Looking at the best home business for the 21st century it’s clear those working from home have the best opportunity to set themselves up for the future.
It makes sense, with the internet playing such a huge part in our lives, the convenience of working from a home base whether it’s running a network marketing business or as a data analyst, the home office will continue to grow in numbers as we head into 2009 and beyond.
Network marketing has survived many hurdles since it emerged in the middle of last century and despite the bad press it’s had, it still offers great opportunity for those willing to make a commitment.
The benefit today is, no longer do you need to rely on making a names list to find your leads and prospect opportunities; the internet has leveled the playing field considerably and with the correct marketing and promotional strategies online, one can attract a constant source of leads by tapping into the rich vein of prospects world wide.
Top Home Business Choice For 2009
Community based network marketing is gathering strength in numbers. With the recession impacting people’s lives and jobs at a premium, those with an entrepreneurial spirit are taking the initiative and making their own luck.
So what is the attraction in starting a business with a community theme? Here’s a few facts. Community based network marketing works on the principles of people working to their strengths and for a long term common goal - success for everyone.
The online environment is rapidly changing the way prospecting is done in MLM and the ability for a commited networker is to keep their funnel constantly filled with interested leads. In this model, the rotation system comes into play and more importantly, they are qualified.
But here’s the best news…if you hate calling prospects then don’t. The structure has in place professional phone contact staff who speak with prospects, follow up with them and recruit them into the business.
This leaves your time spent on prospecting such as promoting your websites, blogs and web 2 properties. This means the pressure of being everything from recruiter to motivator to salesperson is suddenly lifted.
Right now, community based network marketing is our choice for the best home based business for 2009. In fact, it’s the right vehicle for anyone looking to create long lasting wealth working from home. Doing the hard slog on your own just doesn’t make sense anymore.
While it still requires a strong work ethic, the results gained through this home business model can accelerate quickly simply because it is using the principle of leverage from all community members.
MLM lead generation has been a problem since the industry began more than 50 years ago and has challenged even the most savvy network marketer. The internet has definitely changed the landscape and leveled the playing field but there needs to be some thought into exactly what leads you’re chasing in your business.
Remember, not everyone is your prospect contrary to old school training methods and you need to put your message in front of those prospects ready to receive it. Believe it or not, MLMers will be your prime lead target. You may be thinking this is strange simply because it may smack of “business cannibalism” but you’ve also got to remember that the industry has an horrific attrition rate and for this reason, network marketers are your prime prospects.
Network Marketing Lead Generation
Here’s the reason why MLMers are top of your prospecting list…because more than 90% quit their business in the first three months there is always a massive pool of networkers on the lookout for another opportunity.
And because they have tried network marketing once then they are going to be more receptive to listening to an opportunity in the industry than someone simply shopping for a home business. Can you see how powerful this is.
Remember though, they are more likely to be more prudent the second time around so it’s not just a matter of putting your offer out there and expecting a rush of sign ups. You need to show them that you’re different than their last sponsor and you need to give the the value and how to they are seeking.
Other Hot MLM Prospects
There’s at least two other groups well worth targeting. They are those people researching your opportunity. In other words, people in research mode and looking at network marketing as a vehicle to take them to their ultimate goals.
People in research mode are in a buying frame of mind. They are looking at possibilities and will be receptive to opportunities which catch their interest. They need to be put towards the top of a network marketing lead generation campaign because of this buying mood.
These people are likely those tired of the daily 9-5 grind, who want to spend more time with their families and who just want to improve their financial position. They will have come across network marketing opportunities and looked at them in the past but for one reason or another, weren’t quite satisfied with what they saw.
They are in the main, actually not really looking for the opportunity but they will be searching for the right person to join.
So much is made of the 80/20 rule in all facets of life and the fact is, while it’s never really these exact splits, the term basically means the bulk of effort within most circumstances usually comes from the few as opposed to the masses.
In internet network marketing, the 80/20 rule is definitely applicable and in some respects, causes lots of frustration for business owners. This frustration stems from the fact that from ten signups, a business owner would be optimistic that they will get active participation from most if not all of their prospects.
But the truth is, one or two will take the ball and run with it while the others will lay idle for whatever reason. In an inter-network marketing business, some will build a business, some will simply want to market and sell products, some will just want to use the products while the majority will do absolutely nothing at all.
