Residual Income Secrets from a Home Business Legend

You got attracted to the home business industry for its “sipping out of a coconut money” and walk away residual income.  How has that worked out for you?  Are you living that lifestyle yet?  Don't worry.  Neither are most network marketers. 

The advertisements showed cars, yachts, and beaches, but the masses are still scrambling to afford beer and peanuts. Why is that?  Was it all a lie? Are the whispers true?  Network marketing really is just a scam? 

Nope!  It's just that most people involved in MLM focus on recruiting not retention.  But retention is where the money is!

This Wednesday industry legend Diane Hochman shows you her simple secrets to CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT… More using a few simple tools and fun techniques.

The secret to residual income is NOT getting em...its KEEPING them.

Do not miss this totally FREE webinar!

Wed, Jun 14, 2017 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM CDT.

Register here! 

See you there!

Get The Facts About MLM!

MLM, otherwise known as Network Marketing.  It's illegal.  It's a pyramid scheme.  It's a scam.  Nobody ever makes any money. 

So-called network marketing "opportunities" have been shut down by the government for taking advantage of people who just want to build a decent future for their families.  Others have been forced to pay huge fines just to keep from being shut down or having their owners sent to jail. 

I'm sure you've heard all of this, and more, about the MLM industry.  But is it all really true?  Let's get the facts about MLM.

First I should tell you I have been involved in the industry for over 20 years.  So I would say I have some experience in the business.  Yes, I have made money - GOOD money!  No I am not a millionaire.  Nor do I pretend to be.  And before you use that fact to justify one more "fact" about network marketing, let me tell you that it's my own fault that I'm not.  You see I once believed all those "facts."  I had gotten involved in a business opportunity out of pure desperation.  But because I always felt like it wasn't a "real" business, that I was somehow doing something unethical or even illegal, I didn't actually do any work to be successful for many years. 

Fortunately, through research and experience, I learned differently.  I now know that there is nothing illegal, unethical or immoral about it.  The truth is that it's a great business model that gives everyone - even the "little guy" a true shot at financial freedom.  So let me give you the REAL facts about MLM.

1.  It's not a pyramid scheme.  Sure pyramid schemes do exist.  And there are plenty of scams to be found online.  But you can find scams and schemes anywhere that dishonest people think they can make a quick dollar without actually having to work for it. These companies do eventually get caught and shut down - with all the requisite publicity.  But for every one of them, there are hundreds if not thousands of legitimate, reputable network marketing companies.  MLM companies have real products that representatives are encouraged to sell.  In fact, we have to sell them or we don't make any money. So yes, you will be expected to make sales.  MLM companies sell everything from cosmetics, clothes, and jewelry to skin care, weight loss, and nutritional products to cookware, travel, and phone plans.  In fact, you can purchase almost anything you buy at your local mall through an MLM or direct sales company.  The only difference is that when you purchase from a MLM rep, you are helping to put food on the table of someone JUST LIKE YOU instead of adding more money to the bottom line of a major corporation. And in many cases the products are of a much higher quality and a much lower cost than what is sold in your local department store.  (More about how that's possible at a later date).

2.  Anyone can make a decent living with an MLM business.  It all depends on how hard you want to work.  It's just like any other business.  If I open a restaurant, or a childcare service, or a flower shop and then don't promote my business and don't try to sell my products or services, I am not going to make any money.  I might sell a little bit to family and friends, but if I don't advertise and market and look for new customers every day, I won't be successful.  And you have to be willing to learn how to do that effectively.  There's good marketing and very bad marketing.  Why do you think every franchise makes all of their new owners do things the way they want?  Because they have found out what works.  In network marketing, you won't be told what you have to do.  It's your business.  But you will be offered lots of opportunities to learn.

3.  You will be expected to recruit others into the business.  Yes, we get bonuses for recruiting other reps.  But if you think we can live off that without product sales, you are sadly mistaken.  And where do you think the money comes from to pay those bonuses anyway?  Product sales! 

Is it hard to recruit others?  Not once you learn how to do it properly.  Do you REALLY have to?  No.  You can be content with what you make on your own product sales.  But this is where one of the big benefits of network marketing comes in.  It's called LEVERAGE.  Say I have to make 10 sales to make $1000.  That means I have to find 10 new customers for every $1000 I make.  If I'm making $10,000 a month, that's 1000 new customers I have to find EVERY MONTH! 

