· The Amway Story

1950s’: Jay Van Andel and Rich De Vos launched Amway in 1959 in Ada, Michigan following their stint with marketing nutrilite products. They were impressed with the response they got from network marketing and started the business with a Multi-Purpose Cleaner, Amway’s first product (L.O.C).

1960s’: The product as well the marketing scheme was an instant success and within the next decade, Amway had grown into a $500000 business with over 200 products.

1970s’: This was when the company established its global identity to reach Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Tokyo.

1980s’: This decade saw the launch of the Artistry range of products that catered to skin care and improvement.

From then on, the success of Amway continued to make the business a multibillion-dollar global association.

· Amway Products

Amway has different products catering to home needs, skin and oral care, hair and body care, nutrition and weight management. Amway’s best selling product is the Nutrilite range of health supplements. Products of Amway are said to be manufactured with pure ingredients and this company has been promoting “green” products right from its first product launch.

· The Amway Business Opportunity

This company’s been around for 50 years and has over 3 million distributors. This makes Amway seem like a good business to join and build a business with. But let’s first look at the income opportunity and see how profitable the business actually is and what kind of potential it has as a money maker.

- Compensation plan

Generate income through mark ups on sale of products, get bonuses on monthly targets and earn perks and cash awards for group performance.

The Amway business opportunity is more a way of life than a career. The company trains IBOs on the process of selling and educates them about the product.

- Why Amway Business?

Amway products are good to use and stylish to market. The compensation plan is good and the company is well established with a good history and global reach. Amway products are needed for day to day use; so there’s good scope for marketing.

- Problems?

A typical Amway distributor joins the company and is given product education and training on how to market the product; they are taught to offer cliches to customers who are mostly friends and relatives of the rep. This should induce the customer to buy a product or two and maybe even become an affiliate. Then they gather contacts or leads from such customers and contact them with requests for a meeting.

This technique could have worked wonders a few years back; but now everyone’s weary of such marketing methods. There are common jokes when grown adults get together that it might be some type of Amway meeting. It’s difficult to even get an appointment to meet people in this hurried world. And competition in Amway is extremely high. It’s just not enough to sell a few products to people you know if you want to reach the top and get real earnings.

- Solution

This is an age where internet plays a pivotal role. Going online with your Amway business is sure to bring about a revolution in your venture. Learn how to tap leads through the internet, obtain contacts and promote your products online. Offer a click to buy solution to enable potential customers to buy Amway products from you with minimum effort. Your first step should be to learn best online marketing techniques that are guaranteed to get results yet not so popular that they are hackneyed.

Who wouldn’t love the opportunity to go on a vacation and make money as well? That is the emotion that Global Resorts Network works off of. The travel industry is big business, and they are capitalizing on that market. Let’s take a closer look at the Global Resorts Network business? This should give you some basic knowledge about the company.

The Company

Global Resorts Network is a 20 year old company that recently partnered with another company that had been selling resort packages for as much as $10,000. The two companies made the decision to merge together and offer their products through referral marketing.

Cost To Join

There are two ways that you can become a member of the Global Resorts Network. You can join at the Gold level for $1,495 or pay for a Platinum membership for $2,995. The company uses cost comparisons with other companies, such as Travelocity and Expedia to claim that a member pays as little as $298 for a once a year, 8 day and 7 night stay at 5,000 plus destinations. GRN claims that their members save on average $1100 over the other popular travel companies.

Compensation Plan

You should also know a little about how the Global Resorts Network compensation works. There are two options depending on the initial package that you buy in at. Commissions are paid at $500 for each Gold membership package and $1000 for each Platinum membership.

The residual aspect comes in when you earn “roll-up” commissions off of your recruit’s sales. You earn the same commissions as with your sales.

Is There A Downside?

So what is the downside, if any to the Global Resorts Network opportunity? GRN is a high ticket program, so not just everyone can afford the cost of the program. They do offer financing, but with a 13% interest rate for a 60 month term. Ouch!

One definite requirement for any network marketing business, like Global Resorts Network, is that you need to believe in the product before you can sell it to anyone else. Earning substantial commissions is possible, but only if you are able to recruit well.

In conclusion, GRN appears to cater to vacationers needs while having the opportunity to earn extra money. However, success really depends on how well you are able to market this opportunity. Mastering the art of marketing either online or offline is vital to your financial success.

One of the best ways to promote your Polaris Global Marketing home business is with video marketing. Posting your videos to the Internet, you will be able to reach your target market and show them exactly what your business has available to them. Keep in mind, your videos should be interesting, upbeat, and not too long. The biggest mistake that one can make with this type of marketing is making their video too long and losing the viewer before the end of the video. With this in mind, your video should lead them to your website, so they are able to see exactly what you do have available.

