Network marketing blog

2009-06-14T03:32:00.000-07:00

I said that you need a customer base. The problem, of course, is that customers are needy. To maintain a customer base you have to be willing to work and you have to deal with people every day.

There will come a time when you get tired of playing the customer service game. You might want to quit. That's fine - I'm not going to discourage you. Some people just don't find the work pleasant enough to justify doing it.

But before you quit, keep in mind that if you're good, and if you've chosen a company with good products, in anywhere from 2-10 years you can semi-retire and live very comfortably.

But also keep in mind that there's no guarantee you will succeed. You have to work hard and you have to be good to your customers and you have to build your network by talking to both friends and strangers. Not everyone can do that.

Beware Mindspring.com spam and MLMs promising lots of money with no work

2007-05-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

matman@mindspring.com sent me this spam email:

This company has it all. Great products, comp plan, free web site and full automation. Check out this exciting opportunity at www.myberrytree.com/don't bother this isn't a real link.

I went to the website (though I think start-up MLMs are a waste of time because you should go with a proven company) where I saw a guaranteed 25 thousand dollar bonus. And I can make over $1,300 without doing any work. All I have to do is pay 49.95 PLUS shipping and handling. Obviously a total scam - so stay away.

It's unfortunate that the network marketing industry is plagued with this crap. It makes it much harder for us honest people to get our message out when so many people lump us all together.

So what do you say when someone says, "Oh you're in network marketing. I don't want to be part fo your scam."

Remember the communication tips and answer in the affirmative: "I'm at least as honest as you or anyone else in this room. I work hard to give people who think my products are a good value the best customer service. How many retailers can say that?"

Well something like that. The scammers are out there so we have to accept that there is a level of distrust with some people. All we can do is stay positive.

Lee Iacocca's Where Have All The Leaders Gone?

2007-04-24T06:43:00.001-07:00

You’ll definitely want to encourage your downlines to go to their local bookstore or to Amazon.com and purchase the new book by our good friend, Lee Iacocca—Where Have All The Leaders Gone. Lee, as you all know, has been the Chairman of the Nourish the Children® Initiative. Lee is particularly proud of what Nu Skin is doing with Nourish the Children and says it is a demonstration that you can be an incredibly successful company and do good in the world. Lee says Nu Skin epitomizes this principle. There are two pages in his new book where he specifically speaks about Nu Skin Enterprises. He also thanks Blake and Truman in the forward.

Additionally, you’ll want to purchase the May issue of O Magazine. The company wants the world to know what we are collectively doing to feed the children of the world through Nourish the Children. In an advertising segment for the DSA, Nu Skin Enterprises has chosen to put forward the Nourish the Children initiative in a full page advertisement.

Your customer base

2007-01-20T21:36:00.001-08:00

Not too long ago I wrote about the importance of getting 50 customers. More and more, I think this is the key to network marketing. If your products high qulaity, if they run out and need to be reordered (think vitamins and skin care for example), and you provide good service, these loyal customers will keep you in business. This is the foundation you need.

Now what always happens is that these customers talk to their friends who call you to learn about the products. That's great and once you reach the tipping point, your customer base will grow for as long as you're willing to meet new customers. As you continue meeting people some of them will be interested in doing what you do. That's you grow your network of distributors. It really all begins with the customer base.

Fringe benefit of network marketing

2006-12-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

One thing I like about network marketing is that you have an opportunity to meet friendly millionaires. The other day my wife and I had dinner and drinks with a millionaire from Hong Kong. It's just cool hanging out with millionaires and hearing about their lives and travels and whatnot.

I don't mean to say that millionaires are better than other people. Just that it's good to know all kinds of people; rich, poor, and average. I just never had a chance to hang out with many millionaires before I started network marketing. Of course it helps to achieve some level of success if you want to sit down with a millionair and have a few drinks - not everyone gets to do this. But at least you get a chance if you're in the right business.

Get customers: Why would anyone want to duplicate your business?

2006-11-26T01:35:00.001-08:00

The first thing you need to do as a network marketer is establish a fairly broad customer base. It's not particularly hard (though it certainly requires hard work) to build a customer base of 50 people who love your products (that's why you always choose to market great products that you think are a good value).

Try to reach the 50 customer mark at 3 months. That means 50 good customers, loyal customers that you keep in touch with (permission marketing is the key here). At this point, volume will be decent and you'll be making some money.

Now you can honestly say "Do what I do and you'll make some moeny". If you have no customers and make no money no one will want to duplicate your failing business.

Your sponsor should be able to answer your next question, "How do I get 50 customers?" but I bet I can too. Show people you know your products and explain why you think they are a good value (again, that's why you always choose to market great products that you think are a good value).

What does network marketing have in common with learning a foreign language?

2006-09-22T02:01:00.000-07:00

Interestingly, the causes of failure are often the same. When adults begin learning a foreign language, they tend to rely on translations and memorizing grammar rules. They don't go out there and use the language.

Similarly, new network marketers often start by buying a bunch of books and tapes. They, read, they listen, they study. But they don't act.

If you want to be a successful language learner, you have to put down the grammar books and start communicating in the foreign language. If you want to succeed in network marketing, you have to turn off the tape player and start communicating with people about your products (and business opportunity).

binary systems, pyramid schemes, and market saturation in network marketing

2006-05-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a question I recently got via email:

I would like to ask you several question about network marketing and multi level marketing. it's a binary system and a pyramid scheme i suppose. what happens if the pyramid collapsed and the market is already saturated? thanks for giving some thoughts in this. i hope you can reply me and give me some inputs. have a nice day

Here was my reply:

Thanks for the questions about binary systems, pyramid schemes, and
market saturation.

Actually, You would want to stay away from both binary systems and
pyramid schemes. Pyramid schemes are illegal so I won't talk about
them much. I will warn you how to spot them: If someone says you can
make money without mentioning products, be wary. If somone asks for a
signup fee (some legitamate companies do charge a nominal fee but I
don't think they should) be very wary.

Binary systems are perfectly legal, and some people have become
successful with these kinds of compensation plans. However, the
breakaway plan is superior.

Regarding market saturation, let's think about two common products in
network marketing: skin care products and supplements.

Chances are, everyone you know who wants skin care products already
has some. However, if your products are better and if you provide
better service than a department store your business will grow.

The dietray supplements industry is growing fast. Many people want
supplements but don't know which ones they can trust. If your company
produces trustworthy products that have been clinically tested for
effectiveness and safety, your business will grow.

When I look at the market, I see tremendous growth opportunities for
quality network marketers distributing quality products. Consumers
want the quality products I ahve because they are tired of overpaying
for low quality products in traditional retail stores.

