The Home Based iNternational website was developed to encourage and help you succeed in your home based business (adventure), not to blow smoke and talk you into something you should not do in the first place.
Here is what I have found you can expect in the direct marketing business from over twenty eight years of experience. (Note: I use “Direct Marketing” to refer to direct, network marketing and multilevel marketing). I want you to go into your new business with both eyes wide open with no surprises:
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Consult your spouse before taking the leap! You may believe that “it is easier to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission”; not in this case. It is their future too, you know. You must agree on where and how long your resources are going to be spent to reach your business goals.
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Do not quit your day job! “Work part-time on your fortune and full-time on the job. Before long you can work full-time on your fortune”, Jim Rohn. This is a very important point. Two things; (1) you will need the cash flow from your full-time job to fund your new business. (2) We promote direct marketing as something you can do part-time. So, that really is the way it should be done until you replace your full-time salary on a consistent basis; for at least six months. Remember, 95% of business fail within the first two years; that includes home businesses too. There is no guarantee.
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Do not go in to debt! Cash flow has always been king and still is, so do not borrow money. Simply make a sell to generate the cash needed to fund your business.
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$300 Max to get started! If it cost more than $300 dollars to enroll in a direct marketing program, I would not do it. Any reputable company will cost no more than this to get started.
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No Front-End Loading! For goodness sakes, do not ever let anyone “front end load” you down with product that will end up in your garage anyway and no quota’s please!
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Look for those that are ready to go now! Everybody you talk to is not going to be as excited as you are about your products, services or opportunity. That’s OK. They are not rejecting you; they just are not interested in what you are offering at this time. But, life happens and later they just may be. So, always ask for permission to contact them in a few months to see if anything has changed, or for referrals to help you build your new business.
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Don’t talk someone into doing something they don’t want too! If you do you will be talking them into staying the whole time. They are not going to doing anything anyway. It is like having a boat anchor around your next trying to hold you back. Don’t do it! Just get them as a customer.
- Rarely will you sell a product or service to the people you talk to today. Two weeks. Two months. Two years later they will remember you, if you stay in touch. So start putting people in the “pipe line” and keep it full.
- Everybody will not stay or keep buying your services or products:
(1) Sixty percent of your associates will quit over time
(2) Thirty percent will drop your service or stop buying your
products. Your job; put more in than are dropping out.
It doesn’t take many that doing something, to succeed.
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Get ready for challenges and adversity! Once you start your business, it is amazing how the world conspires to do you harm or do you in. You’ve got to be tough and have some faith.
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Make some waves! Pick a goal and set the sail. A sail boat moving forward, into the wind (of adversity), is making waves. If it is not, it is either in dry dock or “dead in the wind”.
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Read good books, listen to go tapes, get around people who are succeeding in doing what you want to do and become a new you. Take every opportunity of receiving training from those that have done it and are doing it, not those that just talk about how to succeed.
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Don’t wait on anyone. Your success is up to you and what you do, not on what anyone else is doing or not doing.
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Don’t sell, tell! No one likes the feeling of being sold. And most people can not sell to start with and don’t want to. So learn to ask some questions, listen well, and “tell” people about what you have to offer.
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Do not use your mouth! Tell them by using third party which is anything or anybody other than you. Third party is your upline or a tool such as a link to a presentation, a magazine, a DVD or CD, a recorded phone call or a professional business briefing.
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They will not call you! Learn this early on and succeed. You must follow up with in your prospect, preferably within forty eight hours of the first exposure with a third party tool.So, don’t forget their contact information because the fortune is in the follow up.
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Do nothing that is not duplicable. If everyone can not do it, don’t waist your time. Duplication is the life blood of direct marketing.
- Be “system” dependent, not “independent”. A “WAVE 4″ business has a system that will sponsor, train, and motivate your team. It is not about you. It is about the system. The system will provide the leverage to shorten the time required to reach your goals.
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Three steps to success. (1) Sell by “telling” prospects about your product or service. (2) Sponsor associates that are interested in the business opportunity and plug them into the system. (3) Become a promoter of “the system”.
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It’s OK! If all you want to do is sell, that is ok too. You will be limited to what “you” can do and will not have the leverage that comes with building a team of “tellsmen” or “tellspeople”, but that’s ok. Direct marketing has something for everyone.
I will expand on each one of these in days to come. Your thoughs and experiences are appreciated.
Your success is our success,
Rick Holloway