How to Recruit Effectively Even If You Still Don't Get Any Paychecks from Your MLM

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Sure, it's easy to talk about recruiting when you're a top earner in the networking company. Many uplines fail to get this. They assume that their new downlines are experiencing what they are experiencing.

They forget that once upon a time, they too had a hard time recruiting people to the business because they had no paychecks to show as proof to their prospects.

You see, the truth is, it's harder to recruit people to a networking business today more than it was in earlier times. So many scams and fly-by-night companies have wrecked the image of networking in the country and worldwide. Your upline or top earner may try to fool you and say it's easy to recruit using the company's tips and techniques. But all that is garbage.

A lot of them resort to fraud and deception.

So, if you are a new network marketer without any paychecks to show as proof your business really works, what are you going to do?

I so hate crude tactics of luring or deceiving prospects just to get them to sign up under you. For instance, "kidnapping." This is how you invite a person but not tell him where exactly you're taking him, until he just finds himself right in the middle of a networking business seminar. It isn't fair, and that's dishonesty or "panloloko."

You may make some money with it, but it's not clean network marketing. And if it's not clean network marketing, Jesus asks---what shall it profit you if you make a lot of money but forfeit your soul in hell?

Never tell a lie. Always be truthful. That's clean network marketing. No upline or top earner would probably teach you that. Only CNM will.

So, what do you do? Two things.

1. Be a Product Expert

What I did was to focus on the product and get as many regular product buyers as I could. Don't focus on the profitability of network marketing. In fact, don't mention it. It's useless to say, "My upline earns a lot of money from this business." If you were to tell me that, I wouldn't care. What I'd ask is, "Yeah? Well how about you?" I don't care about your upline or the top earner in the company. As far as I'm concerned they're all strangers.

Have you ever heard medical representatives mention to their doctor-clients how lucrative their work is? No! What they focus on is expertise on the product. They never mention about their paychecks.

So, what I did was to focus on the product---especially its benefits. Sell the benefits so the prospect would see how he needs it. If he does, then he'd buy. If he likes it, then he'd be a regular buyer, especially if he product works for him.

Produce 10 such regular buyers. Soon, they'd spread the word around---how the product works for them. Hopefully, that would produce more regular buyers for you.

When you have gathered 20 regular buyers, you'd have your regular paycheck. That's when you start talking about the profitability of your business. If 20 people buy the product each week (and you get P350 profit from each sale), then you'd get a P7,000 paycheck each week. Not bad. A P7,000 extra income every week is attractive enough to many people, especially housewives.

2. Sell the Membership Discount

Selling the discount comes after the customer has become hooked on the product---or even simply liked the product. Instead of getting it from you at retail price, he can get it straight from the company at a 20 percent discount (most MLM companies offer at 20%). Who wouldn't like that?

Then offer him the membership discount.

Imagine if your 20 regular buyers ask for the discount and all of them sign up? Then teach them to do the same---master the product, sell the product and benefits, and then later sell the membership discount.

That's clean network marketing.

Never hype on the profitability of the business or how much your top earners or your uplines make in the business. That's all stupid. More stupid is bragging about what car your top earners or uplines have. What most folks would think is that all these top earners and uplines you're talking about have simply fooled you and took your money.

One networker showed me the cars and mansions of the top earners in their business. So I asked him, "What are you selling, cars and mansions?"

He said, "No. We're selling health supplements."

"Then why don't you explain the products to me?" I asked.

It turned out he didn't know much about what his products did to the human body.

See?

What impresses people is seeing YOUR own paychecks and how you worked clean and hard to earn them. Before all that can happen, you should know your product and be able to communicate it well to people. Then they'd think that your business really works, and legit at that. They'll have respect for both you and the company.

5 BIG Business Myths "Experts" Won't Tell You About

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Business "experts" won't tell you about these myths because they sell them to you and make lots of money. See? And lots of folks go crazy about these lies. One lie goes like this...

1. Expertise ensures success. 

They say don't start a business you're not an expert of. They make you equate success with expertise and then sell you loads of materials on how to become a business expert or urge you to enroll in their school. But truth is, ask around and you'd discover people who started a business without much knowledge about it and ended up a success.

I have a friend who started a food business although he graduated an electrical engineer and holds a license for it. To tell you the truth, he didn't know how to cook and marveled at my expertise in cooking when we were in college. But now he has 3 small restaurants.

