I thought I was SO clever, coining a whole new word: InterNetworkMarketing. After all, it's not in the dictionary! But when I went to GoDaddy to purchase a domain, I found out that someone else had already made up that word. Webster's Dictionary just doesn't know about it yet. So I had to settle for "Internetworkmarketing Diva." That's ok. I always did want to be a Diva! (Lemonade is better than lemons, anyway! I trust you're familiar with the advice: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.")
So what IS "Internetworkmarketing?" Well . . . it's actually pretty self-explanatory if you think about it. It's a combination of Internet Marketing and Network Marketing. In other words, the act of doing network marketing via the internet.
I have been a network marketer for YEARS. (I could tell you how many, but you'd think I was ancient!) So of course, I learned the network marketing the "traditional" way. (Holding "Belly-to-belly" appointments, showing dvds, making phone calls, etc.)
When I lost my voice for basically a YEAR (Now THAT'S a whole other story! It COULD even be a BOOK!) I found traditional methods very difficult to carry out! (Try making multiple phone call with no voice!)
So, while I stayed in touch with my team by emailing and text messaging, I also began searching the internet, looking for ways to expand my business online. I figured while I couldn't talk, I could still type. I discovered that there are TONS of programs and systems to choose from! There are so many things available that initially I suffered from information overload! Next came analysis paralysis. Slowly, painstakingly, I waded through the information and eventually emerged victorious!
After researching,studying,sorting,comparing,testing and eliminating programs and systems for months, I finally chose what I believe to be the very best system available to help a network marketer build a team online. I put the system in place, plugged it in, and now my main "work" is to "drive traffic" to my landing pages. The system does the sorting, so I only speak with people who REQUEST a call.
I LOVE IT! No more cold calls, "prospecting" or bugging my broke friends! Thanks to the power of the internet, I can get dozens of leads more quickly and easily than I can get a single lead with "traditional" offline methods. It's "Attraction Marketing" at its best!
As far as I'm concerned, Internetwork Marketing is definitely the way to go!
If you want to check out the system I settled on, go to www.InternetTeamBuildingSystem.com. Oh yeah, and another cool deal: You make money when people subscribe to use the system, even if they don't join your network marketing company! How cool is that!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Leverage – One Of My Favorite Things About Network Marketing
If you’ve read anything at all by Robert Kiyosaki, you probably are aware that “trading time for money” is the worst way in the world to make money. Yet 95% of Americans are doing exactly that.
There are two main reasons trading time for money is the worst plan:
1) There are only 168 hours in a week and
2) There is only 1 of you.
So unless you require NO sleep, and are one of those rare people who earn $200 or so per hour, there is just no way you are ever going to get ahead financially by trading time for money. (And if you did, you probably wouldn’t have any time to enjoy the money!)
To get ahead, there are three key principles you need to put to work:
1) Leverage your time.
2) Leverage your money.
3) Create passive residual income.
Today we’ll address principle #1, leveraging your time. Leveraging your time means putting it to use operating a system whereby you get paid for other people’s efforts in addition to or in place of your own. For example, do you think Bill Gates has to get out of bed, show up at his office and punch a time clock to get paid? Hardly. He knows what rich people have known for decades: The above principles, starting with Principle number 1. He has systems in place which use other people’s time to create vast amounts of money for him whether he gets out of bed or not.
Both Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump recommend Network Marketing as the best way for the “average joe,” who doesn’t have a lot of money to invest (i.e. “leverage”), to create wealth. Network marketing, unlike a job, puts all three of the key principles to work.
This is why I have made network marketing my career. I didn’t want to have to spend 40 hours of my life every week working when I could put in 5-10 hours instead, yet be paid for hundreds of hours of work, thanks to the efforts of the people on my team. They don’t mind, because they have the exact same opportunity I do to leverage THEIR time. We have a saying: TEAM stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More.”
I just typed up a step-by-step plan for one of my new team members, outlining the simple steps needed to reach an income of over $10,800 per month her fifth month in the business. Thanks to the concept of leverage, she will only have to sponsor 4 people herself, then help each of them sponsor 3 people. If each person down the line just sponsors 3 people, that’s where her income will be. Her income will continue to grow as the size of her organization grows, whether she ever personally sponsors any more team members or not.
