What do you do after you run out of your warm market?
That’s the age old secret to success in network marketing.
If you want to be successful long term you are going to have to learn how to generate leads on people you don’t know.
Lead Generation Companies
One way many network marketers do this is by purchasing leads from a large lead generation company.
Lead generation companies are in the business of generating large numbers of leads as cheaply as possible so they can sell them to as many network marketers as possible without diluting the leads.
At least the good ones are.
The bad ones could care less if the lead has been sold to hundreds of network marketers already.
Disadvantages of Lead Company Generated Leads for Your Business Opportunity
Here’s why a lead generation company can never compete with you when it comes to generating the type of leads you need.
1. It would cost too much.
To generate a lead that has already been pre-sold on what you have to offer would cost so much no one would ever buy it. Lead generation companies need to keep their leads as generic as possible so they can make money.
2. They can’t pre-screen the prospect effectively.
In order for a lead generation company to generate enough leads at a profit they have to keep the offer as generic as possible.
If you have ever seen an ad by a lead generation company, you know all they ask in the ad is if you are interested in starting a home business. If you are, they ask for information such as your name, address, phone number, email address etc.
People fill these forms out for a variety of reasons. Some are just curious to see what it is and they have no intention of starting a business right now. Some are really looking for a job and don’t have the money to start a business. Some websites that generate leads actually pay the prospect to fill out these surveys.
Advantages to Generating Your Own Leads for Your Network Marketing Business
When you generate your own lead you can properly pre-screen the lead by making an offer that is specific to the type of prospect you are looking for.
There are many techniques you can use to do this that a leads company cannot.
For instance you can create an article that gives value related to a topic your prospect is interested in.
When the prospect views your content and then clicks for more information you can brand yourself with a picture of yourself and your name.
When they sign up to join your list you can brand yourself with follow-up emails where you are able to provide continuous value and presell them on you and your expertise.
This way when you place your offer in front of them or call them, they are more likely to listen and buy.
Generating Leads from Your Specific Target Market
A lead generation company can’t discuss specific topics and issues that make the lead highly targeted. You can.
If you are looking to recruit single mothers into your business, you can create an article on Squidoo, Hubpages, your blog or a website that addresses issues a single mother can relate to.
When that single mother responds to your offer in your follow-up emails you can continue to hone in on issues related to single parents.
You can continue to presell your network marketing opportunity and why it’s specifically right for single parents.
By the time that prospect receives a phone call from you or an offer from you she is going to be ready to buy.
A lead generation company can never do this and stay in business.
They need to keep their offers as generic as possible so they can sell their leads to as many different types of home business owners as possible. If they did generate a lead with an offer specific to your company, the lead would cost $5 to $10.
Learn to Generate Your Own Leads at Magnetic Sponsoring
Generating your own leads is dramatically more effective than buying leads from a lead generation company.
If you want to learn how to generate leads efficiently and effectively check out inside
Magnetic Sponsoring. It has step by step tutorials to show you exactly how to get started.
You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008
Oct 19, 2008
How You Can Build a Deeper Relationship with More People by Generating Your Own Leads vs. The Warm Market
There are many reasons why many distributors believe the friends and family methods of prospecting allows you to build a deeper relationship then generating your own leads.
After all, you already have a deep relationship with friends and family.
Even if the prospect is only a referral from your warm market or someone you met using the 3 foot rule, you still have the ability to build a deeper relationship in person.
Isn’t that the best relationship you can build when prospecting for your network marketing business?
It is, but the challenge is this thought process neglects one critical point.
Prospects generated from friends and family, referrals and 3 foot rule prospecting are not targeted prospects.
This means you have no idea whether they would be interested in the business until you expose them.
This causes you to waste lots of time on people who are not interested or not right for your network marketing business because you have no way of pre-qualifying them before you prospect them.
Now there’s certainly a right way and a warm way to build an organization using online network marketing for generating your own leads.
There are many people who have build the business the wrong way.
They are so reliant on technology that they neglect the personal relationship that is so important in this industry.
While you can certainly grow a organization fast using online marketing strategies if you fail to cultivate the relationship, these organizations typically don’t last.
In the early days of the internet, the internet attracted a lot of people who wanted to use the sheer large numbers to generate a tremendous amount of leads for their network marketing business.
Relationships meant nothing under this scenario.
The name of the game was to expose as many people as possible and hope that some stick around and produce.
While this type of strategy works very well if you are participating in some type of affiliate marketing program, this strategy is a recipe for disaster if you are building a MLM business.
With MLM, in order to build an organization that lasts, you must invest in developing your leadership skills and building a deeper relationship with the members of your network marketing organization.
There is a saying in the network marketing industry that is very true.
It goes like this…
“People join for the money but they stay for the relationships.”
By taking the time to build deeper relationships with your prospects and distributors you will have a larger amount that sticks around and your network marketing organization will be more productive and effective as a result.
With the internet, you can leverage it to generate your own leads while actually building closer relationships with more people.
This will have a long term lasting power to build a team in MLM if you decide to build your business in this fashion.
There are many ways you can build a deeper relationship online.
For instance, you can create a Squidoo lens or a hub page about a particular topic of interest that would also interest prospects for your network marketing business.
By providing great content on this topic, your prospect will want to learn more.
They will come to your page where hopefully you will have some type of lead capture page where they can fill out their name and email address and get on your list for automatic email follow up.
Generating your own leads is great, but won't do you much good if you don't follow up with them.
The email follow up is key as this is how you continue to build and grow the relationship.
Your prospect will come to expect and look forward to your emails.
Some of them will actually write you back and you can build a relationship that way.
Other examples of content pages that you can use to spark that initial interest are blogs, a web site as well as social networking web sites like myspace.com and facebook.com.
By using these strategies for generating your own leads, you can indeed build deeper relationships, and more of them, than you could ever do using other methods.
This is because the emails and the system can go through a much larger number of prospects than you could do on your own.
The key is to leverage the internet properly to generate your own leads.
To learn more about how to leverage the internet properly to generate your own leads, take a look at Magnetic Sponsoring.
This web site offers step by step tutorials on the entire network marketing leads generation process for you to follow along with and apply to your network marketing business immediately.
You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.
After all, you already have a deep relationship with friends and family.
Even if the prospect is only a referral from your warm market or someone you met using the 3 foot rule, you still have the ability to build a deeper relationship in person.
Isn’t that the best relationship you can build when prospecting for your network marketing business?
It is, but the challenge is this thought process neglects one critical point.
Prospects generated from friends and family, referrals and 3 foot rule prospecting are not targeted prospects.
This means you have no idea whether they would be interested in the business until you expose them.
This causes you to waste lots of time on people who are not interested or not right for your network marketing business because you have no way of pre-qualifying them before you prospect them.
Now there’s certainly a right way and a warm way to build an organization using online network marketing for generating your own leads.
There are many people who have build the business the wrong way.
They are so reliant on technology that they neglect the personal relationship that is so important in this industry.
While you can certainly grow a organization fast using online marketing strategies if you fail to cultivate the relationship, these organizations typically don’t last.
In the early days of the internet, the internet attracted a lot of people who wanted to use the sheer large numbers to generate a tremendous amount of leads for their network marketing business.
Relationships meant nothing under this scenario.
The name of the game was to expose as many people as possible and hope that some stick around and produce.
While this type of strategy works very well if you are participating in some type of affiliate marketing program, this strategy is a recipe for disaster if you are building a MLM business.
With MLM, in order to build an organization that lasts, you must invest in developing your leadership skills and building a deeper relationship with the members of your network marketing organization.
There is a saying in the network marketing industry that is very true.
It goes like this…
“People join for the money but they stay for the relationships.”
