True Grit MLM Staying Power
Success in an MLM business DOES require true grit staying power.
That basically boils down to the ability to try, fail, persevere and NOT give up in the face of adversity, or seeming adversity. There are many lessons in this to learn ourselves and to teach our children.
As I sit here, I am rebooting my son's Ipod, which seemed to have a FATAL CRASH and BURN today.
We have spent the last two TEARFUL hours working on this and I have been working with my son to get him to realize that you can not throw in the towel when the first attempt you make doesn't work. You re-adjust, read further into the instructions and exhaust every possible method. This most ALWAYS leads to success!
Sometimes, it is just the slightest little adjustment that makes the difference. In this case, a download of the new software triggered the computer's firewall to dis-allow the connection to Apple's site.
Had we given up at the first sign of adversity, we might have trashed a perfectly good Ipod.
Have you ever considered trashing your PERFECTLY good business because -
a. No one showed up at your home party/open house?
b. Your first 10 leads said "no thanks!"
c. Your family told you that you might be crazy for doing this?
d. A full year has gone by and you have not sponsored anyone?
You are in the RIGHT place and the RIGHT time and are surrounded by people who have experienced ALL of the above.
Do you have true grit staying power?
I SURE hope so because you will NEVER regret sticking around for the ride.
If your first step "fix it" program does not work, exhaust every other fix along the way and you WILL rise to the top!
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Expect Success!
Jackie Ulmer
909-337-3521
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Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Do You Offer Incentives to Join Your MLM?
Today, an email landed in my box from a prospect that I have interacted with for the last 6 months or so. I sent out my New Year's blast to my leads and invited them to take a second look and contact me.
She did.
Seems two months ago she signed up with someone else and now she wants moved under me because she "never can get her sponsor to return her calls or emails."
I wrote her back and explained company policy to re-sign or be moved and then asked - "If you don't mind sharing, we had a lot of previous correspondence. Why did you sign up with someone else?'
Here was her answer -
"She is in the same time zone as me, but a lot of good that is doing me. She was running specials at the time and so I joined with her. Now, I hear nothing and get no support. I still hear from you all of the time."
My point in sharing this with you is two-fold. The first is to let you know that you do not NEED to "incentivize" or "buy people in" by giving away free stuff for signing up.
This is the 3rd email of this type I have received over the last few months from prospects who wanted a "deal" to get in, joined with someone else and now have buyer's remorse.
The "deal" to get in should be in the value of the partnership, coaching and training. Not in a free box of product, a website, or some other gimmick to get people in. While you may sign people up, very often these people don't do much as their incentive was in the freebie and they are often unable to duplicate this same offer with others.
It's a flawed system.
When people ask me if I "give away" anything when they sign up, I boldly tell them - YES. I give away my coaching, training and support, and having spent 13 years designing it, it's working pretty well. And, I explain why I believe that it is not in anyone's best interest to use this type of incentive. I am very nice about it and am not being cocky or arrogant in the least. We ARE the fastest growing team in the company and there is a REASON for that. That is definitely an incentive!!
Sell the value in the TEAM.
I don't need a new sign up that badly and neither do you!
The second point in sharing this is to remind us all how important it is to keep in touch with your partners and to return those phone calls and emails. I know, real life gets in the way sometimes but do make it a priority, even if you return then later rather than sooner.
Being a good sponsor helps set a high standard for our industry! Be that high standard!
-----===(*)===-----
Expect Success!
Jackie Ulmer
909-337-3521
And, I would love to hear your thoughts on this.....
Today, an email landed in my box from a prospect that I have interacted with for the last 6 months or so. I sent out my New Year's blast to my leads and invited them to take a second look and contact me.
She did.
Seems two months ago she signed up with someone else and now she wants moved under me because she "never can get her sponsor to return her calls or emails."
I wrote her back and explained company policy to re-sign or be moved and then asked - "If you don't mind sharing, we had a lot of previous correspondence. Why did you sign up with someone else?'
Here was her answer -
"She is in the same time zone as me, but a lot of good that is doing me. She was running specials at the time and so I joined with her. Now, I hear nothing and get no support. I still hear from you all of the time."
My point in sharing this with you is two-fold. The first is to let you know that you do not NEED to "incentivize" or "buy people in" by giving away free stuff for signing up.
This is the 3rd email of this type I have received over the last few months from prospects who wanted a "deal" to get in, joined with someone else and now have buyer's remorse.
The "deal" to get in should be in the value of the partnership, coaching and training. Not in a free box of product, a website, or some other gimmick to get people in. While you may sign people up, very often these people don't do much as their incentive was in the freebie and they are often unable to duplicate this same offer with others.
It's a flawed system.
