First, a few definitions.

Fraud – One who assumes a false pose; an impostor. From the Latin for deceit or injury.

Liar – A person who knowingly utters falsehood; one who declares to another as a fact what he knows to be not true, and with an intention to deceive him. From a predecessor to . . . → Read More: What To Stay Away From]]>

Frauds, Liars & Scams

First, a few definitions.

Fraud – One who assumes a false pose; an impostor. From the Latin for deceit or injury.

Liar – A person who knowingly utters falsehood; one who declares to another as a fact what he knows to be not true, and with an intention to deceive him. From a predecessor to Old English meaning to be untruthful.

Scam – A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle. U.S. slang, a carnival term, of unknown origin. Perhaps related to 19c. British slang scamp “cheater, swindler”

A Man Named Gordo

I advertise my home business opportunity in a magazine called the “Home Business Connection.” Now, surprisingly, you might think that I would expect people to call me who are looking for a home business opportunity. At least that’s why I thought I was advertising in that magazine.

Enter a man named Gordo. Gordo left me a voicemail in which he said he was interested in my business opportunity. Seems pretty straightforward, I normally call people back and find out about them and what they’re looking for and find out if there’s a match.

When I called Gordo back however, it turned out he was more interested in selling me on him, than vice versa. He called himself the “Greatest Networker in the World.”

The Greatest Networker In The World, by the way, is an actual book written by John Milton Fogg, who has been in the networking industry for over 20 years, and was also one of the founders of UPLINE magazine, a magazine about the network marketing industry. John gives seminars and lectures, writes books and articles, and in general would not be cold calling someone to invite them to listen to a conference call. So red flags were already going off.

When I mentioned that I had read “his” book, he responded “yep, that’s me.” I never bothered asking why he was disguising himself as Gordo. I was too curious at this point to see where he was going with this.

So he invited me to listen to a live conference call which was limited to 10 network marketers. He claimed it would be 100% live and 100% interactive. After inviting me, he then asked if there was anyone in my organization who I wanted to invite to the call.

The next thing that was odd was he couldn’t just give me the number to the conference call and the PIN. He had to call me back later in the day to give me these.

Finally, the appointed time rolls around and I call the number and get on the conference call. The first 15 minutes of the call were spent trying to locate someone who was supposed to be on the call and hadn’t called in.

He started the conference around 7:15, by saying the call was designed to help us make money, it’s not about making friends or saving the world.

Other statements he issued were: “Gordo hates liars,” “No one in the world knows more about networking than me,” and “No one in the industry earns more than me.”

Remember that statement about the call being 100% interactive, once the call started, everyone was locked out or muted except for Mr. Gordo, so much for the “interactive” call.

Another gem was “The secret to making money is not to make money.”

“Stupid is okay, don’t act stupid.”

“Same circus – different clowns.”

Since he had told us to be at our computers at 7 and the red flags were screaming at me by this point, I got online and started looking up Gordo and Gordo’s phone number.

What I found was pretty interesting.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/Gordon-Moss.aspx

Or you can check out his blog. But be forewarned it has nothing to do with networking.

http://theworldsgreatestnetworker.blogspot.com/

Okay, one more

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=17999

Okay, I think you get the idea. Stay away; far, far away.

Better idea

For more info on how to pick a real opportunity, go to www.AlansMLMTips.com and sign up for the “7 Days, 7 Insider Secrets” email newsletter.

Those tips will help you avoid falling victim to any frauds, lies, or scams.

Have a great week!

Since there seems to be widespread disagreement about what to call the current economy, but pretty much everyone agrees the current economy is in the trash can; yet there can be a silver lining in every cloud. Some of the biggest and brightest companies in the U.S. were started . . . → Read More: No Jobs?]]>

Jobs & Recession/Depression/Economic Uncertainty

Since there seems to be widespread disagreement about what to call the current economy, but pretty much everyone agrees the current economy is in the trash can; yet there can be a silver lining in every cloud. Some of the biggest and brightest companies in the U.S. were started or formed in recessions.

