A Network Marketing Company That Would Suit You

Many people label everyone who joins more than one MLM company a ‘junkie’. It is true that there are junkies that goes around recruiting their friends when he tries COMPANY A, dies a natural death after a while and joins COMPANY B. He starts talking to the same friends how good COMPANY B is and always talk bad about COMPANY A. Then he quits COMPANY B after running into some struggles and joins COMPANY C, does the same thing promoting C while talking bad about A and B and goes on and on.

No. I am not teaching you to be a junkie.

I have explained in the previous posts that even the ‘best company’ in the world would not be suitable for everyone. I may LOVE supplements for my health and buy it from the ‘best health supplement opportunity in the world’ but my passion is being on the Internet! Don’t get me wrong, the supplement company would have a FANTASTIC TEAM, a SOLID COMPANY BACKGROUND, and even an UNBELIEVABLE COMPENSATION PLAN. But I prefer to sell digital products. I don’t care if I don’t get to meet or socialize as many people in person on my Internet MLM, I don’t even care if I don’t operate at an office! I am making money at my Internet MLM.

I think we get the picture now…

Here is another scenario. What do you do when you are already in one MLM and a good friend approaches you for another? Do you refuse? Remember, you must not treat your MLM business like a RELIGION. I don’t refuse because I will always find benefits in every MLM company that I join. I may like the products there. I can SHARE these products (for example, supplements) to friends who do not believe in buying on the Internet! No single company will cover the ENTIRE market so we have to be realistic. I may even join that company so I can build relationships with them and get them to try my own MLM products too! If I don’t keep an eye out for other opportunities, I don’t feel that I am a good business man. But you must FOCUS on one business, some may say. Yes, I focus on one, but I also open the door to many other potential customers too.

Always be open to new opportunities and cross sell! That’s where you put the ‘network’ in network marketing. But don’t make the mistake of joining every opportunity just to get people because it costs you time and money and only join different MLMs if you see a tangible benefit.

If you don’t make it in your first MLM, don’t despair! People make mistakes and they (hopefully) grow wiser the next time they choose again. This is what I hope for all who read this book because you must never give up when you fail the first time. Most people don’t make it in their first MLM but they might succeed in the second or third.

A Network Marketing Company That Would Suit You

There is No Such Thing as a Perfect MLM

In spite of all there that has been discussed, certain companies may claim they are the best. Different companies market different products and they all claim to be the best in their line. Each claim to be selling the best skin care, nutrition, aromatherapy, insurance programs, investment opportunities or even online digital products.

Let’s face it. There is no such thing as a perfect MLM, just as there is no such thing as a perfect church or perfect government. MLM companies are just like normal companies in the sense that there will always be management problems, staff problems, cash flow problems, shipment difficulties and product faults.

Take the skin care industry for example. There are many skin care products that have long histories, extensive research, powerful testimonials, and so on. But no matter how good the skin care is, they will not benefit EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THE PLANET. We are all different. Some has drier skin. Some are more sensitive. You can’t prescribe a drug that will cure everything for everyone.

Likewise with teams. Certain teams are more suitable for younger crowds with all the excitement and the hoopla going on. Others are for a more mature crowd. So, pick the company that best suits you.

There is No Such Thing as a Perfect MLM

I must at least try

In June 1985, two British mountaineers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates made the first-ever climb of the West Face of the 21,000 foot snow-covered Siula Grande mountain in Peru. It was an exceptionally tough assault – but nothing compared to what was to come. Early in the descent, Simpson fell and smashed his right knee. Yates could have abandoned him but managed to find a way of lowering him down the mountain in a series of difficult drops blinded by snow and cold. Then Simpson fell into a crevasse and Yates eventually had no choice but to cut the rope, utterly convinced that his friend was now dead.

In his subsequent book on the climb entitled “Touching The Void”, Joe Simpson wrote:

“As I gazed at the distant moraines, I knew that I must at least try. I would probably die out there amid those boulders. The thought didn’t alarm me. It seemed reasonable, matter-of-fact. That was how it was. I could aim for something. If I died, well, that wasn’t so surprising, but I wouldn’t have just waited for it to happen. The horror of dying no longer affected me as it had in the crevasse. I now had the chance to confront it and struggle against it. It wasn’t a bleak dark terror any more, just fact, like my broken leg and frostbitten fingers, and I couldn’t be afraid of things like that. My leg would hurt when I fell and when I couldn’t get up I would die.”

The survival of Yates himself was extraordinary. That Simpson somehow found a way of climbing out of the crevasse after 12 hours and then literally crawled and dragged himself six miles back to camp, going three days and nights without food or drink, losing three stone, and contracting ketoacidosis in the process, would be the stuff of heroic fiction if it was not so true. Indeed, six operations and two years later, he was even back climbing. All because, against all the odds, he tried …

Source: “Touching The Void” by Joe Simpson

I must at least try

How To Approach Your Prospects: Part 2

Networking Swaps

In certain business networking circles, you are able to build a list of referrals for one another even if you are in a different line of work.

There are Business networking organizations like BNI (which is one of the biggest networking organization in the world) are designed to facilitate this.

Of course, all this depends on the rapport and friendship between you and the other members.

Remember that must refer business to those other members and not just sit there and wait for people to give you leads.

Online Prospecting

There are many ways you can acquire prospects online without spending money on Google AdWords.

