List Building - Pillar 6 (part 1)

Which Marketing Method Works Best, Plan 'A' Or Plan 'B'?

All of The 5 Pillars for Success must be in place before you commit to joining any network marketing company. Once you have that established the next step toward building your network marketing career you must learn about The 6th Pillar for Success.

But first, let's look at some of the myths about network marketing.

Myth 1: It's about re-inventing the wheel and hoping others will come along wanting it."
Myth 2: "You have to sell to anyone with a pulse."

These are examples of “Plan B Marketing” (not network marketing). This method only works in the corporate world (direct sales). Network marketing and direct sales are two very different things. that is why "Plan B Marketing” fails in MLM big time.

So then what does work in network marketing?

The answer is "Plan A Marketing". What's that? Before I answer that question let's define what "network marketing" is by looking at each word on it's own.

Network: building of a customer base, building of business associates, & building of relationships.

This means network marketers deal with prospects, customers, & business associates.

Market: a. research intent upon determining the wants, needs, or desires of a specific group, b. providing a product or service that serves the wants, needs, or desires of a specific group.

So then marketing is about giving a starving, targeted market what they want.

Here’s a simple example of a "target market":

A stadium concessionaire's clientele is a target market. He doesn't need to "close" anyone or even have fancy, high quality products. All he needs to do is get what those ravenous sports fans want to eat and drink right next to their seats so they don't have to miss any of the game.

So the two marketing methods are:

==> “Plan A”: Find a ‘target market’ and satisfy their appetite for what they want. This method has a huge success rate.

==> “Plan B”: Re-invent the wheel by finding or creating a product, followed by creating a company, and then hoping someone comes along to sell to. If you choose this one you'd better pack a lunch as it has the highest failure rate.

If you're an entrepreneur with a goal of creating extra income, then you need a clear understanding of what network marketing really is. Playing to that strength by using "Plan A" will put your business light years ahead of everyone using "Plan B". You become the expert, the go-to person others want to find and do business with.

I appreciate you,

Bill Tessore

When Should You Join A MLM Company?

In "MLM Golden Goose … Or Mud Duck?" I introduced the first of the 5 Pillars for Success in a network marketing company. Just like any physical building, if a network marketing company does not have all five of these components in its foundation the chances of you building a walk-away income of your dreams are slim to none.

Timing in a company and timing in the industry is the second most critical pillar for your success in a MLM company. Industry trends can create massive growth in a company … when the timing is right. Take Excel Tele-Communications for example.

1. The Shake-Down Phase

Excel Tele-Communications was a network marketing company that purchased blocks of long-distance telephone time at wholesale rates and then re-sold them to distributors and their customers for much less than the big Bells could.

In Excel's first two years, they had a lot of growing pains. The worst was the major Bells' refusal to switch customers to this new, wholesale rate service. It took lots of time, money, and Congressional action to force them this change.

Many distributors lost money and quit because they jumped at the cry of “Ground Floor Opportunity”". Two years created a huge difference for those who waited out that shake-down period.

2. The Momentum Phase

Once the Bells complied with the Feds and all the other start-up problems had been worked out business began to pick up. Trend savvy heavy hitters began building with Excel. Times were very good. Predictably, lots of people made lots of money for a while.

3. The Fizzel Phase

Then the bottom began to drop out of the industry with the introduction of the flat-rate service trend. Excel’s bubble began to fizzle down to nothing.

Excel was destroyed from within by greed and corruption. This and the Enron Scandal aside, the new flat-rate service industry trend signaled the need for Excel to make huge changes for survival.

Without those adjustments Excell would have still died.

Profit margins in the long-distance telephone industry had gone the way of the dinosaurs. Today the trend is service bundling. Even flat-rate alone is just not enough any more.

Timing in a MLM company and timing in the industry is absolutely critical to achieving your long-term goals and survival. If you want to build a network marketing business that will pay your grand kids, then you must be sure the timing is right.

Get in too early and you’ll lose your shirt because no one really knows what’s going on. Get in too late and you’ll go broke due to lack of interest.

You must wait until the timing is right, then act with vigor and a solid plan for success.

I appreciate you,

Bill Tessore

Location, Location, Location

In "Have I Got A Deal For You" I share my "field sobriety test" to help you see if the leaders of a network marketing company should be behind the wheel. Now here's another quick field test to see if the driver is foisting a can of Greed And Ego.

Where Is The Corporate Office, And What Does It Look Like?

Centralizing is a good thing in a reference book or a survival kit. How about in an MLM corporate facility?

Not so much.

Let's take a look at two hypothetical companies to illustrate this point.

Company "A" - The Bombastic Bozos

These folks are image freaks. They centralized their corporate facilities in the ritziest part of the business district in the heart of their city. Their palatial corporate offices house all the employee work stations. It's a short walk to their distribution center.

100 operators take product orders & field customer support issues. VIPs are flown in by luxury corporate jets with rock star treatment all the way.

Wow! What an impressive and perfect atmosphere for schmoozing with stock market investors. Guess who pays for all that image?

That's right Cinderella … you, the rep … through the pay plan. Your goals, and aspirations as an entrepreneur are barely even on the readar scope.

Company "B" - The Quiet Builders

Corporate offices belong in the business district. However, these folks chose to put their offices in a much smaller building with much lower rent.

To cut expenses even more the distribution center is in the warehouse district. Visitors are always welcome, but these guys aren't Hertz, everyone comes at their own expense.

Remember Bozo's 100 person call center? Well, for that personal touch, Company "B" has a small customer & rep support staff to handle phone orders and such. The bulk of business is automated via the internet.

And last, but not least, this is not a publicly traded company so there's no need to impress any "Fortune 500" nitwits who can't spell MLM.

Overhead and headaches are low and manageable, staff and reps can be paid better, and customers don't get the runaround they might with a big lumbering greed and ego machine.

As they say in the business world, "Location is everything". Some MLM company leaders think that means putting the profits into all that glitters … including a high-rent location and big everything.

A few companies look for every opportunity to reduce overhead so more profits can be put into the pay plan for the benefit of the reps.

These company leaders quietly prove through action, not hype, that they know without you there would be no network marketing company anyway.

A fully centralized MLM corporate facility reminiscent of Solomon's Temple, says that greed and ego sits in the seat of leadership … and your head could role next.

I appreciate you,

Bill Tessore

MLM Success - You MUST Think Like A Prospect

Prospects looking for a network marketing company have very specific things that are important to them. Knowing the order of importance each one holds in the prospect's mind can make or break you in MLM.

Do you know the priorities of your MLM prospect?

HINT: It’s all about you. See if you can match their answers. Here is what prospects look for in a network marketing company:

• Company literature shown
• Marketing plan and potential earnings
• Training provided
• Who gave the presentation
• Product line
• Company management experience
• Up-line support
• Company image
• Sales kit provided
• Being first in your area

Start off right by learning how MLM prospects around the world think.

The right answers are in my free success guide.

This will sharply reduce your learning curve and produce a quantum leap forward in your network marketing career.

I appreciate you,

Bill Tessore