Defining Your Team

Recently, I was blessed to receive a few sessions of business coaching from the amazing Michelle Pippin at Women Who Wow.com. She pointed out early on that it's just as important to be very specific about the type of person you want as part of your team as it is to be specific about your plan of action and goals.

One of the biggest challenges in network or multi-level marketing is recruiting a downline that is willing and motivated to work. Of course, the sponsor must take responsibility for training and supporting their team members and that will be discussed in a later blog. The Law of Attraction, positive thinking and just plain goal setting all have the result of bringing us what we want when we have a clear vision of exactly what that is.

These are the qualities I am looking for in my team members:

• A vision for your life. Are you willing to do more to be more and have more?
  
• A positive outlook. Do you see life as an adventure and experiences as lessons to be learned?
  
• Resilience. Can you bounce back after disappointment? Can you see past mistakes or failures as the things that have made you who you are today?
  
• Persistence. Are you willing to work for little or no pay for a while toward having a big payoff someday?
  
• Commitment. Nearly 80% of new distributors in network marketing quit in their first two months. Can you make a commitment to yourself to keep going no matter what, or do you quit when you don't see results fast enough to suit you? (Also known as patience and persistence).
  
• Team Player. Do you have to do it your way, or are you willing to listen and share tips and resources for success of the team as a whole?
  
• Self-discipline. Can you focus on what needs to be done to be successful and then do it?
  
• "Follow-up and Follow-through" Can you nurture your business to help it grow? Do you have the integrity to do what you say you're going to do, both to yourself and others?
  
• Ownership. Are you willing to take 100% responsibility for your own success?
  
• A Caring Ethic. Do you genuinely want to help people achieve their dreams?
  
• An Attitude of Gratitude. Can you see opportunities as a gift from your spiritual source?

You can’t legislate intelligence and common sense into people. You can’t broaden a man’s vision if he wasn’t born with one. ~ Will Rogers

This is not a get rich quick scheme. This isn't Ralph Kramden, Inc.; some flighty, hare-brained scheme. There's a huge market for these innovative products and it's growing every day. In 1962, research statistics showed that the percentage of obesity in America’s population was at 13%. By 1980 it has risen to 15% -- by 1994 to 23% -- and by the year 2000 the obesity progression in America had reached an unprecedented 31% Source: American Sports Data, Inc.. I just saw a full page ad for a bariatric surgery (gastric bypass, lap band) clinic in this Sunday's newspaper. This opportunity is a real business that requires ownership and work. If you want to sit at the computer posting affiliate links and surfing traffic exchanges all day, this is not for you.

As I've mentioned in other posts, this is not my first time at the rodeo. I'm grateful for what I've learned from my past failures and for what those experiences bring to this table. I've never felt like I was "taken." I take responsibility for my part in my lack of success. I'm grateful to be given the opportunity to learn from the best, people with a proven track record of success. I'm committed to giving this at one year to eighteen months before measuring my success and to run my business as if it was my only source of income.

Compared to my past ventures, this company could not have made it any easier to succeed. Take a look at your past accomplishments before answering the above questions. You'll probably find that you do have at least some of those qualities. If you do and are willing to improve the ones that are lacking, start your business.

Do It Today

Related posts:

• The Right Opportunity, The Right Time
  
• Another Plus To This Business
  
• I've Found My Niche

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The Right Opportunity, The Right Time

The Universe works in mysterious ways. For several weeks, I asked myself why I was wasting my time surfing traffic exchanges and promoting small potatoes products that no one really wants when I wasn't making a decent amount of money. Ironically, I was made aware of the right opportunity through these very methods. It's highly likely that you won't see this opportunity in those advertising venues for long. This is a real business and the company is currently reviewing advertising rules and policies. I doubt that these will continue to be permitted. I feel so fortunate that the opportunity found me before that happens.

This is not a new company. It's been in business for a few years and has gone from being a novelty to achieving popularity in its billion dollar industry. There is a huge market and demand for the products. The huge presence that will be officially taking over the company in October 2009 didn't get to be a billionaire by making bad decisions. He chose this company because he recognized its potential for success, and he has made it affordable for people of all income levels to grab this opportunity.

