I Know Some REALLY Smart People!

I have so many really smart people as friends.  People that have learned a thing (or three) about building a meaningful and profitable business.


I asked these clever folks a question.  "What's your best biz tip?"


Today I'm sharing their answers.  Lots of good stuff here!


"Be willing to do stuff most won't do...which starts with being willing to BE who most others won't be.  One other...let go of the need of anyon's approval." - Larry Hochman


"Be consistent, show up everyday, do things that make you uncomfortable." - Rhonda Clark


"Stay alive one more day!" - Ken McArthur


"Never stop learning and growing." - Brian Basilico


"Create and maintain a great network of friends...especially giving, thoughtful ones." - Mary Eileen Williams


"Be coachable!" - Robin Smith


"Make self care the highest priority." - Wendy Y Bailey


"Pay attention to details and what your customers are telling you." - Steve Abshier


"Give away as many small valuable gifts (as perceived by others) as you possible can daily.  Givers get rewarded and givers make sales." - Rob Canyon


"Write your own script, in your life and in your work." - Shelley Krehbiel


"Have a plan, then work to bring that plan to reality.  Don't get sidelined by unexpected happenings." - Bea Kunz


"Focus on what makes you happy.  Give 100% and understand that you can't do it all.  You have to pick and choose." - Brian G. Johnson


"Love yourself, love others, respect each other's unique qualities." - Heidi Caswell


"Show up and be YOU.  Have an attitude of service." - Felicia Slattery


"Go the extra mile for your clients and they'll share your helpfulness for miles." - Joyce Mason


"I believe the greatest success comes from strong relationships that we build personally and professionally.  Truly caring for others and living your life with the highest integrity within those relationships." - Julene Franz (Hello Gorgeous! of HOPE Inc)


"Two things: have a plan written (yearly, monthly, weekly, daily)...and consistently stick to the DMO until you have gotten a certain level of result before trying to be fancy shmancy.  (Hint: talk to people, talk to people, talk to people...also known as master the basics."  Jennifer Roopenian


"Never give up." - Richard Weiler


"Whatever you are doing, find the 'why'.  If it isn't a big enough 'why', look deeper until you find it.  Your 'why' is your motivating and driving force." - Andy W Shepherd


"Margin is as vital as Momentum." - Carrie Owensby Wilkerson


"Start with a plan...put it in writing, add a timeline and get started!  Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today to get you closer to reaching your goals." - Heidi Richards Mooney


"Communicate genuinely." - Kerry Stricker


"Look at every opportunity to promote your business." - Joyce Holden Wheeler


"And of course, this doesn't just apply to your life...but to your business also.  Good to keep it in mind! 'Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing on one's own sunshine...'  Ralph Waldo Emerson." - Penelope Jane Whiteley


"Choose to do one thing each that will make a difference in YOUR life and the life of another." - Heshie Segal


"One quote that has always served me well is 'If it is to be, it's up to me.'  Just roll up your sleeves and do it!" - Linda Gracy


"Put your dreams above your fears, draw your line in the sand and know that failure is not an option.  You got this!!!" - Lynn Allen-Johnson


"Truly love and care about your prospects and customers.  Develop intimate relationships and listen closely to them with your heart.  Find out their problems or their pain, and offer them real solutions.  People don't care how much you know...until they know how much you care!" - Jeannie Levinson


So...I'm sure you were expecting all sorts of advice on how to market, or where to advertise.  Does it surprise that most of these tips - all from entrepreneurs that are at the top of their professions - have more to do with mindset, relationships, and communication than actual skills?  These are the things that will make or break your business.  I can teach you the skills.  But the rest has to come from within you!


Ready to get your mindset straight?  Join us on our daily wakeup call!  Monday - Friday.  11:00am EST.  512-807-0222.  See ya there!  And if you want to hang out where many of these cool people hang out, here is where we are!

Make Your Home Office Family Friendly

One of the reasons you chose to work from home was to spend more time with your family, am I right?  Perhaps you were working outside the home and began to resent those lost hours to the point you were getting jealous and angry. You are not alone. Many people find a work-at-home situation soothes the stress they were feeling and is the ideal solution for their family life.

Creating a family friendly home office is one of the tasks you have in front of you. It is a delicate balance to try to achieve. On the one hand, you need to get your work done. On the other hand, you want to enjoy your family. Is there a way to do both? Let's take a look at some suggestions.