You can drop by people’s blogs, go to forums or build a mailing list of prospects in order to build relationships and meet new people.

Social networking sites like MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, MyBlogLog and many other web 2.0 sites are a great place to meet new people with similar interests and make friends with them.

You must be very careful of one thing, NEVER, NEVER EVER SPAM forums, blog comments or other people’s email. It is a very quick way to get a bad reputation or banned from those forums.

How To Approach Your Prospects: Part 2

The American Dream

Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely about making profits and building a legacy. But, this story helped me to keep things in perspective. Hopefully, it will do the same for you…

An American businessman was standing at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.

“How long did it take you to catch them?” the American asked.

“Only a little while” the Mexican replied.

“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” the American then asked.

“I have enough to support my family’s immediate needs” the Mexican said.

“But” the American then asked, “What do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said: “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor.”

The American scoffed: “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds you could buy a bigger boat and, with the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your own can factory. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked: “But senor, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied: “15-20 years.”

“But what then, senor?”

The American laughed and said: “That’s the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO – an Initial Public Offering – and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”

“Millions, senor? Then what?”

The American said slowly: “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos…”

The American Dream

How To Approach Your MLM Prospects: Part 1

Here are a couple of prospecting methods that you must be aware of if you want to survive in the network marketing jungle… after all having effective prospecting methods is your network marketing lifeline!

Cold Calling & Invitations

Cold calling (and going door-to-door) is one of the MOST INEFFECTIVE and DIFFICULT form of obsolete prospecting method in the 21st century. Some sales people might debate that this is still viable, but let’s be realistic…

• YOU don’t like to receive phone calls


• Cold calling has a lot of resistance and people turn their ears away if you are a stranger


• People don’t like being sold things that they don’t need


• They don’t even need to see YOU – a total stranger!

Invitations on the other hand might still work if it is done correctly. You can invite your friends to an event or a tea-party but make sure that your INTENTION is very clear when you invite him or her. People are not stupid and they can sense your intentions if you have promised them otherwise.

In other words, don’t trick them into coming to your network marketing prospecting meeting!

Classified Advertising & Google AdWords

One important thing about advertising is to ALWAYS go for direct response advertising. Do NOT burn your money on advertising that does NOT solicit direct response and a measurable way to calculate your expenditure, leads contacting you and conversion to sales!

When you advertise your opportunity on classified advertising, make sure you have a website or a phone number that they can contact you that MUST lead the prospect to the next phase of your sales funnel.

Ad Impression > Direct Response/ Lead Capture > Build the relationship > Pitch the right offer > Close sale or Follow up until the sale is closed.

The problem with people is that they dump all sorts of advertising without leading to the second phase which is the direct response or lead capture phase. They think just because they leave a website or a phone number (like leaving name cards all over town) they will get a lot of people to sign up.

With Google AdWords, you must make sure you have a system that is designed to deal with those leads and execute the steps above.

How To Approach Your MLM Prospects: Part 1

Understand That Leaders Are Not Born

Investing in your leadership is of utmost importance

If you are asked to attend trainings repeatedly and listen to your upline. If your upline is not qualified, then keep going upline until you find someone who can coach you or mentor you.

Once you have downlines under you, you must be prepared to be a leader and duplicate what your upline has taught you. DUPLICATION is the key to building a long term business because your downlines are able to do the same thing you are doing. Many successful leaders in MLM are fantastic speakers on the stage and powerful trainers in the field and even write books on how to succeed.

One of the biggest mistakes a new distributor usually makes are buying a ton of books thinking they will be well equipped to go ‘out there’ and create a sponsoring explosion. You may try to imitate your leader, talk like them, look confident or even walk like them. But the tricky part is duplicating the charisma or having the same influence.

Even after reading all the books on self-improvement, the tactics might not work because you don’t have the same charm as the author!

I am not saying don’t read books or buy books. Factual information or education is usually more helpful in making a good decision. I have compiled a reading list at the end of this book that will give good facts. But trying to become like another person and using his or her ‘techniques’ will often lead to disappointment with the book itself! They become disillusioned and go on to buy another ‘key to success in MLM’ book and the vicious cycle repeats itself again. Eventually they become disillusioned with books and they will stop reading all together.

KEY POINT TO REMEMBER:

LEADERS ARE NOT BORN, THEY ARE DEVELOPED OVER TIME. THOSE WHO SUCCEED IN MLM WILL HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE OF LEARNING AND GROWING. THOSE WHO SUCCEED QUICKLY IN MLM HAS ALREADY PAID THE PRICE OR WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND DOWNLINES WHO HAD ALREADY PAID THE PRICE.

ARE YOU PREPARED TO PAY THE PRICE?

Understand That Leaders Are Not Born

Posture Is Everything

One of the most important aspects of surviving in the network marketing world is to develop the ALPHA mentality in your business. This is very important because nobody remembers who came in SECOND!

It is human nature to look towards a leader and if you are not the leader of your organization, you are most likely following someone else’s direction and you are not in charge of your business.

Bring a leader in network marketing requires you to prospect effectively. After all, you want to position yourself as an EXPERT and not as a PEDDLER!

Read this line very carefully:

Nobody who bought a drill actually wanted a drill.

They wanted a hole.

Therefore, if you want to sell drills, you should ADVERTISE information about making holes – NOT information about drills!
– Perry Marshall

Remember, it is pointless to sell someone something they don’t want and appear like a sleazy salesman in the process.