As he did the business, he became an "expert." And that's how it usually goes. Of course you need expertise. But when "experts" say that and then sell you something, it becomes doubtful. It's good to be able to train before doing a business, but it's a lie to say that without expertise (especially "expertise" you'd get from their school or material) you'd surely fail.

And anyway, training does not always guarantee good skills. I've seen numerous trainees who never get the idea or the correct form.

If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success. [Ecclesiastes 10.10]

The important ingredients are love and interest for the business. Those are the foundations of skill learning.

Some people have the money to train to become experts before launching their business (but even this does not guarantee success). But most of us don't at the outset. So what do we do? Do we forfeit ourselves of the business opportunity just because we don't have the money and know so little about the business?

I successfully did a lot of businesses by trial and error. I took up music and art in college but have successfully landed on sales, marketing and investment businesses without much knowledge about them. I learned as I did them, committing numerous mistakes that cost me a lot. But I gained some success! And when I had earned enough money, that was the time I formally enrolled and trained.

They say training makes you do less mistakes and lose less money by the time you're actually doing the business. Wrong! Training or not, YOU WILL LOSE A LOT. And that teaches you to be smarter and tougher. It's like a martial arts instructor who advertises that training in his style will prevent you from getting hurt. Probably, but that won't teach you anything. And you'd get the shock of your life when a real street fight happens.

2. Guaranteed success

They always promote how you'd have guaranteed success if you enroll in their schools or buy their materials. But truth is, there is no "guaranteed" success in business. Everything is a risk. You may or may not succeed now or ever. They may offer you a "money-back guarantee" but it will take you forever and lots of stress before you get your money back. And by the time you get it back you've already lost a lot of time and money following up.

I've seen so many times business people (seen as "experts" by other people) who have been successful in their first businesses but miserably failed in their second and third ventures. Why? Because there is no guaranteed success. But they won't admit it. They'd go for excuses and other reasons except admit that success cannot be guaranteed---because their basic premise is that you can control your life and determine your success---which is a flawed business belief.

3. You can determine to succeed.

They say success is for those who grab and run after it. You cannot have success if you just sit down in a corner and wait for it. It all sounds so good, but is it true?

The reality in life is that, I've seen so many folks eager to be rich and who grabbed and ran after success. They're college graduates, took their masters and doctorate, attended every business seminar available, followed success formulas to the letter, worked real hard to do the business and yet ended up a big failure.

And I've also seen sluggards get rich and successful. I know a sales lady who married a rich guy whose business has already been prosperous. She didn't have to sweat it out to become rich, but somehow that's what she claims when asked how she got rich.

Business "experts" won't tell you about these realities because they want to perpetuate the idea that you can control your destiny. They like to perpetrate that premise because they want to sell you their "success formulas" on how you can take charge of your success. You can't. Everything is decided by God.

Business success is like parenthood---you won't get it through education, although education is important (if you have the opportunity to get it, GET IT!). You get successful in business by God's grace and by following God's Word. No kidding. I've seen it happen. It happened to me. It may sound religious but it's not.

Because the truth of the matter is this:

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. [Ecclesiastes 9.11]

Time and chance. See that? In laymen's terms, luck. That's God telling you the truth in Ecclesiastes. Success is not because of your schooling, skills, intelligence, hard work, greatness, titles, degrees, or any advantage over others.

It's because of luck.

Now, when God talks about "luck" it does not promote idleness. "Luck" is actually how the bible depicts grace. You do not work for grace---it is given for free. And because it's free, there's nothing to boast about it when you get it. Get it?

But you have to do something to get the grace. But when you do get it, remember that it was not because of anything you have done. It was by grace alone.

Here's another eye-opener:

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. [Proverbs 16.33]

 The right attitude in business then is this---prepare to succeed because God has a good plan for you. But don't boast like King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and tell yourself you can do it all by yourself. You can determine to succeed. You can take charge and control everything.

I always tell God something like this, "Lord, I will prepare for success. By your grace on my life, I will do my best. But nonetheless, not my will but your will be done."

4. The customer is always right.

Truth is, most times customers are wrong. Even silly. We sellers are supposed to be experts of what we sell. And then we teach our customers about the product. The problem with saying "the customer is always right" is that sellers tend to take their products for granted. Their knowledge of their product is so minimal that customers become more knowledgeable about it than they are. Which is dead wrong.

Now, I don't mean you tell every uniformed customer that he or she is wrong. Let customers think they are always right but you get a different mindset, which should be that you are there to help customers know more about the product. You're the expert. Show yourself to be one by studying your product well. Then customers look up to you and always come back to buy more because they trust your expertise.

