An easy way to get to my blog is to copy benjaminwhitten3rd.com and paste into the address line. I have added a short entry (but too long for here) on the value of a few minutes of time. Have a good time in your weekend ~ over and out.
Even without knowing what your products are I can tell you that your true products are not what you think they are. If your goal is defined as creating PROFITS, then your products are not vitamins, phone service, legal services, or cosmetics. Your bottom line is not to ‘get people into the business.’
To attain success, your business is marketing the training techniques and skills necessary for anyone who becomes active in your downline to achieve net profits. The products are already there for the asking. What you are selling is the marketing system. The marketing system, once taught and understood by your downline, sells your company’s product. Each member of the downline must be aware of and develop the alpha traits previously discussed. When this happens and only when this happens will worthwhile ‘duplication’ take place. At this point your distributors can confidently and honestly convey the knowledge that creates the astonishing wealth always promised but so far only delivered to one in a thousand.
An essential element widely unknown or ignored is the concept and value of ‘branding.’ The term simply means no more than creating a recognizable trademark or Brand Name. Maybe this concept has been around forever but for our purposes the present economic environment really began immediately after World War II. When America and the world really began to get back on its economic feet after the war the ideas of mass marketing and developing franchises were reborn.
One illustration will largely explain how important this is to you. The original idea of Kentucky Fried Chicken actually goes back before World War II to 1930, but Colonel Harland Sanders founded the company by this name in 1952. His original location catered to tourists heading through North Corbin, Kentucky on their way to Florida. When the local interstate bypassed his location he sold his property and headed throughout the United States trying to sell his ‘Original Recipe’ until he found his first success in Salt Lake City, Utah.
By the early 1960s Kentucky Fried Chicken was sold in over 600 franchises across the United States and Canada. For decades The Colonel’s secret recipe was known to have 11 secret herbs and spices creating the ‘finger lickin good’ chicken now known practically around the world.
Your downline will need to recognize and feel as they know you as well as they recognize ‘The Colonel’ and first you need to be aware of this requirement so that then you will take the necessary steps to make this happen. Since this is no longer really an option but a necessity and expected by your downline, you must see that thishappens by using the networking tools available on the internet. Going door to door and following the Old School methods will only insure that you start and probably stay at the bottom of the ladder of success – not the place you want to be when the room is at the top.
Even the KFC bucket of chicken has become a well recognized icon just illustrating the potential of advertising to create a universal reminder to the consuming public. But did you know that this now famous bucket used for larger orders was originally created by Dave Thomas who started Wendy’s. It’s a small world isn’t it? Thomas was a franchisee of KFC operating several locations in Columbus, Ohio. He believed using the paper packaging helped keep the chicken crispy by reducing excess moisture and the famous rotating bucket sign that came to be used at most KFCs was his idea. I guess you could say he was in Colonel Sanders’ downline, if you didn’t already get the point.
In MLM you must realize your distributors don’t really join the corporation, they in fact join you. The more they know about you and the more confidence they have in you, the more likely they will be comfortable in doing what you ask them to do, which is of course become part of your downline and put forth the effort to go through the training and develop their own downline.
At any one moment in time I estimate that only one person in five hundred is receptive to starting their own business. Is it likely that you are sufficiently clairvoyant to call or send that person an email today? Not likely. But can you perceive what that one person may be doing today? Odds are that this one person in five hundred makes it to the internet and once you get ahead of the curve, you will be in a position to ultimately attract them to your downline. As I said before it’s either this option or continuing the chase of the 499 potential prey who will skillfully run from you. But it’s your choice.
Two things must happen for that one person to end up in your downline. First they must find your presence on the internet – they must be aware you exist and if they are half way across the country they cannot magically ring your doorbell and ask for information on your MLM, but THEY CAN track you down by Google, Yahoo or MS Bing. Second, you must offer a persuasive presentation to answer any questions and address any reluctance and be available 24 hours a day.
