That's really the question you need to ask yourself.

With the internet it seems like you need to know an endless amount of information in network marketing in order to be successful. In the next few minutes I'm going to help you undo what a lot of people have been brainwashing you to do in order to pocket your money.

Here are the 5 things you really need to know about network marketing:

1. Online/offline marketing both work. Some people started offline marketing (me included) and failed miserably. Nobody wanted to join the "pyramid scheme" and we got discouraged. We then moved to the internet to avoid our warm market. Lo and behold we're buying everything known to man and end up in a worse financial situation than when we first started network marketing.

   Solution: If you plan on doing offline marketing plan on joining a team that actually has a product people want to buy. When I first started I was selling insurance which nobody wanted. Now I'm promoting a product that everyone in my warm market wants in on. If you don't have that yet click here to see what I'm doing. If you plan on marketing online pick 1-2 strategies you are interested in mastering. Remember there is no magic button that will make you millions overnight.

2. The phone is your moneymaker. Most people who are failing are afraid of the phone. They haven't overcome their fear of the word "no" yet. For the longest time I couldn't bring myself to call any of my leads simply because I couldn't bear the thought of someone turning me down.

   Solution: If you want to make sales or build your primary much faster, you're going to have to go through this initiation. The more people that turn you down the more you get immune to it. For every person that turns you down, you're one step closer to getting someone to say yes. Buy a cheap list of leads and make a couple hundred of cold calls. This will help you immunize yourself and eventually turn hot targeted leads into sales right away.

3. The money is in the list. You've probably heard this a million times so here's your one million plus one reminder. You need to build a list. Whether it's offline or online you have got to have a list put together so you can start marketing to them. The bigger your list and the more targeted it is, the better chance you have at making more money.

   Solution: Building offline usually requires you to write down a list of the top 25 people you have a solid relationship with. To supplement that list just think of people you have constant contact with (i.e. your mailman, kid's teacher, choir director etc.) Online requires some sort of autoresponder to help you manage your leads and to conveniently e-mail them any value or products you want them to check out. Get people to opt in to your list and you'll have a database of leads very quickly. If you're on my team you need to contact me so we can get your list together.

4. Product and compensation plan do matter. It's a shame that some people brainwash you into thinking that these two things don't matter when in fact it really does. I know what they're really trying to say is that you becoming a better marketer is more important than those two but these are extremely important. After all a compensation plan that is unilevel and has someone doing 100% of the work 100% of the time leaving him short of his rank advancement is NOT the same as someone who gets a few people, falls short of his rank advancement but his upline literally helps him over to his rank advancement and therefore make more money (it's seriously what we do on my team…check it out here). A product that everyone in your family and circle of friends wants is NOT the same as one that you try to convince them to buy.

   Solution: Simply find a better product and compensation plan with solid leadership. I've been in the industry for years and quite honestly have never had an easier time making money than right now. Click here to see what my team is doing.

5. Finding the right team. One of my closest friends experienced this. You see he was the biggest skeptic of network marketing. Not too long ago a mutual friend tried to recruit him onto her team and he refused. A few months later I joined the same opportunity through a ridiculously awesome team and brought him on board. With our team we got him to the same rank as our friend (who had already been in the company 4 months prior) in one week. That is the power of the team.

   Solution: Honestly evaluate where you are in your business. If you're not making money and you've been in at least 3 months it's probably time to change things up. I was able to qualify for a free BMW in a month and a half of joining. It's not everyone's story but it certainly does happen to a majority of people on our team. As you can see in this blog, I'm all about helping you make money. If you're not making money click here and we'll see if you and I are a good fit.

Apply these top 5 principles to your business and money will be sure to follow.

Have you ever wondered what successful people do every day? If not have you ever wondered how highly successful people even became successful?

If those two thoughts haven't even popped in your mind once you probably don't have the right mindset for this industry…yet.

You see there are two types of people who want to become rich: the people who just wish they could be rich somehow (usually the lottery) and those who try to figure out how other people did it.

I've studied a number of successful network marketers in this industry and there is a common pattern in all of them…they all have a set routine to build their business. They usually aren't distracted by other things…at least until they've fulfilled their duties for the day.

I wanted to share 3 habits you can start implementing in order to mold yourself into a successful network marketer.

