To set the table for this question, let me share with you some comments made on my Facebook wall earlier today:

since there’s a more than 95% FAILURE rate in this industry, I’d say that means that there’s something VERY wrong with it… companies are NOT set up properly, the role of a sponsor is VERY important to new and inexperienced people…

For far too many “sponsors”, their idea of “training” is to throw a bunch of worn out email and pdf’s at the new recruit and tell them to “get on the corporate rah rah” call… … which can be great… but are more like eating Chinese food… awesome while it lasts and, 20 minutes later, you can’t remember what you ate (heard) and you are hungry all over again.

Let me first say that I believe any sponsor worth his salt is going to provide training and support to his team. It’s not even a statement that needs to be made because….well, it should go without saying.

With that said, though…..how much support does a new distributor need? Obviously it’s a question that will have many answers depending on who you ask. But it makes me think about how things were when some of us joined the industry years ago.

When I got started in my first serious endeavor, I went home from the meeting with

– a company catalog
– an 8-page booklet packet of 8 1/2×11 sheets that looked like it was a 10th generation copy of how the pay plan worked
– the “pink copy” of my enrollment form
– a cassette tape about the company

That was it. And that was probably more than a lot of the old-timers got when they joined the industry 10 and 20 years ahead of me.

And yet, I made it work. I enrolled 6 people in my first month. Within 90 days I was earning enough to quit my job. If I needed something and didn’t have it, I either figured out how to do without it….or I create what I needed.

Back in the old “Dead Doctors Don’t Lie” days, thousands of people got started and received little more than I did. Maybe a few copies of the cassette tape to hold them over until their own order came in. A booklet that explained how the tape system worked. A price list for products. That was about it.

A friend of mine joined Excel telecom in the 90s. He got a few nicer materials than I did but it was still nothing to really write home about. Most of it was company “propaganda”….no real sales tools or instructions on how to start building a business.

Fast-forward almost 20 years. Even the most LAME network marketing company offers 10X the amount of support that I (and many of you) lacked when we got started. And, from what I see, it seems that most companies offer at least some or all of the following:

A full schedule of conference calls
Recorded calls
PDF files
Weekly webinars and “over-the-shoulder” video training
Replicated squeeze pages
Printed materials
Autoresponders
Company sponsored promotions
List-building tools
Social media tools

And I understand that some of the things that we offer are a bit more complicated than the old days of “make a list of people you know”.  But, at the same time, whenever I hear people who say they “couldn’t make money because they didn’t have any support”……

….I find myself thinking, “Really?  You honestly think you didn’t have any support?  You’ve got 100X the support that many of us had when we got started.  And yet we had more desire than excuses. ”

So it all begs the question:  are people in our industry REALLY lacking support?  Or are they lacking in self-reliance?

What do you think?

Have you ever wondered who was looking at the same website or online article as you?

What if you could instantly have a conversation with someone who’s on the same page as you?

What if you could see the moment that someone arrives at your Facebook Profile and send them a hello message?

Or, what if you could have a chat with anyone who visited your lead capture page, just to make a personal connection?

In other words, what if EVERY single website on the Internet allowed social interaction, even if the website wasn’t set up for it?

Well, it’s already available (in beta) and it’s free.  It’s a new browser plug-in lets you interact with any other users who are visiting the same web page as you.  The only catch is that you can only see people who have also installed the browser plugin.  So, it may take some time to reach a critical mass.

Still, passing the word to your own friends is a great way to start……and you’ll be interacting with people that you already know and like!

Get started at WhoIsLive.com

And use the Share buttons to pass this along to others!

I got another phone call today from a person who I’m lightly acquainted with. I believe he and I may have been in a company together at some time in my past but I’m not quite sure.

The phone call started the way many of them do:

THEM:  Hey, Tony, how are you?

ME: Good, doing good.  How can I help you?

THEM:  “Well, I’m actually calling because I was thinking about you today and I wanted to share something with you that I’m really excited about.  I know you’ve got your own business already but — someone like you could do this with one hand behind their back and make another six-figures a year without even trying.

Right.  Flattery aside, let’s be clear on this:  there’s no such thing as earning any significant money in network marketing without putting forth some effort.  I know this.  Every top-earner knows it.  The only people who don’t know it are the people who aren’t making money….and that’s WHY they’re not making money.