The question is, should these people have been signed on in the first place? We’re these people found in a hit and miss fashion? The likelihood they were is high which gets back to the point that targeted marketing needs to be applied.
Haphazard Prospecting Methods
Some of the hit and miss methods include the dreaded three foot rule which means everyone who’s within three feet of you is a prospect. That’s rubbish. This is one of the reasons there is such a huge attrition rate existing within the industry.
The problem lies in the fact these people are not targeted prospects. If you have to go chasing down and harassing people to take a look at a network marketing business opportunity then you’re missing the mark. You’re not getting it.
These are the prospects who make up a large proportion of the “80″ statistic within the industry. They weren’t looking in the first place; had to be coerced into taking a look at your offer and then you spend weeks even months following up with them to see if they’re ready to join.
The Power Of Attraction Marketing
Targeted prospects will seek you out. Why? Because they’re ready. They’re looking for a home business opportunity. They want to improve their current lot in life and they are going to be receptive to the possibilities.
And when you place your marketing and promotion in front of these people then that’s when the magic begins to happen.
Be warned though, it’s not a given that they’ll just join your business - there is still a lot of work to do but at least you’ve got something to work with. And if you do, these people will eventually become your members of your “20″ group.
There are numerous benefits in running a business from home but the trap many fall into is thinking it means they don’t have to work as hard as they would working a 9-5 job.
This is dangerous thinking and is one of the main reasons why the high failure rate dominates this business model. So why do people get into trouble? It’s simple, the mind will obviously relax in one’s home environment and that’s why you’ll often see people in network marketing for example, getting their daily dose of positive mental attitude training.
Here’s the truth - running and working a home based business should be no different than working a 9-5 job job. If that sounds strange the fact is, if you don’t put the effort in then the rewards will always be a distant dream.
Working A Community Based Home Business
In recent times, network marketing has seen the emergence of community based home business models such as Occupy The City which helps people get around the problem of doing everything themselves. For example:
- being the salesperson
- the recruiter
- the marketer and
- the technical expert
can be overwhelming for most especially when they start out on their learning curve.
The many tasks associated with running a home business can be daunting, and become more so after even the smallest amount of success. If you are reading this then you are genuinely interested in making a successful go of your home business.
As you may have observed, there are many MLM network marketing businesses out there today that range in managing styles and operations. For the beginner, this can be the confusing part of trying to find the easy road to profit in a home business. Research is a key aspect of this step to generating residual income for yourself and your family right from your own home.
To simplify your business and your life find a team that divides tasks based on individual strengths. Another important step to choosing your MLM business is to choose a niche where you will have an abundance of resources in order to aid in your personal success.
Having the tools needed to generate income is essential and when you are given these partnered along with a strong support system, success is inevitable. You cannot prosper yourself without having someone there to help you on your way in a home business start up that you are learning each day. Without the proper training and guidance, it would be like telling someone who was just learning to read and write to create a novel.
Writing articles for your MLM Internet Marketing business can assist you to build your subscriber base, build up your downlines and profits when done well. Here are some tips on how you can productively hand out your articles for most exposure and results:
1. Make use of article directories for your article submission. There is recently some argument over whether presenting to just a little top directories would get you the desirable results or submitting to as many directories as possible. In my humble opinion, if it is for the intention of exposure, I’ll say “the more, the merrier”. present to as many article directories as possible. Just getting an average of 100 page views per directory, can transform into about 30,000 article readers who will ultimately click your author’s byline to visit your website.
2. To build up the outcome of this exponentially, offer your visitors a compiled edition of your articles to pass on to their contacts. If your articles are that excellent, know that folks would want to send them to their friends and colleagues.
3. Make a list of these articles on your website so that if Person A arrived at the site as a result of reading one of your articles on an article directory, he can have the choice of reading some of your other articles.
4. Look for communities where people of similar minds connect with each other. One mention of your article to a list of about 100,000 can build up your business’ exposure greatly . Most times, if your articles were excellent, folks would want to advertise them on their websites and add them to their lists.
Follow these tips and I am sure you will build up your Internet Network Marketing business by leaps and bounds.
Marketing your inter network marketing business is a minefield of learning curves and how to’s especially for those making the transition online for the first time or with very little experience.
