Network Marketing is not what it was ten years ago.  Quite frankly it’s not what is was five years ago.  I am going to go over the pros and cons of building your business online vs. offline and you can make your own determination of what makes more sense to you.

After doing both, I know the answer.  You will have to make the determination for yourself, but I think once your done, you will see things in a whole new light.

Getting Leads

Offline – You are going to build your list manually through making lists of friends and family, talking to strangers in malls, stores, Barnes and Noble, gas stations, etc. This works awesome if your a type “A” personality. Most people don’t. This takes a lot of time.

Online – Traffic is automatic, once it’s built.  Your going to build your list online through a lead capture page or “squeeze page”.

Connecting With Leads

Offline – You have to physically call every one of your leads.

Online – Your going to use an email auto-responder in which your going to add value to them.  You are also going to call your leads, but by the time you call them, they know who you are and are interested in your offer.  After all, they opted in for more information.  Your not having to bring them up to speed like you would in an offline scenario.  Your system does the sifting and sorting for you so all your left with is a qualified lead.

Business Presentation

Offline – You have to physically show up to show the plan. I personally remember when I first got started in network marketing showing 1 hour plans.  Can you imagine? And I drove all over my state doing it, sometimes out of state. WASTE OF TIME. Why? Because they were not pre-qualified and I was just using the plan as a filter to check their interest.

Online – How about a webinar or video doing the presentation.  How about a PowerPoint presentation or a Bamboo drawing session to explain your business plan online?  You can do it from the comfort of your own home.

Follow Up

Offline – This sometimes can be done on the phone, but most of the time it’s in person. Once again, leaving your home, spending precious time away from your family.

Online – We use email, the phone, Skype and other online communications.

Sign Up

Offline – Traditionally to sign someone up your going to have to give them a number or a specific website to send them to.  You have to guide them through the process.

Online – Your sales funnel will sell almost everything for you if it is set up correctly.  Sign-ups are automatic and there is little effort involved.

Training

Offline – You have to meet weekly in hotels, homes, etc. to do training with your team.

Online – You can automate your training through videos and teleconferences.

Conclusion Offline

Pros: Offline business building in the network marketing industry is more stable and you can create real long term relationships with people.

Cons: Very time intensive and it is limited to what you can do on a daily basis.  It’s solely up to you.

Conclusion Online

Pros: You can reach way more people in a shorter period of time.

Cons: Will dissipate if you don’t build relationships

As you can see, there are pros and cons to both ways of building your network marketing business. There is no right way or wrong way, there is just quick and slow.  With that said, how long do you want to wait to build your business.  Are you on the 6-12 month plan or the 3-5 year plan?

PS. Ready to learn how to automate your lead generation and business building process?  Visit MLM System On AutoPilot for your FREE Information on how the top earners do it.

In today’s world there are all types of network markter’s out there.  Here are a few I came up with………

The Wanna-Be Network Marketer

Ever hear of the term fake it until you make it?  These are network marketers that try to impress you by making outlandish income claims and trying to make you think that they have made it financially.  I see it all over the place on the web but can read right through those people.

It’s real easy to pick them out of the crowd-simply google them.  It is amazing what you can find out about people when you query the search engines.

The Shouting Network Marketer

This is a category that a shit-ton of network marketers fall into.  The internet is filled with noise and people knocking others down thinking its going to make them look like the king.  Big time no no and we know who you are.  These guys and gals actions speak so loudly we cant hear what they are saying.

They are known for spamming and blatantly pitching their business opportunities all over the web in places you wouldn’t dream of seeing a business opportunity.  They crowd twitter, myspace, facebook and many other web 2.0 sites.  Most of the time they are shunned.  No one likes a shouter.

The Newbie Network Marketer

Newbies are cool because they are hungry to learn more.  They are wide open vessels.  There are really two types of Newbies.

1. This infant networker goes out and keeps purchasing course after course hoping it is their next ticket to wealth.  Problem is, they realize it takes a whole lot of time to go through these courses and learn the info, let alone implement.  They get so overwhelmed that they freeze up and end up frustrated and confused.

