How Do You React To Failure?

Most people think about failing as the end of the world.  But what most don’t realize is that your response to the failure is more important than the failure itself.  What does that mean?

Think it about this way.  When you fail (a prospect told you no, or you lost business), do you wallow in despair?  Do you make a list of reasons why someone turned you down?  Do you turn yourself inside out wondering what went wrong?

This is a negative response to failure.  You don’t want to go there.  Doing so will only result in a downward spiral.

Instead, look at the failure as another stepping stone of your success.  If you hadn’t failed, you wouldn’t have known how to improve yourself or your business.  For example, why did your prospect say no?  Did you leave out important information?  Did you not take time to find out what the prospect’s wants or needs were?

Here’s an example that might open your eyes.  Imagine yourself in a restaurant.  The server offers you the daily special.  You say “no” because you’ve already decided what you wanted.  Does the server burst out in tears or throw a tantrum because you didn’t want the special?  Of course not!  It’s not personal, it’s business.  It didn’t matter whether  you wanted it or not.  They accept your decision and move on. 

That’s what you must do – accept it and move on to the next stage of our business.

If you recognize what went wrong and worked on fixing it, you have just put yourself in a better position for success.  Very few people are successful at anything on their very first attempt. Failing with one prospect can actually make your experience with the next prospect even more successful when you realize what was missing and improve on it.

You have truly failed if you let your failure drag you down and you actually quit!  So buckle up and just accept failure as part of your business and work on how you respond or react to the failure.

In doing so, it will lift a tremendous weight off your chest and pretty soon, you’ll just be able to shrug the “no’s” off with ease and move on.  And remember, there can be no success without failure. 

 

Belief and Attitude Go Hand In Hand

How many of you have been involved in a home-based business for several months only to find yourself wondering “What in the world am I doing wrong?”  You were so excited when the opportunity was presented to you. 

You BELIEVED that you could succeed if you did everything your sponsor said – if you just followed the system.

So what happened along the way?  You did steps 1-10 and you’re still where you were when you started six months or even a year ago!

Each failure or “no” knocked your belief down chip by chip until you’re at the bottom wondering if it’s time to quit.

Think back to the beginning.  How deep was your belief in yourself and in your business?  Did your attitude match your belief?  I bet when you were successful, your belief was unshakeable!  Your attitude was probably one of “I can do anything!”

No matter what business you’re in and no matter how you’re marketing your product or opportunity, understand that Belief and Attitude can play a major role in how successful you are.  It’s time to put things in the right perspective.

How can you monitor this belief and attitude within yourself?  This is usually an on-going process.  It’s time to rebuild or strengthen what’s already inside you.  Fifteen to thirty minutes of reading can help nurture this process.

Reading words of wisdom can lift you up when you’ve been knocked down.  It can also turn your attitude to read that others have been where you are and that you’re not alone.

Your mentor can also help with realigning your belief and attitude.  You probably just took a wrong detour on the way to success.  They probably have been where you are and can show you the road back.

Whatever process appeals to you, be proactive and take charge of your belief and attitude.  Only YOU have the power to make those changes within yourself.

Optimizing YouTube

Why is making videos an effective way to market your business and/or product? With hundreds of videos being uploaded to YouTube daily, it’s not surprising that thousands of videos are also being viewed daily.  Many viewers watch YouTube as their main source of information, news and entertainment.

For those unfamiliar or new to internet marketing, YouTube is a popular video website service where ANYONE can upload videos for the viewing public.  Although videos can be in any category with virtually unlimited topics, if you want to utilize YouTube to market your business or product, there are certain “tricks of the trade” that can be helpful.

Let’s face it, the point of uploading your video is to have people view it.  Whether it’s to inform, educate or entice, your message won’t get delivered if no one is watching your video.  So how can you increase your odds of having your video appear on page one, two or three on YouTube?

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of YouTube, if you are looking to market using videos, you should be aware of a few things.  First of all, it takes four to five weeks to build your presence on YouTube.  Don’t expect to make sales after uploading one video in one week. 

Making videos is also another way to let your viewers know you before they ever pick up the phone to contact you.  If they like you and/or your message, you will have a better chance of connecting with the viewer.

Viewers like to watch your videos or channel many times before they will even contact you.  So it’s a good idea to have 10 videos or more in your arsenal.  The more videos you have, the better your chances of someone watching them.

Also, since a prospect may wait two weeks to contact you, if they are serious and they are watching YouTube everyday, they will continue to see your videos pop up as they surf around.  Generally, when they see many videos from one person, it will pique their curiosity and they will view your videos or channel.  Having multiple videos will help build your presence on YouTube.

Now, back to making YouTube work for you.  Prior to Google’s purchase of YouTube, video rankings were based on the number of views.  Thus, the more views you had on your video, the higher percentage you had of that video being on the top pages of YouTube. 

In response to that, what some entrepreneurs did to increase their chances of being on page one was purchase views from vendors.  Sometimes these were real viewers, but more often than not, these were just numbers put up on the videos to make it appear as if real people were watching the video.

For example, if you see a video that was uploaded five days ago and there are 5,000 – 10,000 views, it is most likely that the views were purchased. 

Since Google now owns YouTube, the previous rules no longer apply.  Instead, searching for videos on YouTube is similar to Google’s search engine.  For instance, if you were to type in HOW TO GET RID BROWN SPOTS, YouTube would display all the videos matching that title or those key words.  Your video may appear on page one or page twenty.

So how do you get your videos to appear on the top pages? Google is now looking at the RELEVANCE of your video. So, in addition to the TITLES, Google also looks at the DESCRIPTION you’ve written for that video.  If your description has little to do with your title, your video will mostly likely not be on the top pages.

