Back to Network Marketing/MLM
Network Marketing I
|
|||
| Network Marketing is not "pyramids," which are strictly illegal. Network Marketing is a viable business model that generates significant income for millions of people worldwide. However, it tends to attract more than its share of get-rich-quick artists. So pick your company carefully and seriously. |
Yes, most Network Marketing companies and their associates did recognize the potential offered by the Net (many predicted it would serve as the ultimate recruitment tool). But they have, in large part, been unsuccessful in generating results of any kind -- either as sales, or as leads.
What Is Going Wrong?
| No blame being designated to anyone below, of course. Network Marketing has long been an offline venture, and the move to the online world has been a completely new experience. |
MLM companies are not providing their associates with the ability to speak with a "unique" voice (the key to any success on the Net). Actually, they suppress that voice due to legal concerns -- valid concerns, I might add.
Network Marketing corporations are not providing their reps with the correct tools and strategies to attract and win new leads and/or sales on the Net. For example...
-
They may provide "cookie cutter" Web sites -- each one
identical to a million others. Big deal, there's nothing special
about each one and the Search Engines ignore them all, compressing
identical content out of existence.
- They may provide online stores in their name. Great idea, but if it ends there, is it much better than just filling in a form and faxing it?
- Some even provide a small number of trained Webmasters who will build a site and maintain it for thousands of dollars per year. What's the natural instinct of the high-rollers who can afford it? Duplicate the site and give it to their downline. Result? Instant death as the engines kick you out for spamming them with identical content.
And, of course, there are hundreds of scammy lead-selling companies that sell the same lists of a million leads "for your downline." Hello? Think about that one. These don't even deserve a second thought, yet they prey on the weak with remarkable success -- but only the lead-selling companies make money.
And then there are government issues for Network Marketers to worry about... what you can say and what you can't say. So...
You're On Your Own
In the end, Network Marketers/Reps/Distributors are on their own when
it comes to driving traffic to their Web sites, and if they do,
little comes from it. Most of these sites are little more than a
blatant sales pitch -- a page that sells the opportunity and the
products, and a page that asks for a name, an address, and a phone
number. Unfortunately,
there's nothing online that annoys surfers more than a blatant sales
pitch, especially if it turns out to be an "MLM opportunity."
There is a widespread bias against this distribution model, so the
approach needs to be a patient, quality, build-a-pipeline one... ....
not a get-rick-quick one. Site Build It!
provides the ultimate solution for all these problems. The answer
is so, so obvious it almost hurts. But we have yet to see
Network Marketers use the Net properly. Before
talking about the perfect online solution, let's talk about who
succeeds in Network Marketing offline...
Offline....
They
are extroverted, ebullient people who can approach others easily
and naturally introduce them to the opportunities offered by their
respective businesses. These folks build large personal networks
-- they execute what is called the "30 foot rule" effortlessly.
What
is the "30 foot rule?" Anyone
within 30 feet is a potential prospect! They approach people in
bank lines, talk to their seatmates in airplanes, play golf as singles...
they network like mad. And
more power to them, because they've made it work and work and
built their own successful businesses.
Unfortunately,
most people can barely approach their own small network of friends
and family... what's called the "warm circle of contacts."
They can barely gather enough courage to approach their "warm
circle" let alone that "30 foot circle of strangers."
And that's a critical reason why most fail... The
key, of course, to building significant revenues in Network Marketing
is to build your "downline" and to make personal sales. Sales
+ Downline = Significant residual income So
the ambitious extrovert succeeds. But the vast majority fail, for
a variety of reasons... fear, lack of opportunity, shyness, etc.
For example... A stay-at-home
spouse is immediately at a disadvantage -- no opportunity to network.
And so is any individual who is a) shy by nature, or b) finds "hard-selling"
crass or offensive (despite real passion for a company's products).
Online... You Can Turn The Tables
The Internet, though, provides the opportunity to change all that, to
turn the tables completely around. The
stay-at-home spouse can now have a world-wide circle of contacts! And
the shy, soft spoken one? She can speak with a booming voice! Imagine
the scenario where you did not have to tap on someone's shoulder
at an airport? Imagine, instead, that strangers from around the
world tapped on your shoulder, thanking you for great info
and calling you or e-mailing you with questions. 5,
10, 20 leads per day like that. Perfectly do-able. And best of all...
they are calling you. When
folks call you, the dynamics are completely reversed. You're the
expert. You're the person who shares information. And they
are the ones who initiated contact.
