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MLM Woman Issue 52 This free monthly newsletter is made possible by our advertisers and customers. We thank them for their support! From the Desk of the Editor Welcome to the 52nd issue of the MLM Woman Newsletter. This month we feature articles to help you build your network marketing business on a firm foundation and to help you stay motivated and focused on your path to business success. I'm a big fan of the hit reality TV show "Survivor" and one of the reasons I like it so much is the many lessons you can learn from watching how people react when they are put into a new and difficult environment. Here's some of the things I've learned while watching the show last year and this year. Who says learning can't be fun? Seven Lessons I Learned from Watching Survivor I have been a fan of the popular Survivor reality show since it started last year. I enjoyed the show on many levels, but one of the reasons I like it so much is that it teaches you a lot about people and life if you pay attention. Here's the seven lessons I learned while watching the show. 1. Make Good Alliances As Survivor II comes to a close, it is apparent that alliances once again largely determine the success of the final winner. And this is a most powerful lesson from the show. Making alliances and forming close relationships with people you like and can trust in difficult situations will help you go far in life. But making alliances with people who will betray and backstab you at the drop of a tribal torch will not. Having good friends and close relationships is a must for success in life and business. 2. Know When to Make a Change Survivor Dr. Sean's use of a system to vote people off the island alphabetically by their first names was a huge disaster for his tribe. And he made no secret of how his system worked, which made it that much easier for the other tribe to pick off his own tribe mates after the merge. Even though people pointed out to him the fallacy of his system, he still refused to abandon it even though he knew it was hurting people he really liked including himself. Don't make the same mistake. Listen to good advice and know when to make changes when something is clearly not working for you. 3. Take Risks If you are afraid to try new things and go out on a limb once in a while, life gets really dull. Facing your fears and doing things that really challenge you mentally and physically can help you grow as a person. Of course you don't have to jump off a 30 foot cliff in the Outback or eat live grubs to test your limits, but you get the idea. 4. Use Your Resources Wisely Don't use up your precious resources too fast. When all you get is one bag of rice to eat and there's no mini-mart on the corner, it makes sense to be careful and ration your resources accordingly. And the same is true of other resources in life like time and money. If you can learn to use your resources wisely, you'll have plenty when you need it. 5. Make Yourself Useful There are always hard workers and slackers on every team, and the Survivor tribes were no exception. But none of the slackers ever made it to the final rounds or earned the esteem of their tribe members. Being a good tribe member means sharing the workload and doing your fair share of the chores. 6. Be Careful What You Say It's clearly tempting to tell people who have treated you unfairly what you really think of them, but as Mom always said, "If you can't say something nice, say nothing at all." Sue got some immediate gratification out of blasting Kelly and Rich on the first Survivor final, but people will remember her "sore loser" image and her "rat and snakes" speech for much longer than her satisfaction at having her revenge lasted. Sometimes it's better to keep some thoughts to yourself even if they are true. In the end what goes around comes around. Don't let a moment's gratification be your undoing. 7. Don't Be a Control Freak Bossy Survivors Jerri and Debb ran afoul of the "control freak" syndrome by insisting that they always knew best. Knowing how to be flexible and to get along well with others is a much better strategy. People don't liked to be "bossed" around; they like to follow a true leader that inspires their cooperation. Being a good leader means that you inspire and motivate people to follow you willingly. And one final lesson I learned was that the people on Survivor II didn't learned much from the people on the first show and kept making the same dumb mistakes again. In fact some people said they never even took the time to review the first show. Don't let that happen to you. Taking time to learn from the wisdom and experiences of those who have been there and done that will ensure that you can take advantage of their winning strategies and avoid their mistakes. .Linda Locke, Editor MLM Woman Increase Your Sales By Increasing Your Believability Copyright 2001 By Bob Leduc People won't buy from you until they're confident you will deliver exactly what they expect to get. You can help them develop that confidence by making certain every claim you make about your product or service is fully believable. Here are 3 ways you can increase your believability with prospects -- and generate more sales. All 3 work for any business. And you can use them with any marketing method including the Internet. USE TESTIMONIALS Testimonials from satisfied customers