But the surest way to make me roll my eyes is to tell me that I can sign up in your business, twitch my little finger a couple of times a day, and I’m going to make an extra $200k per year.  Riiiiight.

He went on…

In fact, if you could get 10 people like yourself to close 3 sales a day, you’d be making $15,000 per day…..”

Without wanting to seem rude, I’m listening to this thinking:  “This guy has likely never made $15k in a YEAR in any home business but he’s telling me how to make $15k per DAY in his business??”   Then he goes on to start attacking my network marketing company by saying, “Your company hasn’t been around as long as mine.    So, what I’d like you to do is to go to this website and it’ll explain all about it.”

What!?

Call me up…insult my business (and my common sense)….and then assume I’m going to be interested?

Well, dear reader, I know this may come as a shock to you, but I did NOT quit my own business, whip out my credit card and run over to his website to sign up in his sparkly new deal.

Why?  Well, it’s the same reason I didn’t join the other 6 businesses I was pitched this week.  And, with no disrespect intended, it’s why I also won’t join yours.  And it’s the same reason that you’re not likely to enroll any top-earners who are actively building their business.

The reason?  Because we chose our company deliberately (not on a whim)….we chose it for a variety of reason (that are not easily swayed)….and we have an actual blueprint for reaching our goals (that we look at daily)…..and we’re actively making progress toward that goal (by consistently working the business every day and not getting sidetracked by the Shiny Object Syndrome.

Read that again.  Because it’ll save you some time when you think about pitching someone who’s actively and passionately building their business successfully.

Len Clements once wrote an article called “The Land of A Thousand Heavy Hitters” or something like that.  Maybe it was a million.  I can’t remember exactly.  The article was about Len’s experience of someone contacting him and asking how to get a list of “heavy hitters” that they could call to pitch on their business.

Len recommended a phone book.  His point was that Mark, Art, Mike, Gene, or John weren’t always “heavy hitters”.  They were once auto-mechanics and soccer players and waiters and ministers.  They became heavy hitters because someone ran an ad or told them about their business and they believed in themselves enough to sign up and make a go of it.

And one of the ingredients in their success recipe is that they didn’t get lured by the Shiny Object Syndrome….and the didn’t get distracted and jump from deal to deal just because someone called them up or emailed them with a pitch.

So, to the fellow who called me (or the lady who called me, and the four people who said they “just wanted to connect”)……don’t take it personally.  It wasn’t you or your business.  You were just aiming your pitch at the wrong person.  You should probably focus your attention on people who have actually ASKED you for information on your business.  You’ll find a much higher success rate.

By the way, just in case you think I’m being a little harsh, I’ve got NO problem with someone sending me an email saying,

“Hey, Tony.  I just wanted to let you know I’m in a new business and am really excited.  Here’s a link if you ever want to check it out; maybe you’ll see something you like and want to be a customer.  Either way, thanks for taking the time to read this.  I’m excited and just wanted to share it with you.”

See, that’s totally different.  That’s cool.  That’s classy.  But that’s not what most people are doing.

ONE LAST THOUGHT:

If you’re one of those people who are in a new deal every few weeks….stop it.  Just stop it.  You’re ruining your credibility.  It doesn’t take more than a few moves for people to start seeing you as someone who can’t stay focused doesn’t stay anywhere for long and never finishes what s/he starts.

So, please…for your own sake:  stop jumping around.  The corollary to that is that you should also stop trying to build 3-4 companies at once.  You look like you have no focus (because you don’t).  The term “adding another company to my portfolio” or “adding another company to my quiver” are terms you will never hear from a person who’s earning serious money in MLM.  Seriously:  I challenge you to go find someone who’s consistently making $50,000 per month in their network marketing business who’s also building 2-3 other deals simultaneously.  Take your time.  You’ll need it.

Plus, as Randy Gage has said, “Besides…if you’re not at the top of your company’s pay plan yet, why are you even LOOKING at another company??”  Well-said Randy.

Friend, you CAN be wildly successful in this industry.  But, it will come when you get focused on one opportunity, put your blinders on and go to work.  It’s the only thing that has ever created long-term, large results in this industry.

Share your thoughts below!

