Make Money Not Tears

So, you've determined that you really want to have a home business, you've found what looks like a great opportunity, you join, you talk to your friends and family...and they say something like, "C'mon, that stuff never works." They may even laugh and tell you to "get a real job." You get a sunken feeling in your stomach, your face gets flushed, and you really feel like crying.
If you've been in a business opportunity for any length of time, this is probably the route you started with and you've probably had the unwelcome feeling described above. I know I have. Nothing else can describe the feeling of being hurt like that. Afterall, we were just looking for a better financial status and quality of life. When that happened, the dreams and goals got sunk.

Take a deep breath now, and realize that it's not your fault and it's certainly not the end. What just happened is what I call "proof". It's proof that there are people out there that want more out of life and proof that there are people who just want to be average. There's nothing wrong with being average, but if you are one that has taken the initiative to LOOK for a business opportunity, you're not average. You are proof that there are others out there looking for the same thing. Those are the people you need to be talking to.

When I speak with like-minded people that are interested in getting in this business, I emphasize that we are not in the sales business. If you feel like you're job is to "sell", then you're bound to fail. It's a proven fact! It's about relationships with like-minded people and about mentoring those that join your opportunity. If you teach them to "sell", you're sunk. THEY are sunk. Your organization is sunk. People who see this as an opportunity won't need to be sold. They are there to duplicate what you do.

So, how do go about finding like-minded individuals? If you're reading this, you and I are probably like-minded. I use the internet 99% of the time to build relationships with like-minded people. On the internet, it doesn't matter if you're 18 or 80, black or white, on the East Coast or the West Coast. I have people in my business from around the world. I do not sell my opportunity, I present it and let the person make the decision. If they are not interested, that's fine. Remember, some will, some won't, so what...next! There are a ton of forums, opt-in email lists, and even Google AdWords that you can use to target people. Use these to "meet" people who are most likely interested in what you have to offer. Not everyone will be interested. That's a fact of life. But, with the right opportunity, you really only need 2 people per month and teach those 2 to duplicate...and so on. Do just that for a year, and you'll be making more money in one month than you do in a year working at a regular job.

To summarize, save yourself a ton of heartache and get yourself involved in the right audience. Most importantly, don't "sell", and teach your downline to not sell. Nobody wants to sell and if they feel there is selling involved, they won't join you and you'll just be playing the crying game all over again.

Succeed By Mentoring, Not Selling

Network marketing has been filled with success stories as well as failures in the past 50 years. There are plenty of reasons why there are more failures than successes, but the major reasons are not so obvious.

One reason for a high failure rate is that people join and don't do anything to build it like a business. Network marketing IS a business and should be treated like one. It requires a plan, a system and perseverance. Too many people "try" a network marketing company to "see how it goes." These are the people that you don't want in your organization. You want serious business builders that simply duplicate what the successful people do. The "see how it goes" people are just not serious enough. They will be the ones constantly complaining about it not working and they will suck you dry of time and energy and are often the ones that jump from one program to the next.

Then there are those people who think of all network marketing opportunities as "get rich quick schemes." Sure, the possibilities are there to make a substantial income with network marketing and it could happen faster than a regular job, but nothing is going to happen over night. Just because you sign up for a program doesn't mean you're going to make money. You aren't "entitled" to anything for doing nothing, and that's a fact of life. My experience working in an officer position for a major U.S. bank opened my eyes to the reality of this. My pension plan would pay me about $2,000 per month when I retire from the company. This would be after working for the company for 20 years!! Yikes! With network marketing, I could make $10,000 per month RESIDUAL INCOME after one year if I did it right! After doing the math (which took about a whole 2 seconds), I realized what I really had in my hands.

The third reason for failure that I want to mention in this article is that people try to make it into a sales business. It's not! Stop trying to sell your business to someone else! You are not here to convince people. You are here to look for the one that is looking and present the opportunity. If they are interested, you simply train and mentor. That's it! You train and mentor them to duplicate what you do...train and mentor. The moment you think of it as a sales business, you're sunk.

