Where Will They Lead You?

While working with my previous company a few years ago, I was taught to purchase lead lists and call hundreds of people all day long.  I was also told to give anyone who would listen to me a complete presentation about the business opportunity. VERY few wanted to hear the presentation. I worked that business full time, but I was never successful.

People have been wasting money on lead lists for a very long time.  There are expensive leads, inexpensive ones and there even free lead lists, however, they are all the same!   I used free leads and very expensive ones, and I saw absolutely no difference between the leads on these lists.  

Have you ever been on a website when a pop-up appears offering you a free IPad, free Whopper or a free Trip?  Those who fall for those “offers” are the people who end up on your lead lists.  There are also online surveys people can complete for an opportunity to win a prize.  The survey questions sometimes include one or two asking whether the person would like a home business.  Because they think it will improve their chances of winning the prize, they often answer “yes” although they have no interest whatsoever. 

When you call these people, to them you are simply a telemarketer interrupting their day.  You won’t be the first one calling them; there may have been eight or ten who had the exact list you have who have already called these people.  So, not only did these leads not even inquire about a home based business, but now you are among the long list of people calling them about one.  Even worse, most of these leads are resold “wholesale" to other companies who sell the leads as well. 

No matter whether you are buying “fresh,” triple verified, or “hot off the press” leads, you are wasting money that you could be spending to generate your own leads.  If you disagree with me, that’s your choice of course.  Continue buying those leads, since you apparently enjoy people hanging up on you.

There is a better way to acquire leads for your network marketing business: learn to generate your own leads through free avenues of Internet marketing.  Generating your own leads can be free, or if you choose to pay a small fee that’s fine too.  Lead generation does not have to be time consuming, and it will pay off in the long run, unlike buying leads from a company.

I have prospects contact me by phone, email or through my websites every day.  They contact me.  I never make the first contact.  In addition, when they call me, they have usually already researched my company and been to my website.  I never have to give a full presentation to them.  If you use social networking, relationship marketing, your prospects will be calling you too, without spending a dime on leads.

If you are not familiar with relationship marketing, you can read or watch videos telling you how. You need not be a “high-tech” person and you need not know how to “sell.”   I wrote a blog about lead generation yesterday, and I see others posted nearly every day.  If you just “google” relationship marketing, you’ll find hundreds of resources where you can learn.

So, dump the lead lists which are in actuality simply a list of miscellaneous names.  Spend your time instead online growing your internet presence.  Starting from scratch, it may take a couple months or more before you begin receiving prospect calls.  It will depend on how much time and in how many places you are posting.  Once you begin generating your leads, you will wonder why you ever spent money on a list!

========================

For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

 

For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance). 

I invite you to visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle 

It's a Scam!

Those of us involved in network marketing face the challenge that there are MANY illegal scams trying to recruit the same people you are.  Unfortunately, their poor image often rubs off on us. Scammers have created a bad reputation for network marketing.  It has improved over recent years, but the poor reputation is far from disappearing.

People who are the victims of those scams increase this bad image when they share what happened to them with everyone they know.  However, many perfectly legitimate network marketing companies do exist. 

So, how can someone seeking a home business recognize a scam?  There are a few things that nearly always exist with scam businesses.

·        Scam companies rarely offer legitimate, high quality products or any products at all. So ask yourself, could you make money by only selling products with this company?  If the answer is no, it's a scam.

·        Has the rep trying to recruit you told you can make a lot of money with little or no effort? If they did, it's a scam.  There is no such thing as a “get rich quick" network marketing or online business. 

·        Were you told that your computer will do all the work while you sleep? You guessed it.  It's a scam.

·        Were you told that the distributor has a secret that helped them sponsor 100 people in less than two months?  Once again, it’s a scam!

·        Every network marketer should love and use the products they are promoting.  However, some companies require their reps to purchase a certain amount of product every single month, even if you don’t yet need them.  If you’re looking at a company that tells you it is mandatory to purchase products regularly, it could be a scam.

·        Have you found lots of negative posts about the company on the internet?  If so, you may want to reconsider the company.

·        “Miracle” products are flourishing these days.  Companies claim their product can cure everything from a hang nail to cancer.  There is NO cure all and you don’t want to be involved with networks selling these products.  

·        The same goes for cosmetics and makeup that offers unrealistic claims that their products seem too good to be true. Remember, there may be a hundred others who didn't have the same result compared to a few people who testified that the product works.

·        Run away from scammers who want you to sign up there and then without making a sound decision.

Research the company carefully.  Learn as much as possible about them using third party websites, not only the company pages.  Is it well-established or is it a new company?  If it is a startup, it may be a good opportunity for you. However, learn about the owner/manager of the company to see if they have been involved with illegal companies in the past.  New companies may well become profitable if they grow and you are near the top.  Of course, there is also a risk that they will fail.  The bottom line is to perform your due diligence and investigate. Don’t rush to join or put any money into a company.