Ways To Develop The Winning Posture

Here are a few tips on how to develop the winning Posture:

• Dress sharply and ALWAYS be natural


• Don’t treat everyone around you as your prospect – the last thing you want to do is to appear desperate for their money


• EDUCATE people on the viability of using your product and become a living testimonial rather than pushing the products in their face


• Diversify your prospecting methods by going online


• Invest in your education about the Network marketing Profession.


• Invest in prospecting tools that you can use to leverage your business with!

Posture Is Everything

Working With The Right People

Supportive Uplines And Sidelines

Are your uplines supportive people? There are people who will be there for you through thick and thin. There are even sidelines that are willing to do the same for you and your network.

Having these people on your team will definitely grow your business and the ability to leverage on them is very important.

Here is one thing that will help you to understand whether the team you are joining will work out to your advantage or not…

Let’s say you have an excellent networking tool that you can use for prospecting online. Does your upline support you using it or does he or she restricts you to ‘following the system’ given by the company?

You be the judge of whether this will work for you or against you.

Speedy Support

Network marketing companies with poor support will get in your way of success.

You see, there are company support staff that are willing to assist you when the products are faulty. It will affect your network even if they are downline because somewhere down the line, someone’s income will be affected if they are not good at handling a situation (like a faulty product or filling in the registration form).

There are some companies that even construct an online prospecting system that will help a new rep to get up to speed. But if the new downline does not know how to utilize it, it will affect him and his sponsor because they are not maximizing the system to recruit more effectively!

If your company has a solid or speedy support team, you will be able to leverage on their support! Otherwise, you will need to manually coach your downlines on how to deal with administrative work!

Joining Networking Groups Outside

Life exists outside network marketing groups. One of the best ways to touch base with other people and get more fresh leads is to join other networking groups such a business networks or Rotary clubs.

Even your church or religious organizations are great places to meet new people (but make sure your intention is sincere because God is ‘watching’).

One of the biggest problems with some network marketing reps is that some of them know NOTHING but network marketing (and network marketing jargon) to the point that they do not know how to relate to the outside world!

If you join networks such as those mentioned above, you will be able to relate to people in the ‘real world’ and you will be able to connect with them and expand your networks!

Working With The Right People

How To Choose Your Company: Part 4

Front Loading Companies

What is front loading?

Front loading is a bad way to build your business by ‘buying rank’ when you invest in an inordinately large amount of products – especially when you are just starting your business.

A lot of network marketing companies usually collapse due to unethical front loading practices disguised as a ‘shortcut’ to entice reps to invest more money.

If you find yourself investing in more stocks than you need for personal consumption and your monthly personal sales, then you might get yourselves into cash flow problems.

WARNING: AVOID FRONT LOADING COMPANIES AT ALL COSTS!

How To Choose Your Company: Part 4

How To Choose Your Company: Part 3

A Product That Is In Demand

This is a no-brainer. No matter how good your company, management team, compensation plan or your upline is, a company will NOT survive if their product does not stand the test of time.

For example, multivitamin supplements were a growing trend during the 80s. Because of the rising health needs due to pollution and people spending more and more hours in the office, it created a need.

But that doesn’t mean that the trend is still growing. There are some companies which came up with supplements that do not require water for mixing or swallowing. It caters to those people who are always on the run.

Today, people are not just developing new products… they are engineering new product lines and creating new demands while diminishing existing ones. The question remains… does the demand for your product justify your efforts for promoting it?

The Right Trend

This chart below will tell you what stage you are at. Of course, there is no right or wrong as to when is the right time to join a network marketing company, because it is up to you to work out YOUR own growth.

How To Choose Your Company: Part 3

How To Choose Your Company: Part 2

The Right Management Team

The management team is the backbone of your business. They are your suppliers and your collection agents all in one. How can you survive in the network marketing industry if your suppliers are not delivering the goods on time or the company has cash flow problems?

In order to choose the right company with the right management team, you must do your due diligence on these factors:

• Their track record. Is the network marketing company backed by a solid track record?


• Is the team here to stay? There are some network company owners who build and burn and build again. You don’t want to invested interest in a company that is there today but gone tomorrow!


• The vision. Does the company have a solid vision and are they actively working towards that vision?


• The capacity to expand. Sometimes, when a new startup company is expanding, they might run into cash flow problems when their sales volume increases! They need to build more warehouses, deal with shipment and pay MORE commissions and bank loans when more and more orders are taken. Just because the teams are growing and the sales are coming in doesn’t mean the company is able to cope.

How To Choose Your Company: Part 2

How To Choose Your Company: Part 1

The Right Vehicle

Let’s be brutally honest with ourselves here. Network marketing is about making MONEY.

You are NOT in charity. If you are building this business because of your loyalty to your company (because you feel that it is a good company) or because you are loyal to your upline, you will FAIL IN NETWORK MARKETING IF YOUR INTENTION IS NOT VERY CLEAR FROM THE START!

A network marketing company (or network marketing for that matter) is just a vehicle for you to make money, period.

As an independent distributor, you are an entrepreneur! An entrepreneur must deal with partners, workers and suppliers. You are NOT in business alone (if you are, then you are not an entrepreneur but a small business person). As an entrepreneur, your network marketing company is your PARTNER.