Blogging is another great way to market your business. This is especially great for those who find they communicate in writing better than they are able to in speeches. Your blog will be a great way to let your target market see what they can accomplish with the products and services you provide to them. While the blog is considered a little more informal than a professional website, your goal is to let everyone see the professional you are and why they should visit your website.

The personal development business is all about building relationships with your target market. One excellent method of helping you to accomplish this is with social networking. Many of the social networking sites of today have helped many business grow and expand and yours should be one of them. Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace are all great places to get started. Just be sure that you keep your account updated and when using it for business purposes, you must always come across as confident and professional.

You also must remember that leading your target market to your website is not going to do any good if your website is not adequate. As a business owner, you will want to set it up to capture the leads, as well as implement an autoresponder to help you with the follow up. With the autoresponder, no lead will ever be left behind.

When marketing your Polaris Global Marketing home business, it is important to remember that the key to your success will be building relationships with your leads and prospects. Contacting each person to let them know you are interested in giving them more information is how you are going to grow a successful business. To get them interested, you must be dedicated to any marketing strategy you implement. Each method may take some time and effort from you, but in the end, you will find the results will be what you expected and more.

Membership Clubs
A good way to meet new acquaintances is through membership clubs. These may be service clubs or organizations like Rotary, for example; or it may also be a business organization, or groups like alumni associations and ethnic group associations. Most of these clubs and organization usually requires a membership fee for you to become a member. And for you to be noticed, you usually have to play an active role in their events or in club meetings. You should also expect that you’ll be having some expenses on their activities and other social events of the club. This is the time when you should also weigh if the expenses you incur by being a member of this club are really worth it for your cleaning business, opportunities and all.

Another kind of club that you can become a member of is a golf and country club. This is the kind of place where you can meet some people for your cleaning business, opportunities to garner some upscale clients. The house cleaning business may have a lot of average-income people who may need your services, but there are also those who are wealthy and rich and may need someone to maintain their estates too. So to obtain rich and wealthy clients, you have to go to where these people usually hang out and let them know about your cleaning business, marketing it to them subtly.

Other Groups and Networks
Aside from groups and clubs that would require your membership and membership fees, there are also those wherein you can simply participate actively and they’ll even be happy that you did. For example, become more active in your church or in local events, activities, and projects in your neighborhood. This makes you visible to the general public who actually know who you are as a person, and may feel secured and comfortable availing your services or recommending you to their network of people too. Also, these people help out in the community because they want to, and because they feel there is a need to help other people. These are the people who are deemed as good company; and most likely, they will be good networks for your house cleaning business. Basically, be active in society, help out your community, and promote your business – it’s hitting two birds with one stone.

Initially Global resorts network only offered direct memberships (anywhere from $8000 to $12,000), it was about 3 years ago that they decided to market themselves online and use the power of Multi-level Marketing to expand their business. The membership of GRN (or Global Resorts Network) will give you access to a number of timeshares and holiday resorts worldwide at discount rates.

You can buy any of the two memberships, the gold or the platinum:

Gold: The gold membership is a three year membership that will entitle you to the same benefits as someone with the platinum membership. It costs $1495.

Platinum: It is a lifetime membership that values $2995, it doesn’t include any annual fees or maintenance costs.

This is an excellent membership if you like to travel a lot. Many of the resorts/cruises that you can access with global resorts have a membership fee (by themselves) which are more than the membership cost of GRN. Global Resorts Networks virtually gives you unlimited weeks per year to enjoy unlike timeshares, where your time is predetermined and fixed.

GRN has served people excellently for the past years. In the past there were few members who had a lot of choice of different resorts. Since GRN entered the network marketing world and subsequently spread, their membership has increased drastically, this forced the membership club to expand and make more relationships with other resorts.

Apart from the membership benefits of GRN, as an online affiliate you have potential of making a decent online income. With the high ticket value of the GRN membership and its generous payout plan (upto $1000/sale), all you need to make a 5 figure income is sell a few of these memberships per week. To become an affiliate you need to pay a $100 annual fee to GRN and in return you will receive an affiliate id, an affiliate back office and a promotional website that you can refer people to. GRN has been known for its timely payout programs and has never missed any commission payouts so far which is unheard of in the affiliate marketing industry.

The downside of GRN, is that they don’t have any marketing and training websites that they can offer you, so the task of learning marketing with GRN falls on the shoulders of the marketer. However, if you search around on the web you will find people who specialize in GRN specific internet marketing.

