The meaning of the word 'impossible'

This past week, I threw myself a big "poor me" party.

Those parties usually involve a lot of late nights TV watching or aimless web surfing.

Anyways during my aimless wandering, I stumbled upon something, or should I say someone who gave me a virtual slap on the face.

That person is Marlee Matlin.

If you don't know who Marlee is, let me tell you a little bit about her.

In 1986, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her part in the movie,
"Children of a lesser God".

It was her first movie role and at the time she was only 21. This made her the first and only person in acting history, man or woman, to accomplish this feat (according to Wikipedia)
She has since gone on to become an established film and television star.

But Marlee is not your typical movie star: she is profoundly deaf.
She's been that way since she was 18 months old.

Marlee's acting career while amazing considering the odds is not what prompted me
to tell you about her today.

If you are a fan of "Dancing with the Stars", (the ABC hit show)
then you probably know where I'm going with this.

She is in the show. Not as a judge or a host.
No! She is dancing! And doing quite well I might add.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her on the show and I said to myself

"That's impossible! There is no way she's going to pull this off, a deaf person can't dance!
She is going to make a fool of herself, yadiyadiyada..."

It's common sense that one must be able to hear the music, to follow the tempo and find the rhythm, etc...

Well, Marlee proved us wrong, yet again.

You've got to watch her, she is simply amazing and such an inspiration!

How does Marlee do it? What is her secret?
Where does she find the strength to go against the odds that are stacked
pretty high against her?

I think I found the answer in Napoleon Hill in his classic "Think and Grow Rich":
"One of the main weaknesses of mankind" he says
"is the average man's familiarity with the word ‘impossible.’
He knows all the rules which will NOT work.
He knows all the things which CANNOT be done."

Apparently the word 'impossible' doesn't exist in Marlee's dictionaries.

She is the living testament that "There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations of your own mind"

I am humbled by her courage, her determination and most of allby her boldness.

What is my excuse?

Warmest Regards,

Carmina

Enlighten, Empower, Enrich
908-998-1723

Do you use leads?

The problem with calling leads is:
-It's time consuming (you must dial the number, let it ring, leave a voicemail, etc)
-It takes massive numbers to see results

What I'm suggesting here is not that you not use leads but that you use
them more effectively.
Some people will tell you that leads don't work, that the only way to go is with
face to face meetings.Others swear by the internet.
The truth is there is more than one way to build this business.

All the methods work, it's a matter of working at it consistently.
Pick what works for you and your current situation.
For me leads are the way to go, I have a full time job and a 3 year old at home:
My time is very limited.

Although I have had some success with leads,the process always left me exhausted.
The question became not whether working leads work
but how to maximize my efforts?

First, we must agree on the basics:A lead is a lead is a lead. No more, no less.
Just because somebody filled out a formdoesn't mean they are ready to get
started in your business.

A lead is simply someone who at some point requested some information.
Having said all this, please keep in mind that not all leads are created equal.
Some lead companies are questionable to say the least.
A clue is when you start getting frequent responses like:
"I just wanted to win the X-box".

Fortunately, there are some good lead companies out there,
most verify their leads before selling them to you, either by phone(preferred)
or by email.
So before investing a lot of money, talk to your sponsor and see
what they are using and can recommend.
Keep in mind that your job, when calling leads is to sort ,not sell;
to figure out who is who.That's it!

Imagine that you have a deck of cards and that you are looking for aces.
How many cards are you going to throw away?48! That's right!
You're only looking for aces and there are only 4 of them in a deck.
Are you going to grab a marker and attempt to transform an '8' into an ace?
No way!
You want to go through that deck as fast as you can.
The faster you go through it, the faster you'll find the Aces.
The problem as I mentionned earlier is going through each of those
leads to find your aces.

I tried several things, first I called each and every one.
It gets old and boring quickly.
A lot of valuable time and energy is spent
dialing each number, waiting for the phone to ring, leaving a message, etc...
The worse is getting the fax machine, invalid numbers, wrong numbers.
That's when you start to think there has to be a better way!

