Network Marketing => In Uncertain Times?Hello Partners:
The only CONSTANT - in business and in life - is CHANGE.
Our progress and success will depend largely on our ability to "embrace" change and "adapt" to it.
Make no mistake - we
are in a RECESSION - we have been for some time - and there are global implications.
Doom and Gloom! That's all we hear from CNN / newspapers / in conversation around the water cooler. You'd think the world was ready to end.
Financial Services companies are in deep trouble. Banks / Mortgage & Insurance companies / major corporations (Bear Stearns / Lehman Brothers / Merrill Lynch / Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac / AIG / Washington Mutual / Wachovia, etc) have
all hit metldown, largely because of the "sub prime" mortgage mess. And many investment portfolios & retirement plans are going in the wrong direction.
This is just the start of a long and painful disruption in the economy, as more financial institutions fall. This crisis is far more than a "stock market" free-fall - or "bailing out [the greed] on Wall Street" - this is about a massive "credit crunch" where the money supply is drying up.
For the better part of 15 years, the U.S. economy 'roared' - in part, because of innovations in finance that vastly expanded credit to people of all walks of life - and it worked in the background like a computer's operating software. Now, that software has been hit by a lethal VIRUS - and the computer ((the U.S. economy)) is at risk of seizing up completely, prompting the emergency measures that the Bush administration just announced - asking US takpayers to dump $700-BILLION into a [poorly defined] 'rescue package'!
The bailout program being proposed (failed on the first vote) - it lives side-by-side with commentary explaining that NO one really knows what the outcome would be if this drastic plan 'were' put into effect.
The result => Massive uncertainty. The truth is, there is very little in human affairs that IS certain. Yet from everything I have observed, people do everything they can to bring some semblance of certainty into their lives. From daily routines, to various levels of risk aversion, creating stability has become important to many. Thus the uncertainty in the current economic environment can be maddening. Many who thought their future was secure are watching their wealth melt away with no indication of when the problems will end.
Enter NETWORK MARKETING - - -
So why consider Network Marketing in these troubling economic times?
ADVERSITY - First, Network Marketing // MLM traditionally has experienced explosive growth during times of recession and economic downturns. In such times, people lose jobs - lose earnings - lose security - LOSE HOPE.
Where are they to turn when looking for financial alternatives?
One SOLUTION - Today is no different. With the threat of such an event again - we can expect much the same. In
adversity, there is most always
opportunity. And in our case, that opportunity manifests itself by enabling us to HELP OTHERS find more time freedom and financial security. And in the process, we help ourselves.
It's a WIN-WIN - especially now, with the INTERNET, where we can reach out globally to connect with people to build personal and business relationships.
HISTORY - It was in the late 1950's - when unemployment was at it's highest since the Great Depression (at 6.8% in 1958) - that Network Marketing really began to flourish - with the advent of such pioneering companies as Shaklee / Neolife / Amway.
-- This continued into the early 1960's - with companies such as Mary Kay / Avon / Tupperware / Fuller Brush all gaining huge momentum.
-- Then, in the late 60's - when the economy improved, and unemployment dropped - the growth of the Home Business and Direct Sales slowed somewhat.
-- The 1970's were not an exception, however, they played out differently. The first half of the '70s' saw unemployment rates jump again and the attention to Network Marketing once again took off. However, with all the heightened attention, five times as many 'lawsuits' were filed from 1970-1974 than all of those filed in the 50's and 60's - and the growth was dramatically slowed. The biggest lawsuit, against Amway, challenged the very 'existence' of Network Marketing - it was finally settled in 1979. This legal dispute, of course, dampened what otherwise would have been a greater boom in Network Marketing in the second half of the decade.
-- Again, during the 1980's, we saw the Network Marketing industry really flourish in the first half - while in the second half of the decade, it softened. In the first half, the unemployment rate had reached its highest level in 40 years, at 9.7% - while at the end of the 80's, there were almost ˝ that number out of work.
