What is Network Marketing? – is it a Scam or Opportunity?

Though it is a slow and gradual method, attraction marketing has proven to do wonders to some of the richest network marketers’ multi level marketing businesses. The concept is based on the idea that people do not want to be pushed into selling as well as being sold to by internet marketers as this would “hinder” their ability to exercise freedom as a consumer and an individual as a whole. Because of this feedback, the marketers have come up with attraction marketing, where they post ads, send letters or emails, and boost the rankings of their websites in Google’s pages which all advertise what is relevant to a person’s daily needs and also what matches their interests when surfing the web. So far the richest network marketers have claimed to attribute their successes to effective strategies, one of which is attraction marketing. Their multi level businesses are soaring in profit thanks to this interesting research method as well as the help of certain advertising services like Google Adwords.
If you think you have the potential of becoming one of the richest network marketers known worldwide, then it is time you learned of the possibilities of using attraction marketing with an advertising network industry like Google Adwords. Google Adwords are the advertisements posted by advertisers of online businesses and multi level marketing companies that cater to the wants and interests of consumers all over the world. These “Adwords” are what you see on the top, bottom, left, and right of a certain website that advertise products, services, articles, and other kinds of materials that might be of some relevance to a person’s search. You will know they are Google Adwords when you see the words “Sponsored Links” under the link to the website.
The role of attraction marketing here is seen in the ads themselves. For example you are an online user looking at a website which features lyrics of songs from Pop to Hip hop. While browsing you see a Google Ad that features free lyrics and downloadable mp3s. Because you are also interested in particular with the song and not merely on the lyrics, you click on the link and are directed to that website. You and the advertiser both benefit from this since your click is profit earned on the advertiser’s part.
This is just one of the many ways which the richest network marketers use to build, improve, and continue the success of their multi level marketing businesses. By paying for ads that cater directly to the person’s wants, they are able to increase profit and build a larger network group at the same time. If you are observant you will notice that most of who belong to the richest network marketers out there maximize as much as possible the potential of Google Adwords and other online advertising program. It is through these programs and through the use of certain tools like popular keyword and keyword phrase use that they are able to increase Click through Rates and gain a lot of traffic in a matter of months.

You know have you ever been in network marketing before? Many of you have no doubt. Well, perhaps you will relate to my story. Before I tell my story my name is Jonathon I am a business marketing consultant. I have been associated with network marketing for 7 years now. I have seen many companies come & go. Many had many different marketing plans some of which were great as well as some that were not quite as good. There is a lot of confusion out there as to how to be successful at network marketing. Some of it works & some of it does not. When I first started in network marketing do you relate to this? Go to meetings, recruit, recruit, recruit, harass your family, friends, and anyone who breathes on two legs is a prospect, if you’re not talking you’re not selling, put on meetings in your home. Do any of these things sound familiar to you?…. I did many of these things that were mentioned. We got a few people signed up; however, we could have done better. How about you? Did these ways of doing your business work for you? The problem with this old school network marketing model is it just doesn’t work anymore. It is outdated & is totally ineffective. The other problem is when new people get started in this industry many of them do not have what it takes; they do not have the intentions of becoming the network marketing professional they need to be. They also are not aware what it takes to succeed in the business world and are not prepared for that kind of information. What other problem is there in this industry? The other problem is the focus is in the wrong place. The network marketing company is focused on the product or the compensation plan. Is this really going to prove to be an effective way to bring new people in the business as a whole? The is no’. People don’t care about that. Great products are dime a dozen and so are business opportunities. It is great salesmanship and great marketing, that is hard to come by. Nothing Else In Business Matters If Good Sales & Marketing Are Not Being Used When I shifted my focus from product to sales & marketing everything changed. Things started to really click and shift my business into overdrive. The wealthiest people in the network marketing field have all got this one thing in common. They know how to sell. Themselves. Their product…Their ideas….their services. There is a problem that can’t be ignored… I have discovered there are great deal of lies and falsehoods, myths, misconceptions out there that are about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. As I mentioned at the beginning. Selling has become a dirty word in network marketing . This is because it has as many misconceptions as how network marketing is done. This is why it is also usually ineffective. What do you think good selling is? Selling is the exchange of goods or services where money exchanges hands. What is wrong with the old model? Well, often times it is too confrontational. The other reason for this is it oftentimes ignores the prospect true wants or needs. What other problems do you think it creates? The next problem is you are forcing a product on the prospect whether they like it or not, and this inevitably is going to result in resistance every step of the process. Then some may also approach it like an argument. Who usually wins an argument? No one! This is not good sales! Some network marketers believe that rejection is normal & should be accepted. Here are some questions for you to think about….Do you really believe this to be true? What if rejection wasn’t even a factor? What about marketing? What if marketing is combined with sales? What is marketing anyway?…There is a lot of confusion about what it is and how it is to be done. I’m sure you have heard the saying before “no one likes to be sold but everyone loves to buy” I am sure like most people you have never been given a logical meaning of what that really meant. Well the difference lies in whose decision it is… When You Are Trying To Sell Something To Someone It Is Your Decision Forced On Them.When Someone Wants To Buy Something IT Is Their Decision. So if everyone loves to buy, which the key to making your job easier (and more profitable), doesn’t it make sense to focus on helping people buy what they want then trying to sell them stuff that they don’t? This is exactly what marketing is. I like to think of marketing as creating a situation where they can buy on their own. Good marketing is about tapping into needs that already exist. If you’re not doing that nothing else matters… So that may prompt you to ask another question…So the next question is..what is an effective way to market your network marketing business? Your own marketing system. Your marketing system can plant seeds (your prospects) for you. Then what’s next? Then you use one- to-one sales to close them. That way you get more done in less time with less effort. To piece it all together to complete the puzzle. The objective of your marketing is to bring in qualified prospects. The main goal of the sales process is to close the deal & build a relationship with the best ones. After all that is the master plan that every network marketer should have whether they realize it or not.

