In order to successfully grow a home-based business in network marketing, one must practice the art of self-motivation. You don't have a boss telling you what you have to do, so you have to be responsible for your activity. Every activity can be translated into a number and this is how we get statistics. Statistics are how we as business owners can evaluate our own personal level of activity.

Another part of the equation though, is that unlike a regular job, you do not have to rely on the numbers game to find success. The more activity you do does not mean the more successful you will be in network marketing. It just means you are filling up your busy time with activity that is probably not moving you forward. When you can pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses, then evaluate and build on your strengths, you will begin to see your business grow without spending 18 hours a day "working."

You can begin this simple process by asking yourself the following 8 questions every Sunday evening before you go to sleep. This is the best time to evaluate your activity because it gives you a chance to think about how you can make a fresh start before you begin your work week.

1. How Well Did I Follow My Schedule For The Week?

It is not easy sticking to a schedule, but if you are making any kind of improvement from week to week, it will not take long for you to get into the groove of it. Things happen to all of us, so do not worry about it. Just get back on track and commit to doing better in the week ahead.

2. What Was My Connect Rate And How Can I Improve It?

This refers to the people you actually talk to as you dial through your list each day. Your ultimate goal for this should be around 30%. Ways to improve it could be to make more dials each day, do your dialing during a different time. Do not leave messages for people as they usually do not return calls. Just call them back at a different time.

3. What Was My Invite Rate?

This obviously refers to the people you actually had a connection with. As you develop your skill set over the telephone, you will see this percentage automatically begin to increase with experience. You will always come across people who are just not interested in even listening to you, but those who are need to be told the benfits of your invitation to hear an presentation call in a way that will interest them.

4. What Was My Confirmation rate?

If this rate is low compared to your invite rate, start thinking about what you can do to attract the right audience. This could be purchasing better qualified leads, or your willingness to elminate reminder calls. When you get the right audience on the other end of the phone, this rate will automatically go up.

5. What Was My Closing Rate For The Week?

When your confirmation rate increases, this will also begin to increase assuming you are well adjusted to handling objections and showing people how your product or service can benefit them. Ultimately you only have once chance to close a person, and once again, your ability to properly justify the opportunity will make a big difference.

6. How Long Before I reach My Goal Based On My Current Rate Of Building?

You'll have to do a little bit of calculating on this one. Just take your numbers and place them out in front of you as if you were predicting the future. If you have been closing 2 people a month since the beginning of the year and your goal is to have 50 new distributors by the end of the year, your rate of activity is too slow.

7. What Do I Need To Change To Reach My Goal Withing The Next 10 Weeks?

This could be anything from changing your presentation to spending more time dialing leads on the telephone. It is all up to you and it has to be. You are the only one who can find the magic formula for your own business. Everyone is different. You have to go through this trial and error to find your strengths.

8. What Excuses Did I Make This Week?

Did you find yourself saying that you did not close enough people because your telephone headset is outdated and you need a new one? No matter what you tell yourself, you cannot escape the truth because your business will not move forward if you lie. You deserve to tell yourself the truth. You don't need a new telephone, you need to improve your skill set. Be responsible for your own business. No else is going to but you.

Start to see this evaluation process as an adventure or experiment. Only through process of elimination and pinpointing your strengths can you begin to see your results improve. You have to realize that no matter how much you pay for leads, they all stink. (Remember this the next time your upline tries to convince you to spend $25 per lead. The same leads are available online for about ten cents!) And since they all stink, that means that you will only get about 5-10% results.

Understanding this frees you from the frustration of everything working out 100% perfect so you can focus on improving your skill set. Tweaking and listening to people will become fun. This is how you will find the right audience as well. If your company does not teach you how to market properly (yes, it's quite different than simply distributing a product), strongly consider seeking education where you can find out how to do so.