Shopping Cart Friends

I have been studying social networking since 2005 and it is interesting to watch how and why people use social networking sites. Some use them to find friendship from a remote location, others to stay connected with friends who are in walking distance. Many use these sites to connect with people in an attempt to build their business. All valid uses if you can make them work.

As a business person I spend most of my time watching how people use social networks in an attempt to build their business. Most people struggle using these sites to connect people to their business and this is where I like to focus my research.

This morning while looking at the business forum MLM thread on MySpace I saw two recent posts which had little to do with the forum or the purpose of the thread. One from someone who looked oddly like an alien and another from someone with no picture at all. Both people posted comments recommending that you check out their site business site. I have been watching what I call “shopping cart” posts on social networks for a couple of years.

Why do I call them “shopping cart” posts? Because the people posting these messages are not really looking to connect with the people they are messaging, they are looking sell them a product, service, or business – i.e. online shopping cart. I also call these hit and run posts. The reason these posts exist is generally because the person joined something that they really did not understand and were told go tell people and that is exactly what they feel they are doing sharing the story.

Many of these folks are added to my friends or to my favorite lists and I check back from time to time. Generally within 3 months their page no longer contains any information about the product they were trying to sell or in the case of the alien the page will be deleted or abandoned.

If all you are doing is generating what other people view as noise are you really telling a story? The answer is no and that is why these people are gone in a short time. I assume they get little or no results have no place to turn and drop out. Since they are generally anonymous sites it is impossible to follow up to get a real answer. Having tried it myself I understand completely what they experienced which was a combination of angry replies, ignored messages, and other marketers trying to recruit me to their business.

It is important to remember that people generally do things with friends and family; they do business with people they meet and like or trust. A shopping cart post on a social networking site from an anonymous stranger meets neither of these criteria.

The ignorance of arrogance

We can learn many things from Asian culture and one I learned early in my life was not to be too arrogant. No matter how much you know, someone always knows more. No matter how much you do not know, someone always knows less.

Even when you have become a master, you must remain a student.

Beyond the Hook

When distributors complain to me about building their business I ask what their system is and generally I get back:

“My mentor told me that all I have to do is Invite, present, and enroll”.

I say

“Ok that in the front end of the system but then what?”

Next I get the

“Oh we plug them into the system. We have this weekly opportunity call and training call as well as an online presentation. Some leaders are actually doing a webinars or hotel meetings.”

I then ask how many of your people are on these calls or events each week and I receive the blank look.

This is when they realize that the system really isn’t a system at all at least one that is not working for them. It is an invitation (the hook) and a presentation which works great if you are an accomplished person at inviting.

Well it is a system; I call it the Catch and Release system. Just like in sport fishing they are catching prospects, holding them up for the picture and then releasing them back into the pond hoping that enough of them survive and stick around.

What is the reality of making this type of system work? Well it works about 5% of the time. We know this because most successful leaders teach this system and the industry has a 95% attrition rate.

So now you want to know why leaders teach their people to do business this way, right?

The answer is this is this is the only way they know and it worked for them 20 years ago and again 10 years ago and it is working for them again now. They learned how to become an expert at "invite and present systems" and became accustomed to only keeping the trophy fish.

If something only works 5% of the time is that really a system?

You have to understand that before the year 2000 it was nearly impossible to do what it took to connect with everyone in your group on a weekly basis so this was the only practical way to do the business. You could not be in all places at all times like you can today. Look at this blog. I can post it now and everyone on my team can read it when it is convenient to them. In fact these systems are still being perfected but we are at a point where they are now practical and widely available.

Today we have entirely new ways to fill in the gaps in that system and connect our people to our leaders 24/7/365. Our new systems make it possible for our younger leaders to catch those older leaders and blow right by them using technology that was not possible when they built these “catch and release” systems.

The really big news is the older leaders don't really understand how to make these systems work so this is creating huge opportunities for new leaders to jump in and capture the 95% that they toss back.

Who is teaching people how to build these new systems?