All of this can be accomplished only by effectively using the internet. MLM companies typically govern your participation in their web site and restrict your activities in setting up booths and advertising in store fronts. It’s necessary then to bridge these gaps by enhancing your presence by branding yourself. When your prospects have confidence in you, they can be comfortable in buying your companies products, buying into the MLM downline, and following your advice as your relationship develops.
This needs to take place without pressure or you will just fall back into the practice of chasing down prospects who will then resort to the habit of running away from you. People dislike being sold but we love to buy. It’s a tough balance to strike. If you keep in mind that fulfilling a need is the surest if not the only way to conclude the sell then you can maintain the balance necessary to develop a long term relationship as well as make that initial sell.
Colonel Sanders enticed his customers by the giant red bucket and incomparable smell of his secret recipe and they gladly came creating immediate cash flow and by returning again and again ‘residual income.’ You and your downline will do well to follow this example and not jump into reinventing the wheel. In other words, brand yourself and offer a product and service with real value. Have your downline do the same.
There are hundreds of MLM companies and if you want to play the odds then you might want to confirm that your primary company is one of the top twenty. If your own interest has taken you to one of the smaller companies simply evaluate if your level of interest warrants staying where you are. The important point is to know, not guess, where you and your present company stands. With the facts you are in a position to decide if a change makes sense for you or not. If you plan to trim a tree you may want the sharpest axe around.Refer to the article regarding the necessity of having your own blog further down this site. If you need to make requests or add comments go right ahead and do so, this site is updated several times weekly.
Multi-level-marketing hereafter referred to simply as MLM, has literally made some fortunate families BILLIONAIRES while doing nothing good for tens of thousands of other true believers.
What is the secret that stands between dismal failure and the success of earning $2,000 rain or shine EACH AND EVERY DAY seven days a week ?
There are a number of factors and obstacles that must first be recognized and then overcome to attain the promise and realize the potential of MLM. In the coming days I will review principles that will supercharge your company and make your downline and your bank account happy with you again.
Are you already aware that Facebook is passing up Google as the PREMIER internet company. Besides having a Facebook account, you also should (MUST) have a presence on Twitter, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon and Linkedin. None are difficult so get account on each, look around and become familiar with each. These are the key to a world wide market place and you deserve your seat.
To log on as Administrator in your WordPress blog type www.domainname.com/wp-admin replacing domainname with your actual domain in the address line of the browser window. You will be prompted for your user name and password and after supplying both just ‘enter.’ And you should be done.
One of the best and certainly the first tool you must have is a website allowing you to communicate and keep your potential downline current with your activities and general business trends. This web-log or blog is both the heart and nerve center of your entire business. Because you totally control its use, it is more valuable to you than sites provided by any MLM for your use which are 98% tailored to promote their products and goals not yours. Having a blog provides you with the tool to immediately position yourself as an expert and brings your credibility and authority to a completely new level. You will have the leveraging power to stand toe to toe with all competitors and successfully market any products or services you choose. Your blog will serve as your single point of contact, introducing first time visitors and casual observers and providing direction for your downline. An effective blog is the perfect way to acquire tens and hundreds of thousands of email addresses for mere pennies. This is like finding a pot of gold at the end of your blog rainbow. Done right it will self perpetuate itself virtually forever and will fuel all of your business activities.
You want to look for a blog which will be self hosted so that you maintain 100% control over ownership and content. You will find blogging sites that will host it for you but they will have the ability to suspend your site potentially destroying countless hours of your effort. This could happen if they arbitrarily decide there is some perceived conflict of interest with your content for example. Not to worry, WordPress.org at this time is one self-hosted platform which can be tailored and customized to meet
your own specific needs.
Since you principally want to brand yourself, there is nothing wrong with using your own name for your domain name. Of course if it is already in use you’ll have to be creative but try to tend toward something simple. Ideally you want to settle on something that will never change. You don’t want to look forward to changing your domain name later on. If you need additional suggests keep in mind this site is updated several times a week and you are welcome to make comments or requests for specific information at any time.
Abraham knew not whether he had slept this night. Moment by moment, time had seemed to stop but he was now certain the day was approaching. The sky still provided no clue; it was dark without a hint of any dawn. The moon had either already set or clouds were obscuring it. There were plenty of stars visible though, and they were providing some murky light. Sarah his wife was quite asleep.
