Ponzi schemes are a type of illegal pyramid scheme named for Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant who used technique in New England in the 1920's. Although it was he who is most well known for using this scheme, the concept has been around for a long time.
These types of schemes are quite common and you have probably seen those hundreds of times, perhaps without realizing it. They are often in the form of messages that claim that for a relatively small investment, you can make huge amounts of money. There are many variations, but they all are based on the same concept: the promotion of what starts out to be, or appears to be, a real investment opportunity. Many times it involves the development of a valuable resource such as oil, gas, minerals or real estate. In a lot of cases, the resource does actually exist; however, the promoter has significantly overestimated its how much it is worth. In other cases the resource does not even exist. Either way, the promoter convinces investors that the asset can be further developed if they invest into it. In return, the promoter will share the profits with the investors.
The concept works in the beginning and the initial investors do make the huge returns that they were promised. Because of this they are likely to invest more money and recruit new investors. The money being paid out, however, is not coming from the asset, but in the influx of new investors. For this reason, the only way that the investors will continue to get paid is through the continuous reinvestments or investments from new investors. As soon as investing slows down, people stop getting paid and the scheme begins to collapse. When the scheme collapses, most investors lose their money and have no way to recoup their losses. Although Ponzi schemes can last for a fairly long time before collapsing, legal authorities often break them up before they even get the chance because a Ponzi scheme is suspected and/or because the promoter is selling unregistered securities.
The best way to avoid becoming involved in this type of scheme is to thoroughly research any investment before investing into it. If you see: a reliance on funds from new investors to pay commissions, a need for an inexhaustible supply of new investors, and/or absences of a profitable product or efforts to make profits through productive work; there is a good chance that it is indeed a Ponzi scheme.
One of the best companies on the internet is a company that teaches people how to market on the internet. If you do now know how to market, then now matter what products or services you provide, no one will ever know you are there. So to start with the basics, you need to learn to know how to market on the internet.
If you are not accepting credit cards online, you will lose sales. The more card types you can accept, the higher your sales will be.
Credit cards are the most popular way to pay for products and services on the Internet. The majority of online customers will pay by credit card, debit card, electronic check, or PayPal. Very few people will mail in a check.
To accept online payments, you will typically need a merchant account, a payment gateway, and a shopping cart. A shopping cart on a web site collects the payment information, communicates with the payment processor and gateway, verifies that the credit card or echeck is good, and returns the authorization or denial to your site. This all happens very fast.
Through the shopping cart software, you can set up a thank you page that will automatically appear when the payment is authorized. When selling ebooks or software, you can put your download links in your thank you page and automate the complete ordering process.
You will pay an activation fee and monthly fees for both the merchant account and the shopping cart - usually around $30/month for each.
Some shopping carts are more powerful and user friendly than others. Some of the better shopping carts allow you to set up many products, support recurrent billing, set up membership sites, provide upselling options, and your download page can expire automatically after a certain period of time.
You can choose from many shopping cart plans depending on your needs. You can start with the basics and upgrade anytime as needed.
Did you know that there was an alternative to paying monthly fees for a shopping cart and a merchant account?
Third party payment processors offer an inexpensive alternative to accepting credit cards online without a merchant account and without monthly fees. Third party payment providers allow you to take payments online without having your own merchant account and without paying monthly fees. Third party payment processors will process payments for you. A third party provider gives you a link to a secure site where your customers place orders using their credit card or check. You receive your payment from the provider instead of from a bank or financial institution.
It is easier and faster to use a third party payment provider. You do not have to qualify for a merchant account which typically involves having good credit. And you don't have to pay monthly fees for a merchant account or for a shopping cart. Typical fees include an activation fee and transaction fees. The transaction fees are typically higher than you would pay when having your own merchant account.
Give your customers several different payment options to order your products or services. It is essential to accept credit cards when doing business online. Some customers do not have a credit card or do not like to order online, so you still want to give them the option of faxing their credit card information or sending you a money order.
Which system you should choose to accept online payments depends on the amount of sales you are generating. If you are generating a good amount of sales, you will probably want to get your own merchant account.
If you're just starting out, you should consider third party payment processors. When you start generating regular sales, you can switch to a traditional merchant provider to save on transaction fees.
Start accepting credit cards online now and see your sales soar!
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About the Author:
Leva Duell provides web design built on proven marketing strategies.
Visit http://www.fivestarwebdesign.com/ebook.html and get a FREE ebook, Inside Secrets to Developing a Profitable Web Site, providing powerful, non-techie web design and marketing strategies to increase your online profits.
When you are the owner of a home business, you will find hundreds of distractions that vie for your time, energy and focus.
Common distractions include: children, family, friends, neighbors, pets, phone calls, mail, household chores, video games, television, neighborhood children, visitors, and so many more.
As an owner of a home based business, you must always remember your purpose in bringing your profession home. What was your reason for wanting to own a home business? Was your goal to work from home so that you can share in the lives of your children? Was your goal to be out from under the rule of a tyrannical boss? Was your goal to have the freedom to work when it is convenient for you? Was your goal to make tons of money working for yourself?
Here's a few good tips that will help you stay focused on your home business:
TIP #1:
Whatever your reason for going out on your own, you must keep your reason in the forefront of your mind. If you forget your reason for starting your own home business, you will not be working for yourself for long. It is far too easy to let circumstance drive your activities --- and when circumstance is in the driver's seat, you are more likely to crash and burn.
TIP #2:
Remember --- your own business is a lot like a real job. Some people go to work to play, some go to socialize, and others --- most often those who are paid in a commission or tip environment --- go to work to work and to make money. When you work for yourself, your salary is directly proportional to your productivity. Therefore, wouldn't it make sense to stay focused on getting as much done in as short of a period as possible?
Go to work to work and to make money. Leave playtime and recreation for when your workday has ended.
TIP #3:
When you are dealing with family in the course of your workday, it is important to schedule your activities as much as possible. With small children, you must take time when you must, but you should also work hard to make sure you dedicate a specific number of hours to your workday.
With older children, it is much easier to tell them that you will be working between the hours of x and y. Your children and your friends must understand that certain hours of your day are devoted to the activities of your business.
TIP #4:
Don't permit your friends and extended family to run over you. Many people get the blind idea that if one works from home then they are not actually working.
Well-meaning people may try to fill your doorway to bring advice about getting a real job. Others may simply believe that if you are at home, then you are fair game for chitchat and socialization.
You must stand firm. You must make certain your friends and family understands that when you are working, then you ARE working! If they wish to socialize with you, then they need to do it during the hours that are not dedicated to your home business.
You are the only one who can stand up for you. Your friends and family will seldom be able to appreciate your dedication to your home business, unless you make the effort to make sure that they have the same respect for your business that you do.
TIP #5:
You should allot a certain portion of your day to email and to regular mail. For example, allot one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon to handling your written communications.
Unless you dedicate certain times to the handling of these communications, you will soon find yourself on the downward slope of decreased productivity.
TIP #6:
When you find yourself spending too much time doing non- productive activities, then you should seriously consider finding a third-party service provider who will assist you in those non-profitable business activities.
As an example, you might be in the mail-order business. You might believe that your time is best spent writing ad copy and setting up your advertising, but you find yourself spending far too much time taking care of your books to take care of your advertising in the manner that you should. In this event, it might make more sense to hire a bookkeeper to handle your financial records for you.