When people ask me if I "give away" anything when they sign up, I boldly tell them - YES. I give away my coaching, training and support, and having spent 13 years designing it, it's working pretty well. And, I explain why I believe that it is not in anyone's best interest to use this type of incentive. I am very nice about it and am not being cocky or arrogant in the least. We ARE the fastest growing team in the company and there is a REASON for that. That is definitely an incentive!!
Sell the value in the TEAM.
I don't need a new sign up that badly and neither do you!
The second point in sharing this is to remind us all how important it is to keep in touch with your partners and to return those phone calls and emails. I know, real life gets in the way sometimes but do make it a priority, even if you return then later rather than sooner.
Being a good sponsor helps set a high standard for our industry! Be that high standard!
-----===(*)===-----
Expect Success!
Jackie Ulmer
909-337-3521
And, I would love to hear your thoughts on this.....
Monday, January 15, 2007
How do You Motivate Your Downline?
I am often asked how to motivate ones downline. And, what do you do to motivate your downline?
Here are my answers to these types of questions.
--I don't personally believe that it is possible to MOTIVATE another person. You can INSPIRE them through your actions and efforts, but motivation comes from within. It's something each person must get on their own.
Ways to inspire include always being in action yourself. Do you have a company top sponsor list? Be on it so they see and know that you believe and are taking action.
Have a company newsletter? Be in it -share ideas and articles to educate.
Recognize achievements both big and small. After all, the size of the accomplishment varies person to person and small steps grow to giant leaps.
Have tools and trainings to educate and interact with the team.
Be accessible - return emails and phone calls and be more than a robot. Take time to ask how things are going and make note of birthdays, etc.
Do you have incentive programs for your team?
--This is an area I have not been great at getting into action. I've done contests, etc, but have not seen it really produce more team growth. The ones who are going to do it, DO IT for their own incentives, not mine!
Do you hold weekly, monthly or no team meetings?
--I hold a weekly team conference call since my team is all over the country, and just had a holiday open house for those local to me. That was a HUGE success and it made me realize the importance of team bonding and relationship! Most who were there are now attending our regional conference in Las Vegas this month.
I also hold a team meeting at our company convention each year. This is REALLY fun! I do training, awards and recognition.
If you do hold team meetings why do you think they are important and what do you cover at your team meetings?
--Again, the bonding and friendships created can really sustain people and inspire them to move forward. We cover all different topics related to business. Get the team involved in assisting and coaching on topics they know!
Team work DOES make the DREAM work!
EXPECT Success!
Jackie Ulmer
http://www.streetsmartwealth.com
I am often asked how to motivate ones downline. And, what do you do to motivate your downline?
Here are my answers to these types of questions.
--I don't personally believe that it is possible to MOTIVATE another person. You can INSPIRE them through your actions and efforts, but motivation comes from within. It's something each person must get on their own.
Ways to inspire include always being in action yourself. Do you have a company top sponsor list? Be on it so they see and know that you believe and are taking action.
Have a company newsletter? Be in it -share ideas and articles to educate.
Recognize achievements both big and small. After all, the size of the accomplishment varies person to person and small steps grow to giant leaps.
Have tools and trainings to educate and interact with the team.
Be accessible - return emails and phone calls and be more than a robot. Take time to ask how things are going and make note of birthdays, etc.
Do you have incentive programs for your team?
--This is an area I have not been great at getting into action. I've done contests, etc, but have not seen it really produce more team growth. The ones who are going to do it, DO IT for their own incentives, not mine!
Do you hold weekly, monthly or no team meetings?
--I hold a weekly team conference call since my team is all over the country, and just had a holiday open house for those local to me. That was a HUGE success and it made me realize the importance of team bonding and relationship! Most who were there are now attending our regional conference in Las Vegas this month.
I also hold a team meeting at our company convention each year. This is REALLY fun! I do training, awards and recognition.
If you do hold team meetings why do you think they are important and what do you cover at your team meetings?
--Again, the bonding and friendships created can really sustain people and inspire them to move forward. We cover all different topics related to business. Get the team involved in assisting and coaching on topics they know!
Team work DOES make the DREAM work!
EXPECT Success!
Jackie Ulmer
http://www.streetsmartwealth.com
Build Your Business With Urgency - Build it TODAY
NOW is the perfect time to build your business and to put yourself into massive, consistent, effective action. Not yesterday, it's gone. Not tomorrow, it never comes. But right now, this moment in this day.
Build your business with a sense of urgency to get things done for your future. And, building for the future all takes place TODAY!
Let go of the "all or nothing" concept that so many of us have. Some of these pitfalls include -
"I only have a few minutes so I shouldn't call any leads." WHAT? Make ONE phone call and applaud yourself for that. It's one more action step in your journey.
