Everybody says that Network Marketing is the best self development business to get into.

Most people who have no business background yet start a home based business, usually have a lot of work to do on their personal development and self belief.

One of the first steps a newbie in MLM (or any other kind of home based business) does is create a positive self talk or self affirmation.

The purpose of self talk is to convince oneself that he/she is successful, confident, healthy, wealthy, etc.

It is a daily exercise in changing your belief system.  If you believe in your ability to be successful in growing your business, then you will be successful.

Many people want to be successful and go forth with starting a business, but subconsciously they do not believe they can be successful.

We must understand the law of nature in that our subconscious mind rules our conscious mind!  This includes our emotions. 

Only the dominant thoughts, beliefs and emotions in our subconscious mind will prevail.  Our success, wealth and happiness depend on our subconscious.

The only way to control our subconscious mind is through constant daily self talk (self affirmations) and mental exercises and habits.

• You must say your self talk every single day from the time you wake up in the morning until you go to bed at night.
• Say it at least 100 times a day.
• When you go to bed, focus on your self talk and your goals.
• Actively visualize yourself having what you want.

Many newbies to MLM continue to have a lack of success with their self talk and business building.

If a person’s belief is extremely damaged he has to start his personal road to recovery with very small baby steps.

Self talk will not work if you are constantly creating opposition in your mind!

If a person says:

• I am healthy.
• I am wealthy.
• I am successful.

but has so much negative subconscious programming that they cannot truly believe they are healthy, wealthy, and successful, it will never happen!

It is like the kitten in the mirror being told by her sponsors to “Believe you are a lion!” or say “I am a lion!”  But the kitten’s belief is so opposite to those statements, becoming the lion will never happen.

What if the kitten can’t get the subconscious image out of her head that she is stuck in a fishbowl?

For a person having trouble getting around their negative programming, they can say simply

• health
• wealth
• success

And that is it!
Get the belief in the words into the subconscious first.

Eventually, if followed through with, the person will feel more confidence and belief in their ability to be healthy, wealthy, and successful.

Then it will be time to use statements with “I am…” in them for self talk.

The road to personal development can be a long and winding road for some people.  It can also feel scary and treacherous.

You don’t have to do this alone!

Your success also depends on having mentors who will believe in you until you can believe in yourself!

Believe in Your Success, I Do!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com
www.preparetoachievesuccess.com

One of the activities Network Marketers engage in on Facebook is joining groups.

When your purpose is to network with other people involved in MLM who you may want to attract to your business, you want to join groups relating to network marketing and MLM.

You can also join groups whose interest is a particular company or specific lead generation system.

With these groups, the hope is to connect with others who may be struggling to make money in the company they are with.

Groups focused on more general topics like self development, internet marketing, or women in business, will have more members who are not involved in MLM.

While valuable for personal growth and learning, these groups are not as appropriate for finding potential business partners. 

You want to join groups that are active.  Those should end up at the top of your search list.

Look for number of members and see if people have joined recently.

Look on the group’s site and see if the group owner posts events and discussions on a fairly regular basis.

Once you join a group, pay attention to the messages the group sends you.

About once a week is enough, otherwise it gets too time consuming and annoying. 

Are they sending valuable content to help you solve your problems or are they spamming you for their opportunity?

If groups annoy you with their messages or event invitations, or don’t do anything at all (messaging encourages activity from other members) then leave the group.

Periodically go through your groups and leave the ones you are not active in or ones that are not growing or offering content.

Remember, your time is money. 

As an entrepreneur building a business from home…probably part time along with all of your other life’s demands…you cannot afford to waste time.

Believe in Your Success, I Do!
Karen
Email: mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com

“The Future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their Dreams.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

http://www.complete-network-marketers-desk-reference.com

Well, Facebook is at it again!

In an effort to enhance user experience, Facebook has implemented changes that will make a lot of our information and activities public.

I don’t particularly like Facebook making decisions about what I put in my profile public.

But it is their sandbox, and they let me play there for free.

I have written before about guarding your personal information on Facebook and other similar sites.

Too often, people new to Network Marketing, or other types of home based businesses, start marketing their business using an already existing profile where they have been keeping up with family and friends.

Or if they’re like me, their first profile was for their business.  They were having fun and started adding family and friends along with business contacts.

If you are seriously building a business network on a social site, you will quickly have over 1,000 contacts.  After that, this number will grow and take on a life of its own.

Most of your family and friends are not interested in your business activities.

Your business contacts are not very interested in your personal pursuits.  They simply do not have the time.

