For years, I have taught our team three basic strategies to succeed in network marketing.

Make The Commitment. This is where it starts…and many fail before they even get going. When a potential new business partner tells me that they will try my business for a month and see how it goes, I quickly suggest that they find another sponsor. I refuse to waste my time training them. That is not a recipe for big results. That is not making a commitment. I only spend my time mentoring team members who make the commitment to do whatever it takes to succeed!

Master Necessary Skills. It takes certain skills to succeed in business. Online MLM network marketing is no different. While there are a number of skills one can learn in our industry, I teach our business partners to focus on mastering the important ones. The only skills that really matter in mlm deal with exposing new prospects to the business, enrolling them, and helping them duplicate the process. By mastering just these skills, anyone can become successful.

Take Consistent Action. Making the commitment to succeed and mastering the necessary skills will not accomplish anything unless you take action with them…and do so consistently. Even on a very part-time basis, new network marketers can be very successful if they apply themselves consistently. I would much rather see a part-timer work their business for one or two hours a night, 4 or 5 nights a week, than spend all day Saturday on it.

Find a good source of training on the basic strategies, master the necessary skills, and apply them consistently, and you can have massive success in online mlm network marketing.

To your success,

Joe Barclay
Online MLM Mentor

Lightyear Network Solutions is a telecommunications company that was established in 1993. Their wireless division, Lightyear Wireless, was founded in July 2008. They offer a variety of cell phones and nationwide calling plans. All of their wireless products and services are distributed through a network marketing model and can be purchased online. Live customer support is provided via a toll-free phone number.

I found that there are two main reasons someone would choose to join Lightyear Wireless.

1. To save money. Compared to other providers, their calling plan rates do offer savings. Their premiere calling plan of unlimited talk, text, and data is $59.99 monthly. It is a nationwide plan on a 3G network. What I really like is that this plan requires no contract, no credit check, and no deposit. Also, you can add their International Calling Plan of 1,000 minutes for $9.99. I found this to be less expensive than with other providers, too.

2. To make money. Through its MLM network marketing model, Lightyear offers its representatives the ability to make money through multiple streams of income. These include customer acquisition bonuses of $100 to $295 for helping someone join Lightyear Wireless. These bonuses are paid out on a weekly basis. They also have Fast Start bonuses and monthly residual commissions paid on the wireless bills of customers. They even offer new representatives an income guarantee!

New representatives qualify for a free cell phone. Also, you can earn free wireless service by referring three other customers to Lightyear.

Whether you are looking to save money, make money, or both, I found it makes sense to join Lightyear Wireless.

Visit this website for more information to help your decision to join Lightyear Wireless.

In MLM or network marketing, a good team is far more than just a group of people with a common upline sponsor. A network marketing team is a group of people following the same system. Usually they will mostly be in the same business organization. However, over the years I have seen several good people end up on cross-line teams too.

Being on a good team can make a huge impact on the level of success you achieve in a network marketing business, if you take advantage of everything it offers.

As a member of a good team, you will know what to do, how to do it, and have someone to reach out to for help. You won’t have to develop tools or systems. They will already be in place and tested for success. Belonging to a good team provides duplication. Everyone who joins the team follows the same system. New networkers can get their new business partners off to the same successful start by plugging them into the system.

Some of the benefits a good team provides may also be available directly from the company. However, almost all company materials teach you to promote the company. In this day of attraction marketing, it is usually far more effective to promote and brand YOU. Company-replicated websites just don’t get the same results. Also, because of its smaller size, the team will seem more personal.

Here are some of the key characteristics to look for when choosing a team:

Leadership. One of the advantages of a good team, especially if you are new to the business or the networking industry, is experienced leaders. Look for people with several years experience.

Training. There is no one best way to build any mlm business. Look for a team that provides training on a number of techniques.

Support. This is one of the biggest advantages to choosing the right team. Having a mentor to coach and support you is critical. Ideally, he or she is an experienced full-time networker who is easily accessible.

Marketing. Look for a team with systems to build your business both on and off the Internet.

Communication. A good team will communicate in several ways. The most common are a training website, emails, webinars, and conference calls.

Follow these guidelines and you will do a better job of choosing your Lightyear Wireless team.

To learn more about how to join the right Lightyear Wireless team, go to Lightyear Wireless Review.

A landing page or lead capture page is a site or page on the Internet that traffic is directed to. Visitors can be directed there by almost any media. The most common means in mlm are by clicking on a link in an email or by receiving the web address through some printed media like an ad or drop card.

A well-designed page serves one specific purpose. The most common use in our industry is to capture an interested prospect’s contact information for further follow up by getting them to fill out a form.

Several factors control the volume of prospect contact information that is collected by any one landing page. The quantity and quality of traffic directed to the page and the design of the page itself are both critical. But, they are separate topics in themselves and covered in other articles.

