What I really want to write about is a big basic concept that has saved me some heartache several times: Follow the Money. This combines three different concepts:

1. What am I paying for?
2. How do I get paid?
3. How does the company make money?

“What am I paying for” asks you to consider several things:

Is it Legal?

When it comes to home businesses, one of the things the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) likes to crack down on is whether or not a product or service is legal to sell. Now this might sound like a no-brainer, but sometimes you have to think for yourself a bit. Maybe even do some abstract analysis needs to come into play.

For example, a friend was telling me about a business that was making him some good money. (Isn’t that what they always say?)

1) It was free to join.
Great.

2) It was real products that people were “winning.”
Winning? REALLY? How is that a business?

3) You earn a commission when people purchase “bid tickets” AND when they paid what they’d bid on that product.
AH! There it is.

Turns out it was an auction-based business. Nothing wrong with auctions. You can get some excellent products for awesome prices at auctions. But look at what the “customers” were paying for. First they had to pay for their participation by purchasing “bid tickets.” Then the “winner” got the privilege of paying for their item.

How many people were purchasing “bid tickets” and never winning a thing? Isn’t that called gambling? And how many people purchased “bid tickets” that they ended up never using? That’s wasted money.

Sure there are plenty of people out there that have no qualms running legal gambling sites. I couldn’t do that with a clean conscience any more than I could run a porn site. If you’re running it like a network marketing businesses, though, it’s only a matter of time before the FTC shuts it down. I’m never looking for a quick buck, but a life-time business with which I can be proud to be associated. And I hope you are, too.

Is it a good value?

Yes, the products available via auction were valuable items in this example. But none were necessities, nor consumables. So, once your customer purchased an item which they won via the auction, you’ve lost a customer. Until they had a need for another “toy.” Whenever that might be. And hopefully they’d remember to come back to the auction site. That’s called a fad. Again, not a strong company to consider.

Let’s look at another example that you should consider for EVERY business you evaluate. No matter what kind of business anyone is trying to get you into, always ask yourself if the entry fee is reasonable.

Another thing the FTC likes to crack down on is whether a company is making its money by “selling memberships” OR by selling real products or services that real people really want. So if a company asks for any money to join, consider how much it is and what that money is used for.

Is your fee simply to pay for your membership kit? If so, that’s the best situation. The next question to ask is, what’s included in that membership kit, and if the amount requested is reasonable for it.

If your fee quite a bit more than you would expect to pay for what’s included in the membership kit, then you need to know why. Many companies charge $100 – $500 to join. What they do with that money is pay “enrolling bonuses” to the person who introduced you to the biz. And sometimes, bonuses also go to the “up line” of support that build that team.

If that’s the case, then you need to look closer at how people make money from this business. Be careful if they’re making money by selling memberships instead of by selling real products that real people really want.

Would I share it?

Now this last question is only applicable to affiliate or network marketing types of businesses. Because that’s the only time you’re going to be asking others to do what you’re considering doing right now.

In our current economy, is it reasonable to ask people who are struggling to make ends meet, to purchase product(s) or services they’re not already using? If they really need it, they’re already using it.

Is it reasonable to ask them to start purchasing those products or services that they’re already using from you and/or your business? Why should they?

Even in better economies, or considering people who aren’t struggling financially, is it reasonable to ask them to allocate some of their “extra” funds to your products or services? If you’re selling gold (to use an extreme example), do you feel that it’s reasonable to ask them to have that kind of money to tied up into not-so-easily-liquidated assets should an emergency arise? If that’s not a concern for them, then…

Would you feel confident and proud to be asking others to invest their money as you’re considering doing so right now?

In summary, the question regarding what you’re paying for should have you at ease with the answers to it’s legality, value, and whether you’re comfortable sharing your products or services.

Next time we’re going to consider the question you should ask: How do I get paid?

While most people are simply looking for help with making ends meet – even if it’s just a few extra hundred dollars a month – in today’s economy, increasing numbers are seeking a real Plan B. They’ve lost a job. Or two. Or they see the writing on the wall & know they’re about to. Many are loosing their homes or struggling to keep them.

Even in good economic times, people just get tired of the rat race! The lousy boss, the office politics, the long hours, the long commute, lost time with family and friends… Not having time freedom just to LIVE! Sure you gotta make money to pay the bills, but at what cost? That’s not living – that’s slavery!

We hear that people make a killing online and we want to know how they do it so we can do it, too.  We want to stay up late, sleep in, shop or watch TV all day, and still be able to afford the good life: a big house (or 2 or 3), fancy cars, a maid, weekly spa treatments, long vacations to exotic locations, etc.
But slow down a moment… is that REALLY what you want? Or is that just someone else’s fantasy life they’re trying to sell you? Maybe it IS what you really want. Or maybe, you’re like I was and only want FREEDOM! Financial freedom to stop worrying about how the bills are getting paid, and time freedom to enjoy life.

So before I help you find the path to the life you desire, you gotta do some thinking. Strike that! You gotta do some soul searching. Here are some questions you need to think over and be deadly honest with yourself on the answers. If you get these wrong, you’re only setting yourself up for disappointment later.

Do you want a job or a business?

Are you dependable and self-disciplined?

What are your passions? If time & money were no object, what would you do even if you weren’t being paid to do it?

Ok, this is long enough. While you consider your answers to these questions, I’ll continue these thoughts on the next post.