CONCLUSION:
In the end, the success of your home business is entirely and completely reliant upon you and the decisions that you make.
You had your reasons for deciding to start your own home based business. You must always keep your reasons in the forefront of your mind. You must always be able to rely upon your own self and your dedication to the success of your business.
Your friends and family might be annoyed that they cannot come visit upon their own whim, but when success comes to you and your business, they will better appreciate you for putting your foot down when necessary.
Success is within your reach, if only you can stay focused on your goals. You must decide to reach for your goals, and then, you must have the discipline necessary to reach them.
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About the Author:
Stone Evans publishes Home Business Tips, a fresh and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you're looking for the *best rated* home business opportunities, the latest time saving tools and helpful support from an honest friend in the business, come by and grab a F-R-E-E subscription today at: http://Home-Business.com.
To many online marketers, getting a #1 listing on Google for your target keyword phrases is "heaven." It does lead to many times more traffic than being even #2 or #3. If you're not on the first page of Google, you may as well forget getting any significant traffic in many niches. At least you should plan on generating your traffic via other channels since few searchers look past the first page of search engine results.
Google the terms "joint venture expert" or "land for $100" and you'll see that I rank #1 for both terms and have for a VERY long time.
Yes, people do search on those terms, regardless of what you might think, and they both generate substantial incomes for me, but they are not my most profitable keywords. They are just keywords that I will use to prove to you that I have a clue about how to get top Google listings. You really shouldn't listen to "experts" who can't back up with they teach with proof.
Next, I invite you to try to reverse engineer what I did. Actually, I'll share much of my secret process with you. Not all of what I do is very obvious.
Here are the things that I do:
1) I target specific, long-tail, buying keywords. It's easier to rank for 3-5 word phrases, and people entering those phrases into the search engines are looking for something very specific. This is the traffic that you want to attract.
2) I use article marketing extensively to generate massive backlinks. All things being equal, the one with the most backlinks from relevant quality sites WINS.
3) I use video marketing, submitting to top video sharing sites using titles and descriptions optimized for my keywords.
4) I use pod casting, submitting my audios to numerous podcast directories, as well as offering them from numerous websites. People who hear your audio message, and click through to your site, arrive pre-sold on your and ready to follow your recommendations.
My pod cast submissions are also keyword optimized!
5) I use my keywords in anchor text on my blogs, and in article directories where allowed.
6) I generate a LOT of content, and repurpose that content regularly. I publicize that content on social networking sites, on other resource sites that allow me to publicize my content, and even in press releases.
7) I use automation. If I had to hand submit all of my content I would only be able to distribute 1/10th as much. All things being equal, he who submits the most quality content wins.
8) I adhere to the rules and terms of service at the article, video, podcasts, and press release sharing sites. It does no good to get great rankings, only to be banned a few weeks or months later (having all of your content removed, and your work go to waste). I use 100% whitehat tactics.
9) I generate quality content. I does no good to throw garbage at the search engines. You'll only attract non-responsive traffic (wasting bandwidth and giving you useless website traffic conversion statistics), and you'll also eventually experience backlash. Write primarily for humans, but keeping good SEO in mind. The simplest way to do that is to use your primary keywords in your titles and descriptions, when creating and uploading content. Also be sure to use your primary keywords throughout
your content.
10) I create external links to some of my content posted on sites OTHER THAN my primary sites. Linking to content that then links to your primary sites increases the relevance of external links from that content pointing to your primary sites. That helps the content on your primary sites rank higher longer. SEO experts call that "adding link juice!" If you don't do this, you'll often rank high for given keywords only for a few days, and then quickly drop in ranking. Adding "link juice" helps the ranking "stick."
There you have it - how I get and maintain #1 Google rankings for tons of keywords that my buying customers search on regularly at Google. Model what I do, and you'll get similar results.
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About the Author:
Willie Crawford has been teaching people to build a legitimate online business since 1996. He is one of the world's leading website traffic generation experts. His favorite tool is an automated article, video, podcast and press release submission service that you can use too at: http://EasyPushButtonTraffic.com. Visit them now.
Last week, I received a question from one of my subscribers who asked:
Do I keep advertising even when I am flat out and already have too much work on? I am a painter.
My answer: Absolutely.
Listen, in business you need to be on top of your game. And at the times when you're coasting downhill, everything is going like oh-so-well... and you could never imagine a dry spot on the terrain...
Is when you should be filling your well. That's right - when
it's not empty.
After all, there's worse problems to have than too much work, isn't there?
Or too many people in your department store.
Or too many clients if you're an accountant.
Or too many people buying your products if you're a distributor.
You see, here's an example of what many business owners do wrong:
I received a call from a guy several months ago, and he was desperate for me to work with him because business was slow.
Two days later, all of a sudden, he got a new job. And decided he didn't need to work on his marketing anymore.
I can tell you right now that this guy is in for one heck of a
rollercoaster ride. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down... like a yo-yo.
The key to a stable business is to Always be marketing. Always be promoting your business. And being consistent about it.
There's another reason for this as well.
If you've got too much work on, you can afford to lift your
prices because it doesn't matter if you get the job. (and
you'll probably find your relaxed attitude increases your
conversion rate too) You can push yourself to manage the
additional work through setting up additional systems in order to generate leads. And take your business to the next level.
So how do you do this?
Simple. If you've got an advertisement (or a sales letter, flyer or any other kind of promotion) which works for you, then keep running it week in and week out.
If you're super busy, always remember that when the job
finishes, you won't be doing anything if you don't have
something else lined up.
And make sure you put aside some time everyday to promote your business. That's the key to your longevity and success.
In Anthony Robbins program called the 'Rapid Planning Method' he talks about a space called 'the zone.'
Basically, when you're in the zone you are focusing on the
things which are not urgent but important.
Most of us spend our time in the urgent and important. Or the not urgent, not important. Or the urgent and important.
However the key to business growth and stability is to spend a little time each day on the not urgent... but important
activities.
And nothing falls into this category more so than marketing.
Scott Bywater is a professional direct mail and direct response copywriter, and the author of Cash Flow Advertising. To receive a complimentary copy of his exclusive report '7 Ways To Boost Your Turnover... No Matter What The Economy' (valued at $29.95) hop along to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au.
To accomplish anything in life, you will need a road map to
achieve and realize your dreams. That roadmap is goal setting. Yet, according to recent research 97% of the US population does not set goals.
Most people don’t set goals because they have never learned how to do so, or afraid that their goal won’t be reached. The fact is you have two choices: either you decide to set your own goals and the journey will start, or you decide not to and you will soon realize that you have not achieved what you wanted.
But you can set your own goals - and achieve anything - by using the following five steps:
1) Set specific, measurable goals. Don’t just say, ‘I want to
lose weight,’ Focus on how much weight you want to lose.
And the same goes with any business or personal goal.
2) Make sure your goals are realistic. It’s important to set
goals that you can achieve if not you will give up on the
idea that setting goals is the most important technique to
help you achieve your dreams.
3) Lay out your plan of actions that will determine how to you reach your goals. Once you have set your long-term goals, set up your short-term goals that you should complete if you are to reach your lifetime plan. Finally set a daily to do list of things that you should do today to work towards your
lifetime goals.
