Show the Plan. Give people a direction to follow.

Here it is the last in my blog series where I reinterpret the words of Chris Matthews from his November 7, 2011 Time Magazine article, “Five Things JFK Could Teach Obama”.

The last thing mentioned that JFK could teach Obama was to “Show the Vision”. This is all so important because it gives people a purpose. Kennedy showed his dreams up front in the Peace Corps, the space program and in nuclear-arms control. In Showing the Plan (STP) he painted a picture about the direction he wanted to take the country. Your STP does not have to be that big, but it must be bigger than you are now and it must make people stretch.

Looking into the future is not something that everyone does or even thinks about with any degree clarity. Yeah sure everybody thinks about what kind of place they would like to live in or what kind of car they would like to drive or how to contribute to their retirement fund. That’s not what I am talking about I am talking about vision which is all together different. I’m talking about seeing into the future and forming a plan which will affect not only you, but others in your ever growing circle of influence. The bigger your vision the bigger your circle of influence will grow.

In network marketing your vision will make you a leader. How big a leader will depend on how big your vision. This can be something as simple as aspiring to the top position in your company. Of course the vision required for that promotion is far reaching and encompasses the aspirations of many other IBOs (Independent Business Owners). Without a doubt your vision has to be beneficial to others because if you don’t help others you will not get where you want to go. A different way to say that is you have to share the vision.

Share the Plan (STP) is the first step in network marketing vision building. This is where newbies first get to see the unlimited potential that this industry holds for individuals. In what other endeavor could someone go from nothing to financial freedom in a relatively short period of time.  STP and people will see what they have to do from distribution of products and services to the welcoming of new members to their organization. I know in my business STP is essential for growth.

Vision gives people hope. They see the possibilities that the future holds and it excites them. Excited people take action. In your organization give people vision and just watch how business grows.

My vision has me helping six other people to reach financial independence in the next five years. Tell me what your vision entails and put it down in the comment section below.

 This is the 4th in a series of postings, and accompanying videos, taken from the Chris Matthews article in the November 7, 2011 edition of Time Magazine. The article went on to explain “Five Things JFK Could Teach Obama” and I have loosely interpreted how those “Five Things” could apply to the direct marketing industry. 

 As Kennedy said in a speech at American University in June 1963, “Our problems are man-made and therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. …” it was this belief in the capacity of mankind that John Kennedy sold and the American people bought. Lo and behold it worked. America strove forward in the sixties like no other nation before. People were put on the moon, civil rights for all became the norm. There was a belief that anything was possible.

In network marketing you can be as big as you want it all depends on your belief level. To paraphrase Henry Ford, If you believe you can, you can, if you believe you can’t, you can’t. So many do not make it because they don’t have the right belief level. It is called attitude, with it you can conquer your greatest fears and stand on top of your company/industry.

 There are various ways to get your belief to the right level needed for success in this industry. Results, Results, Results. Major production will give you results putting money in your pocket. Boy can you.get an attitude when a regular giant-sized cheque/check is coming into your mailbox every week. Maybe one out of a thousand can get these results from the giddy-up due to a natural inherent ability to influence theirs. Sadly for the rest of us it will take a set of skills we have to learn and hone as Tom “Big Al” Schreiter will happily inform us. The good news is that there are no shortage of teachers. Obviously this blog is a testament to that last snippet of information.

 Along with skills you want to work on your personal development. In no other industry is this a greater asset than in direct marketing. Read the books, watch the DVDs, attend the seminars and through osmosis you will develop a belief level sending your business through the roof. A bonus to all this personal development is that it spills over into the rest of your life making you a better husband, wife, son, daughter, friend and neighbour. Sweet.

 Skills and personal development aside the biggest builder of belief is events. The bigger the event the bigger the belief level will grow. They make you bullet proof and no naysaying “I-have-an-uncle-who-went-to-jail-for-one-of-those-things” crumpet will deter you from your vision. For instance this weekend I am off to San Diego for a 20k plus convention with my primary company. I”ll come out the other side with a renewed belief and a fired-up attitude. So if you are in a company get out to the events whether they are the local weekly Business Opportunity Meetings (BOM), a regional or national event. If you are not in a company, then hey why not join mine. Put one good comment why not in the box below.