-- In the 1990's, the trend continued. In the early 1990's (1990- 1994) there was high momentum in the industry - in fact "there was more wealth created by way of MLM from 1990 to 1994 than at any other time in history." (Network Marketing Lifestyles / May 2000). From 1996-1999, we had a "Network Marketing recession" - again, in direct correlation to unemployment. In the early 1990's, the unemployment rate was very high and then in the later years in the 1990's, it hit a 30 year low of 4.2%. Many MLM companies have come and gone in the 90's.
-- In the 2000's, growth in the Network Marketing industry has been progressing slowly but steadily (the 10-year growth rate [1997-2006], according to the DSA (
www.DSA.org ) has been 4.5%. In 2006, the DSA tells us that, in the USA, total sales within the MLM // Direct Sales industry were $32-billion - and that total membership was 15-million. For worldwide figures, they show total sales at $109-billion - total members at 58-million.
Some Benefits of NETWORK MARKETING - - -
First, surveys by MarketWave Inc. and others indicate that 85% of all North Americans want to start their own Home Business. But in good times, when asked why they didn't 'pursue' this dream, the most common answers were - it took too much money - it took too much time - it involved too much risk - or they didn't know 'how' to start a Home Business.
Well, with the current financial uncertainty - pink slips - job losses - things are very different.
OPTIONS - People are 'open' to alternatives - and WE hold in our hands, the answer, because with a NETWORK MARKETING Home Business, you never have to worry about being downsized - or fired - or having your hours reduced - or benefits cut into. You have your destiny in your OWN hands.
Here are some 'more' reasons for considering this wonderful alternative - - -
A Network Marketing Home Biz - means that average people CAN still pursue their goals and dreams - without the stress of uncertainty in their jobs / businesses / professions.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - means No Boss watching over your shoulder - or telling you how to do your work. You get to decide how to structure your work day, how to approach each task, the quality of your work, what gets highest priority. You can specialize in areas that most interest you, which you can't do with most jobs.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - simply provides more security. Contrary to what many people might believe, it offers more security than most corporate jobs these days. There are no layoffs, no downsizing, no forced reassignments, no outsourcing, etc.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - is more flexible: You can structure your day to make your work 'fit in' better with your lifestyle and family responsibilities. You can also work during the hours when you are most productive, rather than the typical 9-5 of the corporate world.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - means no lost time and extra expense commuting.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - provides many more TAX deductions, such as: home office deduction / car expense / medical insurance / part of your phone and entertainment expenses / travel and education expenses / etc. If you incorporate, there are even more tax benefits. The corporation can buy you medical insurance, a car, etc., and deduct it as an expense.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - allows a much more generous retirement plan: With an SEP IRA or Keogh plan, you can deduct a higher percentage of your business profits than you could with a typical 401K plan.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - can respond much more quickly to changes in the marketplace than a large corporation can.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - means less stress: You have more control over your work than you do when working for someone else. You don't have difficult co-workers or bosses to deal with / no office politics / no rush hour traffic to confront coming and going / no hustle and bustle and constant noise in your work environment / no constant interruptions.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - provides more chance to 'achieve your potential' since you get to create your specialty and work at it as hard as you want - unlike working to someone else's standards, or under their time constraints. And when YOU get credit for the work - and it is what puts money in your pocket - you have much more pride in what you do and much more incentive to do it well.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - generates less overhead costs. Expenses are much lower than renting commercial office space. That means you can be turning a profit much sooner.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - means no glass ceiling for income or achievement. The sky is the limit. Existing skills, interests and hobbies can be turned into a A Home Business. There are many additional benefits to an MLM opportunity over other types of Home Business opportunities, including the following:
A Network Marketing Home Biz - has low start-up costs - generally one can become a distributor for an MLM company and get their introductory sales kit for less than $500. Most businesses require tens of thousands of dollars in start-up capital.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - requires no expensive training - yet, the "income potential" can far exceed that of a brain surgeon / corporate exceutive, who spend years studying + incur heavy education debt. Successful Network Marketers simply "attract" people who are looking for their products and business opportunity. The most important skills are "people" skills.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - provides entrepreneurial opportunity - but ties it to an established company (the best of both worlds): MLM distributors work for themselves from their own homes during the hours that they choose. That means that they can be flexible and fit their business in with family responsibilities, as well as do it part-time in conjunction with a full-time job. Network Marketers get to "create" their business any way they like and do it the way that works best for them, not someone overseeing their every move.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - requires no expensive TOOLS (like say, a Dentist or an Optometrist) Many very successful Network Marketers have nothing fancier than a phone in their Home Offices, and they can make a huge monthly income. Others make use of computers, fax machines, and other modern tools to advance their business. But again, MLM is a "people" business, not a technical business. Those who are most successful concentrate on self-development + their people skills, no matter what technology / tools / systems they might use to help find good prospects and contact their downline.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - means your MLM Company drop-ships the products: That means that you don't have to buy lots of product and find a place to stock it. You can take orders from your customers and the company dropships them directly to your customers / clients 'for' you.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - provides on-going Residual Income, IF the business is built properly. This is one of the major benefits of a Network Marketing opportunity. You don't just profit from your own sales, but also from the sales of your downline. You don't have to keep finding more and more customers just to maintain your income. Most MLM distributors are required to make a set product purchase each month (Autoship) to maintain their distributorship, as is everyone in their downline.
Commissions are paid on these purchases. Once you've recruited one person in the opportunity, then, you continue receiving monthly commissions on their membership, month after month, as long as they stay with the company. You don't have to sell to them over and over again. That means that you can easily increase your Home Biz income every month by finding NEW distributors to add to your organization.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - means you earn on what your downline does, even when 'you' have months that you don't put in as many hours of work. With a large organization, most of the commission income will come from the work of others. This is FAR superior to being paid an hourly wage and losing your income when you don't work. An MLM home based business pays you far into the future for the work you have done in the past. And all the work you do with your downline in training pays off in future months as they make more and more sales and build their own organizations.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - can be worked part-time: It is the perfect solution for many people who work a full-time job, but still don't make enough income. Earning some extra money from an MLM opportunity allows them to 'fill in the gaps' during their free time. Or, it allows people to start a Home Business while working an existing job - then quit when their income equals their job income. This cuts down the risk of starting any Home Biz considerably.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - means that MLM Companies // Uplines provide their distributors with sales materials / training materials and a Business Plan: That means that you don't have to create those things yourself, as you would with so many other Home Businesses. This allows you to get started almost immediately with a plan and system that is already working for others.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - means you are a part of a TEAM. The person who recruited you is your "sponsor" and a member of your upline. They are a business partner and it is their job to train you and help you build your business. You don't have to do it alone, as you would with so many business opportunities. If you have questions, or you have areas that you are not yet skilled in, your sponsor can help you.
Presumably, the people in your upline are already successfully building their own MLM home based business, so they already know exactly how to do it and can show you and get you up- to-speed quickly. This is what is known in the industry as "duplication:" showing your partners how to do exactly what you are doing. With MLM, it is in your sponsor's best interests to help you succeed, since they are also paid a percentage of the sales in your organization. It is an old MLM adage that "I'm only as successful as my downline."
A Network Marketing Home Biz - exposes you to many ways to enhance your personal growth and development. Because it is a "people" business - and it helps build 'networking skills' - it also enhances your personal life in all these areas.
A Network Marketing Home Biz - allows for early retirement. As an MLM distributor, it is possible to work for a few years building a large sales organization (downline) - building a large residual income - then retire and continue to receive the residual income indefinitely. In many cases, the distributor can "sell" the business and receive either a lump sum settlement or an amortized payout.
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CHANGE & CHALLENGE - At the top, I talked about "change". I see more "change" happening - in at least the following four (4) areas - and how we'll need to meet them...
