Network Marketing (MLM) Home Business – Life Skills and Lessons Learned
I got involved with Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) or Network Marketing (NM) after subscribing to Robert Allen’s landing page.That was around in the first quarter of 2008 and it was my first time ever to be involved in a network marketing industry. I learned about Robert Allen after attending KC See’s You Can Create Wealth Seminar of Money Mastery way back 2007. They recommended reading the book on Multiple Streams of Income and I must say it’s a must read book about different money making machines. My curiosity to learn more about the author lead me to opting-in from his website’s squeeze page.
I got a call from an American speaking guy from Taiwan and I thought it was Robert Allen. I was super pessimistic when he told me it was network marketing. I got a very bad impression about the MLM from the media and friends when I was still staying and working from my country, the Philippines. I was impressed how he was able to handle my objections by throwing with another question after question. So in short he became my upline sponsor after spending sometime studying the online videos that he sent me. I did my own research and found the credibility of the company, products and the leaders as the best in the industry.
Here are some of the lessons that I learned:
1. Communication – this is the foundation of the training. We have complete set of materials like audio books from most of the top sales and mlm gurus. The lessons that I learned was very invaluable such that I never had the chance to learn them in my formal schooling. Say for example, we should treat sales as a form of communication. Everyone of us are in some sort of selling whether we like it or not or we just simply didn’t realize it. You sell yourself to an employer so that you will get that coveted job. Before you got married, you sell yourself to your partner. You sell yourself when you performed your best in a basketball or any sports tryout .
2. Mental Attitude – I did learn how to handle and accept multiple rejections both from face to face and mostly cold calls. I can’t remember how many rejections I received and no answer from my follow-up calls. You must be able to deal with different personalities. There were some who were super skeptical about the industry.No matter how you would want to ask them in a polite and appreciative manner, they will just say unpleasant things about you. Having this mindset is very important since the business is a numbers game or a law of averages.
3. Healthy lifestyle – this is the most important lesson that I will carry with me even when I grow older. At present, I’m still taking the supplements to keep me going with my daily activities. This was further reinforced after attending Tony Robbins Unleashed the Power Within Seminar last 2009. What you eat is very crucial about what you become. As much as possible though I’m not that consistent yet, I eat vegetables and fruits with watermelon and grass jelly drink as my favorite. Though I seldom play basketball, I make sure to jog if not do some exercises or a bit of dancing every time I came home from work.
Lastly, I want to share with you some very valuable lessons that I learned from a great leader. Whenever you talk to prospects you need to ask these 3 questions:
1. Is this for Real?
2. Can I trust You?
3. Will You help me?
All objections are based and rooted on these questions. If the prospective client or customer answers all of them with YES then he/she just bought YOU. Yes, You need to sell Yourself even in other business in general.
Thank You 2009 and An Exciting 2010 Goals!
WOW! 2009 will be my most memorable year! It was the year where I learned to develop my skills in internet marketing. My objective at that time was to learn how I can generate more leads to my network marketing business through pay per click. I learned more than what I expected and the thought of passive residual income while you sleep is such an inevitable and powerful tool. Internet marketing is such a lonely business if you do it by yourself so I highly recommend that you find a mentor just like when you enroll to get a college degree. I developed my skills in the field of search engine marketing – both in search engine optimization and Google adwords. It was my first time to buy a domain name for jeromecastaneda.com and learned to use this powerful blog resource of WordPress. Actually, I managed to rank on the first page for some keywords about my blog. Woohoo! I was able to dominate almost all the sites on the first page for my name Jerome Castaneda and hope to totally dominate it next year 2010. Indeed, wordpress is the king!
I had the chance to attend Tony Robbins Unleashed the Power Within 4 day’s seminar at the Singapore Expo. In those 4 days I had the chance to shape my destiny in my thoughts and managed to do a firewalker on burning coals. It was also in this event that I truly take care about my health especially the food that I ate. I just developed the love for green stuffs, vegetables and fruits. Wow, it was truly an awesome time to remember.
It was the year where I regularly attended a Personal Excellence and Growth Meetup with great life coaches, Mr. Patrick Lim and Ms. Jessica See. I’ve met like minded people and exchanged life experiences and philosophies to grow and become the person that I want to be. There were 2 things that I learned if you want to succeed or grow in life, 1. the people you know or associate with and 2. the books that you’ve read.
