Posts Tagged leadership

In this post I have the audio recording with me interviewing Debbra Sweet. This is part one to the interview, with the possibility of a part two of the interview the day we can conduct an interview. She goes into detail on what leadership is, how it can be implemented in business, and why network marketers and small business owners alike need to apply it to their business for success.

To listen to this interview, click on this link. If you have problems accessing the interview, be sure to email me at sheldon.marketing@yahoo.com.

Let’s face it, when it comes to selling products to customers, we tend to spoil them a lot. Us as network marketers tend to give them total control, to the point where they are the bosses of us. Whatever the prospect says or does goes, which is what we do and what we’re taught at times from MLM companies. It gets to the point where, no matter what, network marketers start thinking that they need people to buy their products, and to join their primary opportunities.

That is far from the truth. We don’t need prospects; they need us. They aren’t in control of us, but we do give them that control. We let prospects ask all the questions and put the pressure on us. But that’s not how it should be. If you’re looking to be a leader, you don’t give prospects any authority to be in control.

By giving prospects the ability to be in control and asking all the questions to you makes you look weak. You can’t expect to get sales by just answering all of their questions. The reason why is that you’re not able to find out more about the prospects and their needs, and because then the prospect gets to decide for themselves if your product or company is right for them.

Let me give you an example of an experience where I was the prospect of a network marketer. Me I ask a lot of questions for I want to know what I’m about to get into is right for me, so I had a giant list of questions to ask the network marketer I was contacting.  I went through every single question and jotted down her answers on a notepad. Sure enough, she didn’t ask me any questions back at all. To add to that her answers were very long and broad. I had control of the whole conversation, and could have easily taken the conversation wherever I wanted to.

I was in control of if I wanted anything to do with the company or not, so the time she took answering the questions I asked was a waste of her time if I would of said no at the end. I could of lead her on for a long time with her possibly begging for me to join if she was desperate for new distributors, but I didn’t for I’m not type of person that expects to get everything he wants.

If you have that “I need prospects” mentally, and give that to everyone that you talk about your primary opportunity to, they can easily suck the life out of you. Some prospects test network marketers to see if they are strong or weak. The weak give prospects everything they need and want in order to make a decision, including brochures, compensation plans, free samples, etc. The strong find out first if the prospects are even worthy of giving them the information they ask for in the first place.

To put it in more perspective, the strong find out if prospects are worth their time. In order to find that out, you asks the prospects the questions, not them. You don’t have a lot of time to answer prospect’s questions all day long. By asking them the right questions from the start, you can find out within the first few minutes if the conversation should continue further. If prospects are being rude or sounding hostile when you ask them questions, end the conversation.  You don’t need rude or short-tempered people taking up your valuable time.

If a prospect asks you a question, always end the answer with a question of your own, or answer the question with a question of your own. That way you can still be in control of the conversation, and you can take the pressure off of you. Most importantly, you can take notes to what the prospect tells you in order to discover red flags or buying signals. Remember in network marketing, you’re in business, not your prospects. Run your business the way you want to run it. Never let anyone run it for you.

Like a lot of people currently in network marketing, they may not have the big budget to advertise. However, a big budget isn’t needed. In the times we live in now, people don’t care of pretty advertisements. They care about substance, which means info worth of value.

A lot of people are on Facebook. I’m on Facebook as well and I use it for networking with other people involved in network marketing, business, marketing or leadership. You can find my profile by clicking here.  With many people using Facebook today, it’s a great site to build relationships for no money down at all.  What makes this site a good place to network is that there is a mature crowd of people involved in business. Also, since Facebook is against spamming and is quick to ban user’s accounts that do so, you’ll less likely to run into that problem.

If you use it right, you’ll have a list of prospects that’ll be looking at what you have to offer. In this post I’ll explain briefly to you two tips you can use to get started using Facebook now if you haven’t done so already, or what you can start doing if you’re using Facebook now.

First Tip: Create a fan page With a fan page, you can promote and position yourself as a leader and expert in your field. I recommend you create a fan page when you have a friend’s list of 1,000 or more. However, for example, if you know there’s a demand on what you have to offer, then create one sooner if you like. With a fan page you can easily update your fans of everything you do, from posting video or articles, to announcing special offers and promotions. The possibilities are endless.

