How To Succeed At Home

It’s surprising how many Network Marketers and Direct Sales People are reluctant to talk with friends and family about their business.
  
I guess it’s understandable in many ways because they are reluctant to run the risk of alienating those close to them.
  
If this happens to you, it does mean you’re missing out on a source of high quality business partners and customers.
  
Perhaps even worse, they might need what you have to offer and they’re missing out because you haven’t spoken with them about it.
  
So, what’s the solution so that everyone wins?  Here are some suggestions.
  
Firstly, always keep in mind that your purpose is to help other people solve their problems.  When you’re talking with friends, or anyone come to that, all you’re looking to do is to discover if they have the types of problems you can help them solve.  That’s all.
  
Next, before approaching a friend, take some time to prepare yourself. Think about everything you know about them. Write down everything you can about their family, their hobbies, their sports, their jobs, their relationships, and especially their likes, dislikes, passions, and so on.
  
Write down all the problems you might have heard them talk about, that your business opportunity might be able to solve. Things like health problems or tight finances, and think, if you can, how it’s affecting them.
  
These are the things you can explore further when you next speak with them.
  
Now, when you do speak with someone keep in mind the following…
  
  * Respect the relationship that is already there. What’s more
  important? Your friendship or wanting them as a business
  partner?
  
  * Explore their previously expressed problems or see if they do
  have the types of problems you can help them solve without
  necessarily talking about your solutions.
  
  * Let go from talking about your business opportunity. Your
  first aim at this stage is to simply discover if you might be
  able to   be of help.  If in the course of your conversation it
  becomes clear your friend or family member might has an
  interest in changing their present situation, then you can
  offer your solution there and then or continue the dialogue at
  another time.
  
If you adopt this approach, you won’t run the risk of upsetting people and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how many people will be open to listening to you.

If you’re an entrepeneur and looking for a business, take a look at this web site.

Make It A Great Day.

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Today, let’s talk about creating a landing page.  It’s also called by other names, such as:  Squeeze Page, Capture Page, etc.  There are many options that can be used when creating your landing page.  I’ll talk about a few of the basics that really should be used.

Here’s a short list of things to consider:

• Screen Size:  You want your landing page to be enticing and eye-catching, so it shouldn’t be too big.  The idea is to have it the right size so that it can be viewed on screen without having to scroll.  You want to make it as easy as possible for the visitor to your site to see your message.  So, a good suggested size would be 700 x 700 pixels.
• Heading:  A heading should be a short and precise sentence.  It should catch the attention of the reader by explaining your offer and how it will benefit them.  Something like: “A Realistic $250K First-Year Income Potential” would work.  The heading should be large, but not too large.  Here’s a good suggestion of the size, font and color.  Try 18 point, Tahoma in a red or blue color.
• Pre Headline:  The pre headline is put above and to the left of the heading.  It should be a smaller font than the Heading and should be in bold.
• Number of Words:  The number of words used in a landing page is important.  Again, you don’t want the page to be too long.  Keep the body of your landing page to 200 or less (not counting the heading).  You don’t want visitors to get bored and leave without opting-in and providing their information.  Of course, make sure that the grammar and spelling are correct.  There’s probably nothing that turns of prospects than bad grammar and misspelled words.
• Sub Headline:  The sub headline is obviously below the heading.  It can be right under it or under the body.  It can be something as simple as: “Read This Page”, or “Entrepreneurs Wanted”.
• Information Gathering Fields:  At the bottom of the landing page, you’ll need some fields that gather personal information from the visitor.  The number of fields should be less than five.  The options are numerous.  The first thing that is needed is their name and a way to contact them.  I prefer getting just their first name and their e-mail address.  That’s less intrusive and more likely to get a response.
• Submit Button:  You need a button that, when clicked, will give them access to a web site with more information and send their information to your auto-responder to automatically send them a pre-planned, informative set of e-mails explaining your product or opportunity.  Above, or below, the button you can add “Show Me How”, Free Instant Access” if you think it will help to get a visitor to submit their information.

The important thing to remember is to make your landing page simple, eye-catching and straight forward.  Make sure it’s honest.  In other words, don’t claim anything that is exaggerated or untrue.

Here’s my landing page to look at.

Make It A Great Day!

 Morgan Schouten

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Have you ever wondered if there was a step-by-step process for evaluating an MLM/Network Marketing company to determine if it’s a recruiting MLM, or exploitive chain selling program (or in other words - a “pyramid scheme”)?  Well, I have exactly what you’re looking for. This is a 5-step program that you can use to evaluate an MLM/network Marketing program – or any other type of chain selling programs 

• #1: Participants are recruited in an endless chain of participants.

Would you, as a new recruit, be permitted and even encouraged to recruit other participants, who would in turn be encouraged to recruit others, and they still more, etc. – from whom you could collect commissions and/or bonuses on what they buy or sell?

• #2:  Advancement in the scheme is by recruitment, rather than by appointment.

Is advancement in a hierarchy of multiple levels of participants achieved by recruitment and/or by a combination of recruitment and sales volume, rather than by appointment, as in other work or sales settings?

• #3: Participants are expected to buy (or subscribe to) products or services in order to qualify for commissions or bonuses or to advance in the scheme. 

Are you being encouraged to make initial or ongoing purchases in order to take advantage of the “business opportunity,” and later to continue qualifying for advancement in (or payout in overrides and bonuses from) the MLM company? 
– or –  
Even though there is little or no cost to “sign up” for the program, are there minimum volume requirements that must be met in order to advance to higher levels in the hierarchy or to receive greater commissions or bonuses at some level?
 –or –  
Are you expected to pay for training seminars, workshops, audio or video programs, weekend retreats, etc. in order to stay in the good graces of your up-line? 

• #4: The company pays commissions and bonuses on more than four levels of participants.

Does the company pay overrides (commissions and bonuses) to distributors in a hierarchy of more than four levels?

• #5: Company payout per sale for the total of all up-line participants exceeds that for the person actually selling the product.

Would the total amount of commissions (or discounts, bonuses, etc.) paid by the company to the entire up-line of a participant receive more than he/she would receive for actually making the sale?

Evaluation

If you find all five (or even four) of these red flags in a compensation plan, then the MLM program could be considered a recruiting MLM, or exploitive chain selling program (translation in many jurisdictions – “pyramid scheme”) in concept, structure, and effects. This would be true regardless of quality of products offered, type of compensation plan, company policy regarding recruiting, or any other efforts of company officials to make its program appear to be legitimate. The primary emphasis is on deriving income from recruitment, with insufficient incentives to retail products or services.

Regardless of what label is placed on the program – chain or  pyramid selling program, “direct selling,” “consumer direct selling,” network or multi-level marketing (MLM), etc. –  when these 5 Red Flags have been found in a program, over 99% of participants lose money - even as high as 99.9%. You can do better gambling in Las Vegas. 

So – what was the outcome of your analysis of the MLM program you are considering? If you found at least 4 of the “5 Red Flags,” you may want to reconsider your decision.

(This information was provided by Dr. Jon Taylor, MBA, PHD)

 If you’re interested in a company that only has two of these flags, take a look at my lead capture page.  

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