Those factors aside, how much and exactly what information you ask the prospect to provide determines what percentage of the visitors complete the form as desired. This is called the conversion rate.

Before designing any landing or lead capture page, it is important to be clear on exactly what its purpose is. The most common ones are to build an email list, generate leads with phone numbers, and to filter or pre-qualify prospects.

If your goal is to build your list or generate leads, only ask for the necessary information. Any time you ask for more, your conversion rate will go down. After many years of use and testing, my highest converting pages for building an email list only ask for the prospect’s first name and email address. I could do as well or better just capturing the email address, but I get the first name to be able to personalize the emails I send.

Only when you are trying to filter your prospects do you want to ask additional questions such as income goal, previous background, etc.

The majority of network marketers hurt their conversion rates by asking for too much information on their mlm lead capture or landing pages!

To your success,

Joe Barclay
Online MLM Mentor

Skype has been around since 2003. It has become very popular with people in MLM network marketing. I have it on my computer. However, I do not use it as a prospecting tool.

Before Skype, many network marketers promoted the concept of using instant message texting systems like MSN, Yahoo, AOL, ICQ, and others as MLM prospecting tools. The idea was to strike up a conversation with people you meet online and try to find common ground and a way to introduce your business opportunity to them. I did have some success doing that. But, I found it very time consuming. Way too much of my time was spent with prospects who did not qualify.

Similar prospecting techniques are now being promoted using Skype. And it’s still easy to spend too much time on tasks that do not produce results.

I prefer to practice attraction marketing and have top-quality prospects reaching out to me on a daily basis. I’ve found it to be much more time-efficient and results in better qualified prospects. And most of the attraction marketing techniques we teach our team are also free or very low cost.

Still, Skype is a powerful tool for building an MLM business. I use it regularly in two different ways.

File Transfer. It is a fast and easy way to exchange files. It’s perfect for videos, images, and other large files. There are no size limits, although larger files take longer to send. It’s much faster than sending an email. And email attachments are becoming very unpopular.

Personal Mentoring and Coaching. I find it to be the ultimate tool for one-on-one coaching. When I can’t be there in person, a video call is the next best thing.

If you don’t already have Skype, download it today. It’s a great tool for building your MLM business!

To your success,

Joe Barclay
Online MLM Mentor

However, it’s not just a numbers game. Enrolling the wrong prospects can actually work against you. You can waste valuable time and energy that could be spent mentoring other team members who are more likely to be productive.

One of the things I really like about network marketing and the way we train our team to build their business is that you can be very selective about who you bring onto your team. I do not try to enroll every lead that comes along. In fact, I’ve learned to be quick to disqualify prospects who don’t measure up to certain standards.

Many prospects are a little skeptical. And that’s OK…to a point. But, if a lead is going to require a lot of convincing, we train our team members to let someone else sponsor them into their mlm.

Over the years I have learned that hard core skeptics are typically the ones who will require more of my time, be more likely to be excuse-makers, and require re-convincing over and over again. It’s just not worth enrolling them.

Here are the three mlm sponsoring principles we teach our team to make dealing with skeptical prospects easier:

Rather than focus on numbers, focus on bringing team-builders into your business. It’s definitely more important to look for quality business partners.

No single potential business partner will make or break your business. Do not allow yourself to become emotionally attached to sponsoring anyone. Always be ready to disqualify a prospect and move on.

You are not here to try to convince anyone. Put prospects through your information pipeline. Answer their questions. Follow up with them. If they are still skeptical, let them go.

Learn how to handle skeptical prospects. It can lead to a huge improvement in your mlm sponsoring!

To your success,

Joe Barclay
Online MLM Mentor

Nothing will brand you as an amateur faster than telling a hot prospect that you will have to get back with them. And then when you finally do follow up with that lead, they will have either lost interest in your opportunity or found a more skilled sponsor to work with.

I am always amazed at how many network marketers are not always prepared ahead of time, even though it is very quick and simple to do. In fact, most of your preparation can and should be completed the very first day you are in an mlm business.

Do not let your eagerness to build a new business cause you to skip some simple preparations. It will actually save you a tremendous amount of time later on.

And when you do have the follow-up tools in place, you really do not need to know that much about your company to have huge success anyway. Over the years I have found that letting the tools do the talking brings far better results for both new networkers and seasoned veterans alike. And letting the tools do the talking shows the prospect that they can easily work the business from day one also.

Here is a short list of the kinds of follow-up tools to have ready for both online and offline mlm sponsoring. While there is no need to use all of these tools, be sure you are always prepared with a few.

Business cards, drop cards, flyers, magazines, dvds, brochures, applications. Always be ready to leave physical materials with prospects you meet in person.

Pre-written follow up emails, links to landing pages or information pages, and your company sign-up page. Have these ready ahead of time for online or telephone prospects.

Scripts of what to say and the phone numbers for upline support and 3 way calling for both online and offline prospects.