Second Tip: Create a group Having your own group positions you as a leader as well, which is a huge plus. For in a group you’re looking to work together with people in sharing ideas and strategies. Fortunately, from what I’ve witnessed, a lot of groups have several people posting their primary opportunities. You have a chance to separate your group from others by offering value and staying engaged with group members. If you can help your group members out in any way, they’ll want your help always, and will eventually purchase what you have to offer.

I recommend that you promote both your fan page and your group in every place that you can, including email signatures, business cards, email newsletter, etc. Also, on the Fan Page you can promote what you have to offer occasionally as a reminder to your fans, but don’t do it often otherwise people will look at that, as all you’re trying to do is sell them something. In your group don’t try to promote what you have to offer at all. Groups are meant for helping one another out, not to promote your products or services. If group members want to know what you have to offer, they will ask.

For the people that have read my series of making attraction marketing work for you, you know already the reasons people make themselves miss out on million dollar opportunities from part 1, and the three tips to help you take action on making attraction marketing work on part 2. If you haven’t read them yet, I highly suggest you read part 1 and part 2 first before reading part 3 of this series.

Several people could be making tons of money, but since they don’t do the little things they should be doing, they’re missing out. Organizing their important information, following up with leads, blogging, sending event invitations, and giving value to people who do business with them are among some of the things people aren’t doing. But sometimes, in order to get someone to take action, they have to have the dream and vision that they can achieve it. For the few that dream of being a millionaire, they have the drive, and they focus on keeping that drive.

In order to take action on achieving success, kick your vision into high gear. Some people, including myself, are motivated off of where we’re going. You have to have faith to know that what you want is going to happen. 90% of what you do starts with the mind, so have that right mindset, and think big. You can’t have the attitude that you’ll never achieve success. If you speak it or think it, that’s what you’ll receive.

Now we aren’t always consistent in keeping the vision alive. We want things right now, and sometimes we treat network marketing like a get money quick opportunity. There are some days you’ll have doubt, or feel like giving up. I’ve had those days, but what keeps me going is that if I threw in the towel, then I have no choice but to go back to the corporate world to work under a boss. I never want to go back there, and I have too much vision of big things that I believe for, and many places I want to go. So that’s why I work hard knowing I will get what I believe in.

Now if you like to start making attraction marketing work for you, and build your MLM home based business, then it all starts with you. In this blog post I’ve highlighted three more things you should start doing in addition to the three tips I’ve providing in part 2. If you’ve doing these three things I’m about to explain, then good keep at it. For everyone else, here are the three things you can do:

Get three to five pictures of where you would like to be in the future- Photos can really tell you a lot. When you look at nice looking pictures, what comes in your mind mostly? To some, they think of them as nice places to be at someday. Find some pictures from magazines or online and print them out. They can be pictures of big piles of cash, your dream car, your dream home, a nice place you like to take a vacation at, etc. When you have those photos, make sure you post them on your wall, and never let them out of you sight. To get what you want, you have to see that you’re there already.

Write down goals based on time span- You need to have some goals in place. Without goals, you lose focus, and you forget what you’re working for. You should have six-month goals, one-year goals, five-year goals, and ten-year goals. The types of goals you have can range from how much money you like to be making monthly in a year, to the customized home that you’re looking to build and own. Write them down, and post those with your pictures on the wall. Never leave them out of sight.

Read books on being wealthy and leadership- No matter how busy your schedule is, you need to add reading to your schedule. That’s where you acquire new knowledge that you can apply to your current business. There’s something about reading that takes people out of a hectic schedule and into a more peaceful relaxed setting. A lot of people, including me, will tell you one of the best books to read would be “Think and Grow Rich” from Napoleon Hill. This book provides good information on what it’s like to think big, and accomplish the near impossible from having the vision and mindset. If you like a good book on leadership in network marketing, I recommend “Magnetic Sponsoring” from Mike Dillard.

There you go. You have three tips of getting yourself motivated to take action. If you’re taking action on achieving success already, then reading this will motivate you to take even more action to accomplish your dreams. Now get out there and dream big people.

This is another topic that is simple but very crucial to success as a leader. If you’re in MLM, and you’re looking to use brand marketing to position yourself as a leader and be of value to others, you must read this. With it you’ll know what to look out for and achieve success.

In one of my last blog posts on having vision, I pointed out that average leaders are able to get tasks done, lead others effectively, but can sometimes let distractions hinder their progress. While effective leaders don’t let distractions effect them. They remain focused on the prize. They’re racing to the top, jumping over pits and sharp obstacles, until they reach the top of success.