Your business will survive if your partners are performing well. In business, people will break partnerships if it isn’t profitable! The same should apply in your network marketing business as well!

Remember, your company is only a vehicle. If the management team is messing up, the margins are low (and not profitable), and the other variables do not equate to a profitable business, then it’s better to find another company!

Remember this golden rule: Mixing business with emotions is a recipe for disaster!

How To Choose Your Company: Part 1

Two frogs in the milk

This is the story of two frogs. One frog was fat and the other skinny. One day, while searching for food, they inadvertently jumped into a vat of milk. They couldn’t get out, as the sides were too slippery, so they were just swimming around.

The fat frog said to the skinny frog, “Brother frog, there’s no use paddling any longer. We’re just going to drown, so we might as well give up.” The skinny frog replied, “Hold on brother, keep paddling. Somebody will get us out.” And they continued paddling for hours.

After a while, the fat frog said, “Brother frog, there’s no use. I’m becoming very tired now. I’m just going to stop paddling and drown. It’s Sunday and nobody’s working. We’re doomed. There’s no possible way out of here.” But the skinny frog said, “Keep trying. Keep paddling. Something will happen, keep paddling.” Another couple of hours passed.

The fat frog said, “I can’t go on any longer. There’s no sense in doing it because we’re going to drown anyway. What’s the use?” And the fat frog stopped. He gave up. And he drowned in the milk. But the skinny frog kept on paddling.

Ten minutes later, the skinny frog felt something solid beneath his feet. He had churned the milk into butter and he hopped out of the vat.

 

Author: Melissa D Zartman

Two frogs in the milk

Differences Between Internet MLM And Traditional MLM

The main difference between traditional MLM and Internet MLM is the method used to recruit or sponsor. Traditional MLM relies mostly on one-on-one prospecting (like at a McDonald’s or Starbucks), home party, opportunity meetings or rallies. Internet MLM does the recruiting through e-mail, newsletter, forums, websites and sales letters. This minimizes the human interaction part and may be more suitable for those who are not very good at talking to others.

Two main types of traditional MLM are one that is heavily concerned with retailing, consumption or distribution of a physical product. Typically one with a high volume of repeat sale (like vitamins or skin care products) and good testimonials of the product with high visibility (e.g. look at my skin, the product has cured all my pimples!).

Concept MLM doesn’t focus as much on products compared to its former counterpart. They usually do have a product, but it doesn’t have as high a repeat sale as those mentioned above. Most of them run their business like a club. Some are like lifestyle clubs. Others conduct their business with a high degree of professionalism (they all dress better than an office worker). Often they will sell their people a dream or molding them to a particular image to convey the image of the company for attracting more recruits. It’s the sizzle that sells the steak.

In Internet MLM, there are distributions of two types of products. A physical product distributed through the Internet means that the Internet does the selling and recruiting, taking the orders, and the shipment of the product are done offline. Digital products remove the headaches of physical product distribution. This usually gives the company a better margin due to lower overheads (no warehousing or shipment).

Differences Between Internet MLM And Traditional MLM

Types of People Who Are Looking For Opportunities

Remember that people join MLM companies for their own reasons. However, the character or intention of a person will determine how far they want to go in MLM. Here are classic examples of different types of people

1. Genuine business opportunity seekers and builders


2. Product consumers


3. The supporters


4. MLM junkies


5. 001 syndrome

Genuine business opportunity seekers are the most important people in building a large business. They are the bread and butter. Not all are leaders but leaders are not born, they are developed. This group of people also can be product consumers.

Product consumers are people who join an MLM and buy from them because they like the product and enjoy the service of their upline. They are not necessarily genuine business opportunity seekers or builders yet for many builders, a lot of their income will come from this group. The good thing about them is as they learn more about the product, the company and interact more with their upline, their exposure to MLM grows and they might convert to opportunity seekers and then builders.

The supporters’ category is quite a mixed match of people. When their close friends or relatives build an MLM, they will join under them to ‘support their businesses. However, the consequence of that action varies according to the individual. For example, I would join my friend’s organization but it could be purely out of obligation and not for any genuine reason. This could potentially lead to resentment (when you mix business dealings with friendship), confusion and even loss of friends. Others might even join to see if their friend or relative is involved in a scam to try and pull him or her out. In order to prevent any potential disaster, make sure your intentions for joining an MLM are very clear cut.

MLM junkies are the sort of people who jump from MLM to MLM (some people even call them Multi-Level-Monkeys). They attend a talk, get hyped up about the opportunity, and build the business on euphoria. Sooner or later, they lose steam and find problems with the company (when the real problem is themselves most of the time) and jump to the next SMOKING HOT business opportunity. It is not wrong to be a member of many MLM companies (depending on your budget). Bear in mind, certain companies discourage or even forbid you to join other companies (then their business practices should be examined). If you are a member of many companies, it is ok to do a good survey and attend trainings, but the key to remember is you must focus on ONE good MLM for the long run and the others can operate on a referral basis (like recommending a friend to buy a product from another company while building one main one).

This leads us to one more category of people who could be MLM junkies as well – the 001 syndrome. Basically they want to be the first to start building a business in a brand new start-up. They want to be the pioneer. There are many pros and cons to assess about a new company like their background history, financial status and product market rather than just focusing on the income potential. There are many more challenges to be faced for people who are sponsored directly under the company and new companies don’t usually have a time-tested workable system in place.