2. This networker chooses his/her course of action carefully.  They mastermind with people who are where they want to be and purchase one relevant course at a time to learn and master the skill set.  They don’t purchase another one until they have gotten results from implementing the knowledge they learned from the course.

The Clueless Network Marketer -  This is going to be short and sweet.  These guys and gals just throw crap at the internet and the world around them, hoping something will stick.  It’s a short term strategy and never works so please STOP IT!

And Finally….Drum Roll Please……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Savvy Network Marketer

These are the guys and gals I love to see succeed. They have done their homework, invested time, effort and money into their marketing plans and are attacking their futures with everything they have.  They know where they are going and how they are going to get there.  They know their conversion rates, budget, time commitments, etc.

Savvy Networker’s know where to find their audience and how to relate to them.  They are problem solvers and solution finders.  These marketers are always seeking wisdom and guidance from the movers and shakers in the industry.

Ok, these are only a few ideas and I would love to hear more from you.. If you can think of a category, please share it as I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Make it a great day,

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"Network Marketing in the 21st century"

Over the past five decades Network Marketing has gone through a huge transition, however 97% of Networkers are stuck in the 1960′s.

There are three analogies I like to use in reference to how people built, are building and will build their network marketing businesses. The shovel, the backhoe and the earthmover are what I will use as an example to illustrate my point.

I first started in the industry with Amway, a company that goes way back to the 1960′s.  Awesome company, great values and I learned a whole lot about this industry as an Amway distributer.  Back then, people used the equivalent of a shovel to build their business.  They met in living rooms and dens in homes across America to build their Internet Marketing businesses.

For nearly three decades folks grew their business through warm lists and just talking with people.  There was no three way calling, no cell phones. no personal computers. That was networking in it’s most primative form, aside from the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Towards the early 199o’s people still used a shovel, but others moved to a backhoe. The internet had reached homes across America and a very small group of marketers were able to network online through email’s and such.  Networkers got together in hotel’s rather than living rooms and dens. Hotels offered more space for more people and gave prospects a more professional image of the company that was represented. This worked for some, but for others it offered little credibility.

Don’t get me wrong.  Fortunes were made over the years in network marketing, however there was a very high failure rate. If you took the total number of people in Network marketing and the number of people making a full time living at it, the numbers were less than 1/100th of 1%. Not very good odds.

Fast Forward to the year 2009 and we use the equivalent of an Earth Mover. Serious Network Marketers today build their business online using state of the art tools like Auto-Responders, Funded Proposal Sales Funnel’s, Affilate Joint Venture Partners, Social Media, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Videos, Podcasts, Email Marketing, Pay-Per Click Advertising, etc.

We no longer have to sell people on our products or services as our systems do the sifting, sorting and selling for us.  We develop relationships with people online by providing them value.  We give them the best of what we know for free to earn their trust.  We use the auto-responders to keep in touch with our prospects over the course of time and give them the information they are looking for.

When I look back at the days I used to sit in Starbucks for hours upon hours showing the business plan to prospects that I had cold contacted, I almost have to laugh. I dragged people to hotel meetings who didnt want to be there, tried convincing people that if they didn’t get started in business with me, they were going to be broke for the rest of their lives. Those silly, outdated methods didn’t work so well

The bottom line folks is no matter what business your building, the rules are the same.  Use systems to build your fortune. The days of doing list builders, cold contacting, hotel meetings, etc. are over.  Sure there are companies that will continue to do business this way, however a VERY small percentage of people will have any kind of success in their Network Marketing business.

Guerilla Marketing in the 21st Century

Is it possible to still use the same techniques you used to build your MLM or Network Marketing Business 10 years ago? Absolutely. If you want to get smoked and go down in flames.

The Game has changed, the cheese has moved and unless you are constantly adjusting, maneuvering, ducking and dodging, you will never experience true success in your business. It’s a jungle out there. Your competition is fierce and lurks behind every corner looking to take you out. If you’re not prepared that is exactly what will happen. The best way to prepare yourself is to have a strategy to move forward with. A battle plan if you wish. Don’t be a mud slinger.

