MLM Networking Women

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

Network Marketing is NOT just a Numbers Game!

People are people not numbers.

They are also not just a prospect or a lead.

They have goals, dreams and desires. They are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandmothers, and grandfathers to people who love them.

Prospecting 104….Painless Principles in Generating Your Own Marketing Leads

The answer I have found to the question “So, now what?” is that you have to build relationships.

All of the traditional methods of lead generation for building an online business (making the List, buying leads, paying for coaching) worked well for many people who made a lot of money.

These methods are also typically aggressive and more suited to people comfortable being salesmen.

The olde school methods have also burned out a lot of the population who have grown wary of such heavy hitter recruiting tactics.

Fact #1 about People and Sales:

Roughly 70% of the population hates being pitched, sold to, and closed.
These same people hate to sell and close.
Think about it…
Why do most people dread the prospect of dealing with a car sales person?

The best method I have found to generate my own leads is to build relationships first. 

A great “ice-breaker” to meet new people is to give away for free something of value that will help others build their business.

It may seem strange to give away training for free when so many people are making money offering training systems. 

But think about it.

Most successful businesses give things away.

• Most people have had free samples of teriyaki chicken at the mall food court;
• Or we have enjoyed free samples of perfume in magazine folds;
• Or free samples of hand lotion in foil packages. 
• Remember how the Avon lady had those tiny lipstick samples?

Online marketers usually have a sign up form to receive a free training series or a free newsletter.

Blogs, You-Tube videos, and online articles are common examples of free giveaways network marketers use in their online lead generation activities.

Offering free training or information gives us an opportunity to meet and network with a lot of like-minded people.

As we get to know each other, a handful of the people we are networking with will become our business partners.  Everyone else will become valued business associates.

In the words of Zig Ziglar, “You can have everything in life you want, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

Believe In Your Success, I Do!
Karen

Most people often mistakenly lump Multi Level Marketing (MLM), Network Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Ponzi Schemes and Pyramid Schemes together as one big group of scams.

In reality, network marketing, MLM, and affiliate marketing are different and usually legitimate business opportunities.

Whereas Ponzi Schemes and Pyramid Schemes are illegal scams designed to make the person or people at the top rich and rip off everyone else.

In the MLM industry, a person still has to be careful in choosing an opportunity to join.

Not all businesses are designed the same and not all contracts and policy and procedure are created equally.

It is vitally important that a person understand what makes a company a strong business opportunity for the distributors. 

At Mentoring For Free, we use the Five Pillars and the $10,000 Question to measure an MLM company’s strength.

Whatever yardstick you use to evaluate your company or a company you are considering joining, you must understand what would make it a scam.

How To Identify A Scam

An Attorney General would ask these two questions:

1. Would a logical thinking person pay this much money for the product or service if there was not a business opportunity involved?
2. Does the income stop when the recruiting stops?

If the answer to the first question is “No” and/or the answer to the second question is “Yes”, then it is a scam.

The word SCAM
brings up Ponzi schemes and Pyramid Schemes.
They are similar and different.

A Ponzi Scheme usually targets more affluent people referred to as “investors”.

A Pyramid Scheme targets more of the blue collar section of society.

They are both illegal and designed to rip people off while making the guy(s) at the top rich.

Rod Cook of MLM Watch Dog wrote an excellent article about Ponzi Schemes and Pyramid Schemes.

Take the time to read it here: Pyramids and Ponzi Media Reporters.  At the end of the article is some interesting history about Carlos Ponzi.

As Rod says, “A good MLM provides goods or services that a consumer would buy if an income opportunity were not included!”

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

Anyone been scammed by a Ponzi Scheme or Pyramid Scheme?

The United States Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department have finally brought some form of financial relief to people who have been scammed by Ponzi-Type Schemes.

If you or someone you know have been scammed, consult a tax accountant to see if you qualify for the tax relief.

