Building any business using the Internet involves effective marketing strategies.  This is especially true for network marketing.  There are a variety of methods used, but you really need to think about what will help your business in the long run.

There are a ton of affiliate programs out there that focus on network marketing.  I have purchased many of these products and have learned from these tools.   I also found myself straying from my primary goal of building my MLM!

It is easy to get caught up in all the different offers that are being thrown at you. Sometimes it seems like product launches are bombarding you!  If you sign up for a free video, webinar and so on, you are bound to receive these offers.

People do make money on product launches. There is no denying it. But here is something to think about. Even top Internet Marketers such as Frank Kern know that there is much more to building a business than product launches.  If you are looking to build a business for long term success, you cannot rely on this method alone.

There are people who have succeeded by the use of affiliate programs, but I have also heard countless stories where people invested a great deal of money with very little to show for.  It’s not because they were “Failures” or because they were not “cut out” for the business.

With network marketing, if you find the right company – you can reach the goal of obtaining passive income.  Affiliate marketing is typically a one time sale unless you opt into a membership site where you pay a monthly fee for the product.

So what can you do to help build a long term successful network marketing business?  One of the primary things you can do is look at how you can provide value to others.  Network marketing is about building relationships.  How can you be of service to others and develop relationships?

There is nothing wrong with using a system to attract qualified leads, but you really need to go beyond the system.  This is all about bringing to the table what you have to offer.  People don’t join companies, they join people!  This is what your effective marketing strategies should focus on.  Providing high value to others!

If you would like additional information, please feel free to contact me!

Partners in Success!

Cheryl

Leadership Skills and Training

I am an advocate for training for developing leadership skills and for network marketing success.  But there is a time when we go into training overload.  We all have the best of intentions, but we need to keep some things in mind.

Think about all of the books, tapes, seminars, and webinars you have attended.  Some are great, and some are … well…. not so great.  Here’s the million dollar question of the day.  How much of the information that you learned did you apply?

You may have heard the saying, Knowledge is Power.  Well I prefer to think of it more as fuel for power.  In other words, you need to use the knowledge you have obtained and apply it.  This combined with focus will help you towards your goals.

Don Standard is a highly successful leader in Network Marketing.  If you are interested in reading his experiences with network marketing training, check out this link.  See if you can relate to his experiences!

http://cheryll.mentoringforfree.com/zSUCCESS_Standard.php

Partners in Success!

Cheryl

Now you may be thinking I have a typo of some sort, or maybe I am just trying to write a fancy headline to capture your attention (I confess the latter does have some truth).  But the reality is that great followership skills are needed for any successful team!  Want to have great Leadership skills? Learn to be a great follower!

The idea of being labeled a follower has a stigma attached to it.  For example – they are passive, weak people who only do what they are told.  This could not be further from the truth.  Followership is role, just like leadership is.  Both are critical to the success of a team. not everyone can lead at the same time.

Leadership is a fluid role.  When you think about it – everyone at some point in time is a follower.

The formal definition of Followership is the capacity or willingness to follow a leader (Merriam-Webster).  When you think about capacity to follow, it extends beyond following instructions or being able to follow what someone tells you to do.

A good follower brings to the table their integrity, ability to contribute and share ideas, their skills, knowledge and ability to work with others.  Hmmmmm very similar to a leader.

Good Followers are active and can think for themselves.  It’s not about doing what you are told to do.  It is about working with a team to accomplish success of a common goal / vision.

How does this all apply to Network Marketing?

• We all have an upline or a mentor to learn from and grow with.  We take on a followership role in this instance
• Having good followership skills helps us to keep ourselves open to new thoughts and ideas.  Sometimes when we lock ourselves into the “Expert” role, we are not as open to new and fresh ideas from those who may have less experience.  We narrow our vision and limit success in this manner
• We model for our team members success strategies
• It puts us in the position of working collaboratively and place focus on helping others.
  

Below is a great video “The Art of Followership: How Great Followers create great leaders & Organizations

The ability to follow is a indeed a necessary Leadership Skill including the network marketing industry.

If you would like more insight on how you can develop as a leader in network marketing, download Success in 10 steps.  It is free and exemplifies what is needed to have real network marketing success.

Partners in Success!

Cheryl

I came across a very interesting report done by IBM called “Capitalizing on Complexity, Insights from the Global Chief Executive Officer Study” More that 1500 Chief Executive Officers world wide were interviewed for this study.

