Fear Can Kill Your Network Marketing Dreams

Fear seems a timely topic, given that it's Halloween, but haunted houses, witches and gremlins can't be worse than the fears that you allow to govern yourself. It's so easy to give in. You just tell yourself not only that you can't do it, but that you don't want to do it and, hey, you can get around it by doing something else. And there goes your potential for success in MLM and network marketing.

One of my favorite books is Dr. Tom Barrett's Dare to Dream and Work to Win. Understanding the Dollars and Sense of Success in Network Marketing. I recommend it to all. Dr. Barrett says: "You will face the fear of doing this business or you will face the fear of not doing this business." If you dream of succeeding as an entrepreneur, then you need to confront your fears head on. Take each one at a time and work to overcome it. How? You just have to DO IT and keep on doing it til you're comfortable. You can't succeed in social media marketing, or in any new business endeavor, if you don't. And avoidance only increases stress, derails your goals and sabotages you.

You need to nurture your dream, protect it, be committed to it and give it a chance to grow. Dr. Barrett says: "...an intact dream, when properly fueled and cared for, gives enormous light. Protecting the dream is your responsibility. Be careful not to let others damage or steal it....Do not let the inability of others to see what is immediately in front of them cause you to doubt the reality of your vision."

Every 'guru' I know or follow will tell you that your mindset is what ultimately governs your success. A positive, confident bearing is communicated to others and will help you close the deal. And you need a personal commitment to do whatever it takes, and that includes, first and foremost, taking steps to deal with and overcome fear. If fear is in charge, you will slowly sink into the quicksand and disappear from the industry.

Managing Your Time in Network Marketing

Managing your time can be a real challenge in MLM or network marketing. But it's a key element of successful business development. The massive amount of information on social media sites is just plain overwhelming. And you'll be buried if you don't take charge right away.

I build a very simple schedule. It's basically two by two by all. Every Sunday night, I select two things that I absolutely MUST accomplish on Monday. Then I note two more things that really need to be done as soon as possible. After that, I prioritize and list all the things I'd like to get done that week. And I factor in some learning/information review time. So when I get started on my work week, I review my mail, answer what requires attention (I never spend more than an hour on this in the morning) and then I move on to those two things that MUST get done. And once I've finished those, the next two tasks become my priorities, and so on.

That schedule gives me a sense of accomplishment each day. And that's really important to your success. It allows me to manage my available time efficiently. It doesn't matter whether I have two hours or eight hours to spend working each day. I can build a schedule that will fit into my life and keep plugging away without feeling overwhelmed and burning out from trying to do too much. I can always do more if my schedule permits.

And what about the information glut in network marketing? I allocate some specified time, maybe two or four hours per week, to review information that's interesting to me and to spend some time on training. And I limit myself to one or two webinars. I can't read everything that comes in, so I'm pretty stringent about what I look at. I've selected two mentors that I always read and then look only at other things that I think might noteworthy.

This schedule works for me. And I recommend you try something similar, based on the amount of time you have to put into your business. Keep your tasks from being burdensome and you'll soon realize that you've accomplished quite a bit - and done it without making your life miserable and burning out before you can achieve your goals.

Building Your Foundation in Network Marketing with Patience and Persevance

You wouldn't build or buy a house with a flawed foundation, would you? So why would expect your MLM or network marketing business (or indeed any business) to produce instant results? It takes time and some money to get things started. And if your foundation isn't sound, you're not likely to get anywhere

Your foundation is YOU, not your business. So how you develop yourself is crucial in social media. First, you need to present yourself as a valuable, trustworthy person - a leader with concrete ideas and guidance. And you want to present yourself on your social media sites with a professional picture and a good (short) bio. That's really important because before I even think about discussing your business, I want to see who you are and what you're about. I want to know that you are sincere.

Second, you need to apply patience and perseverance to develop and hone your skills. And that means you need to take the time to go through the necessary training and learning. Too many people just don't seem to realize that business development takes time. Think about it. Doctors and lawyers are in school for years. Your kid took a year to walk and talk. So what's wrong with investing a few months in training to get your MLM or network marketing going the right way. Everything you go through adds to your store of knowledge and builds your ability to lead. And if you share your training/learning experience and thoughts with others, you will really establish yourself as someone with the qualities that people need when considering a business venture.

Remember that even after one day of training, you'll be ahead of every newbie. Multiply that day by a month, and you'll have passed a lot of people and developed a real foundation for your network marketing business, making it one at which you can really be successful. And you'll have plenty of insight that you can share with others. And that's what social media is about - information and the exchange of ideas.

Managing Fear and Marketing in MLM and Social Media

You can be the proverbial 'deer in the headlights' and run from everything you're afraid of. Or you can bite the bullet and confront your issues head on. One of the first things to understand is that you are not alone. Many people are afraid of blogging, making a video, getting on the phone, building social media relationships or network marketing the right way. And I'll bet that 95% of you would quickly identify with at least one of those issues.

Social media marketing is really about how you integrate the many different channels (Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, Digg, and your blog) together to build your lists, develop your relationships with your lists and convert your prospects into clients. (Go to pamela.hemmings.com, fill in your name and email and get your free flow chart - there's an animated version also - to see how social media really works.)

Nothing works in isolation. So you need to be present in as many aspects of networking marketing as you can. And that means you're likely to run into something you're afraid you can't do. I did. I put off making videos for weeks. Kept telling myself that no one would want to watch and listen to me. I mean, why would they? Nonsense. It really came down to my own fear of doing it. So, I went out, got a web cam and a digital video recorder and got started. The first video was a real struggle. I must have cut about 16 videos, trying to get a good one-minute intro on who I was and what I was about. But once I got it, I found the response was great. And the next one was much easier. I stopped worrying about it being perfect and just tried to state what I was saying clearly. Now I'm pretty comfortable making a video.

That's the way I work to overcome fear. Once you recognize what you're afraid of, tackle it. Get comfortable - it only takes some effort and determination and, bingo, you won't be afraid to do that again.

And it's all so important. Network marketing is an integrated process and you need all the pieces to play in the game.