By: Nicole Bienfang With the Madoff investment scandal and a sour economy it does not surprise one to find skeptics when it comes to the MLM industry also known as Multi-Level Marketing Industry. The criticism and frequent argument is that the business model "must be one of those illegal pyramid schemes". The very people who try to use this statement to their advantage 9 times out of 10 have no idea what defines a pyramid scheme and often lose out on a opportunity that could help change their own or their family's lives. A real scheme typically involves price fixing of the products they sell, often these products are priced well above retail value for comparable products in the same category. Another red flag is high initial start-up costs closer to a thousand or more rather then a few hundred dollars. The key flaw is the emphasis on recruitment of lower-tiered salespeople over actually producing sales and bringing value to the consumer. The fact of the matter is MLM, Relationship Marketing, Network Marketing, Referral Marketing or whatever your cicrle may call it IS LEGAL and effective when the company that is running it is compliant with the law. To understand more of how this form of direct selling works and see how it is in fact ethical, moral, and even smarter then working your J.O.B. (aka Just Over Broke) please watch the video above. If you have any more questions about this industry do not hesitate to write me via my contact page.
Since 1999, average student loan debt has increased by a shameful 511%.In 2010, total outstanding student loan debt exceeded total outstanding credit card debt in America for the first time ever. In 2012, total outstanding student loan debt is expected to exceed $1 trillion.In response to this crisis, U.S. Representative Hansen Clarke of Michigan has just introduced H.R. 4170, the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012, which would extend a helping hand to those struggling under massive amounts of student loan debt. That's why I signed this petition to Rep. John Kline, Chairman of the House Education and the Workplace Committee; the United States House of Representatives and Senate; and President Barack Obama on SignOn.org, which says: Total outstanding student loan debt in America is expected to exceed $1 TRILLION this year. Millions of hardworking, taxpaying, educated Americans are being crushed under the weight of their educational debts, while the economy continues to sputter. Support a REAL economic stimulus and jobs plan. Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R. 4170).
Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=272847&id=39566-18586981-c_2Rkkx&t=2Need more info before you sign? Read below: The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 |Rep. Hansen Clarke Key Objectives: Make student loan repayment both simple and fair 1. The bill would create a new “10-10 standard” for student loan forgiveness.
If you make payments equal to 10% of your discretionary income
for 10 years, your remaining federal student loan debt would be forgiven. If you have already been making payments on your student loans, your repayment period would likely be shorter than 10 years. The amount you have already paid on your student loans over the past decade would be credited toward meeting the requirement for forgiveness. 2.The bill would ensure low interest rates on federal student loans by capping them at 3.4%.
3.The bill would allow existing borrowers whose educational loan debt exceeds their income to break free from the crushing interest rates of private loans by converting their private loan debt into federal Direct Loans, then enrolling their new federal loans into the 10/10 program.
4.The bill would reward graduates for entering public service professions like teaching and firefighting. It would also provide incentives for medical professionals to work in underserved communities. It would reduce the Public Service Loan Forgiveness requirement to 5 years from its current 10 years.
Jumpstart the economy and create jobs 5.The bill would increase millions of Americans’ purchasing power by forgiving debt,reducing loan repayment burdens, and cutting fees and interest rates. This would free many of these Americans to invest, buy homes, and start businesses.
6.The bill would create jobs by increasing consumer demand for goods and services.
Send a lifeline to student borrowers who have fallen on difficult times 7.Many Americans who have fallen behind on payments due to illness, unemployment, or divorce face continually rising interest rates and compounding fees with no hope of escape.
The bill seeks to ensure that no one will be pushed into poverty because of a stroke of bad luck. Americans who are behind on their payments would be eligible to enroll in the new program and bring their payments down to 10% of discretionary income. Promote financial responsibility in higher education 8.While current borrowers would be eligible for full forgiveness under the plan, future borrowers would be subject to a $45,520 cap on forgiveness (based on the average overall cost of a four-year degree at a public university). The aim is to incentivize students to be mindful of educational costs and for colleges and universities to control tuition increases.