By taking the time to build deeper relationships with your prospects and distributors you will have a larger amount that sticks around and your network marketing organization will be more productive and effective as a result.
With the internet, you can leverage it to generate your own leads while actually building closer relationships with more people.
This will have a long term lasting power to build a team in MLM if you decide to build your business in this fashion.
There are many ways you can build a deeper relationship online.
For instance, you can create a Squidoo lens or a hub page about a particular topic of interest that would also interest prospects for your network marketing business.
By providing great content on this topic, your prospect will want to learn more.
They will come to your page where hopefully you will have some type of lead capture page where they can fill out their name and email address and get on your list for automatic email follow up.
Generating your own leads is great, but won't do you much good if you don't follow up with them.
The email follow up is key as this is how you continue to build and grow the relationship.
Your prospect will come to expect and look forward to your emails.
Some of them will actually write you back and you can build a relationship that way.
Other examples of content pages that you can use to spark that initial interest are blogs, a web site as well as social networking web sites like myspace.com and facebook.com.
By using these strategies for generating your own leads, you can indeed build deeper relationships, and more of them, than you could ever do using other methods.
This is because the emails and the system can go through a much larger number of prospects than you could do on your own.
The key is to leverage the internet properly to generate your own leads.
To learn more about how to leverage the internet properly to generate your own leads, take a look at Magnetic Sponsoring.
This web site offers step by step tutorials on the entire network marketing leads generation process for you to follow along with and apply to your network marketing business immediately.
You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.
Oct 17, 2008
Generate Immediate Cashflow And MLM Leads With A Funded Proposal System
If your still building your MLM Network Marketing Business using outdated old school methods taught by your upline, and still struggling, then it is time to step your game up and get started with a MLM Funded Proposal system.
Most MLM or Network Marketing Companies teach the same basic system. I'm sure, if you're involved in MLM you recognize the training system that teaches things like building your 100 names list, purchasing leads, cold calling, 3 way calling, the 3 foot rule, hotel meetings and many other old school outdated techniques. Now I'm not saying they don’t work, they do, just not for most people.
If you've tried these methods and failed, or just don’t want to use these techniques, you should really start looking into a internet based funded proposal system for your network marketing business. If you do a google search for "what is a funded proposal" you will quickly be overwhelmed by the dozens of options available on the market. I recommend the "Magnetic Sponsoring System", but you can go and try to find your own if you choose...
Here are guidelines when looking for a Internet Network Marketing or MLM System:
1. Generic Prospecting System - Unless you can find a quality system that is built specifically for your MLM business, you will want to look for a MLM system that is generic. By being generic it will allow you to market any business in case you change in the future - always something to consider, you must protect yourself and your business.
2. A Funded Proposal System - Since it can take some time for your residual income to really kick in from your network marketing business, you need a way to generate cashflow immediately and outside of your MLM business. By generating instant cashflow it will help both you and your future business partners to be in a position of power and strength. This will allow you to stay in the game long enough to enjoy the benefits of the residual income that your network marketing business will provide.
3. Traffic Generation Training - If the system comes with a step by step training system and team training, this will also benefit you. You will not have to spend so much time training new business partners, which will allow you to continue to focus on your business.
By plugging into a great MLM system it will also allow you to establish and brand yourself as a leader. People will join you and your team because they know you, like you, and trust you or because you have a system in place that they can see themselves easily plugging into.
Now that you can see the benefits of plugging into a MLM Funded Proposal System, get out there and get busy growing your business using one of the top notch systems available!
I recommend combining the Magnetic Sponsoring System. Anyone in any company can use this generic recruiting system to produce endless leads, instant cashflow, and sponsor more reps faster and easier than they ever thought possible.
Get Your Magnetic Sponsoring System Here
All the best,
Frank Tocco "MLM Mentoring"
Click here for a FREE 127 minute video course and
Magnetic Sponsoring Boot Camp!
You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008
Most MLM or Network Marketing Companies teach the same basic system. I'm sure, if you're involved in MLM you recognize the training system that teaches things like building your 100 names list, purchasing leads, cold calling, 3 way calling, the 3 foot rule, hotel meetings and many other old school outdated techniques. Now I'm not saying they don’t work, they do, just not for most people.
If you've tried these methods and failed, or just don’t want to use these techniques, you should really start looking into a internet based funded proposal system for your network marketing business. If you do a google search for "what is a funded proposal" you will quickly be overwhelmed by the dozens of options available on the market. I recommend the "Magnetic Sponsoring System", but you can go and try to find your own if you choose...
Here are guidelines when looking for a Internet Network Marketing or MLM System:
1. Generic Prospecting System - Unless you can find a quality system that is built specifically for your MLM business, you will want to look for a MLM system that is generic. By being generic it will allow you to market any business in case you change in the future - always something to consider, you must protect yourself and your business.
2. A Funded Proposal System - Since it can take some time for your residual income to really kick in from your network marketing business, you need a way to generate cashflow immediately and outside of your MLM business. By generating instant cashflow it will help both you and your future business partners to be in a position of power and strength. This will allow you to stay in the game long enough to enjoy the benefits of the residual income that your network marketing business will provide.
3. Traffic Generation Training - If the system comes with a step by step training system and team training, this will also benefit you. You will not have to spend so much time training new business partners, which will allow you to continue to focus on your business.
By plugging into a great MLM system it will also allow you to establish and brand yourself as a leader. People will join you and your team because they know you, like you, and trust you or because you have a system in place that they can see themselves easily plugging into.
Now that you can see the benefits of plugging into a MLM Funded Proposal System, get out there and get busy growing your business using one of the top notch systems available!
I recommend combining the Magnetic Sponsoring System. Anyone in any company can use this generic recruiting system to produce endless leads, instant cashflow, and sponsor more reps faster and easier than they ever thought possible.
Get Your Magnetic Sponsoring System Here
All the best,
Frank Tocco "MLM Mentoring"
Click here for a FREE 127 minute video course and
Magnetic Sponsoring Boot Camp!
You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008
Oct 10, 2008
Mike Dillard and Robert Kiyosaki Call
Mike Dillard of Magnetic Sponsoring and BetterNetworker had a conferance call with Robert Kiyosaki.
Due to the HUGE demand of listening to this file online, we are providing a link here to download this call as an MP3 file. You may then listen to it on your computer.
Click here to download the call as an MP3 file (10 megabytes)
Here's the recording of my training call with Robert Kiyosaki about his Predicting the Financial Future.
Thank you to Robert, John, Kelly, and everyone else for their support in getting this incredibly important message out to everyone. We are in historic times right now, and it will be interesting to come back and listen to this call again 3-5 years from now.
Mike
Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring
Due to the HUGE demand of listening to this file online, we are providing a link here to download this call as an MP3 file. You may then listen to it on your computer.
Click here to download the call as an MP3 file (10 megabytes)
Here's the recording of my training call with Robert Kiyosaki about his Predicting the Financial Future.
Thank you to Robert, John, Kelly, and everyone else for their support in getting this incredibly important message out to everyone. We are in historic times right now, and it will be interesting to come back and listen to this call again 3-5 years from now.
Mike
Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring
Oct 9, 2008
The Seven Elements of a Highly Effective Lead Generation Site
1. Succinct, engaging, visitor-focused copy
Good web copy provides useful information that helps visitors accomplish their goals,
persuades browsers to contact you, and, with the right keywords, attracts traffic from
Search Engines.
Keep your copy brief and easy to scan. Focus on your visitors’ needs. Use language
they understand: No jargon, marketing fluff or happy talk. Everyone’s busy, so tell us
what we want to know and what to do next.
Eliminate content that isn’t necessary. Ask the question: “Does this build our credibility
or help persuade our visitors to contact us?” If not, get rid of it.
