If you know anything about me, you know I’m not someone who usually plasters screen shots and photos of checks and bank statements on my web sites in order to try to impress my readers…
I only do it if it is to prove a particular point, and because sometimes the skeptics need to see tangible proof.
Well, today I received a check in the mail for $11, 269. And that’s not profits off of the primary program that I market – no, it’s for affiliate sales only. It’s in addition to the earnings I make off of my primary opportunity…which obviously is a great deal more.
This is passive income, more or less. $11, 269 in one month. Just extra cash.
Bottom line: you can work hard or you can work smart. I choose the latter: leverage the internet, automate as much of your work as possible, tap into multiple income streams, train qualified individuals to duplicate your success so as to produce a residual income for you…
Lots of planning, lots of smarts, and plenty of sacrifices along the way. But if you do the above, and you do it right, you can retire in 3-5 years.
I certainly intend to.
It’s not every day one gets to hang out with the presumed vice-presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party, but I did!
The picture to the left shows me with Mr. Wayne Allyn Root, a passionate entrepreneur, former TV anchor man, politician, speaker, business owner and best selling author — among other things.
I just returned back home a couple of days ago from another amazing networking event, this time in Houston, Texas.
A day packed with fun and excitement, training and industry news, good conversations and great people. A night spent between fluffy pillows in a super-comfy bed at the Hiltons, waking up to a one-of-a-kind (and ridiculously pricey, I must add) breakfast in bed.
That’s one of the reasons I love going out of town for events: It’s a break from the regular routine – days that I for the most part spend in front of my computer or on training calls with my team. It’s also an opportunity for me to do some well- deserved pampering!
In short, it’s how I get my battery recharged.
It’s how I keep myself motivated, inspired, focused, and on track with my business. Whether they be CEOs of companies, newbie marketers, MLM gurus – or as in this case vice presidential nominees — when I’m around other like-minded, positive, creative people with a vision – it rubs off on me.
I come back home with a different energy. This energy then effortlessly transfers back into my business, and pushes my business to the next level.
Just like that.
I see it happen again and again: Attending events = massive growth in my business. Top earners all know this to be true. Which is why you always see them in the front row at industry events.
There’s a saying that goes something like this: “A smoldering log sitting all by itself, burns out quickly. But when together with several other burning logs, they all keep each other ablaze and the fire never goes out.”
That perfectly describes it.
So don’t let your fire die out! Break out of the routine. Get out of your comfort zone. Get yourself to the next industry event in your area…or, even better, outside of your area.
Place yourself in the company of people who have the ability to motivate you.
I promise your entrepreneurial spirit will thank you for it. And I bet your bank account will, too…
I remember how some years back — I was working a traditional MLM business at the time — I heard a fellow distributor recount his activities for the day on a team call (a daily routine instituted by the leadership to further accountability)….
I remember how taken aback I was to hear how this particular distributor – let’s call him Nick – had gotten into talking with a lead he called for the purpose of getting a product sample out to the person, and that the chat had (get this) turned into a 1 hour long dialogue…
A conversation about sports and travels, and goodness knows what else — anything BUT Nick’s business or products. As the phone call came to a close, the prospect agreed to take the sample pack, but, as Nick himself admitted to us, the guy likely did it only because he felt he owed it to Nick after taking so much of his time.
Even Nick realized how completely wasted that hour was. He could have made ten other calls to prospects during that time and gotten a whole bunch of sample packs out. Instead — thinking that if he just did a real good job of befriending the guy, he would want the product — he got caught in a conversational trap he couldn’t get out of.
And…yes, you guessed it…in spite of Nick’s unsurpassed amicability, they prospect did NOT become a paying customer.
This was a few years back, and I’ve since made the transition to online marketing. Now, as Internet marketers we don’t dial for dollars, and so we don’t need to worry about getting stuck with prospects who aren’t right for our business. Or do we…?
Well. Just because we do a large part of our marketing online and spend less time on the phone, it doesn’t make us immune to vampires of our time.
And social networking sites can be dangerous that way: You log onto a place like Facebook to check your messages for a few minutes, and lo and behold, “pop” – that tiny pop-up window appears, and one of your many (way too many) Facebook “friends” demands your attention.
You don’t want to be rude to your “friend”, so you politely reply…and before you know it you’re dialoging about the weather, about what an amazing movie Avatar was, and about whether Tiger Woods deserves a second chance.
You may even be sharing ideas about marketing, crossing your fingers and hoping the dialogue will lead the other person to ask you about your business so that you can direct them to your website…
But, of course, nine out of ten times that doesn’t happen.
Don’t get me wrong…I love social networking. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, LinkdIn…all are powerful marketing tools for us online entrepreneurs — if used correctly.
Five minutes here and five minutes there…before you know it, you’ve spent an hour in unproductive dialogue. And just like Nick could have spent his hour getting bunches of sample packs out, you could have spent your hour, too, on REVENUE producing activities.
So what are revenue producing activities? Two things: marketing and talking to people. Which means that if you are engaging in conversations with people online, you are in fact doing something right!
You’ve just got to make sure you get your message across to as many individuals in your target market as possible, all at once, and don’t get sucked into lengthy discussions one-on-one with people who may or may not be looking for what you have to offer.
In all your marketing, be it pay-per-click, article marketing, social media marketing, or anything else that you use to drive traffic to your websites — you’ve got to think VIRAL.
Fortunately for us Internet marketers, there’s a whole bunch of tools we can use for that purpose: automated Twitter tools, video distribution tools, article submission software, and the list goes on.
Think MASS communication. Successful marketing has always been and always will be about numbers. And social media marketing is no different.