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Network Marketing Online
A Few Things to Consider
By Eldon Beard
So, you are ready to start your network marketing business, and you
want to build your business online. Great! The internet offers almost
boundless opportunity for finding and contacting excellent prospects
for your new business. But, beware - beneath all that potential there
are a few things you need to consider, to insure that your new venture
is successful.
Network Marketing - a People Business
No matter what anyone tells you, a successful and long-lasting
network marketing income is not going to be built around anonymous online
marketing. Putting up a website and then expecting people to just sign
up and make money for you isn't realistic. Internet prospecting is just
a tool that enables you to identify people who have an interest in a
home business. It will still be up to you to personally contact these
people and help them. You have to be willing to pick up the phone and
talk to people. You may think, "but I hate selling". I hate
selling too. I don't consider calling someone who has contacted ME to
be selling - I think of it as providing information. I never "close"
anyone on my business - my online tools provide the information, I fill
in the gaps by talking to interested prospects, then let them make the
decision. If you have to "sell" the business to someone, they
won't likely pursue it for long. You don't want that.
The Reality of Online Advertising
I see it all the time - "blast your ad to 500,000 classified
ad sites". So goes a typical pitch that many marketers use
to sell their submission software and service. The reality is, blasting
ads to FFA link sites and free classified ad sites rarely, if ever produces
a real prospect for you. How many people really look at these sites,
anyway? How many times have you personally looked for opportunities
among hundreds of links plastered on a web page somewhere? Effective
online promotion of your network marketing business will require spending
some money to put ads where people will actually view them. One strategy
I use is to purchase keywords in pay-per-click search engines - keywords
directly related to my home business. I get many of my prospects this
way. I also have small, inexpensive ads on several "work from home"
business sites that receive a lot of traffic. With online advertising,
you get what you pay for.
Online Sales Tools
Whatever network marketing company you join, if you are going to promote
and build it online, you will need a web site. Some companies provide
free sites to help you. Some even provide turn-key prospecting systems
that collect information about your prospect and guide them through
presentations that help them to make a positive decision to join your
business. The company you choose should provide these tools for you,
and they will if they are serious about supporting online marketing
efforts.
Consistent Follow-Through and Commitment
Whatever network marketing company you join, remember that your success
will be measured in large part by how much time you spend following
up with prospects, and how well you do it. I've seen many people come
into my business, set up their free web site, and then sit back and
wait for something to happen. It won't - you have to take whatever tools
you've been provided, and make something happen.
Why Do You Want to Build Your Business Online?
This is a big one. Think about why you want to build your business
online. There are many great reasons, a few of which I outlined above.
One BAD reason to desire an online network marketing business: you don't
like to talk to people, or you want to do everything by email and never
have to talk to anybody "live". You must enjoy working with
people to be successful in this business. Your online tools can be of
GREAT help to you in building your business, but that personal touch
is still critical to your success.
The Best Thing
To me, the best thing about online marketing is that you get
to talk to prospects who have contacted YOU and who are ready to talk
about starting their business. This sure beats the old way, where you
were prompted to contact every friend and relative and told to drag
them into home meetings and such. Few of us have the time or desire
to build a business in this way - which is what makes online networking
so special! But always bear in mind - network marketing is still a people
business, and you need to always approach it as such.
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