Now suppose I have recruited 5 people on my team.  I still get $1000 for every 10 sales I make.  But I also get $200 for every 10 sales my team makes.  So suppose we have a really good month and we all made 1000 sales.  Instead of $10,000, I now have made $110,000.  With no more work on my part than it took to make $10,000.  And if something happens and I am sick or I have a family emergency and can't make my 10 sales, I will still earn some income from the sales my team made. Will I always make that kind of money?  No.  Just like any other business, there will be good months and bad ones.  You will have go-getters on your team who will make lots of sales and you will have some that don't do anything.  But the potential is there.  And the bigger your team, the greater the opportunity for money!

By the way, the concept of leverage has made lots of companies very wealthy.  Think about McDonald's.  Do you think they would be the company they are today if they didn't get a piece of the pie from every McDonald's franchise out there?  Same concept.

4.  You will be expected to pay an enrollment fee.  You are buying a business.  Do you think that McDonald's gave away those franchises for free?  This is a legitimate business model.  Expect to treat it like one!  How much?  That depends on the company.  I have seen as low as $30 to as high as several thousand.  The wonderful thing is that there are companies with enrollment fees to fit almost any budget.  Some companies even have a range of prices, depending on what you want and can afford. 

5.  This is your own business.  You will be subject to taxes and laws just like any other business.  Your company will provide you with materials and training but you will be expected to do your own marketing and recruiting.  They will probably have some ground rules that tell you what you can and can't do when representing them.  Things like no fraudulent claims, or charging more for enrollment fees than the company dictates.  If you expect to grow very large, you will have to learn all the things it takes to manage a business.

6.  You can work at your own pace.  Many of us started part-time until we built a large enough business that we could just work it full-time.  There are no quotas to meet.  Only your paycheck which will directly reflect the amount of work you put in.  There are no set hours.  When I started, I worked rotating shifts so sometimes I worked my business during the day.  And sometimes I worked while most others were sleeping.  Not always easy back then.  Today, with the internet, you can learn how to be promoting your products and business 24/7...even while you sleep.

7.  You don't need a big office or special equipment or certain skills.  Most of us started out of our homes.  I worked mostly from my living room or bedroom.  And all it takes is your kit from your company and effort.  A computer or smart phone makes things easier, but I didn't have any of those when I started.  Heck they didn't even exist!  (Oops, did I just give away my age?!)  Anyone can do this.  I have an 18 year old college student on my team.  And I have a 74 year old grandmother.  And every age in between.  I have stay at home moms, lawyers, teachers, a hairdresser, a fitness instructor, and even a used-car salesman on my team.  Anyone can do this if they are willing to work and learn.

8.  This is a real business.  Which means you will qualify for all of those home business tax deductions!

9.  The income potential is limitless.  You can make as much or as little as you choose.  It all depends on the amount of time and effort you put into building your team and your business.  The network marketing industry has created more millionaires than any other industry.  Can you be one of them?  That depends on you!

10.  MLM will give you freedom.  Financial freedom.  Time freedom.  And that is more important to me than the fact that I'm not a millionaire - yet!  I have time to spend with my family.  Time to enjoy the things I want to do.  And time to keep building my business so that one day I too will be a network marketing millionaire!

So Just How Clever Are Those Network Marketing Rockstars?

Do all successful network marketing leaders know something that we don't know? Are there certain insider systems that only the heavy hitters know which haven't been disclosed?        

News Flash: MLM leaders do not have some kind of hidden secret that they share within a clandestine order of other MLM leaders.

What they have got in common is how they have got to where they are right now. And just how did they get there?        

Their business is a business - which sounds easy. They know that starting and managing a business successfully is a major matter. Everything they do to push and move their business along they treat as an investment in their future financial security, even if at first they only make a small amount of money! These people are what are referred to as entrepreneurs. That's the secret they share. They're industrious, stalwart, patient and insistent.        

 Network marketing leaders start at the beginning with a goal under consideration. They know exactly where they are going and have plans to get there.

They have written goals and a written plan. And they are realistic enough to understand that success is not going to happen overnight.

They are ready to work hard and do whatever is necessary and suitable to achieve success.

Moneymaking network marketing enterprises do take a long time to build, and the top producers had the experience to understand when the right opportunity was presented to them, and then they put all their efforts into it. Endurance pays. Forget the percentages. Forget the reversals, just learn from them.