Having avoided what he thought was certain death many years ago, he now felt that death would be the victor today. He was certain that he had been on the side of God for such a long time, and he was so disoriented that he put away thoughts of turning back. Or rather he knew that he would not turn back even though in fact that was the only thought he held.
He paused to reflect another moment, thinking how fast time could pass even when one might expect to live over two hundred years. Of course that was not much considering his great, great, great, great, great-grandfather lived some four hundred and sixty four years, wasn’t it?
None of the other greats had made it much past two hundred years but at less than half that, he felt old as death. God giveth and God taketh away and He works in mysterious ways.
It seemed like only yesterday, well maybe a few days before that, that Abram, as he was then called, had asked his father and his people, ‘What is that which you worship?’
They replied, ‘We worship these idols and pray to them with full devotion.’
‘Do they hear you when you call on them?’ he asked. ‘Can they help you or do you fear they can cause you harm?’
They replied, ‘This is what our fathers did before us.’
‘Then you and your fathers are in extreme error.’ He whispered to his father. ‘Will you worship idols as your gods? Surely you and all these people are in palpable error.’
When the night had pressed its shadow over him, he saw a star. ‘That,’ he said, ‘will be my god.’ But as it faded in the light of morning he said, ‘I will not worship gods that fade.’
When he beheld the rising moon, he said, ‘There is my god.’ But when it set he said, ‘If my Lord does not guide me I shall surely go astray.’
So when he beheld the sun shining, he said, ‘That must be the god, it is the greatest.’
But then it set and he announced to his people, ‘I disown your idols. I will turn my face to Him who created the heavens and the earth, and I will live a righteous life. I am no idolater.’
He said to his father and the people, ‘What are these images that you show such devotion? Would your serve false gods instead of God? What do you think of the Lord of the Universe?’
He said, ‘Do you see those which you have worshipped, you and your forefathers? They are my enemies, not the Lord of the Universe who created me, provides me guidance, food and drink; Who when I am sick restores me, Who will cause me to die and bring me back to life hereafter, and Who I trust will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgment.’
To his father he said, ‘Why do you serve a worthless idol, a thing that cannot hear or see? Father, things you know nothing about have come to my knowledge, so heed me that I may be able to guide you to the straight path.
‘Father, do not worship Satan, for Satan has rebelled against the Most Merciful.’
When his people had argued with him he said, ‘Will you argue with me about God, who has granted me guidance? I do not fear your idols, unless my Lord so willed. My Lord has knowledge of all things. Will you ignore all warnings? And why should I fear your idols when you are not afraid of serving idols never sanctioned by God? Which of us is more likely to find salvation? Tell me if you are certain of the truth. Those with faith who do not taint their faith with wrongdoing shall surely achieve salvation, for they follow the right path.’
He said to the people, ‘Serve God and fear Him. That would be best for you, if you only knew it. You worship idols besides God and fabricate illusion. Those whom you serve besides God cannot give you your daily bread. So seek the bounty of God, and worship Him. Give thanks to Him, for to Him you will return.
‘If you deny me, other societies before you also denied their apostles. An apostle’s only duty is to give clear warning.’
‘Is this the truth you keep preaching,’ they asked, ‘or is it but a jest?’
‘Indeed,’ he answered, ‘your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. It was he who made them as I bear witness. By the Lord, I will overthrow all your idols as soon as you turn your backs.’
Their prompt reply was, ‘Kill him,’ and ‘Burn him.’
He raised his eyes to the stars and said, ‘I am sick.’ And his people turned their backs and went off.
When he stole away to their idols he spoke to them saying, ‘Why not eat your offerings? Can you not speak?’ With that he fell upon them, striking them down with his right hand. He broke them all in pieces, except their supreme god, so that they might consult with him.
‘Who has done this to our deities?’ they asked. ‘He must surely be a wicked man.’
Others said, ‘We know the youth Abraham derides them.’
