It is not easy to build a network marketing business. The majority of people who venture into network marketing fail; only a small percentage of about 3% succeed. That is a very small percentage. What does that mean for you? That means that the successful 3% of network marketers are in a class all by themselves. They are looking at what the masses are doing and then they are venturing in the total opposite direction. They are innovators who stand out from the crowd. They are doing things that far exceed what most are willing to do. They are eating, sleeping and breathing their network marketing businesses. You will not get very far if you are just average.Today, the economy is in turmoil and millions upon millions of people are struggling, out of work, and trying to figure out how to provide for their families. People are moving in droves in the direction of network marketing as the means to solve their daily problems; unfortunately network marketing is not a get rich quick type of business. You are no longer trading time for dollars. You are now putting in the time and the dollars. Network marketing is an investment in your future. You are going to have to roll up your sleeves and be prepared to give up some blood, some sweat and some tears. It is not about barreling through company after company until you hit the “JACKPOT”, the company that is going to make you rich beyond your years. Network marketing is nothing like the state lottery where you can get lucky by selecting the right combination of numbers and “BOOM” in an instant you are a millionaire. First off, the odds of winning the lottery are quite low. Secondly, there is no “jackpot” company out there. No matter what business you are in, if you do not put in the WORK you will not win.So, how do you win in network marketing? Hard work! And then more hard work! Successful marketers will tell you that realistically it took them anywhere from six months to several years to earn real money. If you listen to the highly successful MLM icons you will hear about all the bumps and bruises that were sustained as they traveled that long and rough road to MLM success. It is a process that takes time. Like a beautiful piece of pottery, you have to take shape and mold your business. I see so many “desperate” marketers out there in internet-land on a daily basis, and yes I said DESPERATE! I get so many business opportunities shoved at me daily. Don’t get me wrong I am always open to new ways to earn income from home. But I come across rudeness and inconsideration; my Facebook wall gets spammed daily. That is not a successful business formula. It is important to study the basics of marketing. It is important to learn proper marketing and internet etiquette. And it is very important to take the time to study how the 3% of success stories came to be. These people want to zoom right past that long and rough road and fast-track right to Network Marketing Utopia. It cannot be done!Network marketing is about building personable relationships with people. It is that fundamental, foundational “building” step that failing marketers like to ignore. I can understand the frustration and desperation of trying to replace income that may have been lost when a job was taken away. Believe me I know what it is like to be out of work with kids to feed. But trying to quickly cash in under the guise of a home-based business does not work! You must adopt the mindset of a marketer whose goal is to help as many people as possible, not a marketer whose goal is to make as much money as possible. When your focus is solely on making money and nothing else you lose. That is how you end up on the fast-track to being a 97 %er.I know you have heard it over and over again but let me reiterate, “As a network marketer you will not be successful if you do not put in the work”….PERIOD! There is no fast-track, no magic potion, no sneaky tactic that you can pull to expedite this process. In order to be successful in network marketing you have to NETWORK! You need to build a large stream of meaningful contacts.
