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.

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“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

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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

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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?

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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)

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I get asked alot, “Tony, if you had to pick ONE thing that would allow me to create accelerated, positive results in my life…what would it be. ”

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

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This just might say it all.  LOL — TR

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One of the biggest challenges I see in the home business industry is that people often don’t make the transition from “thinking like an employee” to “thinking like a business owner”.

This shows up in a lot of ways but here’s one example that might be of assistance to someone today.

FACT: There is only one of you. And you only have 24 hours a day. Basic math tells us that there’s only so much that you can do yourself.

So, part of becoming wealthy means identifying the areas of your business that make you the MOST money…and spend most of your working time on those areas.

To do this, you need to decide what your time is worth. Do you feel that you’re worth $100 an hour? $50 an hour? $10 an hour?

The truth is that your time is far more valuable than you can imagine. But let’s start with your present time-value with a simple exercise:

1. Take your annual income
2. Divide it by 52 to get your weekly income
3. Divide it by 40 to get an hourly income

Let’s assume that you discovered that your time is presently worth $50 an hour.

Now, let’s say that you need a new website developed. So, you say to yourself, “Let me see….I’ve got Adobe Photoshop so I can figure out how to do the graphics. And I think there’s a copy of Microsoft Frontpage on my computer. So I’ll go through the basic tutorials and figure this out. What are these layers they keep talking about? What do they mean by closing my tags?” By the time you have it all figured out, you’ve spent 8 hours making a very basic website.

Eight hours.
A whole day.

At your present rate of $50 an hour, you just spent $400 to work on something that you’re not very good at. And it was also a job that you could’ve outsourced for less than $150 to someone who IS good at making websites, is a professional at it, and who could get it done in a fraction of the time.

You see how this works? If you want your business to produce $100,000 per year….you have to make sure that you don’t spend your “work” time engaged in something that adds less than $50 of value to the company.

(Note: these figures are fictitious. Remember what I said above. Your time is worth far more than you imagine. Becoming more valuable — from a business standpoint — is easier than you imagine.)

So, part of making the shift from employee-mindset to entrepreneur-mindset is in realizing that you can’t AFFORD to do it all yourself.

What are the most profitable things you can do in your business?
What are the least profitable things that you do in your business?

Identify those factors, outsource as much of the low-profit items as you can….and you’ll have more time and freedom to spend more time on the things that DO get your better results. And a lot of free “play time” as well!

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Two people should watch this video:

Person A:  those who use Facebook, Twitter and other social networking tools to hammer and spam everyone and everyone about their business opportunities.

Person B:  those who genuinely want to know the best way to use things like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. to gain more exposure in their business without looking like a jerk.

Enjoy! — TR

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