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Friday, July 14, 2006

The End of Network Marketing?

The End of Network Marketing?
by Chris Zavadowski

It happened to infomercials...

It happened to fax broadcasting....

It happened to emails....

And now it might happen to direct sales and network marketing:

The FTC, in it's infinite wisdom (think back to the "suppression lists" they were proposing 2 years ago), is attempting to create new regulations for the MLM/network marketing industry.

If this passes, they would make fast downline growth a thing of the past.

This is vitally important, so listen up!

Right now, there's a proposed new rule out (16 CFR Part 4370) that if passed would have a severe negative impact on your network marketing business. In fact, these new regulations would completely change the face of network marketing and recruiting. Now, the actual Federal
Register document is 44 pages (you can download a .pdf copy here), but, according to the Direct Selling Association's website (www.DSA.org), it boils down to this:

The FTC would require all prospective sellers to be provided with a "disclosure document". This document must include information including (but not limited to):

YOUR associate/distributor information
A list of legal actions (i.e. lawsuits or otherwise) filed against you and/or your company in the last 10 years
Whether or not earnings claims are made

Under the proposed rule, an earnings claim can be considered ANYTHING from a picture of a boat or car purchased with earnings from direct sales activities, to actual dollar amounts. And get this: If earnings claims are made, additional information must be provided, including:

a. The beginning and ending dates when the earnings were achieved;

b. The number and percentage of all sellers represented by the claim; and

c. All "special characteristics" of those who made such earnings that may distinguish those sellers from others, such as geographic location. (In reality, the fact that anyone has created success in MLM is out of the norm anyway. Most people, in MLM or otherwise, never do anything with the opportunities they are given.)

The number of all associates/distributors who have canceled within two years (which means your company has to constantly provide you with a new list)
A list of the 10 closest current or past distributors/associates to your prospect, with personal information so that your purchasers may contact these references (something you would continually have to keep updated from the company)

And the proposed rule would require that the disclosure document above be given to your prospect at least seven days before they sign any contract or give you any money. Talk about squashing weekly meetings, conference calls, three-way calls and more!

And look at how many privacy violations (and safety issues) this rule would require: Sharing your downline's personal contact information, the company's "refund" percentage and even the lawsuits against the company. I agree that lawsuits against a company are important to consider, but merely having been sued is NOT the same as having been found guilty.

Unfortunately, the FTC's proposal does not distinguish between this. If some wacko decides to sue you or your company for ANY reason - you have to disclose it.

Plus, now someone you don't even know is being given YOUR personal information so they can contact you and ask you anything they want. Who is the FTC to mandate that your personal information (or ANYONE'S) be given to potential prospects? That's dangerous and irresponsible.

But forgetting all of the privacy violations this ignorant rule would require, think about what this means to you: If you have a hot prospect (whether it be from a lead you generated, a lead you purchased, someone you just met), you basically have to give them a list of all the reasons everything you are telling them should not be listened to.

In other words, the government is trying to require you to give them a list of reasons they should NOT consider becoming an entrepreneur (the FTC seems to forget that EVERY business venture has risk.) Then -- to top it all off - you'd tell them to take that document home and look it over for a week.

You think after a week of staring at their list AND having been exposed to nay-saying family and friends...anyone would want to join? Heck no!

I'll admit, there are many business opportunity scams online and offline, so the FTC is correct in trying to protect consumers and prevent them from getting duped. However, they are going about it in completely the wrong fashion.

At what point do we let the government do our thinking for us?

The people who are scamming aren't going to care about the regulations above anyway, and the average prospect won't even know about these regulations - so the only thing this ANTI-BUSINESS rule would accomplish is squashing the "good" network marketers. And there are MANY other discrepancies and even safety issues involved with this clueless proposal.

Hopefully you're angered and fired up at this point (and if you aren't, you shouldn't call yourself a true entrepreneur). If you understand what I just said, and what the FTC is trying to do, then you need to take immediate action (read: TODAY) to voice your opinion on this. Until July 17, 2006, the FTC is accepting public commentary on the proposed, idiotic rules.

o, I *highly* suggest you read the DSA's Q&A and MLMIA's information about this topic, and then head over to the FTC's website to send a personal, from-the-heart letter voicing your concerns and what type of impact this will have on you and your business (click here for a direct link to the comment form). And if you're in the USA, you should also consider writing to your congressional representative and/or your senator. Plus, your network marketing company should also be a source of actionable information.

