This past week I read the amazing story of LuAn Mitchell, one of Canada’s great entrepreneurs. Her story will never be a movie because no one would believe it!

Pregnant at 16, later a beauty queen who married a man even after they found out he had a life-threatening disease, single mom, and CEO of (believe it or not) one of Canada’s largest meat packing companies, she has an astonishing story of perseverance and accomplishment.

How did she do it? And, what can we learn from people like LuAn who overcome the odds and get results most of us only dream of?

I think there are at least four basic principles that MLM distributors can keep in mind.

The basics are just that, the BASICS! Too often we get caught in the busy-ness of life and we either forget to monitor the first principles of success, or we get over-confident and think we can re-invent the basics, but there are no “new fundamentals.” The fundamentals have not changed. We either take care of business, or we struggle.  (Or we count on “luck” to save the day…never a smart plan.)

So, what are the basics? Read the rest of this entry »

Getting lots of inquiries from potential customers is great. It means that you are well known in your chosen market. But all this popularity won’t do you much good if it doesn’t generate sales. 

The most common complaint I hear from MLM Distributors is that their MLM prospects just won’t part with their money. Potential customers are accused of being slow to make decisions, reluctant to change their thinking or just behind the times. 

While this can be frustrating, it is a big mistake to blame the prospective MLM customer for not taking action. Look closer to home for the real reason why your conversion rate is disappointingly low. The reality is that you actually have a lot of control over this issue. But you have to be proactive.

The general rule is :  Read the rest of this entry »

If I mention the words “photocopier” or “overnight delivery” or “personal computer,” chances are that a specific brand name immediately pops into your mind. When you go to the grocery store, don’t you gravitate toward certain products over and over because you know them by name and think to look for them each time you walk down the aisles?

In each of these situations, you’re activating “mental shelf space” — the automatic association of a product or service with the person or organization delivering it. That is the kind of powerful mental connection that each of us needs to develop for our MLM business. If you’re an expert Networker, not only will the people you know think about you when the MLM product or MLM service you’re associated with comes up in conversation, but your name rolls off their tongues as quickly as the recognized brand of overnight delivery service.

Please understand, we’re not talking about a right or wrong way to network. Even a broken clock is right twice a day; however, different Networking styles produce different results. Is your Networking style appropriate for you, your Networking partners, your markets, your MLM products and services, and your own goals and objectives? Will it bring you to the results you’re after? Only you can answer these questions.

Take a moment to think — when your network of acquaintances thinks about you, what do you guess comes to mind? Analyst, insurance person, that guy from the office, international marketer? You know the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”? Ask yourself who knows you. Do they know what you can do for them? When they think of the MLM product or service you provide, do they automatically pull your name off the shelf? There’s no reason they shouldn’t; you need to decide what perception you want to create of yourself.

I tell my prospective MLM distributors that passively thinking about something does nothing for their wallets. Remember when you were growing up, and people told you to “think before you speak”? Sage advice to be sure, but focused, targeted action must follow the thoughts!

You and I will work very hard over our lifetimes. Hard work is not the challenge. Working smart is. Short of scientific inquiry and space exploration, there’s not a lot of “new” information; this means it’s in your power today, through your choice of a Networking approach, to create mental shelf space for yourself in enough people’s minds to build a booming MLM business.

What style are you employing and what methods are you using to become known to your MLM target market? Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve always admired Tom Peters, the author or co-author of ten international bestsellers, including “In Search of Excellence”, which he wrote with Bob Waterman in 1982.  He is a self-described “prince of disorder, champion of bold failures, maestro of zest, and corporate cheerleader.  But boy doesn’t he rile them up 

Before John Maxwell came out with his Leadership books, Tom Peters had already written “A Passion for Excellence, The Leadership Difference” and that made a major impact on me.  (That was in 1985).

Then he had the “Pursuit of Wow”…”Circle of Innovation”…and the one I want to especially mention today…”The Brand YOU”. Read the rest of this entry »

We talked about internet stats, so let’s see how you can identify your market for your MLM business.

One of the things that I think is very different between the online and offline markets is that it’s so much easier to find a market within any variety of niches.   The research is readily available to identify the number of people within a niche, how big it is and where to communicate with that market.  It’s so easy online, whereas it’s more difficult and time-consuming offline.

 And new market niches constantly pop up.  These niches are not big enough to go offline; they’d cost too much to get to. But online, you have people that are congregating in one spot from all over the world at one web site, or one e-mail list, or one forum. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know about you, but when I was told about MLM, they stated that it was a home-based business.  In the first 5 years, I saw so little of home, I thought I was doing it all wrong.

I wanted the leverage and freedom that MLM provides, but I also wanted to be able to stay home and do it.

The internet wasn’t what it is today, back in the early 90’s, so you can kind of say, I was a pioneer of the early internet.  The stats when I got on were about 60M who spoke English and there weren’t even 1 Million websites.  Everyone had dial-up.  Banner ads were just getting popular, people talked on IRC, and email lists were just starting.  Read the rest of this entry »