That's
better than the best "diamond" can do... and the extroverted
personality probably does not have the patience to build what you
can do, with Site Build It!
and the Web. But
it has to be done right. Here's how... SBI!'s
approach is perfect for a Network Marketer. For example, let's say
that you're a 55 year old male with a prostate problem, and you've
just joined Melaleuca (a solidly run company). You've read a lot
about prostrate problems. Build a terrific site with a theme related to
this. Fill it with Keyword-Focused Content Pages (KFCPs) that SBI!'s
Brainstormer will not only suggest, but will also identify as most
profitable. You'll
attract targeted free traffic from the SEs -- your own pre-qualified
leads who come to you, not the other way around. The
content credentializes you as a sharing, generous expert, by OVERdelivering
quality information in response to a SE query, about a problem that
concerns your visitor. What
do you do now? Get
them to fill out a form for your free CD-ROM? Send
them with a link over to your online store to buy your anti-prostate
products. Get
them to sign up for your Melaleuca business opportunity? No,
no, and no. All fatal. Just
as you were developing a warm and trusting connection, you ruined
it all. For example, "regular" people don't have CD-ROMs
to offer. And despite the "warm and fuzzy" feelings, your
visitor is not ready to join a Network Marketing biz-opp. It all
ends up "smelling" like a pitch. Here
Are Some More "Do Nots"... Do
not duplicate pages already provided by your company. The kiss of
death. Adapt some of the content, if you like. But don't use it
verbatim. Do
not even mention the company you represent or the products that
you will try to sell... do this later, once the person contacts
you. Two reasons to delay... 1)
It's too soon -- blatantly selling "MLM" products or recruiting
your downline in an aggressive fashion does not work on Net, and
it won't work with SBI! either, even with all that traffic. It's
just too soon to go for the sale. 2)
You'll stay out of trouble with both your company and the government.
Your company must live by all sorts of government regulations and
can't allow you to make all sorts of claims. And the government
won't allow you to do the same. So don't. What
do you do instead? What do you do once you have someone on your
site, reading your content, building some trust and interest in
you? Be
patient. Build a pipeline... 1)
Encourage folks to call or e-mail you if they have any questions.
You'd be glad to answer them. 2)
Naturally, build trust through the publication of a high quality
newsletter. And again, in your newsletter, invite them to call or
e-mail if they have questions. The daughter of SiteSell.com's president, Nori, gets 4-5 e-mails per day to her site... and
she and her dad do not encourage contact! Visitors have all kinds of
questions (most popular ones involve "good cheap villas, hotels, and/or restaurants").
This is already happening even though Nori has not had the time
to build a ton of content at her site, anguilla-beaches.com
And that's just Nori. So many SBI! sites generate
amazing traffic. And you, as a Network Marketer, have a far
simpler job. Don't sell. Just PREsell and make your "Most
Wanted Response" very simple... "Contact
Me." Imagine
what you could do if you built just one page per day? In 2-3 months,
you'd have at least 5 real, warm leads contacting you.
....
real people, very interested in what you are saying. What more could
any Network Marketer want? Remember,
Network Marketing has a bad image that you must overcome. So a Web
site is just too early, too cold, to overcome that bias. You must
convert the cold, digital contact of a Web site to a warmer one...
e-mail or even better, phone. Convert
an online contact into a warmer one. Slowly and gently, use your
company's training to introduce your visitors to the products (and/or
the opportunity, depending on your goals), as they come to trust
and know you. You
don't have to tell her, of course! But do share with your downline.
Teaching them to use SBI! as well as you do, on themes of their
choice, can only increase your income dramatically. Talk
about "Win-Win-Win-Win"... "Win"
for you... "Win"
for your downline... "Win"
for your company...
And of course, we're glad to participate! :-) Let's
switch from prostate to heart (two of my favorite organs, I guess!)...
Suppose
your company sells a complete line of powerful and innovative anti-oxidant
blends which have been proven to aid in the fight against heart
disease. Instead of talking directly about the product itself, search
out keyword niche in the "heart disease" theme, and do
your best to present your visitor with a complete discussion of
the "heart disease" issue, OVERdelivering on quality information. Within
your content pages, you will discuss both conventional and alternative
remedies, and ultimately, even what you are taking that has made
a big difference in your life (I trust you don't push stuff that
does not work!). Now,
here's how to ruin it... End
your article with a direct link to your "cookie-cutter"
recruitment or sales site. That will leave 99% of visitors with
a bad taste in their mouths... "Oh,
that's what this is about... a pitch! Nope...
instead, "make haste slowly." Write great articles and
publish a fantastic e-zine. Build trust and credibility. That must
be your #1 priority. Take your time to get the build going. And
don't worry, you will get the opportunity to introduce your visitors
and subscribers to the opportunities your company offers... ....
When the time is right. ....
When they call you. But...
Rush things, "pitch" your visitors before you establish
your credibility, and you can bid farewell to 99.9% to them. So
Do It Right... And
your visitors will come knocking on your door. Isn't that a lot
better (and easier and less nerve-racking) than having to go knocking
on their doors? And,
naturally, once you've developed and perfected the above formula,
share it with the downline that you've built. Do not allow them
to copy what you've done. You'll only ruin your site's performance
at the engines. But
do use one of Network Marketing's most important principles... Replicate
your knowledge. Teach
your downline to use SBI! as
well as you do. But encourage them to pick a niche, a theme, that
turns them on and that relates to a part of your company's
product line. Like I said, if you accomplish this, you'll have a
true... Win-Win-Win-Win on your hands. :-)
These are not those cheesy "leads"
sold by a lead-selling company. These are real human beings who
appreciate your content, who like you, and who want to know more.
From there, you'd go to 10, 20, leads... every day...
We know we're wasting our time here, with the get-rick-quick folk, of
whom we hope there is no one reading this. This approach will work,
but like anything in business, it takes some work -- but once the
pipeline starts to pour, it will be a steady producer for you. And
your "diamond" upline will start to wonder what's happening
to you.
Close Window