Also remember that whenever someone loses money by selling a stock, someone else is buying that stock in hopes of making money.

Home businesses always thrive in a recession as people look for ways to supplement, increase or replace their incomes.

With those positive notes in mind, here is an article that outlines part of the problem:

Porter Stansberry: This is why there are no jobs in America

Monday, May 23, 2011

I’ve decided to re-publish the most popular essay I’ve ever written. For some subscribers, this will only be a reminder about the serious problems we face in America. But for the many subscribers we’ve added in the last several months, this will be all new.

If it resonates with you… if you see these same problems in your communities… I encourage you to pass this along to your friends. This is a message we must get across to our fellow citizens. Robbing Peter to pay Paul will not lead to national wealth or prosperity. It will only lead to bigger problems for our children and grandchildren.

This Is Why There Are No Jobs in America

I’d like to make you a business offer. Seriously. This is a real offer. In fact, you really can’t turn me down, as you’ll come to understand in a moment…

Here’s the deal. You’re going to start a business or expand the one you’ve got now. It doesn’t really matter what you do or what you’re going to do. I’ll partner with you no matter what business you’re in – as long as it’s legal. But I can’t give you any capital – you have to come up with that on your own. I won’t give you any labor – that’s definitely up to you. What I will do, however, is demand you follow all sorts of rules about what products and services you can offer, how much (and how often) you pay your employees, and where and when you’re allowed to operate your business. That’s my role in the affair: to tell you what to do.

Now in return for my rules, I’m going to take roughly half of whatever you make in the business, each year. Half seems fair, doesn’t it? I think so. Of course, that’s half of your profits. You’re also going to have to pay me about 12% of whatever you decide to pay your employees because you’ve got to cover my expenses for promulgating all of the rules about who you can employ, when, where, and how. Come on, you’re my partner. It’s only “fair.”

Now… after you’ve put your hard-earned savings at risk to start this business and after you’ve worked hard at it for a few decades (paying me my 50% or a bit more along the way each year), you might decide you’d like to cash out – to finally live the good life.

Whether or not this is “fair” – some people never can afford to retire – is a different argument. As your partner, I’m happy for you to sell whenever you’d like… because our agreement says, if you sell, you have to pay me an additional 20% of whatever the capitalized value of the business is at that time.

I know… I know… you put up all the original capital. You took all the risks. You put in all of the labor. That’s all true. But I’ve done my part, too. I’ve collected 50% of the profits each year. And I’ve always come up with more rules for you to follow each year. Therefore, I deserve another, final 20% slice of the business. Oh… and one more thing…

Even after you’ve sold the business and paid all of my fees… I’d recommend buying lots of life insurance. You see, even after you’ve been retired for years, when you die, you’ll have to pay me 50% of whatever your estate is worth. After all, I’ve got lots of partners and not all of them are as successful as you and your family. We don’t think it’s “fair” for your kids to have such a big advantage. But if you buy enough life insurance, you can finance this expense for your children. All in all, if you’re a very successful entrepreneur… if you’re one of the rare, lucky, and hard-working people who can create a new company, employ lots of people, and satisfy the public… you’ll end up paying me more than 75% of your income over your life. Thanks so much.

I’m sure you’ll think my offer is reasonable and happily partner with me… but it doesn’t really matter how you feel about it because if you ever try to stiff me – or cheat me on any of my fees or rules – I’ll break down your door in the middle of the night, threaten you and your family with heavy, automatic weapons, and throw you in jail. That’s how civil society is supposed to work, right? This is Amerika, isn’t it?

That’s the offer Amerika gives its entrepreneurs. And the idiots in Washington wonder why there are no new jobs…

©2011 Stansberry & Associates Investment Research. All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright laws of the United States and international treaties. This website may only be used pursuant to the subscription agreement and any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including on the world wide web), in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Stansberry & Associates Investment Research, LLC. 1217 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202.

