15 Proven Strategies
Starting a business is very exciting. 
MLM Academy is here to be your partner and share time-tested, proven ideas to grow your business and grow you as a leader. The key here is to be open and coachable.
Like any successful business, you need to do some homework when deciding the best way to build it. That means you have choices, and before you can make an informed decision about which marketing program is best for you, you should understand what your options are.
Here are some questions you will want to ask yourself because you literally have a smorgasbord to choose from.
- Is this marketing method duplicatable? (Can your new members easily do the same thing you are doin
- Is the method being used successfully now? (When you are new, you don’t want waste time re-inventing the wheel.)
- Does the method match your budget? (We really want you to have an affordable way to make money.)
- How many people will you expose to the product and opportunity on a weekly or monthly basis? (This will give you a feeling for how fast you can expect your business to grow.)
- Is this a program you understand and feel comfortable with? (If it isn’t, choose an option you can comprehend and implement easier and faster.)
Let’s look at some of your many options, starting with the most logical and economical methods first.
Warm Market Strategies
Some people love this strategy and some people hate this strategy. But the reality is – don’t your friends and family know and love you? Don’t they want to see you successful?
Your acquaintances will want to do business with you because they know you, like you and trust you.
Even if you have tried other deals in the past and fell short, people admire tenacity.
As a result, you should develop a list of friends, family, and acquaintances that represent your Warm Market. You will want to add at least five new people a week to your list because that’s simply what successful people do. These new people will come from your ordinary interactions throughout the day and from being a good listener.
Now, what do you do with this list? Here are some options:
Write Letters. Send a letter telling them you’ve come across a great product that really gets results. State that you’re sending them the letter because you value their opinion or want to keep them healthy (If you’re partnered with a nutrition company or perhaps keep them stylish if you are partnered with a jewelry company).
You may have to customize a few letters depending on needs and your relationship to the person. I did this to my Christmas Card List in October, and I enrolled two builders and two consumers. If you are not exactly sure of what to say, your upline can help you with the wording. The main thing is to tell your people that they are important to you, and even if they don’t see a match for themselves, ask them to pass the information along to someone they believe might be blessed by it.
Carry Marketing Materials. Always be prepared because you never know who you’ll meet. It might even be someone on your list. So I recommend you carry approved CDs with you and the appropriate third party marketing materials that compliments each CD. And always be sure to get a phone number. No phone number means no prospect for your contact list—the bigger your contact list—the bigger your bank account.
Practice Your Dialogue. Work with a script like the one below until you get a smooth dialogue on the phone or in person.
This would be for a Wellness Company:
“Is your health a Priority to you?” (Who is going to say, “No”?)
“Well, great, it is for most people. I just recently came across a product that gave me results within a few days/weeks.” (The more dramatic your results were, the more dramatic your story will be. But it is also important to point out that others who are very healthy noticed a positive change in how they felt as well.)
“If I give you a CD with some great info to listen to, would you listen to it?”
“Because our company is constantly trying to improve, we’d like to get your feedback. Can I get your number? I’d like to follow-up with you in a few days.” (This last line really takes the pressure off you so you don’t feel like you’re hounding them for a phone number, but it also lets them know that you will be calling.) Follow up with a call to them within two to three days.
Select which CD you like best from your company
If your business is jewelry, you might ask “Have you ever gone to your closet and found nothing to wear . . . you were just tired of everything?” One of my close friends, Sharon McCaslin is a top producer with a leading jewelry company. This is her ‘elevator speech’ and she takes the conversation from there saying that when you can accessorize properly, you can save money and wake up your closet. She closes with ‘Give me a ring for your free bling.’ Everyone loves her line – and the most important thing is, they remember her!
Cold Marketing Strategies.
Blogging. Without a doubt, this is one of the best ways to build a following. It’s free, and you have the opportunity to express your thoughts and really let your personality come through. You want to have at least one major post per week and a minimum of 2 to 3 minor posts. The more blogging you do and linking to other blogs, the faster your will grow. The rule for blogging is Give information that is of value. Blogging is not an advertisement for your business. It is about creating a relationship. You would not walk into a party and say, look at me, join my team, buy product from me – and proper etiquette calls that you don’t talk shop all the time.
