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Post by The Guy on Jan 5, 2009 16:57:33 GMT
Discuss your LEGITIMATE MLM topics here.
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Post by katie on Jan 5, 2009 17:00:15 GMT
Ok, well.. I have found in just 1 year of network marketing that the true key to anything you do is Building Strong Relationships. I have been bombarded with everything from Cash Gifting, Matrix, Product Sales, Scams of all sorts and so on.. I have come to realize that it's not what you do, it's how you do it.
Now, don't get me wrong, there ARE scams out there for sure.. Common sense should be able to sniff those out, or in most of our cases personal experience.
The majority of all things out there are legitimate. The thing is, there are those out there that are just trying so hard to build a downline that they are forgeting one thing.. To train their downline to duplicate what they are doing.. In most companies, you have much to gain by showing someone how to do what you do. Also, teaching patience is very important. So many people think, hey.. the website said I can make $5000 a day.. which is very possible, but it doesn't happen overnight. You have to network, you have to learn. Everything that is Big was once very small. Oak trees.. great example... were once a tiny acorn.
Training is vital to the success of any company. Abraham Lincoln said, "If you give me 6 hours to cut down a tree, I will spend 4 hours sharpening my saw, and 2 hours cutting it down." Not an exact quote, but you get what I am saying. People aren't going to work with someone who doesn't know what in the heck they are talking about. Spend an hour a day learning about your product, service, opportunity, etc. It will pay off.
Personally, I have found that too many people are sold on the Internet Gold Rush.. which is perfectly ok. You can make a great living from the internet. Why not try fishing out of another pond? In other words, offline marketing, or offline networking. It isn't that hard when you see a leader in the making working at a retail shop or in a bank somewhere and they are not living out their true calling. Hand them a card and tell them to give you a call or check out your site. The 3 foot rule, maybe it worked in the 70's and it may work for you, but honestly.. Not everyone is cut out to be in the networking biz. It takes persistance, drive, self motivation, confidence... I could go on for days. So, the 3 foot rule... Nah.
Also, look at what attracted YOU to the opportunity or product and duplicate it. I don't mean using the cookie cutter websites that your company supplies for $50 a month, I mean write it out, trim it down and show people that you truly care about their future.
Most Important, be a Leader. That's about all I have to say about that. You never hear in history about the guy that was in the calvary, you always hear about the General, or the President.. Be that guy!
This was just a few things, I know.. you've heard it all before.. Try using and applying it.. Might just work for ya.
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Post by rakar on Jan 5, 2009 17:02:20 GMT
This is very true. I feel the the majority of ill-will towards MLMs is that most of the time that we are presented them by other people it's very "hit and run". Like in these forums, people want to post their links or get you to join and then forget about you.
Sincerity and belief in your business is what will make you stick out from the crowd and give you success in your venture
Right on guys. It's funny I get alot of pissed off emails for pointing out scams. I am told I am being negative. haha. Next month you will see them promoting something else that will go out of business too. I guess they don't learn 5 dollar join fee scams are well....scams.
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Post by katie on Jan 5, 2009 17:04:56 GMT
Exactly.. They see all the hype, and the one's that buy into that mess are the one's that make any Networking biz look bad. I have had the same email from the same guy with about 10 different "SCAMS" in the last 2 months. I could have reversed marketed this guy, but why in the world would I want this guy? He's gonna do the same thing and make my biz look bad.. I promote a high ticket item for a company.. I found that high ticket items are just what they are.. They are for High Rollers and not the "Get Rich Quick" moron. Also, with MRM and MLM.. The hype attracts just what it is, HYPE! I run a legitimate business, I have great people that I work with daily and I seek only the people that I think will either benefit from my programs, or products.. Not everyone.. That just shows desperation, and that is one thing that gives Network Marketing a bad name.
There are many great opportuninties out there.. but you got to get in where you fit in. Dig?
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Post by cew27 on Jan 5, 2009 17:08:06 GMT
I think, also, some companies arent very honest about the money flow in their business opportunities.