Why Network Marketing?

For my money, the best way to leverage one’s time, create residual income, and minimize Uncle Sam’s intrusion into our lives is network marketing.

To learn why it’s such a brilliant concept, please watch Brilliant Compensation.

Okay, Looks Good, What Next?

All right, so now you need to find a company that will allow you to make the concept you learned in Brilliant Compensation work.

If you don’t know how to pick a good company with a great product, network marketing probably won’t work for you.

One of my favorite mentors came up with a book and course called “MLM-The Whole Truth.” In it, he lays out what he calls the 12 Critical Success Factors™. You can get a free introduction to the factors he’s isolated by going here. It’s a 7 day series of emails where you learn 7 of the 12 concepts.

I Already Have A Company, But It’s Just Not Working For Me

Okay, fair enough. Did you get the 7 day series of emails? Does your company/product meet the qualifications that he talks about? If not, you probably need to go back to the drawing board and find a company/product that does meet the 12 Critical Success Factors.

If your company does meet them, then my next recommendation is to run, not walk to get your copy of “Professional Inviter” to learn how to do the business. In it he covers what is communication, the six steps of the “Inviting Formula”, how to tell when you’re done greeting someone, what qualified means when prospecting for network marketing business partners, and much, much more.

For more info or to order the course, go to “Professional Inviter.”

Quote

“Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.” – John Maxwell

Originally, a pipeline was a pipe or system of pipes designed to carry something such as oil, natural gas, or other petroleum-based products over long distances, often underground. (For some reason not entirely clear to me, a pipeline carrying water is not generally referred to as a pipeline, instead . . . → Read More: Pipelines]]>

What Is A Pipeline?

Originally, a pipeline was a pipe or system of pipes designed to carry something such as oil, natural gas, or other petroleum-based products over long distances, often underground. (For some reason not entirely clear to me, a pipeline carrying water is not generally referred to as a pipeline, instead being called water pipes, water mains, or aqueducts.)

Near as I can tell, this was then generalized to: a system through which something is conducted, especially as a means of supply. So you could have a manufacturing pipeline, or a food pipeline, etc.

This more general definition then morphed into a popular expression for things that are in process. For example,“There are over 10,000 condo units in the pipeline, in various stages of construction or conversion.” Or “I’m not worried about apartment move-outs this summer because I have a number of prospects in the pipeline.”

Why Do We Use The Phrase “Pipeline”

In any business, there is a sequence of steps that one has to go through to get the final product. These steps can then be likened to a pipeline.

For instance, in putting together a marketing campaign, one might first come up with some bright ideas, these would then be presented to the client, who would pick the idea that they felt best represented their company or product, then someone would come up with ideas of pictures, videos, etc. to represent that idea, all the way to the final roll-out of the campaign to the public it is intended for.

In my electronics repair business, the pipeline started with someone bringing in their broken electronics for repair. Then we would diagnose the problem and give them an estimate. After the customer approved the estimate, we would order the parts needed for the repair. The parts would come in. We’d install the parts, test the item for proper operation. Create an invoice. Call the customer. Customer comes in, pays, picks up his electronics and goes home happy.

So pipeline is a handy phrase to describe the process or the sequence of steps that one has to go through to get the product that one is aiming for.

The Pipeline & Network Marketing

In network marketing, since we are marketing a product, we are moving our company’s products into the hands and homes of consumers. Whether it’s vitamins, water, legal service plans, or home decorations, nobody makes any money unless someone buys that product.

The customer pipeline begins with the methods you are using to interest people in your product. Once a person has expressed interest in some form, he is in the pipeline. You give him more information. You might give him samples. Go to a meeting to learn more. He comes out the other end of the pipeline as either a customer or a non-customer. To keep customers coming out of the end of the pipeline, you have to keep putting new people in at the beginning of the pipeline.

No people entering the pipeline, no customers coming out of the pipeline.

Lots of people entering the pipeline, lots of customers coming out of the pipeline.

