The Internet, the Information Superhighway, Cyberspace, the Infobahn -- a lot of very imposing and impressive names for the same thing -- the worldwide, interconnected network of computer users. You can't pick up a newspaper or magazine, or watch TV, or engage in conversation without hearing about it. It has quickly become obvious that this is where the future is being created. The Internet (or whatever you want to call it) has developed an unstoppable momentum. And rightly so. It is a fantastic resource that has the very real potential to dramatically alter the way we work, play, learn, shop, interact and live our lives. The possibilities are unlimited.
Cyberspace and network marketing are a marriage made in heaven. Of all the types of businesses that are in existence, network marketing is without a doubt the most ideally suited to the realities of the information age. As one-way, broadcast communication gives way to interactive communication, as the computer networks empower more and more people with the ability to meet and interact with anyone, anywhere in the world, network marketing is emerging as the most powerful and effective way to do business.
Savvy network marketing companies are taking advantage of the existing technology, and putting together plans to utilize some of the innovations that are on the horizon, as well. As individuals become more and more disconnected from the old-fashioned "mainstream media" and start to seek out their own news and information, mass marketing grows less and less effective with each passing day. In its place, network marketing is rising up, utilizing the tools of the information age, as the new paradigm for bringing products to market.
So, you're wondering, if network marketing and cyberspace are so perfectly suited for each other, how come I'm not having more success promoting my network marketing business online?
In order to find the answer to this dilemma, and determine how we CAN succeed in cyberspace, we must look at the fundamental difference between network marketing and traditional mass marketing, and how those differences are even more significant online. To get the best results from your online marketing efforts, you need to understand where network marketing gets its power and why network marketing is so ideally suited for the information age.
There is more to marketing than just distributing products and collecting money for them. One key aspect of marketing is the distribution of information. In order to have customers, you need to educate them as to why they need your product or service.
Fifty years ago or so, this job of educating the customer was performed by retail stores. The education function of marketing was tied directly to the physical distribution of products. Sales clerks in retail stores were trained to educate customers on such new innovations as television sets, automatic washing machines, automobiles and a whole list of other consumer goods. Product manufacturers and retail store managers made sure that the sales clerks had the information they needed to educate customers so that the customers could understand and appreciate the benefits of the products.
As time went on, the education function became largely taken over by mass media. With radio, television and magazines, manufacturers could appeal directly to consumers with their messages. They could educate their customers and explain the benefits of their products through the mass media. This resulted in the enormous success of "warehouse" type stores. Low overhead retail establishments with employees who had minimal product knowledge. Places that served as simply product depots, distribution centers where consumers, who already knew what they wanted and why, could simply pick up and pay for their purchases. The most successful store of this type has been Wal-Mart. Years ago, Sam Walton realized the nature of the retail business was changing. He focused on perfecting a highly efficient distribution system that could quickly and profitably deliver products to the people who, because of the mass media, knew exactly what they wanted.
That brings us to where we are right now, the dawning of the information age. And once again, the realities or marketing are changing. The mass media is becoming severely fragmented. Where once we had 3 television channels, now we have 150. Or we can entertain ourselves with the tens of thousands of videotapes the sit in a repository just a few blocks from our house (Blockbuster, etc.). Or we can log into Compuserve, America On Line, Prodigy or the Internet and get our news and entertainment there. Advertisers can no longer reach their market. Add to that the fact that highly flexible, efficient manufacturing techniques have allowed manufacturers to flood the market with thousands of new, innovative products, and you'll see that the "Wal-Mart" paradigm is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
The bottom line: there are thousands and thousands of products being introduced into the marketplace, and there is no longer any way of consistently broadcasting information about these products to the market. And by the way, even if it were possible to reach mass markets with product information, there would be time for little else. There are so many new, innovative products out there, each with their own story to tell. Our lives would be occupied with infomercial after infomercial. We'd hear about so many new things our head would be spinning.
Network marketing elegantly solves a very fundamental problem faced by both the marketeers and the marketplace. That problem -- product education. Network marketing provides a vehicle for manufactures to tell their story. And network marketing provides people in the marketplace with a reliable source of product information -- namely, the people they know.
We all know how network marketing works. But perhaps it bears repeating here. In network marketing, independent distributors do the following things:
So how does all this relate to the Internet?
Well, in order to be successful in promoting your network marketing business online, you need to understand what network marketing is and what it isn't. The most powerful way to grow your business is to make high quality connections with other people, and then teach those other people to do the same thing. The Internet is the ideal vehicle for doing that. Network marketing is not mass marketing, and it is a serious mistake to think that you can somehow "spam" the Internet with your message and sign up thousands of customers/distributors.
