Recruit without calling a single lead?

How many times have you heard that by marketing your

MLM business on the Internet you will be able to recruit

thousands into your organization without calling a single

lead?

Well the fact is that the reason the Gurus use this approach

in selling their membership, course, system or book is that

they know… without a doubt… that picking up the phone

and calling a lead scares the holy snot out of most folks.

However, I am here to tell you that if you truly want to be

successful in your Network Marketing business… you must

learn to get over your fear of calling leads.  After all…

you really know deep inside that anyone joining a business

opportunity is going to want to get to know and trust the

person they will be working with. And as the person they

will be working with it is up to you to make contact… by

phone… and make the personal connection, to build the

rapport and trust that will seal the deal.

I know… I know… you understand it’s what you need to do

but that doesn’t alleviate the fact that you are still

scared to death of actually picking up the phone and doing

it.

Well, you can rest easy now, because that is exactly what

this article is about. How you can overcome your fear of

calling leads… in fact… by this time next week you will

actually be enjoying the process.

Here is your step by step approach to overcoming your phone

fright.

Tip #1: Adjust your attitude

First of all most of us think that our goal is to call this

lead and sell them on joining our opportunity. Your fears

are well founded if you take this approach. Most of you

won’t get very far into the phone conversation without a

response of how did you get my number, I’m not interested,

don’t call me again or just a slam dunk, hangup.

As I said… you need an attitude adjustment.  First of all

you must understand that you are not in the business of

“selling anything”.  “Huh”, you say, “of course I am, I’m

selling a business opportunity in XYZ company or at least I

am selling the XYZ amazing nutritional products.”

NO YOU’RE NOT!  You are in the business of recruiting.  You

are looking for some good business minded partners to help

you in your efforts to market the XYZ opportunity and to

market XYZ’s amazing products.

So, with this attitude change… do you begin to see the

difference in how it will feel to be able to interview your

prospect as if he or she were applying for a job rather than

you trying to sell them something?  This puts you in the

position of being the one to reject them rather than being

rejected yourself. Just approaching your calls with this new

attitude will give you more confidence. Whole different

ballgame now, isn’t it? 

Tip #2: Let them know you’re not selling anything.

With all the calls they may be getting they may already be

weary of people calling and trying to sell them the latest,

greatest product or opportunity. So start right out by

letting them know you are not calling to sell them

anything.

Hi, this is Dave, I’m calling because you requested

information on a business opportunity… don’t worry, I’m

not going to try to sell you anything, I just need to ask a

few questions to make sure we get you the proper

information.

Tip #3: Ask questions

If you have never read “How to Win Friends & Influence

People”, by Dale Carnegie, it is a must read for anyone in

the business of friendly persuasion.  I won’t go into great

detail about the book but will touch on the main focus. That

is this; The thing that people want to talk about most is

themselves. And the key to getting them to talk about

themselves is this… ask questions… then shut up and

listen.

I have a personal story that emphasizes this point. Shortly

after I had re-read “How to Win Friends & Influence People”

I was attending my oldest daughter’s wedding reception where

there were many people I had never met. I decided to put the

book’s methods to the test.  The whole night I had

conversations with people I had never met. I asked questions

about them and even when they asked about me I gave them a

short answer and then turned the conversation back to them,

“but tell me more about your occupation, that sounds really

interesting”… etc. 

The next week my daughter called and told me that everyone

was talking about what a great conversationalist her father

was.  I had to chuckle because I probably hadn’t uttered any

more than 5 sentences to any one person all night. I had

just asked questions to draw them out and then shut up and

listened.

So this is the surest way to build rapport and building

rapport is the way to establish trust. Ask questions that

relate to whether they would be a good candidate for your

opportunity.

What do you do now?

How long have you been doing that?

What do you love about it?

Have you ever been in business for yourself?

Tell me more about that?

Is your present income meeting your needs.

Do you want to make a lot or a little?

I could go on but I’m sure you get the drift.  This is an

interview… not a sales call.

Tip #4: Have fun and Make new friends.

Now that you have your new attitude and have developed the

confidence and posture that you have something they need…

and they have to qualify to get it… you can really start

to have some fun with calling leads.

When people see that you really care about what they want

and what their needs are they will really start to warm up.

Every call you make you should do it with the attitude that

you want to make a new friend.  Now this is important… you

must genuinely care about whoever you are talking to… this

is something you can’t fake.  They will know if you are not

sincere. If it is real it will come across on the phone.

When I made the attitude adjustment in my own lead

calling… I immediately began having fun with my calls and

instead of dreading lead calling I really started looking

forward to that time of day I had set aside for calling

leads. I was a headhunter looking to connect with a few

qualified applicants. It became a game and it was fun to

keep score because my signups started to increase rapidly.

Tip #5: Adjust your expectations

Now I’m not saying that you still won’t get a lot of

rejections but here’s the deal… you will be rejecting

them… not the other way around.

It still is a game of numbers and you will have to go

through a lot of duds before you get to the studs.  Soon, by

asking the right questions, you will learn how to spot the

the winners and separate them from those tire kickers who

really won’t take the steps needed to change their

circumstances.

So don’t expect to sign up every lead you call but you will

find your attitude adjustment will help reel in more of

those who do qualify and are truly looking for a way to

better themselves.

Don’t spend a lot of time with those who would not enhance

your business… get off the phone and back into the search

for Mr. or Mrs. right.  Once you have a good prospect…

spend as much time as it takes to build that rapport and

trust before you try to take them to the next level.

Tip #6: Always respect their time

Once you get past introducing yourself you should always ask

if this is a good time for them. This shows that you respect

them and know they have other things going on in their

life.

Respect is another Dale Carnegie trait you need to

develop if it is not already natural to you.  Genuinely

caring about people is a definite “Win Friends & Influence

People trait.

If it is not a good time for them schedule a time for

another call.

