Why most financial professionals just don't get it when it comes to social networking

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Four Key Reasons Most Financial Professionals Don't "Get It" When It Comes To Social Networking

Most of the Financial Professionals I have talked to seem to be saying the same thing: "I really don't get this social networking thing". Well if you don't get it, my strong suggestion is...YOU BETTER GET IT!

Why? Because there are two things we know to be true:

1. PEOPLE TALK

2. WE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE TALKING THESE DAYS

All you have to do is take a look at these eye-opening growth statistics and you can clearly see why this new opportunity for your business simply cannot be overlooked or ignored:

Facebook has over 300 Million users, and about 600,000 join every day

50% of Facebook users are online every single day
The two fastest growing segments are people ages 35 to 55 and women ages 50 and older

LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter have over 150 Million users
Twitter's growth rate is currently over 750%

IT JUST MAKES SENSE:

If you take a look at the business relationships you treasure the most, they mainly consist of your family, friends, loved ones, co-workers and many other people who directly or indirectly support the growth of your business. The truth is that one of the key ingredients to a successful business is the ability to build and maintain high-quality, meaningful, and credible relationships with their clients and within their community. I'm sure this sounds familiar, because THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING!

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS?

If used properly, social networking becomes an excellent supplemental marketing strategy, serving as the perfect complement to your existing business plan. The reason why is because it is an extremely low-cost way to expose yourself and your business to the most popular places on the Internet, which directly connects you to the various communities, organizations, and groups that you care about.

From what I can conclude, there are essentially five key benefits:

1. Increase your business exposure and visibility

2. Improve your reputation and credibility

3. Increase brand identity and recognition

4. Enhance awareness of your products or services

5. Provide the opportunity to build a network of people and see this network exponentially growth...because PEOPLE TALK are constantly hearing from and talking about YOU

NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS:

Many studies, including ones in which I have personally conducted, prove that most financial professionals simply don't have what they need to be truly successful in Social Networking, and I have broken all of these details that should hopefully help each of us:

FOUR KEY REASONS MOST FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS MAY NEVER REALLY "GET IT"

1. DESIRE:

Most financial professionals enjoy doing key things in their spare time that they are passionate about, such as their careers, hobbies, family, faith, sports, traveling, or whatever makes them genuinely happy.
Surveys show that Social Networking is at the bottom of this list of passions.
Most professionals today lack the time, skills, and most importantly, the inclination (or that "burning desire") to build, cultivate, and maintain a successful social network...particularly on an ongoing basis. In other words, this is not something most financial professionals "choose to do", but rather they feel like the "have to do it".
Every Social Network expert will tell you that success is largely driven in social networking through your ability to constantly offer new, valuable, and useful information and ideas. In fact, this is by far, their biggest challenge in working with their clients, since most don't have enough content and materials to continuously educate your social networks.
The reality is that most financial professionals are not gifted or skilled writers or editors, not only for their own industry, but particularly in designing pieces that fit well within the guidelines and purposes of social networks
Also, most financial professionals are not familiar with exactly what to write about, what topics to write about, how often to write about new topics, and how often to submit this information to these networks.
2. TECHNOLOGY:

Studies prove that most professionals who are 40 years old or older are at a big disadvantage, mainly because we didn't grow up in the "computer era". Therefore, we were never afforded the luxury of growing up in their early years to capitalize on the advent of the Internet and the every-growing capabilities of computers and technology.
The reason this makes this particularly challenging for most financial professionals is because most social experts will tell you Social Networking requires at least 10-15 hours of work each week, along with the aforementioned high level of computer and Internet skills.
Purchasing and maintaining all of this technology and computer equipment can be very expensive, as it almost always includes things like training, software, security, database backup, tech support, etc.
There is a never-ending need and requirement to ensure you are constantly staying updated on the newest and most innovative state-of-the-art technologies, which can also add to additional time, expenses, and training.
These social networks are growing exponentially in size and complexity. In fact, today there are over 70 Social Networking websites. This poses two big challenges:
1. It makes it much more difficult to keep up with all of the latest technologies associated with each social network, like blogging, tweeting, uploading, scanning, managing databases, navigating software, keyword tagging, search engine optimization, filtering spam and viruses, and much more.