9.Provisions of the bill itself would be financed by projected savins from Iraq and Afghanistan Overseas Contingency Operations; the
bill would not affect funding for existing student aid programs.
When you are done signing send this blog to your friends and social networks to make the Student Loan Forgiveness Act a reality!
By Bob Sullivan Law enforcement officials are investigating what appears to be a massive theft of U.S. consumers' credit card data, MasterCard and Visa confirmed Friday.The computer security expert who first reported the theft said it might involve as many as 10 million MasterCard and Visa accounts, making it one of the largest known credit card heists. "MasterCard is currently investigating a potential account data compromise event of a U.S.-based entity and, as a result, we have alerted payment card issuers regarding certain MasterCard accounts that are potentially at risk," that association said in a statement. "Law enforcement has been notified of this matter and the incident is currently the subject of an ongoing forensic review by an independent data security organization." The theft was first reported by well-known computer security journalist Brian Krebs on his blog, KrebsonSecurity.com. Krebs said the crime involves compromise of a credit card payment processor — a "middle man" that handles transactions between retailers and banks. The name of that institution is unknown, but processors have long been a target of identity thieves because of the enormous amounts of data they control. In 2008, Princeton, N.J.,-based Heartland Systems was hacked, exposing tens of millions of credit card account numbers to theft. Krebs reported that hackers had access to the unknown processor's data from Jan. 21 through Feb. 25, and were able to siphon off enough data to easily create counterfeit cards. His sources called the leak "massive." Visa, in a statement, also acknowledged the data theft but said its own systems were not hacked. “Visa Inc. is aware of a potential data compromise incident at a third party entity affecting card account information from all major card brands," the firm said. “Visa has provided payment card issuers with the affected account numbers so they can take steps to protect consumers through independent fraud monitoring and, if needed, reissuing cards."Gartner security expert Avivah Litan said she's been told that the stolen data is already being used on the street by identity thieves. "I’ve spoken with folks in the card business who are seeing signs of this breach mushroom. Looks like the hackers have started using the stolen card data more recently," she said.She's been told that investigators believe the data theft originated in New York City. "From what I hear, the breach involves a taxi and parking garage company in the New York City area, so if you’ve paid a NYC cab in the last few months with your credit or debit card — be sure to check your card statements for possible fraud," Litan said in her blog post on the topic. MasterCard said none of its computers were hacked as part of the incident. Trading was halted for shares of Atlanta-based payment processor Global Payments Inc. on Friday, after speculation that the company was at the center of the data leak was raised by a Wall Street Journal story. "MasterCard is concerned whenever there is any possibility that cardholders could be inconvenienced and we continue to both monitor this event and take steps to safeguard account information," the association added in its statement."If cardholders have any concerns about their individual accounts, they should contact their issuing financial institution.... It is important to note that MasterCard's own systems have not been compromised in any manner. " *Follow Bob Sullivan on Facebook *Follow Bob Sullivan on Twitter.