Tip #7: Practice…

I find it amazing that people will start a home based

business and not take the first step in preparing themselves

for their new occupation. Hello… think about any other

profession. Most require schooling of some sort if there is

any expectation of doing well in your occupation.  Well it’s

not any different in your home based business… learn all

you can about your company and about the industry you are

in. Study the presentations and even learn to do your own

presentations.

This method has always worked for me. Whether it’s a Power

Point presentation, a talk I’m going to give or just a

telephone script… I write it down, record it on video or

audio and then play it back over and over again. If you do

this with your phone script it will become second nature to

you and you will have much more confidence when on the phone

with your prospects.

If you would like more information about phone scripts go

to www.danijohnson.com  Dani is one of the best at recruiting

on the phone and she has over 100 hours of free audio on her

website.

————————————————————

So if you follow these 7 steps you will overcome your fear

of calling leads.  Not only that but you will begin to have

fun calling them. That is when you will see your business

begin to take off.  The personal connection you will create

with your highly qualified recruits will get you to the

leadership ranks of your company and your bank account will

start to swell like an over ripe melon in the hot August

sun.

OK there it is… I have given you the solution to the fear

of calling leads. Now it is up to you. Can you make the

attitude adjustment that is needed to crank up your signup

stats or will you continue to avoid the phone like the Swine

Flu virus is plastered all over it?

One of the best direct routes to get you where you want go

is through the telephone… You know it… you have always

known it… now you just need to get started.  Your future is

totally up to you.

Until next time…

Live the Dream,

Dave Carter

www.automated-sponsoring.com

(c) Copyright 2010 by Dave Carter

This article may be reprinted as long as credit is given to

the author.

Home For The Holidays… or… Home For All of The Days

The extremely valuable benefits of having a home based business

I don’t know about you but I sure think the holiday season is special.  Thanksgiving arrives and reminds us of the blessings of family and of all the things we have to be thankful for.  But that’s just where it starts for me.  All the way through… from Thanksgiving to New Years, I am constantly reminded of how blessed I really am and how my life has never been better.

It certainly hasn’t always been that way.  There have been times in my life when I didn’t understand how important it was to put things in order of priority, or indeed, what those priorities should be. I spent many 18 hour days and 60 plus hour weeks chasing a career that at the time I thought was the most important thing in my life.

This focus put a tremendous strain on my family and frankly, didn’t win me any awards as Family Man of The Year.  Many times I would show up late for my children’s Christmas play or family functions and sometimes I didn’t show at all.  My priorities were all business first and even my social life consisted of networking and business related functions.

So needless to say, my first marriage didn’t work out. 

Some time into my second marriage I came to the realization that I was on the same track.  I was still chasing the elusive golden ring and in the corporate world… that ring is only for the chosen.  You see, I was never one of the chosen because, to be honest… I was way too honest.  What do I mean by that?  Well, I’ll tell you.  I was always considered a renegade because I called it like I saw it.  If bad decisions were being made I was always the one to express my opinions and offer alternative, better options.  Of course upper management didn’t like to be challenged about their strategies and I was always ruffling feathers.

Some corporations have executives who welcome input and surround themselves with top level minds who don’t always agree with them.  They understand that this is the avenue to achieving greatness.  Unfortunately… those corporations are very rare and are usually found at the top of the list of Forbes greatest companies… or… on the fast track toward that lofty pinnacle.

So… where am I going with all this?  Well you probably guessed by the title of this article that I have found my home… at home.

A home based business was the answer to my dreams

So a few years back I started a home based business and after some trial and error I finally got the hang of it.

The benefits of having a home based business are too numerous to cover here in this short article but here are a few;

·        No commuting to work. I can now roll out of bed, grab a cup of coffee and bagel and be in my office… all in just a few minutes.

·        Less money spent on gas. And speaking of commuting, with today’s gas prices, my walk from the bedroom to my office is sure easier on the wallet.

·        Professional Growth.  This is a real winner for me. Being able to run your own business allows you to learn and apply all aspects of business management.  I am sales director, marketing professional, strategist, business development manager, and more. No longer do I have someone looking over my shoulder and criticizing my every move.  I succeed or fail on my own… and I like it like that.

·        No limits on creativity.  Wow, this is huge.  After being stifled all those years under know it all bosses, the creative dam has burst allowing a wave of creativity that has elevated my spirit to levels previously unknown.

·        Tax advantages.  Another biggie. I had no idea how much money I could save on my taxes by having a home based business.  Tax savings were way more than the start up investment and each year in business I discover additional ways to legally reduce the government’s take.

·        Less stress. There is sure a lot less stress when you know you can juggle work and family. For instance, there’s no worry when one of the children has the flu and needs to stay home from school.

·        Less risk. Running a business from home takes less start up capital than any freestanding business or franchise.  My start up cost was less than 500 dollars yet I have access to millions of dollars of inventory and I can build a giant sales force without dealing with payroll and all the other headaches associated with employees.

·        Advancement.  Hello… what a concept.  The harder you work… the more you make.  You don’t have to wait for someone to decide whether you have jumped through all the hoops and kissed all the right a—-, your raises are directly proportional to your efforts.

·        Extra Time.  According to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, the average American spends 348 hours each year commuting. With a home-based business, I have used those extra hours to regain control of my personal life.

·        Family Time.  And here is the one that prompted me to write this article.  Because of the extra time my home based business has freed up for me, my family life has blossomed like a flower in springtime.  To have so much more quality time with my family is such a blessing that I have trouble finding the words to express my feelings about it.  To be there for my daughter Kayla’s 13^th birthday, or share in the excitement of my 11 year old D.J. when he first learned to ride his rip stick… invaluable! The relaxed atmosphere when spending time with my lovely bride of 19 years and the luxury of time off for more family vacations… are just a couple more benefits that come to mind.  But overall, my home based business has given me a life, a real family life.  I would never have known this kind of complete satisfaction with who I am and where I am going… if I were still chasing that corporate brass ring.