1. Successful people meditate/exercise. This is done to help jump start the body, mind and soul for the day. You need exercise to get the blood flowing and help provide consistent oxygen flow to your creative center…your brain. Meditation or prayer actually helps you organize your goals for the day and subconsciously put yourself into business mode. It also helps you relax and enjoy what you're doing as opposed to frantically trying to do things and elevating your stress level. Remember, you wanted to get away from all that from your J.O.B. Prayer has personally helped me get back to my roots and why I started doing network marketing in the first place.
2. Successful people have mp3 on the go. All great network marketers have audio files on them at all times. If they're going out for a walk for their morning exercise, they're listening to some training. If they're driving to and from work and get stuck in traffic they plug in an audio to pass the time. Everywhere these network marketers go they have some sort of audio that will help make them into better people. Since I mostly run I tend to use the car method much more frequently.
3. Successful people plan the night before. Nothing is a time eater like sitting around trying to figure out what you need to do the rest of the day. If you go into the day with a checklist of things you need to take care of you become 10 times more efficient. This is particularly useful if you're doing this on a part-time basis and have other obligations to take care of. Personally I either have a sticky note pad that I write on (usually 5 items so I don't get overwhelmed) and post in on my computer screen to remind me the next day.

All of these habits are used by successful network marketers. If you want to speed up your business this is the way to do it. They are simple but that doesn't mean easy. If you need to take them on one at a time then do it. The key is to eventually turn these daily actions into routines and eventually habits. Once you master this you will see some ridiculous results in your business.

Cool sales page > Log into Paypal > New ebook

Cool sales page > Log into Paypal > New software

Cool sales page > Log into Paypal > New report

The story behind the network marketing mystery

Unfortunately this is the circus act we as network marketers tend to do over and over again. We parade around the internet looking for instant riches, find the hottest strategy and move on to the next one like a shiny red ball.

But why? Why are we so darn addicted to spending a ridiculous amount of money on strategies that don't get us results?

Again I ask you…WHY?!

I knew a guy who had a girlfriend once upon a time who he was in love with. They had been dating for about 2 years at the time and seemed like the ideal couple for us younger folk. I played basketball with this guy but once the girl rolled into his life let's just say basketball wasn't a priority anymore. He would always tell me he would show up to play on our regular Saturday night pick-up games but flaked out. I came to find out he would drive the 30-45 minutes those nights to hang out with her.

So our friendship was deteriorating…but I later found out his relationship with this girl was rocky too. She put him through so much pain and yet he was still with her for a considerable amount of time.

And so you ask again…why? Why would a guy flake out on his close friend to be with a girl who was causing so much pain in his life?

Because it feels good…plain and simple.

That's the definition of an addiction when you break it down. You do something that's destructive to yourself because it feels good for a short amount of time.

Analysis on my marketing metaphor

Let's take a look at my buddy in this example. His friendship with myself and with his family was falling apart and he was stressing out. Is that the feel good part? Hardly.

The part he was addicted to…the part that felt good was being in a relationship. The fact that he was in a "relationship" is what kept him addicted to this girl.

Likewise network marketers face a similar addiction…an addiction that spirals out of control and forces people to eventually quit this awesome industry.

We find a shiny new sales page with the hottest claims and purchase that product. We open the first few pages and just stop. We complain about not getting results with that product and move on to the next shiny sales page we stumble on. So does the fact that we're spending money and not getting results feel good? Absolutely not!

Because buying feels good.

We feel that we've got the golden ticket to 7 figures. We feel we've got the easy button at our fingertips. We feel we have microwave success right in our lap.

But that's simply not the case is it?

You and I both know that it takes work, time, dedication, late nights and creative ingenuity to succeed in here.

My advice to you…find the proven ways to market online first. Notice I didn't say find the ways the claim to make you money. Market using the proven strategies first get results, tweak them for better results and scale out from there. If you don't get results, find out what you're doing wrong without completely changing your strategy. Once you find what works, spend 80% of your time working on the 20% that's getting you results.

If you don't have a plan yet on making money click here to get access to the simple formula I'm using to see commission checks day in and day out.

I remember when I was a kid I was a huge fan of Captain Planet.