2. It becomes vitally important that you know which of these Social Networks are worthwhile for you and your business, and which ones are not a good fit. This is an extremely important, and yet often overlooked, point about the number of social networks you belong to.


Many financial professional think they need to be involved in "as many of these networks as possible so they can get the most exposure" when it fact, the reality is the most important focus should be on the quality of these social networks...and NOT the quantity"!
3. INTEGRATION:

If you can believe this, even though most of us have heard of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and maybe a few others, there are approximately 70 different Social Networking websites today...and growing by leaps and bounds!
The good news is that this has brought about many new strategies and cutting-edge technologies that are specifically designed to help integrate and coordinate these social networks...which essentially allows them all to be able to "talk to each other", and share information. This is being made available because it helps to minimize your efforts to send a message out to multiple networks, and also attempts to eliminate mass-duplication of content.
The bad news is that, with the exception of a tiny minority, most financial professionals are simply not interested (or capable) of investing the time, training, resources, to keep pace with all these new tools.
The other harsh reality is that most financial professionals simply don't have the time, desire, and/or the quick and easy access to keep up with all of these new tools that can help them coordinate their efforts among this wide range of social networks.
One thing we know for sure is that one of the most critical ingredients to Social Networking success is making sure each of your multiple networks are working in harmony together, saying the same message at the same time. Given the current and future levels of growth in these networks and technology, this dramatically decreases the probability that financial professionals are likely to create the best possible results from these social networks unless they are all simultaneously working together.
4. TIME

The truth is Financial Professionals are not any different from other professionals. They too have a huge struggle to find that "perfect" balance between their everyday life events such as their career, marriage, friends, social events, kids and their multiple events, health and fitness, hobbies, sports, email, etc.
Today's difficult economic environment has clearly played a big factor in making it even more challenging for Financial Professionals to find that "proper" balance in our lives between family, work, and other "life events". These restrictions even further limit our ability to set aside a few hours each day to work on these social networks.
The harsh reality is that Social Networking requires a serious and dedicated effort and many hours of your personal time every day as a result of these sophisticated networks, technologies, and constant communication with a large number of changing people.
Among some of the extremely time-consuming Social Networking tasks are: regularly writing emails/blogs/tweets/updates, constantly creating target marketing campaigns, joining a large number of groups and networks, contributing regular and valuable information to these groups and networks, learning how to adapt to unique groups of people, regularly researching and provide new and current content, closely monitoring and managing an increasing group of friends or followers, working in harmony with the many different social networks, keeping up-to-date with the newest and most innovative technologies, etc.
IS EVERY FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL DOOMED FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING FAILURE?

Of course not! However, unless you are one of the rare few financial professionals with an extensive background in technology, a vast array, access, and the ability to keep updated with the newest and most innovative technology tools and resources, an extensive understanding of all these 70+ social networks, and which one is right for you, a large amount of free time, and a burning passion to become a social networking expert, your best bet is to choose one of two routes:

1. Set your expectations low, work at often as you can, and just have fun.

2. An alternative is to seek the help of the wide array of social networking companies who can help do the large majority of this for you. This frees up much of your time, gives you the ability to maximize your results and efficiencies, and can also dramatically expand your social network and business opportunities.

MY PERSONAL SOCIAL NETWORKING STORY:

I decided to take advantage of the second option above. I hired a professional company who does this for a small monthly fee. Like many of you, I am busy and cheap, so my focus was on paying a small monthly cost, having NO long-term commitment, and having almost all of the work done for me. And so far, I have been extremely pleased with the professional support and progress I have made!

Granted I've only been doing this for about two months now, but if you look at the number of connections I have made, the people I have been introduced to or connected with, and the people that have contacted me, it is truly amazing. Other benefits include joining multiple networks of people and groups, "branding" my name/firm/products/services, and also developing partnerships and relationships that are extremely valuable.

HOW DID I FIND THE "RIGHT" PROFESSIONAL HELP?

