Archive for the "MLM Safety Hints" Category

1
Nov

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“Show me the money” – a very important question in network marketing today.

 

A high percentage of people are susceptible to hype  and unfortunately that’s how many of them get into network marketing.

You may perhaps sit in a presentation and the speaker explains all the maths on the commission plan – great!

Next you sit at home and look at your bonus check and you cannot understand why it is so small.

There is a huge difference between the maths of a bonus plan and the actual way it works in combination with the policies and procedures and all the rules which need to be observed for qualification.

We call it “the hoops you need to jump through”

So when you are listening to a presentation a very legitimate question will be: “How many people do I need for a 10k walk away residual income a month”

There is a big likelihood that even the presenter will have not a clue what this number is and consequently he will either evade and  jump to other topics of he may tell you straight that he will have to work it out.

You definitely need this number as it is kind of qualifying the performance of the commission plan.

Lesson learned: Maths and  Hype are no adequate advisors when it comes to choosing a network marketing business!

To Your Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

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12
Oct

image It is an open secret that in network marketing today the failure rate is above 90%. How can that be?

Most people who join a network marketing business join a network marketing opportunity as they are excited either about a product or about the chance of “owning their lives”. They sign up as they trust the person who presented the opportunity to them.

They start their work full of enthusiasm and follow the instructions they get from their sponsor, if they get any at all. Mostly it will be things like”make a list of friends and family and buy leads.

Let’s go for buying leads first – that is a treacherous way of doing anything as to be on the legal side you need to have leads who opted into YOUR offer. I someone reports you as spammer you need to be able to provide the opt in details and the opt-in IP.

Making a list of friends and family may work for some if they happen to have people around them who have a similar mindset and similar needs. It doesn’t work at all of they have their own different jobs or businesses which are totally unrelated to marketing.

Just imagine you want to have your house painted – would you  advertise for doctors to do so? Well, you may laugh but that’s just what it is if your friends and family are not at all interested in anything like network marketing it is hopeless to perhaps try and talk them into it. Just as un likely  as having a doctor paint your house.

Another big topic  will be the company you join itself.

  1. Which kind of a commission plan do they have?
  2. How many and which hoops to you have to jump through to qualify
  3. What are the policies and procedure like – are they only for the company and without consideration for you?
  4. Are their products fairly priced?

These are just 4 critical points you need to look at. Most people may require education to  be able to read a commission plan or the legal text of the contract so don’t feel bad if you are having a hard time going through this material. That is why mentoring for free is available online – an organisation of volunteers who set out to help.

You may find lots of training online on how to build a business  and there are many people who have quite good knowledge on how to work, like:

How to build relationships.well, give support to your team, help them on all levels, etc.

However, if you are an average person the best training in the world will not make you a real winner if the cards are stacked against you

and you have missed out on investigating if the company you have joined is the right background for achieving your dreams!

To Your Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

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15
Feb

Contracts in Network Marketing Today

Author: FriekeKarlovits

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Contracts!

What are contracts in Network Marketing Today? 

The contracts are 

the Policies and Procedures!

Talking to network marketers of today you will quickly learn that only few people  ever read their policies and procedures- what a plight! This is a huge handicap for success!

Have you ever heard that somebody who invests into any kind of business will not read their contract carefully or even have it checked by a lawyer who specializes in business contracts? Not really. The reason for it is that the investments to be made are far too high to take any risk.

There is not so much difference between conventional business and network marketing today.

  • In conventional business you invest lots of money and then pay back for years until you reach the break even point when you finally start  making money that actually belongs to you.
  • In network marketing you are investing your time till you finally reach the point where you earn good money as you have finally reached success.

In either case the risk is the same, if you have not made sure you are in a good contract. In conventional business you might be out of business long before you reach the break even point and in network marketing you might wake up with a big bump when you finally realise that your efforts only benefitted the company you are with as they can terminate you any time as they desire to in accordance with the policies and procedures which you have never read.

You never even realised that they contained clauses like “ongoing support for your downline” or “termination at the sole discretion of the company” or “contract renewal  at the sole discretion of the company” and many more. It might even be so bad that your check stops without forewarning for any of the stated reasons or many others in fact and you only realise then the mistake you made.

Do you  start “seeing” the importance of reading your contract? Find it now and read it to at least minimize damage! If you need help say so!

To Your Safe Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

3
Feb

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 Mistakes? This sounds terrible!

You will meet up with it again and again that some  heavy hitters tell their downlines that they definitely need to change. They  tell these newbies to get out and moving to sell the product.

This statement in itself needs to make you alert. Network marketing to day certainly is no selling business. It is  business of “building people”

We tell you that YOU are perfect as you are. Everybody is perfect in their own way. There is no need to change and become a sales person! It wouldn’t make sense, especially when you know that ninety-two percent of all people absolutely dislike these aggressive and pushy sales people.