So if you don’t already have two profiles…one personal and one business…get busy and create another profile.

I would create one for your personal contacts and ask them to friend you on your new profile. 

People who know you personally are more likely to friend you again than are business contacts.  There again…not enough time.

Once you have your personal contacts on your new profile, delete them from your old profile…the one you are going to use strictly for business.

You have to remember that once you start building a large business network, you don’t want people who you know only casually having a glimpse into your private life and the lives of your family and friends.

The other important task is to clean up your profile.

You really have to be careful of the information you put on your profile.

You are on social networking sites to build your business network…your contacts don’t need to know all of your personal information.

Share just enough about yourself to make you a real person others can identify with….but not enough an identity thief can use to make your life miserable.

One of the changes Facebook is making is to automatically place you in groups or fan pages based on your interests.

We generally list only a few key interests in that section in order to relate to each other as real people.

Someone is more likely to do business with you when they share common ground.

However, being automatically connected to random groups of people based on your gardening or bowling interests can wreck havoc.

Your personal information is shared with people you would not normally connect with.

Then you have to deal with all of the extra messages and posts in your Newsfeed from these groups.

I personally like to keep my Newsfeed clear to keep up on what my contacts are sharing.

If you happen to be put in particularly active groups, just imagine how cluttered your inbox can get!

So just be aware of what is in your profile and how you may have to clear out some information.

Time is at a premium for our marketing time.  It is easy to spend too much time on social networks.

Don’t get caught up in all the extra activity Facebook may be sending your way.

Believe in Your Success, I Do!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com

I am so inspired and touched by MY American Idol favorite, Crytal Bowersox’s performance of “People Get Ready”, I had to look up the lyrics.

Music and poetry so often touch our souls on such an emotional and spiritual level, that no other message can make such an impact.

In Network Marketing/MLM, average people enter the entrepreneurial dream land of starting our own home based businesses. 

We are a tribe of amateurs. 

If we are committed to succeed and stick with the business, we need training in every aspect of business from lead generation to personal development.

We often come to the arena loaded with doubts and preconceived notions of how we should go about growing our businesses.

The best way to overcome our doubts is through personal development.  This not only includes reading from the standard library of self improvement business gurus.  We also need to saturate our lives with positive and inspiring stories, music, art, whatever touches us.

So, as part of my own inspirational library, I will share with you the lyrics to

“People Get Ready”
by Curtis Mayfield

” People get ready
There’s a train a-coming
You don’t need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels humming
Don’t need no ticket
You just thank the Lord

People get ready
For the train to Jordan
Picking up passengers
From coast to coast
Faith is the key
Open the doors and board them
There’s room for all
among the loved the most

There ain’t no room
for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just
To save his own
Have pity on those
whose chances are thinner
Cause there’s no hiding place
From the Kingdom’s Throne

So people get ready
for the train a-comin’
You don’t need no baggage
you just get on board !
All you need is faith
to hear the diesels humming
Don’t need no ticket
you just thank, you just thank the Lord

Yeah
Ooh

Yeah
Ooh

I’m getting ready
I’m getting ready
this time I’m ready
this time I’m ready”

Believe In Your Success, I Do!
Karen

http://www.complete-network-marketers-desk-reference.com

I saw a bumper sticker this morning that really turned a light on for me.

Think about this for a moment.

Don’t our beliefs in the economy and life in general have some affect on how successful we are?  Or at least on our perception of how successful we are?

I was talking to a lady recently who was interested in starting a home-based business.

She had downloaded my free ebook, Success In 10 Steps, a Network Marketers guide to success in MLM.

She wanted to learn more about the industry before jumping in.  Smart move.

After chatting awhile, she shared her doubts in starting a business right now because of the down turned economy.

She thought the economy was so bad that nobody could afford the products.  Any products from any company.  She just didn’t believe that people had the money to spare.

Ding!  Ding!

My new contact had hit upon a very important belief system that stands in the way of many people becoming successful with their home based businesses.

It is in such contradiction with the fact that the Network Marketing Industry tends to boom during times of financial crisis.

The crucial point to be made here is that a person’s belief is what drives their choices, success, and energies.

We are in charge of our own realities.

You will be successful if you believe you are successful.

You will be successful if you believe that you deserve to be successful.

You will be successful in building your home-based business—whether it’s direct sales or MLM—if you believe the economy is healthy and people can afford your product.

Napoleon Hill reminds us that “Our thoughts are things”.

We can believe our reality into existence, even if it takes just a simple bumper sticker to help us declare it to the world.

