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  • MLM vs. Consumer Direct Marketing Business Opportunities

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    We’ve all seen them before – businesses that promise great wealth and prosperity with a minimal amount of effort. Did you know that only 1 out of every 1,000 home-based businesses last longer than 5 years? So what REALLY sets all these companies apart, and which method has the least risk for everyone?

    First, let’s take a look at a way of marketing that has gotten SO popular (and many times out-of-hand) – Multi-Level Marketing. When you think of multi-level marketing, you may think of overbearing sales people who begin by bothering their family and friends, and resort to manipulating others into buying lots of inventory. You might also imagine a get-rich-quick scheme with promises of great wealth through very little work. Finally, you may envision business schemes that lack a compelling product, but hype up the promise of big incomes.

    Now, let’s take a look at what a few companies are turning to – Consumer Direct Marketing. What’s the big difference? Well, Consumer Direct Marketing typically redirects the funds that would typically be used for advertising, multiple shipping costs, various middlemen, and several distribution channels into spending for higher quality ingredients, product innovations, and profit sharing with customers. The result of this is a new and interesting method of delivering quality, low-cost products to families around the world – and then SHARING THE INCOME with those families.

    The companies that are truly heads and tails above the rest are all turning their attentions to the important aspects of Consumer Direct Marketing. The true result is less risk for the business-builder as well as the consumer, because there are no inventories to buy, no financial risks, and no hype. EVERYONE, people referring the products, and customers alike, only buy what they need each month. And of course, anyone who refers someone else earns a commission from the purchases of the customers they refer.

    Maybe the neatest thing about this almost “laid-back” method is that the majority of customers buy each month without any interest in receiving commissions, and when you have customers that really love the products and aren’t pressured from the vast majority of MLM companies out there, that means true residual income – income that you’ll receive the rest of your life – your retirement, or your children’s college education!

    If you’re interested in a 20-year-old Consumer Direct Marketing company that might be a great opportunity for you and your family, please don’t hesitate to contact me, and I’d be happy to share my experiences with you.

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    Source by Hayley Keller

    Views: 0

  • What’s The Difference Between Direct Sales And Network Marketing?

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    My purpose and commitment is to really help you understand and appreciate the MLM industry. One of the things you need to know when shopping for a business opportunity that is built on the multi-level marketing format, is not only how these businesses work but which one will compliment your skill set, personality and area of expertise.

    The Difference Between Direct Sales and Network Marketing

    Direct Sales and Network Marketing are both based on the multilevel marketing business model. MLM or Multilevel simply refers to the business structure in which the compensation plan is mapped out. The Direct selling and Network marketing vehicle is the actual distribution system or the way the products are dispersed.

    With Direct Selling, the emphasis is usually on direct, person-to person product distribution, which typically involves the independent sales representatives earning a commission from the products that they sell directly to the customers.

    The usual way of getting their products out to the masses or finding customers is by hosting product parties, trunk sales, booths and etc., by way of their circle of influence. Advancing in rank is dependent upon the volume of products sold.

    In some companies you can recruit other people to hosts parties in which they would be offered a discount on the products for hosting that party and also earn free products if they sell a certain amount of merchandise.

    This is important to know if happen to be a really good sales person or if you hate the thought of selling in this way, when choosing a mlm company.

    Some examples of Direct Selling companies are:

    Avon, Natura, Vorwerk, Herbalife and Mary Kay

    Now with Network Marketing, the emphasis is on team building. Building a team of partners who are in agreement to use the company products in their household as well as share products with others outside of their network.

    You are basically the customer as well as the business owner and you are able to sponsor, support and train others who want to build a business of their own. So the importance here is on building an organization of like minded individuals who use and move product within and outside their network.

    In network marketing, you also have the flexibility to host product parties or have a booth, etc., in order to promote your products if you so choose. You are the business owner, not just a sales representative so you have the power to run your business as you see fit.

    This model is a great if you love networking, team building and training others.

    Some examples of Network Marketing companies are:

    Sisel International, Vemma, Amway and Visulas.

    Some direct sales companies also incorporate the network marketing team building model as well depending on the compensation structure, so make sure to do your research.

    Understand that the purpose of both models is product distribution, but, it’s the way the distribution happens and the way you, the marketer, gets compensated, that makes the difference.