WHY?Because your meaningful contacts (or leads) are the life blood of your business. They will become your distributors, customers, and dependable sources for referrals. YOU NEED THEM!And yes it is a process. In order to build a strong team you must have leads. For every hundred people you make contact with, you may connect and build a “meaningful relationship with 5-10. That means that you are going to have to get out there and gather a ton of leads using several different methods. There really is no rhyme or reason to this industry and while I hate it when people say that network marketing is a numbers game…in a way it is. That does not mean you spam as many people as you can on a daily basis and sit back and see how many actually latch on to you. You have to actually connect with a great number of people daily. You have to prospect. But before you can prospect you have to know who to prospect to. Who is your target market? You cannot just throw your information in the face of anyone you see. You have to have a marketing strategy and a marketing plan. As a network marketer you are providing a service to those in need. You must assess who is in need of what you have to offer and target those people.A person cannot run a successful business with just one or two, or even three to four people on their team. Even if these few people jump on board with you and are super producers you have to account for the fact that they may leave at any given time. In this industry it is quite common for people to move from place to place. You have to be smart and build up a network of people in large numbers. That takes a great deal of planning, a great deal of time and a tremendous amount of effort.People do business with people they know, like and trust! They will not do business with people who bombard them and annoy them. Think about it, how annoyed would you be if everyday someone was taping flyers and business cards to your front door and car. No matter how many times you remove them, the next day your front door and car are cluttered all over again. I would imagine you would be livid…I think it is safe to say that company WOULD NOT be getting your business. That is the same message that is relayed online when as a network marketer relationship-building is eliminated.Network Marketing is tough!Successfully running your own business is extremely rewarding but HARD WORK! There is no way around that…no shortcut.HERE ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON SHORTCUTS PEOPLE TAKE THAT SHOULD BE AVOIDED:Not Staying Engaged
You should understand that a home-based business opportunity in network marketing involves you staying engaged. You cannot jump in and out of your business and expect to be successful. Your network marketing business is YOUR job. If you had a job and only showed up only once or twice a week how much money do you think you would earn? Not much! How long do you think you would last at that job? You have to stay engaged.Skipping Trainings and Team Webinars
Participating in company trainings and webinars is very important and an excellent way for you to learn how to make your business propel forward. Trainings and webinars keep you motivated and keep you updated on new business innovations. For me the biggest advantage is connecting with other members of your company and team. You have an opportunity to hear the success stories of others as well as pick up new business techniques that are being shared by others.Consistently skipping company trainings and webinars is an easy way to become disengaged. Unless you already know all there is to know about your company, you don’t need to be sitting these things out. As with anything in life the more time spent learning, training and perfecting a skill the better you will get. Not staying connected to your company limits your knowledge and motivation. Trainings keep team members motivated. Listening to the challenges and struggles of others allows you to see that you are not alone. They bring back the momentum that gets lost as you venture out and try to succeed on your own but run into roadblocks. People who stay connected are the ones who are less likely to quit at the first sign of trouble.• Not Following the System…Then Becoming Frustrated When Magic Doesn’t Occur
• Failing To Get On The Phone And Connect With Your Prospects
• Jumping From Opportunity to Opportunity Hoping to Land on the Golden Egg
• Allowing Negative Feedback and Comments from Others to Break Your SpiritNetwork marketing is not a hobby. On our road to success we are experiencing so many things; triumph, frustration, inspiration, failure, joy, success, disappointment…it is a vicious cycle but you have to keep working. Eventually you will get there. It is your company and if you want it to take you all the way to your dream world of financial freedom you have to work it!

This article is Part 2 of a subjective list of the ten most influential Internet marketers. Like in part 1, I could have easily included more than ten marketers, but I had to draw the line somewhere. So, once again, if you don’t see your favorite Internet marketer on the list, please don’t be offended. I purposely excluded individuals who are known primarily for one particular talent. For example: Copywriting and SEO.Instead, I wanted to sing the praises of those individuals whom are known as great marketers – first and foremost. And while this list is subjective, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to argue against any of the selections included on the list, as they are all proven excellent and have stood the proverbial test of time.I have to admit, I caught quite a bit of flak, because I didn’t include Perry Marshall on my list in Part 1. This time around, he tops my list.