Monday, January 25, 2010

How Can Being More Decisive Make You a More Effective Marketer

Have you ever had those days when it seemed like you just didn't get much accomplished? I'm sure we have all had that experience in the past but lets take a look at how it can affect the profits of your business.

When you get involved with a Home Based Internet Business where you now work for yourself, decisive decision making takes on a new perspective. Here's why.


Most of us have had a job of some type where we received our instructions from someone else; probably our boss. And at the end of the day we had to answer to him or her concerning what we actually got accomplished for the day. If we did not finish our work assigned to us, there was a consequence to face.


Now that I have a Home Based Internet Business, there is no one to dictate precisely what my assignment is for the day. For me, I do very well when I have a decisive or specific list of things that need to be accomplished for the day. As a farmer, there are days when there are certain procedures that MUST be done. Then there are days when nothing is pressing and I can do 'whatever' to fill my day. Those are the days that I don’t seem to get as much accomplished.


Now that I am involved with a Home Based Internet Business for multiple streams of income, I find this principle to hold true. When I am decisive about what I am going to get accomplished during the time allotment that I have available to work my business, it seems as if I get little done. Yes, I am faithful to put the time in but there are so many avenues in which I can go down that unless I decide exactly what I am going to do, I don’t get much of anything done that ‘really counts’. You know what I mean; makes my business grow, get more customers, and most importantly - make money. Yes, I may have put my time in but if my plan was to ‘work on my business’ that would mean that I could do one of a hundred different things.


Well, my business coach challenged me in his entrepreneur developement program, to be more decisive as to exactly what I am going to accomplish each day and to even break it down into time segments and precisely what I am going to focus on during that time. Will it be advertising? Calling my leads or writing an article like I am doing right now? And more specific, where am I going to advertise? Google, Craigslist, safelists, email list or all four? What I have learned is that when I choose to be very specific as to the tasks I am going to do each day, that I am able to get so much more accomplished involving those important things that will really count. And that means making more money in my business.

So from now on, I want to challenge you to write down the things that you choose to get accomplished each day. Be specific. Be decisive!

I am thankful for my mentor who has helped me to understand this concept and who now holds me accountable as to whether I am staying on task each day.


Paul Mattison

Home Business Entrepreneur

p.s. Feel free to join us each day on Seize Your Day and become a more effective marketer!
Click on this link for the scedule: www.hb2events.com

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Why People Fail in Their Home Business Venture

There are typically two primary reasons why people fail in a MLM & affiliate marketing business … These are of course, after you kick out the tire-kickers, dreamers , excuse makers, whiners, and complainers or the looky-loos and lazy bums. In other words, the quitters. MLM is a business of business ownership, pursued by people who have never been business owners! It’s a business of marketing and training pursued by people who have never marketed or trained!

So, what are the two reasons for the hard-working, dedicated people who come into this wonderful industry …

1- They start on a limited budget from the ‘cookie jar’, and they run out of money before they have a chance to build an organization.

2- They make their list of 100 warm market contacts, run through those, and then they are out of people to talk to. (And out of money to advertise).

Those are the ‘biggies’. But it doesn’t have to be that way, IF, they simply used a complete business model.

Let me give you an example…

Take a look at McDonald’s Hamburger place. They are a Billion Dollar franchise. The most successful and duplicated business model in the world. And one that happens to be run by teenagers and college drop-outs!

How? And Why? can this be?

The answer can be found in the system that makes up the foundation of the franchise. Many of us felt like we bought a business in a box, but that a few parts were missing.
You know … The pieces that actually turn your actions into “production” and “profits”. Well, if you feel like that, it’s because you’re right. Ray Kroc, the franchise master of McDonald’s was a genius in more ways than one. MLM & affiliate marketing has been compared to a McDonald’s franchise in many ways, on many occasions. If you haven’t come across these comparisons before, I’m sure you can quickly think of a few on your own. Here is what you may not have realized about Ray, McDonald’s, and your business …

Ray’s primary mission was to sell McDonald’s franchises to franchise buyers

… which then sell the burgers to the customers. More franchises = more burgers sold. Pretty simple. Our job as networkers is no different. We sell our franchise opportunity to others, and collectively market the product to the end consumer.
Here’s the interesting part to this …
Would you say that McDonald’s hamburgers are the best in the industry? Probably not! We’ve both had much better tasting hamburgers, yet it’s the largest and most successful franchise and fast food restaurant in the history of human kind. How in the world is that possible!?