    On a side note, steer clear of companies that don’t have a product OR they have a limited product line that offers little to no value to the public.

    End the end, the difference between direct sales and network marketing is fairly minimal. Both serve as an opportunity for the ordinary individual to build their own business, delivering quality products to the masses in a less expensive and more personal way.

    By eliminating the middle men; expensive advertisers and merchandisers, the network marketer and direct seller can create residual/ passive income from home with less time, less money and less hassle than the traditional business model.

    So Tell Me…

    Have you ever owned a network marketing or direct sales business?

    What did you like or dislike about it?

    Did you find it too challenging? If so, tell me why.

    I would love to hear from you!

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    Source by April Ray

    Views: 0

  • How Did Don Vierra Become the World Renowned Consultant in Health Information System?

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    For those in Health Informatics, the name “Vieira” might not sound strange. Immanuel Antonius, professionally known as Don Vieira, is a successful and independent consultant who has reached horizons beyond expectations. The 32-year old Technoprenuer has ticked off projects, which most consultants still consider as a dream.While he was brought up in Namibia, his expertise and skills were never limited to the boundaries. If Namibia is his primary home, his work stations or contracted duty stations have become the secondary residence where he used to spend most of his days.

    As far as his academic background is concerned, he holds an Honors’ degree in Computer Science, Advanced diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation, certifications on Health Information Systems (HIS) and A masters’ degree in Biometrics from the University of Paris – Est créteil in France.

    Like people dream of being associated with tech giants such as Facebook or Google, he achieved the milestone of serving for similar giants in the health sector. Some of his notable associations are with World Health Organization (WHO), Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United Nations (UN), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), IntraHealth International, Global Fund, Population Service International (PSI), Jay Snow Inc. and the list goes on.

    Apart from his experience in healthcare informatics, language is one of those factors that contributed to his stature elevation. His understanding about seven languages, including English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, has helped him deal with people from different backgrounds.In other words, there has never been any force that stopped him from achieving his goals across the borders.

    With Ten (10) years of experience, he has built and supported several national systems such as the e-Health, Malaria, TB, PMTCT, Nutrition, VMMC and HIV- just to mention a few. He also trained more than 20,000 people including government officials, managers, nurses, doctors and technical people to bring significant changes in their methods of elevating the quality of life for the public.

    Vieira has developed strong professional relationships with several organisations in Kenya, Uganda, Mocambique, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Germany, India, DRC, Zambia and the United States.Most of them used to admire his determination and skills for giving the best in every area.

    If he is assigned to a work, there is no force that can stop him from transforming a novice into an expert. Below are three of some of the notable milestones that gave a kick start to his career:

    1. A Discrete Choice Experiment for pharmacists- he worked with Dr. Peter Rockers, an assistant professor in the Department of Global Health at the Boston University School of Public Health, to bring visible changes in the health informatics. At the time of experiment, Dr. Peter Rockers was at Harvard Medical School.

    2. Vieira wore the big shoe when he took over the position of HIS Technical Advisor from Jim Sitzer, who went to become the Director in Public Health for the Umatilla County Health Department, Oregon in the US.

    3. During Vieira’s venture as a Technical Advisor for JSI, he developed a web-based master facility (MFL) for Namibia. It consists of a map indicating the location of all public health facilities in the country.The list aims to assist public locate services provided by the nearest health facilities, on the other hand, it also aims to guide the ministry of health in planning and equity in resource allocation and distribution. The MFL was built based on WHO guidelines

    Due to internet connectivity issues in most rural áreas, the Health Extension Workers were forced to use paper registers to collect patients’ information. This led to poor data quality since paper would torn or get lost. With an urge to find an appropriate solution, he created a mobile app that has the capability to store data without internet connectivity.

    Over the past few years, Vieira has won few accolades and gained international recognition for his consultancy expertise.His efforts have also managed to attract new audiences including influential decision makers from government authorities to NGOs. His passion for innovation and Technopreneurshipis what that has always made him different from others.

    For his next project, he promised to create what most government bodies and NGOs have failed to implement- “The Situation Room” that will bring new changes to the health sector.

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    Source by Anusha Saeed

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  • Coin Book Reviews – A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars By Q David Powers

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    The 2nd edition of “A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars, A complete History and Price Guide” was released in paperback form on March 31, 2005.

