It’s been a confusing few weeks in the world of Attraction Marketing for MLM. Would you agree? I’m not just talking about the usual overwhelm and endless offers you receive to your inbox, but rather about the game changing strategic moves from Attraction Marketing leaders like Ann Sieg, Mike Klingler and Mike Dillard.

I mean what’s really going on?

You get all fired up for building your MLM business online and then just as you’re getting the hang of it, Mike Dillard emails you that actually he’s now developing an offline system! There was a great interview he did this week that talks about this in more detail with Jerry Chen. You can watch it here if it’s still up. Mike Dillard and Jerry Chen Interview

It’s a long one but worth listening to if you are real student of this stuff. I extracted a few of the key points and will share them with you in case you don’t want to invest 77 minutes of your life watching this now:

Mike Dillard has recognized the need for an offline system. This has been triggered by the huge downturn in the economy and his realization that his parents can’t do what he does online. (Or may not want to bury themselves in Pay per Click campaigns etc.)

I can almost hear Randy Gage chuckling and saying ‘I told you so.’ The key to duplication is to have a large group of people taking a few SIMPLE actions over a long period of time. Okay Randy we hear you.

Mike Dillard said he is developing an offline system for his primary company so that the huge crowd of baby boomers heading our way can plug into building the business with their real life networking and warm market skills. (I hear ‘Ouch!’) I bet there were a lot of moans and groans from the diehard online crowd who almost spit at us guys who dare to talk to our friends and family about the best opportunity of our lives!

From my point of view I think Mike Dillard deserves credit for being honest about that. He could after all have just kept quiet about it and not risked messing with the enormous success of his Magnetic Sponsoring system.

What he actually observes in the interview is that offline is still not for him but he understands that it is needed for the baby boomers who are now much more receptive to MLM after many of them have experienced losing their ‘nest egg’ and pension plans.

This of course brings us full circle back to what I’ve been blogging about since I started two years ago. Even though I have a mad passion (some might say ‘obsession’) for creating systems and using social media for online marketing, I have never lost sight of the fact that it is not going to be for everyone.

The systems that are 100% online (until this point) are generally not Network Marketing programs. They are affiliate programs or direct sales programs which often have just a couple of levels in their compensation plan. Many people are working these types of sales businesses now and they are usually the first to knock MLM. This is because their hottest market is frustrated network marketers who are tempted by the promises of instant riches.

I’ve got nothing against sales businesses but they are not MLM and therefore operate much more smoothly with internet marketing sales techniques. On the downside they don’t offer the kind of hands off long term passive income that MLM does. Don’t get confused by this!

So what is the future of MLM? Is it online or offline?
Well you know what? I think it is online AND offline. It is old school AND new school. It is integrating good marketing and being an attractive person and marketer BOTH online and offline.

Whether you focus online (as I do) or offline as many do – it is a personal preference. Go with the flow of what you want to do and what fits best with your life.

Better still do BOTH! I’m very happy doing online but I have offline marketing skills ingrained in me from years of meeting people and doing MLM meetings offline prior to this.

I won’t lose these skills and if I meet a great prospect for my business out in the real world I know what to do, so it isn’t an issue for me. (Go here to read in my recent Attraction Marketing series how to drive offline prospects online if you need help with this integration)

What about you? Are you doing both or are you closing your mind to your upline business partners and refusing to do anything other than online?

This is okay if you have experience. If you don’t then I highly recommend that you plug into your team system (if there is one!) and get the skills you need for talking to people.

What many online marketing pro’s forget to mention is that they would not have the coaching and people skills that they have to be successful online if they hadn’t been through the trenches OFFLINE. (I know it’s a pain but I tell you the truth!)

Even if you generate 100 leads a day – unless you are in an online sales deal, you will need to speak to your business partners (whether you phone them or they phone you.)

You will need to COMMUNICATE with them and build trust with them.

Can a lot of this be done with blogging and email auto-responders?

YES of course it can. BUT you still need to be ready to connect with a real live person and say, ‘John – are you ready to get started?’

So with Ann Sieg sending out emails about offline Cash flow Seminars, (which has incidentally already been implemented by Randy Gage and Eric Worre for our MLM team system some time ago)..see press release: Randy Gage Cashflow System,
Mike Klingler promoting high level coaching courses which are not MLM specific, and Mike Dillard building a system for his parents to work offline with a sales business model… where does that leave YOU?

It leaves you in a place where you may be even more confused than when you started a few months ago.

So here are my top soul searching questions and answers for you to cut through the confusion and get yourself back to the centre line. (Building your MLM)

1) Q. Ask yourself – Am I a good socializer and busy outgoing person?

