Income Claims in Network Marketing — Are They Real and Should We Care?
THE INCOME CLAIM
If you’ve done any searching on the Internet for home based businesses or a Network Marketing company, you’ve undoubtedly seen them with headlines shouting, “See the Proof”, “Check Out My Bottom Line” or variations on the theme.
The question is…..
Should be care?
On the surface, it seems logical enough. Search out someone who is having the success you covet and do what they do. But there are a number of problems associated with income claims as proof of success in network marketing, or anything else for that matter.
- Are these income claims real? Maybe I’m overly skeptical, but there are scammers out there who can make ANYTHING look real. I’ve seen videos of bank accounts, company commission statements, you name it. But it’s not that difficult for someone with programming experience to create dummy sites that look just like your bank company site, for example. In today’s age, seeing is NOT believing.
- What does this income represent? Even if the income claims are real, what do they really mean? Most business owners, when trying to influence others to make a decision based on results, will only show you the shiny side. It’s not different with income. The figures you see out there on the Internet almost always represent Gross Income, and do not take into account such costs as marketing and business operations. It’s one thing to say that you are earning $10,000 per m0nth with your online business. It’s quite another thing when you find out that it took them $12,000 to get those results. All of a sudden, the income claims don’t look so inviting! If someone isn’t talking about ROI (Return on Investment), I don’t even listen to it.
- Can you assume that this person can TEACH you how they are getting their results? I’ve seen several top earners in this industry who simply do not have the ability, the means, or (unfortunately) the desire to teach others to duplicate their success. Just because they are making that kind of money online, that doesn’t mean that you will. Simply joining someones team, regardless how successful they are, in no way means that you’ll come close to achieving the same results. There are several reasons for this, which I’ll cover in a separate post, but suffice it to say that NOT EVERYONE CAN TEACH and NOT EVERY RESULT IS REPRODUCIBLE.
The bottom line? Know what you’re really looking at when you see ads or websites with income claims. If you decide to pursue things further with this person, ask about their ROI, and don’t be “wowed” by gross income. And ask them how successful their team members have been in reproducing these kind of results.
To your success!
What Should You Look For in a Network Marketing Sponsor?
I often see people interested in starting a home based business spend an inordinate amount of time “sponsor shopping”. Surfing the Internet searching for the “perfect” sponsor can be both time consuming and very confusing.
It’s confusing because people don’t really know what or who they’re looking for.
Which brings me to the key point of this blog post —
What kind of sponsor should you be looking for?
Should you be looking for….
- the person who makes the most money in this company?
- the person with ties to the company leadership?
- the person newer to the industry who will be able to spend a lot of time holding your hand?
- the person who is most like you in temperament?
While all of these choices might, on the surface seem logical, these are not the characteristics or ingredients you should look for in a sponsor.
So what SHOULD you look for?
It’s very simple, but it took me a while to figure it out.
And before I did, I was exactly the WRONG kind of sponsor, not really helping my team or their businesses.
You want a sponsor with one key character trait —>
You want someone is going to TELL YOU THE TRUTH.
Tell it like it is. No sugar coating.
You want someone to tell you what you NEED to hear, not what you want to hear.
This is what Rosemary and I tell everyone who joins our team:
We’ll do what we can to help you make the kind of money you want, but it’s going to be one of the most challenging things you’ve done in your life. It will take work, money, time, and occasionally getting out of your comfort zone.
We will never do the work for you. We won’t give you all the answers. But we WILL show you where to look for the solutions to what’s holding you back.
In other words, we will help you become LEADERS, not someone just blindly following a system. There’s little doubt that you can make money following the Carbon Copy PRO system.
But you can make BIG MONEY by being a leader.
That’s where we come in.
So what kind of sponsor should you be looking for?
- Not the biggest money earner
- Not the easiest to get along with
- Not the one who will hold your hand
You want a person who will help you when you need it by showing you HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM ON YOUR OWN.
You want a person who will STRATEGIZE with you, not do it for you.
You want a sponsor who will help you to develop your LEADERSHIP SKILLS.
You want a sponsor who will EMPOWER YOU TO LEAD, not enable you to follow.
You see the difference?
Succeeding at Network Marketing — Are You Trying To Reinvent The Wheel?