Well good luck finding the right business opportunity! I'm always
happy to answer more questions if you have any.

After a brief disappearance, I'm back

2006-05-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

My blog has been saved again. Apparently my blog had somehow been marked spam and deleted, but you can't keep a good blog down. Thank you to blogger for restoring my blog. Business is going well, and since I don't want to leave you without some practical advice, remember that the best way to overcome the fear of rejection is to be successful. The best way to be successful is to talk to many many people. If 99 people are uninterested and just one person is, you can feel great about helping that one person build their business.

Choose the right franchise - learn from Krispy Kreme's mistakes

2006-02-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

Since people who want to start a business only have 3 options (inventing a new system like Bezos did with Amazon, buying into a franchise system, or network marketing) I'm going to depart from ym usual topic of network marketing and talk about fracnchises a bit.

Specifically, I'm going to talk about the failing giant Krispy Kreme. The lessons learned from Krispy Kreme's demise are that you want to avoid franchises who oversaturate the local market and who force franchise owners to buy overpriced materials (Krispy Kreme did both).

I'm not saying that network marketing is always better than buying a franchise. If you have the money to invest and can hire a manager you trust with your income, the right franchise is probably a surer road to freedom than network marketing. If you don't have the money to invest, than you won't be able to buy a franchise and should consider network marketing.

Defending network marketing - what do people think they're going to lose?

2006-02-14T04:26:00.000-08:00

On one New York Giants message board I frequent, there seems to be a new thread every other day about getting fired, getting bad reviews for political reasons, hating work, etc.

One thread starter said "I'm sick of my job" and went on to explain the misery he experienced everyday at work. Then he asked "What's the best kind of business for me to start?" His idea was to teach people how to use their computers cheap.

He got some useless, joking advice about becoming a porn star or a male prostitute until I joined the thread. I suggested that tutoring people would make him self employed, while hiring people to do the tutoring would make him a business owner. Straight from Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Cashflow Quadrant by Robert T. Kiyosaki.

I suggested a franchise if he was ready to make a large investment or network marketing if he wasn't. The dream stealers flocked to my comments saying that network marketers where liars, high pressured salespeople, etc.

I told them that I had as much right to be proud of my work as anyone else on that message board because I help people for a living, and make enough money to donate some to my favorite charities. My wife and I dream of opening a shelter for stray dogs among other things. I think that's a fairly noble goal.

They responded with all kinds of grabage including a link to a bible study site that said network marketing would ruin community churches. Of course they called this a "business perspective model". They maintained that some people could make money at network marketing, but only at the expense of others. They said I didn't care about people and wanted to use them to get rich.

I suggested that they get to know me before judging me and told them about a couple of the people I've helped make more money and spend more time with their families. I admitted that not everyone succeeds but reminded them that anyone can try network marketing with a time investment. So you lose a few hours you would have spent watching TV news - who cares? I personally think anything is better than TV news.

They said you have to buy products. I said you buy what you want, but if you don't think the products are worth buying no one will bother training you. The hardest part was remaining positive in the face of so much negativity. I wanted to say "You guys are idiots" but instead I asked "What makes you qualified to discuss my industry?" I don't pretend to know anything about machine manufacturing (the job one message board nemesis has) and I don't judge the industry.

It's amazing how many people have no network marketing experience but still think they know everything they need to know about it. Of course, it's also amazing how "tough" people become on message baords and how it seems nearly impossible to resolve even a simple misunderstanding.

How to be succesful with Photomax

2005-11-27T08:04:00.000-08:00

To do Photomax you want to concentrate on these 4 products because they are 92% of Photomax revenue: Photosaver, Movie Magic, Digital Developer, and Photobook.

4 things successful Photmax distributors are doing:

1. Make sure that everyone who signs up is successful uploading their photos. This is where everything begins. Help people upload their photos.

2. Get them to make their first order. When people sign up they get 20 free prints. This makes the first purchase practically free (1.29 shipping). After the first successful order, customers make more.

3. You have to have a photo saver experience. Put your pictures in a box and send them to Photomax. You have to talk to people face to face about your experience to get them to mail their memories to someone else.

4. Get you Movie Magic DVD. This becomes a great core part of your demo kit. You will be enthusiastic about your demonsatrations when your sharing your memories.

Photomax is expanding into Canada in February. Pre-marketing in Europe begins in December and there's a Photomax lab in Amsterdam. European launch is April 2006. Japan launches in March at the convention with full services in Q4 2006.

The 4 Cs of inviting

2005-11-27T06:54:00.000-08:00

These are my notes from a speech on inviting people to learn more about Photomax, but I think you can take this and apply it to different opportunities.

The 4 Cs:

Compliment (conversation/compliment) - Talk to the person. Find out how they are, how the family is, how the job's going, etc. Get useful information (for example if they didn't take a vacation because of college expenses, too much work, etc.). As you talk, work in a sincere compliment. You have to be honest.

Curiosity (create curiosity) - For example: What do you do with your photographs? You need to come and see this. This is a whole new way of taking care of your pictures.

One person signs people up as he creates curiosity: You next to your computer? Go to this site. Sign up (they sign up for Photomax). Upload a photo.

Control yourself - Curious people ask questions. You might not be able to get away without answering their questions without being awkward. Learn how. You are not the messenger, you invite and a third party or a tool delivers the photomax message.

A common fear is that if you don't answer their questions they might reject you. So control yourself with confidence. For example, say "I'd rather show you than tell you. I can't tell you about it; I have to show you."

Commitment - Make sure you set up the meeting. For example "I'll come over at _____." If it's a meeting/seminar, "I'll pick you up at ______." This is more reliable then asking them to come.

During the commitment process give them a chance to say "This isn't a good time for me." Don't make this commitment process awkward. An awkward feeling will get a false commitment but you want an honest one.

So those are the 4 Cs. Compliment, Curiosity, Control, Commit. With all these things, you need to be confident. If you are truly enthusiastic, people will respond better. If you're wimpy or unsure...

Meet people, make invitations

2005-10-22T01:20:00.000-07:00

About a month and a half ago, my wife and I joined a hiking club. We've been making friends, getting outdorrs for some exercise, and just having fun. But we've also made some invitations.

Invitations are the most important part of your network marketing business although it helps to have a large warm market of people to call up and invite. Anyway, the invitations are beginning to pay off. One man who is interested in the business (he became interested after going to a rally with us) has signed up for automatic delivery of several supplements. This is a great first step because he can't do the businss unless he uses the products.

Next we'll explain to him about the compensation plan and how to recommend products. We'll help him begin building his business.

Your downline

2005-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

To become rich in network marketing, you need a team. You need frontline distributors who become successful and who train their own down partners, who train their down partners, etc.

