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[Deborah Tutnauer Company: ViSalus Sciences Contribution Level: 4]

People will get involved because your Information is Helping them; they can See how joining you, joining your business can help them flourish.

Aaahhh..Attraction Marketing in a nutshell.

This has been a very thought provoking thread. Thank you Al for instigating it. Attraction marketing is really nothing more than what you said in the quote above. Everything else is just expansion and technique. What we are really talking about has been happening for hundreds if not thousands of years. If people have a choice, they do business with people who they trust and respect who also offer a product or a service that is valued and needed. This basic concept is the core of Old School Network Marketing, New School Network Marketing, Internet Network Marketing and anything else you want to call it.

Yes..building your MLM organization is definitely a different process if you follow the suggestions of Dillard or Ann Sieg or Mike Klingler, than if you make a list of your 100 warm market people and the also apply the 3-foot rule. Ultimately though, you are attempting to do the same thing..find and attract high quality "alpha networkers" to you and your business. How you do that is based on your own personality...your likes and dislikes..your innate abilities and your desire and aptitude for learning. In any method you need commitment and perseverance.

I like to talk to highly target people when I am building an organization. These are people who are already good at network marketing or internet marketing and who have already been developing their lists in some way. I do this through the internet, but it does not have to be done that way. By slowly and methodically developing relationships with a targeted network of people, I can then offer my opportunity to those who have the ability and desire to succeed at a high level. This makes way more sense to me then "recruiting" 100's of people who do not have those abilities already. This forms the foundation of my team. From there we spread out and repeat the process. Now we have stability, strength and expertise. Now we can open up to those who are new to the industry and bring them into the fold.

As for a product focus...Al said that good company was one where you could make money without recruiting a single business builder. If that were true (and it is in many types of companies), It would be a direct sales organization, not an MLM. There are some MLM's in which you can do that and certainly make a small if not decent commission. The company I am helping launch this summer is like that. But the real money in network marketing comes from the power of duplication..the geometric progression of you sponsoring five who sponsor five who sponsor five. Three generations and you have 125 people all selling your product. That is power and to realize that power, you need to do some enrolling.

[Sandeep Nath Company: MyLeadSystemPRO Contribution Level: 6]

Guys, everyone is right depending on which quadrant you're coming from. Duplication is a B-quadrant thing and Product-focus is an S-quadrant thing. Of course this refers to Cashflow Quadrants by Robert Kiyosaki.

More info on how it works here http://www.doonlinebusiness.info/2009/04/28/network-marketing/

[Tim Stephens Contribution Level: 2]

"Understanding that Magnetic Sponsoring is just one of many affiliate programs. I don't funnel my targeted traffic to the Magnetic Sponsoring capture page first. That would be silly. I funnel my traffic into ME first. Then I introduce free information to helping them Grow as a distributor."

You just made Mike's point! You promote yourself with good content, draw people to you and then introduce them to systems that work for you.

You also started this thread with a great headline!

You are listening grasshopper!

Live your Dream!
Tim

[dBrose Group Contribution Level: 2]

The way I see and understand "attraction Marketing" is like this. The systems used can be duplicated...yes. It's just the methods and systems that they teach networkers.

The product, company and business all need to be of good quality and make sense. I hope that has not changed. That aside, ultimately you're offering something that 100's or 1000's of other distributors offer as well. Same products, same comp plan and same marketing materials. So why would I, a potential distributor, choose you over the 100's of other people I could sign-up under?

You become the X-factor, but unless you can show me your leadership, your understanding of the business or who's going to help me build my business, your "opportunity" is pretty much like eveyone elses. I have no compelling reason to want to choose you.

So, that's what attraction marketing is, to me. Its not a replacement for any of the other things, but its what sets my exposure to you appart from all the other "opportunities". Its showing me the X-factor.

Is it new? No. Nothing is new. People have always preferred doing business with someone they felt they knew or have a connection with. But what is new is how we use technology today to build relationships on a global basis and how we master the tools that make it possible for me to get a feeling of who you are and what you offer even though you may be several states away if not countries apart.

[al king Contribution Level: 2]

The way I see and understand "attraction Marketing" is like this. The systems used can be duplicated...yes. It's just the methods and systems that they teach networkers.

The product, company and business all need to be of good quality and make sense. I hope that has not changed. That aside, ultimately you're offering something that 100's or 1000's of other distributors offer as well. Same products, same comp plan and same marketing materials. So why would I, a potential distributor, choose you over the 100's of other people I could sign-up under?

You become the X-factor, but unless you can show me your leadership, your understanding of the business or who's going to help me build my business, your "opportunity" is pretty much like eveyone elses. I have no compelling reason to want to choose you.

So, that's what attraction marketing is, to me. Its not a replacement for any of the other things, but its what sets my exposure to you appart from all the other "opportunities". Its showing me the X-factor.

Is it new? No. Nothing is new. People have always preferred doing business with someone they felt they knew or have a connection with. But what is new is how we use technology today to build relationships on a global basis and how we master the tools that make it possible for me to get a feeling of who you are and what you offer even though you may be several states away if not countries apart.