You will be successful if you believe in positive thoughts and affirmations and practice them multiple times a day.

Believe in Your Success, I Do!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com   

We are taught many different ways to talk to prospects in the hopes of bringing people into our business opportunity.

Many times we are told to be enthusiastic.

I remember being told once that if I wasn’t having success, I wasn’t enthusiastic enough or I didn’t have a strong enough belief.

A lot of people are taught the method of Firehosing.

Firehosing is when you spray your prospect with an enormous amount of facts and enthusiasm for your opportunity.

This approach is so forceful, that you drive more people away than you attract. 

Even though you see this happening, you have probably been told that the ones fleeing the scene just weren’t interested and you need to keep finding more people.

There is limited truth in that.  Of course, not everyone you speak to will be a prospect for your opportunity.

But you should be having some success in what you are doing.  If you feel like you are turning people off, you probably are.

When Lee Iacocca became President of Chrysler, he asked an important question:

“What does the customer want?” 

This principle is easily applied to Network Marketing.

When we approach a lead about our opportunity, it is important to find out what they want!

The big mistake is being so arrogant in thinking that your lead wants or needs what you have.

No one likes to have things pushed down their throats.

Not politics.
Not religion.
Not parenting techniques.
And certainly not business decisions.

How do you know what your prospect wants or needs?

In Harry Browne’s The Secret of Selling Anything, he tells you.

Ask!

Learn the skill of asking the right questions and then listen to what your prospect has to say.

Once you know what your prospect wants you will be able to tailor your presentation and services accordingly.

Be careful not to give too much information all at once.  You will be confusing your prospect and you will create doubt in his mind.

Answer the first question or need.

Then, ask again, Is there anything else you want to know?

Creating a two way dialogue is more natural and feels more relaxed for your prospect.  People often take months to make a decision to join an opportunity.

Be patient, communicate, and turn off the hose.

Believe in Your Success, I Do!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com

There is always a lot of hype about the big money that can be made in MLM.

Presentations showcase income potentials by creating examples of checks that “could” be earned.  They usually have very high $ amounts that get the prospect starry-eyed.

Some examples take a sampling of a downline’s highest monthly earnings and combine them into one hypothetical month. 

Another example is to show a possible 4 or 5 level downline with 2 or 3 superstar builders.

Then the potential commission that could be earned by You, the potential upline sponsor, is shown.

The problem with these kinds of examples is that they do not accurately represent reality for the average person who joins an MLM.

Very few distributors ever create a lucrative downline with a handful of superstar builders, or distributors who make top commissions every month.

Additionally, no one ever mentions to the new prospect that to make a consistent 5 figure income takes several years of dedicated work.

A more accurate example of earning potential is to answer the 10K question. 

How many people (distributors and retail customers) does a distributor need in his/her downline to make $10,000 a month in residual income?

Residual income does not count one time bonuses or superstar 1% payouts.  
Residual income is only the commissions paid on group volume from product sales.

The 10K question also gets prospects starry-eyed since so few people can actually envision making that kind of monthly recurring income.

The demonstration that needs to be made to answer a more realistic question is to show how to make new distributors financially successful in the first 2 –3 months.

Most new distributors walk away from their MLM business because there is no financial reward.

A pay plan has to be structured so a new person working part time can start making a few hundred dollars a month within the first couple of months.

My fellow mentors, Bob and Anna Bassett        , have called this the Half-K Question.

Their example asks how much money will a distributor make if he/she generates $500 a month in sales.

This could mean having one distributor in the downline and a handful of retail customers.

Find the commission the company pays for volume.  It could be 5%, 10%, or up to 40%. 

Commissions are figured counting volume points, but the percentage is paid on the dollar amount of sales.

If the commission is 5%, then multiply 500 by .05 to get your commission $ amount of $25.

A commission of 10% on $500 is $50.

A commission of 20% on $500 is $100.

This isn’t going to buy anybody a yacht just yet.  But it does give a prospect a realistic idea of how hard he/she has to work to make a hundred bucks.

The first $100 is just the first step to achieving the $10,000 a month income.  The next $100 is the next step and so on.

Know your compensation pay plan so you can figure out the Half-K Question.

Know how you will make your first $100 and know how easy or hard it will be for the people you sponsor into the business to make their first $100.

If you need help figuring it out, just ask!

Believe In Your Success, I Do!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com

An important part of your business success includes personal development.

One of the books I have enjoyed immensely is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. 

The great thing about investing your time into personal development is that it impacts your entire life, not just your business.

Over on Facebook, I have a group called  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for MLM & Network Marketing.