4) Periodically review your plans, results and modify them to
reflect your changing priorities, experience and
accomplishments. Goals can change over time, so don’t be
afraid to revise them.
5) Celebrate. Make sure you include rewards as you reach
milestones. Celebration is part of the success.
Goal setting is important; just ask Jack Welsh who once said,
“Control your destiny or someone else will.”
The two most important parts of reaching goals is one, creating goals that are in line with your values and two, staying motivated. The good news is people can learn the how to do both create goals that they want to achieve and stay motivated long enough to achieve them.
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About the Author:
Tim Rutt is the CEO of TruID (http://www.TruID.com), dedicated to helping individuals improve their lives, to become happier, healthier and more successful people.
[BY Julie Plenty]
At the beginning of the year, there's often an orgy of goal
setting. People get into a collective frenzy about setting
personal and professional goals.
Traditional goal setting often doesn't work because we are not
in vibrational harmony with our goals. The feelings we have
about our goals aren't aligned with our thoughts. So we often
effort and take too much action before we've properly aligned
our feelings and beliefs.
Successful goal setting depends on 4 key things:
1. Know why you want the goal
We really need to feel our desire about our goals. Many of us haven't felt the essence of why we want what we want.
What is it we really want; more time to spend with loved ones, space, a sense of aliveness, pleasure, joy. If we don't know why we want what we want, then all the action in the world won't make any difference.
You could also call it the Vision Thing. To have a bigger vision
regarding our lives puts goal setting in context and makes
them far easier to achieve. If your goal is a "have to" "must"
"ought", then it aint gonna happen. You joined that gym because you "had to" lose weight and how often did you go?
2. Gain clarity about your desire
Haven't you already done that? Well, partially. You can only set personal and professional goals for yourself. If your desire isn't there, then it aint happening:.)
If your goals aren't crafted with your true desires in mind,
then they'll go unfulfilled and/or self sabotage is often the
result. It's important to be excited by the possibilities that
working towards your goal will bring.
Also, cultural and social expectations often shape our goals as
to what we think we can have as opposed to what we actually want - so need to gain clarity about what is truly your desire and what belongs to other people.
You'll never be able to do enough to satisfy other people, so
stick to satisfying yourself.
3. The Specification
Once you've ramped up your desire and feelings about the goal, here is where the SMART model (S = Specific, M= Measurable A= Action orientated R= Realistic, T= Time based) comes in. Write down your specification in rich feeling details and then............
4. ............. Let Go
That's right. Let go of your judgements, your timing of when it
should happen, your attachment to the outcome looking the way you think it ought to look.
Letting go means that you stop efforting and yearning and
waiting. This frees you up so that you are not wedded or
attached to a specific outcome, but let the Universe deliver.
From here you start to use your intuition and take inspired
action. Inspired action is effortless. You take action from
a place of feeling good.
It opens you up to receiving ideas, opportunities and different
kinds of assistance. You may find yourself drawn to call someone, or someone contacts you out of the blue. For some reason you take a different route to work and you see something that gives you an idea.
You do less as more comes to you. You stop "having" to do things and end up effortlessly achieving your goals.
And if you don't achieve your goal(s)..........................
Reframe it - maybe the Universe was telling you that this wasn't the right path and was leading you to something better, even though you didn't always see it at the the time. Hasn't that often happened in your experience?
Follow the above process and you'll find yourself achieving your goals with much more ease and joy.
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About the Author:
Julie Plenty helps creatively self employed people prosper by
using the Law of Attraction, because they ARE their business.
For more self empowerment and Law of Attraction articles, and to sign up for her Life Design newsletter, visit:
This article appeared in the June 10, 2002, edition of the MLM INSIDER
NEWSLETTER Vol 3 Issue 144.
by Leonard Clements
==================================
For the first time in history there are solid, logical, verifiable, explanations for you to believe in an upcoming Network Marketing boom. In fact, there are eight reasons, any one of which could result in a significant expansion of Network Marketing in the U.S. alone over the next few years. And these eight factors will soon be coming together creating a "perfect storm", the convergence of several powerful economic, demographic and psychological factors all hitting at the exact same time and place. Finally, you and I can honestly make the claim there really is an upcoming MLM Explosion. It absolutely will happen, and here's why:
Eight Solid Reasons You Can Believe in The Coming Network Marketing Boom!
Reason Number One - The Economy.
What's bad economic news to most people is good news to network marketers. And there's a lot of good news TODAY!
Reason Number Two - Demographics.
Not only is the pool of eligible prospects increasing at unprecedented levels, but the segment of society most ready, willing and able to pursue MLM is also exploding.
Reason Number Three - Wall Street.
Securities investors look for companies and industries that are about to rise up fast, and thousands of analysts are looking closely at Network Marketing right now.
Reason Number Four - Supply and Demand.
The greatest inhibitor of MLM growth the last few years, has been a huge
supply-side glut of Networking opportunities. That's already changed.
Reason Number Five - New Blood.
Our entire industry is about to go into momentum for the same reason individual MLM companies enter momentum- a massive influx of folks who've never been in Network Marketing before.
Reason Number Six - Positive Media Exposure.
If the mainstream media were to find a way to make money from this industry (that typically doesn't advertise) they'd have a much greater incentive to promote the positive side- Yes? They've found a way.
Reason Number Seven - Federal Regulation.
I know it sounds scary, but it's not. In fact, more and better laws will be the #1 legitimizing catalyst to the MLM explosion. Last, and certainly not least;
Reason Number Eight - the current, positive and powerful Growth Trends of the Network Marketing Industry itself.
Interesting...? Exciting...? You bet!
Let's look at each of these Eight Solid Reasons in specific detail, starting with...
Reason Number One - The Economy.
What's bad economic news to most people is good news to network marketers. And there's a lot of good news. I've always had the belief the U.S. economy did influence Network Marketing, but not significantly. I mean, was there ever an economy where people didn't want more money and free time? But when I began to do some digging to support my contrarian position, I soon discovered I was wrong. That one of the strongest growth phases in Network Marketing history occurred between 1990 to 1992 and coincided with the last economic recession should have been a clue. And there was so much more. When we compare the popularity trends of Network Marketing to unemployment rates, on a semi-decade basis, there are some very exciting revelations.
Although MLM was born in the 1930s - in the midst of The Great Depression - it began in earnest in the 1950s. Network Marketing was far more popular in the second half of the 50's than the first. Not a single company of consequence launched from 1950 to 1955. However, industry giants Shaklee, NeoLife, and Amway all started between 1956 to 1959. The unemployment rate the first half of the decade averaged 4%, and was the second lowest in U.S. history in 1953 at 2.9%. However, it averaged 5.3% the second half of the decade reaching its highest level since The Great Depression in 1958 at 6.8%. Translated into today's numbers that would mean almost 6 million more people became unemployed between 1953 to 1958.
The first half of the 1960's, all types of direct sales continued to flourish. Mary Kay Cosmetics started in 1963, and Avon, Fuller Brush and Tupperware all achieved momentum. Although the industry continued to grow from '65 to '69, it was not nearly at the same pace. The unemployment rate the first half of the decade was significantly higher than the second half, when 2.5 million unemployed people went back to work.