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That was the subject line of an email I recently got from a colleague. She & I are in the same network marketing company and she’s been struggling to build her business.

If you’re in one, you know the drill. Start a names list & harass everyone you’ve ever met since birth, purchase opportunity leads and spend HOURS on the phone trying to call people who are magically never home to take your call, go to the mall and put fliers on cars, and/or strike up conversations with strangers in the hopes that you’ll find someone who’s looking for what you’re offering.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard there’s a better way. Mike Dillard and Anne Sieg turned the network marketing industry on its ears a few years ago with the Magnetic Sponsoring and Renegade systems. Well, my colleague had also heard of them, and had studied all the “free” materials she could by and on both of them and their systems. (I know, I know… I know what you’re thinking! But I’ll address the unrealistic expectations from what you can get “for free” on a later post.)

What was so confusing?

She wrote, “It seems to me that if you join their program—you are selling their material–not your business. I would really like to chat with someone who has actually used this stuff and see what they say–is it all hype?”

First let’s address the hype.

While the MLM industry is rife with it, what good does it do? It only hurts in the long run. It either backfires immediately because everyone can see through it, or it backfires later when people ask for refunds because they realize that what you’ve said isn’t true.

Secondly, there are way too many people who are having success building their own businesses with these products and systems for this to be just about making money for Mike & Ann.

The Magnetic Sponsoring & Renegade systems are:

1. training systems for you & your new enrollees
2. to learn internet marketing,
3. to learn how to market YOUR business online,
4. to generate your own high quality prospects,
5. and to provide a means to monetize (meaning to make money from) your prospects whether or not they ever join you in your network marketing business (by being an affiliate for Dillard & Sieg).

According to the law of averages when working with purchased opportunity leads (some people do better and some people do worse, this is the “Average”), you will need to dial 200 numbers just to get one enrollment!

YUCK!!!

Why not find a way to have your lead generation system pay for itself on the front end while generating leads for your business on the back end? Sure beats that “200 to 1″ ratio!

Success in network marketing really depends on each person finding out which method works best for them, and working THAT method primarily. That’s why I started looking into other methodologies.

Sure some people are very successful with warm market strategies, opportunity leads, or the “walk & talk” method. But most aren’t. Besides, why ignore the entire online world and the great resource that it is?

What I got out of the Mike Dillard & Anne Sieg materials:

• How to apply the geeky side of internet marketing to my network marketing business. It works great! It just takes a while to start getting the financial results when you start it from scratch. What it really is, though, is generating your own opportunity leads. So you’re still working leads, it’s just a more powerful method because when you call the prospects, you’re saying, “Hi, you visitied my xyz.com website and requested more information…”
• Another big thing I’ve gotten out of the Dillard & Sieg methods is the self-growth. It’s embarrassing how backwards and poverty-minded my thinking has been over the past few years.

Ok, all that said, it is my opinion, and I’m hearing this more from the gurus now, that the whole “marketing your MLM via internet marketing” niche is becoming more & more saturated and more and more competitive. It requires SOOO much content creation, and what hasn’t already been said by everyone else yet? How do you market yourself as a leader that others want to work with in the face of all that competition for attention?

You create your own system, that’s how!

But who has the time and resources to do that? More importantly, who has the WILL to do that? Why reinvent the tools that already exist?

That’s one of the reasons there’s such a huge movement away from the “geeky online marketing” methodology toward social networking.

Not only is social networking SOOOOO much simpler to do, it’s much simpler to teach!!! For a vast majority of the population, we’re already on the social networks. We’re having fun, but wasting a lot of time. What if we could network socially, but with purpose? (I guess you could say that it’s “old school walk & talk” applied to the internet.) Most of us have no problem striking up conversation and socializing online. Speaking for myself, since 1996 I’ve made more friends online than I have off line!!! lol

The best part is that we don’t have to teach the methodology ourselves!!! You don’t have to be an expert at this. Just direct yourself and your serious biz builders to the training source. Max Steingart has been teaching what is now called “attraction marketing” via social networks for about 12 years already. His classes are extremely affordable. And once you learn the method, it’s applicable to ALL social networks.

Oh, another word about all this training that’s available. Pick a skill or system, learn it and MASTER it before moving on to another!!!!! Take if from an ex-teacher: you learn by doing. So…

Train then DO!

Let me add a few more exclamation points to that…

!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot stress this enough. Jumping around from method to method accomplishes nothing. You get confused with all the trainings, then you start confusing “training” with “working,” and never build your business.

You MUST pick the method that’s most appealing to YOU. If you’re more of a geek, then go the online marketing route. But if you’re more social than geeky, then go the social networking route. Which ever you choose, though: Learn it. Master it. Start earning from it. Then you can add other skills to diversify and increase your earnings. But at that point, you still focus on the method that already works for you – don’t stop working it. You’re just adding another skill on top of it.

So, I’ve been studying and using the Max Steingart method and LOVE it! I’m just socializing on the internet, getting to know people, making new friends, reconnecting with old friends. By asking the right questions at the right time and paying attention to what people say and how they say it, I can determine if someone is a prospect (qualify them) before I EVER bring up business! So, there’s no rejection, and once I’ve qualified them and know what it is that they want to accomplish, helping them accomplish that is a breeze!!!

Training use to be a hassle. Now it’s just fun – because we’re just playing around on the internet!!!