People come to your site for a reason. Help them achieve their goals and they’ll feel good about themselves and your company.
Smart Tip - Try reading your copy out loud. Remember, you’re “talking” to one person sitting at his or her computer.
2. Strong calls-to-action
“Conversion” is the process in which you persuade visitors to take the action you want them to take: signup for a newsletter, submit a form, or call a sales rep.
How can you improve your conversion rate? Use strong calls-to-action on every page.
Minimize elements that detract from the action steps. Provide reassurance with your privacy policy, guarantee, and testimonials. On most of the sites we evaluate, calls-to-action are either minimal or non-existent. If you want visitors to take an action - make it obvious!
Smart Tip - Don’t put your call to action only at the bottom of a long page. You can’t assume everyone will scroll down to see it.
3. Search Engine optimization
Without a comprehensive list of your most important keywords it’s impossible to optimize for the Search Engines and get high rankings. Identify the keywords your prospects will use to find your site in Google. Do it yourself!
Search for your company, but don’t use your company name. What terms would you use? How would you narrow your Search? Once you have your list, make sure your browser page titles, page headings, and links contain your keywords. Optimize different pages for different keywords. Try to use two
or three keywords in the copy on every page.
Smart Tip - Your browser page title is an important factor for ranking well. The title of each
page should relate to the specific content on that page.
4. Credibility indicators
Add case studies, white papers and success stories. Demonstrate your competence, don’t just talk about it.
Do you include testimonials or other 3rd party endorsements? You can and should highlight your expertise. But no matter how impressive your credentials, people pay attention to what others have to say about you.
Smart Tip: Provide bios and photos of your key staff. People do business with people. Good quality photos (no mug shots or high school year book pictures) help prospects get to know you.
5. Good design matters
According to a study by Stanford University, almost half of web users assess a site’s credibility based on the appeal of the overall design, including layout, typography, and color scheme.
Within seconds of coming to your site, visitors will form an impression. People respond positively to sites with a polished, professional look. They feel a higher degree of confidence in your company.
On the other hand, if it seems “home-made” or seriously out-dated, you’re undermining your credibility and hampering your site’s ability to “convert.”
Smart Tip: Prepare images properly. Fuzzy, blurry, or pixilated graphics and logos don’t convey a professional image.
6. Functional forms
The Contact page should include a form to allow users to send a message or request information without having opening their email application. Keep your forms simple. Don’t require too much information, but make sure that required fields are clearly indicated.
Test your forms! Look at them in different browsers. Make sure they submit.
Send an auto-reply message. Of all types of email, your auto-reply is the most likely to be opened.
Take advantage of this opportunity. Start building a relationship with your prospects by
• Promoting a conference
• Offering a free white-paper
• Inviting them to read your latest newsletter
Smart Tip: Get rid of the “Reset” button. It serves no purpose and if someone clicks on it by mistake they may never bother to try again.
7. Simple navigation
Most of the sites we reviewed were relatively small, but even so, navigation was a significant problem.
Keep it simple. Make sure you use link names your visitors understand. Don’t give them too many choices at any one time. And be consistent from page to page.
Visitors shouldn’t have to rely on the site navigation alone: Create keyword-rich links within the text to help them find what they’re looking for. And above all, make sure they know where they are and can get back to the home page or site map if they get lost.
Smart Tip: Avoid links that say “click here.” Use links that include your keywords, benefits and/or a call to action instead.
Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring
Good web copy provides useful information that helps visitors accomplish their goals,
persuades browsers to contact you, and, with the right keywords, attracts traffic from
Search Engines.
Keep your copy brief and easy to scan. Focus on your visitors’ needs. Use language
they understand: No jargon, marketing fluff or happy talk. Everyone’s busy, so tell us
what we want to know and what to do next.
Eliminate content that isn’t necessary. Ask the question: “Does this build our credibility
or help persuade our visitors to contact us?” If not, get rid of it.
People come to your site for a reason. Help them achieve their goals and they’ll feel good about themselves and your company.
Smart Tip - Try reading your copy out loud. Remember, you’re “talking” to one person sitting at his or her computer.
2. Strong calls-to-action
“Conversion” is the process in which you persuade visitors to take the action you want them to take: signup for a newsletter, submit a form, or call a sales rep.
How can you improve your conversion rate? Use strong calls-to-action on every page.
Minimize elements that detract from the action steps. Provide reassurance with your privacy policy, guarantee, and testimonials. On most of the sites we evaluate, calls-to-action are either minimal or non-existent. If you want visitors to take an action - make it obvious!
Smart Tip - Don’t put your call to action only at the bottom of a long page. You can’t assume everyone will scroll down to see it.
3. Search Engine optimization
Without a comprehensive list of your most important keywords it’s impossible to optimize for the Search Engines and get high rankings. Identify the keywords your prospects will use to find your site in Google. Do it yourself!
Search for your company, but don’t use your company name. What terms would you use? How would you narrow your Search? Once you have your list, make sure your browser page titles, page headings, and links contain your keywords. Optimize different pages for different keywords. Try to use two
or three keywords in the copy on every page.
Smart Tip - Your browser page title is an important factor for ranking well. The title of each
page should relate to the specific content on that page.
4. Credibility indicators
Add case studies, white papers and success stories. Demonstrate your competence, don’t just talk about it.
Do you include testimonials or other 3rd party endorsements? You can and should highlight your expertise. But no matter how impressive your credentials, people pay attention to what others have to say about you.
Smart Tip: Provide bios and photos of your key staff. People do business with people. Good quality photos (no mug shots or high school year book pictures) help prospects get to know you.
5. Good design matters
According to a study by Stanford University, almost half of web users assess a site’s credibility based on the appeal of the overall design, including layout, typography, and color scheme.
Within seconds of coming to your site, visitors will form an impression. People respond positively to sites with a polished, professional look. They feel a higher degree of confidence in your company.
On the other hand, if it seems “home-made” or seriously out-dated, you’re undermining your credibility and hampering your site’s ability to “convert.”
Smart Tip: Prepare images properly. Fuzzy, blurry, or pixilated graphics and logos don’t convey a professional image.
6. Functional forms
The Contact page should include a form to allow users to send a message or request information without having opening their email application. Keep your forms simple. Don’t require too much information, but make sure that required fields are clearly indicated.
Test your forms! Look at them in different browsers. Make sure they submit.
Send an auto-reply message. Of all types of email, your auto-reply is the most likely to be opened.
Take advantage of this opportunity. Start building a relationship with your prospects by
• Promoting a conference
• Offering a free white-paper
• Inviting them to read your latest newsletter
Smart Tip: Get rid of the “Reset” button. It serves no purpose and if someone clicks on it by mistake they may never bother to try again.
7. Simple navigation
Most of the sites we reviewed were relatively small, but even so, navigation was a significant problem.
Keep it simple. Make sure you use link names your visitors understand. Don’t give them too many choices at any one time. And be consistent from page to page.
Visitors shouldn’t have to rely on the site navigation alone: Create keyword-rich links within the text to help them find what they’re looking for. And above all, make sure they know where they are and can get back to the home page or site map if they get lost.
Smart Tip: Avoid links that say “click here.” Use links that include your keywords, benefits and/or a call to action instead.
Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring
Oct 7, 2008
Create Your Own Economic Reality
People keep talking about the bad economy and the television makes it sound like we have no choice but to except the hard times ahead but You don’t have to let global affairs, the national economy or the welfare of your industry become your personal reality.
You might think this sounds naïve, but it’s true. To survive and even thrive personally, you only need to give your attention and focus to your immediate world, the one you can personally affect – your finances, your business.
If you don’t let the woes of the world drag you down mentally, you can be in a position to uniquely thrive in times like these.