are powerful selling tools. They establish your believability because they prove you already delivered what you promised to other customers. The most effective testimonials describe a specific result your customer enjoyed by using your product or service. For example, "In just 2 weeks I lost 9 pounds, felt years younger and still enjoyed all my favorite foods". TIP: Get permission to use your customers' names and addresses with their testimonials. Personal testimonials from real people are more believable than anonymous testimonials. PROVIDE SPECIFICS You can also increase your believability by converting general statements into specific descriptions. "It's fast, easy and inexpensive" may accurately describe your product or service. But a specific description of how fast, how easy and how inexpensive is more believable. Also, try to avoid using round numbers (10, 25, 40, etc.) in your claims. Instead, reduce them to specific odd numbers with fractions or decimals. Here's why... Which of the following 2 statements sounds more authentic to you? 1. Our clients average 30 percent more sales. 2. Our clients average 27.7 percent more sales. Most people choose the second statement. 30 percent may be the accurate number. But 27.7 percent is more believable. BONUS: Specific descriptions also create impact and excitement. They motivate more of your prospects to buy. TONE DOWN YOUR CLAIMS If the actual results you can produce for your customers or clients sound too good to be true, your prospective customers will assume it's not true. It happened to me... I once developed a direct mail postcard that generated over 20 percent replies when I sent it to names on a special mailing list. Most of the businesses I approached with a lead service using this postcard didn't believe I could really get that high a response rate for them. The service was difficult to sell unless I substantially understated the projected rate of response. I eventually discovered that projecting a 7 1/2 to 9 1/2 percent response rate produced the largest number of sales. That rate was still a substantial increase for any company -- and it was more believable than the actual rate of more than 20 percent. SPECIAL ADVANTAGE: Understating the results your customer can expect also enhances your credibility. Imagine your customer's reaction when your product or service produces substantially better results than you promised. How believable are the claims and promises you make to prospective customers or clients? Do you use testimonials and provide specifics? Are there any claims you need to tone down because they sound too good to be true? Prospective customers won't buy from you unless they fully believe every claim and promise you make. About the Author Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales Consultant. Bob recently wrote a manual for small business owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more information send an e-mail to: BobLeduc@aol.com?subject=Postcards Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time) Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133 Clarity of Purpose -- Living a Rich Life By Michael Angier If becoming rich is part of your dream-and there's no reason why it shouldn't be--just be careful you don't confuse being rich with living a rich life. I think we should all become rich financially. We can give more to our families, our communities and our world if we are. But it's living a rich life that should be our primary objective. A rich life is created by being more concerned with who you become than what you acquire. It's created by clarity of purpose. And clarity leads to power. In my opinion, the most important thing you can do for yourself is to invest the time and perhaps even money to become absolutely clear on what you want out of life. I'm not talking about goals here. I'm talking about the essence of what you truly want--what you will feel good about when your life is over. This is not an easy process. Perhaps that's why so few people do it. All the information is inside you. You need only to think carefully and intuit deeply in order to gain this insight and allow you to live with a keen focus and real clarity. The old adage, "Know thyself," has become such a cliché that it's lost much of its meaning. But when you're completely clear on who you are, what you want, where you're going and have a plan to get there, you will not only be more effective, you will experience better health and more fulfillment. You will lead a rich life. If we were sitting across from one another, here's what I'd ask of you. "What's the most important goal/dream/mission in your life?" I'd be looking for a description that shows your passion for it--something where you have a sparkle in your eye and emotion in your voice. I believe that everyone has a dream--and that it's not something to be invented, but rather to be discovered. It may take some time to uncover it, but living a life filled with verve and excitement is certainly worth it. Your plan, your vehicle to get there may change over time, but the vision--the mission--will not. The next question I would ask is, "Why do you want to accomplish this dream?" Your reasons are critical to your success. When you have sufficient reasons you can overcome any challenge. One of the ways you can strengthen your reasons is to visualize what your life will be like when you've