Cozy

Nothing says relax like a big comfy sofa. It also serves as a 'magnet' to draw the kids together in one cozy area away from your desk. Have blankets and pillows handy for short naps or cuddling. Invite the family in after school to relax and catch up on their day. For pre-school children, keep a box of toys and books handy to keep them busy while you wrap up loose ends. If your home office isn't large enough for a sofa, throw down a rug with a couple bean bag chairs or big pillows. The object here is to have an inviting place to welcome your family into your surroundings, but still separated from your work area.

Busy

Put a coffee table or small kitchen table and some good lighting in your office separate from your desk to make a homework spot for your school age kids. Use the same idea for your pre-school children and include lots of art supplies so your young children can 'work' while you do. If room isn't available for a table, get out those old TV tables you have stored and put them to good use, then fold them and store them away again until needed.

Food

Snacks and beverages are especially important when kids arrive home from school. Children are hungry after a long day, and hunger creates unhappiness. Rather than leave your office to fix them something in the kitchen, have a small supply of snacks and drinks ready in your office space. Consider having a small refrigerator in your office to complete the welcoming feeling, and for convenience. Serve snacks picnic style for fun and your kids will know they can relax and enjoy their food in your company.

Rules

Having a family friendly office does not mean there are no rules involved. There will be times when you will need your office to yourself, and this needs to be made clear from the beginning. If you have a set schedule, you can post your hours on the door for all to see. You may want to have a 'Welcome' mat to put outside the door when everyone can come in, relax and visit. Save work that doesn't need a lot of concentration for those 'family times.' Be clear about the rules and arrange your work time so you can enjoy your office and family both.

 

Isolating yourself in your office and making it totally off-limits to your family may not be what you had in mind when you decided to work at home. If that's the case, you will want to create a home office that is, at least at times, open for visiting. Take time to enjoy the reason you decided to work from home - your family!

Site Structure Basics Every Service Provider’s Site Must Have

Once you have your domain and hosting, and you’ve installed your theme, it’s time to figure out your site structure. For a service provider’s website, that structure typically consists of a few “standard” pages:

• Home – or the front page of your site


• About – where you talk about yourself


• Testimonials – good things previous clients have to say about you


• Services – what you do and for whom you do it


• Contact – how potential customers can get in touch with you


• Blog – where you create content potential clients need to know

Your Home page should let readers know instantly what your site is about. When a new visitor lands on your site, you have only seconds to tell him or her what your business does, so make sure it’s very clear by creating a short, meaningful tagline, using graphics wisely, and prominently displaying your site navigation, so visitors can find what they really need.

Next to your home page, probably the most read page on your site is the About page. For a service provider, it’s important to share a little about you, but even more about what you DO. Don’t make the mistake of telling the world that you’re a stay-at-home mom or that you’re only doing this to earn some money while you look for a real job. Keep it professional, with just a touch of personality thrown in. And don’t forget to include a photo of you.

Next, it’s important to include a services page, so visitors can see exactly what you do. A simple list is fine. Keep in mind that it’s often better to show your expertise in one area than to have a list of 101 things you can do. Potential customers want to know that you’re an expert, not a “Jane of all trades,” so don’t worry that your services list is too short.

You’ll also want to provide a variety of ways people can reach you. On your contact page, it’s a good idea to include a form they can fill out. Contact Form 7 is a flexible, free plugin for WordPress that does the trick nicely. Include an email address as well, and if you can, a phone number. Potential clients will find you much more trustworthy if they know they can reach you by email or phone.

Finally, if you are going to blog on your site, make the commitment to consistency. The last thing you want is for visitors to find an abandoned blog on your site. It will only make it look like you’re no longer in business.
 
One more word about your blog – keep in mind who your audience is. Chances are, it’s not other service providers, so avoid writing blogs about how to get clients, how to market your site, and how to learn new skills. Instead, write about topics of interest to your ideal client. And remember, you don’t have to have a blog to have a successful website, but it is a great marketing tool if you use it correctly.

How to Effectively Handle Any Objection

If you are in network marketing, or any business, you will receive objections from prospective team members and customers. Learning to handle them effectively can determine whether you sponsor a prospect or not. For instance, the “pyramid scheme” is an objection I hear all the time. I didn’t know how to answer it until I discovered this quote – and the answer to the pyramid objection.

