Prospecting Strategies - Divide and Conquer

Ask anyone who has been in the network marketing industry long enough and earning a good income ad they will agree that prospecting is the lifeblood of any network marketing organization. However many network marketers are still struggling with this basic fundamental. They are not able to move up the ladder or earn money as they have not mastered the art of prospecting.

Many feel uncomfortable as they have a fear of approaching their warm market, i.e. their family and friends. This is due to their fear for rejection and having to persuade their friends to join them. At times, this can cause even the warm market to avoid your phone calls and eventually lead to a break up in the friendships which have been blooming for decades. This has happened before and will happen again.

In this home business opportunity, it is not easy to do it all alone. To have a greater chance of success, find a business partner with whom you can work as a team. If your spouse or significant other or even another family member of the opposite gender is with you in this home business of network marketing, combining together as a team will be more effective at times.

Usually one will take on the role of discussing the network marketing business, frequently falling into the men’s arena. This is because it is the mindset of most people that men are the ones holding the authority. Women on the other hand generally relate well to the prospect with regards to the products and/or services of the company.

There is however no hard and fast rule to the roles. Just be natural and work out the best role for each of you. This need not be so rigid and can be inter-changeable depending on the situation.

Even if you do not have a partner, you can always team up with an upline, sideline or even a downline. In fact, whilst pairing with your downline, this can be a sort of ‘on the job’ training for them as well as a confidence booster with you, their upline, being on hand to lend a hand should they get stuck. When you pair with your upline, this can give you credibility especially if your upline is well respected and has started to earn money from this home business opportunity of network marketing. You will likely have a greater chance of success.

It is important to remember that although in network marketing, you are in the business for yourself, but never by yourself. In network marketing, the key is to be simple and duplicatable. It will be suicidal if your downlines duplicate what you do and work individually with no clue as to why they are not seeing success.

Remember to train your downlines to look out for each other. In this way, there can be leverage which is important in this home based business. Give credit to your downlines when they do what ought to be done. This way, it will help you to free up some of your precious time.

The saying “united we stand, divided we fall” holds true in this business. So divide the work and conquer the world!

No College Degree? Work From Home!

More and more jobs out there are looking for educated, professional people that have all sorts of degrees and papers. But, there are a lot of people out there who decided not to jump on the college band wagon and try their luck elsewhere. Now, a lot of these people are having a hard time landing jobs because they have no papers. High school students also are not having much luck nowadays in the job market. But, there is still one place where you can get a job without evena high school diploma or college degree: the Internet.

Although it may be discouraging to go out and look for a good, solid job without a college degree, there are some great opportunities available. These can be found on the World Wide Web. Though it would be more rewarding to have a degree, an Internet job can still make you some pretty good cash. You will not be able to earn as much as a full-time job or support a family, but you can still make money.

Writing is a good way to make money online. There are lots of companies and individuals who need people to write things ranging from one-page articles to blogs to scripts and stories. This does require some skills such as basic Word Processing, good grammar, communication, and spelling. You also must have full access to the Internet. It is a good idea to ask yourself if you will truly be dedicated to your job. If not, then do not accept the position. Also, you must have a good deal of time on your hands. Deadlines are a key thing for Internet writing jobs. You must have the skills and dedication to get the job done accurately and in a timely manner. You must make your writing interesting. A good rule of thumb for this is that if it is boring for you to write, then it will be boring for the reader, so give it some zazz!

Surveys are also a good idea for Internet income. These are an easy way to get some cash. You must register with the site and have a login and password. If you are asked for your credit card or social security number, do not give theseout! You should not have to pay or give out this sort of information for a job. Once you have a login name and password,you will be able to start working. Fill out as many paid surveys as you can in one day. Sign up for daily e-mail alerts for new surveys, as there usually are fresh ones created each day. Typically, you will receive about fifty cents or two dollars per survey and have to wait until you have made at least twenty-five dollars to being collecting payment.

