Monday, December 31, 2012

Part 2 – A Business for Yourself, Not By Yourself

Creating Long Term Financial Success 

Part 2 – A Business for Yourself, Not By Yourself

 

Hello, Keith Abell here with another blog post. This is actually the second post in a series of 5 blog posts to cover the topic creating long term financial success but with the New Year upon us and with improving ones financial situation being one of the biggest resolutions I think you'll find this series very timely. In the last post I started off by exploring the question, "Are You Involved in Marketing?"

 

As we discovered the answer to that question was yes we are. Whether we worked for a Ford assembly plant or were a pharmacist; whether we were a plumber, dentist or lawyer, we sell our time or skill for money.

 

As I concluded last time I do believe there's a better way.

 

That business model is Network Marketing.

 

What differentiates Network Marketing from Retail or Direct sales is that in Network Marketing you're in business for yourself but NOT BY YOURSELF.

 

By being in business for yourself, especially if you're operating out of your home you're entitled to some substantial tax breaks.

 

By being in business for yourself you're buying the products at wholesale form the company you represent and you can use these items for your own consumption at a reduced price.

 

In fact that's exactly why I, as well as many others got involved in the first place. I was actually a product user for 2 years before I considered building this as a profession. I could turn around and sell the products at retail if I wanted to but I don't want to be a sales person.

 

That's why I didn't study marketing in college and studied pharmacy instead. I already worked in the financial services industry where my salary was based on a commission for a sale. I did that for a few years and I didn't like waking up every morning having to start the process all over again.

 

Like me 95% of the people have a negative thought in mind when they here the word "selling" yet we do it every day when we trade our time and talent for money.  

 

As far as Network Marketing, did you know you already network market in your daily life?

 

Every time you share a great movie with someone or tell someone about a great new restaurant or even about some cool product you purchased you're network marketing. When your friends go to that restaurant or buy that product, you sold them by sharing with them, but you didn't get paid.

 

In Network Marketing you share the principles behind the business model and you sponsor people into the organization. They become purchasers of the product and you get paid. They then share it with others and guess what? You get paid again.

Along the way there'll be people that decide that Network Marketing isn't for them but even some of them will become customers of the product as well, and you still get paid.

 

Let's take a look at how this works but first I want to share some statistics about the industry.

  • Did you know that more than 56 million people are running MLM businesses in over 100 countries around the world 13.3 million people in the US alone)?
  • In 2008, network marketing companies earned over $100 billion in sales.
  • Almost 80% of MLM representatives are females.

And here's one of my favorite MLM statistics. . .

  • The network marketing industry has grown by 90% globally in the last ten years.

 

Can you think of any other industries that can say the same? Do you wonder why network marketing, which holds such a bad reputation, is seeing that much growth?

 

Network Marketing, 'MLM', and Multi Level Marketing are all terms that refer to the same type of business model, for the rest of this discussion I'll use the term "Network Marketing". While many close-minded people outside the industry (and others who've tried it and failed), have biased or negative wrong impressions, and despite the fact that it is used and abused by many crooks and con-artists, this business model has exceptional performance potential.

 

There are bad apples in every bunch, and this industry has more than it's share and I ran into one early on. But it can produce outstanding results if you know how to find the right company. And to maximize your potential, there are a few simple concepts whose understanding is critical to your success.

 

Unlike a franchises or conventional businesses, Network Marketing is the only business model that takes advantage of all three of the important, yet misunderstood principles of long term financial success.

 

The three principles are:

 

1)      Passive Residual Income 

2)      Leverage (of Time and Money) 

3)      Duplicability or Geometric Growth 

 

In fact it's because of these principles, Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, states that Network Marketing is the Business of the 21st century (take a look at my websitehttp://PlanBForSuccess.com to see what Robert Kiyosaki says about network marketing). The business model that will help people move from being on the left side of his cash flow quadrant, Employees and Self Employed (that is working for a check) to the right side of the cash flow quadrant, the business owner and investor, where other people earn the income for you.

 

The combination of all three of these elements is what gives the Network Marketing business model its synergy and exceptional performance potential. In fact one outstanding company I'm aware of has actually designed synergy into their business model with a minimal investment of time and money!

 

Whether it's a franchise or conventional business, both require major investments of time and money, and special skills if you hope to be really successful. Even with the relatively small percentage who achieves true success, it usually takes them years just to break even.

 

On the other hand, with the advent and popularity of the Internet and the rampant quest to "Get Rich Quick for Doing Nothing", many people have gotten all excited about affiliate, associate, referral, or co-op programs as they are sometimes called. But very few of the thousands of these being promoted have any real chance of making any significant money for the vast majority of people who get involved. In fact one of these programs where recently shut down by the government and are being investigated for running a Ponzi Scheme. To be a true network marketing business there must be a product or service sold.

 

There is a much better way to achieve your dreams!

 

But you have to:

 

1)      Take the time to understand these three critical principles - PASSIVE RESIDUAL INCOME - LEVERAGE - GEOMETRIC GROWTH

Then . . .

2)      LEARN TO ASK THREE SIMPLE QUESTIONS! - so you can teach what you know to others.

 

If you're even moderately successful in networking, you undoubtedly understand and believe in the three principles above. If you haven't yet had the success you desire, you may not completely understand these principles, or how to get them across to others.

 

Highly successful networkers have learned how to ask the right questions, then help others understand and take advantage of these important and powerful concepts.