I performed extensive research on what types of professional Social Networking Companies are out there today, and who are among the industry leaders. I looked at everything including cost, contractual commitments, what would be required on my part, and what could I expect. I finally chose a company when I saw an impressive interview with their President on Fox News who worked as a Business Coach and Social Media Specialist for major celebrities and corporations for over 25 years..

I strongly suggest if you decide to seek professional help that, like I was, you do some extensive research on your own. With the geometric growth potentials that lie ahead in this great new business opportunity, this is an extremely important decision. Or, in an effort to save you valuable time, I am happy to provide each of you the findings of my results, the company I am currently using, as well as several companies I would also suggest you look into, and which I feel comfortable recommending. So by all means, please don't hesitate to call or email me if I can help in any way.

I hope I was able to help you see why most Financial Professionals not only "don't get it", but even if they think they do, it is very unlikely they are "getting the most out of it". And if you go back and reread everything I talked about above, it should be very easy to understand why most financial professionals are simply not cut out for this kind of stuff...for a wide variety of reasons.

I can honestly tell you that for me personally, this whole Social Networking world has opened my eyes to a new way of growing my business that has extended far beyond my wildest dreams. And the truth is, just a few months ago I really "didn't get it" at all.

So the morale of the story is this; most financial professionals are just like me. They don't really "get" how social networking TRULY works, they probably never will, and their best bet is to work with a professional. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

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That each financial institution should know about social networking

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The aim of any business is to be successful and profitable throughout the lifetime of the organization. The evolution of communication technology in recent years has helped make this possible by improving a business's ability to network with its existing and potential customers. What once required face-to-face conversations and the physical exchange of contact information can now be done in an entirely virtual environment with just a click of a button.

Advances in communication technology, such as texting, blogging, emailing, media sharing and gaming, have created new social norms and revolutionized the way people communicate. It is no wonder, then, that the financial services industry is beginning to use various forms of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) to enhance customer service and improve current products and services. The most popular form of CMC are social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn, which are used primarily to maintain or build connections among users.

Social networking sites represent a large market with tremendous growth potential that can be easily targeted by financial institutions if they know how to use these sites to their advantage. Like many organizations that have already experienced the benefits of using social networking sites to enhance their business, financial institutions are beginning to understand and embrace the power of social networking as it relates to their day-to-day business activities as well. Whether educating customers on new services, boosting customer confidence, increasing sales outreach or personally connecting with their customers to meet their banking needs - social networking is a vital communication tool that financial institutions can utilize in many of their customer business interactions.

Understanding Social Networking

Social networking is a form of collaboration and networking where individuals develop groups and associations, often forming a virtual community. While social networking is possible in a face-to-face setting, such as on a college campus, it is most often seen online in a CMC environment. The size and popularity of the "communities" created by MySpace and Facebook and other social networking websites have experienced substantial growth as more and more people invite their acquaintances, co-workers, friends and family members into these virtual communities.

The traditional roles of the sender and receiver involve delivering messages in a clear and concise way and providing feedback to achieve agreement of a particular subject. Social networking uses these same basic building blocks but accomplishes the end results in a slightly different way. The cues that help facilitate understanding in a face-to-face environment (e.g., intonation of voice, body language, facial expressions, physical distance, etc.) are often removed in a social networking environment. Though some websites offer an audio visual element, social networking is largely text-based, relying on "digital gestures" to demonstrate emotions and add emphasis to a message, such as:

? Forwarding.

? Recommending.

? Sharing.

? Tagging.

Social Networking Applications for Business

Networking has always been a key success factor in the business world. Networking involves linking together individuals who, through trust and relationship building, become walking, talking advertisements for one another. Traditional networking often takes place face-to-face at business lunches, conferences or exhibitions, where people are able to meet and establish mutually beneficial working relationships.

Online social networking offers many of the same benefits as traditional networking, while allowing bankers to more easily network with the average consumer as well as with their colleagues in the financial industry. Used appropriately, online social networking offers businesses the opportunity to develop meaningful, long-lasting customer relationships.