Make no mistake: Wherever you are in your MLM career or business - it's very important you step up to the plate and make your voice heard now.

Just because you have independence and freedoms today, doesn't mean they will be here tomorrow. So keep your head out of the sand and take action when your liberties -- and livelihood -- are being threatened.

Chris Zavadowski has gained top recognition online and in the network marketing community for his unique ways of growing Internet businesses and MLM downlines! Having worked full-time from home since 2001, he's taught thousands his successful ways of working online and leveraging their efforts.

Chris creates breakthrough online MLM marketing tools, and more details can be found at www.MLMLessons.com/letters and www.MLMLessons.com/onlineprospecting

Monday, August 15, 2005

"Three Secrets to Mega-Success" (Part 3 of 3)

"Three Secrets to Mega-Success" (Part 3 of 3)
by Chris Zavadowski

Recently, I was asked to speak for a group of hand-picked entrepreneurs in a special apprenticeship program (some of them paying up to $7,000.00 to be part of the year-long home business program).

And in preparing for that talk, I was forced to look at my daily success activities that allow me to play games, travel and keep the alarm clock turned off.

Now, fortunately for you - you don't have to pay $7,000.00 to hear what I came up with. You're going to get my top 3 "secrets" for FREE right here in "Instant MLM Profit Secrets"!

(Remember: I sure as heck didn't invent any of these secrets, but instead picked them up from MY mentors over the years. Just because they may seem simple, don't make the fatal mistake of discounting their power. Use them and profit from them.)

In the first issue, I wrote about doing one pro-active thing a day to improve yourself and your business. Not only did I talk about it, but I gave you a 30-day action plan that you can easily implement in your business life to see great results.

In the second installment, I revealed the power of mentors and gave a few actionable steps to help you find (and benefit from) important mentors in your life.

(If you missed Secret #1 or #2 I've posted the past issues on this blog for you)

So let's get on to my third success secret...

Success Secret #3: Leverage!

This "secret" is a biggie, too! Looking back at my home business, this is the secret that's allowed my efforts (and income) to snowball into bigger and better things.

Here's why leverage is such a magical concept: Because when you start applying it - that's when your life and business REALLY changes. No longer are you "trading time for dollars". Personally, I hate doing something that I'll only profit from just once!

Heck, I'm getting paid today on work I did 1, 2, even 3 years ago! How did I do it? By leveraging what I created.

In ALL of my businesses and websites, my goal is to create "leverage-able" content. You can do this yourself with autoresponders, websites, recorded hotlines, audios, sales letter and more. Anything that can be your "24x7 salesman" and make you money while you sleep.

Let me give you a real world example of how this all works for you. Imagine you're a 100% commissioned car salesman (or any other job really)...and you're damn good at what you do. In fact, you make a pretty good living from it. Life is good.

But the instant you stop working...your income stops.

That's how 99% of people do it. They choose a job or position where they only get paid when they show up and put in their 40 hours. No work = no check.

Now, don't get me wrong - the world needs those people. Many don't know anything else other than that way of life.

But since YOU know about leverage...let's suppose you wanted to reap the benefits of it. A real easy way for you to do this is to take your sales skills and turn them into a product. A manual. A lead generation kit. A closing video series. Some type of system. The possibilities are endless. But the idea is that you take whatever it is you do...and find a way to sell it over and over and over again.

Just think about it. You could sell your new "Car Selling Secrets Toolkit" over and over and over again with systems that don't require YOU to be there each day. (I actually did this with my Dad's specialized knowledge. We created a toolkit that leverages his skills. Now, as he moves toward retirement, he can keep on profiting from skills without having to lift a finger!)