Unless you are targeting the prospects who really want to hear your message then you will be wasting valuable resources including your time prospecting with any effectiveness. The old school model of talking to every person who is fair game is a bad business model in today’s internet dominated world.
It’s hit and miss and flawed simply because the time and energy wasted on trying to get someone to even listen to you can be better spent promoting a campaign online which will get you results. You have far greater reach marketing online and reaching prospects around the world instead of being restricted to farming leads in your own backyard.
Placing the right message in front of the right crowd is what it’s all about. In other words, an audience looking for a home business opportunity will respond better to your message than one which you simply suspect may want to look at a home business opportunity.
Can you see the difference here? And targeting this hungry audience online is easy once you understand the basics of promoting your web properties. So finding a learning environment with training in this area is vital.
The best marketing is transparency. Smoke and mirrors are a thing of the past. With knowledge comes power and that still holds true today in many aspects of the MLM market.
When you let other investors or even the public know what you are all about, where you have come from and where you want to go, you will find that many will want to be a part of that journey rather than watch you achieve those goals on your own. Transparency creates enthusiasm which in turn will generate strong, solid leads and help maximize the results for your home based business.
Find a team that is already marketing effectively and plug in. Some may find that this strategy is just riding on the coat tails of others, but in fact, it is supporting someone else in a similar situation as yourself and helping not only them but you can also achieve the goals set by everyone involved.
You will not be able to grow and maintain your online internet home business alone so you might as well find a team of successful entrepreneurs that are making positive steps in the MLM market today in order to help you grow and develop your own business.
A potential visitor who has been strolling through your site has finally come to just what she is looking for and is about to buy your product. It’s a sunny afternoon, and her cat, who happens to be sitting on the moss under the visitor’s large fifty-year-old snow-rose bonsai tree, suddenly jumps down, and the priceless tree topples over.
In the blink of an eye, your visitor leave your site, and your sale is dust - unless you have had the foresight to utilize an autoresponder system that has captured her email address. If you have installed an autoresponder, you can then follow-up with her, and most probably, make the sale when the poor woman has finished repotting her precious bonsai.
Autoresponders are versatile programs that do so much more than just automatically answer your email. Here are a few ways that will help you to creatively and productively use your autoresponder to transform the casual visitor into a profitable customer. Use your autoresponder to:
1. Publish a newsletter. Certain quality autoresponders will manage subscriptions and follow-up with interested prospects. Your newsletter can keep your visitors informed about your services or products, while building your reputation as a credible expert in your particular topic.
2. Publish an ezine only for your affiliates. Inform them of current sales you are running and of promotional material that your affiliates can use themselves to increase their earnings. Include tips, advice, and techniques that your affiliates can use to successfully go out and promote your business.
3. Write reviews. Cover books, software, music, e-books, movies, etc., and put each review in an autoresponder. Review your affiliate programs, using a link to your affiliate’s page in your autoresponder.
4. Distribute your articles. Writing and distributing targeted articles is a powerful tool to build your business credibility, bring visitors to your site, and increase your sales potential. If your articles contain helpful information, many editors will print what is known as a resource box for you. A resource box contains your bio and a brief description of your service or product. It can also contain your autoresponder address. Let’s say you’ve written fifty articles. Put them on separate autoresponder accounts and create a master list that contains the titles of each article, the autoresponder address, and a brief abstract. Then promote your master list. Additionally, include your publishing guidelines so your affiliates can add their articles to your list, increasing the number of writers who are represented in your article list.
5. Create opt-in lists. Inform subscribers to your articles when you’ve written new ones that they may want to publish in their own newsletter or website.
6. Automate your sales process. Use an ad to insure repeated exposure of your message, which has been proven to effectively increase sales. In your ad, put your autoresponder address where a visitor will be exposed to numerous marketing materials. This multiplies the chances of converting visitors into customers. For example, if you’re selling a particular product, put testimonials about how spectacular it is on your autoresponder, and add a detailed, enticing description of your product.
7. Distribute advertising. Let’s say you sell advertising on your website or in your newsletter or e-zine. Set your autoresponder to send the information about rates and how to place an ad automatically to all prospects’ email addresses. Then have your autoresponder follow-up. It can also send notification of any special deals you are
currently offering.