accomplished your dream. The more real it becomes-the more you can see it and feel it-the more you'll believe it. It's also a way to check out if this is really your dream. Sometimes, after envisioning what we think is our dream, we find that it's not really what we want. Better to find out now than to spend our lives achieving something that will not provide fulfillment in the process. And it is that process that is the real value. Remember, it's not so much what you accomplish, but rather what you become in that process that's important. Which leads me to my next question. "How will you have to grow and change in order to accomplish your dream?" "What will you become on your journey?" Any worthy goal involves change. If you don't think you'll have to grow and change, then you don't have a very inspiring goal. A worthy goal involves risk. It involves getting out of our comfort zone. And that's where real growth occurs. So the short version of our conversation goes like this: what do you want, why do you want it and what are you willing to do to get it? These are questions we need to constantly be asking ourselves. If we do--if we take the time to think and ponder the answers, we'll gain greater clarity, more fulfillment, live longer and feel better. We will live a rich life. Copyright 2001 Michael Angier & Success Networks International. About the Author Michael Angier is the founder and president of Success Networks. Success Net's mission is to inform, inspire and empower people to be their best--personally and professionally. Download their free eBooklet, KEYS TO PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS from http://www.SuccessNet.org/keys.htm. Free subscriptions, memberships, books and SuccessMark Cards are available at http://www.SuccessNet.org Integrity in Business - The Secret To Increased Sales By Bob Davies Imagine David Letterman is on the streets of New York City with a microphone in hand. He has one question to ask those who happen to pass by, "What is the purpose of being in business?" What do you think the most common response will be? I would guess that almost everyone, if not everyone, will answer that the purpose of being in business is to make money. I’m going to suggest a different way of looking at this question. Imagine for a moment that the purpose of being in business was to Grow People! What would be different? How about, everything would be different and you would make more money as well! I rented a movie the other day about industrial technology. I loved these lines from that movie's main character: "Lately I’ve been reading about some of our great entrepreneurs, Dupont, Rockefeller, Ford. Their ability to create great new wealth depended on the fact that they worked out on the edge, the leading edge, the frontier. It can be a scary place...but once you’ve stepped out onto the edge, it’s impossible to come back. I welcome the challenges of the frontier. Institutions never create anything, individuals do. We are the thinkers, the planners, the visionaries, that will shape the future. It is our destiny not only to change to make people community, but to change the way people think." It is my vision and quest to travel throughout the United States and abroad and speak the code. If individuals and groups would live their lives with integrity, the world would be a safer, more vibrant, healthy, and fulfilling place. I do understand that this is a new way of thinking. However, all of the research that I have conducted points to similarities between those companies that are considered to be visionary versus those that are not. Companies such as Citicorp, Ford, Marriott, Nordstrom, Wal-Mart, and Walt Disney all share a common code of integrity. I will give you my interpretation of that shared code. These visionary companies live a culture, a belief system, that is shared by every level of the organization. One of these shared beliefs is that the purpose of being in business is to grow people. How do you grow people? You do this through coaching and a principle based organization. The following are the guiding principles that I believe are necessary for a company to be living in integrity. Three Core Principles: 1) I do what I say I will do. 2). I can’t do it by myself. I am far better off as a part of a team than I can ever be by myself. 3) Accountability-I am the source of all that I experience. Core principle #1: I do what I say I will do. This is a fundamental principle. If an individual does not hold this as important, the entire system of core values fall apart. I support this principle by blasting the following myth: I am better off by committing high and falling short, then committing lower and falling short. Please understand that this is a myth, and is not true. One is not better off by unrealistically committing to big audacious and hairy goals. If an individual commits to an artificially high goal then the moment they start to question their ability to reach that goal, their motivation begins to dramatically decrease. The "pull" of hope no longer is present. Replace that myth with MLO’s. Minimum level objectives. This concept embraces the first principle of living with integrity, I do what I said I would do. What is the minimum level you give your word you will do and falling short does not exist. I have been in the training and coaching business for over twenty years. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard an individual say that they were committed to reach some goal and then not take the intended actions. They all had viable reasons, stories, priorities, unscheduled interruptions, and excuses. They all also didn’t do what they said they would do! When you use MLO’s, you call upon Newtons’ third principle of physics, "inertia". "Any body in motion will remain in motion unless acted on by an external force." With huge unrealistic goals, the external force preventing the continuation of momentum is fear. Once individuals see "evidence" that they can’t do something they immediately buy into that evidence as being true and they live their lives in resignation. I’ve heard it said, "it's the starting that stops most people." If an individual had set a smaller, more realistic goal, then they would still maintain hope, and the chance to be successful and honor principle #1, I do what I said I would do. This goes against accepted ways of being such as, I should set big goals. I’m not against setting stretch goals. I simply request that you also give a bottom line that you give your word you will achieve no matter what. Try it! Core principle #2: I can’t do it by myself. I am far better off as a part of a team than I can ever be alone. Elite performers will never argue with this. They know that they must surround themselves with others. By doing so they create the atmosphere where learning, discovery, clarity, and accountability can occur. Try this simple experiment. Take thirty seconds and write down as many green vegetables as you can think of. Next, get a partner, and together, come up with one list of green vegetables in thirty seconds. In almost 100% of the cases, your list will be greater with a partner than it was by yourself. Core principle #3: Accountability-I am the source of all that I experience. The opposite of this principle is blaming. This principle is a source of strength for people. It doesn’t allow them to become a victim. This principle embraces the concept that human beings are very powerful at creating results in their own lives. These may be dysfunctional results however! Someone who is thirty pounds overweight has created a miracle of a result. How would they know how to regulate their intake and expenditure to gain thirty pounds. They are exactly where they are in their weight because that is exactly what their point of view supports. We are very powerful at manifesting our dominating thoughts. Likewise, someone who has financial difficulties has exactly what they should have given their current financial point of view. If they want to have different results, it is not what is going on around them, the environment, the marketplace, etc. The answer lies in their own dysfunctional point of view. If they want to change the results they are experiencing, they must first change their point of view. After all, they are the source of all that they experience. How do you change your point of view? That is actually a simple process. Decide first what you want. Next, what do you need to do to have what you want. Then, what will you do over the next seven days. This declaration needs to be very specific, observable and measurable. The process is not complete until you have a structure for accountability in place. This must come from someone outside of yourself. Another person is needed to hold you accountable and to check back with you at the end of the week to see if you actually did what you said you would do. This is the elite performance system that I have traveled throughout the United States and abroad teaching with tremendous results for all of those individuals who were not satisfied with who they were or what their accomplishments were in life. For those who wanted to be more fulfilled in their health, business and personal lives, this is the formula. Try it on. Make a specific declaration to another person and then set out to execute it for the next seven days. Design some type of a reward or punishment with that person and watch how your perception shifts. Now, because you have this dynamic of accountability in your life, instead of just seeing how busy you are and all of the reasons why you can’t do what you said you would do, you will see the opportunities to handle whatever comes your way and still honor what you said you would do. Put one week after another together like this and you will have a miracle and magical year. Good luck! About the Author Bob Davies is an internationally known author, speaker and professional coach who rose from poverty to become one of today's most sought-after keynote speakers. He is the author of two books, "The Sky Is Not The Limit-You Are!", and "Coaching For High Performance", as well as several audio and video cassette programs. Bob is a former football coach at Cal State Fullerton, where his techniques helped an average football team to win two conference championships. He can be reached on the web at www.bobdavies.com or by phone at 949-830-9192. Top 10 Steps to Success in Network Marketing By Usa Johnson Although network marketing is one of the simplest and quickest roads to personal and financial success, only 5 percent of those who make the journey reach their goals. What sets them apart? The same thing that will set you apart if you follow these key steps: 1) Know what you want. What do you want in life? Wealth? Health? Happiness? Any and all can be yours - if you create a compelling enough vision of your future. This vision works like a magnet, moving you forward and keeping you going, even when you hit occasional walls. Walls are part of any business, network marketing included. It's what you do to get up, over, around, and through them that matters. Really knowing what you want will move you beyond them each and every time. 2) Make a firm commitment. Network marketing may be a unique business model, but like all businesses, it works only if you do. No matter what product or service you sell or what company you join, you need to be the engine that drives your success. Don't be content to be a passenger. Remember: Action is commitment set in motion; motion builds momentum; momentum, over time, leads to success. 