Whether this is your first year in a home business or your tenth, there are some basic things that you should do in order to start generating regular income.
It is important to understand that your attitude is critical when it comes to being successful in any business. Therefore, you must start your new business with the mindset that it is a real business. The fact that you are working from home does not change that. It certainly doesn’t stop you from earning a tremendous income should you desire to do so. There are people just like you that literally earn millions from the comfort of their homes . These people not only recognize the potential of the industry but always treat their businesses with the respect and dedication that they deserve.
Personal growth comes before the fortune. You may have heard that before in one form or another. It simply means that you must educate yourself first and the money will follow. Can you bake a cake without knowing the recipe or how to operate an oven? How about drive a car without knowing how to get it started? Do doctors practice performing surgery before they learn the skills required? Hopefully, you will get the picture. It doesn’t matter if you are doing something as simple as baking a cake or complicated as brain surgery, you have to learn some fundamental skills first or you are certainly headed down the path to failure.
So, what skills are required to build a profitable home business? Assuming that you have already mastered having the right attitude about your business, here are some basic skills that you will want to learn or improve.
People Skills
Time Management Skills
Marketing Skills
People skills are required because this is really a people business and not necessarily a sales business. Yes, there are plenty of individuals and teams that teach sales techniques as the primary way to build their businesses, but it is not always the best solution for the average person in network marketing. Most people are resistant to this method of team building and it makes it very difficult for them to grow a profitable business. There are always exceptions but we are not talking about those people. By developing some basic people skills, it will help you to communicate more easily and find out what the other person actually needs. Maybe they need your product versus extra money. It is your job to find out how you can help them and not push them to join your business. You might check your local bookstore for “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.
Time management is extremely important because it is very easy to get distracted while working from home. Children, televisions, and other things can result in zero productivity for anyone who is not accustomed to this environment. You must learn how to use your time wisely and to set aside consistent hours each week to work your business. In addition, you want to use your allotted time effectively. That means that you are constantly working on tasks that will help to truly grow your business. Organizing your office every day may indirectly help in having better time management but it really isn’t a “business growing” activity. Focus your time on tasks that will expose your product or service to potential customers or partners. It is very difficult to be successful without good time management skills.
Marketing is an income producing activity and another critical skill that you should constantly learn and improve. Marketing is a very broad term but it basically means “the activities involved in the transfer of goods and services” or how to get the word out about your offer. Creativity and consistency are two words that come to mind when one thinks about effective marketing. So, how does a new home business owner go about marketing their products?
First, you must realize that network marketing is a business based a great deal on duplication. If effective marketing techniques are duplicated throughout your organization, that provides the greatest opportunity for rapid growth. You should find and use strategies that can also be used by anyone on your team. There are people that have the financial resources to purchase full page color ads in national magazines but that is not the kind of marketing that is easily duplicated by everyone in your business.
Here are some other suggestions…
Read and learn about marketing tips
Learn from team members that are successful
Be consistent and persistent and market daily
Watch your marketing dollars/budget closely
Hire professionals or outsource when required
Employ sweat equity or money equity
Use marketing that fits your personality
Distribute samples whenever financially possible
Put your business cards into the marketplace
Network with other business owners
Share with family and friends when appropriate
Search internet for creative marketing ideas
Know your primary target market and how to find them
Many years ago a very successful network marketer told me that success was based on 99% consistency and persistency, and 1% skill. Those numbers may not be totally accurate but the basic concept holds true. If you performed a very simple action of giving out 2-3 business cards daily for 90 days, you are very likely to generate interest, customers, and potential business partners.
There are many ways to build a business and start making money in network marketing. However, if I had to narrow it down to just one thing, it is targeted MARKETING.
However, keep in mind that having a marketing plan without action is useless. You must commit and implement your full marketing strategy. How many times have you ordered business cards and left them in the desk drawer? Have you ever ordered 100 leads and called only 10 of them? Your business will not thrive unless you tell someone. How you go about telling them is up to you.
If you are serious about generating income in your new home business, make a personal commitment for the next 90 days. Find a marketing technique that is a good fit for you and put it to work daily. At the end of that 90 day period, evaluate how successful you have been at being “consistent.” Your check will normally be a direct reflection of your previous daily actions.
Remember, “procrastination is the killer of all dreams.” Make a decision today that you want to generate a real income from home. Once that decision is made, identify the products/services that you want to promote, choose a few marketing techniques, and take action. 90 days (or less) is all you need to see measurable results. A few weeks of solid dedication can change your entire life.