These are just a few examples of how you can make money online without that degree. No special skills or education papers or requirements will exist. There also will be no age limits. This is one of the best ways to make some extra money. This type of job will never make you rich, no matter how long you work or how many testimonials you have read. Nevertheless,work from home jobs are a great opportunity for degreeless folks!

Home Base Businesses Numbers Continue to Grow

Home based business opportunities are growing daily, along with a new spirit of entrepreneurialism and independence. Today’s technology is making working from home far more common today than just a decade ago. Though the general consensus is that more people are working from their homes than ever, finding solid data to prove this can be difficult.

Because things change so quickly, much of the data, collected two to four years ago, may be inaccurate.

The latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor are from 2004, but already show a growing trend for men and women working primarily at home. In that year 20.7 million people worked, at least part-time, from their homes most working for another company. About 7 million of those were self-employed…in other words, they were home-based business owners. The average work week for someone working at home, according to the study, was 25 hours, and most were professionals, such as people who offered consulting services or sales related businesses. Another huge chunk of the at-home pie are those working in the construction industry.

Though the general belief may be that women far outnumber men working at home, this is not the case. Men and women were about equally likely to work out of their home, and there are more parents working at home than singles.

And, according the Labor Department, home-based businesses are run by educated folks. People with a bachelor’s degree or higher were more than six times as likely to work out of their home than those without college degrees. This is likely because it is easier for someone with a management background to transition to a work-at-home job.

This trend of working at home is partly due to advances in electronics. Most homes have computers with high-speed internet connections. Most people have the basic computer skills to put together a rudimentary website. And information is so readily available, the resources available to someone wanting to work from home are numerous and inexpensive. Also, there are more and more opportunities for people wanting to work from home.

In addition, it’s become a much more accepted way of doing business. With the increase in the number of businesses run from homes, it is much more commonplace.

According to the NBBTA.org, the online arm of the National Black Business Trade Association, home based business represents a $427 billion industry (this figure exceeds another figure found on this subject). That exceeds the pharmaceutical, food, and consumer goods industries---combined.

Home-based businesses are considered small businesses. The Small Business Administration estimates that 52 percent of all small business are home-based---and small businesses (those with less than 500 employees) represents 99.7 percent of all employer firm. The home-based businesses, according to 2007 SBA report, generate $102 billion in revenue. Home-based businesses owners earned less than their counterparts who work outside the home, $22,569 compared to $38,243, but their earnings were worth more, which evened out the playing field. “Due to lower expenses, particularly in rent and labor costs, the average home-based sole proprietor consistently gained a higher return on gross revenues at 36 percent, versus 21 percent for the non-home-based,” the report said.

Getting accurate reporting on home-based businesses is difficult, but the general consensus is that this is an area of the U.S. economy that will continue to grow, especially during an economic downturn where traditional jobs are more difficult to find.

How To Find People Who Like MLM

As most of us are aware, the MLM industry is a very competitive industry. As a number of people have been in the network marketing industry before and were not able to make money for whatever reason, the MLM industry is associated with quite a bit of negativity. As such, MLM newbies usually find it tough to get their business off the ground especially if they follow the traditional way of prospecting.

Does this mean that new network marketers are not able to find new prospects and are thus doomed to fail from the very beginning?

No, this definitely does not hold true. Many network marketing companies are international and have no boundaries. The world is your oyster. With such companies, you can be in one continent and have a downline in another continent and you would still be paid.

This is the beauty of network marketing. It is an international business and its reach is global. With that being said, are there still people who like MLM and where can you find them?

Essentially these would be people who are open to MLM opportunities. They would be your target market and comprise individuals who:
Ø Have been in other network marketing organizations before and the companies they were with could have closed the doors due to a variety of reasons
Ø Are currently in another network marketing organization and are just on the lookout for a better company or better compensation plan or better uplines who can show the way and lead them to success
Ø Have heard that network marketing pays well and are keen to join a great company so that they too can make the money
Ø Did not succeed in network marketing before for whatever reason and do not mind if another opportunity lands on their doorstep

With the traditional method of prospecting, the odds of you meeting someone who falls in your target market is like finding a needle in a haystack. However with the current internet age, it is possible to target these people using online marketing techniques.