5. Don't borrow money for your capital.

Do you know how foreign investors invest in our country? They don't bring in new capital. Instead, they borrow money from banks, especially government banks or financial institutions. Well, some business "experts" will tell you how it's lots better and safer to get your capital from your own savings---which is ideal but seldom realistic.

If you are moneyed, perhaps you can say that. But most folks in the Philippines are not. As hard as they try, most of them cannot save money for business capital. That's reality. If you insist on saving money for your capital, it's like saying good bye to your small business dream.

If you asked me, I'd say borrow money for your capital. But borrow from relatives or close friends who won't charge you interest. And make sure to pay them back. Worse scenario, make an SSS business loan. Or, why not borrow from the bank?

Just make sure you live an austere life. Don't live beyond your means. Stick to whatever is left after you have deducted a portion of your money for credit payment, rent, food, necessities and savings (obligations first before savings and savings first before anything else).

Lastly, in business you may win or you may lose. Accept it. If you lose, don't feel so bad because for sure you learned valuable lessons from it. And especially, the experience made you a better person inside. I believe what Horace Greeley, editor and politician, said:

Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, and riches take wings. Only one thing endures and that is character.

Why Your Business Partner Should be as Crazy as You Are

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Venturing on a business is safer when you have a partner, right? Well, not always---unless you get a partner who's as crazy as you are about the business. Otherwise, he may prove to be a pain-in-the-ass.

Chances are, when a business partner is not that crazy, he was forced or "persuaded" into joining the business venture. You shared about the business to him but he wasn't too enthusiastic about it (though he said it sounded "interesting") so you tried to convince him and later won him over.

He became your "business partner." And you were glad.

But "partners" like that always have second thoughts and doubts and uncertainties and regrets. You will find yourself always proving to him that the business works. You always need to encourage him and explain things to him---which all sucks, really. I better face the venture alone than be partnered with people like that.

Never get a partner you need to convince hard about the business. NEVER.

Stupid network marketers always fall into this trap---they recruit people who are not all sold-out about the business. What happens? Yes, you get him enrolled under you (and earned some money from that) but that's all the benefit you get. The rest are plain pain in your ass.

Don't exchange your freedom and peace for some measly profit.

Worse is that this "partner" blames you for everything wrong that happens. He feels more a victim than your partner.

There are network marketers who go after these people. They never learn. They force people to join them and then later regret having these "partners" in their business. They just pull you down. Well, some manage to learn to love the business eventually, but believe me, they will give you problems now and then.

Who then is a real and "crazy" business partner?

He is as crazy as you about the business and gets the whole picture, so much so that he is ready to risk everything. He is like your alter ego. You don't need to convince him or explain things to him each step of the way. He sees you as his partner, and not just him as your partner. He assumes all the responsibilities and acts like a real proprietor. That's a real business partner.

He may think differently about the business (you may have a radical approach while he may have a traditional approach), but as long as he likes you to be his partner and loves the business as you do, then all's set for success.

The worst thing that can happen is have a partner who thinks you took his money for your business.

Business success, online or offline, (and especially in network marketing) is not the number of people who join you. It's the number of people who crazily believe you and the business. If you get just one partner like that, and he also gets one partner who is like that, and so on---you'd have the best business of all.

The lesson is this---never have a guy who is forced into the business for a partner or a downline. If you plan to start a salon, restaurant, clinic, pharmacy or any business where you need a partner, take quality time to seek the right person.

Why You Need to Kick Out Some Sales People

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I and my wife have encountered lots of business establishments with moody, nasty, rotten sales workforce, and I can't imagine why business owners would hire them.

Remember, your sales workforce projects your image and the image of your company to customers. They have to be the best. NEVER hire people who have bad characters and attitudes. It's better to hire lousy people who can be trained and who can learn than smart ones who have bad attitudes and cannot change.

That's why I don't give a damn about high grades, schools or awards presented by applicants. I'm always after character. If you want your business to produce money, always go for character. That's what customers want, not smart but rotten employees.

Even in small businesses. You see food crews or sales clerks who cannot smile and who seem to hate it when people buy from them. I will never want to buy again from that store even if it has the best items on sale. I'd rather buy a second best product from a second best shop than deal with rotten sales people. Really. I've talked to a lot of people who feel the same way.

