MLM Leads Generation And Life With Brent

Do you know what the #1 killer of people’s goals in MLM?  Rejection.  MLM prospecting is necessary to become successful, but so many people get turned off by the word “no.”

Many take it too serious, while others take it too personal.

But you can become a master MLM recruiter if you can hone your prospecting skills, learn to deal with rejection, and know how to get people to view you as a leader, no matter what your rank is.

So let’s discuss what it takes to achieve this.

1.  Don’t sell, rather share

This is probably the hardest to grasp, as we are all excited about our MLM opportunities.  We believe in our companies, our products, and the opportunity.  But when talking with a prospect, you have to realize that there is usually an automatic defense mechanism that goes up.  We hate being “sold” to, and as soon as we think, or your prospect thinks, they are being pitched, the wall goes up.

Luckily, getting around this is very easy!  First and foremost, always introduce yourself.  Assure them that you are a real person, not some random telemarketer.  Make them feel at ease with you, but keep in control of the conversation.

Your goal should be to get them to a presentation and to NOT do the presentation yourself.  If they ask you what this is all about, and most will, just assure them that the presentation will give them all they need to know.  After all, you are not trying to sell when you are prospecting but rather get enough people to view a presentation.

2.  Market yourself as a leader through personal branding

People don’t look for companies, they look for opportunity.  And when people look for opportunity, they look for people who appear to know what they are doing.

So how do you appear?

Spend some time marketing yourself before your opportunity.  Present yourself as a leader.  Work on getting people to know you, trust you, and know they can follow you and you can help them get what they want out of life and out of whatever opportunity you have.

How do you do this?  Personal branding.  Start a blog, write articles, put out videos, and giving information.  Let others see you as someone who brings value to them.  Attract them to you.

3.  Remember “no” is just a word

The hardest thing to hear is the word “no.”  But understand what no means.  It simply means it’s not for them, at least not right now.  Instead of taking it personally, just remember this thought form Jeff Olsen, the author of The Slight Edge (from an article he read):

At your funeral, only about 10 people will actually cry.  And whether they see you to your final resting place depends more on the weather than how they feel about you.  So why care what all of these other people think?

No is just a word.  It does not mean the end of your business.  It means you have successfully sorted someone out that is not ready for what you have.

And once you master this, rejection no longer becomes an issue.

If you can master these three things, your MLM prospecting will improve.  You will see more success and less frustration in your business, and you will start reaping the success you deserve.

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Brent MLM Prospecting MLM Prospecting

MLM leads, whether it be from referrals or from MLM lead generation methods, are the lifeblood of any home based business opportunity in the MLM or Network Marketing industry.  I know that many struggle having enough people to talk to on a consistent basis.  The fewer people you have to expose to your MLM business, the less likely you are to experience great success in the industry.

So how do you generate enough MLM leads to keep you busy?  I’m going to explore some methods that are common in the industry.  You decide which ones work for you.

1.  Warm Market And Referral System

This is the most tried and true method of building a business in the industry.  The “warm market” is your friends and family.  Your friends and family may or may not support you, but they may know people who want exactly what you are looking for.  This method has a rejection factor like none other, though, as many take it personal when someone they know well says “no.”

The key to developing a near continuous chain of MLM leads through this method is always ask for referrals.  If is not for them, ask “who do you know.”  Sometimes you’ll get no referrals, but sometimes you might get 2 or 3 (or more).

2.  MLM Leads Lists

Leads lists were extremely popular when I first got into MLM.  The thought was some other company did the work for you, generated the leads, and someone was happily waiting on the other end of the phone waiting to hear from you.

At least, that is what you’d like to think…

A lot of people got burned with this method.  Companies were compiling “opportunity” lists based on people who opted in to receive something, such as an X-Box or a cruise.  Only a handful of companies actually produced real list of people looking for a home business to start.