 

“I am often asked if Network Marketing is a Pyramid Scheme. My reply is that corporations really are pyramid schemes. A corporation has only one person at the top, generally the CEO, and everyone else below.” – Donald Trump

 

I love Donald Trump’s response to the question of pyramid schemes. I admit I never thought of corporations that way until I read this quote. But he is right. I used to work for a major corporation. At the top was the president of the company. Below him were several vice presidents. Below each of them were several directors. And below each of them were several department

managers, who each had several department supervisors below them. And finally below the supervisors were hundreds of regular employees. No matter how hard I worked, I would never make as much as the president, or the vice presidents, or the directors, managers, or even the supervisors. I might eventually get

promoted to supervisor, but only if a supervisor also got promoted or left and created an opening. But in network marketing I can go as high as I want, and without having to wait for the person above me to leave an opening.

So, now I have a thorough answer to the objection, and can even pull from my own experience. Learning to handle objections effectively is critical to your business success. Often the way a prospect responds to you will depend on how you respond to their objections. If you are evasive or defensive, don’t have an answer to their questions, or try to minimize their concerns instead of addressing them, all you are doing is reinforcing their fears that somehow network marketing is wrong. I had to learn this lesson the hard way through trial and error. Fortunately, you get to learn from my mistakes.

There are tips and techniques for handling specific objections. However, there are some basic rules that apply no matter what the objection is. Use them and you will be able to handle any objection a prospect throws at you.

The Rules

The rules I’m going to share should be universally applied to all
objections, including the ones listed here in this book. They will serve as a foundation for the advice I’m going to give you, but should also be mastered as a technique you apply to all objections. That way, even when you run into an objection that isn’t covered here, you’ll be ready to face it head on.

1.  Listen! Let them ask their question or voice their objection completely before you respond. It’s important that you really hear what they are saying. And while you are listening to the words, also listen to tone and inflection. Observe body language. Often the objection they are voicing is not the real problem at all. If you can determine that and answer the underlying issue, you have won a new recruit. These people are looking for what you have. If you don’t listen to them and give them a voice, they will find someone who will.

2.  Confirm that you heard what was said. This may require you to

repeat/reflect what is being said and ask questions. You can do this by paraphrasing what was said and then asking questions to clarify. “What I’m hearing is….” “Is this what you mean?” Or you can repeat the objection or question exactly as stated by your prospect to confirm that you were listening.


3.  Validate their concerns without giving approval of the objection. Show that you understand their objections and then ask how you can make them feel more comfortable and at ease. Handle the objection. Now that your prospect knows that you have heard his concerns and are genuinely interested in trying to help him, he will be much more receptive to what you have to say. Now is the time to address the specific objection. Remember, most objections are really indications of an underlying fear. Handle the objection, and probe for the fear that is the root. Then address the fear.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase, “Hindsight is 20-20.”

Unfortunately, it’s usually after you’ve given the wrong response (or a wide variety of wrong ones) that you realize what you should have said. My aim is to help eliminate that learning curve for you so you can get right down to doing what you’ve set out to do – earn money and change lives.

 

Action step:

If you do not have good listening and communication skills, now is
the time to strengthen them. Take training in effective listening
and communication.

 

Excerpted from my book:  "Getting to Yes:  Overcoming Network Marketing Objections

 

 

 

 

  

I'm Sharing the Secret of My Success

When I first started reading about personal attraction and "The Secret" and "The Attractor Factor", I was extremely skeptical.  Who really believes you can simply attract what you want in your life solely by making your intentions known and then waiting for it to come to you?  Of course, there is much more to it than that. 

When I started in network marketing, I did all the things my upline told me to do.  I held business presentations everywhere I could.  I bought leads and followed up with each of them.  I handed out DVDs and CDs that talked about the business opportunity.  I went to networking events and handed out business cards to everyone who would take one.  All of this effort made me a grand total of $35.46 a month.  Yeah!  I was actually making money for the first time.  But not enough to meet my needs.  I needed to find a better way.

And so I started researching to find who actually was making REAL money in network marketing.  I mean 6-figures or better.  Sure, just about everyone in my upline was making more than me.  Who couldn't make more than $35.46?!  But how many network marketers were making $100,000 a year or more?  Actually, more than I expected.  And not one of them was doing the things my upline was telling me to do.  But what were they doing?  Well, today we call it attraction marketing.  They were somehow instinctively following the rules of attraction marketing before it even had a name.

 

Rule #1:  Provide Value!

These 6-figure earners shared their knowledge and provided value.  If you were lucky enough to be in their circle, they would teach you what they knew.  Even if you weren't on their team. This made them valuable.  And people want to be around others who are valuable.  And if you're looking for a business to join and a leader to follow, where will you look?  To the people who provide value!

Rule #2:  Have a Goal!

These leaders all had goals.  They knew exactly what they wanted and they were laser-focused on getting it.  How can you move ahead if you don't know where you are going?




