Imagine © 2001 Elena Fawkner Imagine a world where everyone tells it like it is. Rather than as it isn't. Imagine a world where you could not get rich overnight, but you could become wealthy over time. Imagine a world where your financial rewards were directly related to how hard you work. Imagine a world where ethical business practices were rewarded by loyal customers and repeat business. Imagine a world where reality was not something that killed a deal but made it. Imagine a world where the charlatan was seen for what he is and not as someone who has the magic power to release us from the tyranny of effort. Imagine. Those of us earning a living on the Internet recognize its true potential. We also recognize the damage caused by those who perpetuate the fantasy of another kind of WWW. Wealth Without Work. It just doesn't exist. If you want to make serious money on the Internet then, with a few exceptions, you really need to be involved in network marketing. Many of you reading this article are already involved in one or more network marketing programs. One of the most important objectives (along with selling your product at the retail level) is introducing new people to the business aspects of the program in the hope that they will join your network (or downline) of distributors. If they do so, you earn a commission on their sales. Imagine what would happen if you told it like it is, rather than your usual hyped-up promises that you know deep down where it counts are only going to fall flat. Imagine what would happen if you told your prospects that it was probably going to take them a solid six months of work before they even started making money with your program. Nine out of ten would move on, right? Maybe nine point nine would move on. Good! Good? Yes, good! Why do you want to waste your time and effort on the nine who are not prepared to do what it takes to make a success of your program? You don't become wealthy by having a lot of people in your downline. You become wealthy by having productive people in your downline. One productive person will always be MUCH more valuable than ANY number of people who never do anything with the opportunity before them. So why not spend your time and effort weeding out the tire-kickers? Make people have to QUALIFY for your attention. Force them to make an investment in your opportunity BEFORE you make an investment in them. Protect yourself from people who would only waste your time. How? Your first line of defense is a good gut-check. When people respond to your ad for more information, read the literature you make available and say, "Sign Me Up!," qualify them for admission. No, it is NOT enough that they fog a mirror. Remember, you don't get rewarded merely for the number of people in your downline. You get rewarded for developing and nurturing a hard-working, PRODUCTIVE downline. So prequalify your prospects by asking them the three tough questions: 1. Why does this program appeal to you in particular? The correct response is that they love the product! The best network marketers are products of the product. If someone wants to join your program without having a clue about the product, that's *your* first clue that this person is not going to be worth your time and attention. Personally, I would not be prepared to work with someone who was not at least as passionate about the product as I am. 2. How much do you want to earn from this business? Some people may only be looking to supplement their existing income by a few hundred dollars a month. Others are looking to quit their jobs and become wealthy. Either (and anything in between) is a perfectly acceptable response. There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Its utility becomes apparent only when we get to question number 3. 3. How much time do you want to devote to this business? Now someone who wants to become wealthy and thinks he has to devote only five hours a week is someone who needs a reality check. Give it to him! On the other hand, someone prepared to devote twenty, thirty, or forty hours a week has a better grip on reality. So does someone who wants to spend only five hours a week and make a couple of hundred dollars a month. What you're looking for here is some sort of parity in expectations between income earned and time and effort invested. By employing this formula and declining to deal with people who don't meet your strict criteria, your downline is going to grow much more slowly than many of your colleagues.' But this race is not to the swift. The foundation you are laying for your business will be so much stronger for hand-picking every single brick that makes up your foundation. You will be investing your limited time in productive people, who truly understand the program and what it takes to succeed. By training these people to approach their business as you approach yours, they too will be investing their time and attention in a productive downline, and their and your income will grow exponentially. Far, far better to invest 100% of your time and effort in a downline of five productive people than five hundred unproductive people. Let me finish with a real-life example—Bill Britt of Amway. When asked his secret of success, he replied: "There is no secret. I simply showed the plan to twelve hundred people. Nine hundred said, 'No,' and only three hundred signed up. Out of those three hundred, only eight-five did anything at all. Out of those eighty-five, only thirty-five were serious, and out of those thirty-five, eleven made me a millionaire." ------------------- ** Reprinting of this article is welcome! ** This article may be freely reproduced, provided that: (1) you include the following resource box; and (2) you mail only to a 100% opt-in list. Here's the resource box to use if reprinting this article: Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical home business ideas for the work-from-home entrepreneur. http://www.ahbbo.com