By: Nicole BienfangBack in the day, marketing was a pretty shiny brochure and print ads in the local or nationwide paper hoping and praying for sales soon to follow. Here we are near the end of 2011 and oh how those times have changed! There are so many ways to market now: “viral videos”, social media networks and the like were not even on a single person’s tongue 20 years ago. The births of these new technologies are being left to bear the pointed finger deemed murderers to news in print and even glossy magazines. For all that has changed there are a few things that have remained the same, namely that marketing in whatever form is right for your business is meant to sell your widget off the shelves, and preferably like hotcakes. The minimum expectation is brand awareness. Even if it is the tiniest of space in one’s mind the marketer is able to capture, every seed has the opportunity to grow and eventually plant roots. As a small business, you'd better go viral with your marketing strategy or just go home! Viral marketing is definitely not a sterile sounding name and it’s not meant to be. Just like snot that flies (when a gross person chooses not to cover their nose and mouth when they sneeze) this form of marketing is meant to spread and spread fast infiltrating the people’s psych it touches. Seth Godin an expert in this field has studied this idea and given it voice through his popular thumbed through books and scrolled through articles on the web. Where before marketers just wanted YOU to buy, the new focus is YOU and YOUR 10 CLOSEST FRIENDS in one of your many networks. So, don’t just make marketing or advertising that is "sticky" make it infectious something so fantastic it is not even seen as being “sold to”, it is just funny, brilliant, shocking or worth knowing. However, beware you are not as good as you say you are. You are only as good as your last raving fan says you are. Just like a person your brand needs an identity and it can’t be some teenaged going through the “finding out who I am and who my friends are phase” you have to know what that brand is and base everything you do around it. The more visual the better, people will eat you up if you speak to them and THEIR needs not YOUR bottom line. Connect with people and their life and the more your brand will seem like a person that they know, like, and trust. The more relatable the brand is the better and the less likely the consumer will feel like they are dealing with some stranger who is trying to use them to get something. Take this viral commercial for instance it used a beloved movie paired with an adorable kid, and something we have all tried to do as a kid, what it creates is magic for the brand something everyone wants to share.
Your business should not have to be dragged into social media it should be something the company sees as adding value to the bigger picture. Get those “likes” even if it was at first just for some type of offer and now you’ve got a space to be consistently in their daily flow and "feed" of daily happenings. Start off with a good impression follow up with added value whether it is just providing fun or interaction. They say it takes 7 times of seeing an ad before a person becomes a buyer, with social media that can happen a lot faster than you think. Each day gives you the ability to build a stronger relationship with your fans and followers.
Get em talking about you, serve their needs, under promise and over deliver and the rest is gravy!
By: Fabienne Fredrickson
You need to be paid well. But, when it comes to raising your rates, you may
get resistance from clients who have a hard time justifying paying as much as you're charging. You're experiencing what I call price resistance. In today's video I'm going to walk you through just how to position what you offer so that clients can see the real value they're receiving. They need to know the Return on Investment from working with you.
So tune in and I'll show you how to position your marketing and what exactly to say to do just that.I see this with my Platinum, Sapphire, Diamond clients and even clients in the Gold level of my Winner's Academy. The minute you raise your prices, you're met with resistance so here's what your rationale needs to be.It all comes down to believing in personal investment. When you do and when you live it yourself - by working with a high level mentor or being part of a mastermind group that will stretch and pull you into your future - then you will be able to receive high level rates and be paid well for the work you do.From there you will have the words and the rationale to talk to your clients about Return on Investment (ROI). When you take the focus away from 'cost' and instead put it on 'ROI', clients and prospects will be able to see the true value of what you have to offer.
Your Video Assignment:
Paint a picture of what your clients receive as a
result of working with you. How will working with you make a difference in their life?Position your marketing in a way that focuses on ROI. Use wording that can clearly express what they'll get out of working with you.
Practice positioning what you offer in terms of ROI. Remember ROI doesn't always mean money. It could be health, increased energy - think of it in terms of how will your client's life be changed. You'll find that clients will happily pay you with future money that they earn
back from working with you.
© 2011 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.
 Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client
Attraction System®, the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how
to attract more clients, in record time...guaranteed. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio
CD by mail and receive her weekly marketing & success mindset articles on
attracting more high-paying clients and dramatically increasing your income,visit www.attractclients.com.
By: James Grandstaff
The whole point of creating a Facebook Page for your
business is to build a fan base of people interested in
your product or service, right?
Facebook Pages are a great tool for interacting with
your fans on a regular basis and for them to discover
whether or not your product or service is right for them.
But to build a HUGE fan base you need people clicking
the all mighty "LIKE" button. Yep, the tiny little button
sitting at the top of your page. :-)
Gone are the days of "Become a fan." Today, it's all
about the "LIKES" and YOU WANT THEM (a lot of them!)
Because without them... you have ZERO reach. If you
have zero reach, you make ZERO dollars.
And this is where most Page Admins fall flat on their
face.
Let me explain...
Have you ever visited a Facebook Page for a business,
only to land on their "Wall" where you see the comments
and status updates?