For example, if your title is HOW TO GET RID OF STUBBORN WRINKLES, and your description talks about vacations, it’s obvious that the two do not compliment the other.  Your title or key words you used in your title should appear several times in your description.  So do yourself a favor and spend some time writing your descriptions.  It should be a short summary of your video and should reflect your title. 

You can also include some basic information about your product and/or company in your description.  But it shouldn’t be the main thing you include in your description unless you are making a video just about your product or company.

Here are some additional tips for your descriptions.  Always include your contact information (name, email, phone number, and website) at the beginning of your description. 

Here’s how you should include your website:  HTTP://WWW.YOURWEBSITE.  If you don’t include the HTTP://, a hyperlink will not be created.  You want your prospect to be able to click on it and go directly to your website.

Sometimes watching videos is an emotional response.  Remember when I mentioned that some marketers will purchase views for their video?  They do that because when a viewer is presented with SO MANY videos, most will likely click on a video that has more views.  If you have hundreds or thousands of views, the viewer will think that since the number is so high, it must be a video worth watching.

You can find many vendors to purchase views from through the search engines.  But if you do purchase views, be sure to place them carefully on your video.  Put them on videos that have been uploaded 3-4 weeks ago.  A video uploaded 3 weeks ago with 1,500 views is more believable than a video 5 days ago with 5,000 views.

There’s no time like the present to start marketing on YouTube.  So start making your videos and don’t forget to include value added information.  And lastly, HAVE FUN with your videos!

What Kind of Trainig Does YOUR Business Provide?

One of the things you should investigate and research when you are looking for a home business opportunity is the level of training and support your sponsor or future team can provide.  This should be of great concern if you are new to the home based business industry or internet marketing.

If you don’t know how to market online, experimenting on your own can be costly – to your self-esteem as well as your budget.  Most people joining home businesses are in it to either supplement or replace their income --- not to lose money while they learn.

It’s not unimaginable that sometimes people will say anything to make a sale.  With this in mine, make sure you find out from your prospective sponsor if they can deliver what they advertise in terms of the training they can give you.  Ask if you can preview the training.  Can you listen to a conference call or webinar?

Find out from your sponsor how knowledgeable he or she is about different systems other affiliates are using?  Can your sponsor help you set a marketing budget?  Does he or she know how to put together an effective comprehensive marketing plan?

Another good question to ask is if training INCLUDED when you join the team?  Believe it or not, there are teams out there that just want to charge you for everything you should be getting from them FREE. 

A successful team leader understands that in order for the team to grow and thrive, it’s in their best interest to teach and train members how to be successful.  This should not include charging team members for training and support.  In addition, leaders are always involved in educating themselves about the industry they are in as well as current trends in their company.  In doing so, the leader provides up to date information for their team.

Another important factor is how available and personal is the training?  Are you just expected to go conference calls and tweak everything on your own?  Or can you call your sponsor for more intensive training?

Something else to consider about the team training is the presence of other team leaders and trainers.  Additional team leaders and trainers actually build confidence and solidify the team as a whole.  It means that the leader has recognized the strengths in certain individuals and is utilizing all resources to help support the overall team.

In today’s market, here’s what comprehensive training and marketing resources can provide:

1.      State-of-the-art training site

2.      Personal branding

3.      YouTube marketing

4.      MySpace or Facebook marketing

5.      Blogging

6.      Effective email campaigns

7.      Pay Per Click campaign

8.      Marketing on content sites

9.      Professional autoresponder messages

10.  Live team training calls or webinars

11.  Access to thousand dollar advertising co-ops

12.  Access to a professional call center

13.  Personal mentoring & more

With this kind of resources and training available, it will surely decrease your learning curve.  Of course it will still take you time to learn about the product or opportunity you’ve joined.  But having an unbeatable support system it will also be a time saver if all you have to do is go to your training site or call your sponsor for help.

Again success is not guaranteed even with the best training system.  Ultimately, YOU determine your level of success.  It’s up to you.  But if you have the right resources at your fingertips, you’ve just given yourself a jump start.  The point is to utilize the training and support provided to you.

So do your homework.  Find out what you can expect before you join a sponsor or new business.

How To Effectively Work From Home

How can you make your home-based business work for you?  Let’s face it.  When the hoop-la and excitement dimmed within the first week of joining a new business, you may be thinking, “What do I do now?” 

 Previously, you had a boss telling you what to do and how to do it.  Now, you are the boss.  It’s up to you to set your schedule and drive your business to where you want it to go.  Sometimes that’s easier said than done, especially if you’re used to someone else doing it for you. 

Here’s a tool that’s often overlooked– your calendar!  Decide how many days you want to work a week.  Are you willing to work week ends?

Start by writing in all the appointments and family obligations.  Then look back at your week or month and see where you can you schedule yourself in.  Fifteen minutes to 30 minute blocks don’t often work because it can sometimes take you that long to get into the “grove” of working.  Look for 1.5 or 2 hour slots to schedule yourself.

 It’s easy to be distracted when working from home.  But stick to your schedule.  Don’t stop to do laundry or put away the dishes if you’re working.  When you had a “job”, you didn’t ask your boss to go home so you could put laundry in the dryer did you?  So don’t do that when you’re working at home.  Also, keep chatting with friends or family members to a minimum.

What do you work on during your working hours?  Make it easy on yourself and write a list of things that need to be accomplished.  Your list could look like this:

1.      place ads online

2.      return/check emails from prospects

3.      call prospects

4.      work on next ad campaign

5.      learn more about the industry or home business you’re in

Remember that this isn’t written in stone.  Be flexible.  Whatever it is you want to accomplish that day – write it down.  And remember, you can work effectively from home if you stick to your schedule.