And imagine how many thousands of profits you lose because of these pain-in-the-ass sales people or teams. It's a common-sense basic and yet many business owners fail in this area. And then they wonder why they're losing.

Saddest thing is, I've seen business owners act rottenly toward customers.

A lot of times, I and my wife would frequent a snack bar just because we like the attendant there. The food is not that good and the "cold" drinks are actually a bit warm. Yet we'd buy there. Of course, we look for better ones that serve better food, but in the meantime, we buy from the second best we find with good and kind sales attendants.

And sometimes, even if we've found a good place to buy, we still visit the second best now and then and buy some items, for friendship's sake.

To most people, a good and zero-stress experience also matter a lot aside from quality products. I've been to really posh restaurants with rotten waiters and waitresses, and I thought, these businesses were just wasting money. If you mean business, you get serious about who you hire.

Well, of course they'd look kind and polite when you interview applicants. But I for one easily spot rotten people even the first time I meet them. You have to develop this skill if you want to be a bizz hustler like me. It takes years of successful practice. But I can give you one tip here---ask applicants to smile at you and hold it for 20 seconds. Rottenness often shows itself even when the guy is smiling.

And I think God cursed rotten people with a disgusting smile. Well, of course, you shouldn't rely on smiles alone.

But one thing for sure: anyone who looks as if he or she finds the "smile test" stupid should NEVER be hired.

Remember, the surest way to lose in business is to man it with those who pisses off your customers.

What's a Customer Base and Why Build It?

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This is how you make sales without selling. Well, at first you sell, and when I say "sell" I mean you go after people, present your product and close the sale. But you can't live like that the rest of your life. You have to put a limit to selling like that.

In business, the real goal is to reach the point where you make sales without selling anymore. Well, you still "sell" (because profits only come when products move) but you do it passively. Aggressive selling never impressed me one bit. Sure, it works, but you'll have to keep at it till your last dying breath. I don't like businesses like that.

So, what you do is build a strong customer base. While selling to all in the beginning, you also scout for those who really need your product, those who can't live life well without it. Look for such people. Most of your customers will be one-time buyers---or probably two or three-time buyers. That's okay. But don't be content with them. Look for avid customers.

If you sell popcorn, for instance, you'd notice there are people just dying to eat popcorn all day---whether they're watching a movie or not. I've seen folks who just buy all the Star Bucks mugs they see around. I mean, they're just mad about them and I can't explain why. If you have a factory that produces 1,000 Star Bucks mugs a day, they'd probably look for ways to find money to buy all your 1,000 Star Bucks mugs.

There are people born that way so some businesses will thrive. Funny, isn't it? But it's true.

So you collect customers like that and TREAT THEM WELL. This works in offline, online and network marketing businesses. I've proven it. Treat them as family. Make them as comfortable and pleased as possible. Well, as a rule, be kind to all customers because you never know who among them can be in your customer base list. Some people will keep on criticizing your product or outlet and yet make it to your customer base.

Now, once you get your customer base---even if you just get 50 of them initially---it will mean the start of huge profits for you. if you make P20 pesos per unit you sell and these 50 buy them daily, you make P1,000 a day! And what if you develop new relevant products for them? They buy the usual item plus the new item. So,that doubles your earnings for the day---P2,000 a day!

If you build a strong customer base, you won't have to sell anymore. They'd come to you and buy. All you have to do is update them about your products. And their number would increase through word of mouth---they'd recommend you to their friends, not realizing they work for you as they also patronize your product. A stable and strongly built customer base of 500 patrons can make you rich. Imagine 500 customers trooping to your bakery daily to buy bread.

So, a customer base is your loyal and faithful patrons. You get them with your strong PR skills (PR skill is simply how you combine tact, kindness and acumen with business). Soon, if you enjoy practicing PR, you'd make lots of money just meeting and talking and laughing with friends who drop by to visit your in  your shop on a regular basis.

So, you eliminate the need to sell. It pays to be naturally and habitually kind to customers.

What If You Have the Worst Physical Location?

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They all say business success is all about the right location. Okay, if conditions are ideal, yeah why not? I'd always go for ideally and strategically located businesses. But it doesn't always happen that way. Often, you have no good options left for you.

Not all stalls in a mall are located near the entrance, escalators or stairs. The same thing with wet markets. I have done fresh meat business located far away from the regular traffic of buyers of a wet market. It was a real struggle, but later we found ways to offset our losses from being so adversely situated---we "invented" other ways of marketing our meat.