Here is an inspiring reference point:
The late Sam Walton, when asked his opinion of the 1991 recession, said,“I’ve thought about it, and decided not to participate.”
In 1990 and 1991 Wal-Mart, Sears and the SNP 500 share prices were in a dead heat. Wal-Mart chose to take an aggressive posture, investing in physical assets to strengthen their growth foundation and in intangible assets to assertively promote their brand and offerings. Sears, on the other hand, decided to cut investments without a cursory examination of the ramifications. The result: within only two years Wal-Mart’s share price TRIPLED while those of Sears and the SNP remained flat. And as you know, no competitor has recovered to catch Wal-Mart since.
If you've got the itch to pursue your entrepreneurial passions, don't let fear get in your way. But don't throw caution to the wind, either. Steve Strauss, author of The Small Business Bible and a USAToday.com columnist, offers these tips:
If You're Older:
Don't use your retirement funds.
Do something you would really enjoy and know well. Starting a new business in a new area is not the best idea. Find something where your skills are transferable. A franchise might be the way to go because if you buy into the right one, the kinks are already worked out of the system.
If You're Younger:
You may not be taken as seriously because of your youth, but use it to your advantage. Explain to would-be customers that because you are young, you are more eager to please, and will give better customer service and will charge less.
You may have fewer skills, so consider getting a job in the industry you want to go into. The experience will be invaluable.
Regardless of Age:
Meet other people who have started similar businesses and see what they say. What mistakes should you be on the lookout for? What was the investment? How much money can you make? If you can't find someone to answer these questions free, consider buying someone's time. It will be well worth it.
Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring
You might think this sounds naïve, but it’s true. To survive and even thrive personally, you only need to give your attention and focus to your immediate world, the one you can personally affect – your finances, your business.
If you don’t let the woes of the world drag you down mentally, you can be in a position to uniquely thrive in times like these.
Here is an inspiring reference point:
The late Sam Walton, when asked his opinion of the 1991 recession, said,“I’ve thought about it, and decided not to participate.”
In 1990 and 1991 Wal-Mart, Sears and the SNP 500 share prices were in a dead heat. Wal-Mart chose to take an aggressive posture, investing in physical assets to strengthen their growth foundation and in intangible assets to assertively promote their brand and offerings. Sears, on the other hand, decided to cut investments without a cursory examination of the ramifications. The result: within only two years Wal-Mart’s share price TRIPLED while those of Sears and the SNP remained flat. And as you know, no competitor has recovered to catch Wal-Mart since.
If you've got the itch to pursue your entrepreneurial passions, don't let fear get in your way. But don't throw caution to the wind, either. Steve Strauss, author of The Small Business Bible and a USAToday.com columnist, offers these tips:
If You're Older:
Don't use your retirement funds.
Do something you would really enjoy and know well. Starting a new business in a new area is not the best idea. Find something where your skills are transferable. A franchise might be the way to go because if you buy into the right one, the kinks are already worked out of the system.
If You're Younger:
You may not be taken as seriously because of your youth, but use it to your advantage. Explain to would-be customers that because you are young, you are more eager to please, and will give better customer service and will charge less.
You may have fewer skills, so consider getting a job in the industry you want to go into. The experience will be invaluable.
Regardless of Age:
Meet other people who have started similar businesses and see what they say. What mistakes should you be on the lookout for? What was the investment? How much money can you make? If you can't find someone to answer these questions free, consider buying someone's time. It will be well worth it.
Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring
Oct 3, 2008
15 Rules To Make Your Home Based Small Business A Success
Chris from MLM Forums.com posted this on the forum and thought I would pass this on. It was pretty powerful and wanted to share it with everyone here so you could benefit too. It's a fairly long but highly relative article for any entrepreneur. This article pertains to home businesses, but I think you could apply this to a number of areas. I've cited the author as Chris did...but no other information (e.g. website link etc.) was available.
15 Rules To Make Your Home Based Small Business A Success
By: Elena Fawkner
Someone sent me an email the other day. Supposedly General Colin Powell's Rules for Success. Now, I don't know whether they really are or not, but as I read them, I thought they really should be called "15 Rules For Success In Your Home Business". So, here they are:
Rule 1 - It ain't as bad as you think, it will look better in the morning If there's one experience universal to ALL home-business owners, particularly those running a business on the internet, it's the occasional feeling that you're just spinning your wheels, and not getting anywhere. The number of people who give up on their businesses just as they approach the brink of success is staggering. So hang in there and remind yourself, when things look bleak, that tomorrow is another day, things really aren't as bad as they seem and things really WILL look better in the morning.
Rule 2 - Get mad, then get over it OK, I concede this is more general advice than home-business advice but it applies in your home business just as it does anywhere else. Resentment and unexpressed anger really don't hurt anyone but the person feeling resentful and angry. Have you ever noticed how completely unproductive you are when burdened by resentment and anger? So feel it, express it (constructively) and then move on. As the man said, "get over it".
Rule 3 - Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls your ego goes with it Over the course of my career I have, from time to time, met people whose identity and sense of self-worth is so enmeshed in what they do for a living that they literally don't have an identity outside of their work. Because they rely on an external source for their self-esteem and confidence, they find it necessary to continually and relentlessly bolster their personal positions, often at the expense of others, often resorting to political maneuvring in the workplace to maintain and improve their supposed 'status'.
These people are the 'empire builders' you sometimes find in organizations. They jealously guard their power base all the while gathering unto themselves more and more responsibility, beyond the point of being able to do everything they take on. Because their identity and sense of self-worth depends upon their position within their organization, what happens when their position disappears, such as in a corporate downsizing? It freefalls. Don't let this happen to you.
Remember that you are something separate and distinct from your business. Sure, you can be proud and pleased with your accomplishments but don't define yourself through them. Your self-worth is something that comes from inside your human self, not your business. Ironically, keeping a professional detachment is more likely to secure the ultimate success of your business.
Detachment brings perspective, objectivity and clarity, which helps you make better quality decisions.
Rule 4 - It can be done Don't allow self-imposed limitations to restrict what you can and will do. You can do anything if you set your mind to it. Well, of course, it must be something that is within your power - you can't just set your mind on growing a third arm, for example. But for anything that is within human power and capability, the saying "where there's a will is a way" is so true.
Get into the discipline of planning your life and where you want it to go. By setting goals and planning the steps that will help you reach them, you can achieve literally anything your heart desires.
Rule 5 - Be careful what you choose, you may get it Following on from this, it should go without saying that what you set for your goals is something you truly want because if you do practice the discipline of goal setting you will surely get it.
Rule 6 - Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision Keep your eye on the prize and don't be distracted by what's happening on the sidelines. Sure, you may not have entered the marathon had you known there were going to be 1,000 other runners but does that mean entering the marathon was a bad idea? No.
Make your decisions based on quality information and what's in the best interests of your business. If someone else comes along who represents competition for your business, don't be put off your game. Just run your own race. There's ALWAYS a way to distinguish yourself from your competition.
Rule 7 - You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours IGNORE your mother when she tells you you're crazy for chucking in your nice SAFE secure little job to start your own business. Follow your dream, no-one else's.
Rule 8 - Check small things Like the fine print in contracts. Like the URL in that sales letter you've just put the finishing touches on. Like your spelling and punctuation. In other words, pay attention to detail.
Rule 9 - Share credit You've heard the saying, "no man is an island". No woman is either. Remember and acknowledge the people who have helped and continue to help you get where you want to go. Acknowledge the achievements of others.
Rule 10 - Remain calm, be careful Frenzy and recklessness are hardly the prescription for long-term success in your business. In the face of unexpected challenges, unexplained downturns in business or failure to achieve the results expected, recognize that these are just part of the thrust and parry of business life and use a calm, methodical approach to the problem.