The amount of rejection with this method is very high.  Lead companies never sell a lead just once, and those who did could not guarantee that the individual did not sign up for multiple lists from different companies.   What you got were people who had been called 3, 4, or 5 times or more.

And while not a bad idea, it takes a person who can detach themselves from results to really make this work for them.

3.  Attraction Marketing – Personal MLM Lead Generation

This is becoming one of the more popular methods of MLM leads generation.  The idea behind attraction marketing is you “attract” people to you.  You brand yourself as a person of knowledge or a leader and have people request your company information from you.

This method still has rejection, but not as much.  And smart marketers know how to make this method of MLM leads generation pay off even with the “no’s.”  This method can be learned by anyone, but many will not take the time to make it really work for them.  There is a learning curve here, but those who master it do well.

4.  Mass Email Marketing

With the increase in spam, this method is becoming less and less effective.  The theory is this:  You have a program that mass emails a list of people, they go to a landing page (or a data collection page), and you return the calls of those who are interested.

The biggest issue with this is the expense:  It takes mailing large quantities of people in order to get a handful of leads.  Companies sell these leads in bulk, so while each lead is not expensive, the whole list can add up.

5.  Direct Mail/Postcard Campaigns/Card Decks

This is the old “snail mail” method of MLM lead generation.  You still have to purchase a list, but this time, you purchase a list of mailing addresses, gather some type of mass mailer, and send it out.  The mail piece directs them to a website or 800 telephone number where you collect their information.

6.  Publications/Advertising

This is a method of generating MLM leads that I am not as familiar with, but as you can guess, it involves placing ads in newspapers and magazines.  Response rate can vary, and most savvy marketers using this method realize it takes consistency (which can add up to a lot of cash).

7.  Spam

Obviously the worst method, these are the people who gallop around the Internet posting their opportunity link in any method they can.  They do this through email, through social networks, or whatever method they can.  What they do not realize is how bad of a reputation they give themselves.

These are just 4 very common methods of MLM lead generation and making sure you have enough MLM leads to build your business.  I high recommend you start with the warm market method first and then branch into Attraction Marketing.

If you want to see a great attraction marketing system that is easy to setup and use, I highly recommend this site:

http://www.MyEndlessMLMLeads.com

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Brent MLM Lead Generation MLM Lead Generation, mlm leads

I love MLM and/or network marketing.  I know a lot of people think it is a giant pyramid scheme (or “pyramid thing” as most people say to me) but in reality, every major corporation is a pyramid in nature.

But the big difference is that those of us in MLM and network marketing have known for a very long time what many CEO’s do not know or are just finding out.

My wife has started watching the show “Undercover Boss.”  It is a show where a CEO or high ranking corporate executive goes undercover and into their company to learn how things are really going on the bottom ranks.  Each week the CEO/executive’s eyes are opened to the struggle people go through between work and personal life.  Some employees receive something very nice for sharing their struggles as a sign that the CEO really cares about them as a person.

But the ironic thing is this:  For a profession that is attacked from every angle, MLM/network marketing, we understand that it is people that build our business (and their business, too).  Every major MLM leader I have had the chance to know all care about the people on their teams and take the time personally to work with them, help them, let them vent, or whatever is needed.

I’ve seen time after time where a leader will take the time to get to know their new people who are producing.  I’ve even received calls from my upline support team when I joined a company.

If corporate CEO’s would learn from MLM, they’d realize that the ability for a business to grow comes from the people in the field and not shareholders.

When an MLM leader works with someone in the field to help them achieve success, their revenue grows.

So while the CEO’s on “Undercover Boss” are figuring it out, just know that real leaders in MLM have known this for a lot longer.

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Brent Business ceo, mlm, network marketing

Ok, I’m the first to admit that these have been two of my weakest areas over the years:  Priorities and focus.  But over the last several weeks, getting a clearer view of what I want and seeing some things in my lives and the lives of others, I have found myself looking more into this, understanding why we do what we do or, more importantly, why I don’t do what I know I need to do.