On the other hand, don't let procrastination or fear prevent you from taking action toward achieving your financial goals through network marketing. Network marketing has many advantages if you join a company you have researched thoroughly and about whose products you feel passionate. 

For those of you seeking a new or additional home business, if you keep your eyes and ears open, you can find a business that can change your life!  Be wise and you may truly achieve financial independence. 

========================

For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance). 

I invite you to visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle 

Are You Truly Striving for Success?

Since you are reading this post, you already know that online marketing is powerful.  If you are consistently using online marketing for your business, after you have been doing it a while, you will begin generating leads who contact you! 

Attraction or Relationship Marketing is vital to generating leads.  Among the many ways to generate leads online, I find blogging to be the most effective for growing an online presence.  Each blog posted remains online forever.  It costs us nothing but time to write and post a blog.   

Here are a few other tips about home businesses and online relationship marketing.

·        Don’t “Hype” your products or opportunity or include your business in everything you post online.  When you go into “selling mode,” it is natural for people to tune you out or resist.  Let your posts tell readers about you, not only your business. 

·        Demonstrate your knowledge by including value in your posts.  Value in your posts is important because people buy from those they know, like and trust.  Prospects should see you as a leader.  If you are seeking team members, you want them to appreciate that you know what you are doing and have a vision for success.

·        Understand that most people will not join or buy your products.  Build your relationship with them anyway. You never know who they know who may be interested in our opportunity. 

·        Don’t ever give up! Entrepreneurs face challenges whatever business they are in. You may have periods when you are earning no money. It happens. As an entrepreneur, you are stepping out of the average person’s lifestyle of working 40 hours a week for 40 years.  You are working to build a better life.  Don’t procrastinate; work your business every day – even if only for 10 minutes; and never quit! 

·        Persistence is crucial.  To succeed with any business, you must be persistent, consistent and patient. It may take months or even years.  Will you resist the urge to give up after a short time because your business isn’t growing as quickly as you want?  Are you convinced that you will succeed, whether it is next week, next month or next year? 

·        Do you have an overall strategy for achieving your long term goals?  The big picture includes putting a plan into action to achieve a successful result.

·        If you are working your business only “when you have time,” you likely are not working it very much at all.  Even if you have an outside job and/or children at home, create a work schedule that establishes when you will work your business. Building a successful business takes sacrifice.  If you have to give up your favorite TV show to work your business, isn’t it worth it to reach your goals? 

We have all read blogs about building a home business, but each one has a slightly different perspective and presents them differently.  I hope that at least a couple of these tips will be useful to each of you. 

========================

For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

 

For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).  

I invite you to visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle 

No Man (or Woman) is an Island

Teamwork is vital to the success of virtually any business – a restaurant, retail store, huge corporation or a network marketing business.  No one stands alone and expects to accomplish all that needs to be done.  In retail and corporations, each person serves a specific purpose, and if one person isn’t holding up their end, the remaining people must pick up the slack.  In most situations, the “slacker” wouldn’t last very long with their company.  They would be fired.

In network marketing, teamwork is a bit different.  Unless a team member violates company rules, they generally cannot be “fired.”  There are a few elements that are needed to keep a team running smoothly. 

·        A common purpose.  With network marketing, each individual in a team is an independent business owner, but each joined the network to achieve success.  Yes, I know that not all the team members will ever be successful, but I’m talking a common purpose.

·        Interdependence.  Each member of a network marketing team depends on at least one other person to reach their goals.  They depend on their sponsor to train them and support them along their path.  Team leaders depend on each of their members to work their business, thus helping both the member and leader to grow their businesses.

·        Roles and contributions.  Each person can play more than one role in network marketing.  If they are building a team, they are a team leader.  However, that leader also has their own sponsor, and they are a member of that person’s team, helping their own sponsor by making sales.  How much each individual contributes to the team can greatly affect the success of many.

·        Accountability, both individual and mutual.  Each individual within a team is responsible to themselves to grow their personal business.  At the same time, they are also accountable to the team as a whole.  It is true that, in network marketing, there are always going to be those who do not take this responsibility seriously, either to themselves or their team.  These people never succeed.

·        Empowerment.  Independent business owners have the power to create an empire, make a decent living or supplement their income.  They are empowered to make their choices and work their businesses accordingly.  There is both freedom and challenges that come with empowerment.

Those individuals in network marketing who do not consider themselves part of a team are rarely successful.  Working together to achieve that common purpose drives each individual to work harder to help themselves and the team. 

·        Team meetings, Webinars and conference calls can help members of a team to see how important they are to the team as a whole. 

·        Competition between different teams can inspire team members to work harder to earn the prize and to help the team at the same time. 

·        For those who have team members who reside in their community, having local team events can help to strengthen a team. 

No matter how we do it, those leading a team must encourage their teams to work for the benefit of the company as a whole, for the team and for themselves.  They are all intertwined, and when everyone on a team works for the same common purpose, they are helping to create and maintain both a strong team and a successful business.

========================

For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).