A study of the banking industry and the ways in which several banks' board members networked with others showed that though these professionals are interested in using networking to secure new customers and to maintain and develop existing customer relationships, they also want to use networking to represent their banks in community, professional and trade organizations and to procure market trends and competitive information.

To achieve the goals identified in this study, board members and other bank employees must first understand what social networking is and how it can be used to position their banks above others in the industry. If properly trained, these employees can use social networking to achieve their banks' organizational goals and place their banks in the top positions in the industry in the following five ways:

? Community building.

? Product research.

? Customer service.

? Marketing and promotion.

? Transparency.

Social networking is currently being used to bolster the reputations of the financial institutions that use it, providing information both internally and externally. This type of information sharing builds consumer confidence and helps employees understand the importance of their roles within their banks and how they should strive to achieve the highest standard of customer service.

Challenges of Social Networking in the Workplace

One of the first challenges of integrating social networking with the workplace is helping employees understand the importance of using this technological tool. The next challenge is in addressing the training needs of the organization to bring all employees up-to-speed on the etiquette, functionality and general norms of such a medium. This means determining who will be maintaining the websites, how end users will experience the websites, and how policies and procedures concerning social networking will be shared, and with whom inside of the organization. And finally, relationship management in a virtual environment poses a challenge. This last challenge should be a primary focus when implementing a social networking-friendly policy or procedure.

A great deal of the CMC that occurs in social networking happens through what has become known as Social Information Processing (SIP) theory. The theoretician who first introduced SIP, Joseph Walther, stated that the nature of relationships created online can be drastically different from those established in person, particularly when individuals act differently than they would in a non-virtual environment. While Walther acknowledged that the rate at which these relationships are formed may change over time as individuals become more familiar with the technology, he argued that relationships in a CMC environment would take up to four times longer to establish.

To counter this potential limitation, banks might seek to make use of the theory of attribution, which states that individuals link observed behaviors of others with causal explanations to help them understand what type of people they are communicating with. The time to develop relationships can be shortened using attribution theory because bankers can use their observations to make product or service recommendations based on needs that they have established.

Using Social Networking to Connect with Customers

Though social networking poses its own challenges, it can also be used to overcome other challenges that banks may face. For example, social networking allows financial institutions to boost consumer confidence, increase sales, and strengthen customer relationships, which are all areas of concern as they can give a bank a competitive edge over others in the banking industry.

When consumer confidence is low and distrust of the banking industry is high, particularly in times of economic crisis, social networking has allowed for greater transparency and has opened up a conversation with consumers. The public forum created by websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace provide the financial services industry an ability to address customers' banking needs by:

? Acting as a medium for customers to send their questions and concerns to a bank, with immediate feedback from a banking expert.

? Replacing one-sided information dissemination like press releases or bank-sponsored advertisements.

? Reassuring the public of safety and soundness policies and procedures.

? Eliminating skepticism through informative links, text, graphics and audio or visual elements.

? Educating customers about products and services that address specific needs.

Protecting Customer Information

One of the main concerns of financial institutions is the protection of information and financial assets. As technology makes it easier to communicate with people in remote locations or to conduct financial transactions, it also enables thieves to obtain customers' confidential, nonpublic information, putting customers at risk of identity theft and other similar schemes.

Financial institutions have addressed these potential information security breaches by creating Know Your Customer (KYC) programs and prioritizing identity verification and the reporting of suspicious activity. The same precautions and care should be exercised when using social networking websites to ensure that customer information remains protected.

Implications for Legal Compliance and Record Keeping

Once a financial institution's directors and staff understand the implications and proper use of social networking websites, it is important that the institution's policies and procedures be revised to reflect the addition of these new business activities. This ensures that the institution remains in compliance with industry laws and regulations, and it demonstrates to the public that the organization is fair and respectful of customers and employees and that it works to protect its customers' information and financial assets.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently issued a publication that provides guidance to financial institutions regarding the use of social media in their business operations. FINRA Regulatory Notice 10-06 outlines the necessary recordkeeping requirements that financial institutions must abide by and provides guidelines for the supervision of non-static messages sent social networking websites.