They responded, ‘Let us all confront him face to face with them as witnesses.’
The people came running to the scene. He said, ‘Would you worship what you created with your own hands, when it was God who created you and all that you have made?’
‘Abraham,’ they said, ‘was it you who did this to our deities?’
‘No,’ he replied. ‘It was their chief who struck them. Ask them, if they are prepared to speak.’
Thus they were prompted to confer among themselves and argued among themselves, ‘You are clearly the ones who did wrong.’ Confounded though they were they said to Abraham, ‘You know they cannot speak.’
He answered, ‘So would you worship them, instead of God, when they can neither help nor harm you? Shame on your idols and on you. Have you just no sense?’
They replied, ‘Build a pyre and avenge our gods when we toss him into the blazing flames since we must punish him.’
He thought, ‘I will take refuse with my Lord; He will give me guidance. Lord, grant me a righteous son.’
‘Fire be cool to Abraham, even keep him safe,’ and from the flames, God delivered him. Surely in this were signs for true believers. He said, ‘You have chosen idols instead of God but your love of them will last only in this shallow life. On the Day of Resurrection you shall disown one another, and you shall curse yourselves. The Fire shall be your home and none shall help you.’
He along with his two brothers and his wife Sarai as she was then known left Ur with Terah his father and settled in Harran.
‘I fear, father, that a scourge will befall you from the Lord of Mercy and you will become one of Satan’s host.’
He replied, ‘Do you still renounce my gods, Abram? Desist, or I will stone you. Be gone from my house this instant.’
‘Peace be with you,’ said Abram, ‘I shall implore my Lord to forgive you, for to me He has been gracious. For myself I will not live with you or with your idols. I will pray to my Lord, per chance my prayers to my Lord may not be in vain.’
There his father, known by the name Azar died at the age of two hundred and five. The Lord spoke to Abram saying, ‘Leave this country, your kin, your father’s house and go to a country I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I shall bless you and make your name so great it will be used in blessings. All the peoples on earth will wish to be blessed as you are blessed.’
That was quite a few years ago when Abram was still only seventy-five. As he traveled with his wife Sarai whose name means ‘mockery’ the land was stricken by a famine and Abram went to Egypt to survive. His wife was so attractive the Egyptians even mentioned her beauty to Pharaoh and she was taken into the royal household. Having been told Sarai was Abram’s sister, Pharaoh treated him well and Abram acquired sheep, cattle, and donkeys, slaves and camels. When Pharaoh discovered that the two were husband and wife he sent them on their way with all the possesses he had acquired.
Abram had become very rich in livestock and in gold and silver and after leaving Egypt, the word of the Lord came to him again in a vision and said, ‘Abram, do not be afraid. I am you shield. Your reward will be very great.’
Remembering his prayer from long ago Abram replied, ‘Lord God, what can you truly give me, seeing I am still childless. The heir to my household is Eliezer of Damascus. You have given me no children, and so my heir must be a slave born in my house.’
The word of the Lord returned to him saying, ‘This man will not be your heir. Your heir will be a child of your own body. Look up at the sky, and count the stars, if you can, so many will your descendants be.’
Abram’s wife had borne him no children. However, she had an Egyptian slave-girl named Hagar and she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has not let me have a child. Take my slave girl perhaps through her I shall have a son.’
Abram agreed to what his wife said and Sarai brought the Egyptian girl Hagar to her husband and gave her to him as a wife. Time revealed that Hagar had conceived and her pregnancy became known. Words were exchanged and Hagar found herself submitting to an uncertain future perhaps outside the household of Abram.
The angel of the Lord came to Hagar while she was alone and said, ‘You are with child and will bear a son. You are to name him Ishmael, because God has heard.’ And Hagar bore Abram a son, and he was named according to the vision. Abram was eighty-six years old when she bore Ishmael.