When you're new, how do you build a team and keep them together? The same principles will apply to experienced network marketers, but for those who need some advice:

1. Lead by example. Let's say your downline understands that they need to invite and recruit in order to thrive but they don't take action. Make sure you are taking action. Invite your prospects to meetings and rallies. Your downline will see you surrounded by prospects and realize that they too need to start making invitations. If your downline sees you facing rejection in order to get prospects the message, they are more likely to do the same.

This is the key to success in network marketing: do you have the courage to get your message heard by large numbers of people?

2. Compliment your downline. When they do something well, let them know. Humans need to be encouraged.

3. Don't criticize your downline. By all means help them fix their mistakes, but ideally you are someone they come to for answers without fear of being judged.

With any luck these suggestions help you build a structured organization of people trying succeed together. Even new distributors who rely on their upline for training can use these techniques to keep their budding organizations together. Even if they consider your upline the experts and get all training from your upline, your downline can accept you as a sponsor and even a leader if they see you studying the business, studying the products, and spreading the message while keeping the team together with a positive attitude.

How to invite people to learn about network marketing

2005-09-17T23:32:00.000-07:00

When you invite someone, you ahve a decision to make. Are you inviting them to learn about the business or the product?

For example when inviting a prospect who works in sales, consider the advantages of inviting him/her to learn about the products. This prospect is likely to understand that selling good products can make you money.

Another example would be inviting a stock broker. If you approach a stockbroker and rub hand lotion on his hands and say, "you can make a lot of money doing this," he won't get it either. He'll see it as a little "pretty party thing." Certainly not something that could create a lot of money. What the stockbroker actually sells is the money you can make with a stock. This can be referred to as "marketing intangibles." This is very much like the business side of network marketing.

If the stockbroker hears a presenter talking about all the money she can make in network marketing, she is likely to understand that marketing an idea can make you money. On the other hand, a salesperson may be struggling to understand where the money is coming from because she's used to physically holding the tangible product in her hands that's making her the money.

So which is your prospect most likely to understand, the business side or the product side? make the appropriate invitation based on the answer to that question. After you've chose an approach, remember the communication strategies I shared a while back. Be clear. Don't say too much. Make sure there is something in it for your prospect.

Giving your prospect a reason to come is key. Don't bother thinking about why it's good for you if the prospect accepts your invitation. Instead think about why it's good for your prospect. If you can clearly communicate real benfits to your prospect there is a very good chance they will want to see you presentation.

Chances for success

2005-08-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

From some recent spam emails:

This is a brand new product- the first batch just shipped last week and right now, there are less than 400 distributors for this product worldwide. I am sending this to you because I know you understand network marketing and how important it is to get involved early.

The funny thing is that you don't want to get in early. You want to find a company with an established system that produces millionaires.

Be, do, have

2005-07-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

When people set goals, they generally think about things they want to have. For example I want to have a home in Rome, a home in New York, a home in Seoul, and the emans and time to travel freely between them. This is one of the first things you need to do when starting your own business - write down your goals. What do you want to have?

Then people begin to see how this works. The next question - What do you have to do to achieve those goals? I have to earn money through my job and my business, invest it wisely, and make smart decisions when buying my real estate.

The final question is usally the most difficult to answer - Who do you need to be to do what you ahve to do? Here beginning network marketers will need the help of their sponsors. Certain books can be helpful here too as this stuff needs to be taken in several times.

Without giving readers a complete training session, I can give an example and it's obvious yet often overlooked. You ahve to be someone who gets things done (specifically those things you ahve to do to achieve your goals).

Imagine the network marketer who has to expand his/her network to achieve their goals. In order to exapnd the network they should tell people about the business opportunity their system offers. However, the network marketer doesn't feel like telling a certain Aunt because she may judge the network marketer.

A network marketer who gives in to this fear of being judged will not share the business opportunity and is less likely to create a large network. To be sucessful, network marketers need to be people who face their fears.

This could be summed up: If doing something will help you achieve your goals, do it (even if you don't feel like doing it). Network marketers should be that kind of person. Within reason of course. Don't do something that is unsustainable; don't do something that will make you quit.

My wife recently agve a demonstration to a housewife with kids. What should have been a 90 minute demonstration took several hours as my wife had to fend off the crazy kids, one of whom tried to strangle my wife (not with murderous intent one presumes but just because the kid thought it was a game does not make more pleasant). I told my wife that we shouldn't do business with these people (unless they agreed to meet us without the kids which seemed unlikely) depsite the fact that they wanted to place an order (and probably would have liked the products enough to recommend them to others, maybe even building her own business). But she didn't discipline the children and they behaved like monsters. We can't build our business surrounded by people who stress us out. My point is that while we don't let fear dictate who we share information with, we still choose who we share our time with.

So remember to set your goals, list what needs to be done to achieve them, and determine (you should seek help here) who you have to be to get done what needs to be done. One of the things you need to be be is willing to face your fears of being judged and another is willing to do things you don't feel like doing (within reason).

Increasing your warm market

2005-07-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

The biggest hurdle in network marketing is increasing your warm market. People that you know or who know you will listen to you and buy what you are selling. They will know and refer people to you that will listen to you. Many times, however, you've already dealt with your friends and family and have reached a 'dead end' in terms of
purchases and referrals. Rather than hit the cold (and unforgiving) market, you need to increase your warm market.

First off, your warm market isn't just your family and friends. It's all the people that you know and who know you: your mechanic, your doctor, the store cashier, even your mailman. You know a lot more people than you think, actually. Your high school graduating class alone had hundreds of people: just think of all the groups you belong to…

Secondly, join! Find organizations that are of interest to you to join. Charity groups, religious organizations, sports teams, all of these places have scores of people that need to hear what you have to say. Make sure that you actually like the group in question, though. Even if you don't try to sell anything, the social interaction will make you more confident and excited about everything. People seeing you busy and excited will attract them to you and your business.

Lastly, build life-long relationships with everyone. Even if people aren't interested in what you do, they may know people that want to find out more. In fact, assume that everyone isn't going to be interested but may be able to lead you to 7-10 people that may. You'll grow your warm market by leaps and bounds just by letting people know you are more than just a salesperson.

Meeting prospects

2005-06-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

http://honestselling.com/articles/sales_transitions.htm was written for web designers, but has some useful ideas that can be applied to network marketing because it's about meeting prospects. Questions discussed include:

What have I planned in advance to make the most of these sales transitions?

What, exactly, am I going to do when I end one conversation, so that the result of the next conversation is better?

When a sales process ends in a "No thank you," what will I do after that to generate another sales opportunity at a later date?

Have I organized my sales transitions?

It's worth a read.

USANA or Pharmanex - you decide.