A couple of days ago, I was watching the Subway Series on TV…. the Yankees against the Mets. As always, it was a hard fought series.
What I saw in the first game of the series really intrigued me. The Yankees had a young, 23-year old pitcher going against the Mets. His name is Joba Chamberlain. Joba is very talented but extremely inexperienced, especially in big series such as the Yankees-Mets rivalry.
Catching for the Yankees was veteran Jorge Posada. Jorge has been through it all… the pressures of big games, hostile crowds, and even a few World Series. He knows how to call a game, and is generally trusted among the pitchers.
So what do I see on Friday night?
I see this young, inexperienced pitcher calling off his catcher time after time (NOTE: for non-baseball fans, the catcher generally indicates a sign to the pitcher, telling him which pitch to throw. The pitcher can accept this call, or he can “shake it off” by shaking his head NO, and the catcher will try another pitch).
Here is Posada, one of the most experienced big time catchers in the league, and he is being shaken off by the 23 year old “know it all” pitcher. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
So what happened?
Not surprisingly, Chamberlain imploded, walking in a couple of runs, hitting batters with the bases loaded, and totally losing his cool. It was obvious that Posada was steamed, and with good reason. Chamberlain was gone by the 4th inning.
Chamberlain decided to REINVENT THE WHEEL. He decided that, even with his inexperience, he knew better than the experienced catcher on the right pitches to throw. Posada, having been in numerous big games in critical situations, knew which pitches Chamberlain should throw. He knew what would work. He had a proven system that has worked time and again in the past.
But Chamberlain thought he knew better. And he failed miserably.
Why am I telling you this story?
Because I see the same mistake being made by Network Marketing newbies every day. They come into the business, all gung-ho and excited to light the Network Marketing world on fire.
But rather than going with a system that has proven to be successful, well established strategies that have worked for some of the top leaders in network marketing, they decide to “go it alone”.
They decide their way will be better.
And they fail. And they quit believing it’s all a scam and can’t be done. Thinking only the leaders make the money.
In reality, all they had to do was plug into systems that already work.
As new home business owners, there are so many new things to learn and implement. It can be a bit overwhelming.
Don’t exacerbate this by trying to reinvent the wheel.
To your success!
The Real Secret To Success In Network Marketing
So you’re either just starting a home based network marketing business, or you’ve been at it for the while and success is eluding you…. you are looking for the REAL SECRET to success in Network Marketing
I’ve been in this business quite a while now, and I’ve come to realize 2 things:
- The vast majority of people in network marketing fail to make decent money.
- There is really only ONE reason why #1 is true.
I will reveal this in a moment, but first let me get a little personal….
My son Henry recently graduated from college and is eagerly looking for his first job. He recently got a tentative offer from the US Governemnt, and is now being asked to provide more information to be confirmed as an employee.
- We are talking an unbelievable number of forms, reams of paper, in triplicate.
- We are talking about having to go to a website and complete an extensive information packet, as a supplement to the paperwork.
- We are talking about having to go for a video interview.
- We are talking about submitting transcripts (even though he already did this) and fingerprints (in triplicate, of course).
- And finally, submitting a urine specimen for a drug test.
All of this, and then they will decide IF he can be hired.
UGH… its no wonder there are job openings in the Federal Government.
I firmly believe that most people get tired of jumping through all the hoops and never submit the required information. (Oh, and by the way, it all has to be done within 10 days or your application is automatically deleted).
The same things is true with Network Marketing.
It’s not hard, but most people fail…. but why?
Network Marketing is not brain surgery. It’s not that complicated.
But most people fail anyway.
Why?
Because its EASIER TO QUIT.
That’s right… that’s the big reason why most people fail at Network Marketing.
Because it’s easier to quit than to put in the time, learn how to market, learn how to effectively talk to people, and learn how to support your new team. In fact, most people quit before they even HAVE a team.
Because it’s easier to quit than to do the required work to succeed.
Just as in Henry’s position, it would be easier for him to throw up his hands and give into the temptation to quit filling out the required information for his job, and wait for the next easier position to come along.
Waiting for the next best thing, the better job, the better Network Marketing opportunity.
See where I’m going with this?
