Death Comes In Many Shapes And Forms

A Dying Snake

I saw an unusual thing yesterday, I came across a large snake that had just been run over by a car, It was still alive but was going through its death throes. I have a great affinity to snakes, so I picked it up and moved it to the side of the road and watched as it died, I stroked its warm skin as the life ebbed away from it's body. It was unusual because you don't normally see such large snakes where I live, and its rare to get the chance to watch something die so closely.

Dead Trees

Later that day I took my girlfriend to see the body, and as we walked back to our house we inspected the tree's we had planted recently on our land, We have had a drought for the past 3 months and many of them have died, some are struggling and others seem to be doing quite well considering the conditions.

Struggling To Survive

I always wonder when I am meeting new people online which people are still going to be around this time next year. A lot of my friends are trying to start their own businesses online and are facing the same challenges that my trees faced. Thrown into a new environment and not getting enough of what they need to survive. Struggling to get their roots established and sustain themselves through those initial challenges

The statistics are not so promising, depending on what sources you use 95% to 99% of all small businesses fail within the first year. What separates that small percentage from all the rest? What is the difference that makes the difference?

A Different Mindset?

I know that it can't just boil down to luck there are a few key issues that will be the deciding factors and maybe the most important is Mindset. Having the courage and determination to keep going when things get difficult shows through in peoples characters. Its easy to give up and walk away and blame your failure on the faults of others. Not taking full responsibility for all your actions will always undermine what you hope to achieve.

Even in the past few months I have seen many friends fall by the wayside, disheartened or distracted into doing something else, or still jumping from one Idea to the next and never able to commit and move forward. Making excuses to themselves so that they can feel good about not fulfilling their potential. I know it’s a natural process that is occurring and my bonds of friendship gradually grow closer to those I have travelled furthest with. And I quickly forget those that drift out of my life never to be seen again.

Decisive Action

I was listening to Mari Smith and Kevin Nations yesterday and one of the concepts that I took away was about the need for taking decisive action. Making decisions and following through with action is a key factor that separates those that will succeed and those that fail. Even if the decision is to not take any action, it needs to be clear and decisive so that you can focus on what you need to do and not what you might have been doing, worried if it was a right or wrong choice. As Kevin said, if you come to a fork in the road, take it.

Death Is A Positive Force

Death comes in many shapes and forms, it makes way for new growth to take place. Each time you take decisive action you are killing off many other potential futures, you don’t need to dwell on the past, you embrace the death of all those other possibilities and keep focussed on the direction that you have chosen to take.

Embrace It

You might find yourself caught at that fork or crossroads in life and feel like the snake that I saw writhing in pain as it struggles to hold on to life. Unable to make the choice of which direction to take, unable to embrace death because you want to keep all your possibilities and options open.

Another Death

My Last post about the relaunch of SMMS threw up a lot of interesting issues and I had some great comments and feedback. There is a major shift taking place and old methods and ways of operating are now in their death throes too, we can see them dying by the roadside and nothing we can do will be able to bring them back to life. Social Media has brought about a much needed transformation in the way people relate to each other and do business together. Honesty, Integrity and transparency are the new currency. Those who can build solid long lasting relationships and establish their own credibility will be the ones who will reap the long term profits and rewards.

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When The Universe Is Trying To Tell You Something

Many people who teach law of attraction and abundance are faced with the issues that it always brings up in their lives. Just what are they attracting to themselves and can they listen to the messages the Universe is trying to teach them.

Social Media Marketing System
This article will explore the recent re-launch of the Social Media Marketing System (SMMS) and explain from an insiders perspective some of the issues and controversies that were brought to the surface during this process.

I spent four hours last night on the phone to Brian Campbell going over these details and analysing the successes and failures, taking the lessons that we learned so that we can improve on what went well and to avoid some of the tactics that are now obviously outdated and no longer as effective

Free training
Brian Campbell began the re-launch of SMMS over a month ago, during the first week of June, he had intended to bring the launch to a conclusion around summer solstice on 21st of June. Everything was running smoothly and in the first week about 800 people had signed up for the free training that he was offering.