2009 was the year I started to grow my spiritual relationship with the Lord God through CFC-FFL Singapore (Couples for Christ – Foundation for Family and Life) as a member for the Servants of the Lord (SOLD) group. Here I got the chance to meet God filled spirited people where there’s no inhibitions about telling your personal challenges in life. Here we prayed for each one’s personal success, family and health miracles. I highly suggest to any individual to join a spiritual or religious group especially if you’re working away from your family just like me.
Now, some people (especially with hardcore employee mindsets) may ask me why on earth should I spend much time learning stuffs that is outside of my job skills as a Mechanical Engineer. My answer is very simple my friend, I have Big Dreams. I am taking Jim Rohn’s advise to work hard on myself than what I do on my job. Personal development builds up my character and my attitude at work. I have the power of concentration and the focus to become a very productive engineer not only at work but with my relationship and communication with my colleagues.
As I looked forward about my 2010 goals, I am very excited about the potential person I can become. Year 2010 will be the start of my 10 year master plan. I’ll continue the commitment of my never ending personal development blog, to become the best father to my son and a loving husband to my wife. I’ll continue to read or listen to books or audiobooks, to meet like minded individuals in personal development and internet marketing fields. I’ll continue to work and apply my skills in internet marketing, to help local businesses generate more sales to their business. I’ll continue to take care of my health by having a regular exercise and watch out on the food that I take. Most of all, I’ll continue to praise and worship God for all the blessings and for the person I become.
Goodbye Jim Rohn – the legacy continues!
Everyone in the personal development community is in the mixed state of sorrow, surprised, shocked, or bewilderment. Our grandfather of personal development, Jim Rohn died last December 5,2009 of pulmonary fibrosis. My first encounter with him is through an audiobook CD that I bought, “Building Your Network Marketing Business” at a network marketing convention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From then on, his philosophies made a great impact in my life by listening to his audiobooks repeatedly and continuously. I want to share with you in one of my audio CDs disc 6 entitled, “Waking The Sleeping Spirit Within”.
The 7 Fundamentals for Wealth and Happiness
This based from his early journal taught to him by his mentor Earl Shoaff. One of the major things taught to him by his mentor is to keep a journal. Don’t miss anything that comes your way. Don’t trust your memory. Be serious and take notes all of the things that you hear. Keep it in a journal.
1. Personal Development – Nothing happens For You until it happens To You. Learn to Work Harder on Yourself than You Do on your job. Wow, this is such a great philosophy that I learned and am continuously applying. Wealth is not something that you go after, wealth is something You attract. Success is not something that you pursue; success is something You become. So, If We Want more, We must become More.
Jim Rohn great business philosopher
2. The Search for Knowledge – If you wish to be wealthy, if you wish to change your life you must go in pursuit of the ideas that can make a difference in your bank account and your personality. Search for among your experiences; search for among other people’s experiences but by all means continue the search. Be a searcher of ideas.
3. Setting Goals – zero in on what you Want, Your Objectives! Earl Shoaff told him, if you don’t have a list of your goals, I can guess your bank account within a few hundred dollars. It meant that if you don’t have a list of your goals it can affect your bank account drastically. Jim Rohn divided it into two parts, 1.long range – your dreams for the future. Don’t give up on your dreams. Without dreams and the vision, we perish.
“Goals. There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. And there’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them.”
If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us”
4. An activity plan – having a game plan that is visual. Operate from document not from thought. Put your ideas on paper so that you can show to someone. It’s like building a house. You build a house based on a paper (blueprint) not on your head. Don’t start the day until you have it finish. Don’t start the month until you have it finish. And if you think long term, don’t start the year until you have it finish.
5. Association – you got to be careful with people you associate with. This can be both positive and negative. Never mistake the value and the effect of influence. Be careful about those people who are influencing you. There are 3 questions quiz that can help you in association. 1. Who am I around? Who do I spend a fair share of my time with? 2. What are they doing to me? Where have they got me going? What have they got me saying? What have they got me reading? What have they got me doing? How have they got me thinking? 3. Is that O.K.? Find people of substance and spend more time.
6. A plan for your resources – your best resource is your money. If you will be faithful over a few things they will make you ruler of many things, a bible phrase. Poor people spend their money and save what is left. Rich people save their money and spend what is left.
7. Lifestyle – don’t just learn how to earn but learn how to live. Lifestyle is culture and uniqueness. Read the books, enjoy the concerts, and study the fine. Sophisticated people know that a few treasure is better than a house full of junk. Sophisticated people know that just small things well-designed start the idea of culture and refinement in the person’s life.
Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.