Rule #3:  Be Confident in Your Business and Products!

All of these success stories were extremely self-confident.  They didn't hesitate at all to share their business opportunity or products if they knew it could help someone else.  Would you buy a car from a salesperson who didn't show confidence it would run?  If you don't have confidence in your business or products, it may be time to look at something else.

Rule #4:  Be Positive and Upbeat!

The leaders I met were always upbeat, positive, and optimistic.  In fact, sometimes it was a bit annoying.  Who can be that cheerful all the time?  Well as it turns out, no one.  Even they had moments when they were a bit down.  The difference is they didn't share that publicly and they very quickly talked themselves out of it.  Who wants to be around someone that is always negative and angry? 

Rule #5:  Have Respect!

These leaders had respect - for themselves and for those around them.  They took care of themselves, their families, their friends, and their team.  They didn't make excuses - and they didn't accept them either.  They took care of their business.

I didn't know about these rules back then.  I had no confidence in network marketing.  I still considered it somewhat sleazy, not a real business at all.  I had no goals.  Not really.  Just make more money.  I was stressed from trying to make a living and care for my family and care for my father.  Because of this I was often rude, angry, depressed, and would quickly unload on anyone unfortunate enough to ask me how I was on a bad day.  I had little self-respect and my appearance showed it most of time.  I would wear whatever was handy at the moment when I headed out the door to work.  I was only going to work.  Who cared what I looked like?  So what if I was doing a business presentation right after work.  My prospects would understand - wouldn't they?  And as for providing value - I knew nothing because I didn't take the time to actually learn the skills necessary.  All I did was pass along whatever came from my upline, which wasn't much.

No wonder it took me so long to become successful!!!

Thankfully, several years have passed and I have learned much since then.  I was blessed to meet some amazing mentors who took the time to teach me what I needed to know.  I'm not sure why, but they saw potential in the stressed-out mess that I was and supported and encouraged me through the process of becoming a professional network marketer.  I am forever in their debt.

I promised you the secret to success and here it is.  There is no secret.  It's as simple as following the rules listed here.

 

Provide value.  Learn the skills necessary to build your business and then share that knowledge with others freely. 

Have goals.  You have to know what you're working for.  Otherwise, how will you know when you get there?  Your goals will keep you pushing forward when everyone and everything else is telling you to quit.

Be confident in this business and your products.  If you aren't using your products, you need to start.  You can't promote what you don't use.  And if you have any doubts about the network marketing business model you need to either learn more about it so you can speak with confidence and authority or you need to consider another line of work.  This business isn't for everyone.  If you can't put your whole heart into it, walk away.

Be positive and upbeat.  Think about it.  What is the number one complaint you hear about social media today?  Too much drama!  If you know someone who is always complaining about something, do you socialize with them much?  Probably not.  People want to be around those who are encouraging and optimistic.  Most of us already have enough negativity in our lives without inviting more.

Have respect.  You are valuable.  Take care of yourself.  Eat right.  Get enough sleep.  Get enough exercise.  Allow yourself some down time to recharge and reenergize.

Your family and friends are valuable.  Don't forget them in your push to reach your goals.  Set aside time for family and socializing.  Your business will always be there in some form if you want.  Your family and friends might not.  

 

Your time is valuable.  Don't waste it on non-productive activities. 

Your team members are valuable.  Respect their time and their feelings.  Let them know you believe in them and that you won't accept excuses for their behavior.  If they will do the work, help them all you can.  But don't accept responsibility for their lack of effort.  Have enough respect for them to hold them accountable

. 

Your business is valuable.  Treat it like a genuine business.  Not a hobby.  Not something to do when you don't have anything else to do.  Schedule time each day to do something - ANYTHING - to move your business forward.

Now you have everything you need to be a network marketing success.  You just need to learn to perfect it and then to use it and then to share it. 

 


Ready?  Let's do this! 

 

 

How to Easily Create a Professional Web Presence

Probably the biggest reason so many websites are powered by WordPress or SoloBuildIt is because they're just so easy to customize. You can install a new site and make it look good in just a few minutes with the power of themes.

But you want to be careful. Remember, this is your online “storefront” so you want to make sure you offer a good first impression for potential customers.

Choosing the Right Theme

SoloBuildIt and WordPress offer thousands of freely available themes. You’ll find them in hundreds of layout variations and limitless color combinations. Some are easily customizable with point and click dashboards, and some offer special functions designed for specific business structures.

There are so many options, in fact, that many new website owners become overwhelmed just trying to choose the right theme.