A Spanner In The Works
Brian hit the first major snag just as he was just about to release a new set of trainings. His internet hosting company had let him down and he was forced to migrate servers. Which meant shutting down SMMS for 2 and a half days while he worked non stop to get the system up and running again. His main concern was to ensure the quality of service to all his existing paying members and he had no choice but to put the launch on hold while he dealt with these technical difficulties.

This was like putting a bucket of water on the fire, the momentum that he had built up until then was frustrated and he was forced to re-schedule his plans.

Tickets Already Booked
Brian Had already set the date for handing over the $10,000 cheque to John Chow in Vancouver , his flight tickets were booked weeks before and all the arrangements were set. He was forced to improvise and the media publicity that he had hoped from the $10,000 cheque couldn't be used as effectively as he had once intended

A Change in Direction
Brian then decided to change tactics and instead of going for the soft launch that he had had originally planned he chose to go for the all out in your face full frontal attack . Using the aggressive marketing tactics that have been so prevalent in the internet marketing world in the past.

A Viral Buzz
He launched P.R.I.S.M and created a huge Buzz on Facebook, the group grew extremely rapidly and had a massive viral effect because of the number of people who were posting on the group wall and making videos. His main leverage this time was not based on the quality of what he was teaching but was more focused on using scarcity tactics, exclusivity and the carrot of giving away another $15,000.

Old Tactics Leave Some People Jaded
It was a masterful display of the power that these psychological marketing methods can have over some people. And the were successful to an extent

I am not a personal fan of this type of marketing and in my opinion I think he may have turned a lot of people off. I had my reservations and maybe even damaged my own reputation by supporting him and promoting what he was doing to many of my own group members. It was a good learning experience and I know for future situations how I will choose to respond.

Many of those who have been around for a while are jaded by these old school strategies of false scarcity and emotional manipulation. Its exciting to watch but when the dust settles it leaves a strange taste in the mouth because they are not rooted in the principles of wealth and abundance that underlies a lot of what Brian normally teaches

The Rules Have Now Changed
Social Media has changed this whole game. Everything is much more transparent and real time comments and analysis expose the fact that a lot of people don't appreciate this way of operating.
What might have worked for the past 5 years no longer has the same effect, this was clearly revealed in the recent Stompernet launch and the subsequent backlash that was expressed on Rick Butts blog

John Reese who just launched his Traffic Secrets 2 course deliberately avoided using any type of scarcity tactic in his sales presentation. As a guy who tests and tracks everything you can be sure he is aware of the latest trends and this was the reason for his decision.

Bad Timing
The final difficulties that Brian faced were due to the setbacks and timing of his launch. This had pushed him up to the fourth of July Weekend and he needed to bring it to a conclusion before then.

The massive attention that he had hoped would go towards his sales letter was distracted by the holiday period which meant that the results that he had hoped for were slightly less than he had anticipated and while it was still successful and many new members joined SMMS there are still many people who could greatly benefit who chose not to participate. Let this be a lesson to all those who plan on launching a product or service in the future pay careful attention to the public holidays and social calendar so you can have everyone's full and undivided attention.

Health Issues
After 3 months of burning the candle at both ends Brian finally took a short break over the holiday weekend and gave himself the rest that he needed and deserved. He discovered that he needed more time to recharge himself and so instead of doing what most marketers would do, which is to bring in all those who were still sitting on the fence. Brian finally chose to sacrifice his original goals rather than burn himself out and damage his health. Having made this mistake in the past and being forced to take a year off from work and walk away from a $2 million business, he was not going to make the same mistake twice.