Don't just react blindly or chuck away all your hard work and try something completely different unless a thorough, calm and careful investigation convinces you that you are completely off-beam. Calmly analyze your situation and use your intelligence to correct the situation. Sometimes a one degree turn of the wheel is all that is required to get back on course, not a completely new rudder.
Rule 11 - Have a vision, be demanding This rule goes hand in hand with rules 4 and 5. In order to set goals and plan ways to achieve them you must first set your vision. Think big, be brave. There is nothing you can't achieve so make sure your efforts are going to be for something truly worthwhile.
Rule 12 - Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers All of us have moments of self-doubt or even fear when embarking on a journey to an unknown destination. If what you have planned for yourself brings with it feelings of anxiety, nervousness, even fear, pay attention to them but don't take their counsel. They are symptoms of grand thinking, of stretching beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone. As the book says, feel the fear and do it anyway.
Rule 13 - Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier This rule is closely related to rule 1. Believe that things will work out, that they will look better in the morning, that everything's going to be OK. Repeat the words to yourself as a mantra if you must but instill a spirit of indomitable optimism in your outlook and you will attract success into your life.
Rule 14 - Sometimes being responsible means pissing people off You can't please all of the people all of the time so don't waste your time or energy even trying. You have a responsibility to the ultimate success of your business and to your own personal success. If that means you occasionally have to say no to people to stay true to your objectives, do it. If it means you have to alienate some people because they don't personally agree with what you are doing, that's their problem. In other words, stay focused on your plan. If others don't like it or agree with it, too bad.
Rule 15 - You never know what you can get away with unless you try If you don't ask you don't get. And if you don't take you don't get. Leave nothing on the table. If an opportunity comes along, take it. It may not come again. And remember, in chaos there is opportunity. While everyone else is running around like chooks with their heads cut off, you just bring up the rear and clean up on all the opportunities that are just lying there for the taking among the chicken scratch.
Hindsight truly is 20/20, no doubt about it. Perhaps, like me, you're thinking that if you'd known then what you know now, you would have gone a lot further a lot faster. But as with any form of progress, it's the journey, not the destination, that provides the education and creates the experience and, through it, wisdom. And that's something no book can teach you and money can't buy.
15 Rules To Make Your Home Based Small Business A Success
By: Elena Fawkner
Someone sent me an email the other day. Supposedly General Colin Powell's Rules for Success. Now, I don't know whether they really are or not, but as I read them, I thought they really should be called "15 Rules For Success In Your Home Business". So, here they are:
Rule 1 - It ain't as bad as you think, it will look better in the morning If there's one experience universal to ALL home-business owners, particularly those running a business on the internet, it's the occasional feeling that you're just spinning your wheels, and not getting anywhere. The number of people who give up on their businesses just as they approach the brink of success is staggering. So hang in there and remind yourself, when things look bleak, that tomorrow is another day, things really aren't as bad as they seem and things really WILL look better in the morning.
Rule 2 - Get mad, then get over it OK, I concede this is more general advice than home-business advice but it applies in your home business just as it does anywhere else. Resentment and unexpressed anger really don't hurt anyone but the person feeling resentful and angry. Have you ever noticed how completely unproductive you are when burdened by resentment and anger? So feel it, express it (constructively) and then move on. As the man said, "get over it".
Rule 3 - Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls your ego goes with it Over the course of my career I have, from time to time, met people whose identity and sense of self-worth is so enmeshed in what they do for a living that they literally don't have an identity outside of their work. Because they rely on an external source for their self-esteem and confidence, they find it necessary to continually and relentlessly bolster their personal positions, often at the expense of others, often resorting to political maneuvring in the workplace to maintain and improve their supposed 'status'.
These people are the 'empire builders' you sometimes find in organizations. They jealously guard their power base all the while gathering unto themselves more and more responsibility, beyond the point of being able to do everything they take on. Because their identity and sense of self-worth depends upon their position within their organization, what happens when their position disappears, such as in a corporate downsizing? It freefalls. Don't let this happen to you.
Remember that you are something separate and distinct from your business. Sure, you can be proud and pleased with your accomplishments but don't define yourself through them. Your self-worth is something that comes from inside your human self, not your business. Ironically, keeping a professional detachment is more likely to secure the ultimate success of your business.
Detachment brings perspective, objectivity and clarity, which helps you make better quality decisions.
Rule 4 - It can be done Don't allow self-imposed limitations to restrict what you can and will do. You can do anything if you set your mind to it. Well, of course, it must be something that is within your power - you can't just set your mind on growing a third arm, for example. But for anything that is within human power and capability, the saying "where there's a will is a way" is so true.
Get into the discipline of planning your life and where you want it to go. By setting goals and planning the steps that will help you reach them, you can achieve literally anything your heart desires.
Rule 5 - Be careful what you choose, you may get it Following on from this, it should go without saying that what you set for your goals is something you truly want because if you do practice the discipline of goal setting you will surely get it.
Rule 6 - Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision Keep your eye on the prize and don't be distracted by what's happening on the sidelines. Sure, you may not have entered the marathon had you known there were going to be 1,000 other runners but does that mean entering the marathon was a bad idea? No.
Make your decisions based on quality information and what's in the best interests of your business. If someone else comes along who represents competition for your business, don't be put off your game. Just run your own race. There's ALWAYS a way to distinguish yourself from your competition.
Rule 7 - You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours IGNORE your mother when she tells you you're crazy for chucking in your nice SAFE secure little job to start your own business. Follow your dream, no-one else's.
Rule 8 - Check small things Like the fine print in contracts. Like the URL in that sales letter you've just put the finishing touches on. Like your spelling and punctuation. In other words, pay attention to detail.
Rule 9 - Share credit You've heard the saying, "no man is an island". No woman is either. Remember and acknowledge the people who have helped and continue to help you get where you want to go. Acknowledge the achievements of others.
Rule 10 - Remain calm, be careful Frenzy and recklessness are hardly the prescription for long-term success in your business. In the face of unexpected challenges, unexplained downturns in business or failure to achieve the results expected, recognize that these are just part of the thrust and parry of business life and use a calm, methodical approach to the problem.
Don't just react blindly or chuck away all your hard work and try something completely different unless a thorough, calm and careful investigation convinces you that you are completely off-beam. Calmly analyze your situation and use your intelligence to correct the situation. Sometimes a one degree turn of the wheel is all that is required to get back on course, not a completely new rudder.
Rule 11 - Have a vision, be demanding This rule goes hand in hand with rules 4 and 5. In order to set goals and plan ways to achieve them you must first set your vision. Think big, be brave. There is nothing you can't achieve so make sure your efforts are going to be for something truly worthwhile.
Rule 12 - Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers All of us have moments of self-doubt or even fear when embarking on a journey to an unknown destination. If what you have planned for yourself brings with it feelings of anxiety, nervousness, even fear, pay attention to them but don't take their counsel. They are symptoms of grand thinking, of stretching beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone. As the book says, feel the fear and do it anyway.
Rule 13 - Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier This rule is closely related to rule 1. Believe that things will work out, that they will look better in the morning, that everything's going to be OK. Repeat the words to yourself as a mantra if you must but instill a spirit of indomitable optimism in your outlook and you will attract success into your life.
Rule 14 - Sometimes being responsible means pissing people off You can't please all of the people all of the time so don't waste your time or energy even trying. You have a responsibility to the ultimate success of your business and to your own personal success. If that means you occasionally have to say no to people to stay true to your objectives, do it. If it means you have to alienate some people because they don't personally agree with what you are doing, that's their problem. In other words, stay focused on your plan. If others don't like it or agree with it, too bad.