With today’s economy and high competition, the report indicates that CEO’s face a great deal of complexity like never before.

Creativity is the Leadership Characteristic that the CEOs in this study highlighted as one of the most important aspects of being able to deal with the complexity of the business challenges today.

So how does this apply to the business of network marketing?
Like all other business, Network marketing deals with the current economic state and the competition in the field.  While there are a large number of benefits to this industry, it is not isolated from the rest of the world.  Complexity surrounds us all! It is vital for companies within the industry to be creative in their approaches to building business.

This requires the leadership characteristic of Creativity.  So how do you  develop creativity in your network marketing business:

• Keep an open mind.  In my opinion, this is critical to creativity.  There are many ways of building a network marketing business.  Many of the traditional approaches have been replaced.

• Be flexible and willing to look at new ideas and ways of doing business.  If you have been in the MLM industry a while, you may be resistant to some of the new approaches.  If your business is not where it should be or used to be, consider looking at some innovative ideas.

• Re-examine past practices and toss them out if they are outdated.  Does making a list of 100+ or buying leads really help your business to grow?  Area you alienating your friends? Is it time to stop wasting your time and money on some of these practices?  Really think about this to see if it is still effective for you today.

• Interacting with your fellow team mates including those individuals who are new to the team.  Network marketing is about relationships.  What better way to learn, grow and come up with creative solutions than to interact with those in your business.  Even the new folks can shed a new perspective on a complexity you are facing.

• Finding out what your customer wants / needs.  Developing a relationship with them.  This can lead to creative ways of better serving them.  Having a happy customer is essential.  Think of the impact it will have if they see you are implementing one of their suggestions!

These are just a few insights on the Leadership Characteristic of creativity.  You have it within you and your team, be open to using it!

If you are looking for new ways of doing business that may differ from what you are currently doing now, I encourage you to look at the free report Success in 10 steps. It is free and offers an effective approach that can help your business grow.

Partners in Success!

Cheryl

Merriam Webster defines Courage as the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.  It takes courage to build a business.  It really is an important Leadership Characteristic that one must possess in network marketing.

My goal is to share with you my thoughts on Courage and how it can affect your Network Marketing business

Courage does not always roar.  Sometimes courage is the little voice at the the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow. ~ Mary Ann Radmacher

When I think of courage, the things that often come to mind are the acts of the brave fire fighters, police officers, and soldiers. Yes they truly are heroes and give a lot of themselves to help protect us. But Courage does exist in our lives more often than we realize.

Think of your day to day life.  Then take a look as some of the following examples of courage:

• Express your thoughts and opinions
• Stand up for what you believe in
• Go out of your comfort zone
• Start a new business
• Change careers
• Learn or try something new
• Make new friends
• Make amends
• Be open to others’ thoughts and views

In Network Marketing, courage is very much part of the business.  It is evident that a growing number of people are aware of using the Internet to build their business. But still for many, the first thing that comes to mind is making a large list of people, contacting all your friends and family, making cold calls to people you don’t know or getting 100 “No” responses, please rest assured this is very much unnecessary.

Courage is needed to go out of your comfort zone and develop relationships with those who are interested in the business.  It may be to learn skills necessary to grow a successful business.  It can be a shift in thinking, being open to new ways of doing things or possibly just taking an honest assessment of how you are doing. It can be as simple as committing to take consistent daily action regardless of the time spent.  Courage to believe in yourself.

Courage in business does not always involve a huge visible risk.  It is the small steps we take and the courage that goes a long with it that counts.  It is an essential Leadership Characteristic in building your business.

Courage is being afraid but going a head anyways ~ Dan Rather

]]> http://attractionmarketingleadership.com/blog/leadership-characteristic-of-courage/feed/ 4 http://attractionmarketingleadership.com/blog/a-network-marketing-leader-is-kind/ http://attractionmarketingleadership.com/blog/a-network-marketing-leader-is-kind/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:39:51 +0000 Cheryl http://attractionmarketingleadership.com/blog/?p=74

Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.
Theodore Rubin

Kindness is often mistaken as a weakness.  This is a big mistake.  Wikipedia’s Dictionary defines the word Kind as showing benevolence, which is a disposition to do good.  Kindness is actually a strength that all good leaders have.  Being kind can take shape in a variety of ways.  It can be the act of using simple courtesies,  listening to others, offering support, helping someone address challenges, complimenting someone on their achievements, the list can go on.  It does not mean that we sugar coat things. If something is not working for someone on your team, you need to share this with them.  Enable your team member by Providing  the tools, guidance and support to help them overcome their challenges.  What better act of kindness could there be for someone on your team then to help them overcome an obstacle that has been a barrier to their success!   An act of kindness communicates to our team members that we care.

