Kathy Smith’s Blog and Your Gateway to Success

I was part of a start-up where myself and many experienced networkers really thought we had found the business where we would achieve that walkaway income. Of course, as most start-ups do, it closed down. Two years of putting in my time and resources only to have it close down. Independent Business Owners lost thousands of dollars that they had put into the business. I had been in about 15 other programs but that last one really hurt because the belief was so strong that this was the business where we could all achieve our financial dreams but for many reasons, it imploded.

I decided once and for all, I was going to do my due diligence and write out a list of criteria and really research the next business that I was going to join and I wanted to make that business the last business I will ever have to be in. I didn’t want to jump from business to business as I have seen many others do and I didn’t want to be in a start up because most start ups can’t anticipate the obstacles they have to overcome.

Ironically since the start-up I was in closed down, I have seen many leaders jumping and just recently I have seen them jump again. Don’t jump. Do your research and join the right business and stay with it because there is always going to be some new company where they are going to promise you millions or this is the next best thing only to find out when you join that another company comes out again promising the next best thing. It’s only if you have a huge list of contacts that you can jump from business to business and make money but . . . the flip side to that is people start to lose belief in you because they are wondering if the business they join you in will leave them sponsorless because you’re jumping to the next best thing.

When evaluating a business, here are some points to look for and then see my notes at the bottom as to why I joined the business I joined and why I haven’t found anything better and I’m glad I am building it right now.

Criteria #1: How old is the company?

This is so important. I know, I know, the appeal of a start up is so great because you can be in the beginning of the beginning and make millions but don’t do it. 90% of all MLM and Network Marketing companies will go out of business and fail within the first two and a half years in business. Having a business closing down hurts a lot of people. You should be looking for a company that has been in business no less that 5 years. Then you’ll be stacking the odds in your favor. Side note: I am in a proven business that right now has a ground floor opportunity. It’s no risk because it’s not a start up but you have a start up opportunity.

Criteria #2: What is the Unique Selling Point

You may find the company has similar products but they offer something other companies do not or they have a product that is called “a category breaker” meaning it has no competition. For instance, I just heard someone jumping to yet another new juice company and it has a high quality Superfruit juice but it’s a 1 product company and it’s competing with the Acai and Mangosteen, etc. It doesn’t offer something unique. Also, take a look at what is unique. There is a nutritional company that was a failed nutritional company but was recently purchased by a famous person. It is unique because they do testing to see the nutritions you are lacking but Rod Cook has seen it time and time again that these companies don’t work. If you don’t know who Rod Cook is, then subscribe to mlmwatchdog.com. He has an impressive reputation and many years in the industry.

Criteria #3: Can you be passionate about your product?

There are some network marketers who will say that doesn’t matter. They’ll look at the compensation plan and whether or not they can build it but again, I say, don’t do it. If you believe in the products, you’ll believe in the company and in building your business. It will show through when you’re talking to customers or prospects. Make sure you find a company that has a phenomenal product(s) that is backed by scientific proof and testing and that they are high quality products.

Criteria #4: Compensation Plan

Okay, I did say you have to believe in the products and I’ve heard that it’s a good product when you want to buy the product even if you’re not being compensated, but hey, this is a business. You want to understand the compensation plan. If it falls below a total of 20%, then it’s not worth your time and energy to get involved. I know, I know, there are some that have great marketing plans attached to them like populating through Facebook, and that may be fine for immediate income, but I am looking at a real business that is going to be my walkaway income. When I selected the business I am in, it was to select a business, not a hobby. Also take a look at how many people you must enroll to begin earning income. The lower the number the better. In a future blog, I’ll discuss the different compensation plans from the breakaway to the matrix to the unilevel to the 2up to the perpetual leverage, binary and more.