Unfortunately these principles are not well understood by the majority of the population. And that's just one reason why so many fail at network marketing. There are lots of other reasons, and it would take a book to cover them all. But this is one of the more common ones. Because if you don't understand or believe in these principles, it's impossible to help others fully comprehend and appreciate them.

 

Let's face it, our educational system trains (or brainwashes) us to be conformists, to do what others tell us to do, and to prepare for a JOB, not an entrepreneurial business opportunity. So those of us, who crave our independence and freedom, head in the entrepreneurial direction in spite of our education, rarely because of it.

 

And even though many people claim they'd like to be their own boss or own their own business, only a small percentage of the population possess the necessary desire for success to risk stepping out of their 'comfort zones' to pursue their dreams.

 

Most people are afraid of failure, and for them it may be better and easier to live life in a rut. Others are satisfied or even happy with their jobs, incomes, or lifestyles, and that's great for them. But if you're one of millions who yearn for more freedom and control in your life, you must understand the following three principles to achieve True Financial Success.

 

On my next blog post we'll get into how powerful passive residual income, leverage, and geometric growth can be when it comes to long term financial security. If you are watching the video version of this blog on YouTube or some other site then I encourage you to visit my blog http://KeithAbell.info and take a look at the summaries that go along with the video blog.


Keith Abell, RPh CIP MI
Save Money, Get Healthy, Create Wealth!

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Creating Long Term Financial Success - Part 1

Creating Long Term Financial Success

Part 1 – Are You Involved in Marketing?


Hello, Keith Abell here with another blog post. This is actually going to be a series of 5 blog posts to cover the topic creating long term financial success but with the New Year upon us and with improving ones financial situation being one of the biggest resolutions I think you’ll find these posts very timely. Today I want to start off by exploring the question, “Are You Involved in Marketing?”

Everyone’s involved in marketing in one way or another even if they don’t realize it. If you have a skill that you do and someone pays you for that skill you’re involved in marketing. In some occupations it’s more obvious than others so let’s explore this a little more closely.

There are really only three ways a product or service exchanges hands. First there’s Retail Marketing – This is what most people are familiar with. The purchaser goes to a grocery store, drug store, restaurant, etc and purchases a product. The product has passed through many hands from the manufacturer down to the final consumer. 

The second way a product or service exchanges hands is through Direct Selling – This would include things like insurance, cookware, encyclopedias, Mary Kay or Avon, real estate. In the case of direct selling the large network of “middle men” has been reduced and in many cases only a broker comes between the seller and the purchaser.

The third way a product or service exchanges hands is through Network Marketing – which I’ll discuss in more detail as we go along.

Let’s consider one of the fields I worked in previously, I was an insurance and financial services broker. The same thing would apply to the realtor or car salesman. Obviously as a broker if I didn’t make a sale then I didn’t get paid. People in these fields have a special talent and the really good ones make substantial incomes. The down side was once the sale was made, I and other people in direct selling had to find new consumers for our product in order to maintain the income levels we desired.

It was precisely this downside that caused me to leave that industry, to return to college and pursue a degree so I could finally become a pharmacist and I could earn a “steady paycheck.” But what about other occupations like pharmacy?  How’s the guy or gal on the Ford assembly line involved directly in marketing? What about a plumber? A daycare worker? A warehouse forklift operator? How are they directly involved in marketing?

Because they trade their skill for a paycheck they too are in a type of direct sales. Every day they have to do the job they’re getting paid for to the best of their ability if they expect to receive a paycheck. If they don’t work they don’t get paid. In my case I had a very specific skill, a pharmacist, so I earned a much higher than average paycheck. But as I’ve found, in this global economy I was competing directly with others worldwide that shared my skill set. Because of the large increase of new graduates coming out of college both domestically and internationally; these guys and gals are graduating with higher degrees, more student debt, and willing to work for less pay just to work and pay that debt. Also due to increased utilization of technology and outsourcing, in the case of pharmacy, centralized filling facilities and mail order; the demand for pharmacist has shrunk. Couple the oversupply, and more highly educated supply of pharmacist with a decreased demand, I’ve become less valuable to the employers. The employer will “buy” the skill or the labor, elsewhere and we’re seeing that very thing happen in record numbers across all industries.

To complicate matters the company you work for has to also compete in this global market. They increasingly demand that you do more and more for the pay you are getting.

You work harder and harder and what’s your chance of moving up to higher pay levels in the organization? The typical corporate structure is like a pyramid. The people at the top make all the money and the people at the bottom have a very limited likelihood of ever making it to the top. You might make it up a few steps along the way but everyone below you is constantly trying to take your place so now you not only have to worry about the performance expectations of those above you but you also have to worry about those below you taking your place. It’s a lonely place to be.

What about the small business owner?

They don’t have to worry about someone else taking their job, or do they?

I had a friend tell me a story about her father. You see her father was a dentist. A dentist isn’t all that different than any other small business owner. They have to make payroll, pay taxes, pay for the benefits of their employees, pay for their liability insurance and other expenses required for their business. They have to hire accountants and attorneys (who are also in the same situation). My friend was telling me about how one year their dad took them all to Disney World for family vacation. She remembered how he seemed tenser on vacation than when he was home.