Because social networking websites are fairly new and financial institutions are only just beginning to explore their potential uses, the twelve government agencies that control the financial services industry, in addition to other organizations like FINRA, are continuing to develop and amend regulations. For instance, the use of social networking affects advertising requirements for financial institutions, as stated in Regulations Z and DD. It also affects Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) membership, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and non-deposit retail investment and fair lending implications. It is the responsibility of each institution to be aware of current regulations and how their use of these websites affects their compliance current law. Management should also understand the risks of noncompliance and be sure that their policies and procedures are updated to reflect these changes.

Final Word

Financial institutions must consider the risks and rewards of using social networking tools in their everyday business operations, and ensure that these tools conform to policies and legislation, while meeting the needs of their customers. Because customers are the driving force for success in the financial services industry, the key to protecting them is through employee education. It is imperative that bank employees are appropriately trained before and during the use of any type of social networking tool. Understanding how this new form of communication impacts the organization in the long-term can help a financial institution plan for and attain future success, while focusing on keeping customer relationships strong and information and financial assets secure as social networking becomes a more prominent business tool.

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Makes the network marketing offer people a real chance to create financial security and independence

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This unique business has millions of distributors doing billions of pounds in sales annually. It is conducted in nearly 100 countries around the world. It has been praised by leading business people and also by heads of state for boosting the economy. Yet most people in the UK are still totally confused by it.
Network marketing has created many millionaires and spread that excitement to millions more, but just what are the realities of this business?

So what is network marketing?
Network Marketing is based on the concept of 'networking'. We all have a circle of people we know through the circumstances of our daily lives and each of these people will have their own circle of acquaintances, colleagues, family and friends. Network Marketing involves tapping into these networks not only to sell product but also to offer the business opportunity to potential new distributors who then start the process of developing their own networks for selling and recruiting.
In network marketing, services and products are distributed to the final consumers through a network of independently contracted distributors or agents (also known as consultants). These distributors are then financially rewarded in two ways: a) from commissions and overrides from sales generation and b) for their contribution to the building up of the network by getting new 'recruits' to be downline distributors. The network marketing business model works because of the price differential that is generated from the distributor to the consumer. If the recruits of the one you recruited generate sales, you get a percentage of the price differential for the sales, and so on.
Network marketing is usually associated with pyramid or ponzi scams. This is because the main structure of the two models can be quite similar at first glance. However, if one takes a closer look at the models, there is one big and defining difference between them. The main difference between a legal network marketing firm and a pyramid scam is that the first one offers real products and services, the latter only promises opportunities and generates money from the cost of entry of the recruited members. A pyramid scam re-channels the incoming funds from the fees that newly recruited 'members' pays for entering the scheme and does not generate any kind of profits from other endeavors. The masterminds of the scam benefits while leaving most, if not all, of the downlines in financial burdens.
o As the networks widen, so the individual leader benefits not only from their own sales but also a percentage of the sales from their network. As more people join the network, so residual income increases.

o network marketing allows its distributors not only to network outwards in order to sell the product but also to benefit from their downline's downline, either to a limited depth or ad infinitum. However, the two terms tend to be used fairly indiscriminately.

o As with any other home-based business, distributors need to work hard and have courage and determination. Finding a good sponsor is just as important as finding an interesting product and a good compensation plan which offers flexibility and just reward for effort. Contrary to expectation, the newcomer has the same potential for success as the long-term sponsor provided that the necessary research and skills training takes place. It is not necessary to be 'in at the beginning' and in some cases it may prove more difficult and risky to join at the beginning than to join a plan which has reached a more mature phase. Network Marketing is particularly suited to married women with family commitments as it offers them an opportunity to start a business on a part time basis with very little capital. The opportunity now exists for enterprising women to use their talents and the skills gained from motherhood to build businesses based both on selling and on finding and supporting the efforts of others.
There are 2 trends that are driving this industry forward:

a. General shift towards self-employment.