MLM leaders work tough. Many of them say they telecommute, but regularly spend many days off from home.

Most of them like to give the impression that they do not work very hard, when in fact they eat, live and breathe their enterprises.

The most outstanding leaders in the sector understand that recruiting and sponsoring is the basic way to earn money, therefore they can spend eighty to 90 of their time prospecting. That's the whole network marketing business structure.

You get paid for selling goods, and there's only so much product you can sell yourself, so by having a large team of distributors beneath you also selling products, you are leveraging those other people's time to your benefit.

Have you got what it takes to become an MLM leader? "Of course I do", you say. But think about that.

Do you have the tenacity to invest your time and spend perhaps five years creating a business? Are you dedicated enough to commit your time each day towards promoting and moving your business forward?

Do you have a destination under consideration? A goal? How about a written plan?

How does you propose to sell the products, service and business opportunity and train your new team to do the same?

What will you do if the economy takes a dip or if your company shuts their doors? What's your plan B?

It would seem that if there is a secret to becoming a top network marketing leader, it's knowing how to be a business person. These people will overcome all stumbling blocks to achieve success. Their main focus is always on marketing and improving their firms. On a day-to-day basis they will be preparing or promoting their opportunity to others and planning maybe a year ahead.

The best MLM leaders are concerned about the success of their groups too.  They understand that their down line's success can benefit everyone concerned.        

Are you an entrepreneur, and could you shoulder this responsibility?

If you think you have what it takes, let's talk.  Click here and we'll schedule a time to see if you could be the next network marketing rockstar.  Who knows?  I might even ask you to join my team!

Am I Able To Make Cash with an MLM Home Based Business?

A question from a subscriber prompted today's blog post.  Am I REALLY able to make money with a network marketing home based business?  YES!

Each day legions of people decide to start their own home based MLM businesses.

It costs very little to start up, there is not much risk involved, and the business model has been proven to work - and work well.

What You Need to Know about Beginning an MLM Business from Home

If you would like to know the hard facts about MLM, there are lots of points to consider.

If a sponsor tells you that you will get rich quick, this isn't true. You will have to work really hard at the beginning to build your business. True, a successful sponsor who has been in the business for many years might have forgotten all the hours of labor involved when starting. But I promise you, if they are successful, they did the work.  You must be prepared to do so also.

There are only roughly thirty MLM companies which have been around for more time than about ten years. There's definitely not much wrong with the business model as these thirty or so companies have proved. The ones that failed either didn't set up their businesses correctly in the beginning or were using questionable business practices.

The ones that failed did so for two main reasons. The major reason for failing is the quality or desirability of the product, and the second reason is usually that the compensation plan did not work.

MLM Home Based Business Due Diligence

Prior to starting any MLM home based business you must inspect the company's compensation plan rigorously. Understand it completely and raise questions. Understand the system that they use. Many compensation plans have names like matrix and binary, so be certain that you understand exactly what these terms mean.

Inspect the product. Raise questions and investigate whether it is well publicized, and ask yourself if it is something that is of high quality and not something that may be bought less expensive from a local store. Also, what is the likelihood or recurring orders?  Is the product a consumable that will be reordered regularly?  Will people wish to buy the product in 10 years time? If they do not, then the product and your business will both vanish. Is the product line constantly being updated with new products to keep current with market demand?   

If you have a company to mind, get on forums and find other people to chat to who work for that company.

You'll have to look out for people who've failed though. The attrition rate is particularly high in any MLM business, usually because people think they are going to earn money from the first day, or they don't put in any effort.  When these people fail, they can become very vocal about claiming the company or the business model itself is a scam. Rather than admit their own failure to do the work necessary, they have a tendency to look for something or someone to blame.   

What It All Comes Down To

If you would like a successful home-based MLM business you will have to work diligently, find out about your product and company and commit lots of time to your business. It's very important that you find out everything about the business before investing your precious money and valuable time into it.

It's also necessary that you've a business plan, which should ideally include a sales and marketing plan, one for the product and one marketing your opportunity even before you sign that check. There are two ways to earn money in MLM. One is to sell product. The other is to sign up others to do exactly the same as you.

If you don't have a plan, you will never make it happen.