So yes, I’m home for the holidays… but more important… I’m home for all of the days.

Here’s wishing you all the best for the holidays and may you become as fortunate as I in realizing your wildest dreams.

Dave Carter

Depends on how you look at it.

Someone said to me the other day, “Dave, it’s impossible to sign up anyone in my opportunity nowadays… this recession is killing us… nobody’s got any money.”

Well, it’s true… this recession is a tough one. I will be 68 years old in January and I’ll tell you this, I can’t recall a worse economic climate than the one we are now experiencing.  Many folks are losing their jobs, their homes, their life savings and watching their hopes for retirement go down the toilet.  The job market is bleak and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight.

So my question to you is this; Is this a good time or a bad time to be promoting your business opportunity?

Now before you answer the question… consider the following story.

Many years ago an American shoe company sent two salesmen to the Australian Outback.  They wanted to find out if there was any market for shoes among the Aborigines.

They received telegrams from both salesmen.

The first said, “No business here, the natives don’t wear shoes.”

But the second telegram proclaimed, “Great opportunity here, the natives don’t wear shoes!”

So what is the lesson?  The second salesman understood that where there is a problem… there is always an opportunity.

OK, now we can get back to the current state of economic affairs.

People are losing their jobs, their homes, their life savings and watching their hopes for retirement go down the toilet.  The job market is bleak and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight.

In this economy… it should be

Crystal clear… to you and me

Everyone needs… a good plan B

Great opportunity here… EVERYONE HERE NEEDS SHOES!

The recession has created an acute awareness that the old methods of getting where you want to go… just flat out don’t work anymore.  It’s your job to paint the picture of what their life could be like with your business opportunity… show them your plan B.

Will your retirement look like this?

Or like this?

It is entirely up to you.

Until next time,

Live the Dream

Dave Carter

The New Network Marketing Company, Yoli Is Gathering Momentum

Full Disclosure; Before I get started today I would like to make something perfectly clear.

Early last month I was asked to write an article on the new upstart MLM company, Yoli… see Yoli… The New “Super Juice” Kid In Town.  While doing my research on Yoli, the Yoli founders and the amazing BlastCap technology, I became thoroughly impressed with the product, the people behind the product and the vision of where this company is headed.  In fact, I was so impressed that I have taken a leadership role in this dynamic organization. Yes, I have become a distributor early on in what I believe will become a giant Network Marketing Company.  Therefore, anything I write on Yoli from this point on will NOT be an unbiased opinion.

That said… let’s get started with what has been going on with Yoli. 

But first: Never say never… yes I did say I would never market another nutritional product.  You got me dead to rights. But give me a little slack here… I did have a sound reason to say that. Here’s exactly what I said, “One of the problems I always had with MLM was this. You had to convince people that they needed some kind of pill, potion or lotion that they had never heard of, didn’t know they needed and usually could care less about.”  OK, yes I said it… can’t deny it… it is written, syndicated, promoted, and re-printed in all corners of the World Wide Web.  So I couldn’t deny it even if I wanted to now could I?

But… and it’s a big but, kind of like the one on my own posterior.. but I digress. But… I said all that before I knew about Yoli. I didn’t know there would come along an amazing invention that would revolutionize the beverage industry. I’m talking about the amazing BlastCap technology. And when I said that…about that… I didn’t know that the Average American consumed 150 pounds of sugar a year… 150 pounds! Man that’s a freaking boatload of sugar, (a large percentage of that sugar is in sodas, fruit juices and the so called health beverages, super food juices, vitamin and sports drinks). 

The Average American consumes 30 Five Pound Bags of Sugar a Year

150 pounds a year… Lord Almighty… that’s 12 ½ pounds a month.  America is leading the world in obesity by a large margin. If you think America is guilty of global warming you ain’t seen nothing yet.  If we continue our cholesterol feeding frenzy our national combined weight is liable to throw the whole planet off its axis. “OK Dave… cool it… there you go again off on another tangent .” OK, I’ll dial it back a bit,,, but  face it folks, we really do have a problem in this area.

Sorry folks… just had to do that. 

Disclaimer… No one is responsible for the content of this article other than myself… Dave Carter.  Web hosts, publishers, companies I represent, my wife, my mother, my Pastor, or my bartender have neither reviewed nor approved of this content. It is solely my responsibility so you can send all the hate emails to dcfreedom@msn.com.

And when I said that about not wanting to sell another nutritional product again… I was unaware that nearly all of those so called healthy fruit juices and super food nutritional products and sports drinks and vitamin drinks were pasteurized… that is boiled folks… up to 280 degrees, killing nearly all of the enzymes and nutritional values claimed on the label.

And when I said that about not wanting to sell another nutritional product again… I was unaware of all the preservatives and artificial sweeteners added to those products.  Preservatives, additives and artificial sweeteners that have been shown to… well… I’ll let you do your own research.  Just Google preservatives and artificial sweeteners effect on health and read the results.

Yoli Truth… the first product out of the plant… will bring, with freeze dried freshness, a fabulous blend of supplemental goodies the body craves and deserves all delivered “blasted” with a ph balancing ingredient. With… No Sugar…No Preservatives… No Artificial Sweeteners, and No Pasteurization.  BlastCap freeze dried technology… preserves ingredients without preservatives or pasteurization. Yoli is the Aztec word for “To Live”.

Yoli’s nutrients are not dead… they live. The Yoli BlastCap technology is the future of the beverage industry.

Why is Yoli’s first product called the Truth? Because it gives us an unprecedented opportunity to tell the truth about all the beverages we are consuming… the beverages containing loads of sugar, preservatives and artificial sweeteners.  The beverages containing dead or nearly dead enzymes and nutrients destroyed through the boiling process of pasteurization. 