Criteria #5: Reputation and Integrity

This is so important. You can have a business that is fantastic but if the leadership does not have the reputation and the integrity, it’s going to start to collapse like a house of cards. You’ll find it difficult to bring people in or customers and even more important, you don’t want to be involved in a business that does not have a good reputation. Search on the business in the BBB. Search on the owners. Don’t be fooled by some of the results in the internet. So many internet marketers nowadays use the word scam to put down one company and say why their company is the best. Just do your research and make sure it’s a company that you want to be a part of and that you would want to recommend to others.

Criteria #6: Saturation

What is the competition? How available is the product? Where can it be sold? Can you get something similar at your local store? It’s okay to have some competition but too much is not good. For example, energy drinks are VERY competitive.

Criteria #7: Policies and Procedures

What are the guidelines for marketing? Can you use your own websites? One of my friends was in a business and they could only use the replicated site – there wasn’t a way for you to brand yourself. Another company that I was in would not allow us to use marketing material unless they approved it and they make it difficult to get it to them and then it would take weeks before approval.

Criteria #8: Marketing

Does the company have a marketing system. Many companies have teams that have their own marketing but it is much more powerful when it is company driven. Would you want an infomercial run by a team or would you want an infomercial that is run by a 38 year old media company with programming in 200 countries? hmmm

Criteria #9: Publicly Traded or Privately Held Company

I am including this as a criteria because some network marketing companies make a big deal about this. There are pros and cons to this. For the publicly traded, of course it’s great because you get to see all the financials. But the bad part (and pay attention here), is that they are more slow to make decisions and more focused on serving the needs of their shareholders than their consultants. Whereas with the privately held company, the owners are free to plan long term without concern for short term gains for stock holders. However, this goes back to Criteria #5. Make sure you research the owners and the company to ensure their integrity and reputation.

Criteria #10: Sponsor or Recruiter

This is important. If you find all the criteria above have been answered to your satisfaction, the next question is do you want that person as your sponsor. I always believe in keeping with the person who contacted you first. It’s just network marketing etiquette and I know there are some network marketers out there who would scoff at this but I still abide by it. But are they a sponsorer or a recruiter? A sponsor is someone who takes the time to help you be successful. They will motivate, coach and train you. A recruiter is someone who just keeps signing up people. As the saying goes, they throw them against the wall to see who will stick there, and in some cases, abandons them. In the last business I was in, I had many people from the downline calling me because their sponsor(recruiter) had deserted them.

The next thing to consider is what your sponsor can supply that will assist you in building and training your network. What kind of welcome or training package will you and your downline receive? Does your potential sponsor provide a newsletter, advertising help, training and promotional materials, or advertising? Do they have a proven system that you can follow? There is no reason to reinvent the wheel if the material is already created.

I hope this information helped you. I joined TriVita and it met all of the above criteria and more. I think what I really love about TriVita besides the integrity of the company, the fact that they are aligned with top hospitals and universities to do independent testing of their products, and their products have a less than 1% return rate and are high quality products, and their new product Nopalea that is a category breaker, is the Cooperative Marketing business model. It evens out the playing field so everyone can have success even if they’re not a sales person. You can acquire customers from the company (and the company follows up with your customers for you at no cost to you) and very soon they are going to have infomercials on their new product AND the opportunity where you can start for just $35.00. WOW. Talk about duplication!

If you’re interested in finding out more, go to: www.sixfiguresthisyear.com. Either way, I hope I helped you in any decision you make and I wish you the best of success and good health in your endeavors.

Kathy

Katherine Smith, Independent TriVita Affiliate Member #13158176

I just received a call from someone on my team who shared with me they don’t expect any business growth right now because it’s the summer time. They’re falling into the same trap that newbies fall into or people with the wrong mindset.

Whether it’s summer, winter, fall or spring, if you feel it’s not worth the effort to build your business and you slow down, your business will slow down and so will your income.

There was a great story I read recently where a father had his own business and his son was visiting him from out of town. His son saw the advertising money he was putting into the business and said to his father, this is not the best time to do this. Everywhere business is slow. Meanwhile the father had a great business and was attracting many clients. But when he thought about it, he agreed with his son and slowed his advertising. Guess what happened? His business slowed down and his reaction was, my son was right.