You may be thinking that for a company to pay out this kind of money, the entry fee must be really high. Nope. Under $300. Where else but in network marketing could you invest less than $300, put in a small amount of effort at the beginning, and watch your income grow that fast?
Sure, I know, “It’s not a perfect world. Not everyone will sponsor their three.” True! But some people will really mess it up and go out and sponsor 10 or more. It’s impossible to predict exactly how the organization will grow. But the point is, as long as SOMEONE is sponsoring SOMEONE, the organization WILL GROW. I ask you: Does your paycheck at your job grow like that?
There are two main reasons trading time for money is the worst plan:
1) There are only 168 hours in a week and
2) There is only 1 of you.
So unless you require NO sleep, and are one of those rare people who earn $200 or so per hour, there is just no way you are ever going to get ahead financially by trading time for money. (And if you did, you probably wouldn’t have any time to enjoy the money!)
To get ahead, there are three key principles you need to put to work:
1) Leverage your time.
2) Leverage your money.
3) Create passive residual income.
Today we’ll address principle #1, leveraging your time. Leveraging your time means putting it to use operating a system whereby you get paid for other people’s efforts in addition to or in place of your own. For example, do you think Bill Gates has to get out of bed, show up at his office and punch a time clock to get paid? Hardly. He knows what rich people have known for decades: The above principles, starting with Principle number 1. He has systems in place which use other people’s time to create vast amounts of money for him whether he gets out of bed or not.
Both Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump recommend Network Marketing as the best way for the “average joe,” who doesn’t have a lot of money to invest (i.e. “leverage”), to create wealth. Network marketing, unlike a job, puts all three of the key principles to work.
This is why I have made network marketing my career. I didn’t want to have to spend 40 hours of my life every week working when I could put in 5-10 hours instead, yet be paid for hundreds of hours of work, thanks to the efforts of the people on my team. They don’t mind, because they have the exact same opportunity I do to leverage THEIR time. We have a saying: TEAM stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More.”
I just typed up a step-by-step plan for one of my new team members, outlining the simple steps needed to reach an income of over $10,800 per month her fifth month in the business. Thanks to the concept of leverage, she will only have to sponsor 4 people herself, then help each of them sponsor 3 people. If each person down the line just sponsors 3 people, that’s where her income will be. Her income will continue to grow as the size of her organization grows, whether she ever personally sponsors any more team members or not.
You may be thinking that for a company to pay out this kind of money, the entry fee must be really high. Nope. Under $300. Where else but in network marketing could you invest less than $300, put in a small amount of effort at the beginning, and watch your income grow that fast?
Sure, I know, “It’s not a perfect world. Not everyone will sponsor their three.” True! But some people will really mess it up and go out and sponsor 10 or more. It’s impossible to predict exactly how the organization will grow. But the point is, as long as SOMEONE is sponsoring SOMEONE, the organization WILL GROW. I ask you: Does your paycheck at your job grow like that?
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Here's another one of my articles I didn't think to post on my blog back when it was published!
Is It Possible For An Internet Newbie Network Marketer To Successfully Build A Team Online, And If So, How?
I spent over a year uncovering and scrutinizing the evidence surrounding this controversial question. I am publishing my findings so that others may benefit from that research.
It’s 2:00 a.m., Jan 3, 2009, and I am just too wired to go to bed! Why? Because I just joined the twenty-first century! Let me explain . . .
As a career network marketer of 20+ years, my teambuilding was obviously done through “traditional” methods. When I started my network-marketing career, the internet wasn’t even a glint in Bill Gates’ eye!
If you are a traditional network marketer, you know the drill: Make a list of everyone you know, call them up, set appointments, show them a dvd, then call your up-line for a third-party testimony. Then when the prospective team member doesn’t join on the spot, try to check back with them the next day at the agreed-upon time. When you don’t reach them, continue to follow up with phone calls until your dialing finger wears out and you are forced to face the fact that they have quit answering your calls. People who used to be your friends would now cross the street rather than bump into you. (Congratulations! You have joined the NFL Club --“No Friends Left!”)
Thankfully, I had promoted past the point of having to continually find new team members myself. But I had grown weary of constantly trying to motivate members of my team who were weary of constantly trying to find more people to expose to the business opportunity. I was out of ideas for ways to suggest to them for finding more people to talk to.
