The business I had built up over the last 10-years has pretty much died with me being gone. So as I begin to reconstruct the rubble that was my business, I find myself in the exciting place of being able to start from ground-zero, and build the type of business I should have built when I first got started in this wonderful world of Network Marketing. While I won’t be starting right away…since just walking across the street gets me exhausted, I can now see the day when in just a few months, I can re-boot my business…I figure around January or February of 2011.

Since this will be a big reboot, I foresee that this blog might change direction and actually offer a day-by-day dialogue (or maybe a week-by-week dialogue) of what I do, how I do it, and when I do it. That way I can help the novice MLMer know exactly what is required to make a living doing this stuff we do.

First the bad news: Anywhere from 80% to 90% of all your recruits will not be active after the first year or two. This is just a fact of life, and you shouldn’t take it personal when “Aunt Betty” doesn’t produce one iota of new business after you recruit her. I’m not sure if it’s the “hype” of being able to make money without doing anything (“My sponsor/you will put new people under me, and I’ll be making money hand-over-fist!”),  or if they never get past the first few “No’s” they experience when they approach people about the business…no one likes rejection. When they don’t make the million dollars after the first month, they get discouraged and stop working the business.

If you notice, most of these reasons are our fault…yes, I said OUR fault. Where did they get the idea that they would make fast money? Where did they get the idea that the business involves no work? Where did they get the idea that the products sell themselves? That to be successful requires no selling, just sharing?

This industry has enough working against it then for us to be involved in these really ‘scammy’ type of concepts that we push through our own words and/or our company’s media/literature. Honesty is always the best policy, and in my opinion, helps us to keep more of our recruits than if we just do the old “throw them against the wall and see if they stick” mentality we have.

The first 90-Days of one of my new recruits starts about a month before they have even signed the papers (so I guess this article should be called “The First 120-Days”). On average, it takes an individual about 30-days to make the final decision to join an MLM company. Every now and then you can find a person who’s ready to sign on the spot after seeing an exciting Biz Op meeting/speaker, but I find those folks sign the papers and you never hear from them again.

Some of the studies I’ve seen have supported this observation of mine that it takes about three-to-four weeks for a person to sign up. Since I approach my job as an adviser, I try to help them make the decision that is right for them. One of the things I’ll do about the second or third week of their decision making process is refer them to “The Hidden Secret of Think and Grow Rich“. I tell them to get the eBook, and take the next week to read “Think and Grow Rich”, and then take two-hours on the following Sunday to go through the workbook.  Every leader in this industry always refers their people to read “Think and Grow Rich”, but no one (except me, maybe?) helps their people figure out what the secret is and how to use it.

One good thing about this process: If they read the eBooks that come with “The Hidden Secret of Think and Grow Rich“, and work through the exercises…then I know I have a potentially great recruit on my hands. They’re teachable, and willing to learn new things. I will still recruit someone, even if they don’t buy the books, but at least I know with who to spend quality time with.

Hopefully, if I timed things right…the potential recruit will be finishing up the workbook about the time they sign the paperwork. If they finish the books (whether they’ve made the decision to come on board or not), I then refer them to the “Simple*ology 101 Course“…one of the best programs I’ve found to point someone in the direction of setting goals (I make this their first personal development course in their new self-development regimen). The beautiful thing about this course is that it’s FREE! It’s 40-days long, but at the end of it, you (and your recruits) should be very aware of the power of the secret in “Think & Grow Rich” (though Mark Joyner, the author, doesn’t mention the book once during the course). This is another one of those “I CAN’T RECOMMEND THIS COURSE HIGHLY ENOUGH” things <chuckle>.

If you haven’t yet gotten your copy of “The Hidden Secret in Think & Grow Rich” or you haven’t signed up for the “Simple*ology 101 Course“…Don’t hesitate,  DO IT NOW! You’ll be glad you did.

==== End of Part 1 of the First 90-Days ====

Enjoy Buzzy and his new, pre-launch opportunity…

Roy Voigt – The MLM Old-Timer
http://www.mlm-oldtimer.info

“In every chapter of this book, mention has been made of the money-making secret which has made fortunes for more than five hundred exceedingly wealthy men whom I carefully analyzed over a long period of years.”

“If you are ready to put it to use, you will recognize it at least once in every chapter.”

“Somewhere as you read, the secret to which I refer will jump from the page and stand boldly before you. If you are ready for it! When it appears, you will recognize it.”

“If you are ready for the secret, you already possess one half of it.”

“..may I offer one brief suggestion which may provide a clue by which the secret may be recoognized? It is this-all achievement, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea!’

I have thought numerous times that I finally found the secret Mr. Hill talks about, but each time I re-read the book I came to slightly different interpretations to what the ‘secret’ really was. The problem of this is that until I actually could figure out what this secret was, I could never be sure if I was actually using it to accomplish my goals.

Brian Kim’s e-Book, “The Hidden Secret in Thnk and Grow Rich“, clears up a lot of the concerns I had, and has helped me to harness the power that is referred to in Napoleon Hill’s classic. I can’t urge enough to everyone I know that they need to grab this book ASAP!