The Pipeline

If you chose your company/product well, you have a great product at a competitive price that your customers use and reorder or buy more of. This creates residual income, every time someone uses up their stuff, they buy more and you make a little bit each time.

As you continue to add customers these add up to a stream of income that you don’t have to create from scratch each day/month/year.

This becomes similar to the gas pipeline for the oil company, as long as the product is moving through the pipeline, the oil company makes money.

Lou Abbot has come up with a great little video based on a book by Burke Hedges that illustrates this in a very entertaining way.  I recommend you go watch it. When the site opens, scroll down the page to step 1 and click on “View the demo!” Click “START” on the next page. Go here to click over to it.

Make it a great week!

Have you ever wondered how to ask someone to look at your business, . . . → Read More: Training That Makes Sense]]>

If you’ve been around the block a few times in network marketing, you’ve probably realized that most training in network marketing consists of personal anecdotes, “run the numbers,” success stories of how others did it, hoopla, rah-rah and motivation; but darn little real training.

Have you ever wondered how to ask someone to look at your business, or even whether you should invite them to look at your business, or how to start a conversation?

Have you ever decided that there must be something wrong with you because you see others having success, but you’re not? Have you ever wanted to scream in frustration because no matter how many trainings, calls, meetings you attend it just isn’t happening for you?

Tim Sales has a course that he has written that answers all of these questions and much, much more. This is the first training that I can honestly say: “YOU NEED THIS.” Unless you’re already making more money than you can ever possibly spend, this can improve your game. Check it out at Professional Inviter.

Here’s Tim in an excerpt from the introduction:

Inviting Basics – Introduction

“Hello, Network Marketing Professional. My name is Tim Sales. My purpose and intention with this training pack is to teach you the skills or increase your skills at inviting people to look at your network marketing business.

…

“Inviting is the ability to ask someone to do something. You invite someone to go to dinner, you invite someone to play golf, and you invite someone to look at some information. This training package specifically addresses you inviting someone to look at your network marketing business.

…

“There is nothing more important in network marketing than inviting. See, if you can invite well, you can put your prospect in front of good presenters and good presentation tools (like videos, audios, websites – things like that). But if you can’t invite well, you’ll have a tough time in network marketing. So the information in this training pack is critical to your success.”

Take Your Skills To The Next Level

Since starting this course, I am having more fun than I thought possible in network marketing. I’ve always read and heard that if you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. Well, I was doing it wrong. Tim shows you how to do it right!

Go to this link: Professional Inviter. Really, you need this.

Quote

“Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.”  – Mohandas Gandhi

The first time I heard this word in relation to network marketing, the only idea I had for posture was my mother telling me to sit up straight. Obviously, with that picture, I not only had no posture (network marketing variety), I didn’t even know what it was. While my mom’s . . . → Read More: Posture]]>

What Do You Think It Is?

The first time I heard this word in relation to network marketing, the only idea I had for posture was my mother telling me to sit up straight. Obviously, with that picture, I not only had no posture (network marketing variety), I didn’t even know what it was. While my mom’s use of the term was totally correct, that’s not what network marketers have in mind.

So let’s start with a definition. From the American Heritage Dictionary, posture is “A frame of mind affecting one’s thoughts or behavior; an overall attitude.” It comes to us from the Latin word ponere, meaning to “put, place.” So you’re putting or placing yourself in a particular frame of mind.

What Frame of Mind?

So what frame of mind do you want to be in? When you’re talking to a prospect, do you want to be uncertain, afraid of objections and terrified of rejection? From that frame of mind, are you going  to have any success in convincing people you can help them? I don’t think so.

So what frame of mind should you have? You’re talking to a prospect, he has some need or want or “don’t want” that you’ve identified that you know you can help him achieve. Knowing that you can help him is part of posture, but if you’re hoping he’s not going to voice any objections, you still don’t have it.

Tim Sales says that posture comes from confidence in your ability to perform, nothing else!