We do. We already have an entire system in place:

• An online training system which runs for 1 year,
• this blog,
• social networking tools and much more

When used correctly, these tools fill in the empty spaces and provide a number of other ways to introduce prospects and keep them connected. A system is a system when it teaches you how to continue to function after you have gone through your circle of friends and also provides your prospects with several ways to stay connected both online and offline so they have access to the latest training, product information and what is working.

It is no wonder that our company has developed more millionaires then any other company in history. One of the ways we do it is by constantly reinventing ourselves…

Energy vs. Wealth Equation – which side are you on?

The Wealth Energy Equation states that when energy costs change so does wealth, but this equation does not create the same results for everyone. For most people when the cost of energy increases their wealth decreases. We are seeing this today as a result of the recent energy crisis.

There are other companies that do better during depressed economic times – they are called recession proof industries. Supermarkets, Hospitals, and other industries which are linked to our survival are recession proof industries.

For the rest when the cost of energy goes up so does their wealth. Clearly companies involved in the sale of energy are experiencing exponential growth in wealth. There are other companies which are called recession friendly companies.

So during times of economic down turns it makes sense to look for ways to switch to an industry that is either recession proof or recession friendly.

One of those industries which is recession friendly is network marketing. During economic down turns like we are experiencing right now network marketing is a way for someone to create secondary income and therefore more people join in times like we are experiencing and more people become economically stable and economically secure.

What is more important is those who take action during those tough times, most just to get by, have more opportunity to emerge once we are economically stable with a monthly recurring income for an extended number of years regardless how much effort they put into their business when the economy stabilizes. People who took advantage of building a secondary income during the 70’s when we are in the worst recession since the depression and again in the late 80’s when the housing market collapsed were able to walk away from both of those economic recessions with a sustained income for many years to come because they had such a large group volume that people continued to purchase month after month and year after year.

Just a thought?

If you are running around in circles is that considered taking action?

The Law of Opposites

We are taught about the law of opposites in school with two magnets. It is impossible to put the same poles of two magnets together. You can use the law of opposites and to spin a motor. You can also use the law of opposites to spin a conversation to keep your prospect engaged.

Next time you are in a conversation see if you can pick out how many times opposites are use by someone else in your conversation. People generally do not like to be with other people that blindly agree with them for very long. When someone turns negative, try giving them a negative right back and see if it changes their position.

Understanding this law and how people react to positive and negative statements can really help you in conversations turn things around quickly. First, do not attempt these with negative or abusive people, these people will sap your energy and probably will never be successful in any business.

Here is a real life example:

• You: “I just joined this exciting new company and I thought of you first. I would like to show you what I am doing and see if it works for you.”

• Them: “No these companies are just a rip off, they don’t work.”

• You: “I just invited you to look at an opportunity with a billion dollar company, on its way to 3 billion dollars in what is currently estimated to be a 20 billion dollar industry. I understand this is probably not the right time for you to be looking at a business.”

I sent out positive and they responded negative. This is expected and actually welcome. I then follow their negative statement with the complete opposite positive message to invoke a response, which would be negative if I stopped here. So then I threw in my own negative response so they would feel compelled to be positive. You will get a positive response about 80% of the time, but it may not be the positive response that gets you the sale or a new distributor. If the person responds negatively again then they are generally negative and if they did join would bring down your group.

The key is to keep your prospects mind open and keep them engaged in your conversation. If you throw in the towel when they say “No” the first time your success rate will fall measurably in the negative column.

I said earlier that the negative statement was welcomed. This is because it is a sign that I can engage this person and apply the law of opposites to keep this person listening to my message. Generally people who are interested stay and question what you are saying which is how we create conversation. People who are not interested in a conversation simply walk away.

By the way this technique works online as well as in person.

With change comes opportunity

How many times have you heard the saying change creates opportunity? Right now there is one of the largest opportunities to capitalize on change that has existed in history. The world is in the early stages of changing the way we socialize and meet people.

The teenagers understand it completely spending hours in front of the computer sharing experiences and creating relationships with people around the world. The twenty plus group use social networks, but are not tied in as completely as the generation right behind them.