Now you’re maybe wondering about my headline on how I said fear killers. What are fear killers exactly? First off I’ll explain what they do. Fear killers are people who try and talk you out of your goals, dreams, and tasks. They are people who may also manipulate and do things to hinder your progress.

For example, it’s the third week since you launched a attraction marketing project to generate at least fifty clients a week, and generate $1,000,000 in profits every month you and your MLM team. One day you’re just extremely tired and feel overworked, but the thought of reaching your goals keep you energized. You come home to your family, and they see how tired you are. Your wife/husband is telling you “I don’t understand why you’re doing this project. It’s wearing you out, you don’t have as much time for me anymore, and you need to get back to reality.” You get on the phone with one of your friends, and he/she is saying “You’re too busy to hang out with me now. Stop working all the time. You have no life.” Even worse, two of your downline members email you telling you they quit the business, saying the project and the business “Are a waste of time.”

Things like this happens, especially when you have extreme huge goals that you’re trying to achieve. And as the example tells you, fear killers are people closest to you. They can be friends, family, your girlfriend/boyfriend, network marketers in your team, etc. As a leader you have to watch out, for sometimes those closest to you will say they support what you do, but then softly suggest to your that you need to take a break or quit trying to achieve your goals completely. Then you should say something like, “I understand what you’re saying, but to reach my goals I have to keep pursuing. I have to keep working at this to make it work. “

Some of those people, mainly friends, you will have to remove out of your life. It’s not worth hearing the negative energy or suggestions they have. I removed some people out of my life that were fear killers, and because of that I can accomplish more. As an effective leader, you’re not part of the crowd, you stand out. You’re destined to accomplish what the average person can’t do. Some people can’t handle that, are struggling themselves financially, and will try and bring you down in order to make them happy. This is a simple but overlooked tip. You may have people in your life hindering you now.  Either remove them out of your life, or ignore their suggestions. They can easily make you miss out on a million dollar opportunity.

For everyone that’s been reading my blog on attraction marketing, you’re in for a real treat. Last week I interviewed a professional that’s been using attraction marketing through the course of her business and has achieved lots of success from it. Her name is Kay Hebbourn, and I hope for everyone that reads this interview will find it enlightening to hear what she has to say.

Interview 11/17/2009

Sheldon Alexander: What is your professional background?

Kay Hebbourn: I started life as a nurse when nursing, but then was a co-director of the Lake Land College and learned some marketing there. I was also getting into personal development. I was teaching and training in personal development, and was teaching and training in business start up. I did a lot of business coaching throughout that time. I learned attraction marketing as a student at Lake Land College. I thought that at that time I was doing very well, but that there was more for me out there. Then I started setting up community websites, and learned how to generate money quickly without putting in so much effort. I knew I could start a career in attraction marketing, and told the company I was a part of that I wanted to post my resignation. I knew I was doing very well locally and nationally through my teaching and coaching, but then was ready to take that leap to go internationally, so I then jumped in Internet marketing. I’m currently doing a project with three other people, and am excited about what impact we are going to make in the Internet marketing industry.

SA: In your words define attraction marketing?

KH: Attraction marketing is about what you feel about yourself. For what you feel about yourself will be reflected and others will get that. If you feel good about yourself you don’t have to be better than anyone else. If you feel good about yourself, you would want others to feel that way as well. You’ll automatically be that person people want to be around. Most people don’t have the courage to truly be themselves and if you can do that, and people catch up on it, they will want to follow you and you can make millions of dollars. The one thing about attraction marketing is that we have to take a risk, to put our money where our mouth is, and to prove to the universe that we’re actually committed to what we say that we believe.

SA: How long have you been using attraction marketing for your business?

KH: 15 Years

SA: What obstacles did you go through before you were able to see results?

KH: A lesson I learned was there been times in my business where I was so busy that I couldn’t keep up. And I was thinking to myself, my goodness I can’t keep up just slow down. And then things did slow down. Then I was going in panic and was like what am I doing wrong? Why aren’t people coming back to me? However, I realized that as things slowed down I could be able to recuperate. In order to give to people I need time for myself. I need to slow down and meditate and learn more about myself. There are times then I can come up with the next innovation, and trust the process.

SA: Why did you start using attraction marketing? What was the turning point at which you decided to try this method of marketing?

