HI - Nice to see you again. Have you sent any greeting cards recently?

(I posted this before on my other blog, but it bears repeating now and then)

Do you love network marketing? Do you know that network marketing is the vehicle to create a recurring income for life? Do you have realistic expectations of network marketing? Were you promised you could join, work a few hours a week and get rich in no time?

I’m here to tell you the TRUTH. Network marketing can be the vehicle to create a recurring income for life. Can it happen overnight? NO.

Think of it like this: Bamboo grows mainly under the ground. It’s roots spread out and cover a great area. This takes time. Each year, bamboo only grows a few feet.

After 5 years or so, bamboo will all of a sudden shoot up over 30 feet. This is because it spent the majority of it’s time in the first 5 years growing solid roots into the ground. Only after the root system is solid, does the bamboo really begin to flourish and grow tall and strong.

Be bamboo!! Build a good solid foundation. Network marketing takes time. It is a relationship business. Build good, solid relationships that will last a lifetime BEFORE you sponsor the person into your organization. It is important that you let your prospects get to know you. And you get to know them. This way, you will know up front if you are going to be able to work together.

I can look at it this way: A friend of mine started college about 3 years ago. He gets to struggle for 4-5 years while studying/attending classes during the day and working at night (outside the home) to pay for tuition. He is learning a trade that will eventually allow him to (in 4 or 5 years) BEGIN his career by helping make some lucky business owner rich. (I’m not saying college is bad. I went to college and my kids will go to college.)

I began my network marketing career with a new company about 3 years ago. I will work 15 – 20 hours a week for 5 – 10 years and have the financial and time freedom to do the things I want to do. I will probably continue to work and continue to increase my RESIDUAL income, but I won’t HAVE to.

Be Bamboo!!

Roxanne

I get approached quite often by other network marketers trying to get me to join their company.  Now…I’m not opposed to looking at other things, however…in the years that I’ve been with Vitamark, I haven’t found any other company that pays me as much as they do.

Here’s an example.  I was approached recently by someone who wanted me to join her downline in the company she’s a rep for.  She told me “I make 15% commission on everything I sell”.  I asked her if that is on the dollar amount and she told me it is, so I decided to take a look at her comp plan.  She makes 15% on the POINTS assigned to a product.  That’s  a lot different than 15% on everything she sells.

Paying commission based on points is not necessarily a bad thing, however, you have to take that into consideration.  I make a commission on points as well.

With that said, I did a little comparison shopping.

My compay has a vitamin pack.   EVERYONE (customers and distributors) pays the same low price.  You don’t have to join Vitamark to get the “good prices”.  It sells for $39.95.  The points assigned are 26.

Her company has a comparable vitamin pack.  Retail customers pay $57.50 and distributors pay $39.99.  The points assigned are 27.  If you want the “good price” of $39.99 you have to pay a fee, join the company as a rep and agree to an autoship of a certain amount of points per month.  If you don’t want to join the company as a rep, you must still pay a fee (a few dollars less, but still a fee) to have the privilege of paying a higher price and not being locked into an autoship.

Let’s recap.  My vitamin product is $ 39.95 retail and 26 points.  Hers is $57.50 retail and $39.99 wholesale and 27 points. For the sake of argument, I’m going to use the $39.99 price because no one pays retail.  They tout it as “like joining a Sam’s club or Costco, you pay a membership fee to shop there and get low prices”.  Most people join to get the “good price” since it’s so much lower.

Why does my company have the same low price for everyone (retail customers and wholesale distributors)?  In other companies, very few people ever buy at the high retail price anyway.  So why bother having it?  It’s just to con people into thinking they are getting a good deal if they join.  I think it’s sneaky and underhanded to have a higher price for non – distributors, but that’s another post at another time. 

I make a minimum of 20% on my points and up to 60%.  Most weeks I’m at the 40% level.

She makes 15% on her points.

On the same dollar amount (within a few pennies) I make $10.40 and she makes $4.05.  I make more than double her commission for the same sale.  Even if I am at the lowest level getting 20%, I would make $5.20 on that sale.

There is no comparison.  I make 26% (or 13% at the lowest level) on dollar volume and she makes 10% on dollar volume.  It would be like me taking a pay cut.

Now – if she sells the previously mentioned product at retail, she still makes the same $5.20 (15% on points), however, her percentage on retail dollars is 7% to my 26% (or 13% at the lowest level).

I point this out to her and she comes back with the fact that if you jump through  hoops number 12 through 43 you can get an extra 3% on the 4th level sales of …  blah, blah, blah.  It doesn’t matter.  I’m only talking about sales to customers here.  Let’s compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges.

How can my company pay so much more than hers?  There are a few factors.  One is MASSIVE overhead.  Her company has huge office buildings and brags that they have 400 people “standing by to take your order”.  All of those employees cost MONEY.  That money comes out of the sale of products.  My company has a small office suite with only a few employees.  95% of all sales take place on the internet so there is no need for 400 order takers.  Therefore, more money in my pocket for selling products.   My company has a streamlined business model.  There is no reason for huge conference tables, gold faucets, private jets, etc…. in a network marketing company. When you have company owners who actually leave the greed and ego out of the equation, you get a streamlined company where everyone wins.  In this other company, the company is the only one winning.