b. People's quest for a better lifestyle - They no longer want to work 40 or 50 hours a week just to pay bills.
For many people Network Marketing is the only way to Create Financial Freedom in the UK today.
One business magazine wrote "Network marketing is so far ahead of the competition when it comes to money and lifestyle that is in a league of its own."
With a traditional career you only get paid for the hours that you work. When you leave your employment your monthly salary stops and all you are left with is experience and perhaps a pension, which is rarely enough to live on. Network marketing is entirely different - Your efforts are multiplied by helping people succeed with their businesses, so that your investment comes back many times over, to create time and financial freedom. The longer you work at it, the easier it becomes. The more you help others become successful, the more successful you become.
"Network marketing offers people an opportunity to build a business of their own, with a small amount of capital, in their own time and with the help of a sponsor who is willing to help them every step of the way". Prime Time Magazine
As you leverage your efforts you create a 'residual income' - by helping enough people become successful. Over time, you can build a truly passive income that keeps paying you long after you have done the work.
Network marketing offers people an opportunity to build a business of their own, with a small amount of capital, in their own time and with the help of a sponsor who is willing to help them every step of the way". Prime Time Magazine
As you leverage your efforts you create a 'residual income' - by helping enough people become successful. Over time, you can build a truly passive income that keeps paying you long after you have done the work.
Consider this-

According to a study conducted in the USA in 1995, 'Out of 100 people who are working at age 25, by the age of 65...
o 63% are dependent on Social Security, friends or relatives