Although many people scoff at network marketing as a pyramid scheme, it is one of the best business models available to entrepreneurs today. The problem is that most people who start out in the business don’t know how to market properly and/or they expect unrealistic results “right away” with little to no effort on their part. Therefore, they quit and go back to their job telling everyone around them “what a scam network marketing is,” just to justify their own failure.
Why Most Network Marketing Prospects Fail
96% of people who enter into network marketing ultimately fail. That’s right, only four percent actually succeed and stick with it.
Why is this? This network marketing virus is caused by business leaders who place ads that have phrases in them like, “It’s easy, anyone can do it,” “make thousands from your own home in three weeks,” “100k in six months, guaranteed,” etc.
Network marketers place these ads because they want their marketing to produce the most calls and leads. Yes these ads do pull a lot of calls, however they are the wrong type of people at the other end of the phone.
People who respond to these ads do not have what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur. They are looking for the next get rich quick scheme to give them monumental success in a very short period of time without really learning the business and applying themselves.
These prospects may seem really eager and determined at first, but that will quickly fade as they realize that network marketing is no joke. Most prospects come in with such high emotions that they get crushed and depressed when things don’t work out for the short term.
To be the best in network marketing you need to be calm and collected no matter what happens with your business. Otherwise you will be an emotional roller coaster as the ups and downs of this business will ride you into insanity.
What the Best Network Marketing Gurus Know
Ever wonder why only such a small percentage of the network marketing population makes over six figures a year? It is because they know a few things others don’t. If you want to become wealthy you need to know what it takes to be the best:
* Clear, specific goals
* Persistence
* An unwavering belief that you will succeed
* Dedication (time and resources)
* Willingness to learn
* Positive Thinking
* Excellent marketing and business strategies
The Best Network Marketing Secret
If you want to learn the best network marketing business building technique you need to first understand why someone would be attracted to join your opportunity. I know it may be hard to believe, (because of the generic training tapes your company gave you about how great their product is) but people do not join your organization for the opportunity or the product.
There are a ton of network marketing opportunities and products that are all great and offer many advantages and benefits, so why bore prospects with the same crap everyone else is. Remember you are going after quality when you are looking for prospects, not quantity. So only market to people who already understand the network marketing model and believe in it.
Put yourself in their shoes. If they already understand the network marketing business model wouldn’t they be looking for the best opportunity that offered them something more than an up-line who wants to make money off of them? This is the secret - you need to offer them an opportunity to join the best team in network marketing (your up-line, your down-line, and you).
Make it clear to them the goals of your team and that you are looking for other distinguished leaders to join and help grow the team. Finally, offer them ways to become the best by offering great educational business resources. This way they can continue to improve on their network marketing skills without having to go out and find the information themselves.
If you follow those steps you should be able to build an efficient and effective network marketing business. Remember to be the best you need to be persistent, learn from failure, and never stop educating yourself on how to improve in the business.

Money. We all start a home business to create that extra cash flow that is going to lead us to our dreams and goals. There are several ways to get prospects to increase your network marketing income. Which are you using and are you open to other ideas? Below are 4 of the ways to gain prospects for your opportunity.  

1) Traditional Networking. 

While some say this is dead in the water others would not build their networking business any other way. Traditional networking includes things such as talking to your circle of influence and the “three foot rule”.

Your circle of influence- the list of 200 people you know.

Newer network marketers look down on this way of building your business as the phrase “NFL club” or “No Friends Left” club echo in their mind, paralyzing them to speak with the people they know. What many marketers don’t realize is that you are not really looking to recruit these people into your business but you are looking for the people that they know, and the people that they know- networking in the true sense of the word.

Talking to people that know you intimately assists you in honing your question answering skills, lets you work on work presentation, and ultimately builds your business and therefore your network marketing income.