 So if you don’t have belief go get it.

As with my previous two postings I am using the Chris Matthews article in the November 7, 2011 edition of Time magazine, “Five Things JFK Could Teach Obama” and relating the “Things” to the network marketing industry.

The message is to learn from your mistakes and not be afraid to own up to them. The classic JFK lesson was the one he learned from The Bay of Pigs and a year later, older and wiser, he applied his lessons in the Cuban Missile Crisis. He made decisions based on what his responsibility dictated.

Don’t we all wish we could learn from our mistakes and make powerful decisions. What a better training ground then a network marketing business where possible life changing decisions can be made every day. Decisions that not only affect you and your family, but also those in your organization.

To be responsible is about making decisions and one of the first responsibilities is to  yourself. You must be responsible to yourself. Just as JFK knew that whatever he did would reflect on his name forever you must know that your vision and actions will be a reflection of the brand that is you. Make sure you nurture and grow that brand. Never stop the self development process. Read, listen, learn and become more than you are today. That is your responsibility to yourself. It should not be taken lightly as it correlates directly with your success or lack thereof.

Your second responsibility is to your team. Notwithstanding other responsibilities such as family, community and spirituality as this is a blog concerned primarily with the Direct Marketing industry. Your team must know that you are there for them every second of the day. They need your support and you need a T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Achieves More). Be there on the phone or in person when they are faced with the unhappy customer, the disgruntled downline, the reluctant prospect or the doubting friend.

Being responsible on it’s own is not always enough. Life does not stay stagnant there is a constant ebb and flow. As change occurs so must you. Do not get caught up in the status quo because for sure it will change. This is a certain way to provide leadership. Learn from your mistakes and make adjustments in your thinking accordingly. This is taking responsibility for your actions. Do this and people will follow you.

Too many people in the network marketing industry do not take their business serious and as a result do not take their own or their downline’s responsibilities serious. They neglect to train newbies properly, attend events, follow up prospects, learn product or work on personal development. In other words, they do not act responsible as applies to their business. No wonder many fail.

Don’t you fail. Tell me what responsible act you did today to grow your business.

Establish a personal bond with your fellow networkers. You and they will need the support during times of negativity.

This is the second in a series of blogs based on the Chris Matthews article in Time Magazine, November 7, 2011. His article was titled “Five Things JFK Could Teach Obama”  These blog postings are showing how those same five things could apply to a network marketer who is just getting started or who has fallen into a rut with no forward momentum. A video synopsis of this posting can also be found on YouTube

What JFK did was brilliant. He was from a wealthy and privileged background which would make it hard for him to relate to those of more humbler beginnings. To overcome this he had in some of his closest political advisors men who had middle class upbringing. Men who could get down and dirty at the local political get togethers. This was JFK’s forte, being able to bond with others who were different than him. The payback was huge as staffers, colleagues, countrymen and eventually many ordinary folks from around the world fell into and followed his vision.

Those in the direct selling industry can use this strategy of JFK’s to make their organization stronger. It is simply a matter of you not doing all the work, but rather have a team of like-minded individuals all working towards the same goal. BTW, that goal is to have complete freedom of both time and money.  What a concept! How to implement this strategy? Simple go out there and get into Phase 1.

When you are in Phase 1 of recruiting (See previous posting) do not judge anyone. This will give you a diversified base of partners to work with assuring you will not get pigeonholed into one niche market. All of these new recruits can go to their particular marketplace and expand the vision. They can reach markets you can’t just like JFK’s guys got into political circles not easily reached by him initially.

Now you might not have the charisma of a JFK to promote your vision, but there is no reason you can’t work closely with your team members to make sure everybody is on the same page. Of course, you want to keep in mind the old 80/20 rule stating that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Pay attention to the 20% and build strong bonds with them.   You are going to need these bonds because times will get tough in this industry and you will need the support of like-minded team members.

Once you have created a personal bond with your frontline people you will want to do the same with their frontline people and so on down your network chain.  Make your support personal by talking to them on the phone regularly (yup like everyday), doing three-way calls, guest speak at their home meetings, hang with them at the national convention, attend their birthday party. Yeah, you get the idea. Get tight with them.