In fact, once you brand yourself on the internet as an expert and authority in your field, you will find that people will be eager to listen to what you have to say. It is as if the bees (your target market) are being attracted to the honey (you, the expert). When you provide value and share your knowledge and whatever you have unreservedly, your target market will be your loyal followers and may soon end up as your customers.

By offering and providing value, you may, for instance, do a review of various network marketing companies and/or benefits. However, it is of great importance to remember that you should NEVER try to bring people into your company by putting down another company. This strategy does not work. It will backfire one day and when it does, you will lose everything that you have so tirelessly worked for.

Continuously build the relationship with your target market. The better the rapport between you and your target market, the more likely that they will begin to consider whatever opportunity you present them with, be it now or in the future.

Making Money with Online Surveys

Online survey jobs can be a fun way to make some extra cash. Corporations are interested in what people think about their products or the products they use and are willing to pay for that information.

If you decide filling out on-line surveys is something you could do, you immediately will be faced with many companies all looking for the same thing---people to get paid for filling out surveys. Many sites offer payments, from cash to coupons to free merchandise, for your opinion. Check them out to decide whether you’d want cash or some other payment. Several sites list the best companies to work for and the types of payments made. Some sites require a fee for a “list” of companies and surveys, and others are completely free and require only that you register and fill out a survey about yourself. It’s important to do your homework and try to determine which sites are legitimate business opportunities and which are not.

Filling out surveys may sound easy---and it is---but it is time-consuming. Some of the best paying surveys take as long as forty minutes or more to fill out and the payout is $5 or less, but can be higher. As long as you recognize this, you won’t be surprised by the low pay-out. Companies are paying for your opinion so it is important to actually answer the questions the best you can and not randomly check answers. Resist the temptation to have other people in your family fill out the survey for you. It’s your job and your commitment and the survey site is expecting your opinion. Treat it like any other job that you’d get paid for.

How much you get paid depends largely on how much time you spend filling out surveys. It’s unlikely you’ll get rich filling them out, but most people who have signed up didn’t do it for the money as much as because they have fun doing it. It’s important to have some sort of commitment. Like anything, if you want to make money, you’ll have to put in the time and effort to do it. You will not have any success if you have people other than yourself answer the surveys or if you answer the questions randomly.

Like any other on-line opportunity, be smart about what you sign up for. This is an area that has its share of scams. For example, some sites that require a fee will simply direct you to free survey sites that you can easily find on your own. Some sites don’t offer money for every survey, but simply enter you into a contest for a chance to win money for filling it out. That’s fine as long as you recognize the odds of winning. Don’t sign up with any site that claims you will get rich filling out surveys. You won’t. But you could make some extra money doing something that doesn’t require a lot of effort and can be a lot of fun.

Network Marketing Success Principle

When you first sign up for your network marketing program, you are led to believe that the path to success is very simple and you will soon be rich and financially free if you follow the teachings and guidance of your uplines. However, as you start to get more involved and work the business, you realize that a great percentage of your so-called ‘new business partners’ will not bother to do anything and slip into oblivion. Only about 20% will get around to doing something. However out of this number, many will give up after they fail to see results or because they move on to other commitments.

Why is the success rate in network marketing so low? If it is as simple as it is made out to be, why do so many fail? Does that mean that these people are not cut out for the network marketing industry?

In this world and with the current economic situation, many people have big dreams and yearn to get out of the rat race and achieve financial freedom. However their ‘WHY’ is not strong enough or they may not have a distinctly clear ‘WHY’. They also do not know the ‘HOW’ to go about achieving their dream. As such, their dream remains forever a fantasy and never comes to fruition.

In order to succeed in this industry, your ‘WHY’ must be something that truly inspires you, something that will push you to do whatever it takes to accomplish your dreams, your goals and your desires.