Following is an excerpt from the IRS Site explaining how the tax relief works…

• The investor is entitled to a theft loss, which is not a capital loss.  In other words, a theft loss from a Ponzi-type investment scheme is not subject to the normal limits on losses from investments, which typically limit the loss deduction to $3,000 per year when it exceeds capital gains from investments.
• The revenue ruling clarifies that “investment” theft losses are not subject to limitations that are applicable to “personal” casualty and theft losses.  The loss is deductible as an itemized deduction, but is not subject to the 10 percent of AGI reduction or the $100 reduction that applies to many casualty and theft loss deductions.
• The theft loss is deductible in the year the fraud is discovered, except to the extent there is a claim with a reasonable prospect of recovery.  Determining the year of discovery and applying the “reasonable prospect of recovery” test to any particular theft is highly fact-intensive and can be the source of controversy. The revenue procedure accompanying this revenue ruling provides a safe-harbor approach that the IRS will accept for reporting Ponzi-type theft losses.
• The amount of the theft loss includes the investor’s unrecovered investment – including income as reported in past years. The ruling concludes that the investor generally can claim a theft loss deduction not only for the net amount invested, but also for the so-called “fictitious income” that the promoter of the scheme credited to the investor’s account and on which the investor reported as income on his or her tax returns for years prior to discovery of the theft.
  Some taxpayers have argued that they should be permitted to amend tax returns for years prior to the discovery of the theft to exclude the phantom income and receive a refund of tax in those years. The revenue ruling does not address this argument, and the safe-harbor revenue procedure is conditioned on taxpayers not amending prior year returns.
• A theft loss deduction that creates a net operating loss for the taxpayer can be carried back and forward according to the timeframes prescribed by law to generate a refund of taxes paid in other taxable years. 

This is great news for those of us in legitimate Network Marketing companies.

The government is standing up for the consumer, or distributor, and beginning to make it clear that fraud in this industry will not be tolerated. 

When you first got into MLM, I’ll bet you were like most people.  You were new to the industry, had no formal training, blindly believed your upline sponsor and trusted your company’s leadership implicitly.

I’ll bet you never thought about distributors having…or being entitled to…a Bill of Rights.

I’ll bet you never thought that there was an MLM Distributor Rights Association or that there was a Network Marketing MLM WatchDog.

Now that you’ve been working your business awhile and probably have some questions, you may not know quite where to turn for answers.

The MLM WatchDog, founded by Rod and Marcie Cook, is a great place to start.

Rod & Marcie have dedicated their efforts into making sure the MLM industry gets fair representation.  They are also committed to protecting their readership from being scammed.

I have included below the Distributor Bill of Rights as found on the MLM Distibutor Rights Association.

Read it carefully.     

 

Distributor Bill of RIGHTS

1. Distributors have a right to own and operate their own independent contractor business. The company and the government should recognize that a distributorship is an independent small business with all of the rights and tax benefits of any independent small business. By entering into an agreement with any company, each Distributor is entitled to specific and undeniable rights to protect and preserve immediate and long-term residual income.
2. Distributors’ personal business relationships shall be honored and protected. Distributors’ downlines that are personally sponsored and personal retail customers are part of the distributor’s business. Companies will recognize the sacred nature of the sponsor/distributor relationship. Distributors have the right to expect company’s efforts to support and sustain that relationship, and do nothing to compete with or harm the Distributors business. No restrictions should be placed on any legitimate business relationship, regardless of a competing company being involved or not.
3. Product usage by a distributor’s personally sponsored downline and customers is considered as retail sales of that distributor and is commissionable. The use of the company’s products within the sales organization is called “internal consumption.” Whether a distributor or a customer receives a discount is immaterial, as in the case that factory or wholesale outlet sales are still considered as retail sales.
4. Distributors have a right to a fair and balanced contract. Distributors shall be protected from termination without just cause. Distributors have a right to automatic renewal without material breach of contract. Distributors have a right to a process and system of fair and independent recourse.
5. There cannot be any restrictions on the distributor’s spouse or family conducting any other legitimate business of their choice. The company has no right to condition their distributors’ business based on any third party that is not a signature party to the independent contractor agreement/contract. Such attempts may be illegal.
6. Distributors have a right to sell, transfer or will their independent contractor business to any party that would qualify as a distributor under normal conditions. This is a provision that also helps protect the independent contractor status.
7. Distributors have the right to expect that their company and employees be honest and treat them courteously and respectfully; and submit to likewise treat them with mutual respect.
8. Distributors have the right to expect that their company has taken all reasonable steps to insure that their products are properly represented and meet any and all legal standards, have taken all reasonable steps to protect the proprietorship of the products and they are shipped in a timely manner.
9. Distributors should have the right to join any legitimate association of their choice.
10. Loyalty is expected from both Distributor and Company to each other.

Does your company’s contract and policy and procedures follow the principles in the Bill of Rights?

Have you even read your contract and policy and procedures?  If you have, do you understand the legalese?

Do you fully understand what could happen to your business if your company has a termination clause, or some other clause not in concordance with the Bill of Rights?

Who owns your downline (aka “your list”)?  If you left your company, are you allowed to contact your downline to introduce them to your new opportunity?  Or will you get sued?

These are questions you have to have answers to.  It means the survival of your business…the one you’ve worked so hard to build.

I can help you find those answers. 
All you have to do is ask.

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

Have you ever received an email from an MLM contact or a network marketing training service that had odd characters or unusual miss-spellings?