8. Distribute an email course. Each day, have your autoresponder send out another lesson. Just be sure that each lesson has quality content - not a sales pitch. Your content will do the selling for you, and will do it much more effectively. You can include tips centered on a different topic for each lesson, illustrating how your product will benefit the reader. Include the tangible benefits the visitor will reap by purchasing your product. Make sure to include a paragraph or two at the end of each lesson enticing your prospect to consider making a purchase.
9. Automate a reminder about your service or product after a visitor has completed your course. This will increase the possibility of sales from visitors who have taken your course but are dragging their feet about actually making a purchase. You can also use these reminders to promote new products or services, and the products and services of your affiliate programs.
10. Distribute free reports. This gives your visitor an idea of the type of information you can provide and the quality of your product or service. Make sure these reports are not sales letters or you will more than likely lose a potential customer than gain a sale.
11. Create trivia quizzes on your site and place the answers in an autoresponder. Your visitor will then be motivated to request your autoresponder, and you will have a record of the visitors’ email addresses who took your quiz. Or create a contest and have any visitors that enter send their responses to your autoresponder. Your autoresponder can be set-up to send them a confirmation of their entry.
12. Offer a trial version of your product. Give your prospects a sample of your ebook, course, software, membership, etc. People who are exposed to a little taste often end up wanting the whole pie. You can also capture their email addresses when you offer them a free trial from your website. Set up your autoresponder to give instructions on how to obtain their free trial, and then make sure to follow-up to try and close the sale.
13. Link to hidden pages on your autoresponder. For example, a hidden page could be your affiliate page that contains graphics, promotional articles, and text links that interested affiliates can make use of. Inform visitors that they may have free access to your affiliate page by simply requesting your autoresponder. You will then gather a list of visitors who may be interested in becoming your affiliates.
14. Use an autoresponder on your order page. Post a request form for visitors to be notified of special offers or discounts in the future. This creates a very effective mailing list that contains the names of people who are already your customers.
15. Put your links page on your autoresponder. It should contain up to fifty links that would be of particular interest to your visitors. Make sure to add your own promotional copy at the top or bottom of this page.
Now that you have proof that autoresponders can be used creatively, see if you can come up with some brilliant ideas of your own!
Read about home based business idea.
If your lead company fails in any of these 4 areas then you should be buying your MLM leads elsewhere. So here are the 4 things you should measure every lead company on:-
1. MLM Lead Quality
Obvious yet vital. And you would be surprised at how often it gets ‘overlooked’. If leads are rubbish then you waste money, and even more tragically your time.
Even worse - contacting bad leads also hits your confidence and motivation. There’s nothing worse than call after call to people who just aren’t interested, have no idea what you’re talking about or who are just bemused as to why you are calling.
And even more important, you’re going to be passing your best mlm leads sources to your own downline. So poor leads will have the same negative effects on your entire team.
Do not be fooled by polished looking websites alone. It’s ONLY the leads themselves that really count. So test a number of small batches. And keep an eye on the quality when you buy again.
2. Training
It’s a big part of any decent MLM company. But the best leads companies also include training on how to work with leads. This may be online videos, live training or paid for materials.
If that training is not there then you need to make sure you make it easily available. You may not want it yourself, but many people in your downline will.
3. Targeted Leads
Targeted MLM leads may mean the lead company is generating leads targeted for your MLM company. Or it could be geographic targeting. Or using demographics such as age, gender and income.
This additional targeting means you know more about the people you talk to. It can be important in reaching the right people for your product, helping bond with prospects and simply getting the right people to work with.
Do not underestimate targeted MLM leads.
4. Price
There are so many sources of cheap MLM leads. Forget them. If their sole focus is being cheap, then those leads are not what you want.
There is a cost to generating a decent lead. And the leads company has to make a profit over and above that. Yes, you want the best price MLM leads, but that will usually mean paying 1 or 2 dollars.
But remember that when you do pay a couple of dollars for a lead, that lead will likely generate many thousands of dollars in return for you over time. That’s why the best mlm leads are an investment.
If you plan on learning how to make money working from home and have recently begun your search for the right opportunity then be aware that it can be a minefield which has claim a large number of victims.
Now we’re not trying to sound drastic and in no way are we suggesting the work from home environment should not be pursued, in fact, it should but more that if you fall for the hype and outlandish claims made by many selling the dream then you will be forever chasing your tail.