2005-05-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

I recently received an email from someone trying to get me to take USANA vitamins instead of Pharmanex supplements. The moral of this story is to research the network marketing companies you may wish to join to find out which ones offer the products you are most comfortable reccommending. I feel sorry for the guy who emailed me trying to get me (and God knows who else) to take what seem to be inferior supplements. Here's what he wrote me:

I will let you in on a secret. Although USANA vitamins are the best, and I take them everyday, if it weren't for energy replacement techniques and exercise therapies, I would not be alive today. Diet therapy needs to be tempered together to be effective.

Since you are starting out in the business, and probably haven't seen what I have seen to get what I have got, then I am willing to let you know about the 84 minerals, 12 vitamins, 3 amino acids and filtered water you need to be healthy. Sharks are swimming trying to get you to buy their products, but the worst enemies are what they don't tell you...

I have overcome many serious health problems, and continue to beat the odds. Stay healthy.

I was a bit taken aback by the condescending demeanor of the writer. He's going to let me in on a secret because I'm just starting out and don't know what he knows? I wrote my reply:

I've never heard of USANA vitamins but until I see the ingredients and
the scintific studies/clinical trials demonstrating their effectiveness I'll continue taking my own vitamins. I suggest that you examine Pharmanex LifePak and other supplements for the best vitamins.

Frankly there aren't any companies that have the clinical trials to back up their supplements the way Pharmanex does. Sure enough his reply ignored the issue of clinical trials entirely:

Often it is not health that gets you to ultimately take your vitamins. If you wish to get into a binary multilevel plan that has been proven by multilevel junkies to be effective and attractive, then you should look at the USANA.com website, do your research, and beg me to take you on as a pacesetter. Use my number xxxxxxx if it helps to get around the site.

Beg him? This had me getting angry, but I visited the website to see if I could find ingredients and clinical trials. The ingredients were easy to find although not overly impressive. There were no scientific studies. On the off chance that some with such a condescending manner would open his mind I wrote:

You haven't given me any reason to beg! The USANA web site doesn't either. No informationan about clinical trials makes this seem like psuedoscience at best. Again I suggest exploring the Pharmanex.com web site and reading some of the many clinical trials undertaken at top universities and research centers on the effectiveness of Pharmanex supplements.

My Mom's Nu Skin System

2005-04-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to help anyone, but of course my mom has a special place in my heart so this was her Mother's Day present (she got these products and others and these instructions):

Every day (twice a day) Creamy cleansing lotion, massage, rinse, 180 face wash, rinse. If you choose to do only creamy cleansing lotion or 180, that's no problem.

Twice a week (on two different days) you can do creamy cleansing lotion, exfoliant scrub, massage, wait 5-15 minutes, rinse, 180 face wash, rinse.

Twice a week (on two different days) you can do creamy cleansing lotion, rinse, 180, rinse, polishing peel, wait 2-3 minutes, rinse.

It's best to use exfoliant scrub and polishing peel on different days.

PH balance toner comes after cleansing.

Celltrex, Ideal Eyes, Line Corrector (only on wrinkles), Revelaing gel

Last comes Moisture Restore Day. At night you can use Enhancer instead.

I think this will work real well and bet that in a month you'll look younger.

Beginning with the warm market

2005-04-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Catching your warm market audience: If you have been in network marketing for very long you understand how important it is to begin your campaign within your warm market audience.

Starting your campaign with people in your warm market gives you the chance to try new methods and learn what works and what type of questions others will ask about your products. It is never wise to just jump right in. Yes, you are excited and you see the potential, but being over zealous does not mean you will make a sale. You should prepare yourself before you ever call that first person.

If your upline is local, this will probably involve watching your upline give a demonsatration or two. Three way calls with you, your prospect, and your sponsor are also common. Neither of those were critical to me. I felt that I would look more professional working on my own, even at the beginning.

The first thing you should do is make a list of everyone you know; this can be family members, co-workers, friends, even people from your gym. Now, you need to go through the list and figure out why each person would want or need this product or service. Some may want to join to make some extra spending money where others could benefit from the product or service. Then there will be some that you have no idea how they would feel about this opportunity.

You should make a list of at least 200 names. If you don’t know that many people, go meet some! One of the nice things about network marketing is that making friends is part of the job.

Now, your list is prepared. But, what are you going to say to get on the subject? Before you make the call, learn all you can about your products or service. Questions you should ask yourself:

How long has the company been in business? If there are products, you should be using them and you should be able to explin why you're recommending them. Other questions to prepare for include: what are the ingredients? Are they safe to the environment? Are they tested on animals? What are the benefits of the products? Are they easy to use? What research is available to hold up your claims?

If it is a service, why do I need this service? How will it help people? Remember rule #5 from the communication tools.

These are just a few questions that others will ask you, be sure you know the answers without any type of pause. Be confident in your answers. Remember, confidence in yourself and the products or services that you are offering is critical. Before you can convince others that these products are great and the company is worth investing time and money in you must first believe in these products and the company that backs them.

Write down the answers to these questions, all the benefits and payment plans available before you begin your calling. But remember that it is better not to discuss details of the business over the phone. Keep them curious so that they will come to your presentation.

Place both lists that you have just made (the one with names and the one with questions and answers) in front of you at your desk and call that first person. We will say you are calling your next door neighbor Susie as an example.

The conversation should go rather smooth, do not blast your plan at her from the start, you can ease into your campaign. You can ask about the kids or talk about the PTA meeting, and then you can tell her about a new product or service that you are using. She will then be the one asking questions. Since, you have your list in front of you, you will know every answer. She may want to join immediately, but even if she doesn't, invite her over. Ask her if she would like to try the product. This gets you in her house where you can explain all the great and wonderful benefits and show her instead of tell her how she can make money also. Plan a time to visit when there will be no distractions.

Many times, you can make your sale over the telephone as long as you know your facts and how to approach the person. If the person you are calling this time is one of those that you are not sure of, then you can always ease into your campaign by mentioning the product or service. Usually this will peak their interest. As long as you can peak their interest they will begin to ask the questions and you will not have to push the opportunity on them. Most pushy salesmen do not make sales. More importantly, they do not make friends.

After you have their interest; let them know that you will help them build their own business. Be prepared to give them ideas on how to market their own campaign. Tell them how to approach their warm market audience just as you have done.

Being confident in your product, service, plan, and in your own ability will help you succeed in your new venture. This remains true even in the face of rejection. I’ve dealt with it, and so will any network marketer. SWSWSWSW. Some Will, Some Won’t, So What, Someone’s Waiting.

Another reason I love my job

2005-04-16T01:12:00.000-07:00

My wife and I were recently able to help a woman buy some NuSkin products for her father who had been scratching his dry skin so much that he sometimes drew blood. I'm happy to report that Body Bar and Perennial are improving things.