A Difficult Dilemma
When faced with the option of making more money as opposed to being fit and healthy which would you choose. This is a difficult dilemma and one that many people face because their financial success influences so many other areas of their life, and their family are lifestyle are often dependant on their income. Some are often tempted to choose money and work to the detriment of their physical health and well being and I will explore this topic in greater detail in a future blog post

Victim Of Your Own Success
Anyone who makes themselves publicly available can sometimes be the victim of their own success. With too many people demanding his attention and the pressures of running his existing membership and training program, Brian could no longer offer the personal connection that had been a major factor in the success of his initial launch. I know that in the future that he will be slowing down to focus more on the success of the existing SMMS members and building a solid base with PRISM and his recently released MIND programs

Takeaways and Conclusion
This article is a summary of my own personal opinions I am sure Brian will soon respond with his own version of events and while there are many minor details I missed out I hope you get the general drift. I learned some valuable lessons which are summarised below.

○ Honour the relationships that you have already spent time developing,
○ Concentrate on giving value to as many people as possible
○ Maintain the core principles that you stand for in everything you do
○ Always question whether a short term gain is worth risking your reputation
○ Health and well being are much more important than money
○ When the universe throws obstacles and barriers in your path pay close attention maybe you are missing something important
○ Timing and momentum are vitally important concepts to understand and apply
○ Even the best plans have to be changed at the last moment so learn to be flexible and improvise


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Leane Gerber wins the $10,000 prize on Facebook

Yesterday I participated in the final stages of a competition that had been running for the past few weeks on Facebook. Kev Mcauly Announced that he would be investing $10,000 to help someone kick-start their own home business.

All you had to do was join Kevs groups become a fan on his fan page and then write to explain why you thought you deserved to get the money.

A Sceptic

My Friend Leane Gerber was the first person to tell me about this offer and I explained to her then why I wouldn't be joining. I thought it was a great Idea as a publicity stunt and thought that Kev would probably grow a huge list for his MLM business as lots of hopeful people jumped on board expecting to get a free handout. I had just finished writing about MLM and pyramid marketing so my scepticism was even higher.

Not All MLM Is The Same

In the following weeks Leanne single-handedly build up Kevs groups by promoting what he was offering and right at the last minute with 5 minutes to spare and just before the competition closed I jumped on board for the fun of it. I had no real expectation of winning but I had seen the sincerity of Kev Mcauly and realised that he didn't fit into the normal category of MLM promoter, there was something different about him and his attitude that I liked.

Leane Wins $10,000

I spent the next half an hour having an IM conversation with Leane and Kev at the same time. I told Kev who I thought should win and I soon realised that he had already made the right decision.

He finally released the name of the winner in his excellent Blog post where he talks about his challenges in MLM marketing and how he came to learn the hard way that if you want to succeed in business online....

1. You must have a business or something to sell or promote with which you receive commission.

2. you must know how to generate traffic to websites

3. You must brand yourself as a leader in this industry.

Leane was chosen from all the other hopefuls because she had actually done something of value to earn it. By actively promoting she showed her talents and by being so down to earth and genuine she has built her own following on facebook

Brian's Protégé

Leane Gerber wins $10,000 prize on Facebook

Leane was one of the first people to follow Brian Campbells teaching, right at the beginning when no one had even heard of him. She threw caution to the wind and started her first facebook group, branding herself as Brian Campbells protégé. Even though she was inexperienced in internet marketing and had no product of her own to sell she took action and proceeded to build several large groups on Facebook.

Video Expert

It was only later that her real talents and skills were revealed and she started to build her own niche groups to teach Video Editing and Production.

A Great Sales Pitch

When she finally made her pitch to Kev Mcauley explaining her ideas she outlined a clear plan of action showing how she will use the money not just to help herself but to add value to other peoples lives

“I believe if you help enough people get what they want you will get what you want. I will use the money to help you and others...

I have 2 business ventures which I will give you the opportunity to invest in your $10'000 in.

1. As a film maker I am appalled at bad quality video's on the web.

I have 4 facebook groups with at least 800 people who want to learn more about using video to market themselves. I will use the money to buy the equipment I need to create high quality FREE training videos which I will post on fb and my video blog to teach people how to make professional video's. I will also help you spice up your health blog :)

2. My second venture is an amazing product called fuel freedom international. It helps you save 25% on fuel, reduces hazardous fuel emissions and have a great compensation plan. I will sign up 12 people as independent distributors and will invest my time to guide them and teach them to become successful using my marketing and your LOA knowledge.”