Marketing has all changed over the course of the years. Yesterday’s was TV, Radio and Newspaper advertising. They had their hayday. Today it’s all about blogs, Pay Per Click, Article Distribution, Video’s, Banner Ads, Email Marketing, Voice broadcasting, etc…

I used to build my business old school style. Here is the process I was taught years back.

1. Make a list of everyone you have ever known. Doctors, Family, Friends, etc.
2. Call those people and pre-qualify them, asking them if they are keeping their options open, If they ever look for ways to make extra money, If they are making all the money they want to, etc. etc. The list goes on and on.
3. Book a face to face appointment to do a brief overview with them.
4. If they were interested, then book them into a 1 hour informative meeting where they will get to meet your upline and the team and find out all of the other details.
5. Do a Follow up with the prospect after the meeting.
6. Do a product demo/walk through with them.
7. Enroll them in your business.
8. Nurture them for the next 60 days hoping they will duplicate your efforts

WOW!!! I cant believe I did that for so long, but you know what? I learned an awful lot about people and the psychology behind why people do what they do, make decisions they make and most of all “WHY THE BUY”.

Now Let’s take a look at Guerilla Marketing and you will see how much different it is than Dinasaur, archaic style.

1. Use Blog’s, Funded Proposal Funnel Systems, Auto-Responders, Article Marketing, Video Marketing, Pay Per Click Advertising, Social media, Social Bookmarking, Groups on Linked in, Facebook, etc..
2. Never talk to prospects unless they come into my sales funnel. I don’t call people unless they qualify themselves to talk with me.
3. I target the audience I am looking to attract and offer them value. I always give before I ever take and always give more than I ever take.
4. I dominate the search engines, have branded myself online so that people can Google me and my name dominates Google and every other search engine, not someone else’s opinion of me.
5. I generate FREE, High Quality leads on a daily basis. People with cash in hand, ready to buy or learn something new. It’s a whole lot different than taking people who are negative, to neutral and then to a positive space. That is called convincing folks. I NEVER and I repeat Never convince anyone to do business with me or buy a product of mine.
6. I do webinars, training calls and always give people the training they are looking for.

If you are building your business online, don’t just dabble with it. I guarantee you’re not getting the results you want because your not putting in the time necessary to educate yourself on how to market properly. There are millions of resources out there to bring you up to speed and help you leverage the power of the world wide web to totally explode your business online. Get in the trenches, pay your dues and you will be taking the internet by storm in no time.

Internet Wealth Pros

678-654-9859

PS. If your are sick and tired of not moving anywhere in your MLM/Network Marketing Business and want to learn a new skill set QUICKLY, join the Elite 3% marketers at Guerilla Marketing Camp

It is my prediction that there is a volcano brewing on the internet and a whole bunch of the next millionaires in this country will come from network marketing online.

You see, about three or four years ago, I lost track, I started studying Mike Dillard and his magnetic sponsoring. I watched him go from a waiter to a self made millionaire.

I had to ask myself why him and not me. I was working my business hard, so was he. The kicker was, he was working his business a whole lot smarter than I as he saw what was going on with the internet and how marketing was taking on a whole new role in the online community.

The more and more I studied how network marketers were putting systems in place online to market themselves and their products, the more I started to study how it is done.

Let me tell you this. The way I build my business today is a whole lot different than I did a few years ago. I will be one of the next 7 figure (per month) income earners. How will I do it? The same way the Mike Dillards and Brian Fanale and many of the other online marketers did.

I realized that If I was going to be successful in network marketing online, I was going to have to study the crap out of the successful people that went before me and duplicate what they did.

Really, that is all it comes down to. Duplication backed by a serious work ethic and a burning desire to succeed.

Watch what happens over the next 12-18 months as the internet is going to host some of the next millionaires who built their network marketing businesses online.

To your Success,

Joshua Boxer