You know…the five kids from around the world that got rings from Gaia (Whoopi Goldberg) to control the elements? When they combined their powers they were able to summon Captain Planet (who happened to be business on the front…party in the back) and fought to save earth from polluters.

You think going green was big now? You should have seen what my generation was going through…but that's besides the point.

I'm going to try to name all the Planeteers just for giggles and your entertainment…

• Kwame had earth
• Wheeler had fire
• Linka had wind
• Gi water
• Mati had heart

Okay I cheated a little bit…I looked up Wheeler and Gi but 3 out of 5 isn't too bad for watching a show *insert number of years* ago. But here's what I want to illustrate…

Individually these Planeteers had a spectacular power at their disposal. The ability to control an element? Count me in! But many times the show would pose a situation where their powers by themselves would fail to save the day.

And so the popular phrase was coined…"By your powers combined…I AM CAPTAIN PLANET!"

"Go Planet!"

Teamwork.

A very cliche word tossed around since the day we were born. YMCA sports, Boy scouts, class exercises, ROTC and trust falls…played out right?

Well not quite. You see if it really was played out in network marketing there wouldn't be so many sponsoring rockstars suffering in their paycheck. It's not enough that you sponsor a ton of people because the name of the game is leverage.

Say it out loud…Network marketing = Leverage.

And I'm definitely guilty of forgetting this. I kept thinking the word entrepreneur meant solo…I guess I went solo because most of my friends didn't want anything to do with MLM.

Can you relate?

I want this to serve as a reminder to your duty as both an entrepreneur and network marketer…that teamwork is the ultimate goal.

Don't burn yourself out by yourself…burn yourself out teaching, coaching and leading your team to help build a REAL residual income.

Most people don't have a team…I'm happy to say that I have a very motivated team that I enjoy being around. Some people I met online and created a relationship in person while some are people I've met offline and meet on a continual basis. Find your team so you can enjoy not only the money but the people that help you achieve it.

If you've been on the internet for quite a while and haven't made money yet, pay attention.

In just a few moments we're going to go into the good, the bad and the ugly of what this world wide web can do for you and what sorts of obstacles you've probably encountered or will encounter if you don't take this seriously.

The good:

• The internet is huge
• If used correctly you can make a lot of money
• You can also identify your target market very quickly and run your business on autopilot
• You don't have to worry about using up time walking around or traveling to meet up clients
• You also don't have to call everyone on your team that you're going to have a meeting that night…you can simply blast an e-mail and people will show up.

The bad:

• It's tough to get momentum going
• Constant changes in search engine algorithms can make it hard for content marketers
• Overload of attraction marketing systems doing the same thing
• Non technical people trying to learn technical things can be discouraging

The ugly:

• Most people end up spending way too much money buying info courses (guru courses)
• Network marketers try to be internet marketers and don't learn essential network marketing skills
• Bank accounts are in the red with no hope of profit
• Most people will end up quitting

Read through this list again and make sure you can relate to all of these bullet points…

Think back to a time in your life where you were excited to do something…something that took a lot of your time simply because you were so passionate about it. It could be volunteering, coaching a sport or picking up a hobby.

Think about the moment you got excited about that particular thing and how you were visualizing what you would do…

…were you picturing the smiles on people's faces when you served them?

…the excitement the kids showed when they won their first game ever?

…the pride in putting together a model airplane and actually having the right parts in the right place…

Whatever you visualized at that point in time, that probably didn't happen right off the bat. You probably had to deal with rude people, rowdy kids and bad model parts.

That's life.

Fortunately, there's also a solution to your marketing woes on the internet. I like to call it neomonetizing anti-guruism…making money without being a guru.

Not good at selling with videos…no problem

Not great at SEO…no problem

No mentor to follow…no problem

What we will do for you is not only tackle those problems to make you money…we'll train you to get better in those areas. Wouldn't it be great to pick at the brains of the top leaders who are making things happen? Would you feel better if you were making a lot of money while you were learning marketing strategies instead of learning for 90 days only to struggle when you apply it?

Let's fix things my friend.

If you're ready to start making a lot more money, if you're ready to stop digging into your bank account and if you're ready to finally ready to do it without being a guru click here now to make it happen right now.

When you finish reading this, you're going to have a complete understanding of how to make more sales when thinking of Pablo Picasso.