In fact, that's exactly what I've done with www.InstantMLMSalesLetters.com. I took some of my successful prospecting letters and systems, then bundled them up into a package that helps distributors in ANY network marketing company, not just mine. Now I can sell my knowledge and skills over and over again...for work that I did ONE TIME.

There's one BIG warning about this leverage stuff though: An easy mistake to make is chasing too many opportunities at once. Robert Allen's buzzword is "multiple streams of income" and I think they are GREAT, but you can easily get sidetracked. Let's face it. You'll lose focus and energy running in too many different directions at once.

Believe me, I struggle with this too. But the trick is that you need to create a PRIMARY leveraged source of income first. Don't go chasing MLM company after MLM company. Or home biz deal after home biz deal. Stick with ONE leveraged opportunity and work it like crazy. Get it really cranking on its own....and then add another, and another, and another.

I could go on and on. But by now, you're probably wondering how this applies to your MLM business?

Well it's pretty much the same. You need to master a certain set of skills. You need to get good at prospecting and selling your products. Then, you need to teach your system (or your upline's successful system) to your dowline. If you want your downline to be prospecting and building without you, it's important that a *successful* system duplicates down through your team.

Or, another route, is to make yourself the one responsible for building your business...and not focus on your team. For example, if you're with a solid MLM company, you should be able to make a good living just selling the products yourself. So you could get good at selling one-on-one, then turn it into a system that you can duplicate through sales letters, mail, audios, etc.

The Internet is a great tool for this, especially when you incorporate mini-sites. That's exactly why I hosted a special free teleseminar last month explaining how to YOU can build your business with YOUR OWN mini website. (Keep reading this newsletter for details). The nice thing about building a selling system for yourself is that you only have to count on yourself, not your downline, for your income.

In short, you can leverage yourself and your message without having to even build a team!

Regardless of which route you go, next time before you do an income-producing activity...ask yourself "Can I get paid for this over and over again?". If not, give it to someone else. Then spend your time on something that will pay you again and again.

Nothing beats getting paid over and over for the work you do once! :)

-- Chris :)

(c) Copyright 2005, InstantMLMSalesLetters.com - All Rights Reserved.

Chris Zavadowski has gained top recongition online and in the MLM community for his unique ways of growing Internet businesses and MLM downlines! Having worked full-time from home since 2001, he's spoken in front of crowds of over 500 to teach his successful way of working online.

Chris creates breakthrough online MLM marketing tools, and more details can by found at www.MLMLessons.com/letters

Sunday, August 07, 2005

"Three Secrets to Mega-Success" (Part 2 of 3)

"Three Secrets to Mega-Success" (Part 2 of 3)
by Chris Zavadowski

Recently, I was asked to speak for a group of hand-picked entrepreneurs in a special apprenticeship program (some of them paying up to $7,000.00 to be part of the year-long home business program).

And in preparing for that talk, I was forced to look at my daily success activities that allow me to play games, travel and keep the alarm clock turned off.

Now, fortunately for you - you don't have to pay $7,000.00 to hear what I came up with. You're going to get my top 3 "secrets" for FREE right here in "Instant MLM Profit Secrets"!

(Remember: I sure as heck didn't invent any of these secrets, but instead picked them up from MY mentors over the years. Just because they may seem simple, don't mistake the fatal mistake of discounting their power. Use them and profit from them.)

In the last issue, I wrote about doing one pro-active thing a day to improve yourself and your business. Not only did I talk about it, but I gave you a 30-day action plan that you can easily implement in your business life to see great results.

(If you missed Secret #1 and the action plan, email us and I'll see about making it available for you.)

So let's get on to my second success secret...

Success Secret #2: Get Yourself a Mentor

What do all the "super successful" people in life have in common? A mentor. (Or what my friend Stephen Pierce would call the "power of the third influence".)

Looking back over what's helped catapult me to achieve some amazing things...I'd say this is definitely one of the KEY components to my success.

You probably hear about mentors all the time - but let me clarify what I mean. A mentor to me can easily be a person, but it can also be a book or CD where I can get "live" access to an expert in some topic.