As we've seen, one of the big advantages of network marketing is that it solves the problem of information overload. If your friend recommends a diet product to you, something that he has used and had good success with, then you don't have to go to all the trouble to find one yourself. If a friend recommends a good, reliable, inexpensive long distance services, then you don't have to wade through all the competing "plans" and "programs" -- you simply follow your friend's advice and sign up with the services he uses, the one which he also markets.
So with that concept in mind, does it make sense to market network marketing programs to perfect strangers. No, because the credibility factor is missing. When someone you don't know sees your promotional message, he's back in the "information overload" boat. He doesn't know you or trust you or respect your opinion, so your program becomes just one of many that he has to carefully analyze.
That is not to say that mass marketing of networking programs doesn't work. It does bring in leads, but they are all to often very few and far between. In many cases they are just not worth the effort, especially considering what you could be doing instead.
And what you could be doing instead, is -- networking. Using the marvelous Information Superhighway to meet people and get to know them. Develop relationships, develop rapport, develop credibility with people. Then, when you recommend something to them, something that you truly believe in, they will be about 1000% more likely to seriously consider it than a stranger would be.
Many people look at the Internet, at all the Web pages and newsgroups and mailing lists and chat areas and email addressed, and they say WOW! Just think -- the ability to reach millions of people at the touch of a button, for almost no cost, instantly. They look at the numbers and think if they could just get a fraction of a percent of those people to sign up in their program they'd be rich overnight.
It seems almost too good to be true. And what's that old saying? "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is."
People think that if they write up all the details of their program in a long ad, and then post it to every newsgroup and mailing list they can find, and then send out the same thing in unsolicited email, that it's somehow going to generate a whole lot of interest. It won't. People are already overloaded with information. They're not looking for any more "programs" from people they don't know. Long promotional postings and email messages will simply turn people off. No one will take the time to read them. They are a waste of communication bandwidth and a waste of time.
So how DO you use the Internet to promote your business? It is basically a two-step process. You use the Internet to meet people. Then you inform the people you know about your business opportunity or product. No, it won't make you rich overnight. Yes, it takes some real effort. But it is fun!
And it can be powerful. Because you're not depending on the Internet to promote your business. Instead, you are depending on your relationships. This is a key distinction. Because right now, not everybody has access to the Internet -- in fact the people with Internet access are definitely in the minority. But everyone has relationships. And if you want your business to grow exponentially, then you need to conduct it in such a way that it can be easily duplicated. Promotion via newsgroup postings and unsolicited email is not easily duplicated. Promotion by recommending to the people you know is. Anyone can do that, whether they have a computer or not. You've got to remember that, in order for you do generate a lifetime residual income, the people you sponsor will need to sponsor people, and they'll need to sponsor people, and so on, and so on. Even if you were able to successfully spam the Internet, it will have already been done once and the people you sponsor will not have that option open to them.
Now, here's an interesting twist. I've said that you need to get to know people in order to be successful sponsoring them into your opportunity. The good news is that the Internet makes that very easy to do. In fact, you can actually start promoting your products and/or opportunity right away if you use a low key approach. There are many different techniques for doing this.
One of the most effective ways for you to promote your business online is with a sig line ("sig" is short for "signature"). A sig line is a short "footer" at the end of your email messages. Many email programs, such as Macintosh Eudora (the one I use), will automatically add your sig line to every email message you send. So after it is created, you don't even have to think about it -- it just gets attached to everything you send. If your email program doesn't do that, you can just copy and paste your sig line at the end of all your email messages. Most Internet veterans agree that a sig file should be no longer than 6 lines. To give you an example, here's the one I've been using for the last couple of months:
_____________________________________________________________________
Ralph Marston | (e-mail address)
| (web address)
Make 1995 the year you... | Austin, Texas USA
Lose weight SAFELY with NEW ____________. Effectively blocks fat
production, burns fat and curbs your appetite WITHOUT stimulants.
_____________________________________________________________________
Now that goes out with every email message I send. And I send a lot of them, just in the course of daily business. Probably 20 or so on an average day. People see it and if they're not interested they just ignore it. If they're a little bit interested, they notice it. After a while they get curious and ask me about it. Then I can tell them that I've lost 23 pounds without dieting and feel great, and give them a little more detailed information about the product. But the important thing is, I'm not pushing it on anybody.
Many network marketers, in face to face conversations, use a technique known as an "interest check." This is a conversational technique that allows you to determine, in a non-aggressive, non-threatening manner, whether the person you're talking to might me interested in hearing more about your product or opportunity. An example is "Have you ever thought about owning your own business?" If the person you're talking to answers "yes", then you have an opening to talk about your business. If they say "no", then you simply move on to something else without feeling rejected. The sig line, when it's done right, is the email equivalent of the interest check.