o 29% are dead

o 3% are still working

o 4% have adequate capital for retirement

o 1% are wealthy
Questions normally asked about Network Marketing .
Q.Can Network Marketing be done successfully part-time?
A. Absolutely...it's very common in fact. You can start your Network Marketing business on a part-time basis without giving up your current source of income until your Network Marketing business is generating the income you require. And the best part is that you can continue to operate indefinitely on a part-time basis. What would you do if you were financially independent and most of your time was free to do with as you pleased? This is why so many people are flocking to Network Marketing. And that's why we say that Network Marketing puts the freedom back in free enterprise!
Q. Do I have to sell products door-to-door or hold parties or meetings?
A. No. One of the greatest features of Network Marketing is that success can be achieved using a wide variety of methods. You choose the methods that YOU are comfortable with. Within Tiscali we use amazing internet technologies . No delivering products, no collecting money, no party plan meetings!
Q. Isn't Network Marketing one of those pyramid schemes?
A. Definitely not. Though Network Marketing and pyramid schemes do share some similarities, there's a very important difference that makes the latter illegal.You see, in pyramid schemes, income is generated solely on the process of recruiting others into the pyramid. Sometimes a product or service of questionable value is involved(that is never retailed to the general public by the way), but generally what you're buying is the right to recruit others into the scheme. This is illegal. Also, in pyramid schemes, those who get in first and who are at the top win, while everybody else loses. In a legitimate Network Marketing company, on the other hand, distributors are paid only on product movement; not on recruiting. Both at wholesale and retail. There's also compensation based on the training and managing of your marketing team. And unlike illegal pyramids, in Network Marketing, no matter where you're positioned or when you join, you can advance to the very highest income levels and even make more money than those above you in the network.
Q. I'm not a salesperson, so this probably isn't for me.
A. Actually, studies have shown that people with no sales experience do great in Network Marketing. In fact, the studies show that they often do better than those with previous sales experience. This is because Network Marketing isn't about selling; at least not in the way most people think of selling. There's no place for arm-twisting or high-pressure techniques in Network Marketing. Rather, Network Marketing is simply about sharing the concepts and products of your Network Marketing company that you use and you're excited about.
Q. How much money can I make?
A. The bottom line is you'll get out of it what you put into it. It works...if you do. But that's the beauty of it, too; you are in control; it's up to you how far you take it. And don't forget, the income you create in Network Marketing is residual. This basically means that for the work you do just today, you have the potential to earn money not only for today but for years to come.
Q. What's so important about sponsoring in this business anyway?
A. It's like this... it doesn't matter how intelligent, rich, energetic, or dynamic you are;we are all limited to the same 24 hours a day. By sponsoring, however, you can overcome this limitation. By sponsoring, you can virtually clone yourself and have dozens, hundreds, even thousands of people all working indirectly on your behalf on their time and receive a cut of everything they do. Sponsoring also builds your security in this business. Why? In most traditional businesses, what happens if you become ill or disabled and are unable to service your customers? Or perhaps you just want to take a nice long vacation? Whatever the case, you could lose most if not all of your income overnight because it relies on you being there. That's not owning your own life and that's certainly not financial freedom.Through the process of sponsoring and building a downline in Network Marketing, however, you can create total financial freedom for yourself. With a downline of independent business people working for you, you no longer have all your eggs in one basket. On the contrary, because each person in your downline has a vested interest in continuing and building their own businesses, you create an income that is non-dependent upon you - an income that can continue, even grow, indefinitely with or WITHOUT you.
Q. Do I have to stock and deliver products?
A. Most Network Marketing companies today allow its distributors (and often even retail customers) to order direct from the company. The company simultaneously tracks your commissions, credits your account, and automatically sends you a check for the total amount due.
Q. Isn't Network Marketing just another "get-rich-quick" scheme?
A. No, "get-rich-quick" is a fairy tale. It just doesn't happen in the real world. Sure, there are a few exceptions, but they're extremely rare. In fact, if overnight riches is your dream, your odds are probably better playing your state lottery than doing it in business - any business.
Q. I couldn't get involved in Network Marketing. It's not a "real" business.
A. It's very real. Network Marketing is now a multi-billion dollar industry involving millions of independent business people and major U.S. corporations like Colgate-Palmolive, Gillette, Sprint, and MCI, just to name a few. And it's a rapidly-growing international force, too, with thousands of Network Marketing companies already in operation in Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Basin.
Q. If Network Marketing is so great, why aren't more people involved?
A. That can be summed up in one word: misconceptions. The general public just doesn't understand what Network Marketing is or its potential. But that's finally starting to change. Right now it's estimated that only about 2% of the U.S. population is involved in Network Marketing. But industry experts predict that that number could climb to 10% by the end of this decade. You can position yourself to take advantage of this trend by getting started in Network Marketing now. The timing is great for getting involved!
Q. What are the costs involved in starting and operating this kind of business?
A. Virtually all Network Marketing companies require you to first purchase some kind of "Starter Kit." This is a one-time cost, and is usually less than $100. In addition, of course, you'll have monthly expenses for office supplies, postage, advertising, etc. A total of £50-£150 pounds per month is probably a realistic expenditure to expect. Anyone can afford this amount of money without jeopardising their current lifestyle while they're trying to build a better one. And here's some more good news - most, if not all of that, is tax deductible.
Q. What if I can't afford to buy extra products.
A. You're not supposed to. Network Marketing companies just want you to replace those products you now buy elsewhere with the equivalent-but-higher-quality products your Network Marketing company manufactures. By doing so, you'll likely save money since you now get to buy at wholesale. Plus, it only makes sense to buy from yourself - to buy from "your own store."
Q. I've tried Network Marketing before and it didn't work for me.
A. Let's say you've just moved into a new city and you decided to go out to eat that evening. Unfortunately, the food at the restaurant you picked turned out to be horrible. But just because of this one bad experience, you surely wouldn't swear off eating at all the other restaurants in the city, would you? Of course not! Network Marketing is no different. There are fair Network Marketing companies, great Network Marketing companies, and, yes, even some bad Network Marketing companies. But Network Marketing works! You just need to link up with the right company and the right opportunity at the right time. See MLM RockStars.
Q. I don't have the cash right now to get involved in Network Marketing.
A. Get it! If a brand new £60,000 Mercedes were offered to you for £1000, would you find the money somehow to buy it? Go and get the money because your own Network Marketing business could be worth a lot more than that Mercedes.
Q. I can see how others have become successful, but I don't think I could do it.
A. People of every age, every background, from every walk of life are making it in Network Marketing today. If you have the desire, you can succeed in Network Marketing.
Q. If I would happen to be sponsored by someone half way across the country, how do I get questions answered? And what about training?
A. Free consultation and assistance from your sponsor, other upline associates(and often the corporate staff of your Network Marketing company) is a phone call away.Faxes, E-Mail, Voice Mail, and other new technologies also provide fast and efficient communications between upline and downline...no matter where they're located. As for long-distance training, this is easily handled through video training CD's, audio taped seminars, books, online computer and telephone conferences, etc.
Q. I just don't have the time to start a Network Marketing business. I've got too many irons in the fire already.
A. That's precisely why you should consider Network Marketing. Besides creating financial freedom, Network Marketing is specifically designed to create personal freedom for you so that you can do all the things in life you really want to do that you don't have the time for now.
Q. Don't you have to get in at the beginning to make any real money? Doesn't saturation eventually occur?
A. That's another big misconception that's been perpetuated by the media for years. The fact is, there has never been any evidence produced that "saturation" occurs in Network Marketing. This very topic was debated in U.S. courts at one time and that was the conclusion by the courts.Secondly, realise that because Network Marketing is still a very young industry, there are hundreds of millions of prospects worldwide who have never even heard of Network Marketing. It will take years to even make a dent in that.But here's the main reason why "saturation" is a myth: Timing. In the U.S. alone, there are tens of thousands of brand new prospects "hatched" every year.Part of that figure is young adults who have only just reached the stage in their lives where they'd consider (and could afford) to start a business. Then there are the thousands who have just experienced a major shift in the direction of their lives because of changes at work, at home, etc. These same people, who just months before could in no way, shape, or form be considered prospects for Network Marketing, NOW are suddenly very open to the proposition. And this is happening constantly. Bottom line: The market is wide open and the potential is enormous.
Finally, Internationally acclaimed business people agree that Network Marketing represents one of the greatest opportunities in the world today.