"I work full time and it's easier for those who don't." Not true. Everyone has their own challenges to work with and for those who work, you are out in the mix daily and what better time to begin to make some connections with people. Adapt a natural, fun way of doing this.
"Only the ones who got in early reach the top." Recently on my company's Wed Call, our VP Charlie Umphred shared that the beginning is not necessarily the best time to get in. I know in my first business, MANY major top income earners came in after I started, which told me a thing or two!
TODAY is the day to create your future so you have so much more of it to look forward to.
So, what steps are you capable of taking today? Will you make just ONE phone call? Pass out ONE business card? Ask ONE person about a fundraiser? Home Party?
This evening, I will drop my son off at a local Fire Station where he will begin the Firefighters Explorer program. He decided a few years ago that this was the career he wants to pursue and has been diligent in taking steps to get himself in a position to pursue it in all avenues.
I'm not sure whether to smile or cry. How could we already be so far along in time that he is ready to begin studying his career path? Where does time go? How can he possibly take this first MAJOR step away from me?
What I can smile about is this - I made the decision to always be home with him. I made the decision that I would do whatever it takes to be there. I heard his first words, was there when he sat up, crawled, and I watched him take his first step, wave bye-bye, play on his first team, ride his bike, go to school on the first day and on and on.
Today, I get to be there when he takes another step on his path.
If I had not made that commitment to pursue and succeed in a home business, I would have missed so much of this, and may not have been able to take him today to pursue this exciting personal journey.
Build your business with a sense of urgency TODAY! Begin taking YOUR first steps in your exciting personal journey so you can be there for the moments you hold priceless!
It is not always EASY, but it is SO WORTH IT!
EXPECT Success!
Jackie Ulmer
http://www.streetsmartwealth.com
NOW is the perfect time to build your business and to put yourself into massive, consistent, effective action. Not yesterday, it's gone. Not tomorrow, it never comes. But right now, this moment in this day.
Build your business with a sense of urgency to get things done for your future. And, building for the future all takes place TODAY!
Let go of the "all or nothing" concept that so many of us have. Some of these pitfalls include -
"I only have a few minutes so I shouldn't call any leads." WHAT? Make ONE phone call and applaud yourself for that. It's one more action step in your journey.
"I work full time and it's easier for those who don't." Not true. Everyone has their own challenges to work with and for those who work, you are out in the mix daily and what better time to begin to make some connections with people. Adapt a natural, fun way of doing this.
"Only the ones who got in early reach the top." Recently on my company's Wed Call, our VP Charlie Umphred shared that the beginning is not necessarily the best time to get in. I know in my first business, MANY major top income earners came in after I started, which told me a thing or two!
TODAY is the day to create your future so you have so much more of it to look forward to.
So, what steps are you capable of taking today? Will you make just ONE phone call? Pass out ONE business card? Ask ONE person about a fundraiser? Home Party?
This evening, I will drop my son off at a local Fire Station where he will begin the Firefighters Explorer program. He decided a few years ago that this was the career he wants to pursue and has been diligent in taking steps to get himself in a position to pursue it in all avenues.
I'm not sure whether to smile or cry. How could we already be so far along in time that he is ready to begin studying his career path? Where does time go? How can he possibly take this first MAJOR step away from me?
What I can smile about is this - I made the decision to always be home with him. I made the decision that I would do whatever it takes to be there. I heard his first words, was there when he sat up, crawled, and I watched him take his first step, wave bye-bye, play on his first team, ride his bike, go to school on the first day and on and on.
Today, I get to be there when he takes another step on his path.
If I had not made that commitment to pursue and succeed in a home business, I would have missed so much of this, and may not have been able to take him today to pursue this exciting personal journey.
Build your business with a sense of urgency TODAY! Begin taking YOUR first steps in your exciting personal journey so you can be there for the moments you hold priceless!
It is not always EASY, but it is SO WORTH IT!
EXPECT Success!
Jackie Ulmer
http://www.streetsmartwealth.com
Over Priced Products?
Price Objections - do you ever get them for your product?
This leads to another question. Are products sold via Network Marketing overpriced?
In my experience MANY network marketing products are overpriced, and it's another thing that contributes to some negativity surrounding our industry.
My first company was a service company and one thing I really liked is that the product was very competitively priced, so I never had price objections to overcome. But, I didn't enjoy marketing something so un-exciting!
I left that company before they ultimately folded, thankfully.
I moved on to nutritional products and while I love many of the products and still use a few, I found the price objections quite consistent. Are the products truly better? I don't know, but I did find that without having a product that could actually be sold to an end consumer for a profit, it was hard to keep people in the business who didn't want to be strictly "recruiting" focused.
With most nutritional products I have found (not all!) there is no real way you can retail for profit because in most cases, the wholesale cost of the product is priced higher than the RETAIL price of a similar product at the health food store.