Anyway, if you find yourself with no choice but a bad location, you should learn how not to rely on locations anymore. Forget about how good locations can help you find customers. And the truth is, it's not the end of the world if you are situated so. You just have to have imagination. How else can you dispose of your merchandise without relying on location?

The usual option is to give up the bad location and look for a better one---if you can find a "better one." What if you can't? To me, the best option is to offer a service. If you're into a meat business, how about asking your neighbors if you can supply them with their weekly meat supply with FREE DELIVERY? Or, ask eateries and restaurants around to make you their meat supplier.

If you're into RTW, how about going to offices and selling your clothes to employees on installment basis?

Inventing new alternative markets can be very challenging and risky but it's better than to lose money just relying on what a bad location can offer you.

The ideal is to start with an invented alternative market first before you venture leasing a space to have your business location in. Don't rent anything yet---sell person-to-person first. When you have enough regular customers, then you may get a permanent location. This way, there will be sure buyers who would troop to your location while you try to make new customers of other people who pass by your place.

On that note, if you're a hustler in selling person-to-person, your home can be the ideal place for your business. No rent and no added overhead cost for electricity and water.

How to Make People Naturally Talk about You and Your Business

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Hard-selling or coercing people is old school. These are methods of desperate businesses that feel about to be thrown off from the competition. Because after years of doing the business, people still do not talk about them.

In fact, no one knows they exist.

Doubtless, the best way to do business is to have people talking about you. But how do you do this?There is a whole system behind the concept and a mere blog article won't suffice to discuss it all. But it's true. It exists. There is a way to become "trending," as it were---to make people talk about your business.

Some businesses spend a lot first on advertising before they become the talk of the town. And even after that, they have to maintain the trend. But some became the core of conversation merely by "chance" it seems, and maintains it in the same way---by seeming luck. They just sell their products and people talk about them.

Have you ever tried eating at Baliwag's restaurant along Visayas Avenue? It's a full-swing posh restaurant serving stylish native Filipino dishes. Yes, Baliwag had a couple of TV commercials before starred by comedian Joey de Leon, but it stopped. And anyway, nothing was mentioned about a Baliwag restaurant. The commercial merely touched on the roasted chicken (lechon manok) outlets.

But the restaurant is there and more and more people are talking about it. In fact, I learned about the place from a Unilab executive who also heard of the eatery from her friends. And now I'm talking about it to you, readers, and some of you would probably try it out, especially those who live nearby.

It's better doing business with people naturally talking about you (on their own) than coming out on TV urging people to take notice of you. Anytime in business, I'd rather that people pursue me than I pursue them. Besides being expensive, pursuing people all the time is a most uncertain way of doing business, besides very tiring.

Here's another example---Aling Charing's Longganisa. I don't know if you had the fortune to try their native sausage (longganisa) which in the 70s was a top hit at the Quinta Market in Quiapo. I was a kid when my mom brought me to this wet market to buy the sausages. They were superb! Nothing like them in those days and more so today. Longganisa types in Metro Manila today are often the pits, except if you chance upon authentic Vigan longganisa.

Now, Aling Charing's longganisa was never advertised, not even through package labeling, and yet it was doggedly sought for by its regular buyers. I mean, even if it transferred to another place, people sought it. Well, later it made use of package labeling. That went on for years.

Question is, what made these businesses sought after by their customers? Predictably, you may say its because of product quality. Well, yes and no. Yes, because product quality is very important. It's hard to get people running after you if you sell something rotten. No, because it's not really the product they were selling. It was the relationship they were offering their customers.

I've seen good product quality all wasted simply because of poor relationship with customers. And I've seen how excellent relationship made up for poor product quality.

So, what do we mean by "relationship"? Treating customers as kindred.

Aling Charing, when still alive, kept close relationship first with my grandmother, and then with my mother---as if they were real relatives. The relationship was transferred to customer family members. And I noticed how Aling Charing kept that up with her other customers that I saw there. Now, imagine if you have relationship like that with your first 30 regular customers. It's easy to see how your customer base can spread and expand even without you advertising your business.

Keep up the relationships and soon more people will be talking about your business. The same is true with how waiters treat customers at Baliwag Restaurant (Well, as of this writing, their waiters practice excellent customer relationship. I don't know 2 to 5 or 10 years from now).

Powerful sales is always relational. It's how you make people naturally talk about you and your business. It's applicable to both online and offline businesses, and especially network marketing businesses.