JohnValenty.com

In 1995 I got into network marketing to make money. A whole lot of money. I was cursed with big, big dreams that would not go away. I found out at an early age that to make an above-average income, I needed to own my own business. I also found out at an early age that I was not going to get rich with a traditional service business - I tried!

One insomnia-filled night, I was inspired to purchase Don Lapree's mail-order system from a TV infomercial. I began a mail order business. I didn't make much money, but through that business, I learned about computer databases, mailing lists, and direct marketing. I also got on a zillion other mailing lists myself. As a result I started to receive lots of enticing offers, mostly from network marketers. I was intrigued with the apparently huge income potential, so I began to research the industry. I started at the bookstore.

I responded to several ads and attended several meetings. Things got interesting. These meetings all had a common denominator: a charismatic speaker in an expensive suit stood at the front of the room exhorting people to join an opportunity and buy some products. That just wasn't me! I knew that if I had to be as good a public speaker as that guy, I didn't have a chance.

I also learned that people were supposed to make a list of their friends and family, then try to sell them products or invite them to a meeting. This did not excite me, either. If I had to do that, I was positive I would fail.

One of the books I read was Richard Poe's Wave 3. Poe taught me that some of the techniques I'd learned in the mail-order course were used for lead generation in network marketing. This idea excited me. But in meeting after meeting, no one seemed to have the system I envisioned.

I kept up my pursuit for several meetings until I found what I was looking for. It came from one of those charismatic front-of-the-room expert types. His name was Bob.

I approached Bob and asked him, "How long have you been in the business? How much money are you earning?" I expected him to give me the runaround. To my surprise, he looked me in the eye and said,

"I've been with this company for about five months. Last month I earned about $3,500 part-time. My income is growing about 30 percent per month. I'll be earning six figures in a few more months. In the last company I worked with, I earned several hundred thousand in one year. My sponsor earned over a million." Then he said, "I wouldn't be doing this if I weren't convinced I could earn a seven-figure income. When are you getting involved?"

I asked him if he had any experience in direct marketing or lead generation. He said, no, he'd never needed to because he had 25 years experience. I started losing interest real quick - but then he said something that caught my attention: "Here's a sales tool."

He said a new distributor with a good sales tool could out-perform an expert network marketer without the tool - every time. That was all I needed to hear! It wasn't a system, but it was hope.

I joined the company, even though there was no cold-market generation system. I figured I'd make my own and figure out how to make it work.

I learned that Bob was right. A motivated new guy with an effective sales tool and a good system can outperform the most experienced network marketer - and that's just what my team and I did.

I started in August 1995. By November my income reached $8,200 a month. One month later, it more than doubled, and I became the number-one income earner in my company. Within eight months I was earning more than $100,000 per month, and my team was right behind me.

Living in the same ratty $900-per-month rental house and carrying about $100,000 of high-interest debt to keep myself afloat, I did the unthinkable and reinvested in advertising. In May of 1996, I took one month's income and got out of debt. The next month, I wrote another check and bought the house of my dreams.

The beauty of network marketing is that for several years I earned a seven-figure recurring monthly income from my efforts years before. Incredible!

Tools for Working Smarter, Not Harder

The moral of the story: if you want success in network marketing, you need to acquire the traditional leadership skills essential to most businesses. But if you want massive success and you want it rapidly, I recommend that in the process, you plug in a cold-market lead generation system to expand your reach.

The best way to learn is by repetition; cold-market lead generation can give you and your team scores of qualified leads. It's the fastest way to gain confidence: you can make mistake after mistake, learning at your own pace - without worrying about blowing your chances. In fact, when you have a good cold marketing system going and a little confidence under your belt, your warm market will pursue you!

What does all this have to do with technology? Simple: technology can enable you and your team to expand your business all over the country without talent, charisma, traveling - or selling to your friends and family. Expose hundreds of people to your products and opportunity - without fear of rejection. Eventually, you'll learn how to consistently find business builders and product users to expand your business and your income.

What kind of technology can you use? My favorite tools are "automated presentation systems." I quickly learned that direct mailing CD's & DVD's around the country gets expensive - and most of them are pitched without even being listened to. We're having far more success with a well-designed Web site in conjunction with a Smart toll-free number. This combination can deliver automated sales presentations 24 hours a day, costing only pennies. After seeing your advertising, your prospects can immediately visit your site or hear your sales message via toll-free voice mail, without being "hard sold." If they want to know more, they can leave you a message via voice mail or hit the contact page on your web site.

Here's the real advantage of these two technologies: most good toll-free voice mail systems will capture your prospects phone numbers - and tell you how long they listened to your sales message. (Try to do that with a CD!) A good Web site will capture your prospects' information, too, by offering them a free report if they fill out a simple profile form. Now you and your team can follow up with intelligence that is unmatched by any other technology.

How do you follow up with someone who did not ask to be contacted? Simple. When you're walking the aisles of an expensive store if you don't hear the familiar words, "Can I help you find something?" you'll soon be out of there. It's called "service." You like it; everyone does. Unfortunately, service has never been practiced enough in our business. Until now.

All you have to do is call each prospect, tell him or her your name, and mention that you were notified that he visited your Web site or called your toll-free number. Then immediately apologize for not getting back sooner (even if it was only ten minutes ago!) Say that you'd be happy to answer any questions or supply some more information. After that, it's all rapport building.

Tips for Effective Voice-Mail Prospecting

What goes on your automated, voice-mail prospecting message? Testimonials. Spend perhaps 30 seconds on why your product or opportunity is so great, then go right into one to three minutes of testimonials from your organization; play them, one after another.

After the testimonials, your prospect will be in a responsive mode, so immediately ask him to leave his name and phone number so you can send some additional information. Do not ask for an address: you only want phone numbers for follow-up calls. Keep your recorded sales messages as short as possible - three to eight minutes is best.

In most cases, you shouldn't give the caller any choices on the first exposure. If you offer even two options (such as product or opportunity), you'll reduce your results. Keep it direct and focused. When the call is answered, let your advertised offer start immediately; then take callers directly to voice mail.

Once you've followed up, give people access to other messages with more information. Keep this one simple.

Tips for Effective Web Site Prospecting

Information overload is your biggest hurdle. You have to give just enough information to get your prospects interested, but not bombard them with too many ideas. Focus is the key. If you are marketing a product, don't mess up the focus by blabbing about the opportunity to first-time visitors. If you are marketing your opportunity, then don't mess up the focus with thousands of words on products. Just offer some compelling reasons why visitors need to get the rest of the facts by contacting you. You can always give them access to the information they need after you've qualified them.

When a prospect clicks on your contact link, I recommend asking him to fill out a simple information card that will get e-mailed to you immediately. Remember, use a free offer to encourage people to fill out the form. I also recommend using auto-responders that instantly return an e-mail to prospects, thanking them for taking the time to visit your site and promising them that you will contact them ASAP.

I always return calls and build relationships with people who are interested. Often they are more interested in the system through which they have just journeyed than they are in the company, product, or pay plan attached. Based on that fascination, they are often willing to take the steps to duplicate the system right away!

The winner is the one whose marketing pieces get the most people to respond, not the one who has the most expensive suit or the Rolex that sparkles from the stage. Keep in mind that advertising is a risky business that requires extensive testing and reworking.

When you find an ad that hits, hold on. Your biggest challenge will be figuring out what to do with all the money.