Later in life she asked her dad about it. His reply shocked her because she had never thought about it. He told her that every time he took a vacation he not only had to worry about the cost of the vacation he also had to worry about the additional costs to his business because he wasn’t able to see patients while he was away. Essentially, if he closed his office for two weeks he earned no income but still had to pay all the expenses. If he hired another dentist to come in he would make the money to pay the expenses but had to pay the substitutes salary and take the chance that some of the patients would switch dentists and he still didn’t earn any salary for himself.

A small business owner is effectively a slave to the business. They don’t have to worry about what a boss would do but the additional stresses that come with small business ownership don’t always make the grass greener on the other side.

That leads me to what I believe is a better way; A business model where you’re in business for yourself but not by yourself; A business were you’re entitled to substantial tax breaks especially if you’re operating out of your home; A business where you can earn an income through passive residual income, leverage, and geometric growth.

On my next blog post we’ll get into what this type of business is and how powerful passive residual income, leverage, and geometric growth can be when it comes to long term financial security. If you are watching the video version of this blog on YouTube or some other site then I encourage you to visit my blog http://KeithAbell.info and take a look at the summaries that go along with the video blog.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Do you have a big goal for 2013?

Do you have a big goal for 2013? Listen to Les Brown, international motivational speaker, check out this video on YouTube:


What did you think? Do you REALLY have job security? Do you have the ability to create your own destiny? Are you ready to make the needed changes in your life?

If so check out my new website:



Watch the videos on it then let's talk.

Keith Abell, RPh CIP MI
Save Money, Get Healthy, Create Wealth!
http://PlanBForSuccess.com

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Excitement Builds

As I wind down the year, reflect on the past and begin to look toward the new year, the excitement builds. Take a look at this short video as I reflect on those things and as I reflect on the coming economic trends that have me so excited.


I hope you enjoyed that short video. If you are now as excited as I am or if you want to find out more then feel free to contact me. I can be reached at my office (502) 410-3438 or you can fill out the contact form on the right had side of the screen. I am going to be hosting some mastermind group meetings over the next few weeks as we determine the best ways to achieve the success that I see in 2013. I hope each and every one of you can make one of these meetings.

In the mean time I hope you had a wounderful Christmas and I hope you join me and have a fantastic New Year.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Strategies for Success - Strategy 5 - How to Close

Strategies for Success – Strategy 5 – How to Close

This is the fourth post in my series “Strategies for Success.” As I mentioned in my previous posts this lesson was actually derived from various videos by network marketing professional, Eric Worre. I highly encourage you to visit his blog NetworkMarketingPro.com and his corresponding YouTube channel.

So far we have talked about the first strategy, “The Million Dollar Mindset” and the second strategy, “How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects.” If you haven’t viewed those yet then I highly recommend you do so before you view this blog post.

 

You can see:

Strategy 1, The Million Dollar Mindset by visiting:

http://keithabell.info/2012/12/strategies-for-success.html

Strategy 2, How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects by visiting:

http://keithabell.info/2012/12/strategies-for-success-strategy-2-how.html

Strategy 3, How to Invite Properly by visiting:

http://keithabell.info/2012/12/strategies-for-success-strategy-3-how.html

Strategy 4 – How to Present by visiting:

http://keithabell.info/2012/12/strategies-for-success-strategy-4-how.html

 

Just to review there are 5 strategies that you must embrace in order to have true success and we will touch on each of these briefly. The 5 strategies are:

·       Strategy 1 – The Million Dollar Mindset

·       Strategy 2 – How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects

·       Strategy 3 – How to Invite Properly

·       Strategy 4 – How  to Present

·       Strategy 5 – How to Close

 

Today we are going to be talking about Strategy 5 – How to Close

 

There are a number of ways to accomplish the close. The number one rule however is to always as leading questions, that is, don’t ask questions that can be answered with a yes or no. A leading question requires the prospect to give thoughtful answers; answers that you can use to clarify something or that you can restate to help emphasize your close. Leading questions usually start with words like, who, what, when, where, would and how. Some examples of leading questions would be:

 

§       How would this fit into . . . ?

§       What did you like best?

§       Who do you know . . . ?

 

The point here is to get to the prospects true objections so they can be overcome.

 

One of the best ways I have found to pose a closing question is to take the prospects temperature.

§       “On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being no interest and 10 being ready to get started, where are you?” Then follow up with, “How can I get you closer to a 10?”

§       Or the A, B, C close, “Now that you have seen the presentation are you an A, B or C? An A is where most people are. An A sees the value and the potential and is ready to get started today. Then there are the B’s, they see the value or the potential but they have a few questions they want to get clarified before they start. Then there are they C’s, not too many people are C’s. They just don’t have any interest and see no value for themselves. Which are you an A, a B, or a C?

Of course, once you have an answer, if they say they are ready to get started shut up and start completing the affiliate application . . . “How would you like your name to appear on your check?”

If they have questions use more leading questions to get to the root of their objection.

 

Once you have their core questions answered I think the 4 question close is powerful and it brings their goals and how we can solve their goals into the close. The 4 question close goes as follows:

Question 1

“If you were to get started on a part time basis, approximately how much would you need to earn each month to make this worth your time?”

Question 2

“How many hours per week could you realistically commit to creating that type of income?”

Question 3

“How many months would you work to develop that type of income?”

Question 4

If I could show you how to make (answer from question 1) each month, working about (answer from question 2) hours a week for (answer from question 3) months, would you be ready to get started?