A Good Friend

I have really appreciated Leane's friendship on Facebook and she is one of the few people who I would actually consider a real friend, we have spent many hours chatting on Facebook's instant messenger sharing our Ideas and supporting each other through the psychological ups and downs that occur in this business

I am so happy that she is now getting the financial success that she has worked so hard for. Kev Mcauley made a good choice. He chose her for several reasons and I am sure he will get a good return on his investment

So why leanne?

• She applied the rules of the competition more than anyone and greatly contributed to the growth of the group.

• She has shown her ability in being able to build huge groups and traffic in social media.

• She has emailed, IM me and built a relationship, she has told me about her family, friends, dreams and goals.

• She is a leader in MLM and will able to help with my success.

Simple Strategies

Anyone no matter what their background or personal history can rise to the position of expert and leader if they have the commitment and enthusiasm and courage to move past their fears and take action implementing a few simple strategies, I outline them quite clearly in my free facebook advanced strategies guide

A New Type Of Guru

As more people become disillusioned with the big named Gurus I wonder if we are beginning to see a trend where people will follow those that have risen from the ranks because they maybe have a clearer understanding of the problems and issues that a newcomer might face since they went through it themselves much more recently.

Congratulations Leane I am proud of you for everything you have achieved in such a short period of time and I look forward to working with you closely in the future.

Make Your Facebook Profile Magnetic

Anyone who has been on Facebook for over a month has probably accumulated a lot of extra weight on their profile page. This is quite normal but if you want to network more effectively it’s a good Idea to treat your profile like your resume and to keep it clear from clutter. Regular housekeeping will save you having to do a complete overhaul and rebuild. And if you set everything up in the right way your profile will become magnetic and you will automatically attract the friends you are looking for. Here a few suggestions that I came up with

Make Your Profile Fit Your Target Market.

If you want to target a specific niche then your profile should reflect this. A quick way to make a convincing profile is to go to Amazon.com and type in your keywords and see what books pop up. You want to make sure that you list these books on your profile. Next you need to include the names of some of the most famous people in your niche and the things that you would expect a person from this niche to like. Type in these names in the facebook search box and see what profiles come up, check out what other people have on their profiles and copy the style of a few of your most typical targeted prospects.

Target and Attract

You need to optimise you profile so that not only will you quickly be accepted as a friend by others in your niche but you will also attract the people who are looking for you when they use the search function. This is an important principle to remember. Target and Attract at the same time. All your personal information is hyperlinked so keep everything short and make sure you spell everything correctly. Writing long wordy sentences describing all your favourite things means you will miss out on others finding you though the search function and people might not even bother to read what you have written. Remember, most people only take a few seconds to scan through your profile, you need to make it as easy as possible for them so see what you have in common

Tidy Up You Groups

One tell tale sign that gives a lot of information about a person is the groups they have joined so if you want to make the right impression go through your group list and get rid of all the ones that are unsuitable. Also think about joining groups that will enhance your image and make you look like a well rounded individual. If you have a long list of groups only devoted to MLM, network marketing and making money online you might scare people away because you have made a clear statement about who you are. If your niche is making money online then this will of course be Ok, but it is a good idea to join some other interesting groups that also reflect well on your personality and interests.

Get Rid Of All The Apps

One of the most annoying things I find is when I come upon a persons profile who has been on facebook for a while is when their profile page is filled with about 100 applications and the page takes about 2 minutes to load. If you fall into this category you need to go through them all and decide if you want to keep them. Delete all the ones you don't want and hide all the ones that are unnecessary

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P.R.I.S.M Reaches 1000 Members and Brian Campbell is Snowed Under

In my previous post I talked about risk reversal and how you can increase sales by taking all the risk away from your customer.