You can share ideas – talk about our profession – post great ‘lifestyle’ lines (i.e., What a vacation we had at the beach. . . it’s so nice to have the time freedom to be able to enjoy my family.)
You may want to look to connect your blog to a blog roll (this will attract more visitors.) I recommend that your blog be in your name – that way you can blog on any topic that is of interest to you – if you brand it to a ‘cutesy’ name that has to do with your corporate partner, you will be sorry when you switch companies – blog entries are not transferrable.
Social Media (Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter – the top 3). But don’t forget about YouTube and Pinterest. It’s non-negotiable. You must have a presence in social media. If you allocate 15 to 30 minutes a day (or a maximum of 3 hours per week), you can rock in this area. There are some tools (www.HootSuite.com that will allow you to pre-schedule your FB and Twitter posts—but you will want to add some personal interaction/comments regularly). The rule of thumb for posting here is 80% personal or non-business related – can be motivational. This does not mean talking about what you had for lunch. Twenty percent of your posts can be about business – but not your business identified by company name. Should you do this, I guarantee you that you will lose your fans/followers to the Company’s general lead program. When you talk about your business, talk about it in general terms and the benefits you are receiving.
Do not be friends of other distributors – you don’t know their philosophy about posting in social media – and they could plaster the company’s name all over and it will end up on your Wall. Should one of your friends or followers like what they see, you’ve lost them before you were able to approach them.
Remember the 80/20 rule (80% personal or motivational and 20% business). The exception to this is Linked In. Linked In is the FB for Professionals. Having said that, this is not the place to share about your product. Use the philosophy of YOU, Inc.
Write an eBook. This will establish you as an expert quickly. Again, this is a no-cost (or very low cost – graphics and editing), way to give you credibility. It is proven that those who have a published book (eBooks included), out enroll those who do not. If you are not a writer, then dictate into a voice recording machine – they are less than $30 at Office Depot. You can have someone transcribe it – and you’ve got your book. You can use this book on a website as a give-away or you could put it on Amazon as a Kindle book. Easy to do! Anyone in our profession can write on a topic with authority – find your passion and write!
Write a Real Book. See above. It is very inexpensive to self-publish and you and can publish copies for as little as $2.10 each – www.CreateSpace.com
Host a Tele-Class. Hosting a Tele-Class allows you to bring additional value to your followers. You can also have guests on your Tele-Classes (most people will speak for free.) Create a weekly or twice a month schedule where you have timely topical classes. Always introduce yourself including your website and blog and close with a call to action (visiting your website for a free gift, calling you to register for an event, going to your website to register. This is an awesome way to connect with others.
CD Mailings. These can be used very effectively provided that you consistently mail to a proven list. The key word here is consistently, as in every single month. This is not a program to do unless you are willing to commit for a minimum of six months. You will want to use a proven list and a proven insert to go with your CD. I find bright colored paper works best. Remember, you want maximum exposure, so the more you mail, the better your results should be. There is not a single month in the past 12 years that I have not done consistent mailings. And that includes the months I delivered babies!
When it comes to mailings, check with your upline and see what is working for them currently—the market changes regularly—and they are always testing.
DIRECT MAIL is very HOT right now and I expect this trend to continue into 2014 possibly 2015.
Third Party Materials. Always keep third party materials in your car. Third Party Material is any information about the benefits of the ingredients, business opportunity, etc. that is written by an outside source, not Your Company. You will want to put your contact info on the paper and stamp “Complimentary” on it in red so people feel they can take it home with them. You can leave these anywhere people have to wait, like the Doctor’s or Dentist’s office, the mechanics, the quick lube oil change shop, etc.
Door Hangers. If they are plastic bags, you can combine them with one of the tools above. If you want to work your exercise plan into to it, you can drive to an area and hang them on the doors yourself. There are also many services that will do this distribution for you. It typically runs about six to seven cents for each door for this service. This marketing method will require that you hit the same areas for a several months, so be sure you target the correct demographics.