——————————————————————————-1. Perry Marshall helps companies grow sales and eliminate waste with highly targeted web traffic, marketing and publicity.How? By helping clients develop automated sales & marketing processes. The integration of timeless direct marketing principles with 21st century media and technology produces astonishing results.He also helps companies who sell sophisticated products & services quickly and predictably acquire new customers – without the humiliation of competing only on the basis of price.Perry Marshall also publishes information on state-of-the-art marketing methods for company owners, managers, marketers and sales people, as well as providing training, seminars and coaching based on experience and proven methods.To my knowledge, Perry Marshall is the first marketer to publish a book about Google AdWords.His “Definitive Guide to Google AdWords,” which is considered by many to be the bible of the various AdWords publications on the market, helps you to improve click rates, understand which words to use for match-types, lower advertising expenses and thereby increase your overall total returns on your pay-per-click advertisements.Perry Marshall is an engineering graduate who drifted into sales. Among other things, Marshall designed speakers for Advent, Acura, Ford, Honda, Mazda and Chrysler when he worked at Jensen from 1993-1995.2. Willie Crawford’s rise to the top is legendary. Willie Crawford was a poor black child who overcame welfare, mental limitations from within and cultural limitations from around him, to become one of Internet marketing’s ultimate good-guys and heroes. He began by selling cookbooks on the Internet, then teaching others to develop their own products and build successful online businesses. Willie’s products include electronic books, several print books, audio and videotapes, DVDs, live internet marketing workshops featuring top speakers from across the U.S., and many other items.Today, Willie Crawford is an Internet marketing legend, corporate president, published author, seminar speaker and host, tele-seminar speaker and host, retired military officer, karate black belt, network marketing trainer, and lifetime student of marketing. In addition to having written and published a best-selling cookbook, “Soul Food Recipes Learned On a North Carolina Tobacco Farm,” and a best-selling inspirational biography, “Git Off The Porch,”Willie has written over 250 articles on building a successful Internet-based or home-based business.Willie’s now uses his marketing expertise to help develop massive enterprises such as television shows and building homeless shelters (through White Dove Press, LLC, where he’s Senior Executive Vice President).3. Shelley Lowery: Before launching her Internet career, Shelley Lowery was employed by Worthington Industries, a Fortune 500 company, where she was a “Production Scheduling Coordinator.” That’s where she discovered her true passion for business and computers.She quit her job in 1995, after ten years of employment, to pursue her dreams and launch her full time Internet business. She has been through all of the trials and errors of web design and development, Internet marketing and promotion, writing a weekly publication and running a full time Internet business and now shares her experience with her visitors.Shelley’s articles have appeared in hundreds of electronic and print publications including Microsoft Direct Access, Internet Magazine, SiteProNews, Jayde WebProNews, Active Internet Marketer and many more.Web-Source.net is owned and maintained by Shelley Lowery, President of Brajusta Publishing, Inc., a direct marketing company located in Lewis Center, Ohio, specializing in providing instructional electronic books, software and publications.4. Michael Wong is an internationally recognized internet marketing expert, and the author of a leading SEO book, numerous marketing tips, and reviews of marketing tools and ecommerce software. Michael’s impressive accomplishments include:* Starting one of his first web sites for less than $500, back in 1998. his company was acquired 18 months later for a “considerable” sum by iBoost Technology, which was backed by SoftBank; the same venture capitalists that funded the likes of Yahoo! and ETrade.* Selling over 5,000 domain name registrations in a joint-venture with a well-known domain registrar.* Generating over one million referrals for partner sites over a six month period.* Selling over $1 million worth of online advertising in 2 months on top internet web properties.* Generating millions of dollars in sales for his businesses, clients and joint-venture partners.* His optimization of the iBoost network generated over 2,000 top 30 rankings across all major search engines, which produced an additional 400,000+ monthly visitors and 8 million monthly page views.* Has written and published three books on search engine marketing.* Has had dozens of articles published in various respected internet marketing and web development web sites and newsletters.5. Armand Morin is one of the most well known Internet Marketers in the world today. Having started online in 1996, his personal online businesses alone have generated over $25,000,000 in online revenue since then. This doesn’t include the millions of dollars his students have produced from his teachings.Armand has taught tens of thousands of people his amazingly unique and proprietary Internet business building principles and strategies which work without fail for every single business who has implemented them.Each year Armand appears at live business trainings and seminars all over world.It’s not uncommon to see Armand share the stage with other world famous marketers like, Mark Victor Hansen, Robert Allen, Dan Kennedy, Jay Abraham, Alex Mandossian, Joe Polish, Jay Conrad Levinson, Mike Litman, T. Harv Ecker and many many more.Armand Morin’s straight to the point teaching style which has