I began to hear tantalizing rumors of online systems for lead generation and even sponsorship. But others vehemently declared these rumors were just myths, and that network marketing will only work “belly to belly.”
I felt that if there were that many rumors, there must be something behind them. It just made sense to me that the internet is the tool to use to reach more people! Where else can you contact hundreds or even thousands of people with a click of the mouse?
In fact, I just heard this on a Perry Marshall cd: “Ten years ago Faith Popcorn wrote a book called The Popcorn Report. She said that the trend in the 90’s is “cocooning,” which basically meant that people don’t want to be bothered. If they were cocooning 10 years ago, then today they are locking themselves in a fortress! Some people hide behind their computer, reading their emails all day long, but won’t even answer their telephone. If you’re going to find a way to effectively sell to them, then you’re going to have to find a way to get invited, not as an unwelcome pest, but as an invited guest.”
I know this is the internet age, and I adamantly believe that the future of network marketing will be predominately online. After all, that’s the trend for everything else!
I believed there were probably network marketers using the internet to build their teams, and I was determined to find out for myself!
So the quest began. For months, I spent untold hours diligently searching and researching, seeking the true answer to the question “Is it possible to successfully build a team online in a network marketing company?” After many months of thorough investigation, I am convinced that I have found the answer: Unequivocally, “YES, IT IS!”
Not only did the results of my research prove to me that it is possible, but it is fast becoming a much-preferred technique to “traditional” network marketing methods.
Contrast a) all the time, effort and hassle involved in chasing a limited number of prospects, with b) sitting comfortably at your computer, reaching hundreds of people in the amount of time it would take to make a phone call or two! Sure, I know “it’s not as effective as being in the same room with someone.” But the sheer numbers more than make up for that disadvantage!
The auto-responders do a great job of building a friendly “relationship” with the prospect. If you’ve ever been on someone’s mailing list, you likely have experienced feeling like you almost know the person who’s been sending you those emails and newsletters.
And consider the fact that people are looking specifically for an “online business.” They know they don’t want to have to chase people, either!
Once it registered with me that my original question had in fact been answered, the obvious next question was: “How?” This triggered many more hours of research on my part, tracking down and analyzing the many “turnkey” systems that promise to build your team for you “on autopilot.”
While the systems I studied vary widely in specifics, all share the common goal of having the system do virtually all of the “prospecting.” The object is to save you from wasting any of your valuable time to find out if someone is a prospect or not. Anyone you talk to should have already learned about your business, qualified themselves, and either contacted you or requested a call.
While you may have some emails and phone calls to return from prospects and people who join your team online, your main work is to drive lots of traffic to the lead capture pages of your system. The more traffic the better. Don’t be alarmed – if you select a good system, the tutorials included with it will teach you everything you need to know to do that successfully.
A fringe benefit of many systems, that I heartily endorse, is a way to make money from prospects who do not even join your business!
After several months of studying various systems, I finally recognized that I was suffering from “analysis paralysis.” I decided it was time to stop researching and start testing! I narrowed the field to the three systems I was the most impressed with, and spent a week analyzing and comparing the three. I forced myself to make a decision, and selected one to test. I spent this evening getting it all set up & personalized.
And I did it myself! Yes! I, by myself, was actually able to follow all the instructions in the video tutorials to “plug into the system” and get it up and running without a hitch! Those who know me, with my woeful lack of computer skills, probably won’t be able to believe that, but I swear it’s true! And I didn’t even have to find a teenager to help me! (Although if I had, I would probably have been typing this at 9:00 pm 1/2/09 instead of 2:00 a.m. 1/3/09!)
If the fact that I did it by myself doesn’t speak volumes for the people who put the system together, and wrote the tutorials, I don’t know what would! All the instructions were crystal clear, easy to understand and easy to follow! No tiny little detail was omitted.
Not only did the video tutorials walk me through every single little step, but I even acquired a few skills that will come in handy outside of the system itself! For example, I have had an auto-responder system for months, but hadn't yet learned how to use it! I quickly and easily learned how to use it tonight from the tutorial video of my team-building system! It was really very simple once I had someone showing me, in the video, and walking me through the steps of actually using it!
