Desires Into Gold: Marketing and Advertising

Showing posts with label Marketing and Advertising. Show all posts

Friday, 11 November 2011

Read this if you are looking for an MLM company

The growth of the Internet and people looking to earn some extra money from home, paved the way for MLM companies to double over the last decade. With this growth in interest in network marketing, many new companies have sprung up to join the ranks of the time-tested, older MLM companies.

If you are thinking of starting a side career in MLM, or just want to see how your current company measures up, take note of the critical things to look for when choosing an MLM company.

The first thing to look for is stability. It would be best if an MLM company has been in business for 2 to 5 years. There is really something about companies that have already “stood the test of time”.

The longer the MLM company has been around, the more chance of it staying around. There are enough things to worry about in network marketing, such as sponsoring and advertising, without having to wonder if your company will be around next year.

Even if you were able to build the biggest downline and become the highest earner in the MLM company, it would not matter if they suddenly shut down. There are never any guarantees, but a company with a longer track record generally has more chances of longevity.

The second thing to look for is the one in charge of the company. Who is the president, and who are the directors? What is their track record? Have they spent time in the network marketing industry, or are they new to it all? What businesses have they been involved with in the past?

If you do not know the answer to these questions, call or email the company to find out. It is critical to know the answers to these questions from the outset. If you plan to spend many years with the MLM company, you would want to be dealing with people who are honest, savvy, and have integrity in and outside of the business world.

Third, is the product being marketed. Generally speaking, the more products the better. The fewer products you have, the more chance your prospects or potential customers might not be interested.

There was one MLM telecommunications company that recently went bankrupt. They basically only had a few products in the industry. Perhaps if they had added some nutritional products, they could have survived.

In addition to this, the products should be competitively priced, and somewhat unique.

Fourth, know if it is easy to start in that MLM company. Can people join online, or do they have to fill out paper forms?

Having the option to join online makes the whole process a lot easier. On the same note, having the option to join free will open up your opportunity to many more people.

Your MLM company should let people join free and allow them to market the products to earn income. Once someone has joined free, they have partially committed to the business. This makes it easier for you and your company to follow up with them, via mail or email.

Lastly, the more automated the MLM company is, the better. They should give you a personal company website that you can refer prospects to. A prospect should be able to contact you from that page.

And the MLM company should have a series of emails that follow up with your prospects.

Traits to look for in an MLM consultant

MLM consultants have gotten to be a popular figure in the network marketing business. There are many good ones out there, and there are not so good ones as well. You must know what to look for, before you spend a dime on them.

You should know that some MLM consultants are actually network marketers that say they are consultants. You must understand that consulting is a career and profession that demands many things.

Being a network marketer does not automatically qualify one as an expert, even if they have had great success in MLM. Maybe they were just in the right place at the right time and with the right people. That can happen also.

Here are five things to look for in a good MLM consultant.

1. A track record that is available for inspection.

Any good MLM consultant will keep their track record available for any kind of inspection by a future client. They have nothing to hide, they do not want to in the first place. The results they have accomplished speak for themselves.

Ask them if they have some clients you could talk to or get some kind of testimonial. Track records in consulting can mean the difference between spending money and getting little or spending money and getting a lot. Check what they have done and not what they said they have done.

2. Check for their credentials.

What kind of solid credentials do they have that would warrant you spending money with them? What kind of education about MLM do they have? What are their work experiences? Do they have the right business experience? Have they ever run a business before? What kind of degree do they have?

Credentials are important in modern day consulting. This is not only for you but also for the results you seek from an MLM consultant. Most consultants have a portfolio they can show you. Ask for it and study it.

3. Look for professionalism.

Professionalism is a must in any field of consulting. Do they come across as a professional? Do they speak as a professional? Do they communicate in a professional manner?

Being a professional speaks well of a consultant. Do they do their business with a smile on their face? These questions will tell a lot about an MLM consultant and how they will handle things in any future venture.

4) Problem solver.

Do they ask questions that are focused on your problem, or questions that are focused on being a consultant?

There are many questions that consultants ask that are all part of being an MLM consultant. You are looking to hire them to solve a problem, not be a consultant. Make sure their questions are focused on moving you forward, not just creating conversation.