  • Shopping has become an outing. People wander through malls, look and check what they can find, sometimes even take several visits to various places until they make up their mind. They definitely want to “buy” and not be sold. So why on earth should you want to become a pushy sales person?
  • Now the story is totally different when you need some information. when you need someone who is knowledgeable about the thing you want to buy. May be you want to buy a camcorder or a new TV and you want to know all the different features. In such a case it may well happen that in a mall you are looking in vain for a person who will be able to give you a professional reply or even a recommendation as to what to get best.

Recommendation is one of the magic words in network marketing today. It is not “go out and sell” as some of those heavy hitter type leaders proclaim, but recommend. You have been doing this all your life anyways – from early childhood onwards. So with some additional skills at communication and  some personal growth you will be able to pickup a check for what you have been doing all your life.

Fortunately the number of leaders is small who proclaim selling as well as making a list of family and friends to persuade them to join you in your network marketing business. These approaches don’t work. Someone who is not a sales person will not become one and family members are very poor prospects.

Instead look out for a system that helps you create a steady stream of prospects who are wanting to talk with you, who will be happy to get trained and supported.

Once you have created success in your network marketing business then friends and family will suddenly come round and perhaps even applaud you and tell others that they had always known you were meant for something better. Some may even join you in your network marketing business at that stage hoping that they will also be supported to achieve success as yours. What a joke!

Don’t listen to the wrong kind of advice! You are perfect the way you are!

To Your Perfect Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

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3
Feb

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The importance of being a team player is particularly hot when it comes to rock climbing in some high up mountain areas – may it be the Himalayan, the Alps or where ever.

When you look at the picture on the left you can very well imagine that a team like this will be as strong as its weakest member. All of them have to make sure that the weakest member is being heard, as the success of the tour will depend on the performance of this weakest team member.

A business like network marketing today is very closely related as far as the interaction and the success of the team is concerned.

It is those who come in new, who are like new born babies in this MLM industry, who need all the support they can get  so that they can have success in building their network marketing business.

They need to understand, then need to learn, they need to make money, they need to be “seen” and recognised.  This is what “makes” the entire organisation and consequently the reputation of the company.

In rock climbing, if the weakest team member is not supported – let’s assume it is the red on in this picture,  the ones behind him will drop or may be even the ones above him if he grabs and clings. Absolute trust and support are a MUST!

In network marketing today very much the same will happen. If the newcomers are not supported well and earn money, they will spread the bad reputation and eventually it will affect everybody in that team, organisation and company. After all bad reputation spreads like wild fire.

Apart from checking out all the technical details of a company it is therefore good to also  “listen” to what is being spread about the actions taken by a company and a team. It is another parameter which simply needs to be right when you choose a network marketing business opportunity today.

To Your Well-chosen Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

29
Jan

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Free Company Web-shop?

Yes of course! After all as a distributor you have to abide with all the detailed company descriptions about your product. The company normally has checked it all out legally and whatever there is on their home page should be safe.

  • This is one big reason why it should make sense for any company to give their distributors a web-shop and  since the distributors are doing all the advertising so that the products are turned it would be a fair sharing of efforts between the company and the distributors.

So why are there so many companies out there who don’t do this?

As it is know that most network marketing companies hire their software/database and don’t own it – well additional web-shops might be a cost factor for them and so they charge their distributors – very likely even making profit on the web-shop.

  • The second issue about not owning the software/database is that very often the small print contains clauses that the software company owns the data base – I wrote about this before.

Another reason may be a commission plan issue – as in a binary plan, for instance,   where the payments can only be made if an adequate number of distributors fail at building a network marketing business – it may well be a welcome additional income for the company to have a fee on the web-shop – paid not only by those who make money, abut also by the big number of people who will fail in their venture of building their network marketing business successfully.

The argument of the companies may be “it would cost you a lot more to do it yourself” and that in view of perhaps policies and procedures which even contain restrictions as to internet marketing. Yes – you read correctly – this still exists. there are companies who do not like major marketing activities on line – most odd reasons given.

So spinning this thread further if you are looking at a company which will be charging you for the web-shop or perhaps even charging you  twice – also taking money  for your genealogy report, etc., then I guess you better look twice:

  • read the policies and procedures very intently and also check out the pros and cons of the commission plan. the entire package may well not be what you want to put your effort in for. After all you want to have success at building your network marketing business today!

To Your Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

26
Jan

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A System for Success!

Pillar 5

A Proven System that will Work for YOU.

Network Marketing today requires a lot of work. Therefore it is a MUST  that the team you join has a system that will work for everyone. People come from so many different walks of life!

The system needs to provide training, books, videos, audios and needs to teach the system, as there are constantly new people who need to get to know it and who need to be able to use it. The more people you sponsor into your team the less you’ll be able to train them only one on one.

You need to be able to learn the required skills for building your business from the system and you need to take responsibility for it. Nobody can learn it but YOU.

In a good system you will be able to connect with all the leaders for upline advice. It make take a while till you  can operate the system successfully – nobody can read by only learning the alphabet.  
As with everything in line you need to take the learning curve and be patient and persistent.  

A good system should also have a focus on personal development.  Network marketing today is a relationship business and for building a network marketing business successfully you need to become the person who you customers and prospects want to follow as a leader.