Here are two key things to keep in mind when talking to someone about your primary business:

1. You can not say the wrong thing to the right person.
2. You can not say the right thing to the wrong person.

Don't try to "convince" someone they should join and don't worry about messing up what you say. You'll get discouraged and end up quitting yourself. Just present the opportunity. I once had a guy email about my opportunity and he said, "I challenge you to convince me this is the right opportunity for me." I kindly replied to him stating that I don't consider it a challenge. I told him that I GET the opportunity, and if he didn't that's fine. It's not my "job" to convince people. I wouldn't want him to feel he has to convince people as well should he join me.

Realize it is not an event, it is a process. Expecting overnight success won't happen without action. If you change your perspective on network marketing and focus on duplicating a "mentorship", then your chances of success are almost guaranteed.

Discover Your Why

Your "WHY" may just be one of the most powerful tools that you will use in building your business.

You've probably already figured out an income goal. Maybe you want to make an extra $500 per month, or $1000, or $5000 or $10000 or more. But, the question that my mentor asked me is the same one I will now ask you:

Why do you want that income?
What will that money do for you?
What will it allow you to do?
What will you do with it?
Will it allow you to quit your job?
Will it allow you to donate money to a charity?
Will it allow you to travel more?
Will it allow you to spend more time with yourchildren or grandchildren?

You see, a WHY is much more than a number. It is the driving force or reason that you started to look for a home-based business or a way to make extra money from home in the first place.

You need to take a few minutes today to write down your WHY and complete the WHY worksheet I mention at the end of this article.

Your WHY is very important to keeping you focussed on constantly doing income-generating activities.

When times are tough, and you run into challenges with your business, you can simply pull out your WHY worksheet and read over why you're doing this business. Your WHY will always get you through any challenge.

Because your WHY is the most important thing in the world to you. And that is WHY you will succeed in this business.

Need a great format for discovering your WHY? Sign up for my mailing list and you'll receive it instantly along with a reprint of this article. You should print it out or copy it out and complete it now. Be honest with yourself and give it some thought.

As soon as you're done, post it up near your workspace, so that anytime you run into a new challenge, you've got your WHY to get you through it.

Use a business SYSTEM to succeed

Just because you join something, does it mean that you are "entitled" to the great rewards that are normally shown in the compensation plan or the advertising piece? ABSOLUTELY NOT! If your goal is $10,000 per month, do you feel by signing up with a network marketing company is the answer? NOT! Things just don't happen by themselves. "What do you mean, Darren, you're killing my dreams! Do you mean I have to take responsibility for my own success??" YES! It still takes WORK on your part in order to see things happen. It takes using your melon for something else besides a divider for your ears. You have to learn to earn!

When someone talks about what they have/haven't done in something I've been successful with and says, "It doesn't work!" My reply is, "No, YOU don't work!" Too many people don't do what's necessary to run their BUSINESS and blame everything on the system. They have no concept of what it takes to make the business succeed, they try to dismiss what's being taught, try their own UNPROVEN methods and expect to make it work. What ends up happening is that they quit and say it doesn't work.

Think of it this way. When a person buys into a McDonald's franchise, do they go and put a generic sign saying, "Hamburgers" or do they use the golden arches and all the pre-made bags, cups, menus, meals tables, napkins, etc? When someone gets a Subway franchise, do they call it "Mike's Subs" and hope that it works? No!!! They use the system that's already in place and just do what already works for the thousands and thousands of like-franchises! It's that simple!

A franchise is this: "A model of success passed on to others who can duplicate that success."

You need systems, concepts and a plan. You need to learn BASIC business concepts. Do what is already working! COPY what the successful franchise does! COPY what your successful mentor does! COPY SUCCESS!

Be a professional business person and not just a hobbyist that thinks their going to get rich. Learn basic business concepts and copy what is successful.