 

Here is another short video form Eric Worre covering the 4 question close: http://youtube.com/watch?v=oVx6_CRNfhl

Folks, learning how to become a professional in recruiting can’t be done in an hour a day. You need to completely immerse yourself in developing your skills, and then you need to practice it over and over and over and over again until you get it right. I strongly encourage you to take your education seriously. On a previous post I mentioned that to become a professional in any field it takes about 10,000 hours of continuous training to become proficient at any skill. Learning to become a professional network marketer is no different. Plug into every type of self development program you can get your hands on. Take advantage of your up-line; take advantage of your company training program; take advantage of the other network marketing professionals and their books, CD’s, DVD’s and other tools; Take advantage of organizations like Toastmasters International. Continuing your education is an all the time proposition, if you decide to do it then you will be on your way to success as a network marketing professional so you can become a Healthy Lifestyle Champion.

Keith Abell, RPh MI
Executive Marketing Director
KeithAbell.info

 

Strategies for Success – Strategy 4, How to Present


Strategies for Success – Strategy 4, How to Present

This is the fourth post in my series “Strategies for Success.” As I mentioned in my previous posts this lesson was actually derived from various videos by network marketing professional, Eric Worre. I highly encourage you to visit his blog NetworkMarketingPro.com and his corresponding YouTube channel.

So far we have talked about the first strategy, “The Million Dollar Mindset” and the second strategy, “How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects.” If you haven’t viewed those yet then I highly recommend you do so before you view this blog post.

You can see Strategy 1, The Million Dollar Mindset by visiting: http://keithabell.info/2012/12/strategies-for-success.html
And Strategy 2, How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects by visiting http://keithabell.info/2012/12/strategies-for-success-strategy-2-how.html
And Strategy 3, How to Invite Properly by visiting
http://keithabell.info/2012/12/strategies-for-success-strategy-3-how.html

Just to review there are 5 strategies that you must embrace in order to have true success and we will touch on each of these briefly. The 5 strategies are:
·       Strategy 1 – The Million Dollar Mindset
·       Strategy 2 – How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects
·       Strategy 3 – How to Invite Properly
·       Strategy 4 – How  to Present
·       Strategy 5 – How to Close

Today we are going to be talking about Strategy 4, How to Present.

You may be thinking, why should I want to be the presenter? It’s quite simple really, because the person with the marker makes the money. Think about it, with any presentation you have ever attended isn’t it true that the person doing the presentation is the one making all the money? So your goal should eventually be the one doing the presenting. Make the decision today that you will one day be the one doing the presentation. Start out small, maybe introduce the speaker. As you get comfortable doing that then maybe tell your testimonial. Eventually start doing part of the presentation then ultimately become the featured presenter.

As a presenter you want to utilize the available 3rd party tools. The entire goal is to keep things as simple as possible and make it duplicatable so everyone on your team can eventually make the presentations. Remember, the Golden Rule for presenting your opportunity is “If your lips are moving you should be pointing, reading, introducing or telling a story.

You should be pointing to a tool of some sort. A magazine, flipchart, PowerPoint, tablet presentation, etc. You should be reading the slide or important points from the chart. If you’re not actually making a point with a tool then you should be introducing someone or telling a personal story that relates to the subject at hand. By following this rule the prospect has in their mind that what you are doing isn’t really that difficult and it becomes more duplicatable. Here is a short video by Eric Worre titled, “The Person with the Marker Makes the Money”



I am going to briefly go over how to host an in home presentation because quite frankly, this is probably one of the quickest ways to get your business duplicating the fastest after all would you rather spend twenty hours with twenty different people doing your presentation or would you rather spend 1 hour telling twenty people.

A home business presentation is a very effective way to communicate with your warm market; to tell them about your opportunity and your products; and even to get referrals. It is the easiest way to contact large numbers of people at one making a very efficient use of your time and demonstrating how easy it is for your prospects to duplicate what you are doing creating rapid growth and a solid down-line. It is a system that has been proven effective time and time again for decades now.

You want to choose a date and then start inviting people to attend. Be sure to review my last post, Strategy 3 – How to Invite Properly before you start inviting people. Also be sure to invite your up-line or even a cross line person or two to bring a guest. There is power and exponential excitement with numbers. In fact over the first month or so you should schedule a few home business presentations so you can capture more people as your list of contacts grows.

Ideally, as you build your down-line you will expand your home business presentations throughout the community as your team members begin to duplicate and hold meetings of their own with you as the expert presenter (remember he who holds the marker makes the most money).

You want to make sure that your business meeting is no more than an hour long and in fact you communicate that with your prospects when you are inviting them. People are busy and will be more receptive to attending when there is a designated start and finish time. Also consider a door prize or drawing as an incentive.

This is not intended to be a party where you are selling products. It is designed to let other people know about your opportunity and ask for referrals. You will introduce your products in the presentation but this isn’t about selling products. Many people have no interest in becoming a sales person.

Prior to the start spend a little bit of time mixing and mingling; introducing them to each other and some of the other people from your team. Don’t reward those that show up late, reward those that show up on time by starting on time.

Depending on whether you do the presenting or if you have a guest presenter, remember what I said earlier. Be involved in the presentation at some level. The format should be as follows, be sure to take an active roll in as much of this process as you feel comfortable doing.

First share a short story about yourself, a product testimony or business testimony. Keep this short no more than a minute or two.