Now of course you’re reading this and saying, Kathy, it is a known fact that summer is a slow month for growing your business. Yes, but you can still be building your business AND your pipeline. Even though it is summer, continue to put forth a concerted effort, and you will LOVE the momentum this builds for the fall.

And if you really take a look at it, there really isn’t any good time to build a business. Let’s see – starting November is holiday season and people won’t want to spend money. January to March is tax season and that’s not a good time. June to end of August is summer time. Doesn’t leave much room to build a business, does it? What you need to keep in mind is be persistent and consistent and you will build a sucessful business.

With the summer time, you can also change your strategy. Realize that people will be out during the day and most of your calls will take place in the evening. If you are able to do trade shows and events, now would be a great time to share your products. Even if you don’t have the money to set up at an event, you can still go and gather business cards and make contacts.

Always get people on autoresponders. Whatever the season. I have someone who responded to my 5th autoresponder indicating they were on vacation but would be getting back to me as soon as they got back. Now that explains why they didn’t return my phone call. And that’s ok – because the autoresponders continued to follow up and it worked!

You should always be reevaluating your advertising. Not just in the summer but always. There are seasonal advertising techniques that need adjustment. I recommend always having more than one method of advertising. You can always make changes and there will be times when one is more powerful than other. Always be building a list so you can be building a pipeline. Maybe you have a marketing campaign that isn’t producing well in the summer, or maybe even COSTING you too much. It’s time to “trim the fat” and get rid of that marketing strategy.

Also, think about this. If most people think that summer is not a good time to call people, guess what? If you’re calling your leads when no one else is, you’re going to have access to more people! I just read recently and thought it was great and will share it here. While there are a few less “fish in the lake” in the summer months, there is a far greater percentage of the “fisherpersons” that pull their bait out of the water.

To share what Jim Rohn has said, water and nurture the crops in the Summer and harvest them in the Fall. If you work just as hard in the summer months, you’ll either be building your business or setting a strong foundation where you’ll be rewarded in the Fall. Where most people who believe in the myth that they can’t build their business in the summer, start to build their business again in the Fall, you’ll have a head start because you’ll be capitalizing on the momentum you built.

And as Henry Ford said, if you think you can; you can and if you think you can’t, you can’t.

So go forth and build your business, and if you’re seeking a business where the company does the advertising for you and you can profit share off their customers, call me on 718-407-0035 or go to:

www.sixfiguresthisyear.com

Wishing you much success, good health and great wealth!

Kathy

I was just approached by someone about Efusjon and telling me I should join. First of all, my mentor who made a million dollars per year in network marketing, who sadly has since passed away from bone cancer, really showed me what to look for in a business. You don’t want to jump from business to business. You want to do your research so you know you’re in the right business and then make that commitment. My sponsor in the current business I’m in is a great testimony to that same scenario. He jumped from business to business from 2003 to 2007 and at the same time his sponsor on a part time business built it to a substantial six figure income. That’s when my sponsor decided to get serious and within a year’s time rose up the career rank.

That’s not to say I don’t evaluate all the new programs and changes. I do. And every single time, I am rewarded with knowing that I’m in the right business.

Let’s take Efusjon for instance. Yes, it’s led by a leader in the industry and it’s viral with facebook and the games. I think that’s great. And it’s natural energy drinks. Hey that’s great too. And I’ve been told it has a great compensation plan. Well, that may be true for some folks, but not compared to the business I’m in.

I’ve also heard that there are some teams that are going to do infomercials and create a rotator with google. Well, I think that’s great too but I have seen this happen before and it doesn’t work. An infomercial takes a lot of money and you need to be able to make changes and have the expertise. The business that I’m in which has a 10 year proven track record, is backed by a 38 year old media giant with programming in 200 countries.