If you do not have these tools in place, get with your sponsor today. Be sure that the next time your phone rings, an email comes in, a landing page opt-in hits your inbox, or you run into a great prospect at the grocery store, you are ready to follow through with them. It will lead to big success in your mlm sponsoring.

To your success,

Joe Barclay
Online MLM Mentor

Even though our focus is primarily online, for years I have taught our team to locate top-notch leads using business cards. And no, I am not talking about distributing business cards or drop cards. I’m talking about collecting other business people’s business cards.

This is a free marketing method that is easy to implement, easy to teach new team members to use. It is a very non-threatening technique that allows you to be selective about who gets into your prospecting pipeline. It can create an unlimited number of prospects. And, best of all, it gets results!

Once you get in the habit of looking for them, other people’s business cards are easy to find and collect. Look for community bulletin boards and boards at gas stations and convenience stores. Business cards can be found in racks or on the counter at almost any kind of small business.

Only collect cards of people who look like the kind you would like to be in business with. I look for professionals and those who have an entrepreneurial look or sales background. Real estate, insurance, other networkers all make great prospects.

I have had best results with real estate professionals, not just because of the current real estate market, but because they do basically the same things we do. In real estate, their income depends on their performance. They talk to people and build relationships…just like we do in mlm.

When you collect a business card, be sure to write the date and where you found the card on the back of it. Then it’s just a matter of approaching that prospect to see if the timing is right for them to be open to looking at another stream of income.

The easiest way to approach them is by email. The key is to see if they are interested in learning more rather than to immediately try to introduce your business to them. Here is the outline of a sample email we teach our team to use:

Hi Bob. I found your card at the gym. I am with company XYZ. We are looking to expand in your area. I am searching for a business professional who can help me and earn a substantial second income along the way. May I send you some information for your review and maybe set a time to talk later? Thanks.

The phone approach follows a similar outline. Again, the sole purpose of the phone call is to find out if they are open to looking. Don’t try to sell them. You should be on and off the phone in less than a minute.

Get in the habit of collecting business cards as you go about your day. There is no easier way to selectively pre-screen your prospects, fill your leads pipeline, and increase your MLM sponsoring.

To your success,

Joe Barclay
Online MLM Mentor

A drop card, sometimes called a sizzle card, is a brief classified ad placed on a business card. I have been using them for over 15 years and have enrolled a number of good people into my organization through them.

As in any advertising, the headline is the most critical part of the drop card. Then you need 2 or 3 short lines of body copy compelling the prospect to take action. Prospects can be directed to either an 800 number or a website to capture their contact information.

Testing is the only way to maximize your results with drop cards. Test your headline. Test your copy. Test your call to action. From extensive use and testing, I have found that pointing prospects to a website generates the best results. I have also found that results are best when only offering one way for the prospect to take action. You actually dilute your results by offering both a phone number and a website.

There are several reasons I really like drop cards.

They produce results. Over the years, I have averaged around 8% conversion of drop cards to quality leads!

Drop cards are very low-cost. There are a number of online companies where you can design your own card. Some companies even give you an initial order of 250 cards for free to attract new customers.

Drop cards are frequently passed on from one prospect to another, as in viral marketing.

We teach our team to always have drop cards with them as they go about their daily routine. They can be left on store counters, bulletin boards, with the tip at a restaurant (my highest converting method), and a number of other places where people gather. I do not recommend plastering the windshield of every car at the mall, though.

The real key to success with drop cards is to consistently distribute a large volume of them. Make drop cards part of your daily routine and watch your mlm business grow!

To your success,

Joe Barclay
Online MLM Mentor

First, all of the offline methods I train are very duplicatable and free or very low-cost. If you learn the right methods, it is very non-threatening and likely to be copied by any networker who is really serious about being successful.

Second, because so many people want to rely on the Internet these days, there is very little competition for the offline methods. Even small efforts can bring big rewards. Simple offline techniques are a great way to get new people started quickly.

And lastly, it lets me test the commitment of my new business partners. If they won’t follow these simple techniques, they are probably not serious about their business. For years I’ve had the best results building my business by identifying and spending my time with my most motivated and serious business partners.

Here are the 3 most effective offline methods new team members learn in our training:

Vehicle Lettering. A one-line call to action directing prospects to either an 800 number or a website is very effective. I recommend the back window of the vehicle for best visibility. Inexpensive vinyl lettering can be ordered online or at a local sign shop.

Sizzle Cards. Also known as drop cards, these are business card size advertisements again pointing to either an 800 number or a website. They can be left on store counters, bulletin boards, with the tip at a restaurant, and a number of other places.

Collecting Business Cards. We train our team to get in the habit of collecting other people’s business cards as they go about their daily routine. We use a simple email to approach these people to see if they are open to looking at another stream of income.

Learn to use these simple but effective methods for offline and local marketing. They can create a big increase in success in your mlm business.

To your success,

Joe Barclay
Online MLM Mentor