Business Cards. Once you create your BRAND, you will want to have business cards that are mini advertisements. That’s what I do with my and residual Money secrets business cards. They are designed to be a self-contained marketing piece to drive traffic to your website. It offers a FREE e-book. Samples of business cards can be found in the back office under ‘Business Resources.’ Remember, it’s important that you offer something of value that is on your business card. Give people a reason to contact you.
Champion Recruiter Cards. This is a generic business card. There are times you may not want to hand out your BRANDED business card. This is when you will want to use your Champion Recruiter Cards. This card will have your name—one phone number—and an email address. No email addresses relating to your company or your BRAND. No aol, hotmail, or yahoo addresses. You want to secure a domain name (go to www.GoDaddy.com) this should be yourfirstname@yourname.com Put your picture on the card. On the back put a quote or two that speaks to you—here are some examples:
‘Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t; you’re right.’ — Henry Ford
Newspaper Ads. Ads in small local papers really do get results. You might want to start with something like this: “Looking for part-time assistance in home-based business.” You may get a few calls or a lot, depending on the area and the economy, so be prepared with a series of screening questions. You can see examples of other sample ads in the Resource Center.
Internet Marketing. This is probably the most popular area of marketing right now, because most people think all it takes just a few clicks of the buttons. However, since all good business is built on relationships, you will need to talk with people.
Internet marketing can be many things:
- Banner Ads
- Lead Generation
- Google Adwords
- Facebook Ads
- You Tube Videos
- Email Marketing
- Google +
- Social Media (previously discussed)
- Forums
- Podcasting
- Blogging
- SEO
, HOW TO BE IRRESISTIBLE NOW, and residual Money secrets Systems were created to be online communities to support men and women (mostly women) building a home-based business. These are three of my brands. You will want to eventually create ONE BRAND and let your prospects and team know that you can offer them a turn-key system. Think about this after you are earning over $20,000 a month!
We teach you many ways to market your business and while we are an online community, we include many ‘offline’ resources to help you build. Many are no or low cost. The benefit of participating in MLM Academy is you have access to a team committed to your success and our proven business system, including our ‘online marketing’ tips. Our training is constantly being updated.
MLM Academy and my other companies place ads on websites that each demographic frequents…they are popular and receive hundreds of hits a day. This is another option for you to consider – prices have come down. And, price is always negotiable. I like mom websites and FB.
Some of our MLM Academy members may have been introduced to us through other avenues—perhaps an online building system or a JV Partner email. These are awesome avenues to grow your business.
However, just because you met your mentor through one particular avenue—perhaps online, don’t automatically assume that this is the route you want to go. Here’s why.
- Assuming you are new to marketing and even the industry, do not purchase leads – most of them are junk. Online works when you are the one generating your own leads. It is a trial and error experience that can include an expensive learning lesson.
- You must be consistent in your efforts. This means putting fresh leads in your system regularly — every two to three weeks for somewhere between nine and twelve months.
- You must be diligent in your follow-up. Most often, this will require voice to voice interaction – expect to call a purchased lead 3 to 6 times.
The power behind internet marketing is that it’s fast and you can get a tremendous amount of exposures. I use it as a sorting process. A reasonable expectation is that you will find one to two good business people per year. These are people that are willing to work and invest in their business on a monthly basis. These builders will identify themselves. The rest of the people you acquire should be treated as great customers, so provide them with information and service them accordingly.
www.HowToBeIrresistibleNow.com offers a great way for you to generate your own leads – and it comes with training and support – you must be willing to follow directions and you must be willing to be consistent and committed for at least 9 months!
The other option is to find out what the top leaders in your Company are using — find out if they are targeting consumers or business builders – I like targeting 80% business builders and 20% consumers. If your upline is not working a program – and is going to research it OR if THEY have not been doing it for at least 12 months – do not jump in with your dollars – you will be a test subject and lose money.
The most important factor about internet marketing is that you be patient. It is constantly changing, so understand that it will take time, money and cumulative efforts to have success.
What Should You Do First?
While there are many avenues for you to choose from, I always recommend new members do three things first.