The more aware you are of yourself as a person the better you will be able to relate with people. You will be able to meet people where they are in their lives and help them on.

 

A system should not request you to:

  • MAKE A LIST OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
  • BUY LEADS. 
    (Purchased leads require salesmanship. These methods do not work anymore. 
    90% of the population don’t like being in sales and most people don’t even like being sold!)

Summing up there is to be said, that checking a MLM company according to the 5 pillars makes absolute sense and it will spare you a lot of trouble, It puts you in a place where you can definitely say you will be able to have success in network marketing today and that is what most people actually want.

To Your Informed Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

25
Jan

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Where is the Money?

Pillar 4

Does the  compensation plan pay part-timers?

Seeing that network marketing by now is 60+ years old some general statistics are available of course. Therefore I can safely say, that 95% of all networkers are pert-time people.

With this in mind it is obvious that a compensation plan needs to provide an income for these people or attrition will be booming.

The money for the paid out commissions of course has to come from turning products, which regulates the possible payout. When a company is advertising big how many millionaires they have created – have a close look if this was not done on the back of the part-time people.

The people at the bottom should never be the donkey on which the big ones ride to their success!

When you investigate a compensation plan, ask yourself the question: how many people do I need to consistently make $ 500 a month. The span you find out there is between 500 and only 20. Some well established companies will have compensation plans where you need between 150 to 350 people – and yet they manage to attract new people – they must be “in love” with the product!  They are still able attract new distributors – Amazing!  They must be sold on the product!

Ask your upline how many people you will need in your company – they don’t know? Well that might be an incentive to RUN!

When the commission you are making on the product is something like 5 – 8%, then you are really underpaid!

The bigger part of your commissions need to come from products being sold to end consumers. You don’t want to be in a scam – correct?

Also here there are more points that are worth while being discussed. Just ask!

Make sure you investigate what you are doing, after all you want to have success in network marketing today, you want to build a long-term business which will not only pay you but also your children and grand children. And a point that is important now and long-term:

You want to maintain your credibility!

To Your Long-term Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

25
Jan

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The Pillars are Interconnected!

Let’s check:

Pillar number 3

We already asked – is the product part of an “upward trend”?

In addition the Product also needs to be reasonably priced in the market.

All network marketing  companies have good products and consequently the product you are wanting needs to be competitively priced .

A plan which offers you a whole sale price and a retail price is a plan which is based on “recruit, recruit, recruit…” – unless you are RED you are having a tough time to succeed in such a model.

The next question you need to ask yourself – would the product sell if there was no commission plan attached to it? Literally speaking this means will you be able to actually build a customer base? If  this point applies, the opportunity is illegal.

If you cannot pay by credit card but only cash or per money order – illegal again!

If the distributors collect the money and not the company – illegal!

If you MUST have a Retail Merchant’s account – caution – the company is scamming your!

There is an easy way to find out if the price of the product is ok – go on ebay and check if the product is sold there “under priced” – this indicates that the distributors are unable to sell it – stay away!

If it takes you a long while to talk somebody into the product you become a sales person and who wants to be sold?

ATTENTION: Network Marketing is a relationships business not a sales business! 

You see many points have to be considered for checking out pillar number 3. If you are “in love” with the product of your company, you may not be level headed enough to actually acknowledge some of these points.

If you simply want the product, forget any consideration.

However, if you actually want to have success in network marketing, then you need to consider and make decisions!

Let us know if you need independent input!

To Your Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

24
Jan

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Pillar Number 2

Is the company a start-up company or even worse a “pre-launch” company – or has it passed the “early failure” time line?

Which products does the company  offer? Are they in tune with the beginning of a massive consumer trend?

What do I mean with this – products appear and disappear and this cycle is driven by consumer demand. In the days of the “baby boomers”  baby clothes and shoes, later toys for small children were big business  – 20 years later there was the huge real estate boom – look at real estate now.

You need to have a product which is on the rising scale of demand. That is the only way to build a business with a “chance for everyone” who does the work. Outside of these periods the same products will require marketing sales experts to be turned.

And as said above – don’t go into start-up or pre-launch opportunities. Most companies don’t last even two years and the average distributor needs a 2 year learning curve before he starts making money – see what I  mean? So make sure the  company you join is at least 2 years old.

Another “rather not” are companies who have passed their prime time who have become rhinos. The big growth potential is gone there and if you actually want to  have success in building a network marketing business today you are minimizing your chances! 

There is more that can be said in this context – again you are welcome to join the free training to learn it all.

Stay tuned for the third pillar.

To Your Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

24
Jan

image Pillars have become a symbol for long-term strength and stability.

Therefore it is no surprise that the 5 pillars have become a representation of value for a network company today.

I have given a general overview about "A Solid Company", listing the 5 pillars, in a previous blog so let’s this time go into a bit more details what the 5 pillars are all about when it comes to success in network marketing today. Mind you for in-depth training on this topic you will have to go through our training.

Let’s discuss the first pillar here:

Company Management:

There is no doubt that the management of a company is a really important point – however, what do you have to look for in a company management?