The next thing I tried was emailing the leads ahead of time.
Two problems here:
1) Most reputable autoresponder companies won't let you upload purchased
leads into their system.So you can either purchase/subscribe to a second autoresponder
system or use a Free one (yikes!).

Either way you still have problem #2:
2) 99% of the leads won't read the email.
So you're back at square one.

What if you only got to talk to people who actually answer the phone
and bypass the rest?It's actually possible!

Thanks to an amazing technology I stumbled upon.
Here how it works:First of all there is nothing to install, it's all internet based.
Once you upload your purchased list and you record a voicemail,
you're ready to go.

The first thing that I found amazing is that, the software will scan the list and
automatically removes the numbers on the "Do Not Call" List.
Isn't that a relief?!?

If you want to, you can filter the numbers you want to call by specifying the time zone,
area code, state, etc.And get this, if it's outside of the legal calling time (9am- 9pm),
the leads won't be dialed. So you can call in complete peace of mind.

Now for the brilliance of this system:You decide whether you want to talk to every
single person that answers the phone or if you want a percentage of them to get your
voicemail while you're talking to another live person instead!

For example if you purchase some leads of lesser quality in bulk,
you probably want to go through it as fast as possible and set that ratio pretty high.
But if you bought some high quality leads, you probably will want to
talk to everyone that picks up the phone. Right?

Ok so now you're ready and you click Dial.
The system calls you at whetever number you specify then
it goes through the list, dials the numbers for you!

When a live person or the voicemail picks up,
you hear a distinctive tone on your phone and their name shows up on your screen,
(you can even have your script uploaded so that you can refer to it while you're talking).

You manage the calls from your computer screen.
Obviously if someone picks up, you talk to them on your phone,
if their answering machine picks up you can either
click the "Leave Voicemail" button on your screen and move onto the next call
or you can leave them a voicemail yourself, it's up to you.

The system also allows you to make a quick note on the people you talked
to for follow up and provides you with a full report of your calling sessions
so you know who you talked to, left a voicemail for, who wasn't interested,
who requested information, etc...

What use to take me 5 days, now takes me 1 hour to accomplish.

Are you still dialing your leads manually?
Take a look for yourself
If would like a Live demo let me know...

To your success,
Carmina

Enlighten, Empower, Enrich

Dealing with Objections

This past week, I listened to another excellent call from

www.MLMRadioShow.com

If you have trouble dealing with objections,
you must listen to the show recorded on March 5, 2008.

We are not trying to convince or trick someone into
joining our opportunity.
The goal is to give them enough information without confusing them.
A confused mind does nothing!

Here are a few key phrases to get you comfortable on the Phone.
It's better to be prepared.

After the potential candidate has reviewed your company's information,
or you've made your presentation,

you start the "closing" ( for lack of a better word) process as such:

You: "Mr. Prospect, What questions do you have for me before determining

whether or not this business is appropriate for you?"

If they do have a question, you give them a brief answer then ask,

"Did that answer your question?"

If they say "No", you say;
"It sounds to me that you want the more in depth version.

Let me send you a (link, pdf, website ) that explains (whatever their question was)

and you can go over it in detail."

"What’s your next question?"

If they don't have any other question you say:

"Great! Let’s Get You Started!"

Here are a few common questions that the prospect may ask you.

Mr Prospect: How do I make money? How do I get paid?
You: It’s very easy. We get paid (weekly,monthly.. depending on your company).

And it’s based on the volume that’s generated in your business. And it’s not only the volume that you generate but also the volume of the people in your team.

Mr Prospect: What will I be doing?

You: Let me ask you. How did you find me?( if you're buying leads they requested

the info online for the most part) Ok Can you imagine if you had a system like mine?