The first ever sale you make with GRN, you don’t receive any commission and this is called a qualifying sale. The commission from this sale goes to the sponsor of your sponsor as well as your sponsor. This however only happens once after that all commissions are split between you and your sponsor for every direct sale you make (each making $1000 for every platinum sale you make). Depending on what kind of membership you sell, the commissions are $1000 per platinum package and $500 for a gold package.

As you can see, the power of leverage can be achieved with Global Resorts package as you can quickly multiply your income the more you build your team. GRN works on the binary compensation plan and is not a pyramid scheme. The company follows FTC rules and strictly enforces its regulations with its members. GRN is surely not a scam as they have reputation of 21 years in the market. The thing that might hold you back from selling the GRN membership is that many of the competitors of GRN in the industry offer much less than their price. However, with the 23 years of hospitality and service, you can surely get a few people in your vicinity to buy their membership. Don’t forget the easy $1000 commissions jut for referring someone.

There is a big problem when it comes to doing business online.

Every day another opportunity, another choice…..What do you do?

The problem with Internet marketing is the mind-boggling scope of all the programs and choices for putting a small home business into a global market. It can be like throwing a lamb into a lion’s den. Many people lose their way just from the overwhelming number of choices available for finding effective online sales training.

As Todd Oldfield, a friend of mine, says, “Chase one rabbit at a time! If you attempt to chase two rabbits at the same time you will not capture any!”

So are there any best social networking sites for business?

Or is a first-rate business marketing platform the best choice?

Social networks are the buzz of the Internet. Ask anyone about the best social networking sites for business and they will say either Facebook or Google. But are they the best for your business?

Google and Facebook are currently in a sparring contest to see who can come out on top. While hundreds of smaller social networks scramble for a piece of the social networking pie. Does this work for your business?

First of all, let’s take a look at a business network. LinkedIn differentiates itself as one of the best business networking sites for businesses and professions. In fact, you would not join LinkedIn solely for socializing like you do social networks. LinkedIn has a free membership, as well as more features available with a paid membership. The paid memberships start at $29.95 per month and go up to $75.95 per month.

The paid memberships give you the ability to see more profiles, send messages to anyone on LinkedIn, find out who has viewed your profile, and see expanded profiles on anyone in LinkedIn.

You will still need to add other sites to round out your business platform. You will need a place to hold meetings, to host events, develop a business forum, and do video marketing.

What does Facebook have to offer the business person?

The recent changes to Facebook have made it more business friendly. Facebook is a good place to build relationships, find like-minded people, and join business groups. Facebook engages over a million people and is therefore a great place for finding customers and business associates.

Google offers similar features plus a “hang-out” room where you can meet up to ten people at a time. Also with Google you can create several email accounts and use each one for a different purpose.

In the offline world when you take a break from the office you head down to the local coffee shop and strike up conversations. Or you use the coffee shop to meet clients and discuss a business proposal. Well Facebook, for the online business person, is like the coffee shop. It is a place to increase your circle of friends and build trusting relationships.

What if you could take breaks at the coffee shop and then consolidate all your business sites into one online business community? This business community would be your office dedicated to doing business.

It would be a first-rate business marketing platform where you have everything you need at your finger tips. A global online business network that offers such things as:

* Event hosting and scheduling
* Meeting rooms for small and large groups
* One on one chat rooms
* Video conferencing
* Video email
* Business specific forums
* Personal and business profiles
* Internal networking like LinkedIn

Choosing between Facebook and a business community platform would no longer be necessary. You can use the best of both. Work at the office and take breaks at the coffee shop!!

On the one hand, everybody recognizes the ease, instant access and global reach of online social networking. On the other hand, it is sometimes hard to see the payback in time and money for the after five business to business card handoffs most commonly hosted by the local Chamber of Commerce. Nevertheless, when it comes to the bottom line, it isn’t whether you walked in or tapped in.

Numbers are everything.

* The number of business cards you’ve handed out.
* The number of friends you’ve been friended by.
* The number of actively working connections you’ve made.

Which numbers are driving your networking?

Go With the Flow
Regardless of where you do it, networking actually starts when you join up. Standing uncommitted on the sidelines will get you nowhere. Without the commitment of membership, you forget where you want to go or, worse, have no idea where you could be going. Did that strike a chord? “I don’t have time for small talk. It’s the big bucks I’m looking for!” I hear you! Ironically, you’ll get there faster if you slow down. Whether it’s face to face or Facebook, today’s networking means you’ve got to be sincerely social.