Whether you're in an MLM now or have been in the past, did you ever have the chance to truly get in on the ground floor? Has your business been promoted on Oprah, Larry King or The View? Did your company break records even before it was officially launched?

Did monthly fees or sales quotas get in the way of your being able to stay with the company until you built your business?

Are you an experienced marketer that has valuable experience to bring to a team?

You owe it to yourself to take a look at this opportunity, especially if you've failed in the past. If you've really given up, you wouldn't still be looking, right?

The Right Time, The Right Opportunity

All the best to your success,

Parthena Black

gibLink is site that I joined and didn't pay much attention to. It's really grown and looks like a great business networking site. They have some great resources, like this article about how to respond to challenges in team building:

Team Building Techniques - Overcoming Objections

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Another Plus To This Business

I get more and more excited about this opportunity every day, especially when I compare it to other opportunities that I've failed at. One of the main reasons that I gave up too soon was that other companies had fees or sales requirements that those who have no extra money of their own to invest in their business can meet just starting out. I have learned that to succeed in any business, you have to give it your all for at least a year, probably longer. Last time I looked, statistics indicated that most new businesses fail within the first year. This is probably because people can't afford to keep going until their business gets going - and with proper care and feeding, almost any business will get going eventually.

This is not an issue with this company. Distributor fees are annual, not monthly. This confirms for me that the company does want everyone to succeed. And this not a new company. It's been in business for enough years to have already built itself from being a novelty to increaasing in popularity. The next step is "household name" and it will be there very soon.

When I presented this to someone recently, she said that she felt that the billionaire behind this company was going to take her money. I restrained myself from asking why she thought that he would need her money. Instead, I told her that she was right to be cautious because there have been MLM companies that made their money by selling training materials, but this is not one of them. I pointed out that this company operates exactly like the big, well known companies that are not scams: Mary Kay, Amway, Herbalife, Avon, Stanley Home Products and more.

I probably won't approach this person again. As my upline and I recently discussed, if someone doesn't have vision and can't see the opportunity now, they'll never see it. My goal is to build a team, and I really don't want anyone on my team who doesn't have vision for their life. They won't benefit anyone else on the team and their negativity will drag us all down when our goal is to be on the way up.

I've learned that as a representative for the company, you are literally in charge of hiring and firing. Michelle Pippin at Women Who Wow.com taught me that when we are designing our goals and vision, we also need to be just as specific in defining the type of person we want on our team.

Whether you're interested in taking a look at this opportunity or have signed up for another MLM or direct sales company, I hope you'll follow my blog. I intend to keep posting helpful advice and resources for anyone who has vision.

If you haven't visited the site or didn't spend much time there, I encourage you to make a few visits and take your time looking around. Think about it for a few days or weeks if you need to. If you've tried before and failed, compare it to your past experience. If you have the vision I'm looking for, I want to welcome you as a member of my team. Even if you've "failed" before, you owe yourself another chance. This just might be the right business for you. Click on the link below to start your business.

"Just Call Me Ivana"

My Favorite Motivator and Success Coach, Jack Canfield:
The Success Principles(TM) CD:
How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

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I've Found My Niche

I've tried MLM and failed so many times it's embarassing. I'm not sure why I'm trying again. The only way that I can explain it is that based on what I've learned through my failures, this one has everything the others were lacking.

Now, I didn't sign up with any fly by night companies. These were the big ones; Avon, Mary Kay, Jafra. I know now that had I stuck with Avon, I'd probably be doing very well twenty years later. It wasn't a good idea to join beauty products companies in a bad economy and in a depressed rural area, so that was my mistake there. I let myself get discouraged too easily. Well, actually - I gave up.

This company has products that nearly everyone is interested in, including a unique one that I've not seen anywhere else. Even I would purchase this product although it's more than I would normally spend on this type of thing.