Bottom Line: If you want to be a Nework Marketing Success Story, then you have to be willing to PUT IN THE TIME. Nothing happens in a day. Success takes time… and work, with anything in life.
I have seen many people on my team quit just before they would start seeing results from their efforts. It’s always the same thing.
They all all gung-ho to get started. They work feverishly to set up their account and start to market.
They throw up some ads on the Internet and get few, if any leads.
They try again, with similar results.
They go back to our Training Modules and study some more… learn new tricks, try new things.
They go back and try again, and get better results, but still nothing earth shattering.
And then they give up. Because it was EASIER to give up than to keep trying.
That’s it folks. That is the KEY to SUCCESS in Network Marketing….
Staying in the game long enough to increase your knowledge, implement what you’ve learned, and waiting for the successful outcome.
This can take weeks or even many months depending on your starting point, your previous experience, your marketing knowledge, and how much capital you are willing (or able) to invest into your business.
Most people don’t wait long enough to see their success happen.
And that’s a shame…
Til next time,
Entrepreneurial Lessons From My J-O-B
When you mention a full- or part-time job to people in the home business arena, you usually are met with scowls, howls, and sometimes, blood curdling screams. Just the thought of a J-O-B can make most Enterpreneurs go screaming into the night.
But not so fast.
There are lessons to be learned here.
Even with two so dramatically opposing business models, there are lessons that can and should be applied to both the 9-5er and the independent Entrepreneur.
Let’s focus right in on the biggest one…..
SETTING A WORK SCHEDULE
As an independent home business owner, you have a freedom that most never know —-> You can set your own hours. You work when you want to work. There is no boss breathing down your neck with the next deadline. There is no one watching the clock, docking your pay when you are late or leave early. It’s YOU — ONLY YOU.
Some people do quite well with this freedom. Others crash and burn.
Especially if they’re not used to it.
The biggest culprit that brings new business owners down?
PROCRASTINATION. I call it the “I’ll do it later” syndrome.
Many of you know it well. I know I did.
I was an all-star procrastinator, and in my weak moments I still can be.
Any of these sound familiar?
“I’ll write that blog post after the news.”
“Let me run to the mall first, then I’ll start writing that article I’ve been putting off.”
Or my favorite….
“I’ll call my prospect tomorrow, when my head is clearer.”
It’s called PROCRASTINATION folks, and it can torpedo a home based business.
How do you combat it? There are volumes written on the subject, but I’ve found something that works well for me —-
SET A WORK SCHEDULE WITH PROJECT DEADLINES.
Just like my 9-5 JOB used to be. Start work at a certain time. End work at a certain time.
The advantage, of course, is that I can set the hours I want to work.
I determine my work for the day. I set my priorities and my deadlines.
But they are there staring me in the face none-the-less.
And if you’re like me, you will probably me harder on yourself than any boss could be.
To your success!
A Flu Not Fit For Pigs
Sorry guys, the Clarke household has been hit by the swine flu, so I’ve been off my normal blogging pattern.
I have to say, this flu is not fun. I was fairly lucky, in that it kept me in bed for only a couple of days. But others, like my inlaws suffered much more. I worry about the elderly with these types of illnesses, as they tend to go right to the lungs (at least mine did).
Thankfully, we took my inlaws (who were visiting) right to the ER on Memorial Day and got them on a course of treatment, and they are doing much better.
As for me, I’ll be back in the saddle very soon, ready to roll.
Sorry for the delay. See you soon.
Bob
Day 7: ‘Self Employed and Rich’
“How To Make A $100,000 Per Month
Residual Income In Less Than 12 Months“
Here is how our “Top CCPRO Team” has made It duplicable through our Carbon Copy Marketing System:
•MISSION: You’ve got to have a mission that puts the success of others first. Our goal is to help 100 people become millionaires within the next 3 years, and we’re on track to reach our goal.
•INDUSTRY: Direct Sales via Network Marketing. No other business model offers so much potential with so few barriers to entry (like start-up costs).
•COMPENSATION PLAN: Direct Sales, but only if it has a residual income based compensation plan.
Stay away from the ‘2-up’ compensation plan found in most direct sales companies. This compensation plan is not fair and does not harbor team spirit because your over-rides on partners is limited to their first two customers.