I agree with most of what you are saying ... in a way, what you're really talking about are, Followers, not Leaders. Leaders can evaluate an opportunity based On the Opportunity itself. They may want to know about the founders of the company; they may want to research the product; and if what they find out is Good - it's good enough.

They dont need to work with someone who can "support" them -- if they see a Internet System is in place, that they can use when needed, to expose people to the business; Leaders will use other tools as well, such as one on one presentations with prospects - and yes, if they're sitting Down with someone in a one on one setting, that Prospect (if they're a follower) may judge the Presenter, rather than the Opportunity.

Which in a way, exposes a "Vision Deficit" in the people of our society - that people follow people, rather than Ideas; It's one of the sole reasons that there have been people throughout history, who have Led People down dark pathways with destructive, hate filled ideas - because the people were following the Person; going along with whatever idea they tossed out at them; blindly willing to go wherever led.

So, another thought I'm having now is, Do you want to build an organization of Followers? Or Leaders?

[Art Lovell Contribution Level: 3]

Can people brand themselves yes, but the key is tailoring that into the needs of your audience. So I see it as branding you and your ideas expanding on what you've been taught. You're forgetting that a lot more than 50% of folks are still doing it the old fashion way, bothering family and friends. Heck most traditional mlms still don't harness the web effectively. Do I want followers? No I want people willing to learn as I am willing to learn, and the key as I see it is Learn to Learn! There is no right way to build your business.
Just think about it: As soon, a you think there is a "Right Way" to build a business someone will build it the opposite way and release and E-book about it lol. You know it’s true. In my experience, you just have to find out what works for you an what strategy you're comfortable with. Branding you is nothing more than saying I can show you my strategy. If you think that you need what you deem a good product, you missed that little section in MS that really says its not about you and what you think about your product, it's about what you're market thinks about it. Everyone has ideas, it's about the person who can bring it fruition and profitable in business. The automobile was around way before the Model T, Ford just made it affordable. Same thing with PC, people were still using the typewritter .

[Melanie Kissell Contribution Level: 3]

I'll have to take your viewpoint, Al, and call it my own, as well. The only viable way to market "You" is to create and sell your own products.

Thanks for an insightful post!

MELANIE

[James Blakeley Contribution Level: 1]

I sorta agree. I would not want to open a new GM dealership today, just because I am awesome at selling GM vehicles. I would however open a new business where I believe in the product, and Bonus it is sold with a terrific system for finding leads.

Keeping it simple. FInd a product, opportunity, and system. My opinion the system is where you find replication and success in most cases.

[Shirland Carrington Contribution Level: 2]

Attraction marketing is the new way to build trust using the massive vehicle of the internet. The old way due to communication constraint was done one on one, so building trust was much easier. We must be able to use all the different media vehicles efficiently to make attraction marketing work for you. The rule of your activity for the next 60-90 days will determine your results for the following three to 6 months.

[Dave Kotecki Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 5]

This is without question the most interesting thread I've read here.

I believe Al is right. I also believe that attraction marketing has become what lots of other things do. A fad.

First and foremost, we are salespeople. That's what we do, like it or not. If you don't want to sell or train others to sell, you should probably do something else. The people who do understand that mlm is a sales business will crush you. They are your competition and they know that the way to succeed (make money) is to move product. Period. The only reason you even want people to join you is to help you move product. Not so you can have a bunch of new friends.

People do not join you or your company because they know, like and trust you. That's ridiculous. If that were true everyone in your circle of family and friends would not only be your customers, they would be your staunchest supporters and they would be distributors in your company.

People join your team in your company for one reason. They believe that your product and marketing system can help them make money. They don't join to help people. They don't join to be "an alpha marketer". They don't join to develop relationships with people. They join to make money.

Try to get over the fact that you joined for the same reasons. You wanted money. You thought it would be easier than starting a different type of business. You thought it was your best chance to provide for your family and get them some nice things. You wanted security for them. You joined because you thought it would help you make the money you need to have the lifestyle you desire. You joined because having a job sucks.

Wanna be a better recruiter? Start telling people how you can help them get rich. Then show them what to do to get rich. If you don't know how to sell, you'd better learn. Because if you don't sell your prospects on the idea that you can help them get rich using your opportunity, they'll join the guy that does. You want someone to like you? Show them how to make money fast. They'll be your biggest fan.

Everyone is out there talking about all the "feel good" stuff. Personal development. Persistence. You can do it. Blah, blah, blah. Your prospects don't want to hear any of that crap. They want to know exactly the steps to take that will make them money the quickest. And they want to have the money without doing any of those steps. The closer you can get them to that fantasy, the happier they'll be.

Sell that dream. Help them believe they can do it. Set up your business to make it so easy that any one who takes the steps you lay out will succeed. When they make money, they'll tell everyone they know. Then you'll have a small and growing group of people that joined you and made money. Then you'll be able to claim that you can "coach" someone. Then you may become a leader.

As a final note, I think the main idea of Magnetic Sponsoring is missed a lot. The main premise of the book is to become valuable to your customers. How? Study everything you can get your hands on. Find out what works. Develop a system that makes it easy for people to succeed. Show people how to use it. Help them show other people to use it. Then continue to improve the system.

I have gone on far too long in this post. Probably should have been an article. Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread. It's really given me a lot to think about.