Jumping ahead to the 1980's, Network Marketing was thriving the first half of the 80's while unemployment continued to rise. In fact, in 1982 unemployment was at its highest level in 40 years at 9.7%. During the second half, MLM "slump" unemployment dropped considerably, and by the end of the decade the number of those out of work was almost half of what it was at the beginning of the decade.
The 1990's saw perhaps the clearest distinction between halves of any decade with more major company launches and more companies going into momentum than any other time in history. There was also more wealth being created by way of MLM from 1990 to 1994 than any other 5-year period. The second half wasn't exactly the best of times for Network Marketing. If there ever was such a thing as an MLM recession, we had one from 1996 through 1999. Why? The very high unemployment rate from 1990 to 1994, and the sharp drop during the second half of the decade where it hit a 30-year low at 4.2% in 1999. The only exception to
this half-century long pattern is the 1970's, but that was an exceptional decade.
Remember the last half of the 60's industry growth slowed as unemployment dropped to a post-war low. During the first half of the 70's Network Marketing started rocking as unemployment rates jumped. Unfortunately, all that started rocking some boats, and the result was over five times as many MLM related law suits from 1970 to 1974 than all of the 50's and 60's combined, and in 1975, there was a federal action, which essentially questioned the legality of Network Marketing itself.
Fortunately, one company, Amway, had the financial ability to defend themselves and the entire multilevel marketing industry. This case lasted until late 1979 when the court ruled in favor of Amway. As a result, there was, for the first time, a clear delineation between illegal pyramids and legitimate Network Marketing companies. There was a pretty dark cloud hanging over the industry the last half of the 70's and there wasn't a lot of expansion in spite of the even higher unemployment rate. The last and arguably greatest MLM growth phase began in 1990, the same year the U.S. went into our last economic recession. 1980 to 1984 were boom years for Network Marketing and we experienced recessions in 1980, part
of '81 and most of '82. 1970 to 1974 were also boom years, and our economy was in recession almost all of 1970, and 1974.
Remember how the last half of the 50's and into the early 60's were years of great MLM expansion? We were in recession from '57 to '58 and most of 1960.
Now, most recessions last 12 to 18 months, but the end of a recession doesn't mean that's the end of a slumping economy or high unemployment rates. We've had eight recessions in the last 50 years, and during the 12 months immediately after the "end" of the recession the unemployment rate went up! Every time. Strong evidence. And we're only on Reason Number One. Let's talk about an even more powerful justification to believe in a coming Network Marketing explosion.
Reason Number Two - Demographics.
Not only is the pool of eligible prospects increasing at unprecedented levels, but the segment of society most ready, willing and able to pursue MLM is also exploding.
There were about 76 million babies born between 1946 and 1964, which at the time accounted for almost one-third of the entire U.S. population. Since then, it has been glaringly obvious exactly where this giant bubble in the population is at any moment in time by simply looking at what products are most popular. And when it comes to charting the market size for what most Network Marketing companies offer, we're not even halfway up the curve yet! The market for products that will make us look and feel younger is going to continue to expand most dramatically over the next 5 to 10 years as the boomers reach their 50s and 60s.
But this baby boom is exciting for another completely different reason. Virtually all Network Marketing companies require distributors to be at least 18 years old.
Well, guess what happened about 25 years after the baby boom? Those 76 million boomers had about 75 million babies. And about 41 million of them will turn 18 over the next 7 years. At no other time in history, other than the original baby boom itself, have this many people been added to the body of eligible MLM prospects in this short a period of time.
Of course, the people eligible to join are not as important as the number who actually are joining.
The Direct Selling Association (DSA) conducts an Annual Survey of salespeople in the industry. (Keep in mind two-thirds of these direct sellers are Network Marketers.) According to their analysis, there was a net gain of 400,000 direct sellers from 1997 to 1998. A 600,000 net gain from '98 to '99, and a 700,000 distributor gain from 1999 to 2000. Not only is the number of people increasing, but the increase in the increase is increasing!
If we do nothing more to extend this current figure forward for another 10
years, we end up with 4.7 million additional network marketers.
To put that in perspective: It took MLM over 50 years to grow to 7.5 million, and we're conservatively projecting adding another 4.7 million in just the next 10 years! (By the way, that means the average networking organization will be 37% larger!). And as far as demographic reasons for believing in an upcoming MLM boom, we haven't even discussed the very best one!
According to Gallup Polls, the average age of all Americans when they first decide to invest in a residual income-producing vehicle, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, or perhaps in a business venture, is 42. The average age when we invest the most into such devices is 47. If we were to graph the number of 42 to 47 year olds in the U.S., we'd find that starting about 1988, the line begins to point upward at almosta 45^ angle as the boomers started turning 42 - and that line continues to rise at a level never before seen in history all the way to the year 2009. We are barely past the halfway point of that dramatic upward curve!
Does this really benefit us as network marketers? Are 40-somethings more open to MLM opportunities?
Well, the average American is 36 years old. According to a MarketWave survey of over 6,000 network marketers from 1990 to 2000, the average network marketer is 38.6, and that number has consistently risen over the years. An exceptional number of those over 40 do participate in Network Marketing, and this segment of the population which is most ready, willing and able to invest in a residual income business venture is going to continue to increase dramatically for another seven years!
Reason Number Three - Wall Street.
Securities investors look for companies and industries that are about to rise up fast, and thousands of analysts are looking closely at Network Marketing right now.
Professional investors are a pretty savvy group of people. Based on their due diligence they eventually invest their funds in companies whose growth (and profits) they expect to go up. So, what do they see when they turn their magnifying glass on Network Marketing companies?
There are over 20 publicly traded Network Marketing companies, but the bottom third are so small I'll focus on the top 12 well established companies. If you were to chart their stock price over the last 5 years, starting with December 1996, in almost every case you'd see a line that looks a lot like the path of an airplane - coming in for a landing. With few exceptions, MLM company stock values flattened at their all time lows and stayed there for about two to three years. Clearly, Wall Street wasn't impressed with Network Marketing's growth potential the last half of the 90's. What do they see now?
Well, the benchmark S&P 500 reached its peak in September of 2000, but by mid-December 2001, it was down by 23%. Over the exact same period our index of the top 12 Network Marketing companies was up by 8.2%! And all of a sudden, in the last 12 months, these Network Marketing companies are outperforming the overall stock market by over thirty percent....That level of performance really gets investors attention!
Reason Number Four - Supply and Demand.
The greatest inhibitor of MLM growth the last few years has been a huge
supply-side glut of networking opportunities. That's already changing.
Anyone who got even a C in Economics 101 could tell you about Supply and Demand: An industry booms when demand dramatically increases. When there is a tremendous increase in supply, it results in a down- turn. And sure enough, during the massive proliferation of MLM companies the last half of the 90's, we had a deep industry slump.
Based on a survey of MLM company software suppliers over 4,900 MLM companies opened from 1994 to 1997, and there is anecdotal evidence to show that there were about 3,600 start ups in 1998 and 1999 alone. What's even more troubling is that perhaps half of all MLM start-ups don't go to the major software houses, but rather hire in-house programmers. Therefore, it's possible that the actual number of start-ups could have been double these figures.