If so, did it make you want to "LIKE" the page?
Probably not.
Allowing your visitors to land on your "Wall" is the #1 mistake
Page Admins are making all across Facebook.
But it doesn't have to be this way...
Because as a Page Admin, you have the ability to create
a custom landing page AND set this page as your "Default
Landing Tab" for your Page.
You'll first need to install an iFrame application into your
page (which is beyond the scope of this post unfortunately.)
This will allow you to create a custom tab on your Page.
Once you have your custom tab, you will want to create
some type of "offer" along with a "call to action" to entice
people to "LIKE" your page.
An example offer would be something like this:
"Click Like Above To Get Access To _______"
It's proven that you will get more "Likes" just by making
this one small change to your Facebook Page.
Good luck!
- James Grandstaff
James Grandstaff is an Internet Entrepreneur and all
around good guy. To find out how he got 52.94% more
"Likes" to his Facebook page, check out his amazing
FREE presentation at: http://1entrepren.dblikes.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=BLOG
QuestionHello, I am looking for a grant that will pay to repair a brick street Thanks! AnswerIs your city on the National Register of Historical Places? If not your city should look into applying. Having this status can help with funding projects as well as offer a tax credit. The following information is lifted from their site: How do I apply for grant money or tax credits? The National Register of Historic Places does not have a grant program ourselves. However, Heritage Preservation Services (a different division of the National Park Service, Cultural Resources Program) does have a tax credit program that may be of assistance to you. The website for the tax credit program is: http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/tax/index.htm Additionally, sometimes state historic preservation offices may have state run programs that could help. You can find contact information for the SHPOs at http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/shpolist.htm Below are some additional resources worth looking into: http://www.nps.gov Historic Preservation Grants http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/hpg/index.htm PDF Resource Guide http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/hpg/index.htm Government Grants http://www.grants.gov
By: Brian Carruthers
Cont.
After all the research over the last 5 years, and having watched the many companies come and go, surge and subside, in each space-there is one company that appears to have the best future opportunity. Let’s evaluate Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (You will rarely ever hear a seasoned network marketer knock PPL).
· The fact that it has withstood the test of time for 39 years- the peace of mind you will get from knowing that the regulatory agencies have reviewed the model, and the NYSE deemed it fit to be a public company on the most prestigious stock exchange, is important. Its strong financials should allow you to put your head on your pillow at night knowing that when you wake up in the morning, your company and your check will still be there. “Build it once and have it stick there and pay you forever” should carry big value in your mind. PPL has been around and paying residuals for over 30 years. Even during the 2009 recession, PPL still reported their biggest quarter (Q3) in its 37 year history. Epitome of company strength and security, and massive need for its product even in a recession.
· PPL’s product is a “non me too” . The barrier of entry to compete is enormous, thus no real competition exists. To be able to pull together the top law firms in North America to agree to provide their services (before having a big customer base to draw monthly fees from ) and to pull together a big enough customer base from which the fees can lure the law firms-this is the ultimate Catch-22 that has kept the competition out for three decades.
· PPL’s product is a “stand-alone” –stats show that even if an Associate (rep) decides not to sell anymore, they most often retain the product. This means they value the product first and foremost as a consumer, and not just for the promise of making money selling it. And for some people selling soaps, lotions and potions may be of no interest to them. PPL has a unique, professional product that even professionals enjoy sharing with others. No more “putting your pride in your back pocket” to talk to people about the same old products.