Another excellent way to establish connections and credibility with people is to provide them with useful information. Try developing informative reports that relate to your business. Not sales pitches, but generic reports that would be of interest to prospective customers. For example, if you were promoting a long distance opportunity, you could create a report on effective telephone speaking and listening techniques. Reports like this can be delivered quickly and easily using the Internet. People will respond to free offers, and you can offer your report through ads on the online services. In fact, depending on the nature of your report, you may even be able to post it online, in an online service forum or Internet newsgroup. Understand, though, that your report must be extremely generic in nature if you're going to do this. Basically, you can't offer to send people additional information or promote your products in any way. But what you can do is ask for suggestions and comments, and develop email dialogues with the people who express an interest in the content of your report.
And that brings us to the subject of Usenet newsgroups. There are currently around 10,000 of these groups.
Don't even think of placing an ad -- or anything resembling an ad -- on a newsgroup.
First of all, you can get in big, big trouble real quick. Second, it does not work. Third, it does not work. Fourth, it does not work. Get the idea? However, you can use newsgroups to meet people, and most newsgroups do not mind if your sig line appears at the bottom of your non-promotional postings. So, the best way to utilize newsgroups is to find one that fits your interests (you do have some hobbies and interests, don't you?) and participate in the discussion. Start contributing in a meaningful way, and you'll attract people who share your interests or who wish to engage in detailed discussions of what you have to say.
If you can't think of anything else to post in a newsgroup, ask questions. For example, I'm going sailing in the Caribbean in a few months, so I might post a message on rec.boats asking people to share their stories and advice with me. Or you could try answering the questions that others have posted. This is an excellent way to become involved in the discussion on a newsgroup.
When doing something like this, you may want to leave off your sig line initially, so you don't scare people off. Correspond with them for a little while and establish your credibility before you start "selling" or promoting anything in any way. Once people are interested in you as a person, they'll be much more willing to consider the products/opportunities you are promoting.
Be sure and read the charter of any newsgroup you are participating in. It will give you a detailed description of what kind of postings are acceptable and what kind of postings will get you "flamed" or worse.
What about newsgroups that allow commercial advertising? I'd say you're wasting your time there. I've come to the conclusion that the only people that read them are other people posting ads and "tire kickers." Would you watch a TV channel that had nothing but commercials?
The most exciting opportunity to promote your business online is The World Wide Web. Notice in my sig line that I have a URL (the one that starts with http:), which is the "address" for reaching my "home page" on the World Wide Web. When someone puts my URL into their browsing software and connects to the Internet, my home page appears on their computer. I can put anything I want on my home page, and it is always available to anyone, anywhere, at the touch of a button. This is an extremely efficient and non-intrusive way of promoting your business. Instead of emailing copies of your business opportunity all over the 'net, you simply put all the details of your plan on your home page, and let people know where it is. Then if they're interested, they can take a look at their leisure.
The best part about the Web is that you can create links from one page to another. So instead of hitting people with 25 paragraphs of information at once, you can arrange it in easy-to-digest bites. For example, your home page could contain a short, 2-paragraph overview of your company, with links to more detailed information. Separate pages would contain details of the compensation plan, a list of products, testimonials, related background information, and other details. This way, people who visit your home page can "discover" the information themselves at their leisure and in the sequence they desire. It is a powerful concept -- studies have found that people remember information much better if they are able to interact with it.
The great thing about the Web is that, if done right, you can use it to quickly and easily establish your credibility with many, many people at once.
When you have a home page, there are lots of places on the Web where you can "advertise" the location of your home page. The Web is much more commercially oriented than the rest of the Internet. There are many lists and indexes of home pages where you can establish a link to yours. Even if you're not able to browse the Web, you can still set up your own home page.
I recently heard Paul Zane Pilzer, the noted economist and author of "Unlimited Wealth", talking about AT&T's sales force. AT&T estimates that it costs them several hundred dollars to get one of their salespeople face-to-face with a prospect. The average sales call lasts 45 minutes, and the company figures that 42 of those 45 minutes are spent establishing credibility. AT&T is fully aware of the fact that it's not what you say, but who is doing the saying that counts. At its most fundamental level, network marketing is based around the same principle. If you haven't first established your credibility, you're basically wasting your time, no matter how loud you scream or how many times you use the words "hot" or "ground floor opportunity" or "make money fast."
What's the best way to establish credibility? The Internet provides you with excellent ways to meet people and establish credibility. In fact, you can do so much more quickly online than just about any other method. To establish credibility, first you need to be credible. I know that sounds obvious, but it is very fundamental. You have to sincerely care about the other person. You have to sincerely believe in what you are doing. You need to take an interest in the other person. Ask meaningful questions, send them information you think might be helpful to them. Become a friend. And you'll find that this approach will not only get you more business, it will also help you to grow as a person.
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