When I started my first MLM business several years ago, I remember the feeling of intimidation.  I had never owned ANY business before and, honestly had no idea what I was doing.  I just did what my sponsor told me and said a little prayer.  It didn’t work.

But my failure in my first business venture led me to some eye-opening realities.  And after many years in the industry, I can finally look people in the eye and say without hesitation,

Success in MLM is not that hard.  It’s simply a matter of following 3 Simple Steps.

Blueprint to MLM Success

Here are the 3 steps to MLM Success:

1. Make yourself VALUABLE to your prospects (Education and Training)
2. Get the word out about the VALUE you have to offer (Marketing and Advertising)
3. Teach your team members to be VALUABLE to THEIR prospects (Leadership, Residual Income)

These 3 steps are what I’ve found to be a Blueprint to MLM Success.

How Do You Make Yourself Valuable?

As I’ve said on this blog, in my trainings, and to anyone who will listen,

How Much Money You Make In MLM (or Any Business) is Directly Related To Your VALUE to the Marketplace

So what is value?

Think about it.  What would you, as a prospect find valuable in an MLM mentor?

If you’re like me, you are probably looking for someone who can help you reach your goals.  And that IS  value!    So how do you become more valuable?

By becoming skillful.  By learning skills that can help others make more money in MLM.

For example, you could….

• Take a course on Prospecting and learn how to better find your target audience
• Get cutting edge Online Marketing Training and learn how to generate free leads and sales
• Read books on Copywriting and perfect your own writing style that influences others to buy from you.
• Learn about Leadership from leaders in the field, so that you can help lead your team to success.

Now THAT is value.  Imagine the knowledge and wisdom you could acquire by doing the 4 things listed above.  And imagine how ATTRACTIVE you would be to others looking to make money in MLM.

VALUE = INCOME

Remember that simple formula and you’ll always be lucrative in MLM or any business.

So Where Do Most People Get Off Track?

The reason that most people aren’t successful in MLM is they SKIP A STEP — Number 1.

They forget the step about becoming Valuable to others, and they jump right into promoting, advertising, and marketing.  And to top it off, THEY USUALLY GET IT WRONG.  People are often taught to promote their company’s products or compensation plan.  They may even be given a replicated company website on which they can throw their picture, as if this is some sort of pathway to branding.  It is not.

Simply put, most new people in MLM brand their company and not themselves.  The simplest way to BRAND YOURSELF?

Become Valuable and ADD VALUE to other people’s lives.  In the new world of Social Media and the power of “viral word of mouth”, word will quickly get out about your skills and how you can help others make money online.  And THAT IS POWER.

I’ll dive more into Steps 2 and 3 in a later post, but keep in mind the 3 Step Blueprint to MLM Success, and how each step must be followed IN SEQUENCE in order to see massive MLM success.

To YOUR success in MLM,

Dr. Bob Clarke

http://LeadersForSuccess.com

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It happens every time.

Soon after you join an MLM opportunity — ANY opportunity — you start hearing the clamor.  It’s undeniable and it’s never understated.

Your sponsor will start mentioning it.  The emails will start.  And you’ll soon be invited on to “special calls” to discuss it….

Your MLM Company’s Live Event!

They will tell you that ANYONE who’s “Made It” attends every Live Event.  How, if you’re serious about your business, you’ll get yourself there even if you have to take out a second mortgage on your house.  See you first born if you have to… just get yourself to the Event.

I exaggerate, but not that much.

But is it REALLY necessary?  Must you attend your MLM Company’s Live Event to succeed?

The answer, of course, is NO.  But let’s explore it a little further….

3 Things You NEED To Know Before Attending

1.  Most MLM Live Events are “Rah Rah” Sessions

The sad fact is that most of these Live Events are nothing more than cheerleading to the extreme.  The “leaders” are brought on stage, the award winners display their trophies for all to see, and the inspiring stories are told for all to hear.  The reality is that there is very little EDUCATIONAL benefit to most of  these live events.  That’s why I carefully researched my company’s live event before attending, and was thrilled to find out there was actually some solid marketing training involved.

2.  You Will Be Strongly Urged to Buy Something

There are always special deals, gimmicks, and time-sensitive offers at these Live Events.  ALWAYS.  In fact, that’s one of the main reasons for holding your MLM Company’s Live Event — to make money for the company and the leaders.  You will likely be given “attendee only” special deals to upgrade your membership or position yourself higher in the compensation plan.  That’s just the way it is.  Expect it and you won’t be shocked or feel pressured to make a decision.

3.. Your Upline will REALLY Want You To Attend, But Not For the Reasons They’ll Tell You

Sure, your sponsor wants to see you succeed, and sometimes its genuine. But many times, your sponsor wants you to attend Live Events because when you upgrade your membership, they get some sort of residual income.  And that’s okay.. that’s what its all about.  But let’s just be upfront about it.   Meet them, share a meal, get to know one another, but understand that the main reason they pushed you to be there was for their own personal gain.

Having said all this, here is my Recommendation:

ATTEND YOUR MLM COMPANY LIVE EVENT

How can I say this, after all the things I’ve told you above.  Because there is more to it than that.  More than meets the eye, so to speak.