Next introduce and edify the guest speaker. If you are going to be the presenter have someone else do the first two steps, remember, your goal is to duplicate this process as far down in your organization as possible.

The featured speaker should spend a moment or two with their own story then go right into the presentation using the tools as I discussed in a previous post.

During the closing the featured speaker should announce that there will be a quick start training session after the meeting for those that want to get started right away otherwise open the floor for questions.

Spend some times with your guests afterwards to answer questions. Invite them to join you, after all if you don’t ask then the answer is always no. Before your guests leave be sure to get referrals, if you did a professional job, weren’t high pressure, and kept to the scheduled timeframe it shouldn’t be very difficult to get a referral or two. Here is a side note, if the person doesn’t join but one of the people they referred does join, before you put the one that is joining in the system call your friend back and let them know that their friend is joining and ask if they want to sponsor their friend or if is ok if you take them. Often times they will go ahead and join as well.

After the meeting is over and everyone has left, reflect back on the event and make notes about what went right and what went wrong then use this as a learning moment to prepare for your next meeting. Also be sure to send each of your guests a thank you note for attending and follow up in a few days with a phone call to each guest.

Remember what J. Paul Getty said, “I’d rather have one percent of the efforts of 100 people than 100 percent of my own efforts.”
So far we have covered the first 4 strategies for success. In my next blog post we will discuss the final strategy, Strategy 5 – How to Close. Once this final strategy is mastered you will be on your way to success as a network marketing professional so you can become a Healthy Lifestyle Champion.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Strategies for Success – Strategy 3, How to Invite Properly

Strategies for Success – Strategy 3, How to Invite Properly

This is the third post in my series “Strategies for Success.” As I mentioned in my previous posts this lesson was actually derived from various videos by network marketing professional, Eric Worre. I highly encourage you to visit his blog NetworkMarketingPro.com and his corresponding YouTube channel.

So far we have talked about the first strategy, “The Million Dollar Mindset” and the second strategy, “How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects.” If you haven’t viewed those yet then I highly recommend you do so before you view this blog post.

You can see Strategy 1, The Million Dollar Mindset by visiting:
http://keithabell.info/2012/12/strategies-for-success.html
And Strategy 2, How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects by visiting: http://keithabell.blogspot.com/2012/12/strategies-for-success-strategy-2-how.html

Just to review there are 5 strategies that you must embrace in order to have true success and we will touch on each of these briefly. The 5 strategies are:
  • Strategy 1 – The Million Dollar Mindset
  • Strategy 2 – How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects
  • Strategy 3 – How to Invite Properly
  • Strategy 4 – How  to Present
  • Strategy 5 – How to Close
Before we move on I want to share two more videos on prospecting by Eric Worre. These are actually two videos in a series called The Prospecting Mindset.

The Prospecting Mindset #1  

The Prospecting Mindset #2


Once you have developed The Million Dollar Mindset and you have begun following the principles of How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects then you are ready to move on to Strategy 3 – How to Invite Properly.

Keep this in mind; every person on your list could be worth $10,000 per year if you approach them properly. Unfortunately, none of us knows who that person is. Before we begin this section I want you to watch another video by Eric Worre called “Stop Being So Needy.” This short video will help you get into the correct mindset before you begin inviting people to your opportunity.


Before you can start inviting people you have to get an idea of what you are inviting them to. When we get right down to it there are only 2 types of tools that you can invite people to; A third party tool or an event of some kind. I highly recommend that you get in touch with your up-line leaders and find out what approach works best for them and what approach they think will work best based on your personality. The idea here is to keep things as simple as possible so they can be duplicable for your potential business partners.

When it comes to third party tools I am talking about a DVD, CD, Magazine, Brochure, Website or some other tangible tool the prospect can review. These are a little less personable. They are a one way form of communication. Your prospect can’t stop and ask questions while reviewing the tool. On the other hand, you can invite your prospect to attend some type of event such as, a home meeting, a group meeting, a 1 on 1 or 2 on 1 meeting, a webinar, a conference call, or a 3 way call. These types of tools allow a little more flexibility because the prospect has more of a chance to ask questions as you go along.

In the beginning your up line may have you start out with the third party tools and then a 3-way conference call with the up-line. If there is already an active group in your area then your up-line may have you start out by inviting your prospects to an event. No matter which method you learn the key here is that whatever you do has to be simple and duplicable throughout your organization. Watch this short video by Eric Worre called “Let’s Talk Duplication”


Now that you have decided on what you will be inviting your prospects to, let’s take a look at a 7 step formula for recruiting.

Step 1, Be In A Hurry

When you contact your prospect be in a hurry; say to them “I don’t have a lot of time . . .” or “I’m running out the door . . .” Being in a hurry minimizes questions. It also gives a sense of urgency at legitimacy to what you are about to ask them.

Step 2, Complement

Next you want to complement your prospect. Pay them a sincere complement like “I really value your opinion” or “You have been really successful in your life” Get the point? You want to edify the person you are talking to making them feel like their opinion really does matter. This reduces the likelihood of them saying no to asking for their help.

Step 3, Invite

Remember you are in a hurry so get right to the point. Invite them to review your tool or come to your event. Respect their time and yours as well by making this as brief as possible. There are three types of approaches you can use depending on the prospect and the situation. The direct approach; the indirect approach; or the super-indirect approach.