As many as 13,000 Network Marketing companies may have launched from 1994 through 1999. There were at very least 8,000- but we only had a net gain of about 600 companies, from 900 to 1,500. Have you ever heard the claim that 95% of all MLM companies fail in their first two years? I thought that was just a scare tactic spread by older companies, but these surveys say that's true! Now, during this same time period the number of network marketers in the U.S. increased from only about 5 million to 7.5 million. That means the number of distributors went up about 50%, but the number of companies increased by three times that much!
If you do the math, you'll learn this means the average networking downline shrunk by 40%. There is no question that the supply of MLM opportunities far exceeded demand the last half of the 90's.
So, what's the good news?
Well, some very encouraging things began to happen in the year 2000.
It's very clear that the number of start up companies has declined significantly since the beginning of 2000. This, along with the increasing number of company mergers and acquisitions, will only make the industry stronger. As more and more companies entered the market the available distributor base was spread thinner and thinner. The result was smaller downline organizations, higher attrition, and generally far fewer success stories. But think about it: if there were just as many distributors, but half as many companies, the average downline would be twice as big- Yes?
I'm not suggesting the number of companies will contract to half, but any
reduction in supply will certainly help increase demand, which will then expand the number of those men and women getting into profit and reaching their income goals. The more success stories we have, the more motivation and less resistance we have to building our organizations even larger - and the cycle continues upward, rather than down or flat as it has in the past.
Reason Number Five - New Blood.
Our entire industry is about to go into momentum for the same reason individual MLM companies enter momentum -a massive influx of folks who've never been in Network Marketing before.
Almost every Network Marketing company today would like to think they are about to go into momentum. Momentum, as it applies to Network Marketing, is the stage in a company's growth cycle where sales volume begins to increase geometrically and the company doubles, triples, and perhaps even quadruples in size in a very short period of time. Most momentum phases last about 6 to 24 months.
Much like buying a stock right before it goes up in price, most networkers want to attach themselves to a company right before it explodes. Thus, practically every distributor will try to make a case that their company is "about to go into momentum."
How do they know?
They don't. No one knows exactly when the momentum phase will kick in, but much like stock picking, we can look for clues-historical trends and patterns to help us make better guesses. An analysis of all the successful major Network Marketing companies shows that every momentum phase in MLM corporate history was facilitated by massive numbers of people moving into the opportunity - either as reps or customers - who have never been involved in Network Marketing before. Momentum is never the result of people moving from one company to another. Momentum is ONLY caused by a massive injection of new blood.
Where is this new blood going to come from?
There are a little more than 7 million people participating in Network Marketing in the United States. That means there are about 270 million who are not involved! And that also means that there are literally tens of thousands of success stories just waiting to be written.
So, how are we going to expose those massive numbers of people to our products and opportunities that we've never been able to reach in the past? (How many of you saw this coming...?)
The Internet.
You may be thinking, yeah, yeah... but the Internet's been around for years. Well, the Internet may have been around in 1990, but it didn't come into it's own until after 1995. By 1998, the number of people on the Net had almost tripled.
Today over 60% of adults are on-line and many predict that virtually all
Americans will be using the Internet in some capacity by the year 2010.
And it wasn't until around 1997 or so that the Network Marketing industry really began to use - or a better term might be "abuse" - the Internet. There are exceptions, but for the most part MLMers got a little over-zealous with this amazing new technology. Rather than use the Net to help us build our downlines and sell our products, it was used in a magical-mystical attempt to have it build our networks for us. The result was big recruiting numbers, but very little sales volume and overwhelming attrition...
The Internet was also abused in other ways.
Like so many other dot.coms there were a lot of failures. Some were ugly. There ere numerous legal abuses resulting in several well-publicized closures. The Network Marketing industry painfully cut its Internet teeth from about 1997 to early 2000. And now, as the smoke clears, what is beginning to emerge are the remaining responsible, visionary companies that knew all along the awesome power of the Internet was not in having it do all the work for us, but rather having it help us present our products and opportunities faster, less expensively, and to far, far greater numbers of people. New people, who've never been exposed to Network Marketing before.
The Internet is a sales, training and prospecting tool with unimaginable potential. And it's an industry that itself looks to expand by 100 million users domestically over the next 10 years. As this happens, Network Marketing will soon go into momentum the same way everyone of it's post-momentum companies did - by a mountainous wave of new blood.
They say a rising tide raises all boats, and this Internet tidal wave could even cause an unprecedented event in Network Marketing history - the "secondary momentum phase," where large, post-momentum companies actually achieve momentum again! But the Internet isn't the only reason I believe we're on the verge of massive "outer circle" recognition. Another fact that's hugely compelling is...
Reason Number Six - Positive Media Exposure.
If the mainstream media were to find a way to make money from this industry (that typically doesn't advertise) they'd have a much greater incentive to promote the positive side- Yes? They've found a way.
Radio, television, magazines and newspapers all exist primarily on advertising dollars. But, Network Marketing is an industry that doesn't advertise in the mainstream media. After all, we're the "word of mouth" business. Not only has the media had no financial incentive to promote MLM, it actually has a financial incentive not to...
Well, that too is changing. The mainstream media is just now discovering how to cash in on Network Marketing.
The first big step in this direction was back in 1994, when Success magazine published a front cover focusing on Network Marketing and a lengthy and extremely positive feature article about our industry and its people. Sure, the companies that knew they were going to be mentioned ran big ads, but that's not where Success made the most money. The people of this credibility starved industry sold out the entire run of that issue and Success magazine broke their all time single issue sales record by almost double! The result was a lot more positive portrayals of Network Marketing companies in future issues. But even this isn't where the greatest promise lies in terms of positive media exposure.
Let's say, instead of paying for an advertisement, a network marketer worked out an arrangement where he sponsored the publication itself, got the ad for free and the resulting sales volume and downline commissions that were generated from the ad went to the magazine? They could potentially make far more income from overrides than from ad fees, even long after the ads stop running. It's more than just a win-win scenario-we get the positive press and the media gets even more money than if they charged us for the ads. But would this work?
It already is. Slowly, quietly, such a movement is taking place. I know for a fact that there are currently over 100 radio stations in the U.S. attempting this, andsome are succeeding, big time. Yet, virtually the entire Network Marketing industry is oblivious to the fact this is even happening. It's simply a matter of time until the media grapevine picks up on this phenomenal ad revenue resource.
And let's not overlook the public image boost we're getting from the various athletes, celebrities, political figures and medical authorities Network Marketing is attracting like never before. And not all are paid endorsers. Many of them have careers that are based on their reputation and positive image and they've openly and willingly attached their good names to Network Marketing. We've also got well-respected mainstream authors and keynote speakers such as Richard Poe, Paul Zane Pilzer, Mark Victor Hansen, Brian Tracy and Robert Kiyosaki, extolling the virtues of Network Marketing. This kind of powerful, third party validation has never happened before. It's just starting, and it's growing fast!
And finally, in the recessionary wake of the dot-com disasters with high-techs at all time lows and the fears of finding yet another Enron-or three or four- do you think the media can continue to ignore all those corporate and individual Network Marketing success stories? They can't. And they aren't!
Reason Number Seven - Federal Regulation.
I know it sounds scary, but it's not. In fact, more and better laws will be the #1 legitimizing catalyst to the MLM explosion. Earlier I showed you that in the first half of every decade MLM outperformed the second half- and that's been the case for the last 40 years. But there were more than just economic reasons for this. The regulatory climate has also effected the performance of the industry.
