Direct Sales, Network Marketing & Home Party Plan Blog

Although Online Marketing is the wave of the future, there are ways that you can market your MLM and website offline that are not stuck in the past. As a matter of fact, your offline and online strategies can work hand in hand. For this reason Offline Marketing should be a part of every internet marketer’s overall strategy.

Here are the Top 10 ways that you can market your business offline: 1. Do a radio interview with a DJ at the local radio station. The morning talk show would be ideal. As listeners are getting ready for work, your message will be one of the first that they hear that day. Make sure that you mention your website URL so that listeners can find out more once they get access to a computer some time during the day. It would even be a good idea to donate one of your top selling items for the radio station to give out as a gift.

2. You could attend a Home Business Trade Show in order to market your business. The attendees there are a targeted group because they are there to find a Home Business opportunity. You could get a booth for around $100. One way to generate interest in your booth would be to have a give away every hour. This will encourage attendees to leave their name and number for you to contact them later about your MLM opportunity. Make sure to have literature there with your Website URL and phone number.

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The fastest way for you to get someone to say no to you, is to lead with your company and throw-up all over them. We have either been the one doing the puking or being puked on where each role leaves us with a bitter taste in our mouths. In order to be successful, we must never allow a person to experience our halitosis. Before you start marketing your business whatever it is, you must do your homework and find what makes you and your product unique.

A good place to start is by asking yourself the following questions about you and your business:

*How do you want to brand yourself? Branding is a way to differentiate yourself from the
competition and a way for your customers and prospects to remember you.

*What is your value proposition? We all make our economic decisions, our purchases, on some trade-off between value and utility, whether consciously or unconsciously. People have a choice as to whether they should buy your product or someone else’s. This is where you make your best case!

*Why should people do business with you? Do you and your product really matter? Prove it to me! Do you have other satisfied customers? Do you offer a guarantee or warranty? Am I going to get personal attention from you?

*What are your strengths as a marketer? This is just for you. Your business is going to grow as you grow, and that means trying new things! Most importantly, it requires you to be willing to truly stretch yourself!

Feel free to add any questions, but do not eliminate any. Each question is vital in getting to know your exceptional gifts.

After you have answered the above questions, now answer the following regarding to your product/service you offer.

*What is your product? Describe it in terms of the NEED you fill, which may be physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual – or some combination of any or all of these.

*Who is your target market? Be specific. What demographics define your market? Age/Income/Gender/Geographic. What other factors may be important?

*Who are your competitors? What do they offer?

What resources do they have at their command?

*Why is your product superior to the competition? Be honest! In fact, maybe someone is offering a better product, but you compete better on things like promotion, delivery, price, or just a personal touch! Did you know that very often it is the second-best product that gets the larger market share?

Answering these questions are the beginning to becoming a successful marketer. By answering these questions, you are now able to show your prospects why they should invest in you and how your product/service will benefit them. So now, rather than throw-up on a customer, lead with you, your brand. Make an authentic connection with people and you have won half the battle.

Remember whether you are marketing on the internet or using traditional lead generation tactics or both, remember to always lead with yourself first and your company second.
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With a strong history in business development, and organizational operations, as well as sales training, Zach Slobin has a proven track record of connecting with people in way in which drives him and those he encounters to want to be better.

The question is when you are looking at a network marketing opportunity which is best to work with? Marketing a product or marketing a service. This is really a personal opinion type of question. I have seen people have great success marketing both products and services. It also depends on the personal preferences of a particular individual which would be better for them.

If you are marketing a product you may need to consider if the product will need to be inventoried by you or will it be drop shipped by the company. Another thing that I would look for when it comes to product based companies like this, is this. Are you required to purchase more products than you could reasonably sell or that you could consume yourself?

If so you may just end up in that position of having a garage full of product that you can not seem to unload. Something else to consider is customer service. If your customer is unhappy with the product will the company take back the un-used portion of the product and will it issue a refund to you or your customer?

This is the most crucial part of the decision making. You absolutely have to love the products and believe in them. You’ll want to have a passion for the products you’re going to be selling. If you don’t like the merchandise or believe in the merchandise yourself you’re not going to be able to be a good sales person. The best way to test this of course is to try the product yourself.

Ask the consultant you’re working with for a sample. If samples aren’t available I highly recommend purchasing at least one thing. Being in sales you’re going to have to know you product. The product most sold is the product most recommended. YOU have to be your best own customer.

The really big one for me is the product itself. Is this a product that is somewhat of a fad or a product that people normally use and will continue to use? In other words is this a product that is the “latest, greatest new thing in candles” or latest thing in weight loss?” Is it something your customer is going to need to try for awhile to see if they like it or if it “works” for them? These are just some things to consider when looking at a product based company. Then there are service based companies. These are companies that market services such as telecommunications, energy or health care benefits for example.

The bottom line is that network marketing is a great business to be involved in. Most any of them will work as long as it is a good fit for you. I know that some people have great success marketing candle products or nutritional products and prefer to market those kinds of products just as I know some people that have success marketing services. Like I said at the beginning it is really a personal opinion type of thing. You really need to consider what would be a good fit for exactly what you are looking for in your own home based business.

An MLM prospect for many network marketers is akin to finding a gold nugget in the sand.

They are hard to come by and when one comes “knocking at your door” you’d better be prepared to show them what they want to see.

Problem is, many distributors will roll their eyes over and suddenly launch themselves into a script about their company, the products and the huge amount of money their MLM prospect will make and consequently, the result will usually be a negative one for them.

After they’ve performed this ritual several times and no one is joining their business they’ll either leave the business themselves or blame it on the company and it’s products.

It’s been proven over and over again the hard sell has no place in the MLM business. So why do most keep doing it. One reason is they are so happy to have someone look at their opportunity that exuberance takes over and they just don’t want to lose the prospect.

But lose them they do; over and over again!

The Secret To MLM Prospecting

Here’s the secret to at least give yourself half a chance of your network marketing prospect joining your business. Forget the hard sell. Yes, that’s it!

Get rid of the script you’ve been using and put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. How would you like to sold an opportunity?

You need to become an MLM mentor from the beginning. We hear the word over delivering a lot in the internet marketing arena and the same applies to MLM.

Be the person your prospect wants you to be. Be a coach and offer advice from the start.

Follow these four principles and watch your results improve. They will at least give you an opportunity to develop that all-important relationship with your would-be business partner.

That’s what it’s all about; developing a relationship and earning the respect of the prospect rather than “bull-dozing them into an opportunity they don’t really want to join.

1. Be what the prospect is looking for. You will be a direct reflection of the company you represent.

2. Avoid the temptation to read from a script. Yes, throw it away. Why? Because people are not stupid and they know the difference between a genuine, from the heart spiel as opposed to a written presentation read word for word.

3. Be a mentor from the beginning. Yes, from the moment the introductions are over. The term over-deliver should be ingrained in your mind. Start training your prospect with helpful tips and information. Point them in the right direction. Simply be as helpful as you can.

4. Become an irresistible magnet to your MLM prospect. You earn respect, not demand it and once your prospect likes dealing with you your chances of signing them into your business will increase significantly.