The direct approach is to come right out and say that you want to show them an opportunity. Most new people in this business use this approach on everybody. Unfortunately the direct approach usually only works on people that you are the closest to like a best friend. In actuality this approach should only be used with a very few people.

With the indirect approach you are asking someone for their opinion. This is where you edify someone and tell them you really value their opinion. Tell them that you are looking at a way to increase your income and that you would like for them to look at it and tell you what they think.  This approach is the one that you will use most often because everyone is willing to tell you what they think about something. Everyone wants their opinion to be of value.

The third approach is the super-indirect approach. In this approach you actually get your prospects guard completely down by telling them that you don’t think this for them but you would like to know who they think would benefit from what you have to say. Often after seeing what you share they will actually say that they are interested. If not they are usually more than happy to give you a referral to talk to about it. When the person they refer you to joins then you go back to them and say, so and so decided to jump on this opportunity, would you like to sign them up under you or would you prefer that I have them. You will be surprised at how often the person that made the referral actually signs up because they don’t want to miss out.

Step 4, If I, Would You?

Always invite by asking the question in this way, “If I lent you this DVD, would you watch it and tell me what you think,” or “If I invited you to join our mastermind group, would you join?” This psychologically takes away the sense of commitment from the immediate question. Your asking “If” you did something would they do it not directly telling them that you ARE going to do something.

Step 5, Get A Time Commitment

Once they agree that “if” you asked them to do something that they would do it then get a time commitment. “So if I lent you this DVD then you would be able to watch it by _____?” Once again you are indirectly asking them for a commitment. Once they agree on a time frame then you move on to step 6.

Step 6, Confirm

Now they have agreed that if you lend them the DVD they would watch it by a certain date you get the commitment from them to actually follow through. “Ok, I will drop off the DVD tomorrow for you to review. You said you would be able to watch it by whatever date” then you make the appointment to pick up the DVD and to get their opinion.

Step 7, Get Off The Phone

Remember, you started the conversation by implying you were in a hurry so get off the phone. This reduces the likelihood that your prospect will start asking questions like “what is this about?” If they do manage to throw the question in before you get off the phone just remind them that you are in a hurry and whatever you invited them to do will answer a lot of their questions.

So far we have covered the first 3 strategies for success. In my next blog post we will discuss Strategy 4, How to Present. Once this fourth strategy is mastered you will be well on your way to success as a network marketing professional so you can become a Healthy Lifestyle Champion.

Keith Abell, RPh MI
Executive Marketing Director
HealthyLifestyleChampions.com

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Strategies for Success – Strategy 2, How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects ‏

Strategies for Success – Strategy 2, How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects ‏


This is the second post in my series “Strategies for Success.” As I mentioned in my last post this lesson was actually derived from various videos by network marketing professional, Eric Worre. I highly encourage you to visit his blog NetworkMarketingPro.com and his corresponding YouTube channel.

In my first post I discussed the 3 hard truths about network marketing that you must face square on before you can have any success. Once you face these and change your mindset you can begin to follow the path of financial freedom that Network Marketing offers. I also started discussing the first of the five strategies that you must embrace in order to have true, long lasting success. If you haven’t had a chance to review that post I suggest you do so first because this post is a continuation of that discussion. You can go to that post by clicking this link: http://keithabell.info/2012/12/strategies-for-success.html

Just to review there are 5 strategies that you must embrace in order to have true success and we will touch on each of these briefly. The 5 strategies are:
  • Strategy 1 – The Million Dollar Mindset
  • Strategy 2 – How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects
  • Strategy 3 – How to Invite Properly
  • Strategy 4 – How  to Present
  • Strategy 5 – How to Close
The first strategy that we discussed previously was having that million dollar mindset. Once you develop the million dollar mindset you will be able to project that sense of confidence and leadership that others will want to follow. Even if you haven’t developed all these skills yet this million dollar mindset will give you the drive and determination to succeed. Without it you don’t have any chance of reaching the desired levels of success for true economic freedom.

Now we can move on to the second strategy for success, “How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects”

Strategy 2 – How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects

The biggest problem new people have in Network Marketing is coming up with enough quality prospects. One thing I highly recommend all new people to do is to read the book by “The Power of Who” by Bob Beaudine. (You may purchase it from Amazon.com by following this link http://amzn.to/RHc34E) This book is all about making connections from within your current circle of friends and expanding that influence through the people you meet through your current circle. It really opened up my eyes that to the fact that we already know everyone we need to know in order to have success.

Armed with this principle let’s look at what professionals do.

So how do you never run out of  quality prospects? You have to create an active candidate list. The key work here is active. Most new people in the business create a list in their mind of who they think will be great in this business. Then as they exaust that list and have limited success with it they get discouraged and quit. The key here is it must be an active list; a list that is always growing as you meet new people.

Before we begin this discussion I would like for you to watch another video by Eric Worre. This one is called “But I Don’t Know Anyone.”


The first step to creating an active candidate list is to write down everybody you know. I recommend using a journal to do this and be sure to only use this journal to grow your list. Over time you will fill it. Write now you’re thinking that you don’t know that many people but trust me, over time this list will grow and I am going to show you why. Don’t worry I’m not going to tell you to get on the phone with them all right now. This is just a list of everyone you know. Be sure to write EVERYONE down. As you are doing this there are some people on your list that will cause you to think of others that you have met through them. Put ‘em on your list.