Here are a few guidelines to help you make a good choice:

1. For a professional look, more white space is better. Themes that are too busy are distracting for visitors.
2. With very few exceptions, you should choose dark text on a light background.
3. Watch for links in the footer. The last thing your service provider website should do is link out to gambling or insurance sites.

Also, once you choose a theme – stick with it for a while. Constantly tweaking your theme might make you feel as if you’re accomplishing something, but in reality it’s a form of procrastination and will prevent you from getting real work done. Not only that, but if your potential customers notice that your site is changing all the time, they may think you’re not quite ready for business.

Spend Money Where it Counts

You might also choose a premium – or paid – theme. StudioPress, Elegant Themes, and Woo Themes are some of the most popular choices, and all offer beautiful, professionally designed themes at affordable prices.

If you want complete control – including the links that are in your footer – you might want to opt for a premium theme. Another purchase to consider is your header design. While most themes allow for a text only header – just your site name and tagline – a well-done graphic will have more eye appeal.

Another place you might want to spend a little money is on your content. Professionally written website copy can help with SEO and entice potential customers to trust you with their important projects.

While you certainly don’t have to spend money to create a good looking website, if your budget allows, consider investing in these three areas. You won’t regret it.

4 Ways to Effectively Advertise Your Network Marketing Business

If you have decided to enter the world of network marketing, advertising is critical.  And if you have not yet created a website, you should start thinking about it now.  Because hosting, promoting and adding quality content to your own web site or blog is the easiest way to create a killer advertising, network marketing, lead generation machine.


It's very easy to build a website today.  There are many tools available to help.  It can be as simple as a blog on Blogger or WordPress.  Or you can do something bigger with tools such as SoloBuildIt.  Yes, I know.  Many companies offer free or very inexpensive replicated websites.  Forget them!  If you have one, think about it....so does every other rep!  And unless you are a marketing whiz, it will be difficult to set your site apart from all the others that look just like it.  That's why I recommend building your own unique site.


Of course, building your site is only half the battle.  It may be easy to do and easy to use, but it will have to be promoted and advertised.  You won't get traffic to your site if you don't get out there and promote it.  If you are going to rely mainly on SEO, you may never get significant amounts of traffic.  Unless, of course, you are and SEO genius!


There are a lots of places and plenty of strategies to promote your site:


1.  Forums 


Participate in forums that allow "do follow" links. This means that every time you post on a forum related to your product or service, you can place a link to your site, and can click through and get more information.


2.  Social Media Advertising


Facebook is the current ruler of social media and if you aren't using to promote your business, you are missing out.  Facebook allows you to set up a page for your business that is separate from your profile page.  You can also promote your products on Facebook with Facebook ads.  Once you know how to create a good Facebook ad, you can reach literally millions of prospects for a very reasonable amount of money.  Facebook's ability to target the demographics best suited for your business are amazing.  When I am promoting my skin care products, I can zero right in on middle-aged women.  I can even further hone my targeting to those that are interested in all natural skin care products. 


This is huge!  Think about it!  Instead of placing an ad just out there on the internet and hoping my target market finds it, I can actually ensure it gets right in front of them.  So now I'm confident that the people I want to have eyes on my offer are actually the ones seeing it and not some teenager who thinks they will be young forever and doesn't care about skin care or a guy that thinks skin care isn't "manly". 


3.  YouTube/Video Advertising


Yes, YouTube is a social media site.  But I'm mentioning it separately because it is one of the best places for advertising your business.  And it is all about video and video is HOT right now. 


You don't need much to get started.  I do my videos right on my smartphone.  If you want to get more sophisticated, you can get a microphone and a camera.  But what's important is that with video, you can quickly brand yourself and your product.  And if you do it properly, it is one of the best places to build a following and make some sales.


4.  Article Marketing


Write informative and useful articles about your product, or about network marketing, or just marketing and business in general.  Then submit these to article sites.  My favorite is EZine Articles.  Each article will contain a "bio box" which tells a bit about you AND contains a link to your website.  So when search engines pick up the keywords in your articles, you can get tons of exposure which can result in plenty of traffic.  So make sure you are carefully selecting your keywords to reach your target market.


You need to create a network marketing advertising machine to help generate leads.  Lots and lots of leads.  Because leads are the name of the game.  These are just four ways to advertise your products or business.  There are countless others.  Some are more effective than others.  So how do you possibly learn all there is to know to make the right choices and then use that method in the most effective way?  You don't.  You use a system that has already done all that for you.  Take a look at the best marketing system I have ever seen.  One that will help you create hundreds of leads on demand and help you build your downline fast!