I am embarking on a new venture with the Yoli organization because…. I want to tell the Truth about what America is consuming… and also… I know and respect some of the founders… I like their vision and their goals. Based on the hybrid compensation plan that is a step above… it truly does seem to be a company founded for distributors by distributors… and frankly because I believe that anyone joining this Company with this timing and positioning… the monetary remuneration could be quite considerable… to say the least.

Speaking of the founders, this is a group of independently wealthy, highly successful businessmen who come from backgrounds that have groomed them for this endeavor. All of them, Corey Citron, Robby Fender, Michael Prichard, Darren Falter, Rick Eisele and Bobby Jones have been distributors.  All have built giant organizations and all have written big fat checks to fund this company making it a debt free company.  Their talents also lie in the fields that will make sure the company functions properly. Experienced leaders in operations, manufacturing and distribution, financial, personnel and all other aspects of running a large operation are all on board.

So now after that rant, I can get to the update on Yoli.

Prelaunch is set for September 30, 2009 with official launch in January, 2010.  The founders are busily working putting all the parts of this complicated puzzle together.  It is indeed a large task to get everything in place for a seamless launch. If anyone can do it… these guys have the talent .

This week early distributors are excited as the first samples of product are rolling out the door on their way to locations all over the country. These distributors are the VIP’s who have stepped up to take on leadership roles within the organization. The list looks like a Who’s Who of Network Marketing Superstars. Top MLM leaders from all over the Country are starting to spread the Yoli message.

A couple of things to note about the ingredients; The founders have made a great product even greater by improving the formula.  Before shipping product they have taken out all synthetic vitamins and replaced them with natural food source vitamins. Also the minerals are all food source minerals.  The vitamin C has been increased to 200% up from 100% and the proprietary blend has been increased by 250%.

Vitamins & Minerals

·        200% Vitamin C up from 100%

·        Proprietary Mineral Blend (Rhodium, Iridium + others = Super Anti Oxidants)

Proprietary Blend

·        Alkaplex (ph enhancer)

·        Oxyphyte White Tea Extract (Anti Oxidant)

·        Gogi Juice 40% Ellagic Acid (Anti Oxidant)

·        Acai 4:1 Extract (Anti Oxidant)

·        Pomegranate Juice Powder (Anti Oxidant)

·        Resveratrol (Healthy nutrient in red wine)

Plus… as a new ingredient

·        Live Enzymes / Pro Biotics

I’m sure you have heard of most of these ingredients before. But please… do your own research. Google each of these ingredients and you will be amazed at the benefits that the Yoli team has packed into this first product…Yoli Truth. 

Remember, this is only the first of many formulations to come. Truth is the launching product.

OK that pretty much wraps it up for now. Consider yourselves Yoli updated.

Until next time

Live the Dream

Dave Carter

Shhh  
The secret whisper campaign about a revolutionary new concept.

There is a whisper campaign going on right now that will soon become a roar.  As with most stories like this… it is too powerful to be contained for long.  The cat is already out of the bag so I won’t be talking out of school by divulging this information.

Also, I am sure I am not the first syndicated writer to bring this story to the public’s attention.

What am I talking about?  Well I’ll tell you in a minute but first let me just say, it’s about a revolutionary new product line with a delivery system that will blow away the super juice industry.

But first a little background;

Anyone ever heard of Noni?  Well you certainly have if you are in the direct sales / network marketing industry. Noni was the first big juice to hit the market through MLM sales. Noni became a giant company with billions of dollars in sales.

Noni is a great product and has made hundreds of distributors very wealthy. However, you can now buy Noni online… by the quart… for under $10.

Several top Noni reps left Noni and started Xango, another super food juice derived from the Mangosteen fruit. Xango reached one billion dollars in annual sales and was the fastest company in network marketing history to do so.

Xango is a great product and has made hundreds of distributors very wealthy.

Several top Noni/Xango and some other “juice” reps started MonaVie. MonaVie is another super food juice that uses the Acai berry and other ingredients. MonaVie was the fastest company ever to reach a billion in total sales. They did this in less than two years

MonaVie is a great product and has made hundreds of distributors very wealthy.

OK, get the picture. These super food juices, loaded with anti-oxidants are terrific products and if you were fortunate enough to get on board early you would have been in line to reap hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars in the wake of their legendary entry and rise in the marketplace.

What do Noni, Xango & MonaVie have in common?

The things that these three products have in common are as follows;

·        They are all single product focused (although Xango has recently introduced a cosmetic line)

·        They are all expensive products

·        They have all created hundreds of 5 figure and 6 figure monthly earners in a short period of time.

OK, that’s a nice story and all Dave but tell me…how does it affect me?

Well, here’s how.  If you are wise, you will take the information in this post and use it to your advantage.  And if you act on that information, you could become one of the very fortunate who get in at the beginning of something very lucrative.

Here’s the deal.

Several top Xango reps have left Xango and started a company called YoliLife.

Now understand this… we’re talking about the cream of the crop at Xango. Names like Cory Citron, Daren Falter & Robby Fender to name a few.  Now these guys are not only top producers but they are also Network Marketing geniuses. They each bring their own unique marketing and management skill sets to the table.

They just recently set-up corporate headquarters in Salt Lake across the street from MonaVie, they also bought a five bedroom house for hosting guests who fly in.

Financial Backing millions and millions of dollars have gone into laying the groundwork. Most all of the founders/owners are moving to Salt Lake City to be close to corporate headquarters.

Not only are these gentlemen putting considerable sums of their own money into this venture but they also have the backing of a huge investor in Australia. (I can’t divulge his name here but he is known as the Donald Trump of Australia).

So what makes Yoli different than all the others?

Four things vastly separate Yoli from the other super food juice drinks.

1.    Yoli is NOT a one product company although its emphasis is focused on “liquid nutrition” and a ”functional beverage”. Yoli will bring multiple products to the marketplace.

