First Step Marketing

Online publicity is an important element of your marketing plan if you’re to rise above the noise level on the Net. But getting that publicity is not easy—it takes a lot of work, and can be froth with dangers. It takes a lot of planning and preparation and is definitely not a one-shot effort. A well-thought-out publicity plan gives your eBusiness the kind of portrayal you want in the media and your community. Over the long haul, good portrayal generates good credibility for your eBusiness.

The goal is to generate important coverage of your eBusiness at exactly the right time and in exactly the right place. Read the rest of this entry »

If so, how long have they been around? And have they been largely successful?

If there isn’t already a business filling the niche that you plan to fill, don’t fret. It may mean that you have a special talent for keeping your finger on the pulse of American life, but it may also mean that your idea is just a little ahead of its time. Sometimes being second in a given field is better than being first; if you’re providing a brand-new product or service that people haven’t previously viewed as necessary to their lives, Read the rest of this entry »

“Cognitive divergence” describes the situation of a person whose thinking has become so different from the rest of the group that he or she doesn’t really fit in. This person is now considered ^-out of it,” an eccentric, a maverick. Some changes that can make you seem like this in your own organization:

• Your company may have changed since you joined it as a bright young newcomer. New people with a different management philosophy may have taken over, or the company may have expanded or changed direction as time passed.
• Times may have changed. New ideas, new technology may cause a company to change its outlook. Where once it valued those managers who ran production centers or developed new products, now it may save its smiles for its financial or marketing managers. Or, vice versa. Read the rest of this entry »
  

Many network marketing companies steer clear of the word ‘selling‘. The reason? Some 95 per cent of the population actually dislike selling. For this reason you will often read in the classified section of the newspaper an advertisement which reads:

Representatives of these companies invite prospects to ’share opportunities’. They couch their presentation in a way which suggests the business opportunity they are offering is simply that of sharing wealth. Let’s get one thing straight: network marketing involves selling.

The fact is, whichever way you look at it, a network marketing company only succeeds if its products or services are sold regularly month after month; in other words, through repeat purchases. Read the rest of this entry »

‘Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.’

Promoting the sale

You have provided dynamic, written material, you have had a successful appointment and the potential client seems pleased by what you have to offer. However, he or she is wavering about giving you the business project and, as always, you realise that you have hungry competitors wanting the business, too. In this case, a special offer on your part can make the difference. It says, ‘I really want your business.’

The essence of sales promotion is that it must be easily understood and relevant to your product. It will seem ludicrous to consumers to receive a free embroidery kit if they are buying a puppy! With this principle in mind, let’s look at some examples.

Promotional techniques

In hairdressing you can promote your business using hairdressing products. In fashion, you can use accessories or perfumes. With books you can offer membership to a book club. Your offer must always sound right and be related in some way to your product or service. Here are a few types of special offers you can consider; they represent some of the best promotional vehicles I’ve seen in the past few years, with the exception of competitions, which I have included for discussion only. Read the rest of this entry »

How many people really succeed?

There are no precise answers to this question and certainly not everyone becomes successful. Some drop-out must be expected from any downline. It would be a miracle if everyone who joined stayed. This would defy human nature!

Anyone starting in network marketing should realise that a large percentage of their downline will do little or nothing. Many will become inactive distributors (product users only). Many active distributors do not make much of an attempt at making a profit or making their business grow, and some drop out altogether.

However, by understanding what causes new distributors to drop out, you can minimise it in your network and ensure that your network becomes a success. Remember that not everyone in your network needs to become a superstar to make you successful. Even if most members of your network merely buy products for themselves and a few friends, you can have a hugely successful business. Read the rest of this entry »

How do you keep track of who is in your downline? All networkers, when they join a network, are given a personalised number. This number identifies them as belonging to a particular network. You may ask: ‘But how can I keep track of all the people in my downline?’ The answer is that you don’t need to. In network marketing each individual works three levels deep. You are directly responsible for the distributors you recruit (level one), the people they recruit (level two) and the people they, in turn, recruit (level three). That’s not too much to manage. Read the rest of this entry »

You must be clear on the differences between illegal pyramid scams and network marketing. Here are the factors that make for a genuine network marketing company:

• The company must be a bona fide retail organisation which markets legitimate products or services to the consumer.
• The company should offer quality products or services for which there is a genuine demand.
• The price of the goods sold must be fair and competitive.
• There must be no up-front investment requirements other than a low-cost starter sales kit.
• There should be no minimum purchase requirements to join the network other than those essential to do some trade. Read the rest of this entry »
  

Step 1: The introductory meeting

Make the appointment and arrive on time; not early and not late. Try to meet both husband and wife if you meet with a married couple. Throughout the meeting talk in a relaxed and conversational way. If the meeting is in the prospect’s home, make some opening pleasantries. You might comment about an attractive painting on the wall or the lovely roses in the garden, anything to break the ice.

But this is a business meeting, so don’t labour the social side. Start your presentation properly by saying that:

• you have joined a company and you are excited about it, and that the business offers a significant moneymaking opportunity
• your organisation is a growing one and there is room for everyone to make money
• you are going to present an idea for her consideration but that there will be no pressure on her to make a decision. If she decides not to participate, you will not bug her. Read the rest of this entry »
  

If a company’s strategy represents its overall approach tomaximizing business success—stated in terms of achieving certain sales, profits, product delivery, and employee turnover goals—then the mission statement represents a more generalized and idealistic vision of the company’s purpose in life. If done right, a mission statement can go a long way toward energizing everyone in an organization to achieve the ideal.

Unfortunately, in the rush to develop mission statements, many companies have established statements that are somehow too general and lofty. I have seen a number of missionstatements that commit companies to being “the producer of the highest-quality (name the product) in the world” or “the top company in the (name the industry).” In my experience, the best mission statements are oriented in either of two directions: Read the rest of this entry »