KH: I worked as a nurse and worked as a nurse teacher, and then studied alternative medicine. The teachers there that I worked with were teaching attraction marketing long before it was even called attraction marketing. So I learned it from the beginning. One person I worked with, Ian Watson, had a class where he taught attraction marketing, and it was the first class I took in order to learn more about it. So that was my first act of entrepreneurship.

SA: What marketing methods do you or have you used in the past that was most effective?

KH: Externally I did all sorts of press releases, flyers, ads, and everything else. But from what I learned, it’s about mindset that makes the difference. Equally when your mindset is in the right place you know how to do things well, and it’ll reflect on what you do externally. So there’s been times when I said I’m going to get 30 clients a week, or 50 clients a week, and would let my mindset trust that I’ll be capable of reaching my goals, and it happened. It depended on what I needed based on my time and energy. There were times where I felt depleted, and so I would take time off and hope my clients would do good even though I was taking time off.

SA: Yeah agreed, you have to have some time off from your clients in order to work on yourself. Just like what I read from Client Attraction by Fabienne Fredrickson, you should work with clients three days, and take about three to four days off to work on your business or relax.

KH: Yes that’s true you need to have a real balance in your inner spiritual journey, your inner personal journey, the part where you’re working on your business, a time where you’re working with your clients. Then there’s time for your friends and family, and other people that matter to you. However, you should ever neglect yourself.

SA: Why do you think a lot of people don’t want to use Attraction Marketing to boost their business?

KH: Because we’ve grown up with the belief that the external stuff (advertising, flyers, press releases) is what counts most. For example, the people in sales haven’t been taught attraction marketing. They teach you how to do things. They think they can use the leverage of the Internet to make a fortune, and that’s not going to work out for them. They don’t teach us how to be ourselves. We’re not human doings. We’re human beings. That’s the difference between self-confidence, and what I can do. Self-esteem is who I am, so what people try to do is compensate for their low self-esteem and just do do do to make up for the lack of who they are. The best people you need to be around are people that make you feel good about yourself. They know they’re great, and they try to make other people feel good.

SA: In regards to the network marketing industry, what do you think is lacking in the people that sign up and get involved in MLM?

KH: What is really lacking in people is not taking a genuine interest in helping newbies. What’s really lacking are people really meaning what they say when they tell people they sponsor “Look I’m going to hold your hand. I’m going to take you above the jungle. I care deeply about your business. I’m going to really support you and do the very best I can to make sure you’re a success.” Many people say they’ll help you get your business off the ground only to leave you behind and lost. You’re really going to meet very few people that will really help new people to get their business off the ground. I don’t want a relationship with Aweber; I want a relationship with a real human being.

SA: That’s how it is in network marketing, If network marketers realized that it’s the people under them that makes the real money for them, then they would help them more. Do you agree?

KH: Absolutely.

SA: Cause like if you personally get one hundred people sponsored under you, and you make $200 for every person, that’s $20,000 you made. But if they’re not producing, then that’s basically all you’ll get, for all those people will quit knowing nobody helped them out.

KH: Definitely. But if you have fifty people, you take time to help them out, and help them to achieve success; they are going to talk about you. So whatever books, seminars, and products you put out from there, people are going to say aha, this person is great. They will tell the people they know about your future products and services, and encourage them to purchase or attend your seminars. When you do something for someone, you’ll receive back one hundred fold.

SA: Very true I agree. How important do you think it is to have effective leadership qualities in Network Marketing?

KH: It depends on what level you’re working on. If you are looking to manage a team then leadership is crucial. Internet Marketing you can be a one-man band and can tackle it on your own. But if you’re working with a team then you really need leadership qualities.

SA: Where do you see the Network Marketing industry going? Do you see more people looking to learn more about branding themselves?

KH: We’ve come from a capitalist culture in the past. Some companies survived and some haven’t. Some people have become wealthy and many people are hungry. It’s a time of change for us to see what happens next. I don’t know what’s to come in the future. What I would love to see happen, however, is that wealth be spread around the world, and that people would help each other change.

SA: Yes change is very important in the industry. With the success that you’ve had from using Attraction Marketing, how do you plan to use it now to help others in need?

KH: I can’t really describe my current plans right now. I’m working with Nick Mitchell and Paul Brooks, Simon Dawes, and Ashley Smith on a huge project. Except to see something quite amazing.

SA: Is there anything else you would like to say in regards to our interview? Anything you like to tell the people that are reading this?