    The first chapter discussed the appeal and challenges of collecting Morgan Dollars and a few tidbits about the history of the Morgan Dollar. While only 5 and 1/2 pages long, the first chapter is filled with interesting facts. As you enter chapter two, the book goes back a ways and discussed the history of dollar coins in general going back to the Spanish Milled Dollars, then the Mint Act of 1792 and how US coinage began. There are several paragraphs discussing the early dollar coins, there popularity, or lack thereof, and how the dollar was eliminated and replaced with the Trade Dollar.

    The book does a very decent job of describing the events that were happening during this time period such as the troubling times for silver companies and the political involvement to help them out that eventually led to the Morgan Dollar. Chapters 3 and 4 are packed with excellent information on the design process for the Morgan Dollar and them the minting process. For a new collector, this is very good information.

    Chapter 5 discusses the five, yes five different mints that produced Morgan Dollars, although the Denver mint only produced Morgan Dollars for one year, the year 1921. Chapter five also gives a little bit of history about each of the mints.

    Chapter 6 discusses the various hoards of silver dollars discovered long after the demise of the dollar. Some once thought scare dates were now plentiful as the US Treasury began releasing and selling Silver Dollars held in vaults for years.

    Chapter 7 delves into the variety of ways you can collect Morgan Dollars. If you are at all familiar with Morgan Dollars, then you know that there is a multitude of ways to collect this coveted coin. Chapter 7 will give you many ideas to help you narrow down the way you may want to collect this series

    Chapter 8 discusses grading and the ANA grading scale. If you are familiar with the scales, then there is not much new here. Also, this is also where I think the book could stand some improvement. There are pictures providing examples for each grade, but like most, if not all books about grading, there are only descriptions for MS60 and above. I would have liked to see large pictures for each MS grade. This would give collectors a clear indication of the impact of bag marks in regards to grading.

    Chapter 9 discusses the many varieties within the Morgan series while Chapter 10 is where the real meat of the book is. Chapter 10 contains a page for each and every year and mint of the entire Morgan Dollar series. Each page contains information on keys to collecting, circulation strikes, prooflike coins, price guide, availability guide, mintage and distribution and varieties. Each page is jam-packed with information very specific to each date and mint. In addition, there is a summary for each year that discussed things going on at the time and other general information about Morgan Dollars for that year. This type of information no doubt took years to gather and is invaluable to the serious Morgan Dollar collector.

    Chapter 10 is buy far the longest and provides incredible detail for each and every year and mint of the Morgan series. There is one page for each date/mint that provides information such as optimal collecting grade, PCGS population (although outdated as more coins become certified), estimated field population, total mintages, varieties, etc. In addition, there is a page for each year that discusses collecting and how life was during that particular year. In all, chapter 10 is for the series Morgan Dollar collector.

    In summary, if you are a series Morgan Dollar collector, or just a beginner, this is a must have book. The information provided in this book is incredible and provides the collector with incredible information into collecting one of the most popular coins collected today.

    This book gets 4 1/2 stars.

    If this book had blown up pictures of Mint State type coins, it would have rated a 5. Since the Morgan Dollar is most desired in Mint State, it puzzles me as to why graded pictures are not provided.

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    Source by Keith Scott

    Views: 0

  • Internal Customer Service: Guidelines for Suppliers and Contractors

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    Change management and organization development experts talk about ‘creating alignment’ – aligning organizational strategy with daily business needs. And a big part of this is creating alignment between customer needs and employee actions as customer service providers. But we also have to take note of internal customers – those people within the organization that service us – as internal customers and who we service as internal customers. “There is a remarkably close and consistent link between how internal customers are treated and how external customers perceive the quality of your organization’s services. It is almost impossible to provide good external service if your organization is not providing good internal service.” R. Zemke and K. Anderson, Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service, 1981.

    And it’s not just about internal customers within the walls of your organization, it’s also about those arms-length internal customers and customer service providers – suppliers and contractors – those people who either supply your organization directly or come into contact with your external customers, directly, as your representative. These suppliers and contractors should be considered an integral part of your organization and the service they provide should be measured as accurately and frequently as you measure the service level you provide.