How can you become #1, by selling an inferior product?!

It goes against everything we think we know about business. Well, this is exactly where the genius of Ray Kroc becomes apparent. Ray knew the product wasn’t going to be the initial key to success for his franchise buyers, just as your product is not the initial key to your success in your mlm or affiliate business. Having a good product is important after the fact …
Once you actually have customers. Then it’s critical to give them the best product possible. The key to McDonald’s success with both franchise owners and customers, was their duplicatable system.

Ray knew his food would not compare to the quality of other franchises. He also knew that potential franchise buyers didn’t give a hoot about McDonald’s or their burgers. What they did want though, was to make money.

So Ray sold them EXACTLY what they wanted, which wasn’t a restaurant, but a machine that acquired customers, and turned them into cash.

He didn’t sell them the food, he sold them a system. In fact the system was so fine-tuned, that you could take a team of unskilled, inexperienced high school kids, and have them run the show.
All they did was train each other on how to flip the switches that ran the machine, which did the majority of the work behind the scenes.

The competition didn’t stand a chance. Ray’s system was like a factory. You turn it on, and it churns out a predictable end result every time. Franchise owners started buying and setting these machines up by the thousands, turned them on, and got the end result. It was the same every time. That is why they bought McDonald’s and it’s inferior food over the competition. As these machines popped up around the country, the end product to the consumer became more than just food. It became the predictable expectation and atmosphere provided by Ray’s magical machines. And THAT is what McDonald’s provides better than anyone else in the world. That is their TRUE product to the end consumer, and it’s the best in the world at what it provides. You go to McDonald’s because you know exactly what to expect; Fast, Same taste every time, Same atmosphere in every place. It’s a comfort for people.

So, as a network marketer, selling a business franchise, what are you going to sell to your potential buyers?
Unfortunately, most of us try to sell them on your company and your product. We have a ton of websites and material about our company’s history, their record breaking growth, their debt-free finances, the value of your product(s), the user testimonials …and so on. Be smart. Do what Ray did. People get rich in this world by solving other people’s problems, and when you sell someone your opportunity, you are not solving a problem, you are giving them a BIGGER ONE!!! “Congrats, you own the hottest MLM business in the industry”! Now go get’em tiger!” But be sure to get this; Product and Comp plans don’t make you successful.

Systems do. And when I say systems, I mean a complete system which includes the pieces that bring in your customers (advertising), sell them your product (marketing), and then deliver the goods, trains the new business owners(training), and develops the relationships within the team(relationship building). Many companies or their affiliates will tell you “All you need to do is push the’Go Button’ and these machines (ads and marketing) should be doing the work for you; so I thought!

This is where the problem lies today. Almost all of the systems that I have seen are only partial. They are incomplete and lack key ingredients that are needed for the serious entrepreneur to be successful from the start without having to fork out much money. Most systems only teach you to purchase your leads when all along there are several other ways to get them for Free. In other words: you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make money.

When it comes to marketing, most of the time we are only given the basic ground level training that is essential to get started but seldom do we see training at a level that brings you to Mastery of the process.

A system is duplicatable but you are not. This is where the biggest challenge lies. Prospective business owners are not just looking for a system. They are looking for someone to take them by the hand and guide them until they can ‘learn to walk’ in this industry. And like I said in the beginning, most of us have never marketed or trained others before and now are having to do this daily. Yikes! Over 90 percent of the people were overcome by this challenge and failed to make it in their new business. This is where I, myself, and my company are redefining this industry. A success rate of a measly 3% was not acceptable, so we decided to do something about it and that was to come up with a truly complete system and program that teaches all of the Secrets that the top producers use and offer a personal development program that will give everyone the opportunity to become the leader and mentor that others will chase after, because they want to follow you.
Your job is not to sell, but to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, because THAT is the glue that binds this industry.