The most obvious example being the previously mentioned federal actions back in the 70's. Legal attacks by state or federal authorities on high profile Network Marketing companies do occur from time to time. Curiously, they seem to peak in pre-election years (but that could just be a coincidence. Most of those larger companies, by the way, not only survived the attack, but also are considered todays models of legality whose policies and enforcement systems are emulated by younger companies.
Yes, there have been many situations where pyramid schemes have been shut down, and typically the action is described as "the Network Marketing company was shut down because it was an illegal pyramid scheme."
It drives me nuts when I hear someone make a statement like that. It's like
saying, "A really honest man was exposed as a liar." Well, then he wasn't an honest man was he? Either you're an illegal pyramid scheme, or you're a Network Marketing company. You can't be both.
I want to make this very clear before we go any further: Illegal pyramid schemes often try to disguise themselves as Network Marketing companies, because they want to appear legal. Unfortunately, when the press reports on illegal pyramid schemes, we all suffer guilt by association. And that does have an effect on our ability to retain good people and acquire new ones, at least temporarily.
The good news is that the last few years we've seen really no significant legal attacks on Network Marketing companies, and several closures of illegal schemes.
Not only does this make the industry stronger due to a smaller, higher quality pool of legal opportunities, but it also increases our ability to build businesses because we don't have the negative public stigmas creating greater resistance toward the industry and its opportunities. It also demonstrates a greater ability among regulators to delineate between pyramids and legitimate MLM programs. This is especially encouraging and comforting to those networkers who've built substantial incomes in
"high profile" opportunities, or those who intend to.
Once again, I've saved the best news for last.
There is active, professional lobbying going on right now by the Direct Selling Association (the DSA) and others, to enact legislation that will create federal regulation of Network Marketing. As it is now, operating a Network Marketing company in the United States is kind of like trying to do business in 50 different countries. Each state has it's own set of laws pertaining to business opportunities, some specifically about MLM, and all have statutes pertaining to pyramid schemes.
Although, for the most part, each state's definition of an illegal pyramid is
consistent with the other 49, the interpretation and implementation of those laws has been somewhat haphazard and arbitrary over the years. It's true that there was a significant legal precedent created by the federal court's decision in the Amway case in 1979, but still, enforcement actions have been inconsistent not only between state and federal precedent, but from state to state, and sometimes even from case to case within the same state. Many of these cases involve judicial opinions as to whether distributor's personally consumed products that should be recognized as legally commissionable sales. This is the focus of the federal legislation currently being proposed in several states, including Texas and California, that have already recognized such volume as bona fide.
Not only will unified federal regulation create a clear, consistent path for all Network Marketing companies and state regulators to follow, but also, much like the federal regulation of franchising back in the 60's, it will eventually require true and full disclosure. If this does come to pass, and many believe it will, it would absolutely be a good thing- very good. Not only will it tremendously strengthen the industry by weeding out the bad apples; it will cause the massive turnover rate among start-up companies to drop to a fraction of the current level. They won't start up in the first place. And the ones that do launch will have to be serious players with solid backing. So not only will more distributors be involved in fewer companies, but those businesses will be only the highest quality opportunities. Federal regulation will also greatly increase the respect and
credibility of our industry. This will create a tremendous boost to all established U.S. based MLM companies.
There are some people who are still apprehensive about the prospect of federal regulation. They fear regulators may throw their entrepreneurial baby out with the legal bath-water. Not a chance. Not only are there over 1,500 Network Marketing companies in this country, employing tens of thousands of tax payers, and generating literally billions in sales and corporate tax revenue, there are about 5 million MLMers who are also registered voters. That may not be a big percentage, but as the 2000 presidential election clearly demonstrated, it's enough to make a huge difference in who has the political power in this country.
I've heard the argument made that back in 1963, Congress came within 11 votes of outlawing franchising. Not only didn't they, but the post regulatory era of franchising created an industry that now moves over one-third of all the goods and services in this country! Federal regulation was the catalyst to the biggest boom in entrepreneurial history. Not only do I not fear the concept of federal regulation, I find the vision of this new era of Network Marketing to be absolutely exhilarating!
Last, and certainly not least;
Reason Number Eight- the current, positive and powerful Growth Trends of the Network Marketing Industry itself.
Since the top twelve publicly traded MLM companies provide the most reliable information, and they make up the majority of the largest, most well established companies, I'm again directing my analysis towards them. (Although an informal survey of un-audited data provided by private MLM companies reinforced these results.)
From 1990 to 1995 annual industry sales growth averaged about 16%, and some years was as high as 30%. However, if we track the growth of these public companies - based on U.S. revenue only - the average annual sales growth from 1996 to 2000 was 8.7%, with a low of just over 6% from 1999 to 2000. And the entire direct selling industry's growth rate dropped to a 10-year low of 4.5% around this same time.
Based on this information it would seem that industry growth was about to come to a grinding halt - Yes?
But instead, the growth rate of these companies from 2000 to 2001 was 14.6 percent - more than double the previous year's rate!
Without question, the slowing trend has reversed. This is by far the strongest signal of impending momentum, when there is not only an increase in growth, but the rate of growth is also accelerating dramatically.
Now, one year of doubling growth rates certainly does not guarantee a boom; however, one thing is certain - every company momentum phase throughout MLM history began with that first exciting period of doubling growth rates.
What do you think the chances are the same phenomenon holds true for the entire industry, as well...?
There you have it folks. Not one....Not two....But eight solid, powerful, verifiable reasons for finally believing in an upcoming Network Marketing explosion. No one knows exactly when it will happen; it could be next month.... It could be next year.... It could be anytime in the first half of this decade, before 2005.
All I know for sure is, if you get involved now, and stay involved, you will be there when it happens. Gold at $43 an ounce. So hop on, strap yourself in, and get ready for the ride of your life. It's gonna' be a blast!
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Leonard Clements has concentrated his full-time efforts over the last 12 years on researching and analyzing all aspects of Network Marketing. He is a professional speaker and trainer, and currently conducts Inside Network Marketing seminars throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Len is the author of the controversial book, Inside Network Marketing (Random House) and the best-selling cassette tape Case Closed! The Whole Truth About Network Marketing. He is a successful Network Marketing Leader.
Everyone is looking for the secret wealth formula and a get rich fast scheme online these days. The truth is, building your online business and earning six figures a year from home can be accomplished, but not overnight. Let me remind you, I said "can" be accomplished. Before we go any further in our discussion, let's take the preconceived notion that every business is a scam out of your head and clarify a few things. 95% of businesses fail online due to two simple factors. Number one, the level of your advertising and internet marketing experience and number two, finding a business that offers real value to the end user. If you are able to master these two factors, you will find that anything is possible online.
Becoming a marketing master – There are so many different techniques used today in internet marketing, it's easy to become caught in the next best thing that you lose focus. Right now there are two techniques that are proven to work and one of them is cutting edge that every internet marketer should be doing. The first technique is called, "article marketing" In article marketing, the internet marketer writes informative articles discussing or reviewing a particular product or service. Taking this article, then submitting it to article directories provides content for hungry web masters. In return, when a web master posts an article on their website, it provides a link back to your service or product. Writing an effect article can lead to highly targeted web traffic and potentially a substantial influx of sales.