I’m probably one of the world’s worst at focus for someone who does not have ADD or ADHD.  I have goals and ambition, but sustaining that over a period of time has always been hard for me.  But what I am learning is what I was shifting my focus to is not what will get me to where I want to go.

Sure…I had fun.  I had a LOT of fun with some of the stuff I started focusing on.  But now I look at myself 8 years into my entrepreneurial career and learn that those things distracted me from becoming what I should have become.

And it’s simple things, such as hanging out with fiends instead of getting on a conference call or returning calls; playing games instead of marketing, or even just watching television instead of making progress.

My focus has been all out of whack.  Now that I have gone through some things in my personal life, I’ve learned that if I am to ever achieve what I know I can, I have to focus.

To get in focus, though, you have to set priorities.  Which is more important:  Going to hang out with the guys or putting in that bit of extra effort to get something business related done?

Or playing a game instead of doing what needs to be done, whether it is business or family?

Again, I’m writing this from my own experience.  I’m sure as you look at your life, you’ll notice similar trends (maybe in not all things, and maybe not in business, but in other things).

From observing others, I realize how easy it is to get your priorities all out of whack and the destruction it can have in your business and your personal life.  I’ve watched friends’ priorities get messed up in the last several months and the path it is taking their lives down.

The true can be said about my business, and has been true in the past.  Not doing the “right” things and doing the “wrong” things first has always kept me from making the progress I wanted.

So one of my big goals is to simply bring my priorities in line with what I want to accomplish and to focus on them until I reach what I desire.

Just some food for thought….

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Brent Miscellaneous focus, priorities

Today in Conway Arkansas we got the heaviest snow I remember since 1988 (I was young but remember that snowfall).  As of a bit after 4:00pm we have over 7″ of snow and it is still coming down.

Here are a couple of videos I have of the snow fall, including a very tall snowman that a neighbor built.

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Brent Miscellaneous conway blizzard, conway snowfall, tall snowman

I recently wrote an article about Zurvita, the home business opportunity I currently promote.

And while I usually do not pimp my opportunity on my personal blog much, I wanted to write a quick note about it due to my sheer excitement for what is going on.

First, I’m proud to say that my long term business partner is back with me….that would be my wife April.  She has never really helped with Zurvita but has always encouraged me.  I’m glad that we are teaming up to build something powerful, something that will change our lives and our children’s lives.

Second, I’m excited about the path they are taking.  Most MLM’s stick with the sell to consumers model, and there is nothing wrong with that.  Zurvita has learned that it is okay to be diverse and have a segment of products focused on business owners.

Finally, I’m just excited.  I think I’m forcing myself to grow up as a leader some and push myself past some boundries that I have, in particular getting over fear and shyness.  I’m not ashamed of what I do, but my actions never have shown that before.

So read the article and hop over to my Zurvita Blog – http://www.ZurvitaOpportunityBlog.com – for more information.

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Brent Business Zurvita

In the next week or two I will begin a leadership series on this blog in the form of written and video.  The series will be over “Leadership Gold” by John Maxwell.  This book is 26 chapters of leadership lessons.

I know I can become a better leader, and if you are reading this, you should know that you could become a better leader too!

If you want to join the series with me, I encourage you to purchase the book and follow along with me.

The book is 26 chapters.  I plan on doing 2 chapters a week and going over what I find are the high points on this blog.  I hope during this discussion we can grow together as leaders, learn a bit about ourselves, our high points, areas we can improve on, and learn a bit.

I know what while I am growing in my home business with Zurvita, I need to develop better leadership skills.  If I plan on growing a business of thousands, I must first better myself and learn how to lead myself, my family, and then small groups of people before I can lead large groups of people.

Be watching for the start date soon.