It's no surprise Picasso is one of the most famous names in the art world. When we hear about random artist references, he's definitely in the top 5.

But why do I bring his name into the marketing and sales industry? What does he have to do with network marketing?

If you've ever read the New Testament of the Bible Jesus is constantly bombarded with questions from the Pharisees. He's just out there in the city teaching people and the "educated and respected" elders try to show him up with tough questions.

Does it phase him? Absolutely not.

I remember back in my college days it was hard for me to conceptualize a lot of engineering concepts…I mean they're so abstract and you really have to have a purely logical brain to understand it immediately. Luckily I had friends who could create analogies for me to understand things like the Fourier Transform and signal wave analysis…but I digress.

When my study group put these concepts into terms I could understand, I instantly saw an increase in my grades and somehow managed to graduate.

In Jesus' time, he answered questions in the form of parables…stories of day-to-day situations that would help people picture the question being answered. Essentially he would tell a story and pretty much get people to make a decision…which was in line with what he was teaching.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Your job as a marketer is to paint a picture for your prospects. When you have a product that you want to sell, you must be able to help people visualize them using the product…and absolutely loving it.

I'm not talking about using ridiculous claims that your product will never deliver just to make a commission…I'm talking about making the benefits of your product even prettier.

For example:

Product: A voice command TV

Target Market: Stay at home parents who constantly have their hands full

Painting the picture: Stop what you're doing and listen up! Visualize yourself at home watching the kids and doing the dishes while still being able to flip through your favorite channels. Wouldn't it make your life easier if you didn't have to stop what you were doing, find the remote and flip through the useless channels? If you're ready to make a simple and profound change in how you enjoy every single day buy the voice command TV right now.

Granted I didn't use the best wording to actually sell the TV but you get the picture. Let's analyze this a bit shall we?

So we've identified our target market of stay-at-home parents who are always chasing after the kids, washing dishes, cleaning etc. If they want to go through the TV channels they usually watch, they have to stop and find the remote. Basically all productivity is out the window for that period of time and even during commercials if they use a remote.

Now let's analyze a few things about painting the picture. I first appealed to the senses…using the word visualize. This automatically puts someone in "close your eyes and look around" mode. Next I start asking questions that they have to say yes to. If they don't, well clearly this product isn't for them. By creating a series of yes's I'm able to close them into buying the product much easier…otherwise they were lying the whole time.

Do you get the gist of it? This is what you have to do with your network marketing leads. Paint a picture for them and help them see that what you have to offer is the solution to their problems.

Comment and share this with your friends and show me some love if you enjoyed this tip.

With superhero movies popping up all over Hollywood it's hard to deny that people love heroes. The past 5 years alone have brought out a surge of childhood favorites that have brought in millions upon millions to the industry. Spiderman, X-Men, Superman, Batman, pretty much every Avenger and so forth. Heck even the show Heroes was a huge hit…at least my friends thought so.

Face it, you want to be the hero.

You can't fight the urge to be that person who rises up from the ashes and shows everyone you did it…

…and honestly I can't blame you.

There was a time when I took on the network marketing business solo. I bought into the attraction marketing concept and ran with it. I hardly networked with other marketers simply because I thought I could do it on my own…build my business with no one else's help.

Dwayne Pyle, a great friend and my first mentor in this industry, was absolutely great at connecting with people. He seemed to have a fearless attitude at just building an inner circle of people to mastermind with.

In a few moments, you're going to learn 7 reasons why you don't need to be the lone hero in your network marketing company…