In order to have a blueprint for success, you must be very clear as to WHY you are in network marketing. What is your reason for joining network marketing? What do you wish to get out of it? If you do not achieve success, how will it affect you? Why is it important for you to achieve your dream?

As Donald Trump himself put it, “If you are going to think, you might as well think big.” Since you are already thinking, you might as well think big and achieve big.

If you do not have a passion for what you are doing and are unclear about your WHY, you will not be able to handle and overcome any challenges that you will encounter along the way. Having no great desire and commitment to succeed, you will be the next in line to drop out and add to the already high statistics.

Knowing your WHY alone is insufficient for you to see immediate success. You will need to put forward your action plan Here you will break it down into a more manageable time frame as in per day, per week and per year. Have a short term as well as a long term goal. With a proper road map, you can more easily achieve your goals, your dreams and your vision for your life.

Your personal action plan should include self development as well as training and, last but not least, prospecting which is the lifeblood of any network marketing business. Reading motivational books will help you get charged up and is a great asset when it comes to growing your organisation. If you are new to network marketing industry, you will need to be trained. Once you have your downlines, you will need to start training and coaching them. Most network marketers spend so much time on training that they simply forget to prospect. Failure to prospect leads to sure failure.

By abiding and following your action plan closely, your network marketing business will start to bloom. Remember not to rely too much on your uplines or downlines as this can hurt your business. Build your own business although you are not in this business by yourself.

Adhere to your action plan. If you drop behind, make an effort to catch up. Just because you started your network marketing business with a small capital is not reason for you to take things slow. Be focused and committed to success!

How To Get Free Leads

Many network marketers whom I know actually pay for leads. As we are fully aware, without leads who are converted into prospects and finally into customers or business partners, a business cannot survive. Thus in order to boost their sales and profits, many resort to buying targeted leads in terms of sex, age, income, interest, etc... and this can be a costly campaign. Although this is an easy and popular way to get traffic to your website, if you are willing to put in some time and effort, you will be able to effectively get free MLM leads.

FREE??? And how, might you ask, is that possible?

In this day and age of the internet, we need not resort to the obsolete lead generating methods that were used in the 70s and 80s when free leads meant making friends with strangers at parties, networking events and motivational seminars. If you have never heard of free leads before today or have had problems trying to get these free mlm leads, let me share with you my top recommendations in getting these free mlm leads.

If you would like to find an effective way to build your list of leads who will turn into your prospects, you need to take full advantage of the internet and what it has to offer. This will help you generate a long list of qualified leads for your home based business. Basically, these leads are your leads and if you build a strong relationship with them, they will follow you even if you move on to other opportunities. The more value you offer them, the longer they will stay with you, the more willing they will be to listen to you and the easier they will part with their hard earned cash when you have a great suggestion or exciting opportunity for them.

Here are some of my recommendations showing you how you can generate your own list of your very own free leads:-

- Create a blog
A blog is basically a diary that you maintain. The exception being that it is published on a website and available for all to see if you so desire. If you niche is mlm, then start an mlm blog and become an expert authority in your field. Brand yourself on the internet as people basically follow leaders. Nobody wants to follow 'a follower'.

- Participate in forums
Again, the idea is to brand yourself and this is a good way of getting to know many people and making more friends. If you are in the mlm industry, then join the many mlm forums and contribute to the discussions that abound. Just remember not to spam. This is another good alternative to generating free leads.

- Make use of social networking media
Social networking platforms like Facebook and MySpace are some of the most visited sites on the internet with millions of visitors every single day. If you are able to tap into the massive traffic there and start an MLM community, you will always have free mlm leads pouring into your sales funnel.

- Article Marketing
No matter the niche you are in, if you can deliver attention grabbing and traffic pulling articles, you will be able to generate lots of free leads. You can drive traffic from article directories. Article marketing is also a great way to tap on the traffic from search engines as they tend to rank very well on Google.