I am ecstatic to finally have my 21st century online team building system up and running! I have tested it, and it is operating like clockwork! Now I am going to apply the techniques for generating traffic that I have learned in my months of research, with the help of the tutorials in the system, and throw open the floodgates! Hallelujah!
After I sleep in, that is!
Linda Gracy is a career network marketer and team-building coach. She and her husband now spend their time helping others achieve financial independence through network marketing. To see which online team building system she selected as the best among the many that she analyzed, go to http://www.InternetTeamBuildingSystem.com
I spent over a year uncovering and scrutinizing the evidence surrounding this controversial question. I am publishing my findings so that others may benefit from that research.
It’s 2:00 a.m., Jan 3, 2009, and I am just too wired to go to bed! Why? Because I just joined the twenty-first century! Let me explain . . .
As a career network marketer of 20+ years, my teambuilding was obviously done through “traditional” methods. When I started my network-marketing career, the internet wasn’t even a glint in Bill Gates’ eye!
If you are a traditional network marketer, you know the drill: Make a list of everyone you know, call them up, set appointments, show them a dvd, then call your up-line for a third-party testimony. Then when the prospective team member doesn’t join on the spot, try to check back with them the next day at the agreed-upon time. When you don’t reach them, continue to follow up with phone calls until your dialing finger wears out and you are forced to face the fact that they have quit answering your calls. People who used to be your friends would now cross the street rather than bump into you. (Congratulations! You have joined the NFL Club --“No Friends Left!”)
Thankfully, I had promoted past the point of having to continually find new team members myself. But I had grown weary of constantly trying to motivate members of my team who were weary of constantly trying to find more people to expose to the business opportunity. I was out of ideas for ways to suggest to them for finding more people to talk to.
I began to hear tantalizing rumors of online systems for lead generation and even sponsorship. But others vehemently declared these rumors were just myths, and that network marketing will only work “belly to belly.”
I felt that if there were that many rumors, there must be something behind them. It just made sense to me that the internet is the tool to use to reach more people! Where else can you contact hundreds or even thousands of people with a click of the mouse?
In fact, I just heard this on a Perry Marshall cd: “Ten years ago Faith Popcorn wrote a book called The Popcorn Report. She said that the trend in the 90’s is “cocooning,” which basically meant that people don’t want to be bothered. If they were cocooning 10 years ago, then today they are locking themselves in a fortress! Some people hide behind their computer, reading their emails all day long, but won’t even answer their telephone. If you’re going to find a way to effectively sell to them, then you’re going to have to find a way to get invited, not as an unwelcome pest, but as an invited guest.”
I know this is the internet age, and I adamantly believe that the future of network marketing will be predominately online. After all, that’s the trend for everything else!
I believed there were probably network marketers using the internet to build their teams, and I was determined to find out for myself!
So the quest began. For months, I spent untold hours diligently searching and researching, seeking the true answer to the question “Is it possible to successfully build a team online in a network marketing company?” After many months of thorough investigation, I am convinced that I have found the answer: Unequivocally, “YES, IT IS!”
Not only did the results of my research prove to me that it is possible, but it is fast becoming a much-preferred technique to “traditional” network marketing methods.
Contrast a) all the time, effort and hassle involved in chasing a limited number of prospects, with b) sitting comfortably at your computer, reaching hundreds of people in the amount of time it would take to make a phone call or two! Sure, I know “it’s not as effective as being in the same room with someone.” But the sheer numbers more than make up for that disadvantage!
The auto-responders do a great job of building a friendly “relationship” with the prospect. If you’ve ever been on someone’s mailing list, you likely have experienced feeling like you almost know the person who’s been sending you those emails and newsletters.
And consider the fact that people are looking specifically for an “online business.” They know they don’t want to have to chase people, either!
Once it registered with me that my original question had in fact been answered, the obvious next question was: “How?” This triggered many more hours of research on my part, tracking down and analyzing the many “turnkey” systems that promise to build your team for you “on autopilot.”
While the systems I studied vary widely in specifics, all share the common goal of having the system do virtually all of the “prospecting.” The object is to save you from wasting any of your valuable time to find out if someone is a prospect or not. Anyone you talk to should have already learned about your business, qualified themselves, and either contacted you or requested a call.