Take this advice to heart:

A system that is not backed up and glued together by heartfelt caring, by people, by relationships, is a ticking time-bomb. Show them and sell them a system for attaining the results they want, be a mentor, friend, and a coach, and they couldn’t care less about ORAC values, price points, and competition. I bring people into my business, and they have NEVER even seen a company/opportunity overview! That happens because I don’t sell them on the business. I sell them on me, our team, our system/training program first (because these are the ONLY things that will bring results), and THEN, I sell them on the company… (Or should I say that I allow them to sell themselves on the company). Solve their problem with your system and with your leadership. Do these two things, and you will reap success beyond your wildest dreams.

Lets build wealth successfully together!

Paul Mattison

Check our schedule and see what we do: www.hb2events.com

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Being Successful Requires Overcoming Fear


Fear is a distressing emotion that if not overcome, can cause even the best of the best to pull away and hide from the dread of failure.


Fear = a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.


Yes, everyone faces fear! Even those who seem to be some of the strongest and boldest leaders often face the trepidation that fear brings. We often imagine what might happen if things don’t go right.


When we begin a new venture; maybe a new business venture or maybe meeting someone for the first time or maybe you are starting a new job that you just got hired onto or you are called on to give a talk or speech in front of a lot of people, or maybe you are just shy to meet new people, almost without exception, we all feel an apprehension about stepping out and doing that new thing. Some things such as auto racing never get past the feeling of fear because of the danger that is involved. I am a semi truck driver and when I am loaded to 80,000 pounds, there is an adrenalin flow that I always have because of a slight fear because of the dangers present. There always seems to be an apprehension of what could happen out there on the road. Even if I don’t make a mistake, what if someone else does?!


Do I let that fear keep me from starting out on a trip? Do I shudder at the thoughts of what could happen? Maybe for a moment! But then I face the fear and say NO, “I am not going to let this fear stop me from going”, although I embrace the potential for danger and proceed with caution. The more I drove, the less the fear became, but to this day it is still there to a degree.
I believe that fear is good in the fact that it is there to protect us. To protect us from doing something stupid without giving any thought to the consequences that could happen. Fear can be a bad thing if it cripples us so much that we are not able to move forward: to give that speech, to take off with the truck, to start a business venture or to just pick up the phone and call someone. We are all affected to a different degree by certain fears. For example, I am not afraid to go out on the water and water ski like some are but to pick up the phone and call a prospect about my business opportunity; that was crippling for me at first.


What if I am rejected by the person I am about to talk to?


What if I can’t think of what to say?
or
What if I don’t please my new boss?


What if I go off the road and damage my load?


What will my family and friends think of me if I fail?


This is a list of common fears that we face on a daily basis. The fear of failing has kept many a people from accomplishing their goals. Are you going to let it stop you? Oftentimes we need help from others to overcome our fear. It is important to have someone you can listen to and receive encouragement on a daily basis. My personal development coach has been crucial to overcoming my fear. Although the fear has not left completely, I am no longer crippled by its affects and I get the job done whether it is submitting an article, talking on the phone to a new business prospect risking some of my hard earned money making an investment in something that has profit potential or doing something that I think is going to be criticized by others.


Am I afraid I might fail? I might. But if I do, I will get up and try again; hopefully this time with more wisdom and understanding so I will be more apt to succeed. Like one of my mentors said “if you fail, fail forward”. I was told to learn from my failures and use them as a stepping stone to grow upon.


So next time fear stares you in the face what are you going to do? Are you going to be cowardly and let fear defeat you? Or are you going to face it head on and tell yourself “success or failure, I am going to win the fight over fear. I’m not going to let some emotion defeat me because it is not really true anyway”. Even if we are to fail at this attempt, we have not failed unless we quit and don’t try again.


Let’s win together!


Paul Mattison
Business Entrepreneur
507-752-6102

Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Discipline of Breaking Old Habits

The reason most of us engage in any business, whether a home business or a conventional business, is to MAKE MONEY! But more often than not, there are things that each of us struggle with that keeps us from achieving the success that we desire. What can we do to fix these problems? How can I get past my fears and lack of action? How do I break a my bad habits?