    To my mind, servicing others, whether internal or external (customer, supplier, colleague, peer, supervisor, contractor), should reflect the values of your organization and the process to retain the best customers – again, whether internal or external – can be applied across any of these groups. Suppliers and contractors should be selected and retained based on their commitment to servicing your customers – and your employees – as you require them to be serviced. Although you do not ‘own’ these suppliers and contractors, you have the right to demand the equivalent level of service you provide to your customers. When selecting your suppliers and contractors, or measuring the ones you currently are associated with, the following guidelines may help ensure that internal service meets the standard.

    Recruit suppliers and contractors as you would your employees.

    You should be seeking out the best person for the job, the high performer who will be able to deliver on your business expectations and drive up results for your company. Why not utilize some of the recruiting tools you use when conducting a search for an employee? Think about it. You will be paying this supplier or contractor to perform services for you or your customers so you should expect them to be of the calibre you expect from a new employee. Consider requesting a resume of their qualifications and experience, customers they have serviced, certifications that may be required, and if available, customer testimonials. Interview them in a similar fashion to the way in which you interview for employees. Check their references and make sure you put in place a contractual arrangement that clearly documents what you expect from them and what they can expect from you (this is just another version of position profiles and expectations for the role).

    In these cases, you are seeking high performers capable of servicing both your customers and your employees. And you have a responsibility to provide them with the information, resources and possibly, tools, they will need to service both these groups accurately and professionally.

    Provide clear expectations of performance.

    Even if your suppliers and contractors have worked with your organization for a long period of time, it is critical to periodically review your expectations of their role and how you expect them to service your customers. Customers are retained because they have developed a good relationship with their supplier and any contractor or supplier who is dealing with your customer directly, is seen by the customer to be an employee of your company, and hence; representing your company.

    When I was a general manager for an energy distribution company, one of our contractor service technicians accidentally cut the customer’s phone line. The first issue for the customer was, of course, the cut phone line and the inconvenience associated. The second issue was that the contractor apologized but told the customer he would have to call our company to secure satisfaction regarding the cost and inconvenience of having the line repaired. The third issue was the response the customer received from the Branch Manager when he called our company office to complain. He was told we were not responsible since it was a contractor that had cut the line! Yes, I too, was shocked when the customer got through to me to complain and told me what the Branch Manager had said. Even more distressing was the fact that the Branch Manager defended his position when I called him about the complaint!

    No doubt we did not clearly identify to our contractor our customer service expectations. To me, they were simple. Apologize to the customer, call our office immediately to request a solution and then work with the customer to get the solution implemented. Simple to me but certainly not to our contractor or, I quickly discovered, to my Branch Manager.

    So my next step was to build a contractor customer service agreement and develop a customer service training program to implement with both our employees and our contractors. We then implemented it across my region. We still had customer service issues with both our contractors and our employees, periodically,but this was a great first step.

    Conduct frequent performance reviews.

    Providing your suppliers and contractors with regular, specific feedback will not only give you confidence that they are meeting your needs but will also provide opportunities for them to discuss any customer service challenges, issues, or problems with you before they result in lost customers. These regular reviews should be part of the contract between you and the contractor and they should be implemented on schedule. During these reviews you should include their primary employee contacts to ensure all partners are clear about the issues and able to participate in developing the solutions. This secures commitment to the solutions.

    Reward and recognize customer service excellence.

    At a minimum, providing them with a reference signifies that you are pleased with their customer service performance. But, without a doubt, the best reward for suppliers and contractors is securing more work from you.

    Following these guidelines will go a long way to ensuring alignment between your company, your employees and your suppliers and contractors – to the business goals and strategy. All sectors can then be focused on delivering the expected level of customer service to the customer base you want to retain.

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    Source by Donna Stevenson

    Views: 0

  • Creativity and Entrepreneurship

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    We will commence our assignment with a discussion of sources of new ideas. We will then examine methods of generating ideas, creative problem solving, the product planning and development process, and then e-commerce. We will then generate several new ideas using brain writing, the checklist method, and free association. We will apply the product development stage to our new ideas and end our discussion with two alternatives to e-commerce.

    Sources of new ideas include consumers, existing products and services, distribution channels and even the Federal Government (Hisrich, 2008). The files of the patent office are full of new ideas and new product ideas can form as a result of government regulations. Research and development is the largest source of new ideas and can occur in a formal lab or in a garage or basement.

