Are Your Eyes on the PRIZE? Have an Eye of the Tiger in MLM

How did Rocky make it to the top?   From the streets to the ring, to claim the prize.  He had a burning desire to make it happen.  He trained, he practiced, he trained, he practiced and he took all the steps to get from where he was, to where he wanted to be...

Take a moment to read the lyrics to the 'Rocky theme song...

"Eye of the Tiger Lyrics"

Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watchin' us all in the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
They stack the odds 'til we take to the street
For we kill with the skill to survive

Risin' up, straight to the top
Have the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive

******************************

Pretty poweful stuff huh?    Fall down in MLM and get up, get back on your feet.  A desire to survive meaning failure is not an option in MLM.  Sometimes it seems to happen so fast, you feel like quitting MLM.  Sometimes you change MLM companies.  Don't give up, follow your dreams, keep that burning desire to succeed.  Stay hungry, crave the success, do what it takes to get there.  Have guts, take chances, keep going, don't stop, survive and WIN!

Alethea Anderson
Tiger Eyes

Are You Ready to "Crush It!" ? - Succeed Online with your MLM

I just finished the book "Crush It!" this week and all I have to say is WOW!

Okay, that's not ALL I have to say...  If you are new to online marketing, or seasoned at marketing on the web, I highly recommend "Crush It!" to you and everyone you know who web markets.  I've marketed on the web since 2000, and I learned a few unique tricks I had not heard of myself. 

What is nice is that "Crush It!" is an easy-to-absorb book, simple to follow and comprehend.  No overly technical mumbo jumbo to cause the deer in the headlight 'lost' feeling.  I am so pleased with the way this book is presented that I'm recommending it to my team members who wish to web market as well.

Gary Vaynerchuk presents his book "Crush It!" in a positive mindest, to me it shares a subliminal message shared in  the"Think and Grow Rich" book,  basically by conveying the message that one needs to have a strong passion and a burning desire to make it happen.

So again, if you are new to online marketing, or if you've been doing it for years, get "Crush It!" and be prepared to learn a few new tricks.  You can indeed teach an old dog new tricks, grab the book, grab a beverage and enjoy! 

Having the passion and the burning desire to make it happen are just the beginning, you of course need to take the steps to get from where you are, to where you  want to be.  Now go CRUSH IT!

Alethea Anderson
Crushing It!

The Icing on the Cake {look past the sugary coating in MLM research}

So you're looking for a Home Based Business?

It's confusing as HECK isn't it?

So many opportunities are blinking and flashing at you, promising amazing compensation, unheard of profits, huge incomes...

How do you know what is for REAL?

How do you know what one is right for YOU?

Research, research, research!

Now matter how yummy that frosting looks be sure to look past the sugary coating and dive into the moist center of every opportuntiy.

• Ask how much it costs to join and what does this include...
• Ask how much it costs per month in dollars and cents (some opportunities boast a 'point' system where a handful of points can be much more $ than expected)
• Ask if you have to spend more should you decide to build a team (often a monthly commitment goes UP in order to collect your residuals)
• Ask if your team can break away (in some companies you may actually LOSE a valuable leg of your team once they reach a certain level)
• Ask if your distributorship is bequeathable (if your family is able to 'inherit' your distributorship if you die)

Due diligence is key, interview several sponsors, get a feel for the personality and the business ethics of the person you are considering working with.  Are they able to help you?  How do they work their business?  What are their goals?  What have they accomplished?

A home business is so much more than the icing on the cake, it's a package deal, icing, gooey filling, the cake itself and even some luscious berries to boot.  

No matter which company you choose you are going to have to look at where you are, figure where you want to be, and take the steps to get there!

Alethea Anderson
I Love Chocolate Cake

Fork You! What To Do When You Find a Fork in the MLM Road to Success

Sometimes we're flying along the road to success, wind in our hair, smooth ride, and all of a sudden there is a huge FORK in the middle of the road...

Our confidence diminishes...  We thought we were on the right path then *POOF* another option?

Which way to go?

The high road?

The low road?

The route less traveled?

The route paved with fresh lines?

One of the most difficult decisions that may be presented to anyone in the MLM industry... Do I leave it all behind to try something new?

One side of the road may look greener, tempting you to engage stage left for lusher pastures...

How do you KNOW what is right?

Well, you have to do what 'feels' right inside....  Take your time, do your research and analyze WHY you have a desire to move.  Do you feel you'll be more successful with another company?  If so, why?  Are you struggling where you are?  If so, odds are you'll struggle where you go too.

It is the BURNING DESIRE within you, that will make you a success.  Having a company you like with products you like is surely a huge plus.  Having a sponsor you like is a plus too. But if YOU don't have the burning desire within the spirit of your be-ing, you will not be successful no matter what road you choose.

So before taking the greener grasses, before jumping ship, before changing your whole everything, stop, look, and listen to the YOU within you.  Figure out WHY you want to leave.  Talk to your sponsor.  Get some outside, insight.

Trust me!

Always remember to get from where you are, to where you want to be you have to have the burning desire to take all the steps in order to get there!

Alethea Anderson
Desiring to the 100th degree!

Green Eggs and SPAM >><< A SURE fire way to NOT get Leads

Unsolicited SPAM.   no, nO, NO!

There are many wonderful and powerful ways to use the internet to grow your MLM home based business.  However there are many ways to sabotage your efforts.

Here are a few instances of what really turns me OFF when it comes to MLM marketing.