((1))- In The Way We Build Our Businesses - More and more, I believe we need to embrace NEW methodologies - particularly the ATTRACTION MARKETING business model. We can accomplish this with both OFFline marketing and ONline marketing - with both Cold market and Warm market - to effect a healthy 'balance' in our marketing efforts. With this model, we "attract" prospects to US - because of first, offering them high value information (an eBook / eCourse / Educational Report, etc - for FREE) - not hitting them with our Products / Services / Biz Opps. We first, build trust and develop a relationship with them - "prior" to exposing them to what we have to offer.
I also believe we need to embrace the CONSULTATIVE DIALOGUE approach, as taught by Michael Oliver / Natural Selling
So what IS the Consultative Dialogue approach? - For starters, a better, more professional, more comfortable way to "communicate" with our prospects - a way that 'overrides' any objections and//or rejection. It's easily duplicatable - you will learn how to interact with your prospects and build a solid relationship with them. By discovering their needs, wants, and desires, you will be able to provide your prospects with specific solutions.
-- Instead of using the traditional (OLD) ways of ==> CHASING // TELLING // PRESENTING // PERSUADING // MINIPULATION // CLOSING - you go through a "process of mutual discovery" with your prospects -- you engage in ==> INTERVIEWING // QUESTIONING // LISTENING // ANSWERING QUESTIONS - // UNCOVERING PROBLEMS - to see if your products / services / biz opps 'might' be a good FIT for them (SOLUTIONS) - and if not - to be honest with them, and tell them so ((offering to help them find the right solutions). It's a win-win all around, and it will 'transform' your whole positioning into one of a Home Biz
Consultant.
((2))- In The Way We Adapt - As good as a Network Marketing Home Business may be [and it can be] - it's not perfect (show me any business model that is). Because of the new economic climate we're enmeshed in - there will be some new
challenges facing all of us - personally, and in our jobs / businesses / professions. I believe that it won't quite be 'business as usual' again - at least for a while. One of the areas that
we may see targeted is in Home Biz TAX deductions, as government looks for ways to cover their hurricane bailouts. Most certainly, we'll all need to share in some sacrifice - government coffers are dry - promised benefits may be put on hold - there's no free lunch.
((3))- Products / Services That are ESSENTIAL - Network Marketing and Direct Sales entrepreneurs need to evaluate their products / services in times of economic hardship. When money is tight, products that are considered non-essentials will be more difficult to market, unless your target market is affluent, and aren't greatly effected by the financial downturn. Having a product or service of high value is important anyway, but it is particularly vital in a tough economy.
((4))- Reasonable START-UP + Monthly AUTOSHIP - Also, a low start-up cost is critical (ideally, less than $500) -- as is a low monthly Product / Service Autoship (perhaps as an option) - say, $50/mo.
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RESILIENCE - Nevertheless, even though the challenges 'are' out there (they always will be - we cannot hide from them) - I am convinced that knowlege + human ingenuity will empower us. Resolve + positioning will cause us to win - big. The opportunities are there, for those of us who are ready. We are a resourceful industry. We always have been. We have a passion for its purpose. We believe in our dreams. We will act on our vision. We will build even greater successes in future, together - because a solid Network Marketing Home Business is one of the greatest GIFTS available today. I truly believe this.
WHY do I believe this? Because of what we DO in our Network Marketing world -- because of the CAUSE we represent -- because of the HUMANITY we serve. We in this industry - reach out to more people - we touch more lives - we bring more good - we spread more WELLNESS (personal / financial / business / legal / spiritual / + +) -- than just about any other calling on this earth. I believe that we should RECOGNIZE this - that we should be PROUD of this - and that we should do whatever is absolutely necessary to PRESERVE this heritage, as it is an awesome responsibility we hold in our hands.
Sincerely / Peter A.
www.PeterArnoldOnline.com Peter Arnold, CLU, CFC / Founder
Business Achievers Academy / Canada
Executive Director // DRA (
www.TheDRA.org ) // Canada
(DRA // Distriburor Rights Association // Global, Non-Profit)