While you may have some emails and phone calls to return from prospects and people who join your team online, your main work is to drive lots of traffic to the lead capture pages of your system. The more traffic the better. Don’t be alarmed – if you select a good system, the tutorials included with it will teach you everything you need to know to do that successfully.
A fringe benefit of many systems, that I heartily endorse, is a way to make money from prospects who do not even join your business!
After several months of studying various systems, I finally recognized that I was suffering from “analysis paralysis.” I decided it was time to stop researching and start testing! I narrowed the field to the three systems I was the most impressed with, and spent a week analyzing and comparing the three. I forced myself to make a decision, and selected one to test. I spent this evening getting it all set up & personalized.
And I did it myself! Yes! I, by myself, was actually able to follow all the instructions in the video tutorials to “plug into the system” and get it up and running without a hitch! Those who know me, with my woeful lack of computer skills, probably won’t be able to believe that, but I swear it’s true! And I didn’t even have to find a teenager to help me! (Although if I had, I would probably have been typing this at 9:00 pm 1/2/09 instead of 2:00 a.m. 1/3/09!)
If the fact that I did it by myself doesn’t speak volumes for the people who put the system together, and wrote the tutorials, I don’t know what would! All the instructions were crystal clear, easy to understand and easy to follow! No tiny little detail was omitted.
Not only did the video tutorials walk me through every single little step, but I even acquired a few skills that will come in handy outside of the system itself! For example, I have had an auto-responder system for months, but hadn't yet learned how to use it! I quickly and easily learned how to use it tonight from the tutorial video of my team-building system! It was really very simple once I had someone showing me, in the video, and walking me through the steps of actually using it!
I am ecstatic to finally have my 21st century online team building system up and running! I have tested it, and it is operating like clockwork! Now I am going to apply the techniques for generating traffic that I have learned in my months of research, with the help of the tutorials in the system, and throw open the floodgates! Hallelujah!
After I sleep in, that is!
Linda Gracy is a career network marketer and team-building coach. She and her husband now spend their time helping others achieve financial independence through network marketing. To see which online team building system she selected as the best among the many that she analyzed, go to http://www.InternetTeamBuildingSystem.com
I'm an Expert published author! :-)
I have published a few articles in the past, but never even thought to put them on my blog. Duh! Someone asked me why I didn't have them on here, so I decided to post a couple of them. Here's one of them:
Ten Things You Need to Know Before Joining Any Network Marketing Company
In my 20-year search for what I considered the best network marketing company to be in business with, I discovered many things to look for -- and to watch out for -- in a company. In my experience, these are the 10 most important items.
1. It's absolutely critical that the corporate leadership of the company have integrity and a proven track record. The company is only as good as the people running it.
2. The compensation plan has to be set up so that the reps are well paid. You have to be compensated for your time. For example, the company I am currently with set a cap on corporate profits, requiring over 90% of the revenue to always be paid out to the reps! (That's just unheard of! If that doesn't prove that the founder started the company to help other people and not himself, I don't know what would! Because of this, there have been 28 pay raises in the comp plan during the 8 years the company has been in business.) Unfortunately, most companies are started to make the owner of the company a lot of money. I would especially stay away from any binary plans, because those are usually virtual cash cows for the owners. With binaries, what usually happens is that the reps never get paid for a large percentage of their hard work.
3. The company needs to have very little debt, or better yet, be debt-free (which is rare.) If the company you’re with goes belly-up, your paycheck won't clear the bank!
4. The company needs to have a simple, duplicable system for building your business. If it's too complicated or involves too much education, it will be hard to find enough people willing to get involved or stick with it.
5. The timing of the company can be a huge factor in how quickly you can get your business off the ground. If you can be so fortunate as to get involved with the right company at just the right time, you can be a millionaire within 2-3 years! The "right time" is after the company has been around long enough to prove the test of time (5-6 years) and just before the growth hits critical mass. (The same concept as "buying the real estate before the interstate comes through.")
6. I have learned the hard (expensive!) way to definitely stay away from start-up companies, because in all likelihood they will only be around for a few months. It doesn’t matter how great the comp plan is if they’re not around to pay you. Start-ups are ok to gamble on, of course, but only with money you don't mind losing, and never for your main source of income.