Of course, you’re going to say, well that’s an established business. I’m seeking a start up. Well, right now we have a ground floor opportunity with a proven business model. The company has just launched a new product called Nopalea. It’s a category breaker product. Do you know what that means? No competition. Do you think there’s competition with Energy Drinks? You betcha! My company’s new product has an addition to the business model providing weekly bonuses for 90 days for each new activity, meaning everytime you or someone within your 3 tiers signs up a person, it kicks off this bonus plan. You can build beyond 3 tiers and you place people where you want with the matrix and you can build to unlimited width.

Oh, and by the way, this company that I’m in will very soon be airing infomercials on both the product and the opportunity and we’ll be able to acquire those leads from the company. How great is that?

The name of the company is TriVita and here’s some bullet points on why I feel TriVita is still the best opportunity around.

1) If someone says with their opportunity they are running infomercials driven by a team – unless the person is a millionaire, they don’t have the resources to pull an infomercial and redo it until it’s done right and they don’t have 38 years of experience like Ellison Media. Even if the infomercials were company driven, you would have to take a look at their expertise. This has been done before by teams and it didn’t work.

2) TriVita has a category breaker product like Nopalea where people are getting results within weeks. It helps to reduce inflammation which is really helping relieve people’s pain and discomfort. Take a look at the products of the company you’re evaluating – if there is competition for their products or it’s a 1 product company, you’re betting everything on that one product. Does your product make a difference? All of TriVita’s products produce results – they have a less than 1% return rate and that’s after 10 years!

3) TriVita has 50 other products where TriVita backends markets to them so they can find out about the products and order them.

4) TriVita has a master conversion system where they build loyalty and they have a system in place to retain the customers and cultivate an ongoing relationship. This is huge because this saves you time, money and resources. TriVita employs a constant stream of benefits to build sales and loyalty from your customers from a monthly product catalog to special offers and discounts to a wellness publication; weekly emails covering health issues and more at no cost to you.

5) TriVita has a fantastic compensation plan

For the Share and Earn:

* Paid 30% for 90 days for each new customer you bring in and then 21% lifetime commissions for customers and
* Paid 30% for 90 days for affiliate members you sign up and then 7% on your affiliate members (3% on first tier but all other tiers are 7%)
* Paid 15% and 10% for tiers 2 and 3 and same scenario above

For customers with TriVita’s 50 other nutritional products:
* Paid 70% bonus for first time customers for TriVita’s 50 other fantastic products and then 21% lifetime commissions.

Then for all your customers in your group, you’re paid paid 4% for tiers 2 to 7 for your customers.

And . . . Remember you have unlimited width. You are not forced to have only 3 on top – that’s just how we build but if you fill all 7 tiers, guess what? You open up another leg.

And this is not including the additional commissions and bonuses you receive as you rise up the career rank and as you rise up the career rank, you are paid additional commissions and bonuses beyond your 7th tier.

Folks, TriVita is airing soon infomercials on this phenomenal product Nopalea and the Share and Earn business. We have a new product launching in October and next year we’re going international and you can even sign up someone now internationally.

That’s why my commitment is to TriVita. With all the programs that people have approached me with, I haven’t been able to find a company like TriVita. TriVita has a commitment to excellence, to high quality products, to helping their affiliate members succeed and providing the best service for the customers and to truly help others experience better health, a better life and in following that path also achieving greater wealth to achieve their life purposes.

Just take a look at TriVita’s mission statement: “To inspire people to experience wellness and to create wealth for their life purposes.”

So back to the original question, Efusjon, will I be joining? No. Should you join? Well, I would say take a look at TriVita. Do your due diligence and I think you’ll see what I did.

Call me on 718-407-0035 and I can answer any of your questions and go HERE to read more about TriVita and to find out more about Nopalea, go to: www.trivitacactus.info.

Wishing you good health and great wealth!

Kathy

Independent TriVita Affiliate Member Katherine Smith ID# : 13158176