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How to attain Financial Freedom in Network Marketing

This article is share 1 of 5 in a short series, which has been establish together to reveal you how perform massive amounts of leverage into your Network Marketing campaign, regardless of whether you are building your Network Marketing business Online, or using stale techniques. As any successful Entrepreneur will insist you, the key to achieving financial freedom in any business is by leveraging your personal time and efforts, putting systems or people to work for you.



In this first article you will learn the importance of setting meaningful goals for your business, by truly view the financial and lifestyle benefits of building a Network Marketing business, as well as being able to account for them to others!



In order to accomplish any outcome it is famous to state limited goals, which will depart you in the direction of your bigger goals, but before you can do any of this, you need to manufacture yourself aware of what is truly possible in your business. Too many people arrive into Network Marketing with misconceptions about what is possible and what it takes to succeed and this can later lead to frustration, or even disappointment further down the road.



When setting your goals you must to be absolutely certain on the benefits of owning a Network Marketing business. Not only that, your knowledge must be such that you can elaborate the benefits to others in a contrivance that they can understand. As an example, how many of the prospects that you talk to really understand the differences between being an employee and being a business owner? Without being aware of this, can you blame anyone for asking questions about exactly how distinguished money they will rep paid? How can you attend them to assume the benefits to their financial space and their lifestyle, if you are not able to justify them clearly?



As another example, if you were able to clearly elaborate why thunder sales and Network Marketing are able to capitalise on modern industry trends and why many Network Marketing companies have not been affected by the economic downturn, then do you contemplate that you would be able to generate greater interest in your opportunity? Especially in times of economic change and uncertainty!



To tie this assist in with goal setting, your goals will assume your absorb opinion of the industry and your business. If your goal is to be financially free then your preceding goal would have to recount to earning sufficient income from your Network Marketing business to discontinue your day job forever! I am not suggesting that this should be your fair, but your intermediate goals must think the ideal future outcome. If you don't know what the benefits of owning a business rather than being an employee are, then you will not be sufficiently motivated to conclude this initial goal. Also, you will not be able to point to enthusiasm to your prospects and won't be able to attend them to desire similar things.



I hope that this highlights the importance of building on your knowledge of business and Network Marketing, as well as encouraging you to contemplate about your believe goals and aspirations. In fragment 2, we will aim to gain your existing knowledge of the allege sales and Network Marketing industries, so that you can fraction what you are now learning with your prospects.

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