I see alot of; 'Sign up as many people as you can, and make sure they buy products. If everyone does that we'll all be millionaires!' Well, if you diagram where the money comes from, and where it goes, you can tell whether or not you are being fleeced, or if you will make money. If more than half of the companies revenue is coming from inside the company (i.e. People just buying things to benefit their upline, and hoping others will do the same), that should throw up a red flag. If the company emphesizes recruiting more than selling a product, that should be another warning sign. With one company I saw today, I had no idea what they were selling until I read the fine print. 95% of the web page was about how amazing the biz opp was.
I hear alot about 'Duplication', but when someone says that, they usually mean "Use the same method I used to recruit you, to recruit more people...oh, and sell a product once and a while." Duplication (as far as recruiting), IMHO, should be the icing on the cake, and the last thing taught to a new business owner. If you bring someone into your business, you should show them how to run a business, not just how to recruit more people and leave them clueless. I find the lack of basic economic and business principles (and ethics) being taught to people who want to start their own business a bit unnerving.
They say that 95% of people that try MLM fail. Do you think that it's set up that way so people will have to continuously recruit to get ahead? I mean, if your company requires you to recruit/maintain X people to get $Y, then the person below you will have to do that, and the person below that, and so on. Eventually, there will be someone who wont be able to get X (and at some point, it's mathematicaly impossible), and they will drop out, leaving the person above them to scramble to find a new person or drop out themselves. This could eventuallt lead to the collapse of an entire downline.
Really sorry for rambling. These are just some of the things that are slowly turning me off to MLM.
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Post by katie on Jan 5, 2009 17:19:36 GMT
You brought up some Great points cew27!
Duplication is only meant for certain areas of the business, too true. Referral Marketing is all about Duplication. Sales is, to a point, duplication.
Personal example.. I will leave the company name out of this, but it's true with more than just this company I am sure.
I really got serious about starting a home based business a few months ago. I had done much research and I set my sites on a certain product. It is a little more than most, it is worth it I believe, but nonetheless.. it's a little expensive. I looked at it, I looked at ways of marketing said product and I thought I had a bead on it. Well, I found a "distributor" that seemed to know about the product, and I decided to purchase and start a distributorship. I asked many questions about the product to the person that signed me up and the most I could get out of this person was, " Oh, they're great products..." Ok.. I started to get a little worried. SO, when I asked.. what should I do to market the product.. I got, " Buy some leads..." Well, that did it. I officially knew more than the guy that brought me in. I had studied the products, and I knew that buying leads is about like throwing cash money in a dung heap. But guess what, I was stupid and did it! Now don't get me wrong, I made 2 really good relationships of the leads, and I have since helped them with success and I understand now why, but still.. I was out a nice little chunk of change.
Next, I was told to go to the "Training Calls"! HA!! It was the same scripted mess every morning and you could tell that these people knew as much about sales as I did about giving birth.. absolutely NOTHING. Their idea of training, wasn't the product.. it was, buy leads, call people, call more, get them to the Q and A call. Ok.. That had to have been the funniest call I have ever heard. I honestly sat there and listened to it for about 3 days. I wanted to hear it again. It's so funny, I mean You could almost see them reading this script over and over.. and when someone would ask them a question that threw them off.. IT WAS HILARIOUS.. They would say something like , "That's a Great Question.. " and then they would hand it over to the other "Leader" on the call. You know, when someone stalls a question, ask another right after, watch them squirm.
The whole system was not product based. The product should be first. I have since laid down my distributorship, but I do promote the products. That's It. I don't Sell opportunity on this. If I do, I am sure not going to send them to this call, unless they are brain dead.
Sorry, It came over me when I was reading Patricks post. What I have found about the folks I deal with on a daily basis are good people. They want something better for their lives. Companies prey on them with flashy presentations and claims of $$$ that can be obtained,with patience and proper training. The last part is always in fine print, as Patrick stated. The failure rate is based on those people. Not because of the company, or the opp... I would honestly rather spend all day training one person than spending 3 days recruiting 100!
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