Well, most important of all: does the company management have personal experience building their own networking organization and have they done it with integrity?

Why is this so important? I give you a picture: “Would you ask a lawyer to fix the brakes of your car?” – No – the lawyer is a highly trained expert and should know what he is doing? No? You’d never? Why are you against this idea? Of course the lawyer is an expert in legal matters and not in car repair! Can you see my point? In very much the same manner you need experts at network marketing run a network marketing company today.

Having made this basic requirement clear, let’s investigate “have they done it with integrity”?

Search Google for the owners of the company and see who they are, what their “story” is. Look back in their lives and you might even want to add the word ‘Scam’ to your search. The level of integrity is the goal of this search, and of course if they have personal experience at building a network marketing organisation from scratch.

The legal background, your policies and procedures also goes into this investigation with many topics, the overall one being – does the contact protect you or the company?

Another hot context in the basic legal set-up of a network marketing company is:

”If a company is publicly traded, Financial Decisions Will be made in Favor of the Stockholders at the Expense of the Distributors”.

There is lots of legal language involved in this investigation and you might want support in investigating this topic – this blog is simply to alert you about this topic.

Connect if you need this kind of support – that’s part of our free training.

We have your success at network marketing at heart!

Stay tuned for the second pillar.

To Your Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

21
Jan

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On the one hand network marketing today is very simple, but on the other hand it is very complex.

It is simple as it always was as it is a people’s business and we have been giving recommendations all our lives. However, it is complex, as the personal aspect has to meld with a high-tech world, the world of using the internet.

In our days it is obvious that using the internet as a tool to market your network marketing business makes it easy to take your business world-wide. So of course you have to learn the right techniques to make this happen.

This is one place where greed and ego tend to kick in:  it is all about leads and it is all about tools – too many network marketers have an easy prey in their downlines when it comes to selling them leads and tools online – may it be through an affiliate scheme of may it be through a direct sales funnel – doesn’t matter – naive and untrained people are being taken advantage of.

Another area of course are commission plans. Modern computer technology makes it easy for companies to set up commission plans which are complex and involved – in the early days when bonus checks had to be worked out semi- automatic this would have been impossible. Computers make these calculations as per program, so no problem. The tricky part of it is the complexity of the commission plans – too many people don’t understand them or at least not completely – they are at the mercy of their uplines, especially those who understand crunching the numbers and who understand completely how to maximize the pay-plan.

As a result it happens that the advice given is not entirely unbiased and  newcomers may make a lot less money than they could make provided they had received the kind of advice that comes from the heart and has the best interest of the newcomers at heart. A huge delay and handicap if you are looking for success in building your network marketing business.

These are two examples where greed and ego can kick in  and I strongly advise to learn the details of a commission plan in network marketing today if you want to be sure that you are safe.

To Your Truthful Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

20
Oct

Let’s make a break of colours and reflect on  another topic.

image Since you are reading this blog I assume you have been surfing on the internet for quite some time. I am sure you know some of these definitely eye-catching ads which you find everywhere. They scream phrases as "Make Thousands of Dollars, 0 Investment, We Build for You!" or "Earn $5000 work Fifteen Minutes A Day!" Such ads are enticing to most people, especially those who are looking for ways to improve their lives.

Such ads appeal to the base traits in us and when greed comes in, rational reflection doesn’t kick in. As a  result there have always been people who were tricked out of their hard-earned money.

Le’s Investigate the Mechanism of Network Marketing Scams

In the network marketing arena a lot of manipulation is going on. This is easy as the majorities of people who enter into MLM businesses are inexperienced in business affaires. Often, they stumble into it as they answered an ad in a newspaper, on TV, or on the internet.

Most people have an abundance of common sense, but when it comes to making tons of money, most people seem to forget their common sense altogether, they are inclined to want to know for sure. After all,  this could be the opportunity to finally become rich.

Most network marketing scams are presented as being simple and easy. Simple and easy or even “on autopilot” are the marketing tricks employed. In their normal jobs people work very hard as a rule, spending  time and energy on what needs to be done. It’s the sad state, however, that all this hard work doesn’t get them where they want to be financially.

And now they see that ad that promises everyone that they can make lots of money with a minimum of work. They become victim of an emotional short circuit and jump for the offer that might be the key to a finally better life.

Being Cautious is The Cardinal Rule In Business!

Warren Buffett, the famous investor, states: "you can’t do good business with bad people." This should be everybody’s golden rule.

If you want to go into business with someone, be absolutely sure you are dealing with a person of integrity. Intelligence and ambition are fine, but more important is a good, moral character. If the last quality is not there, you are asking for  mischief.

We live at a time when people have become transparent – it may not be easy to check them out on the internet, but it is possible. don’t shy  away from this due diligence – it may decided over success or failure.

To Your Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

28
Sep

Warning! Success or failure in network marketing may depend on the company you choose.

It is a total error to believe that it only depends on your performance.

Most people don’t ever read the small print in any purchasing contract. Very much this same attitude is applied when going for a network marketing business.