I was hosting a presentation call last week — something I volunteer to do and enjoy doing — and someone asked me, “What are my odds of succeeding in your company”?

I understood her question. Like a lot of people, she’d been indoctrinated with the idea that “95% of people who join MLM fail”.  Which isn’t true.  It’s never been true and it’s been bandied about and repeated so many times that no one even bothers to pretend they have data to support the claim.

But this lady was asking a valid question.  She was looking for a number that would tell her how many people “succeed” versus how many “fail”.

On the surface, the question sounds good. It looks good on paper. But the way most people ask this question indicates a HUGE lack of understanding about success. Here’s what I mean:

Let’s say a person wants to be a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. They want to know how many people take Tae Kwon Do classes and — of those — how many people achieve the black-belt level. Say that figure is 1% (I have no idea). In their minds, this represents a 1 out of 100 possibility for them. And so this person will assume that their personal “odds” are 1 out of 100.

And this is their mistake. The 1% figure doesn’t exist because 99% of people “fail”. It exists because most of the 99%ers are just taking up room.

Tae Kwon Do is one of those things that have an easy-entry. You can show up on a Tuesday night, pay some money for a uniform and technically be “in” Tae Kwon Do. But that doesn’t mean you’re committed.

On the other hand, if you’re someone who is seriously passionate about becoming a black belt and you’re willing to commit the time, effort and energy to do the work….then your “odds” of becoming a black belt are about 100%

Seriously:  a 100% success ratio. For every person who says “I’m going to be a black belt” and then actually does what is required to achieve it….about 100% succeed.

Same thing for buying a musical instrument. I’d guess that fewer than 10% of people who buy a guitar actually learn to play a song. Why? Because of the “easy entry”. On the other hand, nearly every person who makes the commitment to learn and practice actually DOES it.

Another 100% success rate.

And it’s the same thing in our business. I don’t regularly see people who who are doing exactly what we teach in our company who are not getting results. And when I occasionally run across someone who says, “Hey, why am I not getting results?”, I can usually ask them five questions and find that they are skipping one or more basic principles that we teach in our business.

And when they correct their activities and actually start doing what we teach….then the results show up.

So, success is not a matter of “odds”. It’s not a slot machine. It’s not a lottery. It’s a CHOICE. And since anyone can choose to actually do the things that create results…..then anyone can choose to be successful.

Quick video for you today:  “How To Get UNSTUCK In Your Business”.

If you have a broad and general complaint that you’re “not making money” or you’re “not enrolling enough people”, this simple diagram will demonstrate how to pinpoint EXACTLY what you need to do in order to get more enrollments.  Enjoy! — TR

NOTE:  the video is in HD so it won’t fit here.  Click here to watch it in all its HD glory.

“Lead generation is easy.”

How does that statement make you feel? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Why or why not? Does it feel like it should be true but you just haven’t experienced it? Would you like to believe it but just can’t bring yourself to say it out loud?

Or are you nodding your head up and down right now and saying, “Absolutely, Tony! Lead generation is easy”?

If your answer is anything other than the last one, you’re probably making your task much harder than it has to be. Because the statement that “lead generation is easy” isn’t a matter of perspective….not a matter of expertise…not a matter of experience. It’s simply a matter of understanding what a lead IS and how simple and easy it is to get people to say “Yes” to getting more information about your business.

But, where did this idea come from that marketing was hard? Or that lead generation was hard?

The biggest culprit for spreading this message is very obvious:

A. 99% of the people who will lead you to believe that marketing and lead generation is difficult are people who are making their living by selling you a solution. Think about it. They can’t sell you a solution until they convince you there’s a problem. So all their ad copy and language is spent affirming how difficult it is to get leads

B. The second culprit are people who have experienced lead generation as hard themselves….so they need to be “right” about their experience. They’d like to solve the problem if they could….but not if it’s going to mean they have to give up their story…their struggle….and their “rightness” about how difficult the game is.

There you go. Those two categories take care of the vast majority of people who preach “lead generation is hard”.

But here’s the basic point:

People who tell you that something is hard are generally those people who have experienced it as hard. It’s best not to take those people as your advisors.

After all, if you wanted to learn how to sail a boat, and you have a choice of two successful sailors to learn from……do you really want to spend your time with the guy who constantly talks about how hard it is?