If you fall into one of the above categories (or even some or all of the above), these will give you a general guideline on how to improve your choice selection of MLM companies before we go in to the details about compensation plans and product demand. By knowing yourself better, you can do a better assessment.

Types of People Who Are Looking For Opportunities

Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say

At the beginning of my 8:00 a.m. class one Monday at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been very good. He’d had his wisdom teeth extracted. The young man then proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful. His question reminded me of something I’d read somewhere before: “Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that day”, I said to the young man. “I choose to be cheerful”. “Let me give you an example”, I continued.

The other 60 students in the class ceased their chatter and began to listen to our conversation. As soon as I got there, I called AAA and asked them to send a tow truck. The secretary in the Provost’s office asked me what had happened. “This is my lucky day”, I replied, smiling. “Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day??” She was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I live 17 miles from here”, I replied. “My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn’t. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I’m still able to teach my class, and I’ve been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn’t have been arranged in a more convenient fashion.” The secretary’s eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class.’ So ended my story to the students in my economics class at UNLV.

I scanned the 60 faces in the lecture hall. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe it wasn’t the story at all. In fact, it had all started with a student’s observation that I was cheerful. A wise man once said: “Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say”. I suppose it must be so.

Author: Lee Ryan Miller – story from his book “Teaching Amidst the Neon Palm Trees”

Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say

The Tiger's Whisker

Once upon a time, a young wife named Yun Ok was at her wit’s end. Her husband had always been a tender and loving soul mate before he had left for the wars but, ever since he returned home, he was cross, angry, and unpredictable. She was almost afraid to live with her own husband. Only in glancing moments did she catch a shadow of the husband she used to know and love.

When one ailment or another bothered people in her village, they would often rush for a cure to a hermit who lived deep in the mountains. Not Yun Ok. She always prided herself that she could heal her own troubles. But this time was different. She was desperate.

As Yun Ok approached the hermit’s hut, she saw the door was open. The old man said without turning around: “I hear you. What’s your problem?”

She explained the situation. His back still to her, he said, “Ah yes, it’s often that way when soldiers return from the war. What do you expect me to do about it?”

“Make me a potion!” cried the young wife. “Or an amulet, a drink, whatever it takes to get my husband back the way he used to be.”

The old man turned around. “Young woman, your request doesn’t exactly fall into the same category as a broken bone or ear infection.”

“I know”, said she.

“It will take three days before I can even look into it. Come back then.”

Three days later, Yun Ok returned to the hermit’s hut. “Yun Ok”, he greeted her with a smile, “I have good news. There is a potion that will restore your husband to the way he used to be, but you should know that it requires an unusual ingredient. You must bring me a whisker from a live tiger.”

“What?” she gasped. “Such a thing is impossible!”

“I cannot make the potion without it!” he shouted, startling her. He turned his back. “There is nothing more to say. As you can see, I’m very busy.”

That night Yun Ok tossed and turned. How could she get a whisker from a live tiger?

The next day before dawn, she crept out of the house with a bowl of rice covered with meat sauce. She went to a cave on the mountainside where a tiger was known to live. She clicked her tongue very softly as she crept up, her heart pounding, and carefully set the bowl on the grass. Then, trying to make as little noise as she could, she backed away.

The next day before dawn, she took another bowl of rice covered with meat sauce to the cave. She approached the same spot, clicking softly with her tongue. She saw that the bowl was empty, replaced the empty one with a fresh one, and again left, clicking softly and trying not to break twigs or rustle leaves, or do anything else to startle and unsettle the wild beast.

So it went, day after day, for several months. She never saw the tiger (thank goodness for that! she thought) though she knew from footprints on the ground that the tiger – and not a smaller mountain creature – had been eating her food. Then one day as she approached, she noticed the tiger’s head poking out of its cave. Glancing downward, she stepped very carefully to the same spot and with as little noise as she could, set down the fresh bowl and, her heart pounding, picked up the one that was empty.

After a few weeks, she noticed the tiger would come out of its cave as it heard her footsteps, though it stayed a distance away (again, thank goodness! she thought, though she knew that someday, in order to get the whisker, she’d have to come closer to it).

Another month went by. Then the tiger would wait by the empty food bowl as it heard her approaching. As she picked up the old bowl and replaced it with a fresh one, she could smell its scent, as it could surely smell hers.

“Actually”, she thought, remembering its almost kittenish look as she set down a fresh bowl, “it is a rather friendly creature, when you get to know it.” The next time she visited, she glanced up at the tiger briefly and noticed what a lovely downturn of reddish fur it had from over one of its eyebrows to the next. Not a week later, the tiger allowed her to gently rub its head, and it purred and stretched like a house cat.

Then she knew the time had come. The next morning, very early, she brought with her a small knife. After she set down the fresh bowl and the tiger allowed her to pet its head, she said in a low voice: “Oh, my tiger, may I please have just one of your whiskers?” While petting the tiger with one hand, she held one whisker at its base and, with the other hand, in one quick stroke, she carved the whisker off. She stood up, speaking softly her thanks, and left, for the last time.

The next morning seemed endless. At last her husband left for the rice fields. She ran to the hermit’s hut, clutching the precious whisker in her fist. Bursting in, she cried to the hermit: “I have it! I have the tiger’s whisker!”

“You don’t say?” he said, turning around. “From a live tiger?”

“Yes!” she said.