I'm also getting in on the very ground floor, which I've never done before - and this company is owned and backed by a famous billionaire. He's a big presence with lots of big friends - or maybe they're just afraid to say no - Oprah, Larry King and Barbara Walters will be helping him promoting this. If you sign up, they will literally be promoting YOUR business at no extra cost to you. Could you afford that kind of advertising on your own?

He is giving everyone the opportunity to become as rich as he is, or as he puts it, "to make as much money as you want." He has made it incredibly affordable to join, so even if you do happen to "fail" - which you won't - it won't wipe you out.

This is the first and only opportunity I've signed up with that I really, really want to share with everyone.

Visit the website and take a look around. If you recognize the golden opportunity that is literally being dropped in your lap, click on "I Want To Start My Business."

Do It Today

internet marketing,home business,work at home,business opportunity,network marketing,billionaire,wealth,finance,employment,jobs

Marketing - Company Image And Branding

Okay, this is going to seem like a strange comparison to some but it spoke very clearly to me - and I found it rather funny. To be honest, I am not sure if this is the right way or the wrong way to brand your company and product.

Along with everyone else in Oklahoma, I've been dealing with severe allergies this past week. Friday night, I think, I got into my Mamasan chair to watch something on TV. I promptly dozed off and when I woke up, ShopErotica's paid programming happened to be on. ShopErotica is an online store that sells adult toys. (You'll have to look the link up yourself since I don't want a bunch of spam on my computer, sorry.) I'm not sure which channel was airing it since I just moved in as a live-in caretaker three weeks ago and these folks have satellite that I'm not yet familiar with. Not much time for TV around here anyway.

I was still too groggy to get up and get into bed, so I watched for a few minutes. What caught my sleepy mind's attention more than the products was the appearance of the female hosts. The show was first hosted by a pretty woman named Miyoko who was wearing dark plastic-framed eyeglasses and a modest and demure little sweater. She looked a bit like a schoolteacher.

She was joined by Andrea, who I remember from one season of VH-1's The Surreal Life and I believe worked as the naked weather girl on the Playboy channel? Maybe she still is.

If Miyoko looked like a schoolteacher, Andrea looked very much the church lady with a black dress with a little lace collar, very Victorian. Neither of these attractive women appeared to be wearing an ounce of makeup or jewelry.

They constantly emphasized that the company respects and protects its customers' privacy. Not only in the standard "discreet" packaging but also that for call-in orders, there are separate toll-free numbers for each gender. The female line will be answered by a female and the males would find another male answering their calls as well.

Okay, I got the point and while I completely agree that what we have in our bedrooms are none of anybody's business, the physical appearance and demeanor of the sales reps struck me as absolutely hilarious. I know that they were trying to say that schoolteachers and church ladies need sex toys, too, but this was really leaning to the extreme.

As I was turning the TV off to get into bed for the rest of the night, I noticed that another show was coming on. I was curious to see whether it would be different so I stuck around for a minute. Miyoko still had her glasses and demure outfit, not much change. This time, Andrea wore a messy ponytail with jeans and a t-shirt. This image was slightly better than the last one, but I still think that the company failed to find a balance in their presentation.

Now that I've said all of that, I'm also not sure that I know what the answer would be. I think I'd go with the jeans and t-shirt look. For a dressier look, I think I'd go with a sharp, very stylish suit rather than the traditional look, a fashionable dress or the jeans and t-shirt. The clothing should be what any individual would wear to work or at home - or even to church, but that lace collar has got to go!

I will give them high marks for the presentation. Andrea and Miyoko described and demonstrated the toys as if they were marketing cookware, and having females host the show is probably a better choice than male hosts.

Have you given much thought to your branding and image? How do you think you and your product are coming across?

Just something to think about this week. Be well and be blessed.

Speaking of fashion, check out my newest store:

Recessionista - Fashion Under $25





I joined this traffic exchange several months ago and hadn't surfed much until recently. I am very impressed with the number of credits I earn as a free member! You need to join this one, now:

I learned about this affiliate program from another Pyrabang member. It may be worth your while to check it out:

Start Your Health And Beauty Business

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