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Brent leadership John Maxwell, Leadership Gold, leadership series, Zurvita

2010 is here, and it has already taken a fast and furious start for me.  I’ve been very busy with my work.  I’ve been very busy on one of my 2 main goals for the year, that being getting in the best shape of my life using P90X.

But now it is time to do what I need to be doing, and you should be too:  Forgetting about “resolutions” and take action.

Resolutions is such a funny word in how we use it.  We “resolve” to do something, but there is no real action taken with just a resolution.  In fact, Congress passes “resolutions” all of the time.  They typically recognize people, places, etc, but there is no real action, just a nicely worded phrase.

And all to often, that is what “New Years Resolutions” just end up being:  Nicecly worded phrases.

We say things like “I want to lose weight” but never get started…

We say things like “I want to change my financial future” but never take that first step….

We say things like “This year will be better than last year” yet we never do anything differently…

Nicely worded phrases.  How do you avoid this problem?

Instead of setting resolutions, set goals.  This is what April and I are doing:

1.  We’re writing down our big picture objectives.  We know what we want.

2.  We’re taking each of those goals or objectives and breaking them into sections.  Bite sized chunks, so to speak…

3.  We’re taking each of those sections and writing the actions we are going to take to make it happen.

Goals are important.  An interpretation from Proverbs says “Where there is no vision the people perish.”  If you don’t know what you want out of life, how do you expect to achieve anything?  Do you think you will just wonder into a good situation?

Goals do not work like that.  Luck does, but goals do not.

So here is what I suggest:  Get your goals down on paper.  Do it as a family, with your wife and your children (if they are old enough to participate).  Get a clear picture of what you want.  Write down the steps to achieve that.  And once you have all of that down, get to work!

Here’s to an EXCITING 2010.  I pray that you prosper in all of your goals.

Brent

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Brent Miscellaneous goal setting, goals, new years resolutions, taking action

As many know, Jim Rohn passed away this past weekend.

He was a successful network marketer, business man, consultant, and motivational speaker.  He help inspire millions to push for their dreams, some reaching, some not.  But his teachings will resound forever, profound, simple, and helpful.

I was first introduced to Mr. Rohn’s teachings around 5 years ago.  My mentor handed me a CD of a recording of Mr. Rohn.  I was amazed at how such simple concepts made so much sense.

“Don’t wish it was easier…wish you were better.  ”

This has to be my favorite quote from Mr. Rohn and yet one that I constantly need to remind myself to apply.

To Mr. Rohn, we will miss your physical person, but thank you for contributing your wisdom to us over the years.

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Brent Business

So you want to start a blog to promote a product, recommend a service, or eventually attract advertisers who may want you to review their products and services.

Ladies and gents, say hello to big brother.

The FTC has announced that it will be watching blogs for “product reviews” and appropriate disclaimers.  In other words, be very, VERY careful about what you write about and what you state.

For instance, if you write about a weight loss product, the standard “results not typical” MAY NOT WORK as a legitimate disclaimer.  So if you write a story about someone losing 50 lbs, writing this:

“Results not typical.  Individual results may vary.”

may not cut it.  Nope….Big Brother takes it one step further.  They want you to state what typical results are for anyone who purchases the product.

In fact, Frank Kern has a humorous post on what the FTC wants.

Now…I respect the intentions of what the FTC is trying to do.  I mean, its really freakin’ easy to put up a website, a few false testimonials, and sell a product.

Real easy.

But…..

There are a lot of bloggers out there that build network marketing companies.  Are they going to have to point to their companies earning disclaimers on every post?

What about traditional companies or the owners who use a blog to communicate great things about their company.  What disclosures do they need?

The bottom line is, government control can be taken too far.  This may be one of those great examples which causes an industry to have to rethink how it operates…..some for the good, some for the bad.

Which makes me write….results not typical when reading this post.  Most who read my junk do absolutely nothing and wonder why they are not growing as Internet marketers, network marketers, or entrepreneurs.

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Brent FTC blogging, FTC, ftc regulations, Internet Marketing