One test of a good network marketing / MLM opportunity is to ask yourself:

Would I pay the retail price for this product if there were no business opportunity attached?

If the answer is no, you are not in a good opportunity.  In this case of her company, if there were no business opportunity attached, the price of the vitamin pack is $57.50.  I would not be willing to pay that for quality vitamins that I can get for $39.95 elsewhere.

How does your company compare?  In this post I’m comparing retail sales (sales to customers, not reps).  I’ll compare volume on reps sponsored in another post.

YOU Deserve Success!!

Roxanne

People are getting “downsized” every day. Losing jobs or getting hours cut seems to be the topic no matter what social function you attend. Even in the grocery store checkout line people are talking about it.  Everyone knows someone who has either lost their job or got hours cut.

If you lose your job or get your hours cut, what’s your “Plan B”? What do you have in place so the result of either of these events won’t be total devastation?

Let me ask you this – where does your “free time” go? If you’re working, you are probably working an 8 hour day. Let’s assume you have a travel time of 1 hour round trip to work (1/2 hour each way) so your job takes 9 hours of your day – 10 if you have an hour unpaid lunch, so let’s assume 10 for the sake of argument. There are 24 hours in a day. 8 are spent sleeping and 10 are spent on your job. That leaves 6 hours. Now, let’s say you spend 1 hour per day on dinner and 1 hour per day on personal care. That leaves 4 hours. Maybe you spend 2 hours per day with your family.

There are 2 hours EVERY DAY that you can spend building an additional income stream. 2 hours per day, 6 days per week is 12 hours per week. This is assuming that you take one whole day per week to do what you want to do.

What do you do with your extra 12 hours per week? Do you spend it in front of the TV or playing video games? Maybe you spend it in a bar or socializing with friends. Can you give up part of that time each week to build a business from home? You don’t even need to use the entire 12 extra hours per week. If you can agree to give up just 4 or 5 of those hours, I can show you how to create an income from home.

How about it? Do you want to “recession proof” your job?

Click HERE to find out how you can have a road map to your “Plan B”.

YOU Deserve Success!!

Roxanne

My brother and his wife bought a new camper a few years ago.  They have one son.  My nephew, Caleb.   They decided that the camper is too big for their needs.   Caleb’s “room” has FOUR bunks.  There is no reason they need that much space.  So, they decided to go back to the dealership where they bought the camper in the first place and see about getting a smaller camper with a larger bathroom and a smaller room for Caleb.

They ask for the same salesperson they had last time and find out that she is now a manager, but she was happy to come out and talk with them.  She and another salesperson were “helping” my brother and sister-in-law.  The other sales rep first showed them a camper that appeared as if it would blow away in the wind.  They explained to the sales rep exactly what they wanted.   She then showed them a camper that was way bigger than what they have now.  My brother again told her they are looking to downsize because the camper they have is too big for just the 3 of them.  She then tried to get them to run a credit check to see what they will “qualify for”.  My brother told her there is no sense in having her run his credit report unless they find a camper they like at the price they like.   She insisted that they sign papers.  NO – my brother insisted.  Not until we find what we want.

My brother and sister-in-law ended up just walking out of the dealership and were getting in their vehicle when the sales lady came running out and said “Where are you going?”  I have other campers I want to show you.  My brother laughed at her and said “You told us that the one that was larger than ours was our only other option.  Where did this new camper come from?”  She tried backpeddling and saying that she just wanted them to take a look at one more, etc…

They left and are keeping their camper for another year.

In this so-called recession, people aren’t buying campers on a regular basis.  So how can this dealership justify treating people who come in there wanting to buy like that?  They know what my brother’s credit looks like.  They know he would qualify for whatever loan he needed.  There was no call for the salesperson treating them like that.

What is your attitude toward people?  Are you too pushy?  Do you alienate people like this salesperson did?  This person was so focused on her commission from the bigger camper that she didn’t even listen to what her customers wanted.  Don’t be so desperate for a sale that you will push away someone who is ready to buy.  Don’t be so desperate for a sale that you don’t listen to what your potential customers want.

YOU Deserve Success!!

Roxanne

I love my MP3 player.  It’s a Creative Zen V Plus.  Tiny little thing, so it’s great to put in my pocket.

I have a ton of audio books and audio trainings on my mp3 player that I have not had time to listen to.  The other day I was getting ready to mow the lawn and decided to grab my MP3 player and go to work.  It takes about an hour to mow the front lawn.  Many of my audios are right around and hour or longer.  Well…I mowed the front lawn, did the trim and didn’t want to quit yet so I mowed the side yards and mowed around the perimiter of the back yard.  The audio I was listening to was done so I quit for the day.   Next time the rain stops, I will grab my MP3 player and finish the back yard.

What an awesome little gadget.  I take it everywhere.  I learn while driving (I have a little gadget that allows me to play my MP3 player through the radio).  I learn while sitting in waiting rooms.  I learn while mowing the yard. I learn while doing dishes.  I learn while sweeping, mopping and vacuuming.  It’s great.

If you don’t have an MP3 player or iPod, you should get one.  They are awesome!!

Roxanne