Greetings Fellow Networkers,
The fact of the matter regarding the Network Marketing Industry (aka MLM) is that 97% of people who start a MLM business fail!
In this article I'm going to share with you some Network Marketing Strategies that have given me a variety of results over the years. Some are more effective than others. If you want to make it into the group of 3% that make it then it is important that you master at least one of these strategies. I also recommend that you implement more than one to achieve maximum results, that being, more leads, more prospects, more cash flow and more profits!
Choosing the best strategy for your business will depend on your skill set, your budget, your experience, and the amount of time you have to devote to your MLM business.
Here's a few to consider:
1) Traditional MLM Approach
This is the "old school" strategy used for decades in MLM. In the traditional approach your most important activity is to create as large a list as you can of all the people you know. This list usually consists of your family, friends, co-workers, people you spend money with, former classmates, etc. You get the point. It's everyone you know or have ever known.
The next step is to contact all these people and tell them about your new business opportunity. It is important to be enthusiastic and excited! The methods of contacting these people range from 3 way calls with your upline, or showing up to their homes unannounced with the product and/or a video, or unsolicited emails with a link to your company replicated site, or inviting them to a meeting/webinar, or calling them on the phone to get them to listen to a pre-recorded message that pitches the opportunity for you.
The problem with the Traditional MLM Approach is three fold. First of all, MLM has a very negative association to most people because they know someone who failed in MLM or they themselves have failed (the 97% group). Many folks have the impression that MLM is a "pyramid scheme". Secondly, once you have contacted everyone on your list and no one joins your team who do you go after next?
Last and most importantly, the people you know best will believe you the least! What I mean by that your warm market may know you and love you but you have NO business credibility with them. Don't' feel bad, it's not your fault. Even Jesus, when he went back to Nazareth, was rejected by the people who knew him and they ran him out of town!
Inevitably, new reps armed with a high level of persistence chase, pester, and badger their friends to the point where these relationships can be permanently damaged. Rejection is a harsh thing to deal with and the majority of new MLM reps don't have the strength to handle it. After a few initial rejections most reps quit.
This is not to say that you shouldn't approach your warm market about your business. I recommend that you only share your business opportunity with people you know when you have achieved a level of success where you don't care whether they join you or not!
2) Buying Leads and Cold Calling
This strategy involves buying lead lists from companies that sell "targeted" contact list for Network Marketing. These lists are supposedly "qualified" people who are interested in MLM or have already been in MLM. The sources of these leads usually come from former leaders in MLM companies that sell their downline information.
These lists are typically very "stale" and consist of contacts that are in the 97% failure category. Cold Calling requires a well-developed sales skill that most people do not have. Only a very few exceptional people are good at it. In my professional opinion this strategy is a huge waste of time and money for just about all MLM reps!
3) Running Job Postings On Employment Sites
Another approach is to run job postings on employment sites like Career Builder and Craigslist. Basically this is a deceptive "bait and switch" tactic where prospective job seekers are enticed to answer the ad with expectations of a real job with a traditional company.
Promises of hope and opportunity get their attention. However, most of these people are unemployed with no money to invest in a business and need immediate income just to pay their bills. Once they discover that there is no salary or guaranteed money they become annoyed that you've wasted their time. They get pissed and may even report you to site admins. Avoid this strategy at all costs!
4) Buying a Self Replicated Online Marketing System
There are some very slick online marketing/lead systems available today. These systems are typically a replicated website, which promotes your product and/or business opportunity. Normally these systems include a robust contact management feature and a "squeeze page" or opt-in form for interested prospect contact information.
The issue here is that regardless of how "slick" these marketing systems may appear matters not if they can't be found on the internet. You still need to have a strategy to drive traffic to your site. It's like having a billboard on a road in the middle of nowhere. In my opinion unless you have expertise in generating web traffic or have the money to pay someone to do it for you, this is another waste of your money and time.
5) Attraction Marketing
This dynamic strategy utilizes the power of the internet to "attract" current and potential network marketers to you! Also know as "Magnetic Sponsoring", this approach involves promoting yourself as an expert in the MLM industry by sharing valuable content for free which will benefit others who are seeking solutions to problems they have. You build your brand by establishing a list of followers who perceive you as someone they trust and want to follow.
The basic philosophy of Attraction Marketing is three fold: Build a list, develop a relationship with that list, and market solutions to that list. Using multiple internet marketing tools, an MLM rep can put his/her business on "auto-pilot" whereby traffic and qualified leads are generated to your sites. Tactics such as chasing friends and family, buying leads, and cold calling are no longer necessary. People pursue you because they believe you are someone that can lead them and help them MAKE MONEY!
Attraction Marketing is as much about becoming a LEADER as it is about internet marketing technology. People do not join an MLM company because of the product or compensation plan. They join because they believe the leadership of the company is solid, trustworthy and will be dedicated to their success! Attraction marketing is a process that can be learned by anyone who commits to it.
Some of the techniques employed with Attraction Marketing include Pay Per Click Advertising, Organic Search Rankings, Blogs, Webinars and Teleseminars. This strategy includes mastering such powerful tools as Social Media Marketing (Facebook), Search Engine Marketing (Google), and Video marketing (You Tube).
The downside to Attraction Marketing is that it can require a significant investment in time for education and training. Internet technology is exploding and changing at an unbelievable rate. The challenge of keeping up with the constant innovations and becoming overwhelmed by the amount of information can be daunting.
An upside to this strategy is that the upfront capital required to get started is quite reasonable. An effective and profitable internet MLM business can be started for as little as $500.
6) Value Marketing
Value Marketing is the next generation of internet MLM marketing. Building on the concepts of Attraction Marketing, this strategy at its core promotes the principles of giving away more value to people in the form of content, training, support, coaching, innovation and collaboration than people would ever expect.
The basic philosophy of Value Marketing is that your success in business and in life will be equal to the quality and quantity of value you give to others.
To discover the secrets of Value Marketing please feel free to visit my blog. Take advantage of all the free information that is guaranteed to help you overcome your biggest MLM challenges and get you the results you are dreaming about!
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