A. Yes = Go for massive offline campaign to get you started and build your business in your local area for starters.
B. No = Brand yourself online and get your MLM online funnel up TODAY. Otherwise you will just be faffing about chatting online.

2) Q. Do I enjoy spending a lot of time out of the home and am I turned on by being a local leader who supports and/or presents at my local meeting?

A. Yes = Go for it BIG. (Make sure to use tools, rather than just your mouth, and SYSTEMIZE your process)

B. No = Support your local meetings and do the basics for your warm market in your local area. Also work online and develop your marketing skills.

3) Are you a busy parent who is mostly based at home and likes it that way?

A. Yes = Online can be amazing for you. Invest in some good online training and coaching so that you can create a systematic marketing funnel for building and generating leads online. Also focus on interacting with people you meet as a busy parent. These can be the BEST prospects for you because you will have shared interests and a common desire to make a better life for your children.

B. No = Well you are probably not going to be at home on your computer but out working so you may be suited to doing more of an offline marketing campaign.

4) Do you like writing and/or creating videos?

A. Yes = Start a blog. (But do other offline/online stuff as well because 3 blog posts is NOT going to brand you and build your downline!)

B. No = Learn the basics online such as Facebook & Twitter. Start to build your online brand and have your MLM funnel set up online for hot prospects to request info about your MLM.

5) Do you enjoy spending hours working at your computer? ( I say working because Farmville is NOT working!)

A. Yes = Go for massive online action but remember that when you launch your business you must launch with your warm market also if you desire fast results.

B. No = Exit your home and do mostly offline but remember that branding yourself online is the future so make sure to do the basics with that aswell so that when your prospects are googling and researching they can find YOU online too.

Online takes more TIME to build than warm market because you have a lot of skills to learn and you have to develop lots of new relationships.

There are great residual long term benefits to building your own list though so it’s a great idea to do both if you have the patience and determination.

Okay my online-stopwatch.com has rung so I’m out of time today guys!

I hope this has helped you to get a bit clearer on the online/offline MLM issue.

If you’d like to get more details about working with me using both my Attraction Marketing online system, AND our offline Randy Gage Team Cashflow system for my MLM business go here: Cashflow System

I don’t need to explain this one! We’re all up against it when we get online right?

We come online with the best of intentions and before we know it two or even three hours can whiz by and you look back at what you’ve done and it doesn’t seem like much…

Sometimes you might not even know where the time has gone at all! You think to yourself, ‘ well it seemed REALLY important … but what on earth was I doing?’

Oh yes, you recall… you were tweeting with your brother Jack who’s just discovering Twitter, and sending a Facebook cake to Aunty Doreen in Australia. (You’ve got to stay in touch you know – it’s only right!)

Anyway you get the picture… we have all been there. Some of us are family proofed online (most of my family can barely figure out how to log on to Facebook, never mind set up a Twitter account so that’s another thing to be grateful for) BUT I have another time thief.

My time thief goes by the name of ‘latest big marketing thing.’ This thing is launching pretty much every day and hammers on my inbox at regular intervals.

I’m scared of missing something that could be life changing for my marketing I guess but still.. you can’t look at every offer (please don’t buy every offer or you may be spending more money than you’re making!)

Shopperholics online anonymous: Call 0800 XXX XXX

So how can you protect your precious lifetime from the time thief? It could come in any shape or form for you. Perhaps you find yourself playing poker online or shopping in the Next catalogue in the middle of writing your blog?

My Top 10 Tips for Staying Focussed In Online MLM:

1) Buy an A4 Project pad with dividers in it.

Write your weekly schedule in it and plan which hours you will be active online.
Compile all your notes for your online activities so you know exactly what you will be doing in the coming week.

If you’re part-time it could go something like this:

Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays – Spend two hours doing online marketing to generate leads to your website. (Take a short break in the middle to drink some water and have a stretch)

Tuesdays – Create a new piece of content for your blog or to post to an ezine site

Thursdays – Email your weekly newsletter to your list and follow up with your leads etc.

2) Time yourself and stick to your schedule. ONLY do the things you have scheduled for that time.

3) Work in blocks of time. 50 minutes is a good amount of time to stay focussed.

4) Turn off skype, tweetdeck (tweeting birds will not help you create good content!) and log out of all other distracting applications you may be tempted to leave open.

Eben Pagen (mind blowing information marketing guru who made it through to my inbox!) says that multi-tasking lowers your IQ, and Tim Ferris of The 4 Hour Work Week strongly advises against it if you want to be more productive in less time.

I think us mothers are real culprits for multi tasking – I can post on twitter, make home-made soup, fold laundry, listen to an audio and help my daughter with her homework as I scoot in and out of the lounge, all at the same time.