3) Follow the system. Network marketing companies don't just offer a product - they offer a system for delivering it to the public. In short, they've worked out all "policies and procedures" to a science, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel or waste precious time and energy on the countless details that plague most business start-ups. The result? You (and everyone you bring into the organization) hit the ground running. Therefore, follow your company's system EXACTLY. There's no quicker way to success. 4) Love and use your product. Enthusiasm sells products and begins with familiarity. That means knowing your company's products (or services) inside and out. Use each over an extended period of time to gain firsthand experience of its benefits. Talk to others to learn how each bettered their lives as well. This deeper understanding enables you to talk more comfortably, authoritatively, and enthusiastically about your products and services with all you meet. 5) Work your upline. Your sponsor is part teacher, part guide, part cheerleader, part friend. That's a whole lot of parts! And when you put them together, you get an energetic, knowledgeable, and caring person who can get you where you want to go as directly as possible. Know, however, that your upline includes more than just your sponsor. Your sponsor's sponsor (or even your sponsor's sponsor's sponsor) is someone with helpful tools and tips. Don't be shy about giving him or her a quick phone call or dropping either an e-mail. Use them to expand your knowledge and reach. 6) Cultivate winners. Build strong relationships with a significant number of the individuals you sponsor. Exactly how many is a significant number? It could be 10 to 20, or just two to three. The key is this: You don't have to have a downline of thousands all giving 100 percent. All you need is a handful of folks who have "heard the calling" and respond body and soul. These are the distributors worth cultivating; they're the true winners who will help you grow your business, so support them any way you can. As to the rest, if they're reluctant to begin with, no amount of pushing or pulling will get them to change their minds or the way they do business. 7) Avoid cold calls. When prospecting, always start with "familiar faces" - family, friends, acquaintances, etc. Because they know and respect you, the trust is there. Too, they often listen more intently and politely, allowing you the opportunity to fine-tune your approach. That's invaluable experience, and it can help you quickly build the confidence you need to extend your circle. 8) Reject rejection. Rejection may not be fun, but it's not personal. That's why it's critical that you commit to not letting your fear of rejection stand in the way of your goals. One way to work through your fear is to literally list the reasons some folks wouldn't be interested in network marketing in general and your company/product/service in particular. Next, prepare responses to each and every one of the objections. This act alone will bolster your confidence; too, your responses will help prospects move beyond their own limited beliefs. 9) Diversify. Thanks to the Internet, teleconferencing, new and inexpensive printing processes, and the like, you can communicate with prospects not just across the street but around the world. Scary and overwhelming as this may be, it's critical that you embrace these new ways of doing business and make them work for you. That said, never lose sight of the old stand-bys - home meetings and one-on-one contacts. Human contact is critical in network marketing, no matter what the product. There's simply no substitution, so create a balance between old and new approaches to achieve maximum results. 10) Take care of yourself. If you want to succeed in network marketing, you've got to give it your all. But that doesn't mean you have to live and breathe the business 24 hours a day. You'll quickly burn out, plus, you won't enjoy the finer things in life - the very things you went into the business to experience. In short then, don't put off to tomorrow what you can begin to enjoy today. About the Author Usa B. Johnson is the author of "Success Is Yours with Network Marketing: 10 Key Steps to Build Your Business," which can be ordered through Amazon.com. Johnson, an independent distributor for a leading network marketing company, can be reached at jbconny@erols.com or visit her at www.usajohnson.com. Back to the MLM Woman Newsletter Index We want your feedback! Send e-mail comments to Linda at: regent@west.net Copyright 2001, Regent Press http://www.mlmwoman.com