1. Look at the name of this industry. The name network marketing means connecting with people. This doesn't just mean connecting with prospects…but rather with other marketers who you can bounce ideas around with. You want to surround yourself with people you could learn from, do joint ventures with and just create friendships. Show me the 5 people you spend the most time with and I'll tell you who you are.
2. Leverage. That's the name of the game in this business. You want to leverage the work of other people (of course that doesn't mean you should be a bum either). Lawrence Tam, another great friend and my second mentor, became the #1 affiliate in his training system by leveraging the work of other leaders. Sure he sponsored a bunch of people but having top leaders under you is the best way to really explode your income.
3. Motivation. It's tough to keep grinding it out in this industry especially if you're not seeing results and you put in so much time. Trust me I've been there. If Dwayne or Lawrence weren't around, I probably wouldn't be here writing this for you. Having people encourage you and help tweak your strategies definitely puts you back on the front line to keep fighting for your dreams.
4. Everyone else is gone. Literally everyone has moved on to something else. It may be because your product or opportunity just doesn't resonate well with your target market. Maybe there's a better payout somewhere else. Whatever the reason, loyalty to the company/product is admirable but not necessarily the best decision. Try giving an honest evaluation of what you're promoting.
5. It's taking a toll on your personal life. Spouse, kids, friends…they all miss you. You've put in so much work with little to show and it's taking a toll on your personal relationships. This ties in to the concept of leverage and creating a team effort.
6. Money. You're in this industry not necessarily for the money…but rather what that money can do for you. Vacations, private school, pay off debts etc. If you're trying to emerge as a hero in your marketing company but not seeing the results you want/need it's time to reconsider your strategy.
7. Fun. Believe me it's not fun flying solo in network marketing. It's brutal and discouraging. As soon as I found a team that was constantly moving, motivating and recognizing people's efforts I was having fun. Not only did I have fun but I made the most money from that team than I had in the previous 3 years in my first 45 days. That, my friend is absolutely key.

You see, Dwayne connected with some of the top leaders in network marketing on the internet. What that got him was a product he created on the shelf of the largest attraction marketing system on the internet. He's making sales on autopilot in a system where people are hungry for value…that's absolutely what Dwayne delivers.

Trying to build your network marketing business on your own is either inspiring or downright stupid…and I'm leaning towards the latter. I tried going the path you may be on now and it's not fun. Sure you can say to yourself that you're still in the industry when so many others have quit. Sure you can say that you'll hit that dream residual income one day.

But instead of dreaming about that dream income as the lone hero in your company, why not make it a reality with a team that literally helps you reach your goals? Don't postpone your success because of your ego or loyalty to something that's not making you money.

If you want to join arms with a team that is ready and willing to push you over the top, to help you make more money in your first 45 days than in the past 3 years then click here now to take control of your destiny today.

Guilt trips were one of my biggest vices growing up.

I'm not particularly proud of it but it did get people to do what I wanted or at least make them feel bad for not doing something I wanted. But as I look back on those "manipulative" moments of my past, I realize that I had a part of me that was born to market…part of who I am was made to build this network marketing business.

I'm going to share one example of those guilt trips (but please don't use this on your loved ones LOL)

You see, I don't complain much and I always get the job done. It doesn't matter what task…you ask me and I'll get it done.

This method of operation gained me a lot of respect from my circle of friends…a no excuse attitude, no whining, punctual go-getter attitude.

Now I want you to think about someone you truly admire in your life…your parents, teachers, religious leader, boy scout leader, sibling or friend.

I want you to imagine doing the worst possible thing that would hurt them emotionally…

Imagine the look on their face when they find out what you did…

Now imagine how little you feel…how guilty you feel for doing it…

This is exactly how a lot of my friends viewed me…they hated disappointing me…and that was my alley to get them to do whatever the heck I wanted.

Can you see where this is going? I had people in a position where they could either do what I wanted them to do or feel bad for not doing that…granted I misused the privilege on occasion but it totally demonstrates that there was a marketing essence in me.

Marketing is being able to position yourself in a way where you can get people to join you or at least feel somewhat empty for not joining you…that's a very powerful concept to understand.

But let's look at you…do you have that marketing essence as a marketing pro?

Here are a few questions to help evaluate…

• Are you married? (verbal copywriting on selling yourself)
• Ever call in sick with a fake sick voice? (deep desire for freedom)
• Evangelized your faith? (sharing your passion)
• Gave a good alibi for playing golf instead of lunch with the in-laws? (creative reasoning)
• Convinced the wife/husband to get that new informercial product? (listing benefits)

These are just a few questions to help evaluate the marketing pro in you. If any of these questions have rung a bell or you can relate to a similar situation, chances are you have that marketing essence in you.

Sometimes we all need to hear or read something that shakes things up within us. Sometimes we don't even know we possess something in us until the right moment comes. Sometimes, as Tony Robbins says, we have to awaken the giant within us and achieve that network marketing success.

Comment and share this post if you can relate and if you are ready to awake the giant within you.