2.     Blast Cap technology a simple/cool/unique multiple-patented demonstratable delivery technology. By using this patented technology there will be NO pasteurization… NO preservatives… NO loss of nutritional value/enzymes/etc… NO sugar (ZERO Glycemic Index)
BlastCap technology delivers Organic Whole Food - real-time - Liquid Nutrition… offering what Noni, Xango, and Monavie offer plus much more.  To fully appreciate this revolutionary technology click BlastCap video link at the bottom of this page.

3.     Price  Priced at 1/10th the price with 10 times more nutritional value.

4.     Compensation A binary comp plan that is better than MonaVie’s. (MonaVie’s is arguably the best in the business until now.)

Big names from a cross section of the Network Marketing community are taking a close look at this company. I personally know several from YTB and other giant Network Marketing companies who are already in.

What is the lesson… of this history lesson?

·        Super food juice companies make those who get in early very rich.

·        Noni, Xango and MonaVie have all done well but each one grew faster and created more millionaires than the one before them.

·        Based on these trends/past/history, I believe Yoli will be larger than Noni, Xango, and MonaVie (put together)…will get there faster than any of them… and will create larger incomes. Those who recognize this and join early… like the founders did in Noni, Xango, and Monavie…will be sitting

in very high clover… in the very near future.

Until next time,

Live the Dream

Dave Carter

For more information on Yoli email Dave Carter at dcfreedom@msn.com

BlastCap Video  click here

More information go here  

How do I lower the fixed expenses in my business?

If you have been involved in marketing your business for any length of time you already know that your monthly overhead can make or break you.

Let’s face it… there will be ongoing monthly expenses that you will not be able to avoid like Advertising, website hosting, business cards, stationary, auto, travel, meetings etc. etc.

Now these expenses will always be there but they don’t have to break the bank.  You should always be on the lookout for ways to reduce your monthly overhead.

Most people focus on generating revenue and let the chips fall where they may with regard to business expenses.  That’s a big mistake, especially when you are just starting out with your new business.

The faster you can get to that sweet spot where your income exceeds your expenses the better chance you have to succeed in your business.  Let’s face it, 90% of network marketing businesses fail.  That means that 9 out of 10 start up companies never got to the break even point.  I mean, just think about it, if you are at least earning as much as you are spending… why would you ever quit?  Just the tax savings alone should keep you in the game.

“OK Dave, I get it… but what can I do about it?”

Glad you asked.  Here’s the point I’m getting to.  You must always focus on ways to reduce your monthly nut. Any way that you can find to do something for less money without giving up quality you must take advantage of.

Unlimited Websites

Here’s an example. I use HostGator for my web hosting. They have a $4.95 plan but it is rather limited. I use the Baby plan but there’s nothing Baby about it. You get UNLIMITED Disk Space and UNLIMITED Bandwidth.  Here’s the thing I reall like.  You can have an  UNLIMITED number of Websites. I get all this and more for only $7.95 a month and have never had a problem with quality or support. They believe in their product and offer a 45 day money back guarantee.

So why pay more when you can have quality like this for an unlimited number of websites.

Unlimited Calling

Here is something I discovered recently. I still can’t believe my dumb luck in stumbling over this gem.

If you are marketing effectively, you are using the phone… a lot. You know that in order to be successful in this business it is imperative that you pick up the phone and make contact with prospects as well as do three-way calling with your leaders. Human to Human contact is the key to success.

So… your phone bill should be one of the biggest monthly bills in your business.  That is… until now!

I have now reduced my phone cost dramatically and increased my global outreach at the same time. But the great thing about it is this; I have added another income stream to my business portfolio without spending any more money. In fact, I’m saving a lot of money.

How am I saving all this money on my phone bills? In one word Proxycomm. In a lot more words… I will now explain.

Proxycomm was founded and is led by telecommunications industry all star veterans and an executive team with technology startup and network marketing backgrounds. Proxycomm has focused on developing and refining the latest technologies and then selling through a whole new channel, bringing advanced communications services to wholly untapped markets, previously un-served by most technology companies.

So you and I get to take advantage of these advanced communications services like;

§           An additional line for your existing phones! You get a new number in any available area code

§           UNLIMITED nationwide calling on the Proxycomm Network for only $24.99 a month.

§           All of the great ProxyLine features, including: Simultaneous Ring, Advanced Voicemail, Call Screening, Call Recording, Live Call Transfer, and Free Directory Assistance.

Then you can add on options like an 800 Toll Free number for your ProxyLine, or one of the UNLIMITED International calling plans…

Oh… and did I mention an additional income stream?  That’s right… you can market Proxycomm services to your customers, team members and anyone who would like to save money on their communications. And the comp plan is unbelievable!

If you are wondering… “how much does it cost to join”?, it’s pretty painless. The annual distributor fee is only $35.  It comes with a replicated website and tons of support.

You must continue to be diligent about reducing your business overhead.

So these are just two ways I have been able to reduce my business overhead. In today’s economic climate you must always remain diligent in finding new ways to reduce your monthly expenses.

As I have discussed in previous posts, it really helps if you can offer services to your customers that they are already using like travel or telephone service.  And it certainly is a plus if you can save your customers some money in the process.

In hard economic times it is very difficult to sell pills, potions or lotions to someone who never heard of them, doesn’t know they need them and could care less.

Stick with something they already use and save them money in the process.

It’s a win – win… no brainer.

Until next post

Live the Dream,

Dave Carter

Why is MLM a Dirty Three Letter Word?

How can I use the current state of the economy to help my MLM business?

Now this post is a little off point but as my friend Melanie Milletics so brilliantly put it, sometimes you just have to lay it all out there and tell your own story. Admit you have had some rough times and tell folks how you found your way back.

The current economic crisis is putting record numbers of folks out of work and devastating family savings. After having laid off thousands of employees, Chrysler and G.M. are now closing hundreds of dealerships across the country. People have mortgage debt that is twice what their homes are worth. Bankruptcy cases and home foreclosures are breaking the banks and Government intervention is only putting us, our children and our grandchildren further and further into debt.

Tough times bring tremendous opportunities.