•PRODUCTS: The long term profitability and viability of any company will be determined by the actual value of the products being sold.
40% of the products promoted by Carbon Copy Pro are sold to product customers only, i.e. people not looking for a business opportunity.
If the product(s) being marketed won’t stand on their own, in other words if no one would buy them without the money-making incentive, then they’re not the right products.
•MENTOR: Find a mentor. Someone you can trust. Someone who has a system. Someone who already has the results you’re looking for. This has to be someone who is willing to listen to your needs and actually cares about your success. He/she must also have a financial interest in your success.
•MARKETING: Use an Attraction Marketing system like ours that does the sorting, selling, training, and follow-up for you. This system must not only attract (right keywords, ads etc) the right type of person (entrepreneur vs get-rich-quick loser), but be able to present the information in such a way that is clear, concise, to the point and not full of hype fluff or crazy promises.
Then figure out how to get 100-200 QUALITY targeted prospects into your marketing pipeline EACH week. (Remember, there are close to a million people looking for businesses every week and 79 million Americans plan to start their own business in the next 3-5 years!).
•TRAINING: Make sure you have access to one-on-one, and group training designed to dramatically shorten your learning curve and reduce the number of variables that come with “trial and error”. Our system is designed to “share” the knowledge and experience with EVERY member through our daily training calls and forum. My consultants get to hear top producers working their businesses LIVE, 4 days a week, as if they were sitting in the office with me.
•SUPPORT: Unparalleled support is mandatory. EVERYONE in Carbon Copy PRO is highly motivated to help you reach the level of financial prosperity that you want because we’re compensated extremely well in order to ensure that you do!
It’s been my pleasure to present you with this Self Employed and Rich 7-day bootcamp. I hope you’ve gotten some useful information from it.
Your Friend on the Inside,
Dr. Bob Clarke
Get more Information and Submit Your Application to work with Rosemary and I on one of the fastest growing teams in Carbon Copy PRO.
This One Very Common Prospecting Mistake Will Torpedo Your Home Based Business Before You Even Get Started
One of the keys to being successful in network marketing is having the ability to quickly and accurately qualify your prospects. People have different criteria in making these important decisions, but it really comes down to one important question:
“Is your opportunity one that will help solve the problems of your prospect?”
Too many people in network marketing make the critical mistake of qualifying people based on how the prospect will add to their OWN business. For example, if Mary comes to me willing to spend thousands of dollars in capital to gain entry in to my home business opportunity, this would mean a huge commission in my pocket. But before I can in good conscience add Mary to my team, I need to assess her needs and wants to be sure that they are consistent with the ability of my opportunity to satisfy them.
Under what possible circumstances would I disqualify a prospect?
Here’s another example.
Let’s say that John comes to me inquiring about my home business opportunity. John tells me he has looked over the business briefly, has the few hundred dollars to enter the opportunity at the lowest level, and is eager to get started.
Before I accept John’s money, I have a conversation with him regarding his needs and wants. It turns out that these few hundred dollars is all John has left in the world, he is unemployed, no immediate prospects of finding work, has no prior experience in network marketing, and needs $3000 in the next 20 days to make his mortgage payment or he will lose his home.
There is no way that I can recommend this opportunity to John, nor any network marketing opportunity that I know of, because I understand how unlikely it would be for John to meet these critical needs.
This is an example of putting your prospects needs in front of your own.
It is critical to get this right.
Putting your own needs and wants ahead of your prospects will almost certainly result in the ultimate failure of your home business.
I make this statement with no hesitation because I firmly believe that the intention of your business will ultimately decide its fate.
If your intention is solely to make a lot of money for yourself as quickly as possible to satisfy your OWN desires, your prospects will quickly realize this and move away from you as a leader who can help them. However, if your true intention is to help others solve THEIR problems and meet THEIR goals, and your opportunity can help them realize these goals, then you have the perfect opportunity for adding them to your team and helping them succeed in their business.
Making this important shift from your own needs to those of your prospects will set you up as a leader to be followed and a person of great integrity. You will undoubtedly make more money in the long run and thus, meet your own personal income and life goals in the process. And there is one more advantage:
You’ll be able to sleep at night.