· Comp plan- there is no other plan in the industry that pays like PPL. Because of PPL’s track record, retention rates, and customer base-PPL can afford to pay hefty upfront advanced commissions (PAID DAILY by direct deposit) as well as lifetime residual income for the life of every membership sold. On a $36 membership sale, instead of getting paid an industry norm of around $5 or so, in PPL you earn from $69 up to $252 per $36 sale. In most network marketing companies, you would have to do about $6,000 to $10,000 in sale volume to earn $1,00 in your pocket in commissions. With PPL, a new person can earn $1,000with as little as $598 in volume. Due to this, new people earn “meaningful money” more easily and quickly, thus they succeed and stick around. The churn is lower. And the higher level builders in the up-line can count on increases in their earning power. The PPL comp plan is a “Differential Unilevel” meaning you can build as wide and as deep as you want, and you can get paid infinitely deep on down-line sales. PPL has added money to the comp plan at all levels 7 times over the last 10 years. Few companies add money without taking it away somewhere else. PPL can afford to do so. And PPL has TRUE residual income, not just PASSIVE income (most networkers confuse the two) on new down-line sales.
· Market timing for PPL is incredible. The fact that it has been around for a long time is a very good thing. Peace of mind is valuable, and you will not have to worry about your future as you would in a start-up company under 5 years old. What is incredible is PPL paid out over $1.2 Billion in commission in the last decade, and still has not reached 3% market penetration. Critical mass often occurs right around 2-3% penetration, so it seems PPL is on that very threshold. With 97% of the population not yet tapped in the US or Canada (not even expanded outside North America yet), there is no limit to the size of the business you can build. If PPL has million dollar annual earners already, imagine the upside potential.
2012 looks to be the year that PPL breaks out and further soars past many of its industry counterparts. The need for the product has never been so strong (people need to call upon attorneys for mortgage issues, severance packages, insurance issues, family law, IRS audits, etc. ). Identity theft is expected to increase dramatically yet again this year to almost pandemic proportions. Mid Ocean Partners, a NY private equity firm, just bought PPL for $650 MILLION. They are now layering fresh branding strategies on top of the existing model to make PPL become a household name right away. This will make the marketers’ jobs much easier and more fruitful than ever.
Those who position themselves with PPL may just find their experience I network marketing will be far different from what they have personally endured, or heard from others, in the past. We must agree that this is the right industry… now choose the right company and commit to the process and the journey to your success. Just stop wasting time with the wrong company, and don’t jump from sinking ship to sinking ship. Pick right, work hard, get paid for life.
 Who is Brian Carruthers?
Prior to founding his marketing company and becoming the pace-setter for the 450,000 associates in Pre-Paid Legal Services, Brian developed many businesses in many fields.
A Washington, DC native, his business knowledge came from many successful associations with very wealthy and successful entrepreneurs. One of whom, his own father, built one of the largest real estate companies on the East Coast in the 1970's.
By the age of 27, Brian pulled all of his experience, knowledge and mentorship and became the mentor for now over 100,000 associates on his team across North America. Brian Carruthers has become a "success coach", helping people to dream again... then helping them to achieve their dreams. He has already helped 1000's of his business associates to become successful business owners and get out of the corporate world rat-race, and begin to spend real time with their families and doing the things that are really important to them.
You can learn more about Brian at his site: http://briancarruthers.com
By: Brian Carruthers
Cont.
So how do you decide on what company within the industry to hitch your wagon to? After all, choosing the wrong one often leads to wasted years of opportunity, time, wasted money, strain on your relationships, and a loss of your credibility (for getting into a business that causes your contacts to wonder what you were thinking). We all know people who have experiences, good and bad, in networking businesses. Likely more bad than good, due to the sheer numbers of inexperienced people jumping into the first business their cousin or co-worker exposes them to. And they were told to learn how to succeed in that business by following the guidance of someone not even making any money in the business themselves.
Here's a good place to start evaluating. Take a sheet of paper, and across the top write the headings of each different industry with in the MLM industry. So put up the vitamins, juices, skin care, travel, home care, telecom, energy, web malls, air and water filters, legal services, dental, insurances, etc. Next, list the companies that exist in the industry in each category. If you find there are many companies in that space, that is a good sign that there will be major competition- a strong headwind blowing against you from day one. And if there are multiple companies, that means that it is not hard to start up new ones. Thus, if you are in that space and ever get any real growth momentum, it will be easily derailed by competitors jumping into the space and stealing away your customers or distributors. We call this acid-test the "Me-Too" test. Can other companies easily come along and say "we offer the same product too"? If it is copy-able, t will be copied-bank on it. You must find a "Non-Me-Too" product, with a huge barrier of entry into the space.