It’s All About Schmooze Control
When I say, “Be sincerely social”, I mean stop waving your fan of business cards, while you do the hundred yard dash passed the refreshments card-bombing everyone in sight and leaving them looking like deer in the headlights. Take a lesson from the networking winners. Every crowded room has them. They’re the ones carrying bunches of business cards alright… but the cards they are carrying are everybody else’s?

Bridge of Cards or Dead End?
Just like a map is a great tool once you know where you’re going, a business card is invaluable when someone answers your question, “What do you need?” Notice you don’t say, “Here’s my card!” or “Call me!” People are irresistibly drawn to someone who is sincerely interested in them. As soon as they tell you what they’re looking for, ask the most important question of all, “May I have your business card?” At this point, you’ve gone a whole lot further than “What do you do?” could ever have taken you. With their card in your hand, you now have permission to make further contact. This could be:

* A personal note
* A phone call
* An email
* Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
* All of the above

The amazing thing is that you’ve haven’t said a word about yourself, your product or your company!

Avoiding the “YOU” Turn
Networking is an investment of your time, money and talent. To be effective, you have to be counter-intuitive. Forget yourself. Forget what you know. Find out what your potential client knows and wants. Take your eyes off his wallet for a few minutes, and find out what you`ve got that he needs. Or better yet, find out what you`ve got that his network of friends, colleagues and suppliers need.

What Goes Around Comes Around

Can this statement be true?
“You get more networking success by helping to build someone else’s network.”

Absolutely! Not only do you build your own network by building up others, but you will find yourself eagerly anticipating the next opportunity to attend an after five meeting or an association get-together. There are various estimates of how many people each one of us has in our personal network. Two hundred and fifty has been pegged as an average. Imagine the potential for connection, partnership and – oh yes- dollars if you could tap into those numbers! I won’t hold you up. By now, you are probably rethinking all those networking opportunities that take place at baseball games, the grocery store and standing in line at the bank.

Keep on Keeping On
Does this mean that once you’ve mastered Let-ME-Help-YOU-networking that you’ll never experience rejection again or feel lost? No. The road to success has many twists and turns. Despite our best efforts, there will still be times when we have no idea how to make headway. We will face hurdles, detours and roadblocks. The economy, politics, science and the weather all conspire to make sure that there is no such thing as a sure thing. Of course, as you build an effective network, you will certainly find more help along the way. But, there will be those days, when you have no idea what is waiting for you around the corner.

More than once, you will question the road you have chosen. Will you wind up right back where you started from: Cyberspace? Face-to-Face? Most likely it depends on the particular day and opportunity. In life, business and networking it would be great if we could see around corners. This is the time when it’s important to keep moving. Here’s a guide post that works for me when I find myself facing a confusing intersection: “A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn” (Author Unknown) Great networkers are always ready to make the next turn. Thank you for tapping in to “What’s Driving Your Network?”

What Global Information Network is basically a monthly membership that you pay to get all the insight on to become wealthy, financial independence, dynamic health and emotional well-being and share you views. With being a member you as well become an affiliate. You are paid out on a complicated commission structure that you must be in and study to really get a full grasp of one you begin to hopefully make the “big money”.

Like every other company starting up today their opportunity essential is unique and like no other. Of course it is or it would not have began. But essentially we are looking at another basic company that a small amount of the initial up-line makes quite a bit of money, unless you are determined and ready to roll your sleeves up and go for the “gold”. What I found was a lot of things they offer but most you can already get by researching a little on the topics, like the Law of Attraction for example. Anyone can figure out how to use by just typing in Law of attraction.

On their website I did not find much on training or a proven system that will train and help the affiliates make their money. Why 97% of all new companies do not make it to 5 years is because they do not have a system, or shall i say a proven system, that will guide you to success in their business. What I suggest G.I.N. should do is find one of the top incomer earners in this industry and have them jump on to their company and become the leader and show how to become successful in their field. People follow successful people, especially when they share their “secrets” to everyone.

The benefits of a good networking strategy help you to form mutually beneficial relationships, develop new connections with a sizeable number of people, and connect you with resources and others who can help your business. It’s a common misconception that simply attending a networking event brings new business the next day. Expecting to land business the first time you meet someone is like asking someone to marry you on the first date. Critical to any good networking strategy is to adopt the right networking mindset.

Mistake #1: If I give referrals, I’ll immediately get referrals.

Many inexperienced networkers have a misconception about the principle of reciprocity. According to Weber’s Dictionary, reciprocity is “a mutual or cooperative interchange of favors or privileges,” This leads inexperienced networkers to believe giving referrals will bring an immediate return for any referrals they give to another.