Several times a month, I host discussions on the book.  I decided to make double use of my efforts and share those discussions here.

The next step in the lessons about our paradigms, or our perceptions or assumptions, is the Paradigm shift.

Often in life we are faced with circumstances that challenge the way we view the world and interact with it.

Covey gives several examples of paradigm shifts in our history…

• Ptolemy believed the earth was the center of the universe,
• Copernicus created a paradigm shift by proving the sun is th ecenter of the Universe.
• Sir Isaac Newton shited paradigms in Physics
• Albert Einstein shifted paradigms in Relativity.

About Paradigms Shifting, Covey says,

 “…whether they shift us in positive or negative directions, whether they are instantaneous or developmental, paradigm shifts move us from one way of seeing the world to another. And those shifts create powerful change. Our paradigms, correct or incorrect, are the sources of our attitudes and behaviors, and ultimately our relationships with others.”

On a more personal level, we often experience Paradigm Shifts when we…

• face a life-threatening crisis
• suddenly step into a new role (spouse, parent, manager, etc.)
• come face to face with a stranger undergoing a hardship and find ourselves involved in some way.
  

All of these events and more, minor to major, cause us to almost immediately to reorganize our priorities.

Anyone of you remember the total avalanche of feelings that came over you the first time you held your newborn child in your arms?

Talk about some Paradigm Shifting!

Seeing is Being.

Some Paradigms shift quickly and some shift over time. In order to SEE something differently, we need to BE differently.

This requires investing in the growth and development of our own characters.

Believe in Your Success, I Do!
Karen

Those of us active in MLM are burning up our keyboards in response to the news that iLearning Global has shut down the MLM part of their business.

Whenever something like this happens, it sends shockwaves through the Network Marketing community.

Hundreds of thousands of people depend on operating a low start up home based business, like those found with a multi level marketing or direct sales business.

We are single mothers, stay at home moms, working dads trying to make ends meet, students, retirees, anybody going after the American Dream.

It is frightening for us when an MLM company shuts down or ends their MLM program.  Overnight thousands of people can lose their checks, whether they were making a couple hundred a month or 10s of thousands a month.

It is tragic for everyone.

Network Marketing is still a sound industry.  There is a lot of money to be made by anyone willing to be educated, coached and committed enough to put forth the effort and time required to succeed. 

Part of the learning curve can be shortened in respect to learning how to evaluate an MLM opportunity.

If you’re in MLM, you need to be willing to treat it like a serious business opportunity.  This means learning skills like the 5 Pillars to Success. 

The 5 Pillars are tools you can use to evaluate the stability of an MLM company. 

• Learn how hard you will have to work with a company’s pay plan.  Can a part-timer make satisfactory income?
• Learn what clauses to look for in the Policy and Procedures that do not have the distributor’s’ best interest at heart.
• Learn what else to look for in the company’s management experience and product.

In just a few short hours, Mentoring For Free will be having a free teleseminar on the 5 Pillars.

For access information for the 9 pm EST call tonight, March 20th, please email mentorkaren.freetrainingoffer@gmail.com .

If you miss the live call, send me an email requesting the link to the recording of the call to mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com .

Believe in Your Success, I Do!
Karen

You might not know this about me…I take care of foster children. So far I have taken care of over 20 children and adopted one.

This past month I took in an ity bity baby boy, then cared for 2 little siblings for 3 weeks. After they left, in came another baby. So now, I have a 10 week old boy and an 8 week old girl.

I have been thrust back into those days of no sleep and having my household ruled by a miniature person who’s demands must be met immediately.

Even with the challenges, it’s fun.

Having these babies and being so busy with their care has also reminded me of why network marketing is such a great industry. You really can tailor the business you build around your lifestyle, needs and time constraints.

A huge factor in being able to customize the time and efforts you put into your MLM business is your compensation plan.

Many comp plans contain sinister clauses hidden in legalese few people can understand. Knowing what your company’s comp plan says, line by line, and how that affects your ability to build your business on YOUR terms.

I am giving you a gift of the link to last Saturday’s training call on Compensation Plans. 

Just send me an email at mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com requesting the Bob and Anna Comp Plan training from February 27, 2010.  I’ll send the link right to you.

Bob and Anna Bassett hosted the call and taught how to answer the 10K question. If you can’t answer this about YOUR company’s compensation plan, then you really don’t know how much you need to work to reach your financial goals.

Knowledge IS Power!  Learn what you need to know about your contracts and you’ll become 10 feet tall and bullet proof!

Believe in Your Success, I Do!
Karen