BUT I have stopped being such a manic multi-tasker now in the name of my sanity! Living in the present is indeed a present so it is much better to focus on one thing at a time and get it done well.

5) Organize your computer files so you don’t spend precious minutes of your life searching for things.

6) Check your email just a couple of times a day. If you need to send out information to prospects then do it at set times and don’t just randomly allow yourself to drown in your inbox. (I still find this challenging)

7) When you are done turn off your computer and move on. Do not pass go and do not collect £200 if you stay at your computer chit chatting for hours and hours time wasting. (That’s if you want to generate leads and make money whilst maintaining a happy family!)

Take regular breaks. If you work online all day make sure to allow some time for moving around and doing other things. You can print off materials to read offline or download audios to an ipod, to give yourself a break from the monitor and sitting in the same position for hours.

9) Do some kind of daily exercise. I really struggle with exercise because I go full on for months and then stop completely! Now I have discovered the joys of ‘Tai Chi.’ If you are limited for time (who isn’t?) and want to exercise in the house and stay near to your beloved computer, a DVD workout is a fabulous way to stay fit. It also gives your mind a break and sometimes my most creative ideas come to me when I am offline. When I get back online I feel refreshed and focussed.

10) Use a systematic process with an auto-responder. Back to this again because it is so important. When you spend 5 hours or more a week marketing your business online it is critical that you have a system in place to catch your leads that you are attracting with online marketing. Otherwise it can be a big waste of time.

Auto-responders or email campaigns leverage your time for you and allow you to focus on your marketing. All your leads arrive in one place and you can follow up with them at the scheduled time rather than have a leaky bucket where your prospects slip right through if you’re not replying to them manually 24/7.

These are my top 10 tips that come to mind. I’m sure there are tons more helpful tips so please share them at the blog by leaving a comment and twitter this if you’ve found it helpful. (In your online marketing time!)

Part 1 – New School & Old School MLM Exposed…

It seems pretty clear that everything has changed in MLM with the new economy.

Online MLM or Attraction Marketing has swept through the industry over the last couple of years. Today we’ll take a look at how things have changed due to the recession or ‘new economy.’

There is a continuous (and fairly irritating) debate about what we should do in MLM to build our business these days. It’s known as the ‘old school, new school’ debate.

Many Network Marketing professionals say we should stick to tried and tested methods such as making a list of candidates and calling them about our new business.

Some of the new school online Network Marketers wrinkle their noses up in disdain and almost spit at you if you as much as dare suggest that strategy.

So what’s the best way to build your MLM business in this new economy?

I think we have come a long way and it is now possible to generate free leads every day for your business with purely online methods – If you have an effective MLM ATTRACTION MARKETING FUNNEL in place!

If not then all you are doing online when you zoom around Facebook bumping into people, is the same as you do offline! That’s ok if it works for you.

I prefer to know that I have a system in place that my team can plug into and use to generate leads online, and that prospects can check out our MLM even if we’re not glued to our computers all day long networking.

Make sense?

If you happen to be out in the real world having a coffee with someone you know and like why would you not mention that you have a great home business?

The only reason I can think of is if you don’t think it’s all that great! (If that’s the case then find a new one that you can be proud of)

People are desperate for a financial solution so in this new economy it is not the time to be an undercover MLM agent!

A common desire of people joining Network Marketing is to help others succeed. Keep that in mind and remember that your MLM opportunity could indeed change someone’s life.

Anyhow the point being online and offline work equally well if you want them to, but its all about the way you operate. Are you a Network Marketing professional both on and offline?
I am as bored as you probably are of hearing all the hype about how to generate 1 zillion leads a day ‘effortlessly’ blah blah blah.

On the other hand I’m also bored of hearing that we can’t duplicate online with social media and online methods. You just watch me, I think!

It is madness. Social Media is here to stay and it is our online neighbourhood, so we had better learn to play nicely and instead of lobbing vampires at each other why not build our financial security instead?

In this new economy I feel it is our obligation to notify people we care about of what we are doing. You don’t have to ‘pitch’ them and they don’t have to join for goodness sake! Just let them know in a professional way.

I’ve never bought into all that hype about ‘losing friends and family,’ etc. If you don’t have good training on invitation and prospecting skills then get some!

If you don’t have good friends then ummmm… look for some who will support you in your quest for an abundant life.

There is so much great MLM training available. Visit Randy Gage or Eric Worre and learn how to invite people to review your MLM without begging or crying.

These MLM professionals are giving mega generic MLM training freely and more importantly both of them are huge producers in an MLM business right now!

There really is no need for all that drama.. honestly.