Rule 15 - You never know what you can get away with unless you try If you don't ask you don't get. And if you don't take you don't get. Leave nothing on the table. If an opportunity comes along, take it. It may not come again. And remember, in chaos there is opportunity. While everyone else is running around like chooks with their heads cut off, you just bring up the rear and clean up on all the opportunities that are just lying there for the taking among the chicken scratch.
Hindsight truly is 20/20, no doubt about it. Perhaps, like me, you're thinking that if you'd known then what you know now, you would have gone a lot further a lot faster. But as with any form of progress, it's the journey, not the destination, that provides the education and creates the experience and, through it, wisdom. And that's something no book can teach you and money can't buy.
How Do You Proceed To Continue To Grow Your MLM Business After You Have Run Out Of Warm Market
Many MLM experts suggest you start targeting your warm market when promoting your MLM opportunity. OK, you’ve been there done that. You are all out of warm market. You’ve spoken to all of your family friends and relatives. Now what?
The problem that exists with this type of marketing is:
Those in your warm market have no need or interest in what your business provides.
They have grown numb to your constant “arm twisting” in your sales pitch.
Yes, warm market prospecting is difficult at times. It is one of the hardest markets to crack. Because of this, you need to find another prospecting avenue beyond your circle of friends.
So, how do you proceed to continue to grow your MLM business after you have run out of warm market?
Here are four principles of MLM marketing you need to master in order to advance your business:
Target your market for the products your MLM offers.
Setting your product in the market place allows for you to identify your customer base. This allows you to evaluate the value of your product to your eventual customers.
To this target market, it is important to send the correct message to them.
This is a message about your product or service that solves the problems and needs of your customers.
Make the decision to purchase your product or service by the customer less difficult.
This can be done by highlighting the positive points of fast shipping/delivery, follow up and support calls if needed.
Delivery of your prospecting messages has to be on your target market’s timetable.
It must be delivered at just the right time. Success in network marketing is dependent on marketing. You have to know how to market your product or service. It is essential to your business and its growth.
A good upline sponsor/mentor in your MLM company can help in this capacity. Therefore any newbie to the business should discuss marketing strategies with them prior to running out of warm market. Network marketing is all about marketing.
Learning how to place your product/service in front of an eager audience of potential customers takes marketing “know how”. It’s time to put the marketing back into network marketing. Honing this skill will pay huge dividends.
Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring
http://Shop4Dreams.ws
You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008
The problem that exists with this type of marketing is:
Those in your warm market have no need or interest in what your business provides.
They have grown numb to your constant “arm twisting” in your sales pitch.
Yes, warm market prospecting is difficult at times. It is one of the hardest markets to crack. Because of this, you need to find another prospecting avenue beyond your circle of friends.
So, how do you proceed to continue to grow your MLM business after you have run out of warm market?
Here are four principles of MLM marketing you need to master in order to advance your business:
Target your market for the products your MLM offers.
Setting your product in the market place allows for you to identify your customer base. This allows you to evaluate the value of your product to your eventual customers.
To this target market, it is important to send the correct message to them.
This is a message about your product or service that solves the problems and needs of your customers.
Make the decision to purchase your product or service by the customer less difficult.
This can be done by highlighting the positive points of fast shipping/delivery, follow up and support calls if needed.
Delivery of your prospecting messages has to be on your target market’s timetable.
It must be delivered at just the right time. Success in network marketing is dependent on marketing. You have to know how to market your product or service. It is essential to your business and its growth.
A good upline sponsor/mentor in your MLM company can help in this capacity. Therefore any newbie to the business should discuss marketing strategies with them prior to running out of warm market. Network marketing is all about marketing.
Learning how to place your product/service in front of an eager audience of potential customers takes marketing “know how”. It’s time to put the marketing back into network marketing. Honing this skill will pay huge dividends.
Frank Tocco--MLM Mentoring
http://Shop4Dreams.ws
You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.Copyright © Frank Tocco 2008
Oct 1, 2008
How To Generate Your Own Red-Hot Home Business Leads
It should be no surprise that the lifeblood of ANY MLM or homebased business is having plenty of leads to talk to.
Whatever the situation, the only logical answer short of closing up shop is that you need to find a way to expose your home business or MLM to more people, otherwise known as acquiring leads.
There are two ways to get leads, you can buy generic home based business leads or you can generate your own.
Before we start talking about how to generate your own targeted leads, let’s go ahead and talk about the first option which is buying generic home business leads. This seems to be where most network marketers focus their time, money and energy.
The first thing that you must know about ANY home business lead that you purchase is that no matter how many buzzwords are used in describing that lead. No matter how fresh it is or how good that lead sounds it’s still someone that you don’t know, that doesn’t know you, doesn’t know anything about your business there is no guarantee that they are going to pick up the phone or give you a second of their time to discuss joining your home business.
90% of purchased leads are produced by people filling out generic online forms about making more money from home and you don’t know the circumstances about why they filled out these online forms.
Were they looking for a Job instead of a home business opportunity?
Were they trying to win a free Xbox?
Where they drunk behind the computer at 3:00 am?
You just don’t know!
There are really no way cut corners on prospecting the leads that you purchase. Often times you are competing with several other people who are contacting the same leads and the only way to make these types of leads pan out for you is to buy large quantities and sort through them to see who has an interest. So here is my suggestion for network marketers using these types of leads:
#1 - Keep your costs down when you buy “cold” leads. I don’t suggest spending more than 30 cents a lead! Most MLM lead companies online sell leads for $1 to $5 apiece… Stay away from these high priced leads and use a service like BigTimemlmLeads where you can get surveyed leads for as little as 14 cents apiece.
#2 - Start to put together a strategy to generate you own home business leads and phase out the cold contact leads over time.
Okay, now for the really fun stuff and the best strategy for building your home business. How do you as a home business owner go out and start generating your own targeted mlm / home business leads?
The first thing you must understand about the process of generating your own home business leads is that it takes time and it’s not something that happens overnight. You have many hoops that you have to jump through in order to get yourself set up with everything you’re going to need. The goal of generating your own leads is to leverage your time and efforts by being able to cut corners on the “sorting” process as well as position yourself highly with your leads.
This means that when you do actually talk to them on the phone or email them you already have an understanding of who you are and what your opportunity and/or product is all about. This makes your job promoting your home business much easier and leaves your prospects much more responsive to what you want them to do.
So know that we know WHY we want to generate our own positioned leads…
It’s now time to look into the step by step process of doing so.
---------------------------------------------------------
So here is the "formula for success" when it comes to generating your own leads:
Step #1 – Get an online presence.
Your “Online Presence” is where you will send prospects to find outmore information about you and your opportunity.
Step #2 – Drive traffic to your website / capture page.
There are hundreds of different marketing strategies to drivetraffic to a website online. The important this is to get as many people to your “Online Presence” as possible.
Step #3 - Convert your traffic into leads.
Using a regular website for your “Online Presence” won’t cut the cake! You need the power of a good capture page that will convert your visitors into leads. The goal of a good capture page isn't to sell people on the opportunity rather educate them on who you are and sell them on what you are going to share with them and why they just gotta see what's on the other side.
Step #4 - Introduce your prospects to your Opportunity.
After your prospect opts in and becomes a lead you then want to give them some background information about your company and opportunity before you ever get on the phone with them
.---------------------------------------------------------
Although this might sound a bit confusing at first, it’s really a simple and profitable formula once you get the hang of it. Let’sbreak down each step and show you exactly what you need to make this system happen.
Step #1 – Get an online presence -
Custom Capture Page vs. Generic Capture Page
The first thing you need to do to generate your own targeted MLM /home business leads is get a capture page that you direct your online marketing efforts and potential prospects to.