That is what MLM consultants get paid for- to solve problems, not to engage in a fruitless exercise.

5) Experienced in the MLM business.

It is true that there are MLM consultants that have never spent an hour in the MLM field. They have never recruited anyone. They have never sold a product in MLM. They have never held a Company Event for a team. They have never done a presentation around a kitchen table, or a home meeting. But yet, they consider themselves as an MLM consultant.

Make sure that the MLM consultant has some experience in the field, as that alone brings a wealth of knowledge that many do not have.

MLM genealogy leads; why and why not?

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Working MLM genealogy leads can be an effective method of building your network marketing business. This is because one of the biggest hurdles that you face in recruiting has already been overcome for you; getting the prospect to buy into network marketing as a legitimate business model. All because of your MLM genealogy leads.

However, it is common knowledge that MLM genealogy leads is far from perfect. The person you call on a genealogy list may be very happy with their current opportunity and not open to looking at anything.

They could be a wholesale customer or not working the business. They could be inactive and may even be out of the industry altogether.

One of the biggest threats to working MLM genealogy leads is the Do-Not-Call Registry. Recently, the number of phone numbers registered under Do-Not-Call Registry surpassed 100 million. That number is significant, because the Registry has only been in operation for over two years.

Apparently, these people are getting wiser into the kind of marketing being offered everyday. Some of the opinions based on generalizations and experience may be.

One study run over 100,000 MLM genealogy leads through the DNC scrubbing process. It was found out that approximately one-third of the people on the list were on the Do-Not-Call Registry.

In the North Eastern states, that number even reached up to over 50%.

If you are planning to call MLM genealogy leads, protect yourself by having your list scrubbed against the Do-Not-Call Registry. Many companies are already providing this service. Just make sure that you are dealing with a reputable one.

Even with these downsides, there are still plenty of reasons to work MLM genealogy leads. They are very inexpensive when compared to most MLM lead sources. If you happen to land a big player, it can be the best thing that could ever happen to your business.

It can be noted that MLM leads are the lifeblood of many network marketers.

Over the years, MLM leads have become a key component of building a downline. As the demand for MLM leads has grown, the quality of MLM Leads has suffered.

Many lead capture pages are designed to get anyone to fill out the form. Some list brokers have sold their MLM leads several times, causing the people who filled out a form inquiring about a business opportunity to get bombarded with phone solicitations.

Some of these people who are on MLM leads put down false information, register with the Do Not Call Directory, and will say they never filled out a form. This is done just so they will be left alone. But in reality, they still are interested in a business opportunity. They just want it at their own time and when they are ready for it.

There are many ways to grow your business. Working MLM genealogy leads is one of the major methods for this. There are also many types of leads, as well as a plethora of leads companies.

No lead list is perfect. There are drawbacks and benefits to each one. Put yourself in charge of your leads. Know whom you are buying them from; see if they are really MLM genealogy leads, the conversion rate, and if they are DNC scrubbed. This will definitely minimize any future headaches.

Being smart about your genealogy leads. They are a good business move.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could custom tailor your MLM leads?

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In order to succeed in MLM, you are going to need a steady supply of fresh-targeted MLM leads that are anxious to get started in this business opportunity. MLM lead vendors know this little fact too and they can see you coming a mile away.

This can pose a problem for all but the super savvy network marketers and people with extra-ordinary telephone skills.

Here are 5 of the most popular reasons you may want to consider generating your own MLM marketing leads.

1. Quality. When you purchase MLM leads from a leads vendor, you are buying a list of names and contact details that have been generated in a very generic way to maximize the response rate of the lead generators advertising campaign. These MLM leads are not necessarily generated from the most targeted means of advertising.

These leads are not selling them on any specific type of business. When you are using this type of lead you really don't know what type of business they may be interested in. In the end, you are left to sorting and this can be a time consuming procedure. Generating your own MLM leads with a website you have control over changes all this.

2. Responsive. MLM leads that you have generated on your own are usually much more responsive than leads that you would have purchased from a leads vendor.
Most probably they have not been contacted by several different network marketers and their name has not been sold over and over again by some of the leads vendors out there.

Leads that you generate are as fresh as you can get and they are exclusive to you only

3. Real-Time Leads. One of the most popular reasons for a network marketer to generate their own MLM leads is that you can receive them in real-time.