If you follow the links provided in this review of Brian’s book, Brian is kicking in some extras when you buy:

1) A complete copy of “Think and Grow Rich”

2) “The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich” workbook

3) “The Three Biggest Mistakes People Make with the Hidden Secret”

I don’t know how long Brian will be providing the extras, so time is of the essence. I can’t pump this book up enough. Get it while the getting is good.

I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.

To get the most from this blog…I have one caveat for the reader:

You MUST have gone through your initial training (i.e., Fast Start) with your sponsor/upline.

• This means that you are familiar with your company’s product line.

• You have made your initial list of 100/200/1000 friends and family.

• You have attempted to approach a few people into joining your organization (or have tried to sell your product). I’m realistic here…if you’re like most then you probably got rejected by most of your family and friends (the few that your sponsor strong-armed into signing up are not going to be big producers…Usually, since there are exceptions to every rule.

This blog will tell some of you things that your sponsor/upline will tell you doesn’t work. This blog will give you insights into the ‘why’s and how’s’ of what MLM is all about; things that you might never have heard before. Heck! Let’s be honest here: This blog might even contradict everything you ever heard about the industry…told to most of you by your sponsors/upline/company leaders. NOTE: I’m not saying that anyone’s sponsor/upline/company leader is lying outright, but what I am saying is that a LOT of folks have learned and taught a lot misguided ideas and concepts that don’t work for ‘Joe Average Networker’.

For instance: One of the first thing I do with a new recruit is to train them how to get 100 Customers in their first 100 days (preferably all on auto-ship…but auto ship is another post for another day). NOTE: I said “CUSTOMERS”, not “RECRUITS”!

First: I want to make sure the new recruit is familiar with the products. As Randy Gage teaches: “Become a Product of the Product.”

Second: We market products! To call it anything else is disingenuous at best, lying at worst. I want to totally eliminate the whole ‘SHARING/PRODUCT SELLS ITSELF’ mindset that permeates this industry from the mind of my prospects.

• If you share something, then you should not get paid…sharing is FREE. When we were in 1st grade, and we shared our PB&J with our best friend, did we charge them anything for it? If we understood that concept in 1st grade, why do we insist on calling selling sharing? So if you want to call it SHARING then give it away. Let me know how your bottom line looks at the end of the year doing that.

• As for the idea of the PRODUCT SELLS ITSELF…go buy $10,000 worth of your company’s product tomorrow. Have it delivered to your home and dropped off on your front lawn. Pull up a lawn chair, and just sit and watch the pile. Go ahead and stare at it for a few hours, than call your bank to check your bank account. Let me know how that works out.

Third: Maybe 1 out of 1,000 prospects become marketers (part of your organization). Perhaps 1 out of 100 need the product we sell to improve their lives. Which one of these options do you have a better chance at getting?

Fourth: There’s a maxim that is prevalent throughout this industry that says: “No one gets paid until someone sells the product.” In my last two companies, I lived and breathed this concept. Again, I’m not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but I consistently turn a profit month-after-month.

Fifth: You do the math. If you consistently had: 100 customers every month buying one of your products at retail…what would your bottom line be? In my primary comapany, just using the difference between the retail and wholesale price, I make about $5 per average. 100 customers at $5 / month equals $500 / month. Of course, your results could be more or less depending on your compensation plan. Using my numbers, that’s an extra $6,000 / year. Can that make a difference in the lives of you / your recruits?

Am I saying, “Never learn to prospect/recruit for new distributors”? No, I’m not. I’m just saying that new recruits need to learn how to sell first, recruit second. Tom Schreiter tells of the study done that shows on average for most American families, an extra $300 / month can be the difference between just getting by and living an improved life style of comfort (I’ll look for the old newsletter that tells this story if anyone is interested). The quickest way to get this is to sell the product. Besides, imagine the posture your recruits will have when they move into prospecting business builders and they get asked the question: “Have you made any money in this thing?” Also, it tends to help retention of my organization, who wants to leave $500 / month sitting on the table?

Well how do I train them to get 100 Customers in 100 Days? I tell them to go to the Klaver General Store and download “3 Scripts 100 Customers 100 Days 5 CD set + If My Product book combo” for $57  (you can get an MP3 + e Book combo for $47 if you are tech savvy and have printer that can print out the e book). I work with my recruits on creating their 3-scripts, work with them in cold-cadaver calls, and help them hone their scripts into something that works for them.

The good folks at the FTC require me to disclose that I am an affiliate of the  ‘Klaver General Store‘ and that the Kim Klaver Organization will compensate me if you purchase this CD/book combo. I have actually purchased (and used) a copy of this system and it has my highest recommendation.

Since I just joined my new company, and I want to make sure I’m duplicated correctly throughout my new organization…this means I am generating my list of family, friends, and acquaintances. I am also generating my 3-scripts mentioned above. My main goal for the next 100-days (why don’t we set a date of 31-March 2010), is to get 100 Retail Customers. I have other goals for recruiting, and self-development, but those will be posts for another day.

That’s all for now…

Roy
The MLM Old-Timer