As a rule it is some “shiny” product or a hype presentation of some MLM company which catches the attention of a person who is looking for a way to earn extra money. Either they are immediately “sold” on these two issues or they are convinced by someone they know well and whom they trust, that the business they were offered is the best one that is out there. I don’t say these well meaning friends lie to you – fact is, they don’t know better themselves as a rule.

Imagine you are looking for a conventional job. Would you accept a job without ever seeing your work contract or would you accept a job without knowing the payment schedule or without knowing the reputation of the company and the people who run it? Would you opt for a scandal ridden company or one where it is know that they always have one foot in jail? I should not think so. Most people would check out the company to see what they will be in for.

It constantly amazes me why the same diligence is not applied when going into business with a network marketing company. Probably one of the main reasons is the lack of knowledge which kind of information would be important to look for.

 

There are 5 ways to check the suitability of a company:

  1. Company Management  – do they have personal experience in building a team   in network marketing?
  2. Timing – has the company passed the “early failure” time line? Do the products have growth potential – part of a growing trend?
  3. Products – do they have remarkable products at a reasonable price?
  4. Compensation Plan – do they have a plan which also pays the part-time people?
  5. System – does your mentor offer you a system which everyone can duplicate?

This may sound easy to do – in a way it is, but most people do need help to check out this information properly.

To get help answers to any pending questions contact the author of this article or start by reading “Success in 10 Steps” – the mentoring and training you will be getting is FREE – to put it another way it is at no cost to you, but it will take you time and effort.

If you are new to this remarkable industry of network marketing learn how to check out a company and avoid making  bad mistakes right from start and get educated how to build a network marketing business well.

If you are reading this because you are looking for answers to challenges which you are facing, let me tell you: Your Lack of Success is not YOUR Fault. Achievement requires adequate information.

In either case to reach your goals by learning how to build a network marketing business without rejection is the best option you can go for..

 

To Your Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

13
Sep

Today’s world is a lot different from what it was only 20 years back. There is no doubt that the methods employed for building a network marketing business have changed drastically. Old ways like making a list of friends and family are no longer functional – not that they necessarily worked well in those days,but as it was before the days of the internet options were different and one had to make do with whatever was possible.

imageHowever, one thing has not changed: If you want to build a solid and long term business which is to pay you as well as your children and grandchildren you  have to make a decision. A clear and definite decision. A life-changing decision.

There is no such thing as being married to 10 spouses or to travel to a dozen places in one and the same time, to quote just 2 drastic examples.

The same applies to business. You have to be all in. No if and when, No try, may-be or whatever in that line.

Once you have made a decision, a decision as to with whom you want to build and what size of business you want to achieve, universe will give you the support you need by way of the law of attraction.

Simply imagine – there is someone waiting who will give you service and perform for you by  fulfilling whichever wish you hand out. However, you flood this person with a dozen of contradictory requests at the same time. Imagine what will happen – that person will stay put and wait till you make up your mind what you actually want.

This is exactly what happens with universe!

Therefore – make up your mind, pass a decision and then develop your plan of action in accordance with your decision. You will be surprised how much smoother everything works out.

To Your Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

31
Aug

Packing things in cotton wool doesn’t solve problems.

True – a positive attitude and a healthy self worth are essential necessities to proceed well in life and business. However there is a lot of misunderstanding around this topic.

If the truth is negative it will not become positive by keeping quiet about it or by talking around it.

It happens at times that people attack me as a coach in mentoring for free – they claim we put out too much negative stuff.

So here is what happens: To make sure that people have a chance to avoid the many traps and crappy offers which are floating around we make an effort to gather them and explain them so that people can SEE.

It doesn’t matter if it is a commission plan concept which will not pay the average person but only a few at the top or policies and procedures which put the distributors of a company at a disadvantage or even bind them totally. Most people don’t understand commission plans or contracts to the extent that they are aware what they are in for. The sad thing about it –  people dream of retiring early, however in many cases the policies and procedures contain a NO NO NEVER – it might say: To get a check you have to provide ongoing training or what I read just recently – you will be terminated if you have not been active for more than 12 months … doesn’t sound like being able to retire ever.

Unfortunately this is only one example of what to watch out for there’s lots more.

Of course stuff like that is negative – yet not telling people is not only negative but crappy – I feel it is a great service to alert people to awareness. Only when you avoid what will harm you, can you have a truly positive experience of life and of building a successful network marketing business.

To Your Success

Frieke Karlovits

A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

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25
Aug

Building a network marketing business there are a few things which scream “scam” – yet they need to be understood.

    • The worst technique you can ever use for building your business is to create fear of loss. It tops everything else in business development. Sure, it does works. It does get people in. But your business will be totally wrong to begin with. You are attracting the type of people none of whom will ever work.
    • Next there are many companies that do a powerline, a binary or a matrix. As a rule their focus is on promoting spillover. Of course there are actually people who have got spillover, no doubt. BUT – the people that “arrived” as spillover never ever worked. Why’s that?