This is especially powerful for people who are in the higher ticket business opportunities and they need the highest quality lead they can get. Nothing beats having company specific real-time leads in your inbox waiting to be contacted about your product or opportunity.

4. Custom Surveys. When you are the lead generator you have full control over the questions you want to ask your prospects. You can simply qualify or disqualify leads based on the questions they have answered on your lead capture page.

It is a wise idea to always run a "Comments or Questions" or "Tell Me about You" space on your lead capture page.

Not every single prospect will fill these fields out but when they do it will be the most valuable piece of information you receive next to their name and number. Anything a prospect is willing to share with you before the initial contact is like an icebreaker.

5. Cost. Generating your own MLM leads can actually save you a lot of money if you spend the time to setup some solid advertising campaigns.

Like many leads companies on the web you would not have the high cost of employees either. Your cost to generate your own leads will be your advertising costs and any other tools you may be using such as lead capture pages and auto responders.

These are just a few reasons you may want to consider generating your own MLM leads for your specific product or opportunity. It could make a difference in how effectively you market your program.

The why and how to use MLM mailing lists

MLM mailing lists may be the cause of more heartbreaks than any other single factor in mail order. A poorly chosen list, a weak mailing and the high cost of mailing to a list can shadow the optimism of a new marketer very quickly.

That is why it is best to arm yourself with MLM mailing list knowledge before embarking on that path.

Whether or not you should use an MLM mailing list to sell your product or service depend on several things:

Is what you are offering too complex an offering to be explained in a 30-word ad?

Can you afford to mail 200 to 1,000 pieces on the chance that you would not get a single order?

Can you make a profit selling your product to only two to twenty people in a 1,000 piece mailing?

Will a re-order of your product be required? Can you make your re-orders pay for the losses you will likely get from mailing to a list?

Do you know enough to choose the right MLM mailing list for your offering?

It takes either great faith in your offering or great stupidity to mail with a list. Most MLM mailing lists that companies are offering today specialize in opportunity seekers. These are the people who are generally quite new to mail order. They are either looking for a product to sell or an offer that will get them rich in a hurry.

Most of these opportunity seekers are engaged in chain letter type schemes at some point. They use MLM mailing lists to make gains in their plans.

Most of them lose money, but enough people will try it once to make money. These dreamers are the bread and butter for a lot of MLM mailing list companies.

Unless you have a truly superior offering for these opportunity seekers and you probably do not have one, they are not really worth your time and money. Most of them are unsophisticated dabblers.

MLM mailing lists, offered by many companies, are truly an interesting way to test response to an MLM offer. Many MLM people like to write back about their successes and failures. And they will always respond to a superior product.

Specialized product-buyers' lists can work beautifully if the offering is unique enough and worth a try for merchandise marketing.

Regardless of what kind of mailing list you use, be very careful in choosing a good list. Many are sold and resold to people making the very same offering. A waste of everyone's money. Free MLM mailing lists are usually as good as their price indicates. Check the guarantees.

Common sense will tell you which are good for you and which are good for the company selling the MLM mailing lists. Check to see how the lists are compiled. Are they people who have already bought something by mail, or are they merely people who indicated they might want to buy something by mail?

It is recommended that you never start any campaign with a mailing list even though advertising is so much cheaper. They are proven to work more effectively.

Keep this in mind. When you are ready to try MLM mailing list, be fully prepared to lose every penny you spend in buying and mailing that list, because it certainly could happen.

How to fail in MLM marketing

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A few problems that some new MLM marketing people have:

1. No upline support.

Once a person joins a new MLM marketing program, he or she is vulnerable and needs a lot of help from something or someone.

In many cases, the uplines are not actively helping them. This happens a lot when the uplines are simply sponsoring as many people as they can with no regard to what happens to them after they get sponsored.

In most standard MLM marketing programs, it is important that the new person gets immediate assistance from a local person, or tools that you have. Otherwise their chances for survival are very slim.

2. New MLM marketers cannot sell.

This is probably the major reason most people do not make it MLM marketing. By using standard MLM techniques, you have got to sell and learn how to speak at opportunity meetings and the like.