“Tell me”, said the hermit, interested. “How did you do it?”

Yun Ok told the hermit how, for the last six months, she had earned the trust of the creature and it had finally permitted her to cut off one of its whiskers. With pride she handed him the whisker. The hermit examined it, satisfied himself that it was indeed a whisker from a live tiger, then flicked it into the fire where it sizzled and burned in an instant.

“Yun Ok”, the hermit said softly, “you no longer need the whisker. Tell me, is a man more vicious than a tiger? If a dangerous wild beast will respond to your gradual and patient care, do you think a man will respond any less willingly?”

Yun Ok stood speechless. Then she turned and stepped down the trail, turning over in her mind images of the tiger and of her husband, back and forth. She knew what she could do.

 

Source: Korean fable

The Tiger's Whisker

The telephone rang. J.R. answered.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is J.R. available?”

“Speaking.”

“Mr. R., we’ve got a project for you. We’re ready to expand internationally and we need some help.”

“I’m not interested. I’m semi-retired – you know, looking for the next exotic beach.”

“We’ll make it worth your while Mr. R. We’ll add millions to your fortune.”

“OK, I’m listening.”

It was a call that was worth millions. And it happened to Jim Rohn. His first thought afterwards was, “Isn’t it interesting that they called me?” His second thought was, “Of course they’d call me. Who else would they call? I can get the job done.” And he did.

What does this telephone call have to do with you? More than you may realize.

You see, Jim Rohn was not extraordinary at all – he was a very ordinary man. He was raised in obscurity on a farm in Idaho. He went to college for one year before dropping out because he thought he was “smart enough.” He married soon afterwards and started a family. And he was a hard worker.

But it didn’t do him any good. Even though he worked hard at his job, he couldn’t pay his bills. Creditors started calling, and he didn’t know what he was going to do about it …

Yet this same man years later would receive a telephone call worth millions of dollars.

Jim Rohn was average in every way. His background was average. His grades were average. He didn’t stay in school. He married at the average age, and he worked at an average job. And he had a hard time making ends meet. In fact, once he became physically ill for two days because he lost a $10 bill.

A measly $10!

I’ll talk more about him in a minute, but first ask yourself:

How does your background compare with Jim’s? He wasn’t born with any natural advantages – were you? He didn’t possess any remarkable talents – do you? And he certainly didn’t make a lot of money.

I don’t know about you, but I’m very curious how this “Average Joe” could find himself in a position years later in which a company calls him up on the phone and offers him millions of dollars for his assistance. It just doesn’t seem to add up.

My thought is, if I can find a way to connect the missing pieces so it does add up, then perhaps I can make it clear to you how deceptively easy it is to set yourself up to receive your own million-dollar phone call. I personally have received one. And I hope to receive more.

But I don’t want to get too far off-track.

How an average guy with no special skills or talent turned himself into a multimillionaire …

So there Jim was, working his tail off and not getting anywhere. He soon realized it was going to take more than hard work to improve his situation. After all, he had a family to support.

The thought occurred to him that he should go back to school. One year of college didn’t look so good on an application. But with his family starting, going back to school was a tough decision.

“Maybe I should start my own business,” he thought. But he didn’t have any money to do that.

Money was his major problem. He always had too much month left at the end of the money – don’t know if you have ever been in that position …

So that’s where Jim was at age 25 – behind on his dreams and constantly wondering what he could possibly do to change his life for the better.

Well, at age 25, good fortune came his way. He met a mentor named Earl Shoaff, who was a unique and very successful man. Shoaff was the man who told Jim Rohn the secret I mentioned at the start of this email – the same secret that transformed Jim’s life forever and set him up to receive a telephone call worth millions. It’s the secret that can do the same for you.

Earl Shoaff took a liking to Jim, and a few months after they met, he hired him to work in one of his companies. Jim spent the next five years working for Shoaff in several of his businesses, and then, unfortunately, Shoaff died.

And the best thing Jim Rohn took away from those five years was not a job. The best thing Shoaff gave him was the benefit of his thinking – the fundamentals of living successfully – how to be wealthy and how to be happy.

There was one thing Shoaff taught him that had particular impact. In fact, it transformed Jim Rohn’s life and made him a rich man.

Early in their relationship, Shoaff said, “Here’s the secret to becoming worth millions …” And then, he told him what that secret was.

“If you do what most people will tell you to do, you’ll make a living,” he said. “But if you follow this secret instead, you’ll make a fortune.” Once Jim got that, it turned his life around.

Now, if you would have known Jim Rohn at age 25, you would have said, “Jim’s a hard worker.” He was a guy who didn’t mind coming in a little bit early, staying a little bit late. He didn’t mind that. He was a hard worker.

So how come he had pennies in his pocket and nothing in the bank? Why was he behind on his promises? Because he wasn’t following the secret yet.

If you had asked him back then why he was having such a hard time, Jim would have said it was the economy. Taxes were too high. It was traffic. It was the weather. It was circumstances – after all, he was raised in obscurity on a farm and his parents didn’t have money. And his number one reason was the company he worked for. It was the company’s fault he was not doing better because when they pay so little how could they expect him to do well?

Earl Shoaff taught him to look at the situation differently when he told him the secret.

“What exactly does that mean, Mr. Shoaff?” Jim was full of questions. Shoaff patiently explained to him exactly what he meant in detail. And here’s what happened:

At age 25, Jim Rohn was broke. By age 31, he was a millionaire. How about that?