Now, some of my real-life friends didn't start out that way. In fact, I found out about them through their tapes, CDs and books. I latched on to their teachings and followed in their footsteps. Only then, almost if by magic (and without fail), down the road - either months or years - I came face-to-face with them and had the opportunity to learn from them in person.

For example, Stephen Pierce.

I first "met" him when I purchased "The Whole Truth" (www.the-whole-truth.com). I had no clue who he was before I read his ebook. But then, I started to email him to ask a few questions. And it turned out he was also going to be part of an apprenticeship program I signed up for. Next thing you know, we got to hang out in person. Then eat together. Then play video games together. And before I knew it...a year or two later...we were friends...and he was freely sharing some of his amazing wisdom with me. I've definitely come to trust and rely on his brilliant "big picture" advice.

The same has happened in the theater world for me, too. I've been talking about moving out of performing and into directing/producing more. So I PURSUED a Broadway producer, arranged lunch...and told her what my plans were. She's known me for about 6 years, but I made an effort to take things to the next level. Now, I might be involved with a new production headed to Broadway next year.

And more recently, I've been mentored by Yanik Silver and Jim Edwards (I went from just being a customer of their's to having them as two of the most important mentors I've encountered in my life).

So have you noticed the one crucial element in all my examples?

Are you ready?

You have to actively pursue your mentor. (Write that down in your notebook. Print it out. Circle it!). A mentor does NOT...I repeat...does NOT choose you. You choose him or her.

And something important to note: This process takes time. Don't expect a mentor to come to your side overnight. The universe is funny about that. You have to "prove" yourself ready and serious. In all of the examples above - I had to pay my dues first. I had to invest in the books, in the tapes, the classes. And then over a period of time, the mentors appeared in the flesh.

The same goes for you. Think about your best friend. Did you get your best friend overnight? Or did he/she become your best friend over weeks, months, years?

Probably the latter. The same goes for the process of having a mentor.

So why even have a mentor?

Simply, to become mega-successful.

You have to first decide "Hey, I want to become better in health/religion/finances/MLM/online marketing/relationships/etc. Who do I click with? Who do I agree with? Who challenges me to go outside my comfort zone to become a better person?" And then latch onto them. YOU have to make the DECISION to grow.

And be sure to choose someone who is MORE successful then you.

A perfect example is MLM. If you want to reach the next rank in your company, don't look to the people who are the same rank as you. Go to the people who are where YOU want to be...and follow their advice. They are the only ones who really know what it takes to get there.

And one final tip about mentors: LISTEN to them. Yes, you may not like their advice. Trust me, I've heard many things from my mentors that I didn't want to hear or do. But...in the end...they have our best interests in mind.

So this time of year pick an area of your life you want to take to the next level. Then decide who you would like to follow - and go for it. Get the books and tapes. Go to the classes. Do what is required to gain their knowledge and wisdom.

And then get ready to take your business and bank account to the next level!

-- Chris :)

(c) Copyright 2004, InstantMLMSalesLetters.com - All Rights Reserved.

Chris Zavadowski has gained top recongition online and in the MLM community for his unique ways of growing Internet businesses and MLM downlines! Having worked full-time from home since 2001, he's spoken in front of crowds of over 500 to teach his successful way of working online.

Chris creates breakthrough online MLM marketing tools, and more details can by found at www.MLMLessons.com/letters

Monday, August 01, 2005

"Three Secrets to Mega-Success" (Part 1 of 3)

"Three Secrets to Mega-Success" (Part 1 of 3)
by Chris Zavadowski

I'll be the first to admit it...

I'm not a genius. My SAT scores weren't the highest. I didn't have a perfect 4.0 GPA in college (but I was pretty close). And I don't even have a formal "business degree."

So - how the heck did I graduate at the top of my class, start my first (profitable!) business at 14, go on to become successful in MLM, work and perform at venues like the Kennedy Center and Signature Theatre and even start my own marketing company serving MLMers?

Glad you asked. ;)

I've finally decided to let you in on my secrets.

You see, for years my friends and family always called me "lucky". But the kicker is - I don't believe in luck.

I think it was Earl Nightingale who said "luck is when opportunity meets preparation", right? So instead of calling someone "lucky" - we should just say they've been prepared to spot opportunities.

