if you love the product, great!  You can always buy it when you have your business up and growing.  Take a look at the comp plan and the policies and procedures, and know what you have to do to make money.  DON'T  JUMP IN UNTIL YOU KNOW WHAT THE OPPORTUNITY IS.  How many people do you need to make 10,000 a month from residual income?  Does the company have a non renewal clause, that is can they cancel your contract and in effect 'fire you' if they want to down the road?  You don't want to build something that can be taken away once you have that walk away income.  Listen to this audio if you want to safegaurd yourself against this ever happening to you.

With the birth of the internet, we have instant information, but we have to pay attention to where the information we find is coming from. There are so many promises made in the name of MLM that it can be hard to seperate the truth from the hype.  Become a student of the industry and find out what you need to know to protect yourself and make the correct decisions to safegaurd your business and future.  If you were buying any other kind of business, you would take the time to investigate the industry, You would talk to people that were successful in what ever you are going into to see just what they had to do to get there. Do the same with your search for and MLM work from home opportuinity.  I found Mentoring for Free. They do just that, mentor for free with no agenda. You need to find a group like this to learn from and lean on.  It takes a mastermind group to be successful with network marketing.  Find your group of like minded people and find what inspires you to keep you going when the going gets tough, learn about the business you are or have entered to avoid the pitfalls and you will succeed in network marketing.

Getting leads for your mlm - Network Marketing is a relationship business, not a sales business

Ever feel like a salesman when you are talking to someone about your network marketing business? BIG MISTAKE! You shouldn't have to sell anyone on network marketing, instead learn to target people that already believe in the business model, and forget being the salesman, be a friend instead. Network marketing is not a sales business, it is a relationship business. No one should be looking at you with this kind of expression if you build the relationship first!

Doing network marketing should be fun!  If you do it right, you will want to get on the phone to call perspective customers and business partners alike, and they will talk to you, because you are giving them a service. You are providing them with information that they want to hear. You are helping them out.

How do you do this?  You set up your advertisements so that those that are wanting help with network marketing will search for you. Use keywords that talk about helping and coaching, targeted leads and finding success in network marketing. Find a system that doesn't use the sales pitch but is designed to teach your people about how to do the business. The quest for knowledge will bring them to you. 

Nobody wants to be sold. Nobody wants to be a 'mark', but everyone wants to make new friends.  And when someone is struggling, they want someone to help them, not sell them. A small change in attitude and agenda will make all the difference in the way you talk to your prospects.  Make it a point to get the money out of the equation, make it about them, not about you. If you can do this, you will find success in more ways than one.

Great quote from Zig Ziggler: Man was designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness.

Great quote from Zig Ziggler: Man was designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness. This is Mentoring for Free. 

I have been listening to the audios and free calls for probably a year now, and I can say it has been there when I needed it.  It is uncanny that I hear what I need when I need it.  They are the best support system for anyone doing something that is challenging like building a business from home.  You can pay hundreds of dollars for personal developement courses, but my mentors and this system is there for me at NO CHARGE!  Imagine that, just people with a common bond, a mutual objective helping each other to succeed.  As an artist we can be somewhat in our own world, almost on the fringe of society at times, we are part of a culture all our own.  We try to get people to connect with our art, and as a network marketer I see it much the same, I am trying to get other people to connect with me, so we can together build a business that will set us free!  

Mentoring for Free  tells us that we are perfect just as we are to build a business, and we are announced when we speak on the calls as the 'next brilliant leader'.  Does this not sound like Zig''s quote, someone designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness?  This is you and me, we just have to learn to believe it and step up and shine when the opportunity shows itself!  We must believe it, when we believe it we will live it.