The term selling the dream is common in home business circles and just the term seems to touch more than one hot button in an opportunity seeker. But while there’s nothing wrong with showing someone the dream that can be achieved, you need to start distinguishing between when you stop chasing it and when you start putting into practice activities to make it happen.
Many opportunity seekers online have been chasing the dream for many years with nothing to show for it and they seem caught in a state of hypnosis they can’t break free from. These people can be categorized as consumers of information and will have spent thousands of dollars on information and the truth is, much of it will never have seen the light of day.
Stop Chasing The Dream
You need to distinguish between those opportunities which just sell the dream and those which sell both the dream and the how to. Think about this for a moment. If you are drawn into a home based business opportunity because you were taken with what it can give you that’s great. But one of the first things you want to check before signing on is will there be a blueprint or how to for you to follow which will show you how to achieve your dream.
If you sign on and have a ton of information shoved at you and are then left to figure it out for yourself then look for something else. It’s one of the big problems with those selling information for profit online today. Many believe the majority know how to sell a dream but fall down badly when it comes to showing people how to get there.
There’s even a suggestion that this suits information sellers because it gives them the opportunity to sell another piece of the puzzle a little later down the track and then again and again and again. In an inter network marketing business you want to be making sure that you have a system to plug into and this should include lots of training on how to both build web properties and market them.
Is the Fear of Success preventing you from taking action?
Because one small action could earn you $100, $200, $1000 - and that could be just the tip of the iceberg.
We all know that “Procrastination is the Thief of Time”
So why procrastinate?
Well, partly because of the actual nature of Procrastination which Wikipedia describes as “a type of behaviour which is characterised by deferment of actions or tasks to a later time.”
And what causes procrastination? Mainly because it “might have a great impact on our lives”
If you’ve been putting things off, you can still spare 5 or 10 minutes to check something out, surely?
5 or 10 minutes could be all you need to find the right opportunity that helps you earn yourself $100, $200 or much, much more!
You have to admit that’s not a lot of action for quite a lot of reward, especially since the reward may be ongoing, and god forbid may even increase.
But is it the ‘great impact’ that the extra money could provide you that is what you are afraid of in the first place?
Here’s a quick, emotion based quiz:
1. Do you like the idea of greater financial freedom and rewards?
2. Have you ever stepped up and done enough to achieve them?
OK - I think we both know the answers to those questions…
Usually procrastination is the problem.
If procrastination has become such a habit that you do it without thinking, then you simply won’t remember how it stopped you taking the steps to achieve so many things, so many times in the past.
What you will conform to is just keep doing the same things over and over again, and you will never fully understand why you’re in the same old rut.
Procrastination is looking for the most difficult way of doing something, and deliberately (without thinking about it) placing obstacles in your own way.
Every single growth task becomes a mountain to climb.
Instead of doing what needs to be done you justify doing things that will have no impact on your financial freedom goal.
You might play games on your computer, watch TV, make a cup of tea or coffee, tidy up your desk or just simply day dream about what you are going to spend the money on.
In reality you should working on the task at hand rather than doing the things that won’t help your situation
If you are a creature of Procrastination you will tend towards overcomplicating things for yourself and everyone around you…
But, can you beat it?
Yes, and its simple!
Start by not complicating the things that will get you where you want to go.
Forget the excuses you’ve been giving yourself all this time… that’s obviously one thing you are good at.
And forget “What if?”
There’s also a significant difference between taking immediate action and being rash or foolhardy.
Let’s assume you’re not stupid. You KNOW what to do - and that includes how it’s likely to turn out. I guarantee that 90% of any tasks you plan (properly) and undertake will move you forward.
In other words, you know what you should do very quickly, you just need to trust yourself and act with confidence.
Make that a habit and you’ll soon start getting used to the ‘great impact’.
What’s interesting in the online marketing industry is that the majority of affiliates put off taking action until it is almost too late.
Notice I said almost?
They procrastinate, and eventually get around to it and once they started, things started happening.
What would have happened if they got into it straight away, well - it’s pretty obvious isn’t it? They would have brought forward their results. Why, because the opportunity or one just like it was there all along.
There exist today opportunities aplenty in online marketing, they come and they go - and anyone with the right mindset and who takes action on it will always have the jump on the benefits.
Don’t let Procrastination sabotage your success. Otherwise you might end up living a life that just plain sucks!
It’s time to make the most of your opportunity - the sooner you start the more bucks you could make!
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