Essentially lead generation is going to be the most time-consuming part of your MLM business. Are you capable of building a domain and do you understand internet based marketing? Do you know how to push traffic to your website?

How are you going to advertise? Will you take part in a company or a team financed advertising cooperative? How much are you willing to invest in your business? How much time are you prepared to provide your downline team in the way of coaching and advice?    

All these questions must be addressed during your due diligence and done long before you sign on the dotted line. This preliminary investigation and fact finding will be the most significant difference between owning a successful MLM home business or one of the many that fails within a few months.

Do you need more network marketing tips?  Sign up for my newsletter!  And get a Facebook Ad cheat sheet just for subscribing!

Are you looking for a great network marketing opportunity?  Check out the company I work with.

MLM Attraction Marketing Revealed

MLM attraction marketing is a web phenomenon that has become increasingly popular over the past several years. Before this time, online marketing had followed a simple pattern - marketing consultants running after shoppers and trying to make them subscribe to the services that they were promoting or to get the products that they were selling on their business websites.

Because these marketers were all competing for the attention of the same individuals, the method could frequently be very daunting and was seldom terribly profitable.

But MLM attraction marketing has made dramatic changes in the industry. Rather than marketing pros having to follow folks to buy products or promote their business sites, these people now work to brand themselves and attract their clients straight to them, instead of to their business website. Imagine!  Branding yourself instead of your current company or products! (If you don't understand why that's important, hop on over to my website and get on my newsletter.  Branding is one of my favorite subjects)     

Basically, the marketing expert is the brand - not the company that he's employed for or its products, but the marketing pro himself.

So how do you go about enticing people to yourself and your private brand? You start by considering what pulls you to other people. You are interested in people who show they are truly interested in you and they actually care about you; people who show they're concerned about your problems and troubles, and who have something to offer you that may really enhance your life. So this is what you must become, so that others will be drawn to you. You build your private brand by forming relationships, and by providing answers to the issues, issues and concerns of those with whom you have got the relations.

If you're building your business offline, the same elements apply but you are usually limited as to how many new relations you can form and maintain simply thanks to a shortage of time.

But online, using the world-wide reach of the internet, there aren't any such limits!  You can build and maintain relationships with hundreds, even thousands of people around the planet using state of the art communication technolies.

Think e-mail autoresponders. Offer something of value like a free 5 day bootcamp or other value-based content in return for their contact info. Then simply follow up over a period of time. Provide phenomenal worth and, over time , your new contacts will come to know, like and trust you as the leader they are trying to find and may finally join your business.

So where do you get all this value content, bootcamps and webinars to attract your target market? There are two realistic decisions.

You can create your own content, publish it and promote it. And each top level marketeer will ultimately do this at some level. Or you can invest in one of many mlm attraction marketing systems now available and use the content they provide.

This is commonly a smarter choice, especially at the beginning, because you can gain immediate access to complete training webminars, bootcamp series and even software manuals produced by top earners. You offer this good quality content free and it brands you as being an individual of value.

One of the lessons that online marketers have learnt from experience is that it is tough to succeed when everyone seems to be doing a similar thing. The sole way to succeed is to differentiate yourself and stick out from the crowd. MLM attraction marketing systems are so powerful is that they enable you to do exactly that.

Failure or Success?

There are three main reasons why home based businesses fail:
1. Poor planning
2. Poor marketing
3. Poor management

According to a report I read recently, over 90% of all network marketers, affiliate marketers or other work-at-home business people quit within the first year. Then they proceed to go out and tell everyone they know that you can't make money with a home business. It drives me crazy when I think how many people could have been successful with just a little planning, training, and time management.

If you think you have the idea for the next great business, or you've found the perfect MLM, or an excellent affiliate program - GREAT! Now, before you do anything else, write your plan. If your business is already somewhat established such as a network marketing, MLM, or affiliate program, much of that is already done for you. But you still need to plan how you are going to build YOUR team or downline or customer base or opt-in list. If you are actually looking a starting your own unique business then get a business plan template (most banks will give you one for free) and write your business plan.

82% of businesses fail due to poor cash flow or by starting out with too little money. Make sure you look at the money involved in starting your business. Many network marketing and MLM opportunities say they cost little or nothing to join. That may be true. They neglect to tell you that you have to spend hundreds of dollars each month to purchase products in order to make any money. Don't be like a friend of mine who joined a MLM company and quit her job two days later because she was going to make a fortune! Needless to say, she is back at work, in debt, and very bitter about the whole MLM industry. Could she be at home today making a decent living from this company? Possibly. But she did not consider all of the financial costs involved with successfully marketing an MLM opportunity and had nothing to fall back on until she built a business.