KH: Advice to newbies. When you choosing a company or somebody to work with, make sure there’s a really person that is a human being, that is willing to give you time, and cares about you, your business, and your willingness to reach your goals. More advice is to once you made a choice to a company it is not the company’s products that you’re selling. You are selling yourself. Having said that, The one thing you should do as a newbie is not get distracted. There are a lot of things out there that will keep you off focus. Stay focused on your goals; keep your eye on the prize. If you want to get successful you got to be successful.

To learn more about Kay Hebbourn and her attraction marketing services, check out her website at http://www.whoiskayhebbourn.com.

You may hear from a lot of people that skills and having good technique will help you to become successful in business, but it’s much more than that. I was listening to an audio book today while working out at the gym, and it was telling me about what most people think in their minds when it comes to business is illusional.

A lot of people focus on what it looks like, instead of the end results they can receive from hanging in there. Examples of what it looks like are: no generating the amount of leads in a day that they would of liked, receiving rejection from prospects, not a lot of people showing up to your business event at first, etc.

What I also learned today is that 90% of what takes place comes from the mind first, and 10% is from taking action. Your mind thinks about 2,000-3,000 different things a day on average. It’s very easy to cloud your mind with endless thoughts, and ending up not getting anything done.

When you wake up in the morning your main focus should be your tasks for the day. You should write down everyday what you need to get done the next day. Write down at least five things you need to get done the next day, and remember that your day doesn’t end until all five things are done that day, no matter what it takes.

How would you like it if you got paid just form providing value to your prospects? How about in such a way that you’re top ranked in popular search engines like Google, you’re known everywhere based on your content, to the point where you’re generating endless leads.

Trust me this is all possible. But if you’re one of those people that has been pitching your business opportunity to your prospects whether it’s through word of mouth, or through wall posts on Facebook, it’s time for you to stop. You’re probably one of those people that’s struggling to even get one lead this way.

I see it happen all the time on Facebook, and on Twitter. People post links to their sales pages, but don’t realize that the people they’re sending it to either are already part of a different business, or they’re already part of their opportunity that they’re promoting. Worst off, posting the same content over and over again makes them look like spammers, which prospects resent.

If you don’t want to be a part of the 98% of Network Marketers that struggle in the industry, set yourself apart and provide content that targets your specific audience. The type of content can include: articles, blogs, videos, charts, documents, step by step instructions, etc. In order for you to generate leads and profits, you must learn to give. Givers always receive ten times the fortune for what they provide.

If you don’t know what to provide, start educating yourself through reading books and courses, and then apply what you learned to your audience. The few Network Marketers that are doing it this way are getting the big time profits, and are leaders of their primary business. Now it’s time for you to be one of those people.

Why are some people that take the position of a leader not effective leaders? Why is when these type of people, who try to take on that leadership role, end up causing everything to fall apart? But then how are some people able to lead others and effortlessly keep everything in order? There are many reasons why some are ineffective leaders and some are very effective leaders. But in this blog post I’m going to cover one area.

The reason why some leaders are ineffective are because they think if it as a manager position. There’s a difference between the two. Managers give orders and commands to employees to what they need to do, give them deadlines, and make sure they follow the rules of the company. Some leaders are bossy, and try to use their leadership role to order people around, which can cause problems. However, a leader inspires people through their posture, characteristics, confidence, enthusiasm, and, most importantly, willingness to serve others. That’s right, the good leaders are servants to the people. They are willing to be inspirational in serving the people.

An example quote I found explains it very well: “There go the people. I must follow them for I am their leader.” – Alexandre Ledru-Rollin. Read that quote and analyze it. For it has meaning to what I’m saying. There are people out there that are struggling in business, people that are struggling with personal problems, and people who need direction to improve the different aspects of their life. Especially in the multi level marketing industry, there’s a lot of people, 98% of Network Marketers to be exact, that need direction. They need to find out the right way on how to generate leads, bring in traffic, communicate with prospects, get them to take action, and convert them into customers or team members.

After bringing these people in, network marketers that take on the leadership role need to teach their downline on how to also become effective leaders and use the same principles to serve the people they come across. Being a leader can take you far when you serve the people and inspire them. So for everyone that’s reading this post, if you’ve been trying to pitch your products and services, telling people what they need to do instead of inspiring them, then it’s time for you to get off that detour and take on the path of being a effective leader. The world needs leaders. If you got what it takes, then take action.