Posture would be knowing that you have the solution for his need or want, that you can handle his objections and that through your leadership and skill and proper training you can help him achieve his goal or goals.

With that type of posture, your ability to invite and help people into your business will improve, and so will your results. Here’s to your posture.

The First Steps To Posture

Do you think that having complete and utter certainty that network marketing is a legal, valuable and honorable business would help your posture? Of course it would, rhetorical question. If you didn’t have that certainty, it would slow you down, lower your posture, and inhibit your willingness to reach out to others about your business.

For the best video ever on the legitimacy and brilliance of the network marketing business model, go watch Brilliant Compensation.

Once you have that certainty on the industry, then you have to feel that way about your company and your product or products. For one of the best I’ve seen on  picking a company and product to work with, go to www.AlansMLMTips.com and sign up for the “7 Days, 7 Insider Secrets” email newsletter. Written by Lou Abbott, a 14 year veteran of the industry, he shares his hard-won secrets to picking a good company to work with. The email newsletter is free, but for the full treatment he has a book and course on the same subject. I highly recommend it if you are between companies, or are unhappy with your current company, or if you’ve just decided to join this industry and are looking for your first company. Great stuff!

Quote

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.  – Henry David Thoreau

Being Obsessed Can Be A Good Thing

In this chapter called “Not Being Obsessed,” not being obsessed was one of the 25 most common sales . . . → Read More: Are You Obsessed?]]>

I recently picked up a book on the 25 most common sales mistakes. I opened it at random and what should I turn to but a chapter called “Not Being Obsessed.”

Being Obsessed Can Be A Good Thing

In this chapter called “Not Being Obsessed,” not being obsessed was one of the 25 most common sales mistakes. In other words, being obsessed was a good thing.

From the book: “You must like what you are doing for a living – selling – enough to become obsessed with it. Not fifteen-hours-a day obsessed, but rather I-have-absolutely-got-to-do-this-right-day-in-and-day-out obsessed.

“For my money, the most crucial word in sales today is obsession. …”

He goes on to expand what he means by obsession as follows “Every day, I make twenty cold calls, I can get through to maybe seven people. Once I get through to seven people, I’ll usually set up one appointment. I do that five days a week, which, by extension, means that every week, I have, on average, five new sales appointments. I close one out of five, so at the end of the year, I should have fifty new customers.”

Now, I know we’re not supposed to call network marketing selling, but I prefer to call it like it is. It’s called marketing, marketing generates sales, sales generate commissions for you and profits for the company. Call it sharing if you like, just make sure you’re obsessed with sharing.

Are You Obsessed Yet?

If you’re having trouble getting obsessed, I recommend figuring out what you’re working towards, and why you’re working towards it. You can check out my article “Motivated By The Future” for more on this, and also an earlier article of mine called “Why, Oh Why.”

Quotes

“There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.”  – Napoleon Hill

The challenge for marketers is to figure out what daily progress looks like and obsess about that.  – Seth Godin

The more I thought about this, the truer I decided it was – at least it was true for me. It was almost one of those epiphany moments – hell, it . . . → Read More: Motivated By The Future]]>

I read an article last week which said that someone who wants to be at cause is motivated by the future.

The more I thought about this, the truer I decided it was – at least it was true for me. It was almost one of those epiphany moments – hell, it was an epiphany, it explained to me why we’re always being asked to figure out our why for doing the business.

Almost every network marketing book you’ll ever read tells you to find your why. I just started reading a book about the habits of successful sales people, and one of the first things he talked about was knowing why you’re doing what you’re doing. Every training or fast start meeting I’ve ever been to has talked about finding your why. Every network marketing company training manual I’ve ever read has talked about finding your why for doing the business.

Do you sense a pattern here? Why are we always being asked to do this? I always kind of had it chalked up as a motivational trick – a way to keep us moving. It is, but it is so much more than that…

We are motivated by the future. We don’t work hard now to get what we already have – or if we do, we’re in a serious rut, and need to change something sooner rather than later. We work hard now to fix in the future whatever it is we don’t like about now.