So you wrote your plan. You examined the financial costs of your business. You have the cash to make this work. You have a source of income or some savings put aside to live on until you start bringing in enough income to live on. You're on your way to success. Wait a minute! What was that second reason most businesses fail? Something about marketing? Oh well, it can't be that important. After all, it's Avon (or Melaleuca, or Herbalife, or Tupperware, or even Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing). I'm an affiliate for SBI! (or Amazon or Iris Silks or the Internet Marketers Club). Don't they do all that marketing stuff for me?

It's true you can capitalize off the name recognition of many of these companies. Do you think that fact that Fortune markets for companies like AT&T, DishTV, and Travelocity helps me when I talk about the business? Sure it does. But I still need to let people know what it is I do. That's marketing! If you are not doing anything to promote yourself and your business, it WILL fail. Every evening, I write down a list of things I need to do the next day. I always include at least 1 thing I can do to promote my business. You should be doing the same thing. If you don't know how to market, there are lots of great books and resources available to help you learn. The first marketing books I ever read were Guerrilla Marketing and Marketing on a Shoestring. I can't even remember who wrote them but I remember and still use much of what they taught me.

Okay - business plan, marketing - now you're all set. Right? Maybe. Don't forget the last reason so many home businesses fail - poor management. I know you're thinking "what's to manage? It's just me." Sometimes managing yourself can be more difficult than you realize. Learning to manage your time and available resources effectively can be hard. Read some of my earlier posts about treating your business like a business for more insight and don't start out on the wrong path like I did. It's much easier to develop good habits from the beginning than it is to change bad ones.

Plan, market, manage. Or as I've heard it put from so many of my colleagues and mentors - Plan your work. Work your plan. Failure or success? The choice is yours.

Treat Your Business Like a Business

So you have decided that this is the year to start your home based business. Great! Working from home is a great way to be in charge of your own life and make the kind of money you've always dreamed of. It's been life-changing for me. I work when I want to work and relax when I want to relax. Of course, that caused problems of its own when I first started working from home. When you start working from home, especially if you are working in network marketing or MLM, people will not consider it a real business. When I first started and was struggling to make a living, my own husband would ask me how much longer I was going to stay home and play instead of finding a "real" job. You have to remind everyone that you are serious about this. It IS a real business! And you have to be sure you treat it that way if you expect others to take you seriously. Don't think you can invest in a business, pay the startup fees or enrollments fees, and then just sit back and watch it grow. You have to work your business like you would a "traditional" business.

There are some ways to be sure you do this. First, make yourself a schedule each week. Having set hours for working your business will help ensure you actually work on your business. It doesn't have to be 9-5 Monday through Friday. I'm an early morning/late evening person so I do a lot of work between 5:00 - 8:00am and 9:oopm - midnight.

Second, let everyone know what you are doing. You have to promote your business. If you are uncomfortable telling your friends that you are doing network marketing or MLM, perhaps you need to take a second look at your choice of home businesses. If you believe in your business don't be ashamed of it.

Third, dress to go to work. Every morning before I go to my home office, I shower, dress, put on makeup, fix my hair - all just to walk down the hall from my bedroom to my computer. I feel much more professional when dressed for "work" and that attitude of professionalism comes across in my phone calls and other interactions. When you have a meeting with a potential client or dowline member, be sure to dress appropriately then also. Too many times I've gone with downline members to presentations and have been surprised at their appearance. They've invited all their friends to tell them about our wonderful opportunity and so they show up in jeans and a tee shirt or scuffed shoes and stained pants. How are you going to convince your friends that this is the opportunity they've been looking for if you still look like you always did? How will you convince a potential client to take a chance on you if you don't look clean and polished and put together? You don't have to wear designer suits or expensive jewelry. Just be neat, clean, professional, and confident.

Treat your home business like a business! Work hard, don't give up. If you do, you WILL find success! Remember, it's not going to happen overnight. But develop some business discipline now and work on your goals every day. Soon, you'll be working from your laptop on a beach while your unbelieving friends are still tied to their JOBS!