Give me the successful guy who says, “You’re not going to believe how easy this is. Check this out….”

I’ll work with him all day long and I’ll learn for myself how easy things can be when you decide for it to be that way.

Lead generation is easy. Don’t ever let anyone tell you any different.

Tony Rush

Hey guys.

If you’re marketing a product, service or opportunity online, you may have already heard some news about how the FTC is changing the rules. It’s true — they are. And it’s a good idea for you to be familiar with the changes.

(By the way, I am not a lawyer and this should not be considered legal advice. Be responsible for your own business, look at the data and know for yourself what you should do.

With that disclaimer out of the way, here’s the scoop:

In the past, it was completely permissible to show testimonials of your product, service or opportunity and share with the general public what kind of results someone got as a result of using the product or being involved with the opportunity, provided that you offered some sort of disclaimer that you weren’t “guaranteeing” that everyone would have the same result.

In other words, as long as you smacked a line at the bottom of the website saying something like “Results may vary from individual to individual”, you were in the clear.

That was yesterday. That’s history. Today, the rules are totally different.

Here’s what one FTC lawyer had to say:

“…The most significant change to the revised guides is the deletion of the “safe harbor” that has long allowed advertisers to use testimonials who reported specific successful experiences with an advertised product or service as long as the advertiser included a disclaimer such as “Results not typical.” Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect.”

Let’s put that into plain English.

Let’s say you’re in network marketing and you have someone new in your business. Let’s call her Fanny. Fanny starts following the system EXACTLY as it’s taught…works the business with integrity and consistency and — lo and behold! — she winds up creating a $20,000 per month income in her first 6 months.

Then let’s say that Fanny writes you a testimonial that says, “I got started in XYZ International six months ago and now I’m making $20,000 per month.” And she’s got the check stubs to prove it.

So far, so good, right?

Well, up until the FTC changed the rules, you could just put a disclaimer on that page that says something like “Results may vary and are based on the time, energy and commitment you invest in your business” type of disclaimer you’ve seen 100s of times.

But here’s the key phrase that the FTC has added to the mix: “required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect”.

What that means is that — if you’ve got someone in your company making $20k per month and you want to display that testimonial on your website, you would ALSO have to disclose the amount of money that the average person earns in your company.

Stop. Wait a second.

You and I both know what the “average” person earns in any business. Zero or close to it. Why? Because “average” people are never successful. That’s why they’re called “average”.

They don’t follow the system.
They don’t do the work.
They don’t attend the events.
They don’t go to the training calls.
And they quit before you can say the phrase “you’re responsible for your own results”.

What does the average person in YOUR company earn? $100 a year? More? Less? Whatever it is, you can be damn sure it’s nowhere close to Fanny’s results. Because Fanny is someone who’s choosing to be very UNaverage in her life.

Wait, there’s more.

The FTC lawyer went on to say:

“The FTC also said that it believes that it is “likely” that testimonials that present the specific experiences of a product user (e.g., the number of pounds or inches lost) will be viewed as claiming that those experiences are typical of what consumers will generally experience.”

Did you get that? Read it again: “testimonials…will be viewed as claiming that those experiences are typical…”

What that means is that — if you put a testimonial on your site of someone who makes $20k in a month….then the FTC says you’re claiming that the typical consumer should expect to earn $20k/month. Substitute any number in that sentence with any other number and it will also be true.

And this is true for non-financial testimonials, too.

Do you sell a weight loss product and say that someone lost 20 pounds? Then the FTC says that you’re claiming that everyone will lose 20 pounds.
Do you have a testimonial on your site from someone who used a miracle fruit juice and their cancer was cured? Then the FTC says that anyone with cancer should expect to be cured using your product. (The FDA will get involved in that one, too.)

In short, if you use testimonials with specific results AT ALL….then you’re affected by this change in the rules If you want to continue to use those types of testimonials, you can’t just say “individual results may vary”. You have to say “Individual results may vary. The average person experiences ______.”

It’s my understanding, though, that not all testimonials will be affected so seriously. If someone is just expressing how happy they are that they use a product…they like the way it tastes….they’ve joined a business they’re excited about…..they’re a satisfied customer, those are probably okay.