Now you want to take this list with you everywhere you go.  As you continue through your daily routine your activities will trigger your memory and more people will come to mind. Write them down even if you don’t think there is any remote possibility that they will join your business. As you meet new people they are to be put on this list. When you join new organizations, place them on this list. As you meet new people through social media, put them on this list.

The goal over the rest of your life is to try to add at least 2 new contacts to your list every day. Think about it, if you add 2 a day five days a week then in a year’s time you will have added 520 potential prospects to your list every year. See how this list grows. Get into the habit of doing this and you will never have to worry about finding prospects again.

I want you to stop now and watch two more short videos by Eric Worre called “5 Steps to Never Ending Prospects” and “A Message to Online MLM Idiots”

5 Steps to Never Ending Prospects:




A Message to Online MLM Idiots:


So far we have talked about the first strategy, “Having a Million Dollar Mindset” and the second strategy, “How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects.” Spend some time reflecting on what I have discussed so far. Take time to watch the videos again and just digest the information. In a couple days I will share with you the next strategy, “How to Invite Properly.” You are now on your journey to becoming a network marketing professional so you can become a Healthy Lifestyle Champion.


 

Strategies for Success‏ - Strategy 1 The Million Dollar Mindset

Strategies for Success‏


This is going to be a little bit of a longer blog post than usual, in fact it is probably going to take several posts to cover everything I want to say. I am writing today about the Strategies to Success. This lesson was actually derived from various videos by network marketing professional, Eric Worre. I highly encourage you to visit his blog NetworkMarketingPro.com and his corresponding YouTube channel.

There are 3 hard truths about network marketing that you must face square on before you can have any success. Once you face these and change your mindset you can begin to follow the path of financial freedom that Network Marketing offers.

Hard truth number 1 is the lottery mentality. People are presented with a network marketing opportunity and get excited about the big income numbers that are presented. It looks so easy and they join with the attitude that they are going to get rich quick. I hate to say it but it ain’t gonna happen! Network Marketing is a business just like any other business. It offers fantastic freedoms and unlimited income opportunities that the traditional work for pay world doesn’t offer but it does take some work. It takes learning skills and becoming educated.

That leads me to the second hard truth; everyone in this profession seems to be stuck on the phrase, “ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice.” While there is some truth to this ignorance on fire will never get you to the ultimate goals you had when you joined this business. For true success you need to have,
  • Knowledge on Fire
  • Skills on Fire
  • Abilities on Fire
  • Professionalism on Fire
Think about it, how much further can you go by developing your skills? If you truly want to reach those goals and dreams that got you interested in this business in the first place then learning these skills is the only way to go. You must truly become a professional to reach that level of success.

I want you to take a look at this short video from Eric Worre called “Do You Deserve Success” before we continue:



Finally the third hard truth you must face and master before you can expect to have long term success in Network Marketing is “All of the pain in Network Marketing is in the Recruiting.” Recruiting is THE Gateway Skill. Master this skill then your success is unlimited. Fortunately this is a skill that can be learned and it is the key to using the 5 strategies for true success.

There are 5 strategies that you must embrace in order to have true success and we will touch on each of these briefly. The 5 strategies are:

       Strategy 1 – The Million Dollar Mindset

       Strategy 2 – How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects

       Strategy 3 – How to Invite Properly

       Strategy 4 – How  to Present

       Strategy 5 – How to Close

Strategy 1 – The Million Dollar Mindset

Having the Million Dollar Mindset is all about the law of attraction. The Law of Attraction states that you become what you think about most. You attract into your life the things that you think about most. If you think about being broke all the time then you will remain broke. When Donald Trump filed bankruptcy do you think he sat around dwelling on that failure? No, because he knew deep down inside that he was a winner and that mindset is what has attracted his success. No one wants to hang around with Negative Ned or Negative Nelly. Do you think successful people hang around with them? There are 7 steps to follow do develop this Million Dollar Mindset.

Step 1: Dedicate Yourself to Mastering the Skills

I want you to watch this short video from Eric Worre, it is called “Copycats Win” and it briefly talks about mastering your skills by learning from the leaders around you.


In the beginning you want to learn the skills involved with duplicating your business. Plug into the upline leaders. Learn what it is that they do and emulate it. Copy what they do and duplicate it into your business.

Step 2: There are No Good or Bad Experiences, Just Learning

Every negative experience is a learning experience. Remember the famous quote by Thomas Edison when he was interviewed about inventing the light bulb. He was asked about all of his failures and he replied, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

I want you to take  a look at another video now by Eric Worre, The Secret to Confidence


Step 3: Setting the Proper Expectations

You are not going to become a professional and a top income earner overnight. It takes a lot of education and trial and error. Did your doctor become a doctor by just reading a few books? Did an airline pilot just get behind the wheel and start flying? For myself, did I just pick up a couple drug manuals and become a pharmacist? No, it takes hours of training and education. To become an expert at anything it takes a certain amount of time, dedication to learning everything you can about your endeavor to become that expert. On average it takes about 10,000 hours to become competent at any skill and it is no different in Network Marketing.

Here are some realistic expectations regarding your Network Marketing success. It takes:
  • 1 Year to become competent and profitable in MLM
  • 3 Years of focused work to replace your current income
  • 5 Years to become a high income earner
  • 7 Years to become a world class network marketing professional
Just keep this in perspective when looking at where you are currently. Know that if you follow a system of continueos personal development then these are reasonable expectations of where you will be in the future.