    That’s an easy one: The promise of "spillover" creates a welfare mentality! There are bunches of people out there who are looking to get something for nothing. That’s the kind people you attract when you tell them: "Get in NOW, and you are going to get spillover!"

    They are triggered by the fear of “losing something for nothing”.

    So they get in right away and then they sit like cats, keeping quiet watching for the mice, waiting patiently for that spillover that’s going to make them rich.

    What a great Business Plan!

    The same happens when joining a binary because you are offered a position that already has a million Dollar volume in one leg. Fact is you don’t get paid unless you build the weak leg. But people with a lottery mentality will jump for such a position", they join – but never do anything, and never earn a dime.

    Be aware of the words, powerline and spillover. Whenever you see them you know their purpose is to promote welfare mentality. Something for nothing, something for nothing, something for nothing…

    Fact is, YOU are in Net-“Work” Marketing. Net-“Work” Marketing is a business and it takes WORK – net-WORK marketing, not net-free marketing, right?  It’s not net-spillover marketing nor is it net-zero marketing. The topic is WORK! A "something for nothing" mindset will not work. Period.

    You’d be like giving a bunch of couch potatoes welfare aid directly to their account. It lets them stay on the couch, drink their beer and watch a football game. No problem.

    Those Two Words Are A Hot Tip!

    When you hear them from a company or from a distributor – that’s not the company or person to build your life on long-term. They will not be successful. Move on and keep on looking. There are lots of good companies & network marketers out there. You will for sure find the right mentor.

    To Your Success,

    Frieke Karlovits
    "Be A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart!"

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    11
    May

    Today network marketing is an excellent chance to make money online. Once you focus, learn the required skills, take control of the work you do in a collaborative team you should be able to achieve your desired goal.

    You agree? – Well , why do you think statistics tell us another story?

    Signing up  for a network marketing business – no matter if online or on paper – what you are required to check-mark the policies and procedures as accepted. Everybody does so. However only a very small percentage of all people ever read them in the first place and of those who read them quite a number don’t fully understand them and accept them as “legal  talk that is required”. It is a fact, however, that it is the contents of these policies and procedures which lets many people fail in network marketing.

    There are all sorts of tricky clauses which are not taken serious in the process. People miss the awareness that these clauses are contained to be used and they will be the victim. I want to give you a few examples:

    • Renewal: There are companies who claim they need it to be able to get rid of the “black sheep among the distributors – hm…
    • Termination clauses: for the most varied reasons – mind you – as a rule these are applied once you start earning more money – when you are terminated then it saves the company a lot of money!
    • Your Spouse is forbidden to have another business – it is enacted by companies but it is not within human rights to forbid a spouse to  have another business of their own – it is – hm -  like “slavery”.
    • A great number of subtle “hoops” not easy to see or find

    The above list is are hints and it is by far not complete. To really know what you are  in for you might need help to analyze.

    I do hope you are now aware of the importance of policies and procedures and you will make sure you investigate them thoroughly so that you will not be in for a major surprise at some stage of your career.

    If you have not had the success you dream of so far this might be one of the things you need to look into – in most cases your lack of success is not your fault.

    To have a healthy business with  long-term stability, where teamwork, flexibility, respect, collaboration, both within the team and with the company are part of the everyday business culture you need to know that you have a good balance on all levels of the business you are working.

     

    To Your Success

    Frieke Karlovits

    A Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

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    21
    Apr

    You are right – a commission plan is a normal feature in MLM.

    Unfortunately too many people don’t ever take the time to investigate the commission plan in detail nor in fact their policies and procedures. Both of these items are equally critical when it comes to securing success – none can be given priority – it’s kind of a question “who comes first the egg or the hen”. therefore let’s simply  discuss commission plans today.

    • The very first question for you to ask is:  “What do I have to do to earn my first money”. If the answer to this question is jumping through hoops and finding a number of people – RUN
    • Next: “Which qualification do I have to meet to stay qualified for commissions”. So if you have to do more than just a certain personal sales, like having to sponsor one two or more, or even if the required personal sales is too high – RUN
    • Another critical point is that in some plans personal requirements increase with increasing income – that is where I ask you – how will you ever be able to retire on such a plan? Some people tell me they simply throw away the products they need to buy – this seems an awful waste if you ask me. But often you also need to sponsor people in the process. Say you have built a fair income and now you want to go on a 3 months’ cruise with your family – how will you do this if you have to sponsor, e.g., a couple of people per month to be eligible for commission. Might be an idea to RUN before you get into this tight spot!
    • How about this one: You need to prove that you are an active coaching and training partner for your team on an ongoing basis…

    An these are just a few examples of what you may encounter when you study your commission plan.

    A good question to ask yourself or rather whoever wants to sponsor you into a business is: “How many people do I need for a 10K residual income” – and watch out – this doesn’t comprises bonuses which as a rule are one time payments!

    I hope this gets you thinking about the topic! If you need help to analyze the commission plan you are in, simply be in touch – we gladly will help you for free.