Today, marketing a candle line that is competitively priced with a VERY large profit margin for the distributor, I have found a perfect fit.
I like being able to bring someone into the business and TRULY teach them how to earn their investment back plus a profit without any regard for recruiting others. It makes the business FUN and gets me out of bed every day, ready to share this product and opportunity with others.
Ultimately, it is up to the end consumer. I like that more end consumer are happy with the prices of this product and objections are few and far between!
EXPECT Success!
Jackie Ulmer
http://www.streetsmartwealth.com
Price Objections - do you ever get them for your product?
This leads to another question. Are products sold via Network Marketing overpriced?
In my experience MANY network marketing products are overpriced, and it's another thing that contributes to some negativity surrounding our industry.
My first company was a service company and one thing I really liked is that the product was very competitively priced, so I never had price objections to overcome. But, I didn't enjoy marketing something so un-exciting!
I left that company before they ultimately folded, thankfully.
I moved on to nutritional products and while I love many of the products and still use a few, I found the price objections quite consistent. Are the products truly better? I don't know, but I did find that without having a product that could actually be sold to an end consumer for a profit, it was hard to keep people in the business who didn't want to be strictly "recruiting" focused.
With most nutritional products I have found (not all!) there is no real way you can retail for profit because in most cases, the wholesale cost of the product is priced higher than the RETAIL price of a similar product at the health food store.
Today, marketing a candle line that is competitively priced with a VERY large profit margin for the distributor, I have found a perfect fit.
I like being able to bring someone into the business and TRULY teach them how to earn their investment back plus a profit without any regard for recruiting others. It makes the business FUN and gets me out of bed every day, ready to share this product and opportunity with others.
Ultimately, it is up to the end consumer. I like that more end consumer are happy with the prices of this product and objections are few and far between!
EXPECT Success!
Jackie Ulmer
http://www.streetsmartwealth.com
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Selling the DREAM in Network Marketing!
I recently posted this on another BLOG in response to a question about whether it is right or wrong, or even unethical to "Sell the Dream" in Network Marketing.
What do YOU think?
Selling the dream is so vague. WHAT dream are you selling and who's dream is it?
For me, I just share my story, from the heart and speak only about what my success has allowed me to create for myself and my family. I NEVER share my income and NEVER ask others to share theirs.
Everyone's dream is different. So many in Network Marketing sell the "dream" of flashy cars, large homes, second homes, flashy jewelry, etc.
That has never been my dream so none of that was ever appealing to me. In fact, it was and still is a total turn off.
I look through home business magazines and see so many of the advertisements with people standing in front of the cars and houses and I think - "Yuck! Big ego, wouldn't want to work with that person."
They may be really nice, really successful, etc, but that first impression tells me I would not like their style of working this business and would not want to have them interact with my team or prospects.
So, selling the dream, to me, can be done very effectively by sharing your story, ALL of it. Including what it has taken to get to the point you are, and the times you may have wanted to quit.
I look back on my own 13 years and realize what an extreme personal journey it has been. In many ways, I am uncertain how to share that with someone who's looking at the business. It's been sheer grit and determination to succeed and reach the top.
It was SO worth it and painful many times. Not as painful as what my lilfe might have looked like otherwise.
Integrity is always in style, especially in this business!
EXPECT Success!
Jackie Ulmer
http://www.streetsmartwealth.com
I recently posted this on another BLOG in response to a question about whether it is right or wrong, or even unethical to "Sell the Dream" in Network Marketing.
What do YOU think?
Selling the dream is so vague. WHAT dream are you selling and who's dream is it?
For me, I just share my story, from the heart and speak only about what my success has allowed me to create for myself and my family. I NEVER share my income and NEVER ask others to share theirs.
Everyone's dream is different. So many in Network Marketing sell the "dream" of flashy cars, large homes, second homes, flashy jewelry, etc.
That has never been my dream so none of that was ever appealing to me. In fact, it was and still is a total turn off.
I look through home business magazines and see so many of the advertisements with people standing in front of the cars and houses and I think - "Yuck! Big ego, wouldn't want to work with that person."
They may be really nice, really successful, etc, but that first impression tells me I would not like their style of working this business and would not want to have them interact with my team or prospects.
So, selling the dream, to me, can be done very effectively by sharing your story, ALL of it. Including what it has taken to get to the point you are, and the times you may have wanted to quit.
I look back on my own 13 years and realize what an extreme personal journey it has been. In many ways, I am uncertain how to share that with someone who's looking at the business. It's been sheer grit and determination to succeed and reach the top.
It was SO worth it and painful many times. Not as painful as what my lilfe might have looked like otherwise.
Integrity is always in style, especially in this business!
EXPECT Success!
Jackie Ulmer
http://www.streetsmartwealth.com
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