And people came through your website and said I’m looking to make money from

home or if they come to your product website and said hey I want to buy such and

such? You’re going to contact that person just like we contacted you right? Get them

to look at the information that you looked at. And then after you’ve answered their

questions, with our help at first then they’re going to decide whether they want to

join your team or not. And anyone that joins your team you’re going to make 5-20% ( look at your comp plan) of their monthly volume. So you’re building a team and

moving volume of products either through people that join your team or customers.

Does that sound like something you’d be comfortable doing?

If they are still unclear direct them to something like Brilliant Compensation

by Tim Sales or the Perfect Business by Robert Kiyosaki

that explains the principles of Net-work Mark-eting

Mr Prospect:How much does it cost?

You: That’s the best part! There are 2 packages that make sense (Even if you have 5 packages just select 2, a high end and a low end, remember a confused mind does nothing). An ($ highest) package which gives you access to (whatever is part of that package) and an ($ lowest) package which gives you pretty much the same except (whatever they won't be getting). Which one makes the most sense for you?

Mr Prospect:I have to talk to my spouse, my teacher, my long lost cousin…
You: Ok. That's not a problem. When would be a good time for us to get back together with (your spouse, your teacher, your long lost cousin) on the phone?

Mr Prospect:No I want to do this by myself.
You: Ok No problem. Just do me a favor, make sure you take them through the exact process I took you through, otherwise you’re going to find yourself at a loss trying to explain the business to them and they will not see it the way you do.

Has that ever happened to you before?
(Plan for follow up)
when is it going to be a good time for us to get back together?

Mr Prospect: I need to think about it
You:Would (2 weeks, 1 month, 1year,...depends on the guarantee offered by your company) be enough time?

Mr Prospect: Yes
You:Great! because our company has a (2 weeks, 1 month, 1year) money back guarantee. So let’s get you started so you can try the business, get to experience the company, the product the training and everything for (period of guarantee).

And if you’re not satisfied you’ll get (90%,...100% depending on company policies)

of your money back!

Mr Prospect: I really don’t have the money
You: I can appreciate that you don’t have (whatever it costs to get started in your company) sitting on your night stand, so How long is it going to take you to get

that money together?
Plan to follow up with them at the time they specified

You always follow your answers with the following routine:

"Did that answer your question?"

Yes (if 'No' see above)

"What’s your next question?"

No more questions

"Great! Let’s Get You Started!"

That's what I got from that call, but it was a hour long call.
I left a lot out amd the written word doesn't really convey how
you handle the questions, it only gives you the words.

Numbers don't lie

One thing I learned early on in this business is the necessity of tracking my efforts.

What will it take based on track record to sponsor 20 people in 12 weeks?

The first thing that hit me when I looked at my numbers is that it's going to take a LOT of work. The second thing that hit me: I have NOT being working my business!

Sure, I've been busy: in the past month, I developed 2 new websites, set up a 90-day system for my team, wrote 2 auto-responders for follow up, etc.... But none of these activities are growing my business.

The principal activity I rely on to grow my business is phone prospecting.

I purchase leads (contact information of people who are looking for a home business) from advertising agencies and call them with the information they requested.

When working leads, you must have the right expectations otherwise,

you'll give up before you get anywhere.

Keep in mind that just because, someone requested the information,

it doesn't mean they are ready to join your or any business for that matter.

It is truly a numbers' game.If you're only calling a handful, you might as well not call at all.


What should you track
Dial: when you get a voicemail or you talk to someone other than the one you wanted to reach (wrong numbers, busy signals don't count)

Completed Calls: when you've reached the intended party (regardless of the outcome)

Appointment: after talking to a prospect, they agree to meet with you for a follow up call at a specific date and time. (if it's not specific, it doesn't count as an appt., sometimes people ask you to call them back, or to send them more info, that does not constitute an appt.)

Consultation: they show up for the follow up call.

Sales : they join your team

For example in a given week, I made 45 dials, talked to 9 prospects, set up an appointment with 2 of them ( 7 of them were either not interested, asked me to call back or to send more info), 1 of the 2 showed up for the follow up call and didn't join.