3rd party tools (CDs, DVDs, Websites, 3 Way Calls, Live Business Presentations) can all deliver the message for you.

You don’t have to be the message – just the messenger.

I highly recommend setting up your own online MLM funnel but please don’t buy into all this hype about not talking to anyone you know.

As with everything there is a correct way to do things so make sure you’re getting the training you need to be an attractive marketer both on and offline in this new economy.

If you need a solution for your MLM online funnel go here to set yours up easily, without having to study internet marketing until your hair turns grey: Attraction Marketing MLM System

So are you old school, new school or just ‘in school?’ Leave a comment on the blog to let us know what you think!

The next part of this Attraction Marketing training series will be about how to drive your offline prospects online to your Attraction Marketing website (I don’t mean by doing flyers either so don’t worry about that!)

Have a great day and if you like this blog please share the love on the buttons below.

p.s Next part coming soon!

I’ve spent the last 4 months creating online content, learning new skills and setting up my own MLM system. There are days where everything flows gloriously and there are days where EVERYTHING seems to get stuck. ( And I feel like screaming!)

If you’re working online with the internet and learning new skills then you have probably experienced the same thing. What do you do?

I’m like a dog with a bone if I get stuck with something i.e.; last week I had a problem with my ‘permalinks’ (I’d never thought much about permalinks 6 months ago, and never heard of them 1 year ago but suddenly they were a big problem!) I don’t give up until it’s fixed.

I find the techie stuff very frustrating and although I have come a long way with my technical learning curve, with the help of my trusty virtual mentors Mike Klingler and Mike Dillard, the more I learn the more I realise I don’t know!

So when you get stuck and just can’t find a way to get your YouTube titles to work, or your Squidoo Lens has been lost and you’re not sure why, or your widgets are not appearing on your blog, or you feel like crying when someone mentions more ‘html’ just take a deep breath.

It happens to us all. The further along you go the bigger the challenges seem to be. Whereas I used to spend time working on pieces of content that were finished that same day (or hour) now I spend time on bigger projects which create higher value content.

Unfortunately it does not mean I never encounter problems. Everything can be humming along beautifully and the thing I think will be most challenging goes very smoothly, and the thing I least expect to go wrong does!

If you want to really work online (and I mean attract endless leads to your marketing funnel – not dabble and chit chat on Facebook) you will need to become a hardened warrior of the internet!

You’ll need to be ready to overcome frustrations and challenges and not give up. Sure you can just settle for only doing 1 or 2 types of content that you are comfortable with but you will probably get bored.

And guess what? Your readers, followers, subscribers, fans or whatever you want to call them will get bored too.

So what can you do for troubleshooting? How can you get through the frustration of being stuck?

Here are a couple of tips for finding solutions to those tricky online issues:

1) Phone a friend who is more technical than you. It may be that you can trade talents. As long as you’re mindful of your friend’s time and offer value in return then it can be a real win win and sometimes with 2 minutes of someone else’s input you can breakthrough.

2) Pay a professional. Just because you work from home and are self employed doesn’t mean you can’t leverage other people’s skills. In fact there is probably all the more need for you to do so – otherwise you are running a one man band that is completely dependent on your talents. Pay someone else to do it or if you need to learn it, pay them to teach you.

3) Get online internet coaching. If you’re trying to be the hero who will figure it all out you may find you pay the price with your time and in many cases you can be setting up content online with no strategy. If you don’t set up your content so that it works together you will be forever working on new content today but not leveraging what you have already done. Learn from someone who knows how to do it right the first time.

4) Google it! It is amazing how many solutions I find to my online questions just by keying in the exact question I have into google. And it’s free!

5) Ask your network. Give value to your network of contacts and then reap the benefits when you get stuck. I often put out a quick question to my network via Tweetdeck..which hits Twitter…which runs through Facebook…which connects with my Ecademy contacts…and my Linked In and my Plaxo… When you build a network with 1000s of business people who are interested in your industry you will discover that there are many smart people in it who have the answers you seek!

6) Recruit people whom your business needs. I first heard this from Randy Schroeder, a well known and very successful networker. It is an interesting concept. Once we have some MLM experience we all know in theory that we want to enrol skilled people. Still… many chase after the needy folk who drain their talent rather than contribute to their business.

Again if you need to pay for someone’s time then do it. If you can trade skills to help each other then do that. It all works and will save you hours and hours of frustration. I am blessed with a super-geek, Tony, in my business. Everybody needs a Tony!

How do you breakthrough the technical frustrations you encounter in your online learning? Share your tips with us here at the blog. We’d love to hear them. And remember…. Be like a dog with a bone and never give up! Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is your online real estate!