One strategy to remember while adopting the principle of reciprocity mindset: focus on the other person. The act of giving is the most important part of this mindset. Networking isn’t about what you can sell or get, it’s about what you can learn about others and what you can give to them. Learn how you can help the other person.

At an informal networking lunch, I helped a colleague make a difficult decision. I just listened to her thoughts on her business, provided some advice (that she asked for) and she made a huge shift resulting in a significant increase in not only revenue for her business but in how she could have her purpose lived out more fully. There was no expectation in return. It was just a genuine concern for her success. But something happened months later, she referred me to an organization who hired me for a big speaking engagement.

The next time you’re networking, actively seek out avenues to help other people. Volunteer to help out someone in your network or offer support in a time of need. The next time you meet someone, think to yourself, “Who could I connect them with?” These simple steps will bring benefits to your business in ways that will positively affect your business relationships for the long term. You will also be known as a trusted resource to which people refer others.

Mistake #2: It’s My Territory and You Can’t Have It

Many new entrepreneurs find themselves attending events, meeting new contacts, accumulating business cards, and providing referrals. One day you feel discouraged because you’ve put out all that energy giving referrals but you received nothing in return. Further, you’re a bit cold to someone you perceive as your competitor.

But savvy entrepreneurs adopting an abundance mindset realize there’s enough business to go around. The next time you’re networking, consider approaching someone you think is a competitor. Explore the possibilities of referring business to them.

But first, be very clear about your own offerings so you know exactly what kind of client or customer you want to work with (and the ones you don’t.) Second, you very well may find that they offer a service or product you don’t and vice versa offering each other cross referrals.

You might find they prefer to work with the clients you don’t so you can refer those people to them, realizing the abundance mindset in action.

Mistake #3: I don’t have time to follow up

It is important to systematize your referral marketing so you devote time to building and maintaining solid professional relationships – a key in successful referral networking. Many entrepreneurs have heard of financial capital. Networking is your social capital that has a profound impact on your financial capital. According to “Networking Like a Pro” by Ivan Misner, PhD, David Alexander and Brian Hilliard, “social capital is the accumulation of resources developed in the course of social interactions, especially through personal and professional networks. These resources include ideas, knowledge, information, opportunities, contacts, and, of course, referrals. They also include trust, confidence, friendship, good deeds, and goodwill.”

Your social capital is created by design, not by luck. Seasoned networkers realize that social capital is acquired through focused networking and developing a strategy that’s brings the strongest return. To build your social capital, consider these simple steps to get started that have a high perceived value with your networks and only take a minute to implement:

• Write a short thank you note to those people who referred business to you. It’s often forgotten, but a highly-regarded gesture that is sure to leave a good impression.

• Call the people you referred business to. Ask them how the referral worked out and if not, how the referral could be better in the future. They’ll appreciate your concern for giving solid referrals.

• Send an article that someone can use in their marketing. One of my connections worked with large corporations and just launched her book. I read an online article that was a spot-on match for her to use in her marketing and relevant to her new book’s content. It only took a second, but the thank you note I received from her expressed genuine gratefulness and a time-saving marketing idea for her to implement right away.

• Put together a list of strategic partners you’d like to stay in touch with this year, including those people who have given you business in the last 8-12 months. Keep notes of their birthday and send out a card each year on their special day.

Once you establish a solid reputation as someone who cares about other people’s success and consistently nurture your referral networks, you will have a strong line of people singing your praises and multiply your results many times over.

Attend the event with your calendar ready, a note pad, and your business cards in hand. When you introduce yourself, be sure to have an event planned and ready to invite people to participate in. Usually, this event will need to be FREE, but it could be a low cost event that brings them information, informs them of business information, or just an opportunity to visit where you can get to know them better.

Introductions -

Have one person interview the attendees, by asking questions similar to the following:

* Name and Business Type

* What can we do to help your business be more profitable right now?

* What can you offer other members that would make their business more profitable today?

You’ll get some interesting answers -

I need four new clients today, with enough money to pay for my services before they walk out the door.

I could give each of you a referral for your products or services…

These are helpful answers. You can actually build on these answers to help people build their businesses, or even to build your own business.

Schedule Appointments -

Arrive at the location with a few appointments blocked out in your calendar and fill those appointments with names from the event.

Susan Kildahl suggests, “Have a place where you’re comfortable working and always schedule your appointments for that location. Get right to the point. Skip the chit-chat and give your appointments quality and value.”

The easiest way is to select a location and a date. Plan to be at that location on that date, and invite others to show up and fill your appointment calendar. Part of those appointments will be simply visits to start the process of building a business connection. Others will be paying appointments that make your business work and build profits. These are called billable hours.