As many of you know, Brian Campbell is re- launching his Social Media Marketing System and has built in a solid risk reversal into his program so anyone considering joining really has nothing to lose and everything to gain

Ironclad, TRIPLE-CONFIDENCE 100% "Better-Than-Risk-Free" Money Back Guarantee!

I'll even allow you a full month to try my “Social Media Marketing System” training to determine if it's right for you. If you don't see how you can immediately begin building wealth easily by using these amazing techniques, I'll issue you a complete refund of your current month's membership fee, no questions asked. Just call my office and we'll cancel your membership. I'm convinced that you'll be completely thrilled with all the priceless training and won't ever need to ask for a refund!

Building Huge Buzz

He has spent the last week building huge buzz and growing a new group called P.R.I.S.M just for this purpose. When I last looked it had over 1000 members and 389 wall post, all in less than a week. He has used a variety of marketing tactics before he finally sent all the prospective P.R.I.S.M. members to his sales letter. I had read an earlier version but I must admit Brian has improved it beyond recognition. Even if you don't choose to join SMMS at least take a copy of this sales letter as a reference and study exactly how he structured it.

Taking Action Pays Off

Two things for me stand out Brian obviously gave some lucky people who had earned it scholarships into SMMS but what he also did was implement a very clever reverse scarcity time and money squeeze to get people to take action quickly. All those who have been following him on Twitter got a 2 hour head start to sign up for the paid program at a massive discount. As more people signed up and the limited places inside S.M.M.S. were taken the discount would rapidly decrease until the $13,000 was all given away. At this point the price will increase. I was impressed because who wants to take the chance of having to pay more at a later date because of hesitation. Brian hasn't released any details as yet but I know he was struggling with the pricing structure. He was worried he was giving it away too cheaply. This might just be a clever marketing strategy but it is also very difficult to ascertain the true value of membership to this program, especially the premium gold and silver memberships.

A Sell Out In 72 Hours

When he first opened the program it sold out in only 72 hours, how much longer he can keep the doors open this time is anybody's guess, from his twitter messaging it sounded like he was snowed under with applications and is busy processing them all right now. Already the first new members have entered the full membership area of the SMMS forum and are starting to interact with the other members.

If you are hesitating then you might miss the boat like the guy from one of my previous posts. You still may have time so go and read the sales letter right now.

Risk Reversal - How to Increase Sales and Build Relationships

Risk Reversal is a way to increase sales and to make whatever you have to sell irresistible because your customer has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Who Takes All The Risk?

When you are in business, and you are trying to sell something whether it be a product or service what often happens is that one of the parties involved is shouldering the burden of the risk, Usually this is the customer, They might buy the wrong product, or it might not be suitable to their needs, or your service might not produce the results that they need to justify the investment.

Take it Away from the Customer

What you need to do is find ways to take this burden away from the customer and shift it onto you. This effectively opens up the sales process and removes any objections or reservations a customer or prospect might have. You are effectively guaranteeing that you will meet their needs and that if certain criteria are not met they will be fully compensated.

30 Day Money Back Guanrantee

A simple example is the 30 day no questions asked money back guarantee. This gives anyone who is sceptical the chance to test drive what you have to offer while having the security of knowing that they can pull out at any time and not have lost anything.

More Than Money Back Guarantee

A further variation is the more than Money back guarantee where you offer a full refund plus a further offer or gift to appease the customer and make up for the time they spent and the inconvenience of choosing something unsuitable.

Define Criteria to Measure Effectiveness

If you are selling a service then you need to define certain measurable criteria that can be used to test whether or not your service has been effective.

A great example of this can be seen in what Frank Kern offered in his mass control program that he released earlier this year. He was so sure that his program would work that he offered to give anyone personal one on one coaching if after following his program and applying all the teachings they were still not able to apply what they had learned successfully to their business.

Another common example that most people will have heard of is Domino's Pizza, if they take longer than 30 minutes to deliver you get your Pizza for Free.

Starbucks have also adopted similar customer service policies as described so well in his Blog by Yaro Starack, If your drink isn't delivered or the service you receive is not to their high standards you get your drink for free and a voucher for a drink on the house at a later date.