How? By having the right mindset.

Let me explain...

Recently, I was asked to speak for a group of hand-picked entrepreneurs in a special apprenticeship program (some of them paying up to $7,000.00 to be part of the year-long home business program).

And in preparing for that talk, I was forced to look at my daily success activities that allow me to play games, travel and keep the alarm clock turned off.

Now, fortunately for you - you don't have to pay $7,000.00 to hear what I came up with. You're going to get my top 3 "secrets" for FREE right here in "Instant MLM Profit Secrets"!

(Note: I sure as heck didn't invent any of these secrets, but instead picked them up from MY mentors over the years. Just because they may seem simple, don't mistake the fatal mistake of discounting their power. Use them and profit from them.)

Success Secret #1: One Pro-Active Thing A Day

I learned from one of my mentors, Dan Kennedy, to always do one pro-active thing a day. Every single day of the year. And when I follow that advice - it has had a great impact on my sales and bottom line.

You know - it doesn't even matter if you have a 9-5 job or work full-time from home. EVERY person can do one pro-active thing a day.

I know, I know. This may sound TOO easy to do...but that makes it just as easy not to do.

Take this advice to heart. Not a day goes by (okay, maybe one or two do!) where I'm not doing something to bring in new customers and clients for my businesses. Whether it's doing a sit-down presentation or finding a new affiliate - it doesn't matter.

Like clockwork. Every single day.

But BEWARE! The danger here is to SKIP it one day and tell yourself you'll double up on the next day. Don't do it! The temptation is great, I know - but you're programming your mind for procrastination and indecision.

Instead, get up each morning and give yourself ONE important activity to do for that day for your business. It could be calling a prospect, finding a new affiliate, one 3-way call. Almost anything. Don't let yourself go to bed until you've done it.

And what's the end result?

You'll program your mind for action and success. -- That's what makes this so powerful! Even if you're having a "bad" day, you've still reached your one goal and had a win by the time you go to bed. Believe me, your subconscious is taking note!

Do this for a year...no...make that only 30 days. Do this for just 30 days and you'll be amazed how you feel and the results you can accomplish.

Side Bar: Want to be super-successful? Include READING and LISTENING as part of your daily activities. Every single day read 10 pages of a good book and listen to 15 minutes of a tape or CD. (It's the closest you can come to barely doing any real work and still improving yourself.)

It was Michael Clouse who taught me to stick a CD player in my bathroom on top of my toilet. And I'll tell you - it's one of the greatest self-improvement tips I've picked up! Every day when showering and getting dressed, all you'llI have to do is pus "play" and better yourself. Doesn't get much easier than that.

I know I just gave you a potpourri of things to think about, so here's how you can immediately apply this to YOUR daily routine...

1) Buy a stack of 3x5 cards. In the morning, write down your ONE goal for the day. Carry it around with you. And don't go to bed until it's done.

2) READ each day. 10 pages. Or one chapter. Or 30 minutes. It doesn't matter the amount as long as you're consistent and regular. (And when I said read - it's not the tabloids or the negative news. It's something that improves your skills and expands your thinking!)

3) Buy yourself a cheap boombox for your bathroom. Stick it on the toilet. And listen to a positive tape or CD each day. Again, it's the consistent action that will get you the results.

And there you have it - the first of my three success secrets that'll give you "magic" results.

Now, I promise you, there are people who are reading this saying "oh yeah, that, I've heard that before" but they won't do a damn thing with the information....and most likely they are the same people NOT achieving the mega-success.

Don't be one of them.

Try these quick and easy activities until I send you Success Secret #2 and see how you feel!

Your business (and bank account) will thank you!

-- Chris :)

(c) Copyright 2004, InstantMLMSalesLetters.com - All Rights Reserved.

Chris Zavadowski has gained top recongition online and in the MLM community for his unique ways of growing Internet businesses and MLM downlines! Having worked full-time from home since 2001, he's spoken in front of crowds of over 500 to teach his successful way of working online.

Chris creates breakthrough online MLM marketing tools, and more details can by found at www.MLMLessons.com/letters