The following is a video I found on a website called Leading with Kindness.  Here Robert Rubin discusses why we are moving towards a kind leadership in today’s business world.

I was recently reviewing a brief interview with Lee Cockerell, retired executive vice president at Walt Disney World.  He was asked what he thought was the most important leadership quality to have in business.  His response was integrity, honesty and trust.  I could not agree with him more.  Having these qualities is essential in any type of leadership role, but even more so in network marketing.  Unfortunately the industry has had a bad wrap.  People remember the scams, pyramid schemes and all of the other dishonest methods a few people used.  The industry is now very reputable.  Of course there will always be a few dishonest people pulling scams, but as with any type of investment, you should always look into any company you are considering to join.  Regardless of your industry, these qualities are critical for successful leadership. Let’s take a lot at the qualities identified by Mr. Cockerell:

Integrity:   Mirriam-Webster’s On-line dictionary defines Integrity as a firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values.  I consider things such as following through with what you said you would do or doing the right thing even if it means loosing a sale.  You are not trying to persuade someone to join your opportunity when deep inside you know this is not appropriate.  I know I may make a few people angry, but I also think that some methods of overcoming objections are close to being harmful to your integrity (it really depends on what and how this is being done). 

Honesty:  I believe this goes hand in hand with both integrity and trust.  I believe in being up front.  I don’t have all the answers and if a prospect asks me a question to which I don’t know the answer, I let them know.  I also tell them that I will find the answer and get back with them.  Then I follow through.  I truly believe most people are not out to get a sale at any expense.  It’s been my personal experience that people in the network marketing industry tend to be a helpful group. Not only do they want their customers to be happy, they know that dishonesty can be damaging to their business.  Any good leader knows that dishonesty can be damaging to their team. 

Trust: If you have integrity and you are honest, more than likely you will develop trust!  It’s obvious how important trust is to customers, prospects and your team members.  Trust comes through the process of building relationships.  As people get to know you and what you are all about, they begin to develop trust.  I believe this is sacred and should be protected.  If you gains someones trust, it reinforces the obligation you have to that person.

There are many imporant characteristics of great leadership.  I welcome your feedback and encourage you to post about your views on the subject.

To Your Success!
Cheryl

Have you ever been told by someone in a Network Marketing company that if you don’t succeed with the opportunity, it’s basically all your fault?  I had that experience when I attended a weekend training promoting the more traditional methods of marketing.  Using these old-school MLM methods made me feel like there was something wrong with me. I was not comfortable with using the methods taught and really struggled to build my business.  I felt I needed to change things about myself.  Maybe my “Why” was not big enough, or maybe I needed to develop more confidence.  I also found myself getting irritated.  My experience has taught me that leaders also have a responsibility in a teams’ success.  I was not buying into the trainers belief’s anymore. This was confirmed as I learned more about  Attraction network marketing.  People who are not experiencing success probably need to learn more effective methods of Network Marketing.  There are tons of people who work really hard at the business with very little to show.  It is too easy to shift all the blame onto those people.  Yes it is true that people on your team are responsible for taking action and are primarily responsible for their own success, but a leader with integrity shares some of that responsibility. The following are just a few thoughts on this subject:

• If someone on your team, or someone that you are coaching is not experiencing success, you have a responsibility to discuss this with that person.  It is quite possible that person does not have the right information or tools to effectively accomplish their goals. In addition, they may need a different approach.  Remember that success in network marketing is not about having everyone utilizing a one size fits all type of method.
• Leaders have a responsibility of empowering their team to be successful and to become leaders themselves.  This means providing your team with quality information, tools and skills necessary for success.
• Leaders have a responsibility to keep current with their industry and what methods are most effective for building their business.  They need to keep themselves educated, find a coach if needed, and work on self-development.
• Leaders have a responsibility to keep an open mind.  They need to be willing to look at new ways of doing things as our society grows and changes.  What is working today may very well be an “old school” method down the road.
• Leaders cannot rest on their laurels.  I believe that great leaders continue to work on their business.  They don’t cling onto their past successes.  They lead by example.

I would love to hear feedback and thoughts on this subject.  I welcome your posts!

To your success!
Cheryl