When you have this tight band of committed partners you can reach for the stars and you know they will follow you. Just like JFK had a nation and then the world following his vision.

Tell me in the comments section below who is following you.

You’ve Got To Ask

You are being called to join and become a participant.

In other words, “Take Action”

In the November 7, 2011 edition of Time magazine there is a great article by Chris Matthews on “FiveThings JFK Could Teach Obama”. Talk about learning from a great mentor of the past. Not only can these lessons be applied to politics but there is room to interpret them as they apply to the world of business, in particular, the direct marketing business. This is especially poignant if your business is floundering. I am writing one blog posting  for each “Thing” and there will be an accompanying video posting on YouTube. Tell me what you think in the comments section below.

JFK was all about people taking action. He must be turning over in his grave watching everybody stuck in front of TVs, game consoles, cubicles and fast food counters. Where are his words now, “It is not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”  People took action they joined the Peace Corps, they got behind the space program, they got involved. Many of us in the network marketing industry could use that same sense of involvement to move our businesses forward.

You must take action! There is no other way that things will get done unless you initiate the process. First and foremost you have to find people who are looking for the same objectives as you are.  These are leads and how you get them depends on the actions you take.  Actions like online advertising, attending networking events, joining volunteer groups, talking to people around you, participating in the social media and buying leads.  After you get these leads then it is time for more action, such as contacting and follow-up.

Next and this is the hardest action to take for most folks, you have to close these leads who have now turned into prospects. Surprisingly this is the easiest action of all, you just ask for the business. That’s it, you ask, “Would you like to join me and build a future fortune together?”  You can ask over the phone, face-to-face, thru the Internet or any other way you can get in front of the prospect to pose the question. Bottom line you gotta ask.

Once the newbie is on board more action is required as you provide support for their new biz and your ongoing biz. This is done when conducting training sessions, making 3-way calls, presenting the business or recruiting activities. Actively do all on a consistent basis and you too can reach the moon.

What action are you willing to take right now?

The event took place in the west end of Toronto on a Saturday afternoon. I was excited because I had a guest coming and he was going to be wearing a suit. Can you a imagine a real live professional-type person. I was losing as I thought how nice it would be to have someone who understands business learning this biz. Was it the suit that made me think this way because if it was boy was I way off base. This guy was a dud.

He left after the first hour intro presentation and missed the next four hours of mind blowing business/industry information. It didn’t matter. I got a ton of useful stuff that had me reeling.

That is why events are so important. You can be a first timer, like my guest, or a grizzled veteran, me, and you will benefit. Too bad he didn’t stick around long enough to capitalize on the life changing info. Events will motivate, inspire, inform, excite, refresh and change you.

These events can take on many different forms. I’m going to an arena sized event with over 20,000 attendees at the beginning of December.  Small in-home events might only have half a dozen people. Events are not always face-to-face encounters as you can also attend Webinars or conference calls online or over the telephone. Isn’t that crazy, never leave your home and be at one with a thousand others on a live Webinar.

Use events as a tool to grow your business. Let the presenters and keynote speakers give you and your opportunity credibility. When there is an event you can get to make sure you do. It can be a life changing event if you let it.

You gotta get a script, memorize it and then go to the mall and use it. Here’s the beginnings of the one I use.

Me: “Excuse me. Can I ask you a quick question?”

Them: “Uh, Yes”

Me: “I am with a company who is making huge expansion in this area and we are looking for some friendly motivated people to help us with some marketing and promotional tasks. My questi0n is, are you working or going to school at the present time?”

Them: “Yeah, I am already working.”

Me: (Sounding downtrodden) “Oh, I see. What is that you do?”

Them: “I’m in accounts receivable.”

Me: “That sounds quite interesting. Tell me, in addition to your regular job do you ever keep your options open to evaluating other ways to generate extra income.”

Them: “It depends, but of course I do.”

Me: “Great. Do you have a business card? I’m in a rush right now, but I will be back in this area next week and I’ll be sure to contact you with some information on how you can increase your monthly income.”

