?It's definitely a good time for firms to freshen up their offer,? says Blades, who is an expert contributor to Marketing Donut, the advice website for small businesses. ?The world is changing. People's attitudes towards the products and services they buy are changing, so it's important to keep on top of what potential customers are looking for.?
Blades? key message is that as consumers? habits change, businesses need to adapt accordingly. ?The current economic situation is making people re-appraise what they do,? says Blades. ?If they see a new offering that is more in tune with their thinking, they are likely to want to find out more. This means that firms need to look after their existing customers? needs carefully, but it also presents an opportunity to attract new customers, too.?
Market research can help SMEs identify new opportunities, she says. ?A garden centre may find that people want to receive email alerts on when to plant, prune, fertilise the plants they've bought, leading to complementary sales,? says Blades. Or a hairdresser could survey its customers to find out how many would appreciate the chance to get a manicure while they are having a hair cut.
When it comes to change, it is often price that needs reappraisal. Research can show whether a business should match the prices of its competitors or undercut them. Research can also help SMEs to avoid unneccessary risk and keep costs down. The hairdressers, for instance, ?may be able to save costs by working out the days that most people will be wanting manicures and avoiding having staff sitting around without work,? suggests Blades.
However, it is vital that small firms do their homework before they roll out new concepts, says Blades. ?Many new ideas fail and good research can help ensure that new ideas have the best possible chance of success.?
Regular evaluation can also help businesses to improve their core offering. ?By monitoring what they are doing at regular intervals, small firms can see where they are improving and what areas require more attention,? says Blades.
Small firms that do simple research and act on the results can improve and freshen their offering. And that means they could come through the recession stronger as a result.
For whatever reason you got off track with your MLM Business, but you really love your product or service and have a huge desire to achieve MLM success. How do you put the past behind you and start fresh? Achieving success on the second, third, even fourth try is always possible! Here's a highly effective MLM training tip that will help you get back on the fast track.
Frank sent in this question: Tim, how do I start over? Should I try to reactivate my old downline or just move on?
Throughout my life I have set many goals. But I've recently realized that I've been doing something that is not healthy. Here's what I've been doing:
I set a goal, and then there seems to ALWAYS be a fork in the road very near the original goal. On one side of that fork is an immediate success; on the other side of that fork is an immediate failure.
If immediately after deciding on a goal I have immediate success, then I determine BECAUSE I HAVE PROOF that I am good at it and I will continue on and do well and achieve that goal. However, if I have an immediate failure then I determine BECAUSE I HAVE PROOF that I'm not good at it and will continue on and fail at achieving that goal.
Let me give you an example: As a boy, my goal was to play baseball. The pitcher throws a baseball and whether by luck or by practice I manage to hit the ball. I now have an observable "proof" that I successfully hit the ball. I then determine that I'm good at it and will continue on with the thoughts in my head that I'm good at it - normally that leads to success.
However, on the other side of that fork, if when that baseball is thrown I miss the ball and strike out, I then determine (by observing the proof) that I'm not good at it. However, since I'm not a "quitter" I continue playing baseball but I do so with the thoughts in my head that I'm not really good at it.
So I've been using the initial success or failure to determine if I'm really going to succeed at my goal or not! But in reality, what does that have to do with it? Nothing!! Because just prior to that success/failure I determined that I wanted to play baseball - that is the only thing that matters! The unhealthy thing that I've been doing is - forwarding the observable - as if THAT is the most important thing.
Here's how my analogy of playing baseball turns into a great MLM training lesson: I feel many people in network marketing are - forwarding the observable - that they've not had immediate success - therefore they continue to fail at it.
When people start network marketing they will very often "test" if they're good or not - and then DECIDE IF THEY'RE GOOD BASED ON THE IMMEDIATE "PROOF." This in my opinion only leads to failure.
The correct approach would be that they DECIDE TO SUCCEED IN NETWORK MARKETING. PERIOD. The most healthy thing to do is to disregard the "proof" because the proof isn't the goal!! It's just evidence that you need better MLM training or more practice.
So with that thought in mind, let me answer Frank's question. Frank, the way you start over is to go back to your original goal and start THAT over - but don't carry your failure with you. Really start new. When you start new think in terms of what you need to get good at.
In baseball, there are three broad subjects one must get good at: throwing the ball, catching the ball and hitting the ball. In network marketing there are also three broad subjects one must get good at: inviting, presenting and training.
The things that you "fail" at are not failures at all - they are simply identification points of where you need to improve your MLM training. If in playing baseball I strike out, I can determine that I'm not good at baseball or I can use that as an identification point of an area I need to improve at - which is hitting the baseball.
There is a tool called Pocket Tracker that I created to determine the "identification points" in the activity of network marketing. It is a list in sequence of what I and you need to do every day. If you can't get past - let's say step 4 in the sequence - that identifies the specific area you need to improve on. Keep doing that step until you can do it well and can consistently get through the whole sequence.
So that was step one of starting over - which is really getting YOU started over. Step two is to decide whether you want to try to reactivate your old downline or not. Whether you can succeed at "resurrecting the dead" or not is dependent on everything I've written above - FOR EACH PERSON.
Everyone who is no longer active in your downline has simply determined that they're not good at it. Before you contact them, I would recommend that you make sure you've fixed whatever it was about your training that caused people to fail. You can succeed at bringing some of them back in - but you can only do so by offering something new to them. I recommend that "something new" be MLM training that really works.
Summary of how to start over:
1. Create a new goal for your network marketing business. Not just mentally or on paper - but REALLY start new. DROP THE PAST. If you really dropped the past you would not have fear of contacting prospects.
2. Identify the specific area(s) you need to get good at by following the step by step sequence as given in Pocket Tracker.
3. Once you have gotten good at each area of the business, contact those people who are no longer active and do the Inviting Formula (see steps below) with them to determine what they need/want. This will be slightly different than a prospecting call because now you need to find out what they need/want as it pertains to training.
4. Deliver to them what they need to succeed. By doing so, you will succeed.
In conclusion the most important part of your mlm training, whether you are just getting started in the business or if you are starting over, is to master the steps of the Inviting Formula as outlined below. If you've not mastered this formula then you will not be an effective coach to your downline as you will be teaching what you can not do. If you can't do inviting successfully, who will you be teaching inviting to? You can't have a downline if you can't invite well! So, please master the Inviting Formula - I promise you this is the most important MLM training you can master!
Inviting Formula:
1. Greet prospect.
2. Qualify - find out what they need/want or don't want.
3. Invite them to look at something that will help them achieve step 2.
Both Tom Whitney & Tim Sales are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Tom Whitney has sinced written about articles on various topics from Small Business, Multi Level Marketing and Small Business. About the Author:The Marketing Donut expert by visiting the website. Register for. Tom Whitney's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.
Tim Sales has sinced written about articles on various topics from Yoga Practice, Home Based Business and Prospects. Tim Sales helps network marketers gain the skills necessary to be successful in MLM. His MLM training is based on his personal success of building a downline of 56,000 people. Access Tim's free MLM training and learn the steps to achieve MLM success at. Tim Sales's top article generates over 201000 views. to your Favourites.