Compiling the numbers over a few weeks will show that on average, I've called 31 people every week, talked to 8 and barely scheduled 1 appt per week.

One of two things need to happen:
1) Develop my prospecting skills
or
2) Contact more people.

Method #1 will have to come as a result of method #2.
But saying that I need to talk to more people doesn't help me much. Does it?
As Dani Johnson says, "nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific"


So what it will take for me to sponsor 20 people in 12 weeks?


In order to sponsor 20 people in 12 weeks, I would have to make 36 dials and/or talk to 10 people 5 days a week or make 180 dials and/or talk to 47 people every week.Those numbers should result in 5 appts every week which will give me a fair shot.
Ouch....

Reaching those numbers on a daily basis would require more time and a lot more leads than I can currently afford.

But numbers don't lie, they give me a true picture of the situation.
But now I know....

"Reach for the moon. Even if you fail you'll land among the stars"

Warmest Regards,
Carmina

Prospecting your way to success

I discovered a new source of wisdom this past weekend, and I want to share a
little bit of what I learned from Pat berry and Joe Syverson from mlmradioshow.com

The 4 Stages of Prospecting

Proscratination: dreading the phone. waiting to be perfect, wanting to know everything before getting on the phone. Getting ready to get ready.
Perceiving the process as painful. Reevaluate your perception.

Telling Phase: talking too much. Telling and selling mode. If you can hear yourself, you're talking too much. You should be talking 20% of the time.
Your prospect should be doing the talking.

Discussion Phase: Nobody's listening, it's a back and effort of questions and answers.

Prospecting: When you start to sort through your prospects. Using questions to engage your prospects and giving feedback on what you hear.

Connecting: the master prospector phase

Keep in mind that 80% of the people you talk to will not get started in your
business, no matter how great of a prospector you are. Not because, they don't
have the money or time or whatever excuses they can come up with, the main
reason is because they don't want to change.

The quicker you can determine the ones who belong to the 80%, the better you'll
become at prospecting. 4% of the remaining 20% will see the opportunity and
go for it no matter how bad of a prospector you are, so If you talk to enough people,
you are bound to recruit somebody.

However, just going through the number will not get you
very far in this business. The biggest mistake you can make is spending too much time
with the 80%.

The 4 Ps of Prospecting.

To become a master prospector you need:

Purpose: Be clear about the reasons why doing this. It must be beyond just making money or paying off debt and your bills.
Passion: Enthusiasm ( not excitement) creates curiosity, people buy your energy.
It's important to be aligned with whatever you're promoting, otherwise you subconsciously are sending mixed messages to your prospect.
Peace of mind: be in the moment. Don't bring your problems with you. You can have 2 attitudes about problems, you're either resisting or surrendering your problems to a higher authorithy, in my case that's God. And letting go.
Power: Power comes from confidence. Keep control of the conversation by asking the most questions. Are you coming from a place of desperation? Change your attitude from "I need" to "I deserve".

Take a look at your numbers. Realize that when you put enough people through your system, you won't really care if they say Yes or No. They will both weight equally in your mind and thus improve your posture on the phone.

To your success,
Carmina

Enlighten, Empower, Enrich

There's life beyond Recruiting

"Network Marketing is perhaps the only business where one has to justify going
after customers" - Kim Klaver


Traditionally, most NetWMork Marketers neglect the retail end of their business because we
have been taught that the big money is in building teams, not selling products.
My goal today is to show you that you can put money in your pocket
right away without recruiting a single soul.