That’s it. If they don’t have a card I simply bring out a pen and paper and say, “That’s alright, give me a contact number and I’ll call you in a few days when I am back in this area.”

The above approach is a hunter approach were you zero in on the sharpest people you can spot and let them know you are out there looking for people like them. A more relaxed method of introduction might occur while sitting in the Food Court and striking up a F.O.R.M. conversation with those around you. You know the routine talk about Family, Occupation, Recreation or Retirement (depending on age) and lead it into Money. As in, “… four kids, that will make you want to work some overtime.” “Yes it does.” “You know I might have a solution to that. Do you have a card?”

If the prospects are asking like, “What is it? What do I have to do?” You can answer simply by saying, “some marketing and promotional tasks that really depend on your personality type and your schedule. The hours are extremely flexible and there is no experience necessary. Listen, I’m in a hurry and have got to get going, but …”

Finding prospects in the mall is really quite simple, but you must be willing to talk. If you are willing to talk and you have the right script this NWM industry will be quite lucrative for you. So get off your couch and go out there, have some fun mingling with the masses at your local shopping emporium. I’ll be looking for you.

The first thing I do is ask potential customers if they think the price of electricity will go up or if it will go down in the next five years. Depending on their answer I will suggest one of our three main product groupings. For instance if they say “up” I tell them they should go with our Stability (Fixed) Program which would allow them to lock in at a fixed price over the next five years. If they say “down” I show them the Market Tracker (Variable) Program which fluctuates with the wholesale price in the market. If they are not sure I tell them there is our Sleep Easy (Hybrid) Program that is 50% Variable, 50% Fixed.

If they are looking for me to supply them with the best direction to go I usually recommend the Fixed Program and here is why. It is simple to show a savings on in today’s (September 2010) market. Hold on before you get too excited there is one small complexity and that is the Provincial Benefit (PB) which today sits at 1.36 cents per kWh. As a Retailer of electricity we have to add the PB to our cost per kWh, which is now 5.49 cents. Our grand total 6.85 cents per kWh. Alright, so what does the Utility charge?

In Ontario, by approximately the end of the year all the utilities will be charging by Time-of-Use. Here is how it works.

Weekdays

7 am to 11 am  (Moderate)                                    8.0 cents/kWh                                                                                                                            11 am to 5 pm   (Peak)                                             9.9 cents/kWh                                                                                                                             5 pm to 9 pm   (Moderate)                                    8.0 cents/kWh                                                                                                                               9 pm to 7 am  (Off Peak)                                       5.3 cents/kWh

Weekends                                                                   5.3 cents/kWh

The Utility cost of electricity includes the PB, which mean that we are much less expensive during Moderate and Peak hours. Obviously the possibility is there to save even more money in the future if the price goes up. If the price drops? Heck, we are already lower now and it is doubtful IMHO that it will ever drop lower than our Fixed cost.

The final straw is to take their bill and multiply their Electricity kWh by our 6.85 cents and watch them freak out at the savings you can give them if they were on our service in September. Of course, October and the following months could be different so you might want to let them know that the Provincial Benefit will change over time. To stay current on this stuff go to the IESO Consumer Information page at the beginning of each month.

All of this is great stuff for the residential consumer, but it can be mind-blowing for the business consumer who is often using the most electricity during the Peak hour period. Peak electrical usage in Ontario is usually between 4 pm and 5 pm. If you know someone who has a restaurant or store and they are using less than 3,000,000 kWh per year go show them what we have. If it is over that mark have them fill out a Commercial Lead Pass and have our professional marketers talk to them.

The bottom line: This is September take advantage of the low PB and the upcoming time-of-use charges. Let potential customers know you can help them out with their high energy costs. This is especially true for businesses who have to operate during the peak hours and often at maximum usage.

Hope this has been of some help. Got any questions you can always post a comment and I’ll answer.

To get my biz rolling again I went out and bought a list of names from a lead company. I feel this is the best move I could have made because it has given me a huge surge at a time when I needed a huge surge. I haven’t registered anybody yet, but I do have 1/2 a dozen people looking and in the process. Empirical evidence has shown me that it takes six weeks from beginning to end to register somebody in the business so I am on track.