    Many methods can be use to generate new ideas. In focus groups, a moderator leads a group of people through open, in-depth discussions. These groups generally consist of eight to fourteen participants. They are stimulated by comments from other group members in creatively conceptualizing and developing a new product idea to fill a market need. Focus groups are also an excellent way to screen ideas and concepts. Problem inventory analysis is another great method of generating new ideas. It uses individuals in a manner that is similar to that of focus groups. Consumers are provided with a list of problems in a general product category and are then asked to identify and discuss products in this category that have the particular problem. This method should be used primarily to identify product ideas for further evaluation.

    Creative problem solving takes the generation of new ideas to a higher level. Brainstorming allows people to be stimulated to greater creativity by meeting with others and participating in organized group experiences. Rules include the following:

    a) Criticism not allowed

    b) Freewheeling is encouraged

    c) Quantity of ideas is desired

    d) Encourage combinations and improvements of ideas

    Brainstorming should be fun and not contain any domination or inhibition of discussion. It is highly effective in groups of six to twelve individuals and can generate ideas about a problem within a limited time frame through the spontaneous contributions of participants. Reverse brainstorming offers a different perspective as it is similar to brainstorming, except criticism is allowed. It is based on finding fault by asking in how many ways an idea can fail. The focus is on the negative aspects of a product, service, or idea. One must be careful to maintain group's morale though. Reverse brainstorming can be used prior to other forms of creative techniques to stimulate innovative thinking and involves the identification of everything wrong with an idea. It is usually worthwhile since is easier for people to be critical about an idea instead of coming up with a new one.

    Brainwriting is a form of written brainstorming and gives participants more time to think than brainstorming. It is silent and each group member writes down three ideas within five minutes. A form is passed around to all participants while a leader monitors time intervals and can even modify them. The Gordon method is another method of creative problem solving and begins with group members not knowing the exact nature of a problem. This ensures that a solution is not clouded by preconceived ideas and behavioral problems. A general concept associated with the problem is mentioned and the group then expresses a number of ideas. A concept is then developed and related concepts are developed. Finally, the actual problem is revealed.

    The checklist method involves the development of a new idea through a list of related issues or suggestions. The following questions demonstrate how the checklist method is used:

    ii.Put to other uses? New ways to use as-is?

    iii.Adapt? What else like this? What could I copy

    iv.Modify? New twist? Change meaning, color, form, shape?

    v.Magnify? What to add?

    vi.Minify? What substitute? Smaller?

    vii.Substitute? What else instead? Other material?

    viii.Rearrange? Other pattern?

    ix.Reverse?

    x.Combine? Blend?

    Free association is another form of creative problem solving and is one of the simplest and yet most most effective methods. It is helpful in developing an entirely new slant to a problem. First, a word or phrase related to a problem is written down. Then other ones are written down and so on. Each new word attempts to add something new to the ongoing thought processes. This creates a chain of ideas ending with a new product idea.

    The product planning and development process is crucial to an entrepreneur's success. One must first establish evaluation criteria by assessing the market opportunity and size. One must evaluate current competing producers, prices, and marketing efforts. New idea should have synergy with existing management capabilities and marketing strategies. The proposed product or service idea should be able to be supported by and contribute to a company's financial well-being. One should evaluate the compatibility of a new product's production requirements with existing plant, machinery, and personnel. Entrepreneurs should be concerned with formally evaluating an idea throughout its evolution. The idea stage involves identifying new product or service ideas while eliminating impractical product or service ideas.

    One must determine the need for the new idea as well as its value to the company to ensure both prior to proceeding with the ideas. The need determination should focus on the type of need, its timing, the users involved with trying the product or service, the importance of controllable marketing variables, the overall market structure, and the characteristics of the market. In the concept stage, a new product should be developed further and refined through interaction with consumers. The refined idea is then tested to determine consumer acceptance. Features, price, and promotion should be evaluated for the concept being studied and any major competing products. The product development stage involves determining consumer reactions to the physical product. An entrepreneur can provide samples in this stage. The final stage of the development process consists of the test marketing stage, which provides actual sales results that indicate the acceptance level of consumers.