First, we must agree on one thing: retail is the lifeblood of any company.
It's really just common sense. At the end of the day, whether it's selling vitamins
or telephone services, your company is in business to sell their products/services
and make a profit.
The only difference between traditional companies like Estee Lauder and a net.work
marketing company like Mary Kay is the way they distribute their products.
Estee Lauder employs the services of a the traditional distribution channels
(distribution warehouses, malls, store fronts) while Mary Kay gets its products
directly to the consumer via people like me and you.
They really are not much different.
They both have corporate offices, corporate staff and employees.
While Estee Lauder relies on a paid sales force and expensive advertising mediums,
Mary Kay has an army of independent reps doing the same thing only for free.

Free?!? Yes, for f.ree because you see we don't get paid until we sell something,
until products move from the company's warehouse to the customers’ hands.
We are not paid on efforts but on results.

That's why some companies choose the network marketing model, it just makes sense!
They pay their distributors for actual results (orders) as opposed to potential
orders (which is what advertising gives them).

If you ask me, that's just smart business.
Please understand, that we don't get paid a commission because someone signed
a distributor application, if you get paid when you signed someone up, it better be
because the start up kit contained actual products with resale value.
Otherwise, you'll get the FTC knocking on your company's door really soon.
Where do you think the money comes from to pay the big commission checks?
You guessed it: retail profit!

You see because Network Marketing companies are only paying their distributors
for results, the money that traditionally goes to the billion dollar marketing budget,
is used to compensate us, the reps.

Why should you focus on retail?
It's quick money in your pocket. Let me prove it to you:
1) You have access to a relatively easy and free pool of prospects:
your warm market.
Your warm market will probably be reticent about joining you in your new business
venture. Can you blame them? They don't know you as a business person.
Put yourself in their shoes for a second:
Let's imagine that you've never sang a note in your life (at least not professionally)
and you call your aunt Marie and asked her if she wants to help you produce your
first album. What is her reaction likely to be?
'Hmm, I don't know….. let me check with uncle Joe. I'll get back to you'.
Why, because, she has absolutely no confidence in your ability as a singer,
she may know you as Sam the (whatever your job is) guy, but not Sam, the singer.
So don't take it personally.
Now, let's assume that somehow you got your first album produced,
how likely is aunt Marie to buy your CD?
If for no other reason, she’ll buy it to have a good laugh at your expense.
The point is, she is likely to want to support you and buy your CD regardless
of whether she thinks you can sing or not. She doesn’t have a lot to lose.
Are you catching my drift?
So reason 1 to start retailing: it puts money in your pocket fast
(Tip :Sell products from your start up kit)

Reason #2: retail puts you in control of your income.
Whether or not your team is doing something with their business,
you're still earning retail profit money.
Whether or not you have an organization of 'duds', you won't be dependent on them
which means more control and less stress.
Furthermore, your team duplicates what you do. So if you sell products, your team
will do the same, which translate in higher team sales volume, which we all know is
what your commission is based on.
If all the above reasons were not enough, consider this:
There is nothing like cash in your pocket to put a smile on your face and a smile says,
I know where I'm going even if you don't. That my friend, is called confidence.
That “I don’t care if you join my business or not” attitude intrigues prospects and
makes them want to have whatever it is you're having...
If you are making $500/mth in retail and you haven't sponsored anybody yet and
Mr. prospect asks you with a smirk, "So how much are you making?",
you can wipe that smirk right off his face with a confident
"Enough to keep me interested".

Can you talk with any degree of confidence if Mr. Prospect is the first person
you sponsor? Absolutely! Because if nothing else, you can teach him how to do
one thing: make $500/mth in retail.
Where as, if all you're focusing on is recruiting and you have no one in your organization
and you're making no money from retailing, how can you in good conscience approach
anyone ?

Can I really make $500/mth from retail?
Let's do an exercise from Kim Klaver's book:
"If My Product's So Great How Come I Can't Sell It".
How much are you spending every month on products?
For simplicity sake, I'll assume $30/month, let's say you got 100 customers
doing the same, that's $3000 in volume. Now let's imagine that your company pays
you a commission of 15% on everything you sell, that's $450/month,
at 20 % that's $600/mth.

Happy Selling!
Carmina