What exactly is a capture page you might be asking? Simply put, a capture page is a website that gives prospects a small amount of information about you and your opportunity and gives them a chance to “Opt-In” or “Request” more information about what you have to offer.
Now I’m guessing that many of you reading this might have a generic capture page because lots of network marketing companies out there provide them.
Although a generic capture page is better than nothing, it lacks many key functions you need if you truly want to generate“Positioned” leads that have a background about you and your opportunity.
Some other BIG problems with generic capture pages are that they’re not unique and you have no control over the look and feel of them.
What I consider a much better thing to do is to go out and create your own custom capture page. Why? We’ll for many reasons…
First off you have control over the content and development of your page.
Second, you have the ability to make your capture page unique and sell yourself as much as the business you are selling. Remember, the goal of a good capture page is to give people a bit of information about yourself and a bit of information about your opportunity and combine this information in a compelling way that gets your prospects interested in what you are talking about.
There are several ways to build or get a CUSTOM capture page:
#1 - You can build one from scratch all by yourself. To do this you will need to sign up for a web hosting account with Yahoo,HomeStead, GoDaddy or any of the other web hosting companies online and proceed to build a page from scratch. Most of these webhosting companies will have easy to use site builders that you canuse to do this and web hosting usually runs between $10 and $20 a month.
The downside to building your own capture page from scratch is that you’re on your own in terms of what to write, how to design it and how to make it work effectively. Since you’re on your own it could take a lot of trial and error before you get something that actually produces. If you are not an expert at writing ad copy,website design, graphics and sales this probably isn’t the best option for you.
#2 – Another way to get a custom capture page built is to hire a professional to do it for you. Depending on where you go this between $300 and $1000 for one very solid capture page. The downside to having someone else build your capture page is thatit is very hard to make changes after the page is built. What if you want to use a new picture or change the re-direct link? Oftentimes you are at the mercy of the designer and additional edits will probably cost you money.
#3 – The 3rd way for a home business owner or network marketer to get their own custom capture page is to use a complete capture page design and marketing service, like MyCaptureSystem. The MyCaptureSystem program gives you all the tools to build an unlimited number of your very own custom capture pages.
MyCaptureSystem, hosts your pages for you, gives you pre-written ad copy and website designs, has a marketing resource center thats hows you how to drive traffic to your pages, plus many advanced marketing features that can kick your lead generation efforts into high gear.
Since YOU build the page, you can always make edits to those pages yourself and manage all your marketing campaigns from one easy to use back office.
Step #2 – Drive traffic to your capture page.
After you’ve created a great custom capture page the second step of generating your own leads is to drive traffic to your new online destination.
So how do you do this… Many different ways.
Pay-Per-Click Search engines
Article submission online
Blogging
Press Releases
Posting on Message boards and forums
Ezine articles
Search engine submission
Offline advertising
Traffic exchanges
Purchased traffic
Plus many many more!
Traffic generation is not an easy thing to master. It will take some patience and education on your end to learn and implement several different traffic generation strategies.There are many different training organizations, ebooks, manuals and courses online that can teach you how to drive traffic to your websites. Some of them are great resources while others lack in actual value.
If you decide to build your capture page using MyCaptureSystem,don’t forget that your subscription includes weekly LIVE training teleseminars and access to the marketing resource center full ofstep-by-step traffic generation techniques.
Step #3 – Convert visitors into leads & measure your success.
As you start to generate your own leads from your capture page the biggest thing you need to do is track your results. This is really what separates professionals from those that lose money attempting to generate their own leads.
You want to track your results in a few different ways…
#1 – How many people visit your page compared to how many opt-in and become a lead.
#2 – What campaigns are worth the money and which ones are a waste of money.
Here is what I mean by this. Let’s say you are doing two paid advertising campaigns in hopes of generating leads via your customcapture page. The first campaign is a $200 Google pay per click search engine campaign and the second one is a $200 pay per click campaign from BigCashTraffic.com.
If you let these campaigns run together without separating them than you will never know which one paid off the best (meaning generated you the most amount of leads for the money).So how do you do you track your results?
Well there are several different services that can help you track your advertising. An example of this is HyperTracker
.HyperTracker is a service that provides you different tracking URL’s for each of your different marketing campaigns. This is avery valuable tool for online marketing and sells for $19.95 a month.
I would suggest using HyperTracker if you end up building your owncapture pages from scratch or hire someone to build them for you.If you decide to use MyCaptureSystem to build your capture pages,don’t spend the $19.95 for HyperTracker because this feature is already built into the program.
Step #4 – Introduce your prospects to your opportunity.So now that you’ve built an awesome custom capture page (or pages),started driving traffic to that capture page, and have a way to track the responsiveness of your page, it’s now time to decide where you want to send your prospects after they become leads.This is very important because you want to educate your prospects as much as possible before you ever pick up the phone to talk to them.There are two basic strategies you can implement:
#1 – Do a simple redirect to your corporate website, movie presentation, or any website that will educate your new leads about the home business opportunity you are involved with.
#2 – Do option #1 PLUS input them into an auto-responder series of emails. An auto-reponder is a software service that automatically sends out follow-up emails to your leads or subscribers without you having to manually do it.While option #1 is very simple to accomplish and will get the job done, tying your new leads up in a follow-up series of emails can be very beneficial.
The top autoresponder companies’ online right now are Aweber & GetResponse. So there you have it… Its time to get out there and start generating your own leads!
By now your head might be spinning a little bit and you might even be thinking that this is too complicated for you to go do yourself. Relax and take it one step at a time. Generating your own home business leads will take some effort but it can actually become pretty easy if you start using some of the powerful tools like outlined in this article.
As you go on your way today, just remember that marketing your home business is all about hitting it from multiple different angles and taking time to educate yourself on how to be successful.
Frank Tocco--Free Website Traffic
P.S.--If your comment or question gets used in a
future post you can win a free AdBlast with your
link to the entire community list of over 30,000 people.
http://Shop4Dreams.blogspot.com
tips@shop4dreams.ws
http://Shop4Dreams.ws
You may use this article to post on your blog or website as long as you do not change anything in the article including the links and full give credit to the author.
Whatever the situation, the only logical answer short of closing up shop is that you need to find a way to expose your home business or MLM to more people, otherwise known as acquiring leads.
There are two ways to get leads, you can buy generic home based business leads or you can generate your own.
Before we start talking about how to generate your own targeted leads, let’s go ahead and talk about the first option which is buying generic home business leads. This seems to be where most network marketers focus their time, money and energy.
The first thing that you must know about ANY home business lead that you purchase is that no matter how many buzzwords are used in describing that lead. No matter how fresh it is or how good that lead sounds it’s still someone that you don’t know, that doesn’t know you, doesn’t know anything about your business there is no guarantee that they are going to pick up the phone or give you a second of their time to discuss joining your home business.
90% of purchased leads are produced by people filling out generic online forms about making more money from home and you don’t know the circumstances about why they filled out these online forms.
Were they looking for a Job instead of a home business opportunity?
Were they trying to win a free Xbox?
Where they drunk behind the computer at 3:00 am?
You just don’t know!
There are really no way cut corners on prospecting the leads that you purchase. Often times you are competing with several other people who are contacting the same leads and the only way to make these types of leads pan out for you is to buy large quantities and sort through them to see who has an interest. So here is my suggestion for network marketers using these types of leads:
#1 - Keep your costs down when you buy “cold” leads. I don’t suggest spending more than 30 cents a lead! Most MLM lead companies online sell leads for $1 to $5 apiece… Stay away from these high priced leads and use a service like BigTimemlmLeads where you can get surveyed leads for as little as 14 cents apiece.
#2 - Start to put together a strategy to generate you own home business leads and phase out the cold contact leads over time.