7. I recommend staying away from companies that are traded publicly, because they have to be more concerned with keeping the stockholders happy than keeping the reps happy. And the stockholders could care less about the reps!
8. The company should have competitively-priced consumable products or services that are recession-proof. In other words, things people are going to have to purchase regardless of what happens with the economy.
9. The array of products or services should have enough variety to be flexible and trend-friendly. For example, the company I’m with has such a wide variety of products and services that people use everyday, that it didn't hurt the company one bit when a certain product went out of style. If something else goes out of style, that won't hurt us either, because we'll always be marketing whatever is IN style.
10. The company needs to be one that you sincerely believe in, and have a good feeling about, with products or services that you are sold on yourself. You should always be your own best customer. People can sense your level of belief and commitment, and they won't join with you unless they can tell that you are 100% sold yourself.
Linda Gracy is a network marketing veteran and successful team building coach. She had a successful 20-year career with one company, while simultaneously searching diligently for her dream company. After finally finding it a little over two years ago, she is now an Executive Sales Manager, with a team of over 1600 reps. You can view her sites at http://www.InternetTeamBuildingSystem.com and http://www.300KPerYear.com
Ten Things You Need to Know Before Joining Any Network Marketing Company
In my 20-year search for what I considered the best network marketing company to be in business with, I discovered many things to look for -- and to watch out for -- in a company. In my experience, these are the 10 most important items.
1. It's absolutely critical that the corporate leadership of the company have integrity and a proven track record. The company is only as good as the people running it.
2. The compensation plan has to be set up so that the reps are well paid. You have to be compensated for your time. For example, the company I am currently with set a cap on corporate profits, requiring over 90% of the revenue to always be paid out to the reps! (That's just unheard of! If that doesn't prove that the founder started the company to help other people and not himself, I don't know what would! Because of this, there have been 28 pay raises in the comp plan during the 8 years the company has been in business.) Unfortunately, most companies are started to make the owner of the company a lot of money. I would especially stay away from any binary plans, because those are usually virtual cash cows for the owners. With binaries, what usually happens is that the reps never get paid for a large percentage of their hard work.
3. The company needs to have very little debt, or better yet, be debt-free (which is rare.) If the company you’re with goes belly-up, your paycheck won't clear the bank!
4. The company needs to have a simple, duplicable system for building your business. If it's too complicated or involves too much education, it will be hard to find enough people willing to get involved or stick with it.
5. The timing of the company can be a huge factor in how quickly you can get your business off the ground. If you can be so fortunate as to get involved with the right company at just the right time, you can be a millionaire within 2-3 years! The "right time" is after the company has been around long enough to prove the test of time (5-6 years) and just before the growth hits critical mass. (The same concept as "buying the real estate before the interstate comes through.")
6. I have learned the hard (expensive!) way to definitely stay away from start-up companies, because in all likelihood they will only be around for a few months. It doesn’t matter how great the comp plan is if they’re not around to pay you. Start-ups are ok to gamble on, of course, but only with money you don't mind losing, and never for your main source of income.
7. I recommend staying away from companies that are traded publicly, because they have to be more concerned with keeping the stockholders happy than keeping the reps happy. And the stockholders could care less about the reps!
8. The company should have competitively-priced consumable products or services that are recession-proof. In other words, things people are going to have to purchase regardless of what happens with the economy.
9. The array of products or services should have enough variety to be flexible and trend-friendly. For example, the company I’m with has such a wide variety of products and services that people use everyday, that it didn't hurt the company one bit when a certain product went out of style. If something else goes out of style, that won't hurt us either, because we'll always be marketing whatever is IN style.
10. The company needs to be one that you sincerely believe in, and have a good feeling about, with products or services that you are sold on yourself. You should always be your own best customer. People can sense your level of belief and commitment, and they won't join with you unless they can tell that you are 100% sold yourself.
Linda Gracy is a network marketing veteran and successful team building coach. She had a successful 20-year career with one company, while simultaneously searching diligently for her dream company. After finally finding it a little over two years ago, she is now an Executive Sales Manager, with a team of over 1600 reps. You can view her sites at http://www.InternetTeamBuildingSystem.com and http://www.300KPerYear.com
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