Step 4: Learning How to Employee Yourself

Let me ask you a question. Would you hire you? Seriously, if you were hiring someone to work for you, would you hire you? That is a question you need to ask yourself daily. When you get up in the morning look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Would you hire you?” More importantly, before you go to bed at night, stand in front of the mirror. Reflect back on what you did for the day and ask, “Would you hire you?” If the answer is no then it’s time to take stock in what you are doing and what you need to do to get to your desired goals. 

Take a look at this video by Eric Worre, “Our Most Dangerous Enemy”


Step 5: Respecting the Laws of Association.

Go back to what I said earlier in regards to the Law of Attraction. You will attract into your life those things you think about most. The same thing applies to the Law of Association. Look around you. Look at your 5 closes friends. Ad up their annual income then divides by 5. This is the average income of your friends. Your income will always reflect the income of those around you. If you want your income to increase then either you and your friends have to do something to change it or you have to seek out new friends.

The same thing applies to negativism. Todd Falcone spoke about this once. When he started in Network Marketing he was in his early twenties, just out of college. He would put on his suit every day and spend the day working his business, pursuing leads, surrounding himself with the others in his direct selling business. Then he would come home to his roommates. They were pot smoking surfer dudes hanging out on the video games. When he would come in the door they would tease him and say, “Well did you make a million dollars today dude,” while laughing in the surfer dude tone of voice. Then they would tell him to sit down and smoke and play video games with them. Needless to say he threw them all out. Began hanging out with people with winning attitudes and now he is a high 6 figure earner in Network Marketing.

Spend time with negative people and surround yourself with negative people and you will have negative results. If you want to become a success and reach your goals then you have to hang around with successful, goal oriented people and limit your time with the negative influences.

Here is another short video by Eric Worre, "MLM and the Law of Attraction"


Step 6: Becoming a Visionary

You have to be able to visualize your goals in full living color. You have to be able to sense them with all of your senses. You then need to be able to take that skill of visualization and show others how to do the same. This is where the Coffee Shop interview that Tom Chenault talks about comes into play. How can you help others see their vision if you haven’t discovered their vision with them. Wether you use Tom’s approach or develop one of your own you must learn how to find out what others desires are and then help them visualize their desire and visualize how you can help them reach those desires.

Step 7: Constant Personal Growth.

You have to plug into personal growth. Every successful person I have ever talked to can point at some personal growth tool that they came across that was the one thing that turned their success around. Remember earlier that I said it takes about 10,000 hours to become a true expert. So spend a few minutes every day on personal growth activities. Attend the CEO training conferences or whatever other tools your company offers and become the Network Marketing Professional that will lead you to your desired goals.

Take a look at this interview by Eric Worre of Darren Hardey from Success Magazine. They discuss Top MLM Leaders and Personal Development


This has been a rather long blog post so far and I have covered a lot of information regarding Strategy #1 Develop the Million Dollar Mindset. I hope you have learned something from what I have posted so far.

I am going to continue this discussion on future post where I will discuss Strategy #2 How to Never Run Out of Quality Prospects. In the mean time, reflect on some of the things I had to say in this post today. Digest it; review the videos that I included several times, then learn how you to can become a network marketing professional so you can become a Healthy Lifestyle Champion.

Keith Abell, RPh MI
Exective Marketing Director
HealthyLifestyleChampions.com

Friday, December 14, 2012

Powerful Phrases to Transition a Conversation

Let me ask you, have you ever had the problem of how to transition a conversation in a way that you get permission to talk with someone about what you can do to help them?

 

When you’re having a conversation with someone and you’ve uncovered a problem there’s an easy way to transition to your solution.

 

Here are a couple of quick phrases that you can use that allows you to get their permission and then to prepare the person to mentally say “yes I want to hear what you have to say.”

 

Here’s the first approach, they’re talking about their problem and you’re listening to them, here’s what you say,

 

“I was thinking about what you were saying just a few minutes ago about your problem with . . . whatever it was. It occurred to me that there might be a way to turn that around if you were interested in resolving it.”

 

Think about the power of that simple statement.

 

You can reference any conversation whether it was today, last week, whether it was on Facebook or some other social media site, in an e-mail, wherever they made the statement, by using this simple phrase. No matter what the problem, health, energy, bills, etc. this phrase is powerful.

 

“I was thinking about what you said last week about . . . whatever it was. It occurred to me that there might be a way to turn that around if you were interested in resolving it.”

 

Do you realize the power in that phrase, “if you were interested in resolving it?”

 

What are they going to say, “No I like misery” or “no I like being broke.”

 

There’s no way that you’re not going to get a positive answer from them.

 

“It occurred to me that there might be a way to turn that around if you were interested in resolving . . . whatever it was.”

 

What if they did respond with some negative response? “I’ve lived with it for so long I know there is no way to fix it.”

 

You respond with the magic word, WHY.

 

“Why do you feel that way” or “why have you given up,” or “if there was something out there that might help you why wouldn’t you want to know how?”

 

Once they respond indicating that they want to hear what you have to say then you can proceed.

 

Another version that can be used in place of “It occurred to me” would be, “is this something you want to resolve or is this something you’re prepared to live with it.”

 

Try these phrases in your conversations and let me know what happened.

 

Keith Abell, RPh CIP MI

Pharmacist – Executive Marketing Director

Save Money, Get Healthy, Create Wealth!

HealthyLifestyleChampions.com