This past year, I have been a part of an Entrepreneurial Development program. We join together via telephone five days a week and receive encouragement and challenges from skillful mentors. They understand what it is that we are facing because they themselves have had to face the same challenges and fears that we all face to overcome them. For me, it has been a challenge to do my daily chore of doing my internet marketing. My other work gets priority or family schedules etch out the hours and minutes of my day.

I began to realize that I was not making headway with these issues on my own but when my mentor and business coach began to challenge me in these areas, I learned what it was that I needed to do in order to achieve consistency in my marketing endeavors. My mentor taught me that I needed to choose one thing I wanted to conquer or one habit that I wanted to break. Then stick with it for 8 weeks and make sure to do the task or refrain from doing a bad habit each and every day.

Now that I began to realize what it was that was holding me back, I am able to start retraining myself to make new habits and discipline myself each and every day. When the going gets tough, my trainer is there to give me the encouragement that I need to keep pressing on and not give up.


One by one, those things that were roadblocks to making the kind of money that I wanted to make are being laid to rest. With patience, bad habits are being broken and fears are being overcome.
Every aspiring entrepreneur needs to have a development program like this. To learn more, go to
www.hb2events.com for the schedule or

take a tour of our program at www.buildingwealthsuccessfullynow.com

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Building Wealth Successfully Sometimes Means Starting Over

When you've trusted God and walked His way
When you've felt His hand lead you day by day
But your steps now take you another way ...
Start over.

When you've made your plans and they've gone awry
When you've tried your best and there's no more try
When you've failed yourself and you don't know why ...
Start over.
When you've told your friends what you plan to do
When you've trusted them and they didn't come through
And you're all alone and it's up to you ...
Start over.
When you've failed your kids and they're grown and gone
When you've done your best but it's turned out wrong
And now your grandchildren come along ...
Start over.
When you've prayed to God so you'll know His will
When you've prayed and prayed and you don't know still ...
When you want to stop cause you've had your fill ...
Start over.
When you think you're finished and want to quit
When you've bottomed out in life's deepest pit
When you've tried and tried to get out of it ...
Start over.When the year has been long and successes few
When December comes and you're feeling blueGod gives a January just for you ...
Start over.
Starting over means "Victories Won"
Starting over means "A Race Well Run"
Starting over means "God's Will Done"
Don't just sit there ..............
START OVER! [Author Unknown]

You haven’t failed unless you fail to get up and keep running – or even if it is just a crawl – you will succeed IF you keep starting over again.

Join us every morning for a half hour of inspiration and motivation.

Dial 212-812-2800 Pin Code 6863 1815
11:00am EST

Building Wealth Successfully Sometimes Means Starting Over

When you've trusted God and walked His wayWhen you've felt His hand lead you day by dayBut your steps now take you another way ...Start over.When you've made your plans and they've gone awryWhen you've tried your best and there's no more tryWhen you've failed yourself and you don't know why ...Start over.When you've told your friends what you plan to doWhen you've trusted them and they didn't come throughAnd you're all alone and it's up to you ...Start over.When you've failed your kids and they're grown and goneWhen you've done your best but it's turned out wrongAnd now your grandchildren come along ...Start over.When you've prayed to God so you'll know His willWhen you've prayed and prayed and you don't know still ...When you want to stop cause you've had your fill ...Start over.When you think you're finished and want to quitWhen you've bottomed out in life's deepest pitWhen you've tried and tried to get out of it ...Start over.When the year has been long and successes fewWhen December comes and you're feeling blueGod gives a January just for you ...Start over.Starting over means "Victories Won"Starting over means "A Race Well Run"Starting over means "God's Will Done"Don't just sit there ..............START OVER! [Author Unknown]
You haven’t failed unless you fail to get up and keep running – or even if it is just a crawl – you will succeed IF you keep starting over again.
Join us every morning for a half hour of inspiration and motivation.
Dial 212-812-2800 Pin Code 6863 1815
11:00am EST