What happened? Jim had started working at age 19, and at the end of the first six years of his economic life, he had pennies in his pocket and nothing in the bank. Creditors were calling him saying, “Hey, you called us and told us the check was in the mail!” He was behind on his promises.

But at the end of the second six years of his economic life he was a millionaire.

Strangely enough, the government was about the same. The economy was about the same. His negative relatives were about the same. Taxes were about the same. Prices were about the same. Circumstances were about the same, and everything else was about the same.

Then how come he got rich? How come he totally changed his life?

Jim Rohn was not the same. He was the one who changed. And that made all the difference.

You may be thinking, “Well, what did he work on to accomplish all that?”

Good question. In fact, that’s exactly why I’m writing you today.

You see, Jim Rohn was as astonished at his sudden change of fortune as everyone else. He knew why he had changed. He knew what caused it, because Earl Shoaff had taught it to him. But he was blown away by the incredible impact of Shoaff’s teachings. He was astounded as he saw himself transformed from penniless to a millionaire in only six short years.

Can you imagine becoming a millionaire in such a short amount of time?

Jim Rohn realized how lucky he was to have a mentor who gave him such powerful knowledge. He also realized that many people are not as lucky. Many go through life without ever having any mentor, much less one who could make them a millionaire in only six years.

And that’s why Jim realized he needed to share the secrets Earl Shoaff had taught him. So at every opportunity, he began sharing the ideas that had transformed his life.

Of course, he started small, with just his closest business associates. The results were as exciting for them as they were for Jim. It became quite clear to him in a short time that the more he gave, the more he received.

You already know Jim Rohn is one of the most popular and most well-respected speakers in the field. What’s best about him is that he never set out to be a speaker. He carved his success in the real world before he ever said a word to anybody. In my opinion, that gives him a lot of extra credibility.

One other thing about Jim Rohn you should know – he doesn’t believe in motivational “rah rah.” Instead, he’s all about the simple, practical things you can do on a daily basis to transform your life.

Earl Shoaff was a businessman. Jim Rohn was a businessman. Efficiency is at a premium in the business world. You want to get the strongest possible results in the shortest amount of time.

The secrets of Earl Shoaff took Jim Rohn from a “nothing-aire” to a millionaire in only six years. How’s that for effective? How’s that for efficient?

And you will find a powerful collection of those same secrets in Jim’s audio program, entitled The Art of Exceptional Living. The core of this program is centered around the secret that set Jim Rohn up to receive the telephone call worth millions.

But clearly, there are ways of working on yourself that are more effective than others. In the spirit of Earl Shoaff, The Art of Exceptional Living separates the wheat from the chaff, and it gives you only the most powerful ideas that will generate the strongest results for you in the shortest time possible.

It’s like having your own multimillionaire mentor take you by the hand and show you exactly what you need to do to follow in his footsteps.

Follow the guidance the program offers, and you will walk a new path that will end with your receiving your own million-dollar phone call.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn when you listen:

• How a single word, when applied correctly, functions like a set of magic keys that unlocks all the doors of wealth, happiness, sophistication, culture, high self-esteem, pride, joy, accomplishment, satisfaction, and success.


• How to open the doors to receiving more of the wealth the world has to offer, and the one thing you must avoid in order to prevent those doors from closing.


• How to build the strongest possible foundation for achievement, productivity, and the lifestyle you dream of having. Once the foundation is set, you’ll weather any storm.


• Why success doesn’t have any mysteries or exotic answers, but is a very basic process anyone can achieve.


• Why focusing on only a half-dozen things can make 80 percent of the difference in your performance.


• The bridge between thought and accomplishment, inspiration and achievement, necessity and productivity. Anyone can have a good idea. But in order to reap the benefits of that idea, you must find a way to connect it to a practical application. This bridge is the key to executing your ideas so they work for you.


• And much more!

The knowledge you’ll gain from this program is staggering – not because it’s so complex, but because of the incredible impact a few simple actions can have on your life when you do them.

Imagine how terrible it would be to wind up at the end of your life and find out you only lived one-tenth of it, and the other nine-tenths went down the drain. If this happens to anyone in this country, it’s not from a lack of opportunity; it’s from a lack of information.

The Art of Exceptional Living will give you the information you need to take advantage of the abundant opportunities that surround you. Trust me, the opportunities are there. Once you learn from the program, you will find out how to spot them.

Once you make the decision to go forward, you will be on the same path Jim Rohn started on when he was 25. And if you apply yourself to learning and acting on the secrets the program reveals, your life can be transformed as Jim Rohn’s was (he went from broke to a millionaire in six short years – remember?).

And then, once you’ve used the program to achieve your dreams, you just may find yourself enjoying your prosperity. As you sit there basking in the light of your success, suddenly the phone will ring. And your million-dollar phone call will have arrived.

Is it worth investigating? If what I’ve said is true, it’s absolutely worth it, isn’t it? And I’ll stake the reputation of my company on the truth of what I’ve said.

–Vic Conant

Helping hands

A mother, wishing to encourage her son’s progress at the piano, bought tickets to a performance by the great Polish pianist Ignace Paderewski. When the evening arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on the stage. Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away.

At eight o’clock, the lights in the auditorium began to dim, the spotlights came on, and only then did they notice the boy – up on the piano bench, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” His mother gasped in shock and embarassment but, before she could retrieve her son, the master himself appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard.

