From offline to online to midline to every line…..
In my world, a full circle has been completed. For the past 4 months I’ve felt a sense of intense relief. I no longer spend hours creating content and social networking in order to develop income. Yet I still use those skills and tools to build the most lucrative business of my career. It’s a very cool circle of development, when explored from a bird’s eye view..
Five years ago I began as a network marketer – Old School.
Three foot rule and all that, and I did fairly well but it was a struggle. In retrospect, my lack of experience and the product category itself contributed to the struggle (but that’s a different story).
The struggle led me online and I dove into the internet, first with Mike Dillard and Magnetic Sponsoring and then into using Better Networker for community and attraction marketing. I moved into Ann Sieg’s writings and expanding my internet marketing skills using blogs and self-created lead capture pages.
I amassed quite a large network of connections, friends and even a mastermind group.
Did I make money?
Not really.
I made some. I covered my costs and brought in a small profit.
I spend 100’s and 100’s of hours creating online content and focusing on self Branding. Deborah Tutnauer, Inc.
At the time the message from Dillard, Sieg and others was to brand oneself without letting people know your primary MLM. In fact, not even letting on initially that there was an MLM lurking in the background. Everyone was coached to become the coach. Look at how Mentoring For Free developed like gang busters during that time. That was the mindset. The plan was that people would be attracted to ME, INC and my value and then want to come work with me after working their way through my funnel of affiliate and self created products. The list would grow generically and a decent number of people would move through the funnel and exit right into my network marketing company.
A whole industry developed during that time, created to teach people how to get a list. Whether it was Magnetic Sponsoring, or MLMSP, or The Renegade Network Marketer, or Klingler’s Renegade University, the philosophy spawned a sub industry who’s goal was to teach people to affiliate market their system in order to develop a list, in order to bring the list ultimately into one’s network marketing company.
In my opinion, it got out of hand. Many (most) who signed up and on made some affiliate income but did not convert most of those people into members of their down line..
In fact, in retrospect I think the value was much more in the communities that developed, than in the actual methods and products. If at the time this was all going on, specific network marketing companies had reasonably priced, excellent quality products and a SYSTEM in place to use the internet in a 21st century manner to market, there would not have been the need… (another story too…)
I loved that period of time in my own professional development, because it was hugely expansive and led to a community of connections that are now priceless. That time period led to this group. It led to knowing Mark Hoverson, Ann Sieg, Eric Walker and others, as friends and colleagues. In that way it totally “worked”.
The price?? An inordinate amount of time with a financial return not commensurate with the time.
The price?? A feeling of stress related to needing to be in front of people online, everyday, or lose traction in the online world.
So back to the circle of entrepreneurial success and life….
I am now making more money, having more fun and feeling more relaxed than I have in my business life in five years. And I’m still online..still making new connections on the internet
But it’s not this stressful feeling of needing to stay in the loop and in front of people all the time.
It is so amazing to me..
Relief is the word that keeps arising in my mind..
So much energy was spent on BRANDING
And I made many connections..but not much money
Now I’m just following the very simple Visalus system..regardless of where I meet the people..online or off..
And it’s just amazing..and simple and I don’t spend hours doing things that don’t yield an income
I have a team that is growing exponentially and duplicating, because the system is so simple. Teaching people the concept of attraction marketing was simple. But for most people, putting in the hours and riding the steep learning curve to truly develop a business with just the attraction marketing concepts, was really difficult. Most could not and did not succeed. Thus team duplication did not occur.
Since most network marketing companies did not give people the right tools either, the result was mass frustration.
I love that I don’t have to see people succumb to that anymore.
I have come full circle, as I said in the beginning of this post. I am back to including my company as part of my brand. There is no reason to hide that I’m a promoter of the Body By Vi Challenge. Not only is Visalus the fastest growing company in the industry right now (678% in 2010), but we have created a SYSTEM that is customer focused, designed for today’s economy and simple for anyone to plug into and make money.
A curious observation to share: I have three solid legs in my network marketing business. Two are much more solid than the third. Here is my crazy observation., take if for what it’s worth and comment with your thoughts. My least solid leg is comprised of people who are focusing their energies 95% on branding themselves online and leading into their Body By Vi business through the back door. My most successful legs are filled with people who are not wavering at all from the system that Visalus teaches. Even though that system includes online marketing and Facebook in particular, it is not teaching to develop a brand first before building a business and making money. The order is different and in my opinion now that I’ve come full circle, the order that they teach is much more effective and efficient and replicatable by anyone!
The sticky learning curve of pure online attraction marketing is what I now see is holding people back..
Those who are taking action in Vi are making money. Those who keep thinking about how to..are not.. especially when it comes to just relying on the internet..unless it’s peoplel who are skilled enough to be generating a lot of leads..like Melanie Milletics… and even she has stepped back from branding her ME, Inc, and is now incorporating her role as a promoter of the Challenge, into all that she does. Melanie has been my mentor and is now my upline and partner. She is by far the best female internet/network marketer that I know. Even she is following and teaching the Vi system and getting better results than when she did it the other way. She too, has come full circle!
The circle of Entrepreneurial Success..from beginning to middle to end..which is right back and the beginning with many more tools and skills. If you are still not seeing serious money from all that you have done, learned and accomplished over the last few years , feel free to contact me and we’ll talk. The lightbulb went on for me about four months ago.
strong leaders in the online network marketing world, Ann stands out for many reasons. She is a mature woman who has raised her children with many of the same values that I bring to my family. She is sincere and steadfast in her convictions. And she is an intelligent and powerful business woman. I always enjoy our conversations, whether in person or on the phone.
We had all met the previous evening and had experienced a wonderful day of speakers and business information. So dinner became a more casual event, trading personal stories and family adventures. It turns out that Ann Sieg and I have similar values when it comes to raising children and their education. It was wonderful for me to meet her and connect up close with another powerful, intelligent woman who had created her success based upon her world view and value system.