It’s only when you’re offering a testimonial where someone is talking about a specific result of some kind.

So, what should you do with all this?

You should COMPLY, by God!

Seriously…I’ve been tracking this conversation for a long time and it’s amazing how many people are investing their energy into trying to figure out how to “get around” the FTC…or how to outsmart the FTC….or how to shortcut the system so they can still offer wild testimonials and not be affected by the changes.

Let me give you a word of advice: your energy is far better invested into some other income-producing activity. The best thing you can do on this issue is to simply play by the rules. Because, if you ignore it and get a phone call or letter from the FTC…I promise you will comply or lose.

Here’s the good news…

I’ve not used testimonials in my marketing in YEARS. And it hasn’t kept me from making a ton of money in my business.

Why?

Because, while testimonials are a great form of “social proof”….testimonials are not the only thing that matters when someone is looking at an offer. In fact, it’s arguable that they’re not even in the top three reasons why people choose to raise their hand and ask for more information….or just outright buy right in the moment.

People are more attracted to your product, service or opportunity because of WHO YOU ARE BEING in your marketing than in how many testimonials you can pile up.

I know one thing for sure: the people who get started with me in my business don’t get started because I show them a bunch of people who are making multiple six-figure incomes in their first 6-12 months. They’re getting started with me because:

A. They want what I’m selling
B. They can see themselves easily duplicating what I do to earn a great income
C. They can clearly see a path from where they ARE to where they WANT TO BE.

It’s not rocket science. Testimonials are great. But they’re not the “be-all, end-all” of marketing.

So, my advice: don’t use testimonials with specific results. Feel free to use all the testimonials you want about how happy people are with the decisions they’ve made.

Tony Rush

P.S. One other thing: in times of change like these, plenty of people will not comply and will be out of the game. Another bunch of people will have talked themselves into the belief that “they can’t make money if they can’t use testimonials” and they’ll just quit altogether. Either way, there will be fewer people out there marketing or marketing correctly.

People who take the approach I’ve described in the latter part of this article will be in a GREAT position to rack up some serious cash in the coming months. Be one of them. There’s never been a better time to earn the kind of income you deserve!

“In times of change, the LEARNERS will inherit the earth….while the LEARNED will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” — Eric Hoffer

One of the most fascinating things I’ve experienced in my career in marketing is that people will often try to “solve their problem with problems”.

Sounds like a paradox and it is. Here’s what I mean:

I’m in a business where I’m contacted daily by people who legitimately want to create more freedom and money in their lives. They want to quit their job, work from home and create a new lifestyle for themselves.

And yet, when given the opportunity to have exactly what they say they want, many will reply, “I’d really love to do this and I know it would work for me. But I just don’t have the money.”

Or someone who works 60+ hours a week and wants more time with their family….and when they look at a business that can set them free from the workforce forever….many will say, “I’d love to do this but I don’t have the time.”

They’re trying to solve problems with problems.

It’s a paradox. It doesn’t work.

The reason why they say they CANNOT do something is usually the reason why they MUST do something.

Until they figure that out, we can probably call those people in six months and they’ll still be struggling financially. Or working 10 hour days and missing their kids’ ball games.

These aren’t unintelligent people. Not usually. They’re not stupid. But, they’ve fallen into the trap of mediocrity: they choose to believe that life is happening “to” them and they’ve forgotten that they are actually creating their lives with their thoughts and decisions.

Nothing changes until the person changes. And no problem can be solved with the same quality of thinking that created it.

How about you? What decision or action are you putting off today because you think that you have something holding you back?

What can you do today to remove that obstacle for good and get on with your life?

I passed this around to a private mastermind group and the response has been overwhelming.

It’s a handwritten note that was written by a multi-millionaire on airplane. In it, he shares a perspective that is so refreshing and exciting that you can’t help but shift your own thinking.

In fact, you will discover SEVERAL key differences between the way wealthy people think….and the way the masses think.

It was taken offline for a week due to bandwidth issues but — for a limited time — it’s back up. You can download it here. (Note: report is in PDF format)

I confess it’s hard to pick just one principle. But, if I had to…this would be it. And it’s probably not something you’ve heard before. I hope you enjoy hearing about it. Feel free to post your comments and experiences! — TR