He whispered gently to the boy, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.” Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side and improvised a delightful obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized with their blended and beautiful music.

In all our lives, we receive helping hands – some we notice, some we don’t. Equally we ourselves have countless opportunites to provide helping hands – sometimes we would like our assistance to be noticed, sometimes we don’t. Little of what we all achieve is without learning from others and without support from others and what we receive we should hand out.

Helping hands

Attrition Rates Are Increasing

People who drop out of network marketing companies are quite common today. However, because of increasing awareness about network marketing recruitment ‘tricks’, information overload and saturation, more and more people will be dropping out of network marketing companies!

In the past, people are more concerned about supporting their upline and being loyal to their company. Today, there are so many business opportunities available out there that people are jumping from one opportunity to another in a heartbeat!

They don’t want to wait 6-12 months before they break even (or get their first commission check like some people do). They want fast, relevant results – just like what Google offers!

Being aware of the rising attrition rates will give a network marketer a realistic expectation about the industry rather than jumping in believing that motivation and hope will provide the ingredients for success in network marketing. What’s the secret to keeping people on your team? Create a real connection and relationship with them.

Attrition Rates Are Increasing

The law of the garbage truck

I just read this story. I’m not sure if it’s true, or not. But, it doesn’t really matter. The point of the story is something we can all learn from – myself more than others.

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck’.

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally, just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The law of the garbage truck

MLM Old School Versus The Google Revolution

There was a time in the past where people have NOT heard of network marketing. If you bring them to a ‘dog and pony show’ telling them about how network marketing will give them residual income and CHANGE THEIR LIFE, they will gaze in awe about this fantastic NEW opportunity.

Unfortunately, network marketing is totally different today! Times have changed and network marketing is nothing new.

An average person is approached by network marketing companies at least 10 times. I personally have been approached by network marketing reps and opportunities once every month!

The fact of the matter is, network marketing opportunities are like the sand at the beach. There are more and more companies springing up like mushrooms after the rain and the COMPANY:DISTRIBUTOR ratio is going to shift dramatically. In other words, competition is going to kill the average network marketer as a result of the Google revolution.

Today, someone can go online and Google the search term – Network Marketing Opportunity or Home Based Business and get bombarded by countless business opportunities… and they can do it in the comfort of their own home without having to drive out to Starbucks and listen to a stranger as they ‘show the plan’.

The funny thing is a lot of network marketers do not realize that the Internet has revolutionized the way that network marketing is done!

Some people are sucking in paid leads like a vacuum cleaner and earning massive money online while the poor network marketing rep who are still making a name list of friends and family and going to be crushed by the competition!

Now that we know about the competition that we are up against, you have a better understanding on how to use the Internet to work FOR YOU rather than against you!

For more information about how to use the Internet to generate leads and grow your business, click here to learn more.

MLM Old School Versus The Google Revolution

Sales Versus Marketing

Times have changed since network marketing was introduced to the world. We must be very careful how we approach our prospects, however.

Just because the profitability of network marketing is still viable doesn’t mean that using the same old techniques that are used in the 80s is not going to get you the same results in the 21st century!

Here is the ironic part – when people think about the term ‘network marketing’, everyone focuses on the first word rather than the second. In other words, they go around networking instead of marketing!

Most people who are in network marketing do not have a CLUE what marketing is all about! They go about recruiting friends and family on their name list while deluding themselves into thinking that they are ‘sharing’ or ‘marketing’ their products to people.

MYTH: Network marketers are not in sales, they are merely sharing products with other people
TRUTH: Network marketers who do not have a marketing system in place are actually in SALES.

What they are actually doing is that they are SELLING an idea to someone else. Whether they are selling the product or the opportunity, they are trying to convince someone to change their mind about what they have to offer.

Remember – Sharing is different from selling. It is totally different. If you are my friend and you are having a conversation with me right now, I would share with you about my passion for eating exotic food.

When I’m sharing with you, I’ve no intention to SELL you exotic food (unless I am getting commissions the restaurant that cooks exotic food).

Get the idea? Selling is different from sharing.

So the question is: How do I generate business without ‘SELLING’?

I’m not saying that you do not sell any products. But what I’m saying is that the approach when it comes to marketing versus selling is totally different!

Take a doctor for example.

A doctor sells his or her services. But they don’t go around recruiting patients or sending out flyers and advertisements saying that they are the best gynecologist in town!

When people go to the doctor, they seek the doctor’s EXPERT advice. They listen intensively to every word they have to say and they will take whatever medicine they recommend. (So much different compared to network marketing recruitment, don’t you think?)

The same principle applies to marketing!

Marketers sell products, but not in the way sales people do. A person who markets their business effectively is a LEADER. They are EXPERTS. They don’t go around peddling their wares like a sleazy salesman. They are good at marketing themselves in such a way that they will always:

• Find the right target market


• Find the right people to join their downline (and their downlines will listen to them and do what they say)


• NOT waste their time on the wrong people


• Attract the right people to them.

Sales Versus Marketing

Test Post from Network Marketing Professional | Brian Gibbs

Test Post from Network Marketing Professional | Brian Gibbs http://briangibbs.com

Test Post from Network Marketing Professional | Brian Gibbs

Test Post from Network Marketing Professional | Brian Gibbs http://briangibbs.com