Your next question may be, "how do I know what to write about?" There are already plenty of pre-written articles on your subject matter. A simple search at www.ezinearticles.com will bring up articles related to your keyword search. Using a number of pre-written articles to re-write your own article is a good start. Craig Garcia, the co-founder of EDC Gold, says “As a member of EDC Gold, we have several pre-written articles in a number of niche markets available for use.” “All you have to do is copy and paste them into the 110 article submission hubs in our member’s area”
In addition to article marketing, video marketing is a new and upcoming technique. Google recently bought out youtube, a place where individuals can go and record videos of themselves promoting their business. Recording a simple video introducing who you are and the service or products you have available builds credibility and marks you as an authority in your niche market. Secondly, the Google search engine loves youtube. Posting a video on youtube in the proper categories using the proper keywords in your heading can earn you top positions in the Google search engine.
Both techniques are proven to work and have been working for many internet marketers. Obviously the more you do for each technique stated above will drive more traffic to your business and ultimately put you in a profit building position.
How to Determine if it is a Legitimate Business or Ponzi Scheme?
Ponzi schemes are a type of illegal pyramid scheme named for Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant who used technique in New England in the 1920's. Although it was he who is most well known for using this scheme, the concept has been around for a long time.
These types of schemes are quite common and you have probably seen those hundreds of times, perhaps without realizing it. They are often in the form of messages that claim that for a relatively small investment, you can make huge amounts of money. There are many variations, but they all are based on the same concept: the promotion of what starts out to be, or appears to be, a real investment opportunity. Many times it involves the development of a valuable resource such as oil, gas, minerals or real estate. In a lot of cases, the resource does actually exist; however, the promoter has significantly overestimated its how much it is worth. In other cases the resource does not even exist. Either way, the promoter convinces investors that the asset can be further developed if they invest into it. In return, the promoter will share the profits with the investors.
The concept works in the beginning and the initial investors do make the huge returns that they were promised. Because of this they are likely to invest more money and recruit new investors. The money being paid out, however, is not coming from the asset, but in the influx of new investors. For this reason, the only way that the investors will continue to get paid is through the continuous reinvestments or investments from new investors. As soon as investing slows down, people stop getting paid and the scheme begins to collapse. When the scheme collapses, most investors lose their money and have no way to recoup their losses. Although Ponzi schemes can last for a fairly long time before collapsing, legal authorities often break them up before they even get the chance because a Ponzi scheme is suspected and/or because the promoter is selling unregistered securities.
The best way to avoid becoming involved in this type of scheme is to thoroughly research any investment before investing into it. If you see: a reliance on funds from new investors to pay commissions, a need for an inexhaustible supply of new investors, and/or absences of a profitable product or efforts to make profits through productive work; there is a good chance that it is indeed a Ponzi scheme.
One of the best companies on the internet is a company that teaches people how to market on the internet. If you do now know how to market, then now matter what products or services you provide, no one will ever know you are there. So to start with the basics, you need to learn to know how to market on the internet.
If you can master the technique I am about to share with you, you will always have hundreds of hungry web visitors thirsting for your knowledge and more importantly interested in your products or service. You will have ultimately created the perfect wealth formula.
There are tons of ways to drive traffic to a website, but for our purposes here today in this article, we are going to focus on "article writing." Writing content rich articles is exactly what Google, Yahoo and MSN are looking for. If you are not sure how search engines work, here's what happens. When you write an informative article either explaining, reviewing or investigating a particular product or service, then submit that article to hundreds of article directories, it's going to do 3 things for your website, drive targeted traffic, increase PR rankings in Google and will establish you as an authority within your niche market.
Before you go out and submit a article to just any old directory, it's important to understand which article directories Google seems to favor. Over the past 3 years I have been able to pick up on a few reputable article directories that seem to give more exposure. The following article directories are favored by the Google search engine, ezinearticles, squidoo, buzzle articles, and searchwarp. It has come to my attention that my articles are ranked higher in Google and have received more exposure with the article directories listed above. Submitting to these directories with higher PR rankings gives your article more credibility, hence more exposure.
After you have a well written article, typically you are allowed to place a link back to your site in the resource box. If you want to SEO your article for a particular keyword and have it rank higher in Google, instead of using a generic link, use a hyper link with the keyword you are trying to target. For example, if your business focuses on selling marketing strategies, then you would hyper link your site in the resource box using that keyword, "marketing strategies." Google recognizes this as anchor text and tends to rank your website higher for that particular keyword.
Lastly, writing an article every few days or every few weeks begins to build your credibility with potential buyers within your niche market. Checking your article for relevant content related to your business, submitting them to the right article directories and giving away value within your article could potentially generate large influxes of web traffic. In the end, you have created a relationship with the reader and possibly someone that's willing to do business with you.
To Create your own blog website to publish your own articles, go to blogtocash.com and get your own website.
Multiple streams of income have been around for years. It is the technique that many successful internet marketers have used for years. The problem is that many internet marketers have twisted this around to favor them ripping you off and justifying it to themselves so they can sleep at night. Let me explain.
Many multiple income stream marketers market products. Weather it be a new software program, affiliate program or training tool. Meaning, if they knew how to produce incomes selling one product, why not duplicate those efforts and sell many products.
Now a days, we have so many fools running wild out there who are taking this concept of multiple income streams to multiple ways to rip you off. I call them program jumpers. On the surface, they seem like experts. They will tell you everything you want to hear. You might even want to work with these people as they are so smooth in their approach to rip you off. Heck, you might even end up liking them. They might even back up their story by holding training calls, giving away free marketing tools such as lead capture pages and auto responder messages. They may call themselves trainers or master affiliates or master distributors. Be Careful out there and use common sense.
Do you know who Jeff Foxworthly is? He is comedian famous for the joke…"You know you’re a redneck, if….." He also hosts the very popular TV show called "Are you smarter than a 5th grader". Ok, I call this test the Jeff Foxworthy test and it goes like this. You know you’re a program jumper and rip off artist if…..
If they have joined and promoted 3, 4 or more internet programs in one year.
If they tell you things like, Get in early, It’s brand new or "My Favorite Rip off Line" It’s in pre launch and is going to be the biggest thing since sliced bread.
They tell you, I am so big on the internet, that companies look for me to help them launch their company.
If they have a portfolio of more than 3-4 programs for you to choose from.
If some of those programs are very similar.
If they tell you things like I am only passing on the information, because if it is hot and new, I am going to be the first to hear about and help get the word out. These are classic lines these rip off artists use, so be careful out there and use common sense. There is a company out there that has multiple streams of income built into one company. They have a stable track record of solid growth and is run by two of the most respected internet marketers on the net, who mastered multiple streams of income. I am not here to try to sell you on something, but I do wish to let you know about EDC Gold and I invite you to use your common sense and check them out knowing what you know now.
Why not, I ask? They seem like great companies and their comp plan looks good too. They have big corporate offices and have been around for years. Isn’t that good? Any company out there that sells products like lotions, potions, pills, miracle juices or miracle gas saving products usually doesn’t work for the average person for many reasons.
Those companies usually make most of their money from you, the distributor, not from selling the products. They have you on auto ship, so you are their income.