Of course we can't help everyone because some people refuse our help. A fellow teacher in Korea recently mentioned he needed some good inexpensive skincare products. I offered to give him a NuSkin demonstration, no charge, no obligation, just try the products so you can decide if they are worht the money before you buy.

He got spooked: "Oh a NuSkin distributor. I knew I smelled something. I'm too busy for a demonstration." I said OK what are you going to do to solve your skin problems? He is going to buy the cheapest stuff he can find in the supermarlet. Poor guy.

VarTec Excel - why you need to choose a stable company

2005-04-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.thedigest.com/articles/170/2.html tells the VarTec Excel story, an MLM that went bankrupt and left lots of hardworking people scrambling for a replacement. Don't let this happen to you. Choose a proven company with healthy financials.

An obscure rule

2005-04-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

So my wife and I made a mistake by not giving our downpartners all the information they needed. Our first level down partner submitted her letter of intent (LOI) and then recruited a wonderful woman to join our team.

This woman is now our second level down partner; she submitted her LOI the same month as our first level down partner and when the month ended they both became qualifying executives.

Then our 2nd level down partner no longer counted toward the group volume of our first level down partner because they became qualifying executives the same month. I was embarassed that this caught us by surprise but I know it won't happen again. We have learned our lesson.

Communication tools for effective communication

2005-03-19T01:29:00.000-08:00

1. Know what you want to say

What is your message? You have to have total command of your message. If you walk into a situation at a loss for words it's because you didn't plan what you need to say.

2. Say it

Never leave a business meeting without delivering your message. Don't let unexpected questions get you diverted from your message.

3. Know when to shut up

Deliver your message and then stop talking. If you were clear the other person will be smart enough to make a decision.

4. Make your message clear and concise

The first tool is about knowing your message. This one is about knowing how to say waht you need to say clearly. You could try delivering your message into a voice recorder and then playing it. How do you sound? Do you ramble?

5. Make your message to, for, and about people

Ask yourself "How can I make this time valuable for the listener?". If you can offer them something valuable they will like your message. What's in it for them is much much more important than what's in it for you.

6. Make your message affirmative

Talk about what you are, not what you're not. When someone asks "Are you a pyramid scheme?" You say something like "I am an honest business person and this is an honest business opportunity...." instead of "No, we're not a pyramid scheme. I'm not in jail. I'm not doing anything illegal."

7. Boost your message by illustrating, quantifying, and comparing

Illustrate with examples. Mention how many examples there are. Show how your product (or whatever) is better than others.

Pride

2005-03-16T08:17:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take a minute to write about how rewarding this business can be. I have a second level down partner who is making me so proud. I'm proud of her hard work and the way she has changed her life quickly.

2 months ago she was complaining. Her family didn't have enough money. Her son had skin rashes. Her husband didn't have enough energy. She was unhappy.

Now (with NuSkin and Pharmanex products) she has taken care of her son's skin and boosted her husband's energy by using the products correctly. Her group is getting larger as is her group volume. You can bet that with our compensation plan the money problems will be gone soon.

What a business! I see people succeeding and I feel good because I'm helping them do it. Mostly they help themselves, but I do everything I can for them and in our business that's enough to make lives better.

7 tools for communicating your key message

2005-03-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

If you are already a Nu Skin distributor, you should log in to your busines center through GWP and order the Ken Verdoia CD titled "Communicating your key messages". If not, here are 7 tools he talks about for getting your message across. They sound simple, but I know I ahve been guilty of not doing these things in the past...

1. Know what you want to say
2. Say it
3. Know when to shut up
4. Make your message clear and concise
5. Make your message to, for, and about people
6. Make your message affirmative
7. Boost your message by illustrating, quantifying, and comparing

Good stuff. I strongly recommend listening to the CD.

Pop Quiz

2005-03-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

So our sponsor called today and said there was a quiz that must be taken before becoming an executive. Luckily my wife passed!

The questions were largely based on the compensation plan and pin titles, but the weird part was that my Korean wife (who has a Korean number) had to take the test in English and the questions talked about dollars while we get paid in Korean Won.

Now we do plenty of business in America so we know about compensation in America and my wife has great English, but I know tons of executives who don't speak any English. How did they take this test?

Busy but not blogging

2005-03-01T06:38:00.000-08:00

Well I ahven't been blogging much, but I have been building a successful network marketing business. It seems that nearly every demonstration is yielding results because the products are so impressive.

Our downline is growing because this business really doeas allow normal people to make extraordinary money and have fun doing it. Now everyone can have fun pampering themselves with the best supplements and skincare products, but not everyone cab have fun actively recommending these products.

But for those who love the products as much as I do and want to share them, what a great business! My wife and I get are executive pins in March and the more people we help earn their pins the more successful we become! It's nice to be rewarded for helping people (which is one reason I got into teaching) but I can't wait to retire from teaching (Well I'll volunteer to teach orphans and that sort of thing because I really do like teaching) because this semester my schedule is rough. If I hadn't made a promise I'd retire now to do the business full time with my wife...

Anyway, now that I am a sucees, I can share more and more about how to do it in this business. When you're ready to start your own send me an email. Until then keep reading my blog. I promise to be a bit more active by posting every week or so.

This blog has been saved!

2004-12-21T06:29:00.001-08:00

So as some of you may know from reading earlier posts, I'm an American who signed up for Nu Skin in Korea. Now I can sign people up from Korea, America, or any other country, so that's not important. And the Executive track in Korea is tougher than in many other countries including America.

Now I could change my number to a US number. I thought about it. Then I found a bigger problem. Someone in my upline finally came through with the US starter business kit. I read it all, even the terms.

In the terms I read that I was not allowed to make a web site about Nu Skin, Pharmanex, Big Planet or any of their products! I thought oh no, my blog has to go or at least become totally generic with all instnaces of tradenames and trademarks removed.

I read that with approval, Blue Diamonds or Hawaiian Blue Diamonds could have web sites about the company. I figured why not call my case worker and ask for approval even if I'm not yet a blue diamond.

To my amazement, he said "no problem". In the Korean contract (which I didn't understand) there's no section banning talking about the company online. The US and Korean contracts and terms are totally different, it seems.

So great news readers! I'm still blogging about NuSkin, Pharmanex, Big Planet. Please join me on this grand adventure to better health and better wealth!

Entrepreneur.com MLM criteria

2004-12-11T01:44:00.000-08:00

The 6 questions posed below come from an article I read at http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,276027-4,00.html while the answers are my personal opinions about operating a Nu Skin business.