Another product factor is whether it is a "stand-alone" product. This means you would want to own or use the product yourself WITHOUT there being a business or opportunity attached to it. What you will find (if you look) is that many people in network marketing were attracted to the company more so due to the financial opportunity than the true appeal of the product. They are willing to be a consumer of the product as long as they are making money selling it. But, the day they stop selling it, they most often stop using the product too. This means they never really believed in the product themselves, they only pretended in order to make money. You must find a "stand-alone product".
Another criteria or filter would be the strength and life expectancy of the company. Since about 60% of the networking companies fail inside of the first 5 years, and 95% within the first 10 years, it would make sense o find a blue chip company that will NOT be like going to the casino to gamble on picing a new company that you THINK will withstand the test of time. The most common myth here is that to make it be, you must "get in at the ground floor" with a start-up company. That is something you should NOT do. Most start-ups will not have their act together in the first 2 years, and the business you build will be hard to hold together. If they make it that long, the odds will still be stacked against it that it will make it to the 5 year mark. If it does you have succeeded this far. But now comes back the issue- here comes the competition realizing there is a viable market and the wars begin. You start losing your downline to the new companies that pop up, luring them away with special deals and twists to the product or comp plans. Back to the point... find a company that has been around for at least 10 years and is still showing an upward growth trend, with still low market penetration. This is crucial. Just because the company has been around for 10+ years does not warrant your decision to jump in. The company must be still growing, with most of its market potential still in front of it.
Let's look at the compensation plan. There are many kinds that exist-some are fair some are lopsided, some are far too complicated, and some will frustrate you and cause you to quit. The true magic only occurs in this business model when the average distributor can truly make "meaningful income" right away. We define this "meaningful income" as earning at least $1000 in their first month. If people earn less than this, they are often determining that the income is just not worth the energy and effort, thus they quit. This is why the industry has such a high churn rate. A good company knows that the new people need to earn money quickly to keep them excited about their business, and about their future potential. But, the comp plan must be balanced and planned. The middle level people must be able to see income increases as their business grows. The top 10% must be able to earn the kind of income that causes the masses to dream and work hard towards that goal. In reality, if you take well enough care of the beginners and they are earning meaningful money on the outset, they will stick around and keep building, and the up-lines will be will be seeing massive rewards. *Another caveat that you MUST review regarding comp plans is whether the model of the company is legal. Some plans generate a majority of the distributors by charging high buy in fees (often 100’s or more), and a minority percentage comes from the actual sale of a product to a stand-alone end user or consumer (who is not in the business itself). This is a major red flag to the Attorney’s General , and should be. If the company’s focus is on recruiting, and most of your income comes from recruiting, do not join the company…inevitably it will be shut down. Recruiting is good, but not generating an income from it. The income must come from having true retail customers. A reasonable ratio of retail customers to reps is 3-to-1, or 4-to-1 is better.
By: Brian Carruthers
Why should you be in the industry? Well if 100% of your income comes from one person's efforts (yours), that is a scary place to be, and certainly you limit your ability to earn. After all, we get 24 hours in a day,and can only be in one place at a time. So, you must employ leverage. Billionaire J. Paul Getty once said "I'd rather earn one percent off the efforts of 100 men, rather than 100% of just my own effort." In other words, would you rather be a real estate agent, or the broker getting paid on all the agents sales? Remember, wealthy people build networks, while everyone else looks for work.
Let's assume you have discovered the true raw power of the network marketing business model. You have determined it is the vehicle to get time freedom via leverage of the efforts of others, and by harnessing the power of passive residual income...something a job will never provide.There is so much evidence and proof that this industry creates more self-made millionaires and rags-to-riches stories than any other. Nobody can debate the facts, and millions of Americans are catching on and getting into the industry in such pursuit.
People most often fail in MLM because they choose the wrong vehicle (company), and/or did not have the right mentor. To be cont.
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