Early one morning Abraham took some food and a full water skin and gave them to Hagar. He set the child on her shoulder and sent her away and she wandered about in the wilderness. When the water in the skin was finished she placed the child under a bush and ran to a high vantage point. Ishmael cried out from where he had been laid and Hagar ran to another high point but found no sign of help. She passed seven times in all between the two points until coming to a stop she heard an angels voice, ‘What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, God has heard the child crying where you laid him. Go; lift the child in you arms. I will make him a great nation.’ When she picked him up God opened her eyes and she saw a well full of water and filling the water-skin gave the child drink.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am El-Shaddai. This is my covenant with you; you are to be the father of many nations. Your name shall no longer be Abram but Abraham, for I shall make you father of many nations. As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai but Sarah. I shall bless her and she will be the mother of nations.
Messengers came to Abraham with good news. They said, ‘Peace.’
‘Peace,’ he answered, and hastened to the herd to choose a tender calf. And when he observed they had not touched it, he lost trust and was afraid. They said, ‘Have no fear, our business is with the people of Lot,’ but they asked him the whereabouts of his wife Sarah. When he replied, ‘She is in the tent,’ one of them said, ‘About this time next year I shall come back to you, and your wife Sarah will have a son.’
Sarah was listening at the tent opening and she laughed to herself saying, ‘How can I bear a child when I am old and my husband is well advanced in years? This is a strange thing indeed.’
They replied, ‘Do you marvel at the ways of God? May God’s mercy and blessings be upon you, kind hosts. Most worthy of praise is He and glorious.’
So when God had called to Abraham, he had replied, ‘Here I am,’ and God said, ‘Take the son whom you love with you out onto the land where you shall offer him as sacrifice on one of the heights I shall show you.’
Abraham had not replied. He had uttered no sound since hearing these words the previous day. Now he felt as the fatigue of his entire adult life had gathered and returned to this dark morning, pressing upon his chest. He stood and almost before he knew it had saddled his donkey and woken two of his men. He did not recall what he had said to them only moments ago. Perhaps the sound of splitting firewood he would use for the sacrifice had spoken for him. Sarah still slept but his son, always obedient had ventured through the dark and took his hand.
Abraham was fully aware of the direction he would take but had no instruction as to the distance or actual destination. They traveled an entire day at a leisurely pace, with the two men more often that not traveling behind them. So evening came and morning came and on this day death was avoided. The second day was much like the first. Occasionally Abraham would slow and allow his men to take the lead. They concluded he was finally exhibiting his age, but this was Abraham and most certainly that was not the case. Abraham had traveled a life time and while lesser men might have worn down, he was well up to the task.
On the third day, he when he looked up and still in the distance saw a shine he said to the men, ‘Remain here with the donkey, while I and the boy continue ahead where we will worship, and come back to you.’
Abraham took the wood for the event and put it on his son’s shoulder and as they continued on together he carried the fire and the knife. The boy said, ‘We have the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the sacrifice?’ Abram answered, ‘God will provide for Himself the sacrifice, my son.’
The two of them went on together until they came to the place referred to by God. Abraham had built the alter and while arranging the wood said, ‘My son, I dreamt I was sacrificing you.’
Neither bird nor breeze broke the silence until he continued, ‘Tell me what you think.’
He replied, ‘Father, follow your command. God willing, you shall find me obedient.’
So he bound his son and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And when they had both submitted to God’s will, and Abraham had laid down his son prostrate upon his face reaching out for the knife to slay his son, the angel called to him from heaven, ‘Abraham, Abraham.’
‘I am here,’ he said.
The angel said, ‘Do not lift your hand against the boy. Do not touch him. You have fulfilled your vision.’
Abraham looked around, and in a thicket spied a ram caught by its horns so offered it as a sacrifice instead of his son. Death had been denied, yet the will of God fulfilled on this day.
Thus the Lord put Abraham to the proof by enjoining on him certain commandments and Abraham fulfilled them, so He said, ‘I have appointed you a leader of mankind.’
‘And what of my descendants?’ he asked.
‘My covenant,’ said He, ‘does not apply to the evil-doers. Make the place where Abraham stood a house of worship, for those who walk around it, who mediate in it, and who kneel and prostrate themselves.’