Why exactly is relying on free Google SEO for traffic dumb? Isn't Google the king of all the search engines? Isn't it supposed to handle all the traffic on the internet and bring it to the appropriate search results?

Kevin you've got to be out of your mind…SEO technique is second nature to me.

Stop and think for a moment about those questions you just read. I'm positive at least one of those questions just flew through your mind because of what you've learned so far. Google is the biggest search engine that handles ALL the organic traffic , a TON of paid ads and delivers highly relevant content to its users.

The further you read, you'll begin to understand why I think you shouldn't focus all your efforts on Google's traffic.

1.  Google updates. By far the biggest reason why I don't recommend going all-in on Google is because of the updates. There was the Panda update, which slapped the crap out of a lot of marketers out there and more recently the Penguin update which I'm sure is kicking more people's butts. Now, I understand why Google is doing this in the first place. We as marketers like exposing loopholes and we found a big one until the updates came along. EzineArticles.com took a hard hit in traffic, spammy blog posts with garbage backlinks were tossed out the backdoor with no hesitation and sites that held the #1 spot were downgraded big time.
2. Poor keyword research. People new to the whole SEO arena actually do some pretty poor research. For starters, it's usually WAY too competitive and they end up being discouraged altogether. Secondly, they use keywords that don't bring in targeted buyers. If this is you, this could be a big reason why you're not making any money so far.
3. Other marketing methods. There are a ton of marketing strategies out there. Social media, classifieds, forum marketing, Web 2.0, and a lot more. Just because SEO is talked about a lot doesn't mean it's the only way to get leads for your business. I use to rely nearly 100% on Google traffic but I decided to get more creative and bring in traffic through different avenues.

Now I'm not saying to completely eliminate Google from your arsenal…far from it. I mean, my blog is bringing in Google traffic for crying out loud. The thing that's killing most people right now is that they put all of their eggs in one basket and that's a huge mistake.

I generate a ton of leads using organic traffic from Google using this tool. However, as the Boy Scouts of America always say…Be Prepared because you never know what the next update is going to do to your traffic flow.

Share and comment below what the Google updates did to your traffic and what strategies you started using to get it back.

That's a pretty number isn't it? 100…

For some people it's the perfect grade, others it's a lifespan milestone, and others a nice chunk of change.

Want to know what 100 means to me?

For me, 100 is the essence of me being here today and writing this post for you. It is the foundation for my inevitable success in this industry and it is the cornerstone that kept me from quitting.

Wait…seriously Kevin? A number did all that for you?

The reason why this number is so dear to me is because that number is the number of reasons on why I would succeed. I wrote those reasons years ago and here I am today doing what I do best…providing servant-driven leadership and building a team that is motivated and moving.

Years ago when I first joined this industry, I was just a young college kid looking to create a safety net for myself should corporate America decide to pull the rug from under me just like it did to my dad. At my first business meeting as an associate, I was told to write down 100 reasons why I would succeed in this industry. Naturally I thought 3-5 would be fine but I went along with it anyway.

As I started learning about this industry and becoming more intrigued, I started listening to audio tracks that a particular leader made. He happened to touch on the subject of having those reasons for success and that's when it clicked for me.

He put it like this…

"I love my wife. Now by society's standards she may not be the most attractive in their eyes but to me, she is absolutely perfect. When I participated in an exercise to write down 100 reasons why I love my wife, our relationship grew. I started digging through the surface-level qualities and started digging deeper as to why I truly loved her."

Now imagine hearing that…a man who truly loves his wife and ultimately ends up loving her more because of a simple exercise. Do you think they're relationship is set up for success with this exercise?

Here is where my reasons came in handy. I lived in a 4 bedroom apartment with ridiculously thin walls. My roommates happened to be noisy, lazy and inconsiderate for the most part. So I was stuck in a place where I couldn't focus, I couldn't record videos properly and pretty much couldn't make any money. I would have to wait late at night to sneak into college classrooms so I could record videos in front of the whiteboard and carry out my marketing in a focused environment. As soon as I finished my homework and had Ramen for dinner, I had to go out and make things happen.

Honestly I could feel the weight taking its toll on me. Sometimes the classrooms would be locked and I had no where to record. Sometimes the janitor would accidentally walk in on me recording. Sometimes exams would take away all my marketing time.