They only pay about 2% to 15% so many levels deep. They will tell you that when you fill the matrix, you won’t have to do anything and you’ll be making 20 to 40k a month. The truth is, there are so many loop holes to their comp plans that no body ever reaches those levels. You either will have too many people on your left, but not enough on your right side to make the higher level payouts. They tell you that you need more personal volume and your group volume is fine or vice versa, or my favorite, you had fallout this month, so you no longer qualify for that car bonus we promised you about.
They make you hold home parties to push your crap on your friends. Listen to me…..If I wanted weight loss, I’d go to GNC. If I wanted Lotions, I’d go to CVS, Save on, Nordstrom or Bullocks. If I wanted to put additives in my gas tank, I’d go to Kragen, Chief or Pep Boys and buy a product from STP or Penzoil. You get what I mean….?
They are a copy cat company of the original company. How many companies out there are selling a juice that is based from the Acai Berry, Goji berry or the Mangosteen fruit? How many of those promise to cure cancer? What a joke? Is our society that ignorant that if something actually cured cancer, wouldn’t we want to check it out? How many travel companies are there now? How many fuel additives are there now? How many of those have been shut down? How many make up, skin lotions and vitamin companies are there out there?
It just seems like there is so many junk companies on the internet, how do you what is good and what is not? Some of these companies above actually have a good product, but I would never go in business with them. These types of companies just won’t give you a chance to make real money. They will tell you differently, so use your brain and some common sense and you’ll evaluate them better.
When I evaluate a company, I look for these key points. Keep in mind, when I join a company, my #1 goal is to make money and to do it legitimately. I do not want to hurt anyone or rip anyone off. This is what I’ve learned and these guidelines will help you determine what company is right for you.
If you are not making at least 75% of the upfront commission when you make a sale, forget it. This means that you are doing all the work and the company and/or the person above you is making all the money.
If you have to have 1000, 10,000 or 20,000 people in your organization before you make any real money. DO NOT Join. Most people will NEVER get there.
If they teach you to hold home parties and invite all your friends. Run away fast.
If they have a sales pitch 2-3 times a day and only 2-3 training classes per week. This means that the company is more interested in selling you than training you how to make money long term
If you can’t break even or get into profit with 3 sales, forget it.
If you can’t speak with the owners or the corporate office via phone or webinar, Forget it. I like to know who I am doing business with before I will do business with them.
If it is a start up or in pre launch, forget. The chances of these companies becoming the next Amway is about as good as winning the lottery. At least with the lottery, you have a chance to win once or twice a week. You might as well go to Vegas and blow your money on a good time. At least you’ll have some great memories, see a great show and have a great meal. These are not all the rules for success on the internet, but this is a great guideline to follow when evaluating an internet company. Use these guidelines to help you narrow down your choices for choosing a company that best fits yours goals.
Pre launch or it’s brand new is one of the oldest tricks in the book. I know because I have fallen for it so many times. My very first program was a program that promoted multiple income streams. After trying about 4 different programs my first year on the internet and having some success, but never the huge numbers I read about. I started looking for the big score, so I joined every program that was in pre launch or that just started. I thought to myself, if I could just get in early, then maybe I would be one of the people that you read about. All I learned is that most people jump into a program with no intent of staying for any length of time. They ride the wave for 2-3 months and move on to the next pre launch program.
If you are a loyal person and your sponsor gives you a good reason or excuse, "I call it a sales pitch" on why they are leaving and going to this new and improved company, you probably will feel bad if you do not follow your sponsor and you will feel like you let your sponsor down. They make you feel obligated to jump ship with your sponsor AND THEY MIGHT EVEN MAKE YOU FEEL STUPID IF YOU DON’T. So you follow them. I have done this too, but after doing this 2-3 times, you realize that your sponsor will continue to do this to you every 2-3 months, leaving broke and broken hearted.
The best sponsors are loyal sponsors. They stay in a program and work the program. This is the only way to make real money long term. If you are trying to make a name for yourself on the internet, you must have long term success. The only way to have long term success is to commit to a company and work that company long term. Just ask internet trainer "Dani Johnson" She’ll warn you of these people too. This is not a plug for her, but in my opinion, Dani Johnson is the best internet marketing trainer on the planet.
Think about it….If you are an employer, would you ever hire a person that has had 3-4 jobs in a 12 month period. Unless it was seasonal work, their resume’ would be thrown away and laughed at. So, if your sponsors resume’ looks like a high school seasonal employee, run as fast as you can.
This is a huge topic and is one that you must completely understand. Otherwise, you will get ripped off and lose a lot of money. Let me explain what multiple streams of income are and what they are not. Multiple streams of Income are a concept that many millionaires use to have many revenue avenues. Michael Corcoran, who was the founder of the first multiple income stream marketing system on the internet in 2001, would agree with this concept.
When Mike Corcoran created the first Multiple income stream marketing system, he never imagined how so many people would take advantage of this concept and use it against you to rip you off. Before I get into detail about the ways that these so called "internet Guru’s" are taking advantage of you, I’ll get into the way it was intended to be used.
Multiple income streams was intended for a person to start a business with one company, affiliate program, MLM or direct sales company. It was intended for a person to master one program, have success with it for a minimum of one to two years and then add another business to the portfolio when, and only when, the first business was running on autopilot. While still running the first business, putting little time into it because it was running so well, focus a little more time and money into the second business to get that one up to speed where it was duplicating the results of the first business. This is how you can double your results. Like, I said, it usually would take a year or two to get a business and multiple incomes up to the level where they were running on autopilot.
If you have spent many years developing the above strategy, it is alright to add a third or a fourth business to the portfolio as long as you maintained the original businesses. Adding more than one business to your portfolio in less than a year just proves that person is not focused and says a lot about their character. Having a total of more than 3-4 businesses in a portfolio just means that a person is simply a program jumper and is out to take your money.
Program jumping is becoming more and more popular these days from these so called "internet guru’s". This is a typical case in which someone is a program jumper. Watch out for these people. If someone has joined three programs in 6 months time, they are a program jumper. Program jumping makes sense for the leader of jump. They usually say things like "Bran New" or "Get in Early" or "This one is so much better". The truth is, they take all the followers from program to program to program. They make excuses of why they left to old program to find another one. The truth is, they have suckered all the people they can sucker into the first program and their income is suffering, so they say they’ve found a better mouse trap over here, so come and join me over here and you’ll make a ton of money with me over here….I know people who have joined 5 programs in 7 months. Anytime a new program came on the market, they were in it, suckered all the people they could into it until the next new program came about.
I know several people, who on the outside look great, but jump ship every two months. They put together training packages, marketing tools such as capture pages and auto responders, professionally written letters, etc. They look like a leader until you pay them $1000 for program A, then another $1000 for program B, the $1500 for program C and so on. Pretty soon, they are rich, you broke and left to fend for yourself.
Use your common sense out there. Do your homework before you join anything with anybody. The first question should be, What else do you promote? What have you tried. How many have you tried this year? Last year? If they do NOT have a stable track record, run for the hills. Think about it. If you were an employer and wanted to hire an employee and you get an applicant that has had four jobs this year alone, would you hire them? NO Way! You know that by the time you trained them, they would leave looking for more money! Isn’t that right?
My suggestion, use your common sense and beware of the so called "Internet Guru". They disguise themselves as an expert, but they are really just program jumpers.
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