Abraham and Ishmael built the House and dedicated it, saying, ‘Accept this from us Lord. You are the One that hears all and knows all. Lord, make us submissive to You; make among our descendants a nation that will submit to you. Teach us our rites of worship and turn to us with mercy. You are forgiving and merciful. Lord, send forth to them an apostle of their own who shall declare Your revelations, and instruct them in the Book and in wisdom and purify them of sin. You are the Mighty, the Wise One.’
‘Lord,’ Abraham said, ‘make this a secure land. Preserve me and my descendants from the worship of idols. Lord, they have led many astray. Whoever follows me shall become a brother, but even to those who turn against me, You are yet forgiving and merciful.
‘Lord, I have sheltered some of my offspring in a barren valley near your Sacred House so that they may observe true worship. Bestow kindness in the hearts of men towards them, and provide them with the earth’s produce, so that all may give thanks. And bestow plenty upon its people, those of whom believe in God and the Last Day.
‘Lord, You have knowledge of all that we hide and all that we reveal, nothing on earth or in heaven is hidden from God. Praise be to God who has given me Ishmael and Isaac in my old age! All prayers are heard by Him.
‘Lord make me and my descendants steadfast in prayer. Lord accept my prayer. Forgive me, Lord, and forgive my parents and all the faithful on the Day of Reckoning.’
The first temple ever to be built for mankind was that at Bekka, a blessed site, a beacon for the nations. In it are veritable signs and the spot were Abraham stood. Whoever enters it is safe. Pilgrimage to the House is a duty to God for all who can make the journey. When the site of the Sacred Mosque was prepared, We said, ‘Worship none besides Me. Keep My House clean for those who walk around it, and for those who stand or kneel in worship. Exhort all men to make the pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on the backs of camels from all distant corners. Let the pilgrims spruce themselves, make their vows, and circle the House. Such is God’s commandment. What is of your herds are useful to you in many ways until the time of the slaughter. Then they are offered for sacrifice at the Ancient House, and when they have fallen to the ground eat, and feed the grateful beggar and the insistent suppliant.
After they all returned, Abraham remained there with Sarah who lived to be a hundred and twenty-six years old. He purchased a cave on land suitable for burial and buried Sarah there. Abraham married another wife Keturah and had children with her. Abraham lived to be a hundred and seventy-five years old and at his death Ishmael and Isaac buried him in the cave he had acquired with Sarah.
Who but a foolish man would ignore the faith of Abraham? Chosen in this world and in the world to come, he shall abide among the righteous. When his Lord said to him: Submit,’ he answered, ‘I have submitted to the Lord of the Worlds.’ Well done, noble prophet, well done.
One of the best and certainly the first tool you must have is a website allowing you to communicate and keep your potential downline current with your activities and general business trends. This web-log or blog is both the heart and nerve center of your entire business. Because you totally control its use, it is more valuable to you than sites provided by any MLM for your use which are 98% tailored to promote their products and goals not yours. Having a blog provides you with the tool to immediately position yourself as an expert and brings your credibility and authority to a completely new level. You will have the leveraging power to stand toe to toe with all competitors and successfully market any products or services you choose. Your blog will serve as your single point of contact, introducing first time visitors and casual observers and providing direction for your downline. An effective blog is the perfect way to acquire tens and hundreds of thousands of email addresses for mere pennies. This is like finding a pot of gold at the end of your blog rainbow. Done right it will self perpetuate itself virtually forever and will fuel all of your business activities.
You want to look for a blog which will be self hosted so that you maintain 100% control over ownership and content. You will find blogging sites that will host it for you but they will have the ability to suspend your site potentially destroying countless hours of your effort. This could happen if they arbitrarily decide there is some perceived conflict of interest with your content for example. Not to worry, WordPress.org at this time is one self-hosted platform which can be tailored and customized to meet
your own specific needs.
Since you principally want to brand yourself, there is nothing wrong with using your own name for your domain name. Of course if it is already in use you’ll have to be creative but try to tend toward something simple. Ideally you want to settle on something that will never change. You don’t want to look forward to changing your domain name later on. If you need current suggestions go to my blog for helpful and useful hints.