1. Make your list. (at least 50 – I ask my new associates to start with 100—but to identify their top 10).
2. I love third party marketing materials—because they talk intelligently about our profession and create interest – after the presentation, I give company specific literature.
3. Think outside the Box – it is better to ask forgiveness than ask permission is my policy – because when you start asking permission from your company to do something – it gets bottlenecked in compliance. Use your head and do not make outrageous claims – that’s what will get you in trouble.
4. Start utilizing the suggestions in the ‘Million Dollar Marketing’ Section in the MLM Academy Resource Center working towards having ‘5 -7 Irons in the Fire’ at all times.
5. Have Fun—while you will have your share of frustrating experiences, I can’t imagine doing anything else for a career – Oh the places you will go and the people you will meet – it is so amazing!
6. Take Action—Nothing will happen in your business without you Showing The Plan (STP) or giving a party – and following up accordingly.
7. Be Grateful – to the person who cared enough to show you this business—your life will be forever changed.
By just doing these seven things, you can experience some good success early on. Then you will be ready to select a marketing program that you can be consistently committed to. You will only get results when you stick with something, with the obvious understanding that you may have to make some adjustments along the way to make it work better.
What Is The Best Way To Start Building Your Business Today?
Think about it. Hollywood spends an enormous amount of money to promote new movie releases. They use nearly every medium possible, including TV, billboards, print, internet and radio. Yet, if people see the show on Friday and don’t like it, it can be good as dead by Monday.
The point to this story is that is word of mouth advertising cannot be beat.
And no amount of money can purchase it. Word of mouth advertising comes from true passion about our product and our business. If you found an incredible deal at a store, would you keep it a secret? Of course not! You’d be on the phone telling everyone you knew. And that’s exactly what you need to do with your Company. You have something incredible to share. This is an opportunity and product line that can radically and positively impact people’s lives. All you need to do is spread the word and add some above average customer service, and your home-based business will be a home run.
So, what is the best way to start building your business today? Well, since network marketing created millions of financially independent people long before the internet or mailing of CDs and tapes, the answer must be word of mouth. So create your plan and spread the word passionately.
Work it daily with a consistent, focused effort and you will truly enjoy yourself while you are making your business grow quickly.
I believe if you consistently work on your business that within 2 years or less you will be making a six figure income—this is a simple business BUT it is easy to put it to the side when distractions and LIFE gets in the way.
Don’t let LIFE steal your DREAMS!
About Debbie Wysocki
Debbie Wysocki is the founder of MLM Academy, where she Educates, Empowers, & Mentors Women in Direct Sales & Network Marketing to build more profitable and successful businesses with their existing companies. She is also the owner of and residual Money secrets–companies that empower the average person to live an extraordinary life by teaching how to build profitable businesses in the network marketing arena.
She is a wife, mom to Trent (age 16) and Amanda (age 13). She is also a Girl Scout Leader with one the top selling Cookie Troops in Broward County, community and church volunteer, a top producer in the MLM industry, a real estate investor, best-selling author, trainer, speaker, business consultant, marketing & branding expert, and former Beverly Hills financial analyst.
Debbie is passionate about empowering others to become financially free and live a life they love – creating the success they deserve—utilizing her 25 plus years of experience in branding, marketing, and strategic business building in Real Estate, MLM, Network Marketing, home businesses, and entrepreneurs!
BE IRRESISTIBLE: 7 Key Recipes to Building a Quality Team Whether You’ve Been in Network Marketing 10 Years or 10 Minutes is as a System designed to teach WOMEN in Direct Sales and network Marketing how to Attract Quality Leads and turn them into Team Members while generating Cash – it is currently available as an eBook ww.HowToBeIrresistibleNow.com and will soon be available as a physical book. This is a flagship product released under the umbrella of MLM Academy.
Her most recent co-authored book, a Juicy Joyful Life is an Amazon Best Seller and available at local bookstores and on the web. One of her other favorites is Wake Up and Live the Life You Love, co-authored with Wayne Dyer and Anthony Robbins.
Debbie’s motto is ‘How you do anything, is how you do everything!’ Serving others is how Debbie lives her life.
You can contact Debbie directly at 800-576-3767 or Debbie@WomenWithDreams.com