Most importantly, the process I go through with this new list of names starts my engines up and it is an easy transition to then contact people on my follow-up list that I have personally met through means other than a bought and paid for list. This makes it so, so worthwhile. As Zig Ziglar tells it, those first five doors you knock on are the hardest and after that the rest of the day is a breeze. Same here. After I have talked to a few people on my paid for list I am in the groove and now I can talk to folks the rest of the day and no matter how they react I am not discouraged. It is worth a fortune to be able to feel and act in this manner.

All these people on the list got there by filling out an interview form on the internet. Now, this is one way for the lead company to gather names, but they also do it in other ways such as ads in local newspapers or phone surveys to name a couple. The information they fill out allows me to know their name, phone number, email address and some other pertinent info like how much they want to earn monthly, best time to call and how much money they have to invest. Great starting spot for me as long as my wordsmithing is coming correct. Here is what I say, you judge for yourself.

Me: “Hello John”                                                                                                                                                                                                                 John: “Yes”                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Me: “My name is Richi and I am calling from Toronto. I am calling in answer to your internet interview where you stated that you wanted to generate extra money from home. Is that still true?”

If they say yes I ask them questions on their educational, work and family history. I probe to find their needs, wants and don’t wants. I ask why they want to generate extra money. Finally, when the timing feels right I will tell them that I will send them a three minute pique interest video. I tell them that after viewing if it sparks an interest we will go further and if it doesn’t we will stop right there. That usually seals the deal right then and there.

If they say no I thank them for their time and wish them a heartfelt goodbye.

This is working for me, getting me back on track giving me the push I need to have my momentum return. If you are stuck in the horse latitudes with your network marketing business I highly recommend getting a lead company list to move you out of the doldrums. There are a lot of lead companies out there. I did my research, do yours and find a company that will do you right.

You have to love what you do. Buoy is this ever true. How many people do you know that are working in jobs or professions and wishing that they were not. You don’t look forward to getting up ion the morning and you can’t wait until the workday comes to an end. Don’t do it, find something you love, like I did and just do that.

Be passionate. Needless to say Donald is passionate about work. He would rather work than lay about on a vacation. He is that passionate about what he does. Passion, enthusiasm, energy this is what will drive your business forward. Live a full life, be passionate.

Think Big. If you know anything about Donald Trump you know that this is an automatic. It is like the old adage, “shoot for the stars and if you fail you are still going to hit the moon.” Set your sights high and you will be amazed at the returns.

Focus on the positive. There are two operative words here, one is “focus” and the other is “positive”. Concentrated, intense effort on the job at hand or on your goal will bring you positive results.

Have momentum and keep it going. Losing this will break your business. Once you get the wheel rolling do not let it stop as it is very, very difficult to get it going again.

Leadership. You can develop leadership with success. Your success will attract people who want to have similar success. You will be obligated to lead them down the path. Success makes it possible to be a good leader.

Think positive. We are inundated with negativity from news to traffic to co-workers. Stay positive and you will attract other positive people. Not only that, but you will create the force necessary to reach your success goal.

Have a little paranoia. You want to watch the people who are watching your money. It is one thing to create financial independence, it is a whole another ballgame to keep it. Do not go overboard with this, but do stay alert.

Discipline. You have set your sights on a goal and to get to it requires a number of baby steps. The little steps added together make for one giant leap. You need a certain “stick to it ness” to take those steps each and every day. It is called discipline.

Expect problems. Expect bad things to happen. Then you will be on guard and alert when things do not go the way you had planned.

Stay balanced. Learn from your mistakes. There is always a lesson in everything you do. The trick is not to repeat the bad lessons. You can learn so much from history.

Get even. These are Donald’s axioms and this particular one is something I don’t always agree with, but it seems to have worked well for Mr. Trump. He says if someone gets you get them back tenfold.

Never quit. You never know when the prospect that will retire you will show up in your life. Keep working on your business and yourself until you get it right.

Mix the above ingredients together with a good product, a solid company and some old-fashioned luck. Voila, abaraa kazabra the stars align and you have the success you have been wanting.