    To Your Success

    Frieke Karlovits

    Your Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

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    10
    Mar

    Residual income is not new. The conventional perception of a residual income are e.g. : Income from investments,  royalties, income from renting out real estate, etc. This in itself explains why a residual income was not something everyone could have – either you had to have a fair amount of money to make investments or buy real estate or you had to be a very talented writer who even had the capacity  to land a best seller. That’s why the term residual income has only become wider known in context with new business models like mlm, network marketing, multi level marketing – or which ever way you want to call it.

    Working from home is nothing new either – in the old days lots of people worked from home doing handicrafts of some kind, like making shoes, sewing, making pieces of furniture and lots more. The big change which made people go out for work on a large scale was a result of industrialisation. And now the market is  changing again. More and more people want to work at home as it increases the quality of living considerably.

    Buying a franchise doesn’t really fall into this category even though you may be able to make big money with it. There are two big handicaps – first you cannot start it as a part time income and second you have a high investment and in spite of making money the payback will eat up your profit for a long time.

    This desire of people to have a chance at creating some extra income, earn money, preferably creating a residual income has become a real boom with the possibilities of the internet. There are thousands of offers for work from home, income streams, creating wealth, it’s become hard to know what and how to choose. As a result of this flood if information a massive amount of scam has also appeared.

    For some reason making money online is considered something anyone thinks they  can do anyways – but it’s not like stuffing envelopes or other minor work from home of old.

    A home based business is a new category of professionalism which has to be learned, studied, to have a change of success and to eventually end up creating a residual income that will permit you to retire. Entrepreneurs who start an online business have to know which resources to use, how to achieve a respectable or better even – first rate search engine ranking, how to create leads as the scam of buying leads will get you nowhere. Creating leads, custom leads is critical for making money online. Building relationships, teaching the people who come in by plugging them in a system they can duplicate is a must.

    It certainly is possible to build a six figure income with a web marketing business opportunity, provided you do not get carried away with some hype screaming scam. Be a critical thinker and learn how to think and not what to think and you will succeed!

     

    Frieke Karlovits

    Your Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

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    12
    Feb

    The MLM Spillover Myth

    Author: FriekeKarlovits

    Someone recently told me he’s joining an MLM company because of the promised spillover. I said, "They are lying to you!"

    As a result the guy point-blank asked them if he’d get people put underneath him, and of course he was told that there was no guarantee for it!

    Spillover is creating a welfare mentality.

    Good people want to build it themselves. They want to learn the skills they need to build this business and create residual income, money that’s coming in week after week, year after year, that will pay even their children’s children.

    MLM websites containing that word "spillover" as a rule say one way or other "get in now, today, and you’ll get all this spillover".

    If you look closely at the compensation plans of the companies that promote spillover, you’ll find out that you don’t get paid on spillover as a rule. You need to qualify to get paid on that spillover, and  people who opt for spillover rarely ever qualify.

    What a surprise – also here it is the people who do the work who get paid!

    When You Say "Spillover", You Are Targeting Quitters! People who think they get something for nothing.

    A network marketing company that promotes spillover is attracted welfare-minded people. You can’t build with these people, unless YOU do all the work! And when you don’t build their business, they’ll be off somewhere else, looking for a better welfare plan. As a result the failure rate will be 100%.

    There is the next connected scam:

    The quickest way to build a huge list is to offer something for nothing (no money, no work, no purchase) in return. You will see again and again  things like: “we’ve signed up more people faster than anybody else in the history of network marketing." But nobody ordering any product. It’s just names on a list – but they can call these people "network marketers."

    Next they sell this huge database of worthless names (an "MLM genealogy list") for $10,000 each to 10 different list brokers. That’s $100,000 profit! And then the list brokers sell these "leads" to all the people in network marketing who want to build their business – including YOU!

    You pay $2-$3 per lead for these people. When you call them they tell you they’ve never been in network marketing! They don’t even know what it is. They just opted in to some “something for nothing” list, hoping for the miracle of getting rich over night.

    Conclusion? Run fast from any company focused on "spillover".  ALWAYS generate your own leads. How?

    Get yourself seriously educated and you will do awesome!

    Frieke Karlovits

    Your Mentor With A Servant’s Heart

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    11
    Jan

    MLM Software – A Critical Topic

    Author: FriekeKarlovits

    MLM software is expensive. That’s why most MLM companies rent their software. In most cases it cannot be adapted fully to fit their business model, and the distributor base suffers as a result.

    Let me tell you a story about a network marketing company. They had a binary compensation plan, which is a plan where you build two legs – a left one and a right one. Unfortunately the software they rented did not permit changing from left to right and vice versa and they had to have programmers in to do it and of course that cost time as well as money. It took them about half a year to get it sorted out.

    In the mean time there were people who had already built one strong leg. In a binary plan you then need to re-adjust in your back office and get the new sign-ups on your weak leg so that you get paid. You get paid on your weak leg! And in that case people thought that the new sign ups were going in your weak leg.

    What happened with that company was that this change over just didn’t work and after a while distributors found out and approached the company to move the new people. The company hired lots of people to handle the changes yet couldn’t cope. They even started to charge the distributors per change-over although it was the company’s mess and in the end they stopped doing it altogether.