Most people would think the person was stupid or that there was some kind of scam underfoot.

There IS actually a good reason for emails to arrive with funky spellings.

Take this one for example.  When you sign up for my ebook, Success In 10 Steps, you will receive several training emails written by Michael Dlouhy.

Take notice of of the odd characters and miss-spellings highlighted in red in the following text.

“Subject:  M-L-M Frustration Causes Success

Hi Karen,

Frustrated?

A big reason for the effectiveness of “Success In 10 Steps” is THAT word. The eb00k answers the questions of frustrated netw0rk mar*keters – who REALLY want their questions answered. It’s eating away at them, why they just haven’t made it big. They are so darned – frustrated!

I recommend you use that word in your advert1sing for “Success In 10 Steps.” Use it when you talk to your leades. Pound, pound, pound on “frustrated.” That word is worth its weight in gold.

Things change over time. It may not always be this way. But it definitely is true now. M-L-Mers are frustrated, and they want answers now. Use that knowledge when you advert1se to them and when you talk with them.

To build your own big income in M-L-M, the people you sponsor will need a constant stream of hot pr0spects. I can help you do that for them, and for yourself. For details, call me at (541) 484-5455 or hit reply right now and send me your name, phone number, and the best time to call.

To Your Success,

Karen Miller
(541) 484-5455

PS: Karen, I hope you have had time to print it out and read the eBook, “Success In Ten Steps”, which you requested a few days ago. it. Remember, there are only two things in life—reasons and results. The first one doesn’t count.

If you haven’t yet downloaded the ebook, here is the link:

http://mlmsuccess4u.successin10steps.com/ebook_download.php?d=MTQ0NTk1CWthcmVuQGthZG9raXRzLmNvbQltbG1zdWNjZXNzNHUJNwk1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you requested a free copy of Success In 10 Steps, you indicated you were serious about learning the secret to making a great extra paycheck from home or taking your business to the next level. If that’s changed and you want us to scratch you off our list, just hit the link below.

To opt-out from receiving notices from Karen Miller, visit:
http://mlmsuccess4u.successin10steps.com/optout.php”

Why is this email written in such an odd way?

You see, most email ISPs will block emails as spam if they contain certain words, hyperlinks and “opt-out” links.

Unfortunately, there has been such a proliferation of scams and email spam, that ISPs have had to take action.

Primarily, the ISPs have to control the bandwidth consumed with email spam.  Bulk spam costs the ISPs money.

As a Network Marketer, sending and receiving email is your lifeline to building your business.

Professional Network Marketers and those offering training programs, know that many people out there don’t understand how their email service works.

This is why emails are sent “disguising” the words with miss-spellings or odd characters.  Even this tactic doesn’t always work since some email ISPs will block emails with “opt-out” links.

If you are a business professional, why would you use an email service that makes decisions for you on which emails you should receive or not receive?

Make a smart business decision and set up an email account that allows you to decide which emails are spam and which are not.

Gmail is a free service and does not block your emails.

Wishing You the Success of a Lifetime!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com

Most people who start a Network Marketing business, do so with a very limited budget.

Since Network Marketing is a networking business and requires a lot of personal and telephone contact, phone bills can really eat up a person’s budget.

There’s a great online tool that is FREE to download called Skype.  The web address is www.skype.com.

Skype allows you to talk FREE to other Skype users.

In my Network Marketing Business, just about everyone uses Skype, so instant messaging and talking within my team is free.

Skype is a much more well known tool outside of North America.  Most people you network with in other countries…the U.K., Australia, the Phillipines, Israel…just about anywhere…already have Skype accounts.

How great of a tool is Skype when you can call a client on the other side of the world for free?

You can buy Skype credits to use when you call from your computer to someone’s landline for about 2 cents a minute.

Instant messaging is convenient when you want or get a quick message to your team or clients.

You can also send large files via Skype that are too large for email programs.

Conference calling is another great feature Skype has.  You can have small team meetings, conduct 3-way calls, and 3-way in candidates for your business to training and company calls.

Last thing…you can do live video calls too.  The first time I used this feature was a video call with a Facebook friend I met from Australia.

Skype isn’t perfect, though.  Calls get dropped sometimes and sound or video quality isn’t always the best.  You also have to be very careful about calling cell phones.  The charges can be 50 cents a minute or more.

There are certainly other phone services available.  Skype is a smart choice for those just starting out in a network marketing business.  Making calls worldwide for FREE or for very little per minute rate is a fantastic budget saver!

My Skype ID is karen.j.miller.  If you’d like more information on no or low cost methods for operating your network marketing business, contact me.  I am always happy to help.

Wishing You a Lifetime of Success!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com