    E-commerce is a relatively new concept in the business world and should be used creatively. An entrepreneur must address additional specific issues due to continually-evolving technology. For instance, one must decide if he will run the internet operations of the business or outsource the task to another firm. A website is often created and must be aesthetically-pleasing and fully functional. Ninety percent of small businesses use websites and ease of use is important with websites. The website is a communication vehicle in which search capability and speed are equally important. A website should have a shopping cart, secure server connection, credit card payment processing, and a customer feedback feature. It should be customized for specific target market groups and should be compatible with various browsers.

    The tracking of customer information is vitally important when dealing with e-commerce. This is often accomplished via electronic databases. Doing so supports personal marketing and captures customer attention with customized one-to-one marketing. It is critically important to protect the privacy of individuals when keeping databases.

    When conducting e-commerce as an entrepreneurial company, one's products should be able to be delivered economically and conveniently. Products must be interesting to a large number of people and a company must be prepared to ship products out of its geographic location. Online operations must bring significant reductions in cost as compared to having a store.

    We now turn our attention to the generation of clothing ideas for Libya. We utilized brainwriting with a time limit of five minutes to come up with a new idea. We drafted an adjustable robe for women that can be rolled up and then attached with velcro to shorten it when desired to offer additional clothing and styling capabilities. We then used the checklist method and came up with the following:

    xi.Modify? New twist? Change meaning, color, form, shape?

    a) Can offer robe in multiple colors such as white, red, and blue

    xii.Substitute? What else instead? Other material?

    a) Can make robes out of breathable polyester / nylon material as used in athletic wear

    b) Allows for wicking away of sweat and moisture to keep clothing dry and light in weight

    We then used free association to come up with a list of related words:

    -xiii.cooling, light weight, windproof, light colors, reflective material xiv. End result is metallic-colored fabric that will reflect sunlight like aluminum foil

    We then applied product development stages to the new ideas to formulate a final product concept. We first established our evaluation criteria by assessing market opportunity and size. The population of Libya is 6,173,579, so this will serve as our potential market (Wikipedia, 2009). We then turned to the idea stage to identify new product ideas. These ideas included the following thought process:

    a) Can offer robe in multiple colors such as white, red, and blue

    b) Can make robes out of breathable polyester / nylon material as used in athletic wear

    c) Roll-up velcro to shorten robe for greater cooling and comfort

    d) metallic-colored fabric that will reflect sunlight like aluminum foil

    xv.Eliminate impractical product / service ideas in this stage

    a) Metallic-colored fabric will be eliminated

    b) Reflecting sun can create an oven effect on wearer

    c) Can actually make customer hotter and not cooler

    xvi.Determine the need for the new idea as well as its value to the company to ensure both prior to proceeding with ideas

    a) Multiple robe colors will appeal to different people

    b) Wicking-material robe will appeal to men more

    c) Roll-up robe will appeal to women more

    d) Can result in greater sales and market share

    e) Is beneficial to company to sell more robes while meeting individual needs of customers via mass customization

    We then moved on to the concept stage to further develop and refine our new product ideas through interaction with consumers. We plan on participating in trade shows to present our new ideas. We will display prototypes and obtain feedback from potential customers. Our refined ideas will then be tested to determine consumer acceptance. We will take consumer ideas into consideration and tweak prototypes accordingly. We will then consider the pricing and products of our competition and price our products accordingly to maintain a competitive edge. In the product development stage, we will determine consumers' reactions to the physical product by allowing customers to try our robes on at trade shows. We will then participate in the test marketing stage by proving actual sales results once our products enter the market.

    Alternatives for the use of e-commerce in conducting one of the product development stages for the actual commercialization of our final product idea can involve the creation of a company website that is easy to use. We will incorporate powerful search capabilities while ensuring that our site performs with acceptable speed. We will include a shopping cart, secure server connection, credit card payment, and customer feedback feature in our website. In addition, our website will be customized for specific target market groups and be compatible with various browsers. We will also track customer information by creating an electronic database that supports personal marketing. This will allow us to capture customers' attention with customized one-to-one marketing while protecting the privacy of individuals via strong database encryption. Incorporating online operations will bring significant reductions in cost as compared to having a store. This will allow us to pass savings on to customers via lower prices and greater value.

    Bibliography

    Hisrich, Robert D., Peters, Michael P., and Shepherd, Dean A. (2008). Entrepreneurship
    (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

    Wikipedia (2009). Libya. Retrieved July