Word of Mouth Builds Reputation

What this does is develop a strong bond with the customer and also build your companies reputation through word of mouth. If you receive a standard of service over and above what you are expecting it is the sort of thing you will talk about to your friends. This is one of the ways companies can start to go viral. People hear about them through word of mouth. This is why social media sites and online communities have become the new arena and market place which can make or break your business.

Build This Principle Into Your Own Business

It now becomes clear that is you want to convince more people to buy your product or service you have to make it as easy and risk free for them to do so. Developing guarantees, standards of quality and expected results need to be combined with clearly defined criteria that can be used to measure how effective you have been in meeting the needs of your customer. Risk reversal ensures quality and accountability and builds a basis for selling other products and services at a later date. People who know like and trust you are much more likely to become repeat customers.

Going Viral Part 4 - He Who Shall Not Be Named

Relaunch

I Have a friend who shall remain nameless, he is in the process of re-launching his own membership site. He is following the advice given by Dan to the letter. He is also using twitter to communicate a lot of the important details about his launch and to generate Buzz. Many of you will know who I am talking about. Many of you will have had the sense to follow him on twitter

Buzz and Excitement

He has already launched a great product and generated a lot of initial buzz and the benefits of his product were so good that lots of his clients and customers started to promote it . He is now moving into the second stage. As far as I can see it has started to go viral because it has reached the critical mass and enough people are talking about it. Generating a lot of extra buzz and excitement which draws in people who have only just heard about what is happening, like Iron filings drawn towards a magnet. The members who are on board first will be the ones who truly benefit when the results of this product and its services are released to the wider internet and a more global audience.

The benefits are obvious, anyone who has read about what is being offered and has seen the inherent value and opportunity can only make one logical choice.

Don't Miss the Boat

It reminds me of another story about four brothers who had decided to sail on a ship to America , They had gotten up early and rushed down to the port. The first Brother had bought his ticket months ago, he knew exactly what he wanted to do and where he was headed in life. He had a cousin who had told him about the amazing opportunities that were available in America and he wanted to go and make his fortune there . When he arrived at the dock he ran quickly up the gangplank and immediately bumped into the captain who was welcoming the first passengers on board . He struck up a conversation and the captain liked him so much that he invited him to upgrade into first class and to have dinner with him and his fellow officers every evening.

The second brother also knew without a doubt that he wanted to sail to the new world, and had also bought a ticket beforehand. But as he was a bit more cautious than the first brother he had packed loads of heavy bags full of all the things that he thought he might need on the journey. Little did he know that most of the cabins came very well equipped and excellent food was provided on board. His heavy bags slowed him down but he made it on board without any trouble. Second class was crowded but comfortable and he was happy because he knew that he would get to his destination.

The ships engines started powering up and the third Brother was dawdling on the dockside watching everything that was going on. He was so distracted by all the hustle and bustle that he almost forgot to board the ship. They were just pulling up the gang plank when he ran and jumped across the gap and only just made it. He had to go in third class and didn't have a cabin because he had bought his ticket at the last minute, 3rd class was very crowded and he had to stand up for most of the journey, he was hoping that a space would become available in second class but there were lots of other passengers on the waiting list ahead of him.

The fourth Brother was watching everything that was going on. He wanted to go but he was afraid. He was afraid that everything might be too expensive when he got to America and that his money would run out. He hadn't even bought a ticket because he wasn't sure he could afford it. As he watched all his brothers board the ship he convinced himself that he didn't really want to go anyway and as it set sail he turned his back on the ship and walked slowly back to his house happy that he had made such a wise choice and still had the money that he would have spent on his ticket. To celebrate he went into a local pub and spent almost all of it in one evening of drunkenness.

This is the fourth post in a four part series, in order to fully appreciate it you should read the other posts as this sets the context and gives a lot of valuable background information.

Part 1 - Understanding The Difference Between Viral Marketing and MLM

Part 2 - A Personal Story

Part 3 - Making It Big On The Internet