5 Essential Strategies For Growing Your Home-Based Business Part Time
Hi Everyone,
The following is an article I recently wrote regarding the special challenges that those working their home businesses part time are faced with.
Thought you might enjoy it. Read below….
**********************************
We’ve all heard the feel good stories of people who quit their job soon after starting a home-based business to work full time from home. While this should be the goal of all home business owners, the reality is that most people need to continue working at a full time job, at least for a while. This means growing your business part time, a scenario that can often present a very different set of challenges.
There are specific strategies you can use to make sure you invest sufficient time in your home business to reach your goals.
Continue reading this article.
To your success!
Dr. Bob Clarke
Dr. Clarke’s primary business opportunity
The Quickest Path to Becoming a Network Marketing Leader
One of the most common questions I get from new members of my home business team goes something like this:
“There’s so much to learn! What skills should I concentrate on first? “
Before I answer this, let’s get one thing very clear…. and this is critical to get:
Your success in network marketing will be directly related to your VALUE TO THE MARKETPLACE.
What does this mean? It means that the amount of money you make will be a result of how many new members join your business. And how many people join your business will be directly related to the likelihood that people see you as THE LEADER who will help them obtain their particular needs and wants.
That is, a PERSON OF VALUE.
Having said this, I’ve found that there are 3 critical skills that, if learned, will make you the leader that people will jump over walls to join your team.
In no particular order, here they are (along with recommendations of what I consider to be the best resources available to gain these skills):
Skill #1: Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC). PPC is the single most important marketing skill to master in today’s world of the Internet. PPC has changed the way of traditional marketing. Instead of cold calling, making lists of friends and family, and the good ‘ol 3-foot-rule, we now have mechanism to identify people who are searching for exactly what we have to offer. And there are no geographical limitations. But this is not a skill easily mastered, and to enter this market unprepared can cost you big time! Google is the biggest player in this market.
Recommendation: I strongly recommend Mike Dillard’s PPC Domination course, particularly those who are in the MLM or Direct Sales market. Easy to understand videos and exhaustive resources make the PPC Domination course on the best investments for your online business. It is the most cost effective and complete way to learn PPC from the bottom up.
Skill #2: Copywriting. Copywriting, or the ability to write compelling ad copy that will elicit the response you are looking for (i.e. sales) is the second skill that will, when mastered, will add tremendous value to the marketplace and compel people to follow you. This again is not an easy skill to master, and requires a bit of practice to get it right, but there are several online and off line resources to help.
Recommendations: There are a couple of blogs that are tremendous resources for people looking to learn ad copy. The first blog is written by John Carlton, an expert copywriter who started off line and had made the jump to online marketing about as successfully as anyone. John Carlton’s Big Damn Blog is full of tips, examples, and free content that will set you on the path to becoming an expert copywriter. The second blog, Copyblogger.com, is another excellent resource.
If you prefer books, I can strongly recommend Hypnotic Writing, by Joe Vitale. I just finished this book, and it is about as excellent a copywriting resource as you will find. Easy to read, plenty of examples, and includes both online (emails, ads) and offline (sales letters) examples on how to best persuade your readers to take action.
Skill #3: Positioning and Posture. In order to be the leader that people are searching for, you need to have value. We have already established this. But you also need to BE THE LEADER, to know how to position yourself as the person people NEED to join.
Positioning yourself as a leader may be THE most critical skill to learn in order to make BIG money in Network Marketing. You can have all the marketing and business skills in the world, but if you cannot promote yourself in such a way that people see you as the person who can take them to the Promised Land, then you have nothing.
Recommendation: Back when I was looking to position myself as a leader, I asked my upline what he considered the best resource on the subject. He pointed me in the direction of Blackbelt Recruiting, by Mike Dillard of Magnetic Sponsoring. This CD series teaches you step by step how to begin the process of positioning and maintain and grow it as your business expands. This is a can’t miss: Blackbelt Recruiting.
So there you have it, the 3 skills that will put you in to the Top Earner category for any company you represent in Network Marketing:
- Pay-per-click Marketing
- Copywriting
- Posture and Positioning
While it will not be possible to become expert in all 3 skills in the very beginning, this is where I steer my new members when getting started. Even having a basic knowledge of these skills will go a long way to growing your network marketing home based business.
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