After years of attending network marketing meetings and trainings, I’ve heard a lot of different whys for doing a network marketing business.

• put my kids through college
• bring my husband/wife home from the job he/she hates
• be able to be full-time parents
• to travel
• to get out of debt
• to make something of themselves
• to be someone that people look up to
• to have the house of my dreams
• to have the car I’ve always wanted
• to be able to take care of my parents
• time freedom
• to be able to go where they want when they want
• to live where they want
• to work with the people they choose to work with

Do you see how these are all future things? They are all things that these people want in the future for which they were willing to work hard and sacrifice for today.

Now I get it. This explains the reason for all this attention to figuring out our why which I used to think was slightly, ummm, silly…

We are motivated by the future – what do you want in your future? The first step to putting it there is knowing what it is. The second step is knowing that you want it there, and knowing that you want it there so badly that you’ll work your butt off to put it there. So badly that failure is not an option.

We are motivated by the future.

Take Charge of Your Future

If you’re a newcomer to network  marketing and want to learn more of the reasons that network marketing is such a powerful method to help you achieve your why, check out Brilliant Compensation (it’s free).

To learn how to increase the odds of achieving your why by picking the right company, go to www.AlansMLMTips.com and sign up for the “7 Days, 7 Insider Secrets” email newsletter. (This is free too!)

One way of defining network marketing is that it’s all about relationships and word of mouth. Knowing that relationships are about listening as much or more than talking, why don’t we have an easier time developing relationships with those in our “network?”

In his book, Conversations with the Greatest Networker in the World, John Milton Fogg . . . → Read More: Stop, Look and Listen]]>

Network Marketing

One way of defining network marketing is that it’s all about relationships and word of mouth. Knowing that relationships are about listening as much or more than talking, why don’t we have an easier time developing relationships with those in our “network?”

In his book, Conversations with the Greatest Networker in the World, John Milton Fogg identifies the problem as reactive listening, in other words, what you’re doing instead of just listening.

Are You Doing Any Of These?

Here, in brief, are a few of the 11 reasons the greatest networker identifies as why we’re not listening, or what we’re doing instead of listening.

Comparing – what you’re hearing to something else you’ve heard, is it better than or worse than what you heard elsewhere, do you disagree with it? Just listen, focus on hearing what the person is saying.

Derailing – change the subject, this will definitely tell the person you don’t care about what he/she was talking about. But if you’re figuring out how to change the subject, you’re not listening.

Fighting – disagree, dispute, disapprove, belittle, begrudge, put down… If you think what the person is saying is wrong – fine. Listen, let him know you heard him, then express your own thought.

Plotting – if you already have a plot in mind for the conversation you’re having, you’re not listening. You’re directing the conversation to make it fit with and stick to your plot instead of truly listening.

You should get the book to get the rest of the ways to “not listen” but I’m guessing you’ve already spotted one or more things you’re doing in your conversations.

What Else Should You Know?

Further on in the book, the greatest networker is talking about why he had a favorable impression of network marketing before he became a network marketer. He says “Nothing will ever be as powerful promoting a product or service as simple word-of-mouth, and Network Marketing harnessed that by giving it a reward structure. I thought that was utterly brilliant!” For an awesome video detailing why it’s brilliant; check out Brilliant Compensation.

If you’re looking for a company to work with or a better company, go to www.AlansMLMTips.com and sign up for the “7 Days, 7 Insider Secrets” email newsletter to learn more about what to look for in a company.

Or you can get The Greatest Networker in the World & Conversations with the Greatest Networker and read it here.

Quote

I thought this was pretty funny, but true as well. The Greatest Networker, in his persona in the book says, “Working where, when and how much you want, rather than having your boss or some company policy tell you what to do, is truly the American way. After all, didn’t the ‘Declaration of Independent Contractors’ say that we Network Marketers are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among which were Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?”