    This is a perfect example of buying software which doesn’t fit the purpose at all.

    On the other hand when you rent the software, you better read the fine print, as you don’t own the database! You have heard right:

    You Do Not Own The Database!

    Michael Dlouhy told us that he saw a downline genealogy for sale on the internet and he happen to know the owners of the company. So he called them and asked them what was going on – if the company wasn’t doing well. He heard that the company was doing great yet had had to rent the software and the software company owned the data base.

    This software company made a nice lump sum of money by selling the data base to a bunch of companies. It had been in the Policies and Procedures, that the software company owned the genealogy!

     How would you like to build your business and then have your organization for sale on the internet?

    It has to be one of the critical questions when you check out a company, if they own their software. Renting is a lot cheaper and most companies don’t have the 2 million dollars to buy it when they start.

    It certainly is the best choice to opt for a company who had their software custom built! When the company had it built and owns it, the distributor base is safe. Instead, for starting a network marketing company quickly, the owners rent the software and are in business in no time. If it is your business – what do you do?

    They know that network marketing is a tough business. They know that most companies don’t survive the first 2 years. So renting software minimizes the risk. But how about you? This is a dangerous secret!

    What about another well kept secret: The software company will be a partner of the MLM company – it means that the MLM company builds an organization, a leg,  for the software company. It creates a retirement income for the software company on the backs of the distributors. Is it a problem for the owners of the MLM company to move all their orphan distributors underneath the software company so they receive a nice check? What a secret!

    It is one more reason why you need to base your future on a company with an owned custom made software!

    Do you start realising why education in this industry is critically important – especially when you are capable of building a downline well. Background knowledge saves you from having to cry over spilled milk  at a later stage!

    To Your Success!

    Frieke Karlovits

    A mentor With A Servant’s Heart

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    27
    Oct

    Got An Honest Upline?

    Author: FriekeKarlovits

    Right – you love MLM and you know you can do it.  You screen the industry to find what you are looking for. At this stage you  for sure need to make it a point to know who your upline will be. Let me tell you a story to show you why:

    There was this lady in a network marketing company. She was the first woman in this company who built her business quickly – so fast, that she reached the first rank of the commission plan in only 4 months.

    This excellent performance made her upline jealous and jealousy breeds envy. Unfortunately, like many others in this industry, she did NOT bother to read the company Policies & Procedures. How terrible having neglected it!

    It is a necessity that you carefully read the Policies & Procedures BEFORE you ever join a company. This may not be easy as, at times, you don’t find them before you sign up! Request them!

    So when this lady joined the company,  she told them that her fiancée was building another MLM business. There was no comment, but guess what? In the Policies & Procedures of this specific company it was stated explicitly, that you were not allowed to make any money from another network marketing company – not even an affiliate program! If you violated this provision, you can be terminated. And what’s worse -  these restrictions applied to everyone living in YOUR household!

    If you ask me this is worse than being an employee! As an independent business partner, how can anyone put you under limitations like that?

    Being happily unawares, this lady build to the top of the commission plan. She was was highly motivated as everything went so well. Her pending bonus check was $7,000 as a reward for reaching the top rank in the commission plan  and what’s more, she was the first woman to have done it!

    Suddenly she found her web-site turned off, everything closed down, without even getting a notice from her company.

    She had not considered her upline! She was informed by her upline that she had been terminated as her fiancée was building that other business. Now, she had told the company that they weren’t married and that he was building that other business! –          So what you need to watch out for – any modification in a signed agreement requires the written consent of the issuing party! Otherwise the information given is only “hot air”.             It had nothing to do with her and her work it was simply the loop hole to get her out, to not pay her what she had earned!

    Having not read them, she wasn’t aware that the company was viewing two people to be one and the same for the sheer fact that they were living in the same household and  that this was laid down in the Policies & Procedures.

    But how come the company knew this??

    Very unlikely that the company would ever find out unless someone [the upline??] told them? Well who would!– Since she was terminated the entire organisation and the income rolled up – what a coincidence!

    The upline didn’t have that kind of success and now – well, no need to any more!

    I know a number of network marketers who have lost everything, because they never read their Policies & Procedures. No surprise I strongly advise you to go to your company website at once, and read your Policies & Procedures! It may be an “AHA” moment for you!

    What happened when you joined your company? Did you check a box by which you accepted the Policies & Procedures? But did you actually read them – …?

    There is another common trap – people think, "Well, everybody I know is violating this rule – seems the company must not care." Believe me, you can violate any rule as long as you’re not making any money. Only once you start getting a significant paycheck, the day has come when it’s worthwhile for an ill-meaning upline – or even your company – to terminate you for violation of your Policies & Procedures.

    Go and find your Policies & Procedures and see what YOU are in for – Do It NOW!

    This knowledge is available by curtsey of Michael Dlouhy -  thank you, Michael!

     

    Frieke Karlovits

    Your Mentor With A Heart For People

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