1. Is it a legitimate business or a pyramid scheme?

NuSkin is a business. You don't have to give moeny to anyone or ask other people to give money to you. Rather, you have to buy high quality products and ask others to do the same.

2. Do you like the products? Would you buy them?

I do buy them. My chapstick addiction is cured. So is my eyebrow dandruff. Lifepak and Reshimax seem to be making me healthier.

3. Does this company emphasize sales or recruiting?

Recruiting. The best way to make money is to have a large network with high sales volume.

4. Party plan, person-to-person or opportunity meeting? Are you more comfortable demonstrating products to groups of people, doing in-home trials one on one, recommending products from a catalog or taking people to opportunity meetings?

You can do any of these with Nuskin. I prefer to person to person but am also comfortable in groups. I wouldn't say party as in Tupperware party but the other day my wife and I, our sponsor, and our sponsor's sponsor all got together. Then a friend stopped by and decided she wanted to hear about the compensation plan. I'm also perfectly happy giving a demonstration to say three people at a time.

5. What's the compensation plan? Do you have to recruit a certain number of people before you can start earning money? Does your unit "break away" at a certain level? Are people paid directly?

You can begin earning money immediately. If I were to sell only one ten dollar item at my cost I would still get a small commission. If I were to sell that item at list price, I would sell it for about 14.30.

I prefer selling at cost. Working for a high personal sales volume will normally be less effective than building a large network that does high volume. The best way to do a large volume is to sell at cost (you still get a few percent commission plus ececutive bonuses and things once you reach that level).

You have to have a certain sales volume (which varies by country although 2,000 US dollars/month seems common) in order to become an executive. This includes personal sales volume and group sales volume. Executives earn a nice bonus and are the people who can eventually make big money.

6. How good is the company itself?

NuSkin is financially sound. This blog entry on Nuskin stock has some more information.

____

My one criticism so far is that Nuskin sells products directly online. They also try to keep you from competing with them for search engine traffic. No MLM is perfect, and for my wife who has no intention of selling products or recruiting online this is inconsequential. If you're looking to establish a primarily online business, it's still possible but this would be a serious drawback.

Nuskin WealthNet Group

2004-11-29T07:39:00.000-08:00

After having a discussion with my wife about whether and when to charge retail price (43% higher than distributor price), I did a search on Google and stumbled across some ideas presented as part or or inspired by the WealthNet Group (Nuskin distributors). Here's what I've gotten from my reading so far:

1. Some people can not succeed. Don't waste your time recruiting and training these people. Instead find people who can succeed.

2. Sell product at cost. With Nuskin you get paid based on volume, but it is diffcult to maintain high volume. "You will get more volume in your organization if people promote product, and get it out at their cost."

3. Ask friends if they know people who would be good for your organization. Then there is a "series of steps to follow, to walk the friend through the company, the complaints, the benefits, the interest, then the investigation of the company, and industry." In other words, be completely honest.

4. Help leads do their own research. You will never get a complaint from your friend that you've been bugging the person they introduced you to. You can still keep in contact with the person to see how their investigation is going.

5. Don't do anything that makes you uncomfortable (like cold calling). In fact forget all cold activity. Cold activity "separates the salesperson from the casual network marketer. From my studies, even the saleperson has difficulties keeping the pace, as attrition in his un-duplicable activity keeps him working to re-build his crumbling organization."

6. Warm market referraling is more sustainable because it can be duplicated. It can be duplicated because it doesn't make people uncomfortable.

7. People are not prospects they are potential contacts who may help you find business partners. "Helping people is a good basis for a strong series of relationships."

Little by little and investing

2004-11-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

So the network is expanding. We still have the one loyal customer. Some of our relatives are interested (some already use Nuskin) and some are not interested at all. Some even laughed at us.

We've even had a few sales come in from outside the family and our first customer. One friend of ours has chapped lips, a problem that used to plague me until I started using Nuskin lip gloss. So my wife and I suggested she try it. She will.

Another friend has some scalp issues and his wife will be buying Epoch dandruff shampoo for him.

To become executives we need $2,000 for 3 months. With the month winding down, we're close but not there. The question is should we buy a little inventory to push us over the 2,000 dollar number. I think we're going to.

Learning from Vanguard

2004-11-24T05:10:00.000-08:00

Vanguard's market share of mutual fund assets swelled from 1.7% in 1981 to 9.6% in 2004. John Bogle had this to say during a speech:

"Vanguard has never much liked to spend unnecessary money.... Indeed, at the very outset, I drummed into the character of our Vanguard crew that our first rule of marketing would be: 'Market share must not be bought; it must be earned' -- earned by providing superior investment returns, earned by excellence in investor services, earned by winning the trust of investors."

"The second rule was, 'market share is not an objective, it is a measure.' I not only had no interest in buying our market share with costly advertising and marketing campaigns, but no interest in building it by introducing new funds that simply reflect the fads and fashions of fickle stock markets."

"If market share grows organically, unforced by costly advertising and opportunistic marketing, that growth is likely telling the world that something good is going on: that investors like what you are doing and are willing to put their money where their mind is -- entrusting their hard-earned assets to your care."

"But there is one more thing that has fostered Vanguard's growth. I called it 'candor as a marketing strategy,' making sure that we carefully explain, not merely the rewards of investing, but the risks; not merely the value of investing, but the costs; not claiming superior ability to manage money but stressing the limitations imposed by the tough real world; and above all, doing our best to tell the truth -- the whole truth and nothing but the truth -- in reporting our investment results to our shareholders and in defining our strategies and our policy positions."

I believe that earning market share through honesty can apply to us network marketers.

Different Nuskin compensation plans and becoming an executive

2004-11-21T04:17:00.000-08:00

As I've mentioned before, to become an executive one must do 2,000 in sales for three months (one grace month possible). Thigs are different in Australia where you can take a three month program: 1,000 the first month, 1,500 the second month, and 2,000 the third (with PSV - personal sales volume - and GSV - group sales volume combined).

Wow! Australia is much easier than Korea. I was told that it didn't matter if I signed up in America or Korea, but I suppose I have to check to see if that's true...

Australia also has a four month track: 1,000, 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000. And they ahve a very nice 6% commission based on level 1 sales (distributors directly under you) and 7% level 2 (your distributor's distributors). That 6 and 7 percent is even earned before you qualify as an executive. That's not part of the compensation plan described to me here in Korea, but I wish it was...

Why you have to keep customers loyal

2004-11-18T20:33:00.000-08:00

You may have heard of the 80/20 rule: for some businesses, 80% of their business comes from only 20% of their customers.

Repeat customers are especially vital in fast moving markets, where customers may use your product on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. This, of course is the case with Nuskin and Pharmanex products.