Tough times indeed…but listen up…tough times bring with them tremendous opportunities. As Earl Nightingale said, “You are standing in the middle of your own field of diamonds”.

I will explain later how these devastating times can turn into diamonds in your own field. But first… my story…or as I like to call it… my rant.

In the year 2000 (after a long career) I was downsized and drummed out of a Corporation simply because I made too much money! The following year I watched in amazement as my 401K was sucked into the largest freakin’ black hole in the Universe!

Well shucks, one of the principles of The Freedom Formula is to have the right attitude. My attitude tells me to believe that all bad things happen for good reasons. With this in mind, I set out to find the silver lining.

I started another business that was able to generate about one half of my previous income. HOWEVER…with two little ones to put through college in ten years (and me only 60 years old) there just wasn’t enough money coming in to secure the kind of future I wanted for my family.

So, to try and supplement my income, like many of you, I tried a few of the “get rich now…global economy…gift this…matrix that…MLM…monkey cluster…orangutan gangbang…wonderful money making opportunities”! Guess what. More black holes sucking away my hard earned dollars faster than Mr. Oreck’s famous vacuum cleaner.

What did I do then? I gave up. I just flat quit chasing what I had determined was “pie in the sky”.

Then one day I was approached by a long-time, well respected friend who asked me to partner with him in a new business. Now I knew enough to listen to Mike because over the years I had watched him find many gold nuggets among several different fields of opportunity. He always seemed to have the knack of coming up a winner in most areas he tried. I later found out that the reason was mostly because of his amazingly thorough research before he took on a new project.

Network Marketing in the 21^st Century

So guess what…yes it was…another MLM program. But this time I started with a new understanding about what Network Marketing in the 21^st Century should be all about.

I accessed the website, watched the movie and understood immediately…WHY THIS WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

First of all you must understand this…MLM should not be a dirty three letter word. No… MLM is not a pyramid. In fact it is probably the best business model there is for the average person. Where else can you get a turnkey business that has millions of dollars of inventory available for an upfront investment of usually under $500? If you want to see a pyramid just take a look at Corporate America where those at the top do earn most of the money while those at the bottom do most of the work.

According to Donald Trump and Robert Kyosaki (author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and of course you know who the Donald is), Network Marketing is the business model of the future and the best business model for the average person to catch the brass ring.

Now personally, one of the problems I always had with MLM was this. You had to convince people that they needed some kind of pill, potion or lotion that they had never heard of, didn’t know they needed and usually could care less about.

And then there was the method of recruiting. Make a list. Bug your friends and family, the three foot rule. Well…you know…most of you have been there done that. Am I right?

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not knocking MLM. I’m not even knocking those recruiting methods. If it works for you…go for it. And I’m not knocking the pills, potions and lotions either. As a matter of fact… I truly believe that Xango cured me of congestive heart failure. But that’s another story for another time. I’m just saying that for me, pills potions and lotions are difficult to sell.

I just know now… there are easier products to promote and a better way to market them.

Network Marketing and the Internet…
A Marriage Made in Marketing Heaven

MLM or Network Marketing and the Internet were made for each other. The internet has made it possible for ordinary folks to earn an extraordinary income because they have access to the largest marketplace the world has ever seen.

Internet marketing works for me and it is working for thousands of others. So in my opinion…this is my opinion only…if you are still using those outdated methods of recruiting…you might as well be drawing pictographs on the cave wall. Cause guess what my friend, you are living in the stone age.

So Mike showed me a business that overcame the drawbacks that I had encountered in MLM.

First of all, he showed me a product that I didn’t have to convince people they needed. In fact they already loved it. That product was travel. Travel is now my main business. www.travel-with-traverus.com . I could go into a hundred other reasons why travel is a great business but that’s not the point of this article. Besides, if you are interested, you can find out all about it on my website.

The point is this. Here was a brilliantly conceived and well implemented system for success that was already finely tuned. All I had to do was plug in and let the automated system do the work. The reason it can be so automated is because it is totally Internet based.

Think about it. A business you can run from anywhere with just a phone and a computer. A business where you get to keep 75% to 90% of the booking commission! This is a business where well over 90% of the work is automated.

Blessed with blinding ambition and the right attitude, I had stumbled into the perfect program. Add a good portion of fabulous dumb luck and my sponsor turned out to be none other than Melanie Milletics who taught me the insider secrets about marketing online.

One of those secrets was how to use Social Networking for Internet Marketing. If you haven’t heard about the phenomenal success of sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, read some of the other posts on this blog.

It’s time to pick up your diamonds

As I said before…devastating economic times equal diamonds in your field. Here’s why.

If you have heeded my advice and have chosen network marketing as your method of putting your family on the road to financial freedom, your timing could not have been better.

The key to winning at network marketing is recruiting top players to your team.

As I look back at those days when my 401K was demolished and I entered the world of Network Marketing, I realize that it was a time very similar to the present. Back then I was not the only one looking for a way to supplement or replace my family’s income. There were many others with skill sets similar to that of my own whose 401K’s had also been decimated and their careers were uncertain. Therefore, I was fortunate to have a large pool of talent to recruit from.

It is very rare that so many leaders are available for recruiting to the direct marketing industry. Usually Corporate America has taken the cream of the crop and is using them to grease the wheels of commerce. So what happens when the wheels of commerce come grinding to a halt?

Now… as when I began my networking career… millions of top notch professionals are finding themselves out of work with their life savings dwindling and hard times staring them smack in the face.

There has never been a better time to recruit top quality leaders for your specific network marketing business.

Your field is overflowing with diamonds… so get on out there and start harvesting.

Now that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. The only thing left to say is… I wish I would have discovered this dirty three letter word, MLM , many, many years ago. Sure beats the snot out of Corporate politics.