Email Green Eggs and SPAM

• Someone requests information from someone about their business, joined another company, then SPAMMED them with their NEW business.  = FAIL
• Someone fills out a form on a website, leaves all the fields blank, but in comments SPAMMED them with their business opportunity = FAIL
• Someone receives an email where someone happened to CC a LOT of people and they decide to REPLY ALL with their Biz opp = FAIL

Facebook Green Eggs and Spam

• Someone posts their  biz opp on someone's wall = FAIL
• Someone posts a comment on someone's picture with their biz opp = FAIL
• Someone sends someone requests EVERY single day to join their OPP page = FAIL
• Someone Private Message someone asking about their opp, then do a bait and switch = FAIL
• Someone Private Messages someone with their opp link = FAIL
• Someone IMs someone and pitches their opp = FAIL

Phone Green Eggs and Spam

• Someone calls someone pretending to be interested in their opp, then they pitch theirs = FAIL
• Someone emails someone requesting they call about their opp, then they pitch theirs = FAIL

Blog Green Eggs and Spam

• Someone blatantly promotes their biz in a blog comment vs a comment & casual link = FAIL

Link Harvesting Green Eggs and Spam

• Someone explores the www 'collecting' email addresses so you can send them info about their biz = FAIL

All of these methods are low down, dark and dirty.  I do not know ONE person who has success with any of these methods.  Why?  They tick people off!   Using the internet for marketing is about developing relationships, building trust, showing people who you are...

Always remember, do to others, what you'd want them to do to you, in other words, don't do to others what you'd NOT want them to do to YOU!

And to get from where you are, to where you want to be, you have got to take all the steps in between.  There are no 'short cuts'!

Alethea Anderson
I like eggs, I like ham, but no way to Green Eggs and SPAM!

Sponge Bob Success Pants

Sponge Bob Success Pants?!

Captain: Are you ready kids?

Kids: Aye-aye Captain.
Captain: I can't hear you...
Kids: Aye-Aye Captain!!
Captain: Oh! Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Kids: SpongeBob SquarePants!
Captain: Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!
Kids: SpongeBob SquarePants!
Captain: If nautical nonsense be something you wish...
Kids: SpongeBob SquarePants!
Captain: Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish!
Kids: SpongeBob SquarePants!
Captain: Ready?
EveryBody: SpongeBob SquarePants! SpongeBob SquarePants! SpongeBob SquarePants!
Captain: SpongeBob.... SquarePants! Haha.

So here it is, how in the heck is this naive yellow fluffy friend so spongefully successful in all of his adventures?
 
Easy!  Sponge Bob has absolutely no doubt in himself.  He does not question his ability to conqure any challenge. He sets out to do, and he does.  He is known to be silly and perhaps not the smartest sponge under the sea but his absense of worry is his key to success in whatever challenge that is presented.
 
He has been in school learning to drive for HOW LONG?  He does not care, keeps going, keeps doing, keeps going, keeps doing... Does he get into mischief with Patrick, the so NOT glowing star?  Sure thing, think of it this way, Sponge Bob has reached for and caught his star already...
 
He is as happy as can be doing whatever it is he does on his daily adventures... Out to catch jellyfish?  He gets them.  Out to sell a bunch of burgers?  He sells them.  Challenged to sell a bunch of chocolate bars? He sells them.  Sets out to find Mr. Crabs missing Dollar?  He gets it.  Off on a long adventure to reclaim the crown of the sea?  He finds it.
 
No matter what it is, be it skill or dumb luck, his persistance pays and he reaches all of his goals.  Makes one think that sometimes there is too much "thinking" going on making the mind fuzzy full of all the 'what ifs' and 'self doubts'.... How about living a day in the NOW, step into your spongy splendidness and do like Sponge Bob!   LA LA LA LA all the way home!
 
Sponge Bob knows he won't get from Rock Bottom to Bikini Bottom unless he takes all the steps in between... Now you go make like a sponge and DO it!  
 
Alethea Anderson
If nautical nonsense be something you wish...

Putting the MLM Puzzle Together

What IS MLM?

Many people hear the word MLM and instantly think one of these things...

• SCAM
• Pyramid Scheme
• I got burned in one of those
• I know someone who got burned in one of those

I'd like to elaborate a bit on the true meaning of MLM.  It stands for Multi Level Marketing, meaning that one can have a team on multiple levels.

This is often where people think 'pyramid' as they think that the sponsor is at the top and that they are  making oodles of money off of everyone beneath them.

In legit companies, you can actually bypass your sponsor and achieve a higher title and a higher income!  This completely eliminates the 'pyramid factor'.  Yes, there are those pyramids out there, buyer beware, so while searching for an opportunity do your due diligence.  Any person or company promising easy money via a 'no work'  fully automated funnel system, well, be careful...

Here are some examples of MLM companies I'm sure you've heard of...

Avon
Mary Kay
Tupperware

{{gasp}} yes, it is TRUE, they are MLM companies...  Often when I tell people this they are surprised as they never realized that these HUGE companies are formatted upon an MLM platform!  This eases their fears... Sometimes prospects need a little gentle education to coax them out of the false thoughts on MLM.

The difference between a pyramid scheme and a legit MLM is a  that a legit company offers its distributors a way to earn a decent income primarily from SELLING with an option to recruit as well.  

With MLM 'scams' and 'pyramid schemes' the sole way to earn is to recruit, recruit, recruit with no tangible item to actually 'sell'.   Many of them are formatted with a single product on auto ship, no way to actually 'buy' product and often they don't even allow a way to SELL the product.  Only recruit, get people to buy as customers, and get them to get people to buy as customers with no actual way to earn money 'selling' via direct sales methods.

A great book on the industry that sheds light on all of this is Network Marketing for Dummies, it explains the Direct Sales, Network Marketing, MLM industry to a T and debunks many of the myths associated with them.  It also demystifies comp plans and so, so much more!

Now in order to put your puzzle piece over where it belongs, you have to take the steps from where it is to where you want to put it...

Alethea Anderson
Puzzled!? NO!