At several Dani Johnson seminars that I attended she asked everyone in the room who had made a list to stand up- several hundred did. She then asked those who had contacted every person on that list to stay standing- about half of the people sat down. Next came who had made money from contacting their whole list- EVERY person remained standing. Finally, who had made six figures in the last 12 months- over 50% of these people stayed standing. This was an exercise that really opened your mind to the possibilities if you just got over your hang ups.

The three foot rule.

Again, newer network marketers tend to frown on the three foot rule as they prefer to let the prospects come to them. But for every person who thinks it doesn’t work there is someone who is making money using this method.

The three foot rule is where you are constantly on the look out for people to prospect. Whether it be in the grocery store, in line at the movies, or sitting next to someone on the plane, you are finding ways to draw the person closest to you into a conversation to see if they have a desire to create an extra income for themselves.

This is a difficult skill to really hone as you must be really on your prospecting game. A major part of the reason that so many people shy away from doing this is because they do not have the right people teaching them. They approach people and put their networking marketing business first, instead connecting with the person and finding out thier hot buttons and needs.

2) Lead generation companies 

The second way of creating your network marketing income is through purchasing leads. Many people decide to do this as a way of talking to people who have shown an interest in having their own at home business.

When you purchase leads you can get many different types of leads at lots of different prices from $.10 per lead all the way up to $25.00 a lead. The difference depends on how qualified you want your prospect to be and whether you want your lead to be exclusive to you or not.

Usually you will get information such as name, phone number, email address and additionally may find out a little bit about how much prospects want to spend to start their business and how much network marketing income they would like to make per month.

Proponents of purchasing leads like the fact that they can have an immediate supply of leads to call at any given time without any extra effort of advertising. By having the phone number and email address you can not only call them but also can put them into your auto-responder to stay connected with them over time.

The downside to using lead generation companies is that it can become costly- especially in the beginning when working on your prospecting skills. You also have to be aware of the fact that although people may have requested information they are not always really looking for a home business. You can get go through a lot of people before you really find ones who are not tire kickers.

3) Using a Lead capture Page 

Many successful marketers really promote using a lead capture page to create prospects for the following reasons:

-lead exclusivity-interest in your business is peaked-better chance of name recognition-list building

Lead exclusivity is just as it sounds- being the only one to have that lead. When purchasing leads, unless you are paying top dollar, most of the time you are sharing the lead with several other people. This means that just as you are contacting them other people are too. Many people don’t like the competition of this and would rather use the lead capture page knowing that when a prospect fills out their information they are the only people receiving it.

As your squeeze page is directly related to you and your business, when someone opts in to your information you know that you have a higher chance of conversion as they have shown a desire to have more information about that specific business or product that you are promoting.

Building up a connection and trust is key to making sales and increasing your network marketing income. When a person requests your information they have already seen your name and starting that trust process. Once you begin connecting with them whether it be via email or phone your name will click and make the next step in your sales presentation that much easier.

As many career network marketers know having your own list is very important. Countless times stories are shared about losing databases of 1000’s of names when companies shut down or when changing to a new company. By having your own list you are in control of those names and they belong to you. Lists can become huge and therefore great sources of additional income from affiliate products, new product releases from your company, and good ways to also distribute information- just make sure you are following all SPAM laws.

In addition, in using a lead capture page you can actually make money on generating your leads instead of spending money through a funded proposal. This is very attractive to those with a smaller advertising budget.

4) Blogging and Social Networking.  

Blogging social networking have become a huge source of gathering prospects over the past few years and you are able to make the most use out of attraction marketing principals in this venue.

Blogging itself has become a preferred way of sharing information, getting your thoughts and ideas out, teaching what you know, and creating a brand yourself. You can do searches for almost any topic out there and find countless blogs about that topic. For someone who has the motivation and persistence to persevere in the blogging world, you can create not only an increased prospect base to raise your network marketing income, but also set yourself up to be an authority in the industry.

Different social networking sites are popping up all of the time and are a very inexpensive way of advertising and finding new prospects. But don’t just jump on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, BetterNetworker or any other social networking site out there and start pitching your business. If you do, you will get a response opposite your desired one.

One of the best ways to learn the ins and outs of a specific site is to join, observe, participate with comments, share your knowledge, and then if the situation arises and you are asked, talk about your opportunity. Most sites and forums will have specific policies about business, product, and affiliate promotions and will stick to them.

Some network marketers prefer this form of generating prospects because generally in this situation the prospects are able to observe you, your site, knowledge, and authority and then they are the ones contacting you for more information about your business. There is a lot less one-on-one legwork with this method as each post you write and each site you participate in has the possibility of being seen by thousands of people. If the information is strong enough you will attract the strongest prospects to you and increase you network marketing income.

Increasing your Network Marketing Income. 

No matter which way you choose to go, your overall goal is to increase the dollars that are coming in to your business. Not every person is meant to do every one of the ways listed above. If you are going to be an effective network marketer one of your biggest obstacles is going to be choosing the prospecting method that works the best for you and the one that is going to increase your network marketing income the fastest.

What are some of the ways that you prospect?