Until next time

Live the Dream,

Dave Carter

Using Twitter for Internet Marketing

Unless you live under the porch and only come out when the moon is high…or maybe you’re one of those mushrooms that is kept in the dark and covered with shhhh…you have certainly heard about Twitter. The world’s all a-twitter about Twitter…and for good reason.

If you thought MySpace and FaceBook were hot…well reach over and grab hold of your Argyles my friend, cause this is going to blow your socks off!

Twitter.com continues to have phenomenal growth in popularity and importance. We’re talking…in both the consumer and corporate worlds. No longer is Twitter just a way for friends to stay connected in real time, it has evolved into an important component of brand marketing and is an absolute genius way to brand yourself.

Twitter members increased 1,382 percent in one year, that bears repeating…yes I said One Thousand Three Hundred and Eighty Two Percent… from 475,000 members in February 2008 to 7 million in February 2009.

Folks, this thing is HOT! This rapid growth makes Twitter the fastest growing site in the Member Communities category for the month of February, 2009.

Now I admit that I came a little late to the Twitter party but the more I see of it the more I see the potential to increase your marketing results by a similar percentage.

What’s does Twiter have to do with Internet Marketing.

“So Dave. I get it. Twitter is growing fast…so what’s that have to do with Internet Marketing?”

Well my friend…the answer is everything or nothing. “Huh…what you talking bout Willis? You just gave me two answers and they are 180 degrees opposed to each other.”

I know… on the surface my answer doesn’t make much sense so let me explain myself. Let’s tackle the “Everything” answer first.

If you haven’t realized it yet, social networking is a great way to get traffic to your website and to build your list while doing it. It is also a good way to get your name out there on the electric internet and brand yourself.

Getting name recognition, website traffic and building your list means everything to your Internet Marketing business. If you don’t understand the importance of building a list, you really do need to stay tuned to this blog. In future posts we will be covering how important a list is and all the different methods you can use to build it.

Now let me explain the “Nothing” answer. Social networking sites can be a boon to your Internet Marketing business…unless you go about it the wrong way.

If you try to market your business through Twitter the wrong way, not only will it not work for you but it may even be detrimental to your business.

Let me explain it this way.

Back when I was in high-school there were some, what I call silly jokes going around.

Example;

How do you know when an elephant has been in your refrigerator?
Answer; By the footprints in the cottage cheese.

But the one silly joke that is very apropos to the present topic is this one;

What does a 2,000 pound Canary sound like?

Answer; TWEET TWEET.

“Oh that’s cute Dave but where are you going with the tweet, tweet stuff?”

Well I’m glad you asked cause I was about to tell you anyway. The point I am trying to make is that when using social networks for marketing purposes you should be very subtle. You can’t jam your opportunity down everyone’s throat post after post after post. There are plenty of marketers who are ignoring this rule. I’m talking page after page of the same guys pushing their product, opportunity or service until you want to scream bloody murder and tear your eyeballs out.

I would be willing to bet that the results of the marketers who do that are much less than those who follow… the following rule of thumb;

The rule of thumb is that your posts should be strictly social 90 to 95 percent of the time. The key word is social. Best thing to do in your social posts is to offer valuable information from time to time.

For example, a helpful hint I recently tweeted was this; Here’s a tool that has saved my bacon a number of times. If you already use RoboForm you know. If not..it’s free http://tinyurl.com/robotform

Here it is in a nutshell…if folks get used to receiving social and helpful tweets from you, they won’t be so reluctant to occasionally receive a suggestion on a service, business opportunity or affiliate program.

So what I am saying is “DON’T BE A 2,000 POUND CANARY!”

Be a little Tweety Bird, tweet, tweet, tweet.

Oh, and by the way…you can follow me at http://twitter.com/autosponsor

I have a lot more on the subject of Twitter but this is getting a little long winded so I’ll save it for another post.

Until next time

Live the Dream,

Dave Carter

Using Twitter for Internet Marketing

Unless you live under the porch and only come out when the moon is high…or maybe you’re one of those mushrooms that is kept in the dark and covered with shhhh…you have certainly heard about Twitter. The world’s all a-twitter about Twitter…and for good reason.

If you thought MySpace and FaceBook were hot…well reach over and grab hold of your Argyles my friend, cause this is going to blow your socks off!

Twitter.com continues to have phenomenal growth in popularity and importance. We’re talking…in both the consumer and corporate worlds. No longer is Twitter just a way for friends to stay connected in real time, it has evolved into an important component of brand marketing and is an absolute genius way to brand yourself.

Twitter members increased 1,382 percent in one year, that bears repeating…yes I said One Thousand Three Hundred and Eighty Two Percent… from 475,000 members in February 2008 to 7 million in February 2009.

Folks, this thing is HOT! This rapid growth makes Twitter the fastest growing site in the Member Communities category for the month of February, 2009.

Now I admit that I came a little late to the Twitter party but the more I see of it the more I see the potential to increase your marketing results by a similar percentage.

What’s does Twiter have to do with Internet Marketing.

“So Dave. I get it. Twitter is growing fast…so what’s that have to do with Internet Marketing?”

Well my friend…the answer is everything or nothing. “Huh…what you talking bout Willis? You just gave me two answers and they are 180 degrees opposed to each other.”

I know… on the surface my answer doesn’t make much sense so let me explain myself. Let’s tackle the “Everything” answer first.

If you haven’t realized it yet, social networking is a great way to get traffic to your website and to build your list while doing it. It is also a good way to get your name out there on the electric internet and brand yourself.

Getting name recognition, website traffic and building your list means everything to your Internet Marketing business. If you don’t understand the importance of building a list, you really do need to stay tuned to this blog. In future posts we will be covering how important a list is and all the different methods you can use to build it.

Now let me explain the “Nothing” answer. Social networking sites can be a boon to your Internet Marketing business…unless you go about it the wrong way.

If you try to market your business through Twitter the wrong way, not only will it not work for you but it may even be detrimental to your business.

Let me explain it this way.

Back when I was in high-school there were some, what I call silly jokes going around.