Also, remember that netowrk marketing relies on word of mouth marketing. Who's more likely to introduce you to their friends, a new customer or a loyal customer?

The reason the introductions your loyal customers might make for you are so important is because of the difficulty of finding new customers. That's another reason you need to keep your existing customers loyal. It's easier to keep a customer than to replace one.

Add to that the fact that loyal customers are likely to make bigger purchases because they are willing to try new products you recommend if they trust you, and you can see that instead of spending all your time on new customers, it's essentail that you spend time keeping your current customers happy.

Repeat customers

2004-11-18T20:18:00.000-08:00

So my wife's first demonstration seems to have resulted in not only our first customer, but also our first repeat customer. Our main focus now has to be on keeping this customer happy (and therefore loyal).

Now I'm sure some of you experienced network marketers are ready to object to the word customer: "Network marketing is not about selling!"

Yeah I've heard that before. It's about suggesting products, not selling products. Well as a linguist I'm aware of the fact that language can change, but for now, in English, when someone buys something from me, that's the same as saying I sold something.

And whether you say that she's buying or we're selling, the fact is it has to continue. To become an executive, you need 2,000 in sales for three months. To make any real money doing Nuskin you need to be an executive. For a little more about the benefits of becoming an executive, read an introduction to Nuskin compenastion.

Buying & setting up GWP (Global Web Page)

2004-11-16T19:34:00.000-08:00

So my wife went to the Nuskin office in Seoul yesterday and bought GWP. It took us a while to find a name that we liked and was still available. We settled on FAQ, so our Korean Nuskin page is located at: http://faq.mynuskin.com/cgi-bin/gwpweb/igwp/splash/splashInit.jsp although typing in faq.mynuskin.com is just fine.

Now as I complained about before, Nuskin, Pharmanex, and Big Palnet web sites like GWP are pretty bad for search engines. Even for humans. If you want to switch languages, there's a drop down menu in Korean. So, if you want to see our page in English you have to read Korean! How stupid is that?

It is possible to add recommended links, and I'll try putting a link to the English version of our page there. It might not be easy though. A link to our English Nuskin page has a URL like this: http://faq.mynuskin.com/cgi-bin/gwpweb/igwp/splash/gwpFrame.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1370046850.1100662382@@@@&BV_EngineID
=ccchadcmmikdfmecefecehhdfjfdfkf.0&cntryOID=185336&toURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nuskinusa.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fnsweb%2Fhome%2Fen%2Fns_home.jsp%3FgwpID%3DCEEXEeCECCHDHFCIDEHGBOAYA88VTVEV3t&nextPage=%2Fproduct%2Fen%2Fns_shopOnline.jsp - Is that crazy or what? It does not work because of the session ID. That means I can't even link to my English pages (There may be a way, and I'll try to figure it out, but my point is that Nuskin makes it very very hard).

You might also see a broken image on our Nuskin home page. Well the image has to be 100 x 130 so I went into my graphics editor and resized one, saving it as a jpeg. Then my wife tried uploading it numerous times and kept getting the "try again" message. After about an hour the image uploaded and we went to bed. Something happened overnight; the image doesn't work anymore.

Nuskin charges a lot of money for GWP, and the monthly hosting fee is way too high considering how little traffic our pages are likely to get since they will never be indexed by search engines. Considering how badly they are overcharging us for this website, you'd think the least they could do was make it easy to upload a picture and then display it properly all the time.

First Nuskin demonstration

2004-11-13T22:10:00.000-08:00

So my wife gave her first Nuskin deomonstration yesterday and it went pretty well. She compared Nuskin cosmetics to her old Clinique stuff (so much worse than Nuskin that she wanted to throw it out; it was my idea to save it for demonstrations) and her student's mother's Sisley stuff (Sisley cosmetics and skincare products are very expensive).

The demonstration showed that Nuskin products were beter than Sisley and Clinique and my wife ended up with an order for Face Lift Pack, Bodybar, and Epoch foot cream. Liftpak removes wrinkles and improves skin tone (its effects were very clear during the demonstration), while Bodybar is fancy soap. Bodybar combined with the foot cream is effective for Athlete's foot.

My first question was why no other cosmetics? I think that throwing out the very expensive Sisley didn't occur so she is going to finish them before switching to Nuskin. The difficulty is finding people who want demonstrations, because once a demonstration is given the products themselves are very impressive.

Network marketing book

2004-11-10T02:29:00.000-08:00

I've already decided to try Netowk Marketing, but if you like to do lots of research before making a decision here's a book that may help (I'm not recommending this book; it's just an advertisement I saw that some of you may be interested in):

Publisher description: Understanding Network Marketing is the key to deciding if you want to become involved with this type of business opportunity. You find everything you need to make that decision right here!

My own philosophy was "Why not?" It's free to sign up and there's no better way to see if you like something than to do it. I'm not sure that reading that reading about Network marketing will really help you understand how it will make you feel, or how well you'll do at it.

Nuskin distributor Big Planet websites search engines

2004-11-07T05:39:00.000-08:00

I don't mean to brag, but I know quite a bit about search engine optimization. I figured that by optimizing my Nuskin web site, I could do well with the search engines, drive traffic to my online nuskin store, and earn more commissions. My upline said this would be no problem; I'd have total control over my web site and be able to host it anywhere I wanted.

I started investigating the various options: GWP - Global Web Page, DWP - Dynamic Web Page, and eDWP - a fancy version of the DWP.

I figure I'd have a big advantage over other Nuskin distributors; every single site I visited had session IDs. Without getting too specific, session IDs stop search engines from checking out your site. Generally, it's not too difficult to ad a snippet of code that removes session IDs whenever a search engine visits your site (you still need them for real visitors).

I contacted Big Planet tech support and asked them what my options were. I asked the following questions:

1. the cost for hosting the site on Nuskin servers
2. if I can make adjustments to the shopping cart script to remove session IDs for search engines.
3. if there is any way to set up a Nuskin product site on my own domain with my own host that is completely indexble by search engines.

I got these answers:

1. The monthly cost for the 4 websites is $24.95.
2. No you cannot edit the shopping cart scripts or remove the session ids
3. No, that would violate company policies.

The answers were not at all what I was expecting. If we're supposed to believe that Big Planet is a high tech company, than we have to believe that they know how to remove the session IDs. The fact that they won't allow me to remove the session IDs got me angry.

What bothered me most was that I couldn't host the sites somewhere else. One, most other web hosts are less expensive. 24.95/month is outrageous considering how few visitors these sites will receive without search engine traffic. It seems that Nuskin is increasing profits by overcharging distributors for their web site hosting.