The real opportunity is with the over 30 crowd. This opportunity goes far beyond anti-aging skincare and health care products. Forget about getting paid pennies on a link referral. It really doesn’t matter what you are marketing there is a group of people that have no idea how to get to it or how to capitalize on it.

So let’s talk about how companies are missing the mark. They are either teaching distributors how to attract people that are already in a social network, or how to direct people to a presentation on the internet.

Few are teaching people how to convert the non-technical masses into internet socialites. The big money will be made in this industry by companies that establish social networks that connect leaders to distributors. By sharing education, establish connections and relationships to other distributor also working in your company and industry will by the tie that binds people together and drastically reduces attrition.

Watch our broadcast on Thursday night to learn more about this subject. Thursday at 9:00 PM EST (6 PM PST) on uStream.TV. http://www.ustream.tv/mybroadcasts/info/takingmeglobal's-business-webcast

Is your online system failing?

The internet is a huge, untapped, ever changing, resource for marketing. The big multi-billion dollar companies have yet to figure it out so don’t feel like you are alone.

But you have one advantage they do not, and that is direct contact and the drive to make it happen. Joe or Jane corporate America doesn’t care if the company figures it out or not as long as they keep getting paid. They won’t care until the carpet is pulled out from under them and then they will all scurry around looking for a way to buy in and solve their economic woes.

This is a huge opportunity for the small guy to jump in and cash in. So with all this opportunity why is it that people are unable to convert contacts into results? The answer is so simple you are going to laugh. They are all being taught to open there store in the same places, they are all sending out advertisements and market to the same people, and marketing to people who are not there to shop in the first place.

Can you get results, sure but it will be the biggest battle of your life. It is like setting up a store in the center lane of a busy highway. The only reason most people will stop is to find a way to get around you.

Think about how marketing works. It is about setting up a location where people are looking to shop. It is about advertising where people are expecting to see it. It is directed in a way that has people coming to you and not about you getting in their face and force feeding your message. People would rather not see these advertisements where are expected to be, now think about how they feel finding them where are not expecting them like in their comments along with their friends comment about the great weekend.

I have been on myspace since 2006 and I check the heavy in-your-face marketers from time to time and almost all are long gone. Their pages still setup and the last time they logged in was well over a year ago. They did not figure out the system and just gave up.

This week on our video blog I will be talking about this very topic. Build your business using social networks and driving others to your site along with ways of picking up the prospects your competition is watching click the Delete button.

In preparation for the broadcast think about where you are marketing – a Social Network. This is a place where people are looking to connect and build relationships; it is not the shopping mall.

Follow-me with twitter: www.twitter.com/takingmeglobal.

Our show address is: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/takingmeglobal%27s-business-webcast. Thursday evening 9 PM EST (6 PM PST).

The next generation of social networks.

Would you like to bypass the spam on MySpace, be more open than FaceBook, create a business networking site without charging like LinkedIn?

Now it is all possible because the next generation of social networking sites allow you to create your own social network and connect with your family, business associates, or friends. Sites like www.ning.com are designed, not as a social network, but as a social networking tool.

Technology experts are predicting that social networking will be a way of life within the next 5 years. Families, businesses, clubs, and societies will all establish social networks as a form of communication and a way to keep everyone connected.

We believe the next generation of social networking sites is helping make this a reality.

TakingMeGlobal TV

Join us live each week at 9 PM EST (6 PM PST) on UStream.TV. Watch the program here. Each week we will broadcast different ways to build the business live.

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If they only knew the truth...

How many times do have you seen advertisements for the special system that is revolutionizing the way network marketing is being done claiming people fail because top leaders are teaching one thing and doing something completely different – I say Hog-wash.

Every leader knows that if you want to make big money in network marketing you have to teach a system that is 100% duplicatable. The system must be easy to use and simple enough that anyone can do it. It is absolutely against network marketing law to teach one thing and do another.

The truth is top leaders are using the same system they are teaching to build their networks but it may be a system that does not come naturally to everyone. Like person to person contact. I personally do not like using the old system that is why I developed an online education duplication system. But we absolutely teach both systems to our people and let them choose the one that works best for them. Some people love person to person direct contact and others like meeting people online.