Okay, now for the really fun stuff and the best strategy for building your home business. How do you as a home business owner go out and start generating your own targeted mlm / home business leads?
The first thing you must understand about the process of generating your own home business leads is that it takes time and it’s not something that happens overnight. You have many hoops that you have to jump through in order to get yourself set up with everything you’re going to need. The goal of generating your own leads is to leverage your time and efforts by being able to cut corners on the “sorting” process as well as position yourself highly with your leads.
This means that when you do actually talk to them on the phone or email them you already have an understanding of who you are and what your opportunity and/or product is all about. This makes your job promoting your home business much easier and leaves your prospects much more responsive to what you want them to do.
So know that we know WHY we want to generate our own positioned leads…
It’s now time to look into the step by step process of doing so.
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So here is the "formula for success" when it comes to generating your own leads:
Step #1 – Get an online presence.
Your “Online Presence” is where you will send prospects to find outmore information about you and your opportunity.
Step #2 – Drive traffic to your website / capture page.
There are hundreds of different marketing strategies to drivetraffic to a website online. The important this is to get as many people to your “Online Presence” as possible.
Step #3 - Convert your traffic into leads.
Using a regular website for your “Online Presence” won’t cut the cake! You need the power of a good capture page that will convert your visitors into leads. The goal of a good capture page isn't to sell people on the opportunity rather educate them on who you are and sell them on what you are going to share with them and why they just gotta see what's on the other side.
Step #4 - Introduce your prospects to your Opportunity.
After your prospect opts in and becomes a lead you then want to give them some background information about your company and opportunity before you ever get on the phone with them
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Although this might sound a bit confusing at first, it’s really a simple and profitable formula once you get the hang of it. Let’sbreak down each step and show you exactly what you need to make this system happen.
Step #1 – Get an online presence -
Custom Capture Page vs. Generic Capture Page
The first thing you need to do to generate your own targeted MLM /home business leads is get a capture page that you direct your online marketing efforts and potential prospects to.
What exactly is a capture page you might be asking? Simply put, a capture page is a website that gives prospects a small amount of information about you and your opportunity and gives them a chance to “Opt-In” or “Request” more information about what you have to offer.
Now I’m guessing that many of you reading this might have a generic capture page because lots of network marketing companies out there provide them.
Although a generic capture page is better than nothing, it lacks many key functions you need if you truly want to generate“Positioned” leads that have a background about you and your opportunity.
Some other BIG problems with generic capture pages are that they’re not unique and you have no control over the look and feel of them.
What I consider a much better thing to do is to go out and create your own custom capture page. Why? We’ll for many reasons…
First off you have control over the content and development of your page.
Second, you have the ability to make your capture page unique and sell yourself as much as the business you are selling. Remember, the goal of a good capture page is to give people a bit of information about yourself and a bit of information about your opportunity and combine this information in a compelling way that gets your prospects interested in what you are talking about.
There are several ways to build or get a CUSTOM capture page:
#1 - You can build one from scratch all by yourself. To do this you will need to sign up for a web hosting account with Yahoo,HomeStead, GoDaddy or any of the other web hosting companies online and proceed to build a page from scratch. Most of these webhosting companies will have easy to use site builders that you canuse to do this and web hosting usually runs between $10 and $20 a month.
The downside to building your own capture page from scratch is that you’re on your own in terms of what to write, how to design it and how to make it work effectively. Since you’re on your own it could take a lot of trial and error before you get something that actually produces. If you are not an expert at writing ad copy,website design, graphics and sales this probably isn’t the best option for you.
#2 – Another way to get a custom capture page built is to hire a professional to do it for you. Depending on where you go this between $300 and $1000 for one very solid capture page. The downside to having someone else build your capture page is thatit is very hard to make changes after the page is built. What if you want to use a new picture or change the re-direct link? Oftentimes you are at the mercy of the designer and additional edits will probably cost you money.
#3 – The 3rd way for a home business owner or network marketer to get their own custom capture page is to use a complete capture page design and marketing service, like MyCaptureSystem. The MyCaptureSystem program gives you all the tools to build an unlimited number of your very own custom capture pages.
MyCaptureSystem, hosts your pages for you, gives you pre-written ad copy and website designs, has a marketing resource center thats hows you how to drive traffic to your pages, plus many advanced marketing features that can kick your lead generation efforts into high gear.
Since YOU build the page, you can always make edits to those pages yourself and manage all your marketing campaigns from one easy to use back office.
Step #2 – Drive traffic to your capture page.
After you’ve created a great custom capture page the second step of generating your own leads is to drive traffic to your new online destination.
So how do you do this… Many different ways.
Pay-Per-Click Search engines
Article submission online
Blogging
Press Releases
Posting on Message boards and forums
Ezine articles
Search engine submission
Offline advertising
Traffic exchanges
Purchased traffic
Plus many many more!
Traffic generation is not an easy thing to master. It will take some patience and education on your end to learn and implement several different traffic generation strategies.There are many different training organizations, ebooks, manuals and courses online that can teach you how to drive traffic to your websites. Some of them are great resources while others lack in actual value.
If you decide to build your capture page using MyCaptureSystem,don’t forget that your subscription includes weekly LIVE training teleseminars and access to the marketing resource center full ofstep-by-step traffic generation techniques.
Step #3 – Convert visitors into leads & measure your success.
As you start to generate your own leads from your capture page the biggest thing you need to do is track your results. This is really what separates professionals from those that lose money attempting to generate their own leads.
You want to track your results in a few different ways…
#1 – How many people visit your page compared to how many opt-in and become a lead.
#2 – What campaigns are worth the money and which ones are a waste of money.
Here is what I mean by this. Let’s say you are doing two paid advertising campaigns in hopes of generating leads via your customcapture page. The first campaign is a $200 Google pay per click search engine campaign and the second one is a $200 pay per click campaign from BigCashTraffic.com.
If you let these campaigns run together without separating them than you will never know which one paid off the best (meaning generated you the most amount of leads for the money).So how do you do you track your results?
Well there are several different services that can help you track your advertising. An example of this is HyperTracker
.HyperTracker is a service that provides you different tracking URL’s for each of your different marketing campaigns. This is avery valuable tool for online marketing and sells for $19.95 a month.
I would suggest using HyperTracker if you end up building your owncapture pages from scratch or hire someone to build them for you.If you decide to use MyCaptureSystem to build your capture pages,don’t spend the $19.95 for HyperTracker because this feature is already built into the program.
Step #4 – Introduce your prospects to your opportunity.So now that you’ve built an awesome custom capture page (or pages),started driving traffic to that capture page, and have a way to track the responsiveness of your page, it’s now time to decide where you want to send your prospects after they become leads.This is very important because you want to educate your prospects as much as possible before you ever pick up the phone to talk to them.There are two basic strategies you can implement:
#1 – Do a simple redirect to your corporate website, movie presentation, or any website that will educate your new leads about the home business opportunity you are involved with.
#2 – Do option #1 PLUS input them into an auto-responder series of emails. An auto-reponder is a software service that automatically sends out follow-up emails to your leads or subscribers without you having to manually do it.While option #1 is very simple to accomplish and will get the job done, tying your new leads up in a follow-up series of emails can be very beneficial.
The top autoresponder companies’ online right now are Aweber & GetResponse. So there you have it… Its time to get out there and start generating your own leads!
By now your head might be spinning a little bit and you might even be thinking that this is too complicated for you to go do yourself. Relax and take it one step at a time. Generating your own home business leads will take some effort but it can actually become pretty easy if you start using some of the powerful tools like outlined in this article.
As you go on your way today, just remember that marketing your home business is all about hitting it from multiple different angles and taking time to educate yourself on how to be successful.
Frank Tocco--Free Website Traffic
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