the unique ability literally transform any business in 90 minutes or less has made him a requested speaker not only in the USA, but he also has a huge constituency in other parts of the world such as, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and in Singapore.He has helped thousands of people from all walks of life to increase and enhance their online businesses through automation with his highly acclaimed “Generator” brand of software which is used by tens of thousands of people in 101 different countries.If you ever get the opportunity to see or meet Armand Morin live at one of the many seminars or trainings he speaks at, by all means do whatever you can to do it. I can assure you, you won’t regret it.6. Declan Dunn is the founder of the only Internet Marketing System proven in companies large and small, The Right Now Marketing System, which empowers businesses globally online. Right Now Marketing has helped many small businesses as well as larger companies, such as American Express, Network Solutions, Priceline, One World Live, JingleGram, Intel, Office Max, PBS, ABC, Travelocity and Toshiba.Right Now Marketing is drawn from Dunn’s 10 years of experience creating results for clients of all sizes. Instead of theories, Right Now Marketing plugs you into the same system used by the Fortune 1000′s to dramatically improve sales.Dunn’s impressive accomplishments include:* Created lead process which drove almost $10 million in assets for dollars a lead within 4 months, driving users from online inquiry to offline meetings with financial planners.* Increased Fortune 1000 acquisition 2000% in 1 year through tested, proven strategies.* Doubled sales of top technology company’s affiliate program through strategic positioning and development of a testing system.* Generated 1 million registrations in 90 days for a client targeting quick conversion through its affiliate network.* Created automated affiliate marketing system that generated over $500,000 per year with 1 employee managing the network part-time.* Selected to present at major industry conferences held by JupiterMediaMetrix, Iconocast, Inman’s, ClickZ, AffiliateSummit, and many other international conferences because of ability to put Internet marketing into plain, simple English.* Developed educational site as part of Master’s Project in 1994 which still reaches over 4 million students and teachers per year today, based on the same marketing principles used at Dunn Direct Group.7. Jonathan Mizel is editor of The Online Marketing Letter, the longest-running business publication in the short history of the Internet.He’s a partner in Cyberwave Media, Inc., and has consulted with thousands of Internet entrepreneurs.He’s generated millions of dollars in sales for thousands of clients and customers like Microsoft, Intel, American Express, and BMG Music Club, and served as Campaign Strategist for http://MyPoints.com (now owned by United Air Lines) in 1998 and 1999.Jonathan has produced dozens of e-books, videos, marketing courses, and seminars since he got online back in 1991, including The Marketing Rollout Course, Test and Track your Online Ads, and The Secrets of Google AdWords. All are available free to newsletter subscribers.8. Jim Edwards is a well known Internet marketer, speaker, writer, and author of many successful e-books. His e-books generally cover topics on Internet marketing. One of his most popular e-books is “33 days to Online Profits,” which he co-wrote with Yanik Silver.Jim Edwards is also a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new e-book that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website, affiliate links, or blogs…”Turn Words Into Traffic” reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links… without spending a dime on advertising!Jim Edwards’ latest product, called “Mini-Site Creator Home Study Course,” is a comprehensive audio and video course that teaches you exactly how to create your own moneymaking “Mini-Sites” from scratch. The course comes with many bonuses and extra features, including free HTML software, free hosting, and numerous pre-designed web templates.9. Yanik Silver is recognized as the leading expert on creating automatic, moneymaking web sites…and he’s only been online full time since February 2000!He believes almost everything people have been taught about making money online is completely wrong. His Internet success techniques only require a simple web site and you don’t even need to know how to put up your own web page. (In fact, Yanik still doesn’t know HTML).He is the author and publisher of several best-selling marketing books. Yanik specializes in creating powerful systems and resources for entrepreneurs to enhance their businesses.10. John Reese is an Internet Marketing pioneer that has been actively marketing online since 1990. John created one of the first autoresponder services on the Internet in 1994. Since that time he has created and launched over 110 projects online.One of these projects was a free photo-hosting service for eBay users that John started in 1998. This service (due to a powerful Viral Marketing “twist”) became one of the Top 500 sites in the world for web traffic in only 10 months after it was launched. This little service used to consistently produce in excess of $100K/month in affiliate commissions from a variety of affiliate programs. Not bad for a service that John created for less than $350.During the past 7 years, John has been actively involved with eBay. What started out as just an entertaining way to buy things, quickly turned into a lucrative business. John steadily became an expert at using eBay and figured out many strategies for producing profit from their site on a consistent basis. He recently produced a DVD training product to teach others how to start and run a successful eBay business from home.