3. MLM'er cannot generate good leads.

Next to the selling problem, this has to be the next biggest reason most people fail in MLM marketing.

Here is a picture of what normally happens. The new person has just signed up in an exciting MLM program. He is taught by the manuals, meetings and so forth, how he should "share" his product with his friends, neighbors and relatives.

Normally, he is not comfortable with this, and if he is typical, he will have many sleepless, tossing and turning nights. He just doesn't want to "impose" on his friends! He would feel a lot more comfortable just presenting his opportunity to strangers.

4. No true duplicative system.

If the MLM marketing company must be promoted through expensive methods, this is not feasible.
Learning how to sell, or to speak and conduct an opportunity meeting is just not duplicative. Only a few people can do this. Here again, is a very important reason a lot of would be MLM'ers die on the vine.

5. Selling by mail using standard MLM techniques.

Traditional way to marketing MLM is to spend all spare time to call around and travel around to get prospects. A lot of people already have full time job, it is hard to find extra time to travel and make phone calls. This is why these MLM marketers cannot keep their program going.

6. The marketer is not sure about the MLM marketing company or service.

Often a person will sign up in a MLM marketing program in a "fit of excitement." After the dust clears, he comes down to earth and reality slowly sets in.

Pick an established and financially sound MLM company that is at least two years old with unquestionable products or services. That way, you can feel good about the company and products that you are promoting. There is nothing quite like being able to "tell the complete truth" to your prospective customers.

7. They do not stick with it long enough.

Starting any company takes time, and this is true with an MLM marketing program as well.
By the time you study the program, write and receive literature: study this and sign up; get the literature, etc. a lot of time has been spent. And then you have to generate your leads and so on.

It will take several months before you can expect much of anything to happen to your MLM marketing. You should set in your mind that you are going to stick with this for at least sometime. That just makes good business sense.

MLM training? Get a coach!

Many people are still saddled with antiquated MLM training and ideas of how the old multilevel companies were run in the 60’s and 70’s. Remember that we are already in the new millennium, people.

And the trainings in MLM that we have today had already grown pass those times.

Some of the more successful marketers have the fortune to have undergone the proper MLM training to make them more profitable than others. What is the one secret they have learned in MLM training?

The secret is choosing a team with an experienced coach who will teach, guide and motivate you towards success.

Of course there are other factors to consider such as the financial backing of the company, timing, the compensation plan and marketing a consumable product. But if you are not properly trained and motivated during those early months you are almost doomed to failure.

But think about it. Every professional businessperson or athlete has a coach to aid in the training. Why should it be different in MLM marketing?

In MLM marketing, you can start your business for less than $500 and literally choose the coach or leader who will be training you. Of course this will involve doing a little background check on the team leader you choose to work with. But in the end, it will be a time worth spending.

Here are a few pointers that will help you when seeking out the “correct coach” who will assist you in your MLM training.

1. Make sure that he or she has a proven track record.

A gifted leader will also prove his or her worth in the results produced. Generally speaking, you will not rise higher than your leader, so know how high you want to reach and find a coach who can get you there.

2. Go with someone who has been training in MLM for many years.

You want a leader who will be like the northern star; bright and steady. Those who are
successful network marketers are people who stay for the long haul. Many people give up too quickly and never reap the harvest.

Choose a leader who has experienced some bumps in MLM and can now be selective in choosing a company that is most likely to remain out of the MLM graveyard.

3. Find someone who knows how to market.

Network marketing is just that: marketing through networking. An essential part of the equation therefore is the effective marketing of your business.

Marketing can eat up a small budget very quickly. Therefore, you must learn from the MLM training works from what does not work so that you can use your advertising dollars most effectively.

The name of the game is maximum returns for your money. Leverage is the whole idea behind network marketing. This translates into small effort and great gain.

Find someone who can train you on how to use MLM tools such as teleconferencing, voicemail, direct mail, the Internet and broadcast media. This is a business so you have to treat it like one.

4. Find someone who continuously studies the industry.

Anyone who claims to be a professional will subscribe to magazines in his area of expertise, attend seminars to keep abreast of what’s happening and keep his MLM training pulse on the industry.

Choose wisely. The right opportunity and company may be the vehicle to your success but an effective MLM training coach is like gas in your tank.