Networking

The very best reason for attending a Live Event is to meet people — NETWORK.  That’s right, it’s “network” marketing, right?  So it stands to reason that you should be doing some networking in your business.  Most people believe this involves networking with people who may be interested in joining you , and that’s partly true.  But the other side of Networking is to meet and befriend people in your business who can help you succeed.

Because make no mistake about it…. NO ONE SUCCEEDS ON THEIR OWN.

So use the coffee breaks and time between sessions to your greatest advantage.  Get out and meet people.  Don’t be a wall flower.  The coffee breaks are the MOST important times of the meeting for most people.  That’s when they make the connections that will help move them forward in the months ahead.

Positioning

Remember I mentioned above how your company will undoubtedly hit you with “special” upgrade deals at the Live Event?  Although I presented it in a somewhat negative light, it doesn’t have to be — not if you are truly interested in positioning yourself higher in the company.  Some of the best upgrade deals I’ve taken advantage of has been at my company’s live events.  They are usually the best deals you will get, and if your MLM has an ounce of integrity, they will offer the Live Event Attendees the best deals around.

Nothing is more frustrating than taking advantage of a “special deal for attendees only”, and then seeing the same deal offered to people who didn’t attend the event.  If this happens, voice your displeasure to your company leadership immediately.  It shouldn’t be that way.

So for these 2 reasons — Networking and Positioning — I have yet to miss my Company’s live events.

Neither should you.

What’s been your experience?

Until next time,

Dr. Bob

http://LeadersForSuccess.com

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No matter what network marketing or MLM company you may have joined or be thinking of joining, one thing always holds true…

There are always a handful of people who make the MOST MONEY.

You know who they are….

• They are the ones who always have a crowd of people around them at the company meetings.
• They are the ones on stage getting all the awards and accolades.
• They are the ones who are succeeding while 97% of the other reps in your business are struggling.

They are…. Your Company’s TOP EARNERS!

So how do YOU get to be a top earner?

Well, there’s a lot of talk about this right now, and I’ve done some serious studying of the top earners that I know.

I mean, I’ve just flat out ASKED THEM what their tricks are…

– Some kind of secret marketing strategy?

– Some secret script they have to persuade people to join them?

– Some top secret brew that they drink?

And you know what?  It really only comes down to one thing…

and if  all network marketers understood this, they’d all be a whole lot happier.

I just published an article on how to succeed in network marketing, which addresses this  very question… so if you would like

to read more, please take a look.

Happy New Year, everyone…. look for great things coming from this blog in 2010….

and ALL of it THE TRUTH.

To your success!

Dr. Bob Clarke

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Today’s post is the first in a series called “Network Marketing Secrets”.  Whether these are truly ’secrets’ or not is up to debate.  However, they are secret to the extent that most people either don’t get them or choose to ignore them, mostly in the search for making money fast.

Network Marketing Secret #1 involves MINDSET.

“Mindset comes BEFORE skill sets”.  That’s a great saying.  And it’s one that most people ignore.

The fact is, mindset comes WAY before learning new skills.  Don’t get me wrong — learning new skills will be an essential part of growing your network marketing business.  But getting it right between your ears is your first order of business.

If you don’t, it won’t matter how skillful you are in network marketing… YOU WILL FAIL.

Guaranteed.

So how do you get your mindset right?

Get around other experienced entrepreneurs, preferably in person.

You’ll notice that your upline will heavily promote getting to live events (for reasons that will become evident in another post very soon), but it truly IS important for you to surround yourself with people who are successful at what you are attempting.  A live event is a great way to accomplish this.

Join groups of other entrepreneurs on professional social networks

I recommend joining LinkedIn, a social network for professionals and entrepreneurs.  It’s a terrific way to mastermind with other entrepreneurs.  Join groups that interest you and participate in the discussion.  Notice how they just seem to THINK differently than other people in your life.  This is mindset, guys.

Another great site to join is BetterNetworker.com.  Go through the articles and forum posts and see who you resonate with.  Befriend them, maybe even contact them directly and LEARN from them.  TIP:   has a group of Instructors who present various training on the site.  These are great people to learn from, because they are already successful in something that you are trying to understand and get you head around.

Both LinkedIn.com and BetterNetworker.com are free to join.

Read Books Related to Entrepreneurial Mindset

You can tell the level of success of a network marketer by the size of his library. I believe Mr. Jim Rohn said this first, and I am a firm believer in it’s accuracy.  Leaders are readers, and to be successful you will need to do both.

I recommend that everyone on my entrepreneurial team start by reading a book called The Traveler’s Gift, by Andy Andrews.  I consider it to be one of the best mindset books on the market, and can be applied to anything in your life.  When you’re finished with that, pick up the sequel by the same author, called The Noticer.

These are easy to read, told in story form.

Better books are tough to come by.  And they will provide the foundation on which you will begin developing your entrepreneurial mindset.

If you haven’t already done so, pick up a copy of The Traveler’s Gift at Amazon.com or at your local bookstore.

To your success!

Dr. Bob Clarke

http://LeadersForSuccess.com

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