Example;

How do you know when an elephant has been in your refrigerator?
Answer; By the footprints in the cottage cheese.

But the one silly joke that is very apropos to the present topic is this one;

What does a 2,000 pound Canary sound like?

Answer; TWEET TWEET.

“Oh that’s cute Dave but where are you going with the tweet, tweet stuff?”

Well I’m glad you asked cause I was about to tell you anyway. The point I am trying to make is that when using social networks for marketing purposes you should be very subtle. You can’t jam your opportunity down everyone’s throat post after post after post. There are plenty of marketers who are ignoring this rule. I’m talking page after page of the same guys pushing their product, opportunity or service until you want to scream bloody murder and tear your eyeballs out.

I would be willing to bet that the results of the marketers who do that are much less than those who follow… the following rule of thumb;

The rule of thumb is that your posts should be strictly social 90 to 95 percent of the time. The key word is social. Best thing to do in your social posts is to offer valuable information from time to time.

For example, a helpful hint I recently tweeted was this; Here’s a tool that has saved my bacon a number of times. If you already use RoboForm you know. If not..it’s free http://tinyurl.com/robotform

Here it is in a nutshell…if folks get used to receiving social and helpful tweets from you, they won’t be so reluctant to occasionally receive a suggestion on a service, business opportunity or affiliate program.

So what I am saying is “DON’T BE A 2,000 POUND CANARY!”

Be a little Tweety Bird, tweet, tweet, tweet.

Oh, and by the way…you can follow me at http://twitter.com/autosponsor

I have a lot more on the subject of Twitter but this is getting a little long winded so I’ll save it for another post.

Until next time

Live the Dream,

Dave Carter

OK so you now have a blog…How do you keep people coming
back?

A key factor to attracting a lot of regular visitors is keeping people interested in your blog. It doesn’t matter whether your blog is a business blog, a personal blog or just a “My Dog Has Fleas” blog.  If it boors them until their skull shatters they more than likely won’t be coming back for more of the same. Many blogs have died and gone to bloggie heaven because people have lost interest.

The main reason for the lack of interest is usually just a lack of posts by the blogger. Regular, frequent posting, which will also boost your blog’s ranking in search engines, is essential to the survival of any blog.

“So Dave, what exactly is frequent posting, you ask?  What are the reasons for me to post frequently? How many blog entries should I make on a given week? How do I make frequent consistently good posts? How do I know what to write?”

Well, don’t fret my pretty…soon you will put on the ruby slippers and all things pertinent will be revealed to you, right here, in this post, on the electric internet.

What is frequent posting?

Frequent blog posting is posting enough to keep your readers interested. Duh! Well exscuuuse me…I have to make this simple enough for my homies back there in Rogue River, Oregon to understand.  You see, in Rogue River they don’t even have elevators…much less ones that go all the way to the top floor.

Obviously, people will not want to come back to a blog that hasn’t been updated in months. They want to see consistent posting so that they know coming back to check the blog next week to see if there are more posts won’t be a waste of time.

How many blog entries should I make each week?

Now you’ve got to ask me the tough questions, huh!  This is a tough one to answer. It really depends on the purpose of your blog. If it’s a personal blog, a weekly or twice weekly update is an excellent idea. A political, sports, music or religion blog should have 3-4 posts per week. Business blogs should have at least 2 posts, but preferably 4 each week.

“But Dave, I don’t see you posting 4 times a week!”  I know, I know, I was just about to explain that.

You see, the thing to remember is that quality counts. Posting frequently just for the sake of posting frequently tends to result in subpar posts which people won’t care about. Why create 4 poor quality posts each week when you could post 2 quality posts per week?  It is important to find a balance—frequent, quality posts that won’t result in burnout. I mean what good would my brilliant mind be doing you if I was hiding in a closet with a gun in my mouth? Kapish?

How do I create quality postings on a consistent basis?

It’s all about following a consistent pattern of writing. Maybe you’re not a natural writer and this is difficult. That’s why we’ll give you an outline to help you.

1.       Pick a topic that is interesting to you and to your readers.  Maybe if your blog is a sports blog, you could write about the latest happenings with steroid influence in Major League Baseball.  Don’t write about something most people wouldn’t be interested in like steroids influencing the outcome of the arm chair luge championship.

2.       Carefully think about what it is about the topic that you’ll write. It’s easy to make quality blog postings if you know exactly what you’ll write. Plot out everything about the post even before you begin to write it.

3.       Before writing your content, pick out some keywords that are relevant to your blog. If you use keywords throughout your post in a natural way, you will please search engine spiders resulting in getting your blog ranked higher on search engines. Your visitors won’t mind the use of keywords if they are used in a tasteful, sensible way. 

4.       Begin writing your post. Don’t limit yourself to a particular amount of words. Just do what comes natural. And if any blog post is hard for you, just take a timeout and relax. You should be able to finish the post a bit later on, after you’ve had some time to think things through, you should be able to finish the post with no problems.

5.       Don’t try to be Shakespeare, write like you talk…in a natural conversational way. That’s the secret to good writing…ala Hemingway, Mark Twain or Stephen King..

So frequent blog posting can be an easy task as long as the person who is posting takes the time to plot out what they’ll write about.  Take a few minutes to think about your post and then just do it!

Why is frequent posting important?

Gaining and maintaining visitors isn’t the only reason to post often in your blog. Catching the eye of a search engine—and achieving a high ranking—is another valid reason for posting frequently. Make sure each posting in your blog features some keywords or keyword phrases scattered throughout it. Logic says that the more natural keywords you have on a blog, the better.  Thus, the more posts you make on your blog, the more keywords you have on there. And the more keywords you have, the more likely a search engine bot is to crawl your site. The more your site is crawled by bots, the more likely it is that you will have a high ranking on a search engine.  High search engine ranking means higher traffic and after all, whatever reason we are blogging for…we are all after traffic.

Live the Dream,

Dave Carter