The second thing that bothered me was why Nuskin didn't want the product information indexed by search engines. Don't they want their distributors to sell products? Isn't that how they make their money? Well they do want distributors to sell products, but only face to face. The fact is Nuskin does not want its distributors to attract general search engine traffic. Why not? Nuskin has its own web pages about its products and these are fully search engine optimized. Nuskin wants people who search on Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. to find the company product pages and buy direct from Nuskin. They make more money when people buy from the comany than through a distributor.

I don't like the fact that Nuskin is competing with me and other distributors for search engine traffic, handicapping me by not permitting the removal of session IDs, and making me pay expensive web hosting fees for an ecommerce web page that's really designed to fail. Sure, getting people to visit your site through word of mouth and possibly other forms of advertising can help, but the key to succeeding on the internet is traffic and search engines are the best source of traffic.

I know I sound angry. I am. But I'm not quitting. I'll just have to put my SEO skills to use some other way.

Free Multi Level Marketing Report review

2004-11-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

Ferguson claims that he will reveal some big secrets in his report. He comes close by getting off to a good start but by the end he begins sounding like scam artist. Now I'm not saying he is, but he keeps promising to show people how to add 20 or so people to their downline every week. He never delivers.

He says he's writing the report because he's a nice guy. He doesn't want to recruit anybody, he justs wants us to elarn from his mistakes. The end of the report says you have to talk to him on the phone to get the information that he promised would be in the report. If he lies about what's in the report why trust him to start telling the truth when you have him on the phone? If he doesn't want to recruit us or sell something why do we have to talk to him on the phone?

The first secret is that your upline will never tell you the whole truth about how they succeeded (however we're supposed to believe that he will). I can say that I was misled by my upline. They said it was free to start a network marketing business, but it's not quite. They said I'd have complete control over the web site, but I have very very little control. Those are my only two complaints, really. I think they're significant, but my wife thinks they were just mistakes that are too small to worry about. For really accurate information keep reading this blog or email me at jtrotta@gmail.com

The second secret has to be interpreted, but I think I have it figured out: Your upline will want to be introduced to your recruits because they are up to no good.

Introducing your recruits to your upline benefits the upline but not you. Network marketing has a 90% failure rate, and every time someone bows out the recruits they had been wroking on go somewhere else. If the person who drops out has introduced the potential network marketers to someone who's wildly successful, the recruits might join that persons organization making the rich person richer.

Why is that bad? I mean if you drop out what do you care where your recruits end up? You should care though. You look less credible when you have to bring someone along to "hold your hand". You might lose your recruit to someone who looks more confident, independent, succesful, etc. I think I actually agree with this one. I'm perfectly capable of working independently. If my upline has nothing to do they can stay home as far as I'm concerned.

Secret #3 is that you have to be a marketing expert, not just an expert on your company's compensation plan and products. I think the secret's out. I mean how could the fact that marketing is an important part of network marketing be a secret?

Secret #3 is also the one Ferguson keeps harping on. I'll teach you how to market, how to create "tons" and "thousands" of prospects, etc. etc. But after droning on for a few pages he still hasn't revealed what he has promised to teach us. No, for that we have to email him our phone numbers so he can call us.

As I said in the beginning this is not the type of person I want to give my phone number to. If you really want to read the report the URL is here: addreps.com/pdf/FreeReport.pdf

Is starting a Network Marketing business free?

2004-11-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

No. It's much less expensive than starting a traditional corporation or operating a Franchise but there will be a monetray investment. The question is how much. According to brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/m/mu/multi_level_marketing.html:

"Critics contend that some companies produce revenue primarily by attracting new participants, as opposed to selling products. Amway (the world's leading company in network marketing, with annual turnover exceeding USD $1 billion) in particular often receives criticism for generating considerable revenue from selling instructional and motivational materials to its participants. The United States Department of Justice indicted the company, but Amway secured an acquittal."

In my opinion, Nuskin is better than Amway in this regard as the training materials are generally quite cheap. Still before you can honestly recommend Nuskin products, you have to try them. No free samples, and Nuskin products are not cheap. My wife and I spent about $400 dollars on Nuskin products and training materials the day we signed up.

Nuskin compensation plan

2004-11-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

If you want to make real money doing Nuskin you must become an executive. In order to become a Nuskin executive you must sell $2,000 worth of merchandise for three consecutive months (although I'm told one grace month is possible).

Executives are eligible for a 9-15% "executive bonus" depending on sales volume. This is in addition to the normal commission for selling a product. You will also want to recruit some more executives. You get a percentage of their commissions too. The more executives you recruit, the more commisions you earn. You can earn commissions not only from your executives, but also from your executives' executives. This system is the reason people talk about exponential growth when they talk about Nuskin compensation.

Network marketing compensation

2004-10-31T05:24:00.000-08:00

One common misconception about network amrketing is that only people at the "top" make money because compensation plans don't reward everyone equally.

This means that when choosing a network marketing opportunity, you need to find one that compensates everyone, especially you. That's why I like Nuskin network marketing; Everyone earns the same commission for the same success. So if a Nuskin business owner sells a bar of soap, she or he gets the same commission whether he joined Nuskin 20 years ago or 20 days ago. It's also possible for a person marketing Nuskin products to be more successful than his/her sponsor. Nuskin compensation really rewards you for recruiting people into your organization. If you create a more successful organization that your sponsor, you will make more money than your sponsor.

As always, I can help you decide if a network marketing opportunity is right for you. Email me at jtrotta@gmail.com

Does Network marketing work?

2004-10-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

It clearly works for some companies. Nuskin's balance sheet looks quite healthy: the company has $170 million in cash with $145.5 million in long-term debt. Nuskin has an enterprise value of $1.1 billion and earnings growth projections of 10 to 15%.

George Bush is using a Network marketing like system, organizing networks of volunteers to increase voter turnout among Bush supporters.

Ultimately, it's the product that determine's the success of network marketing. Or let me put it another way: network marketing is always successful at spreading the word. People still have to like what they hear in order to take action.

People like Nuskin products, so networks of people spreading the word are highly effective. People learn about Nuskin products and then buy them. Bush is relying on his volunteer networks to spread the word. People are learning about Bush and his message. If they like the message they will take action; they will vote for him.

Choosing network marketing

2004-10-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have a friend who recently quit a high paying job to start network marketing. He felt he could make more money through network marketing. His sponsor is making around $10,000/month.

At first I was thinking that my wife would do network marketing while I kept doing what I'm doing (I'm an English professor). But the idea of building a business makes a lot of sense.

We employees have to work more if we wnat to earn more. For example, the more hours I teach, the more money I make. This isn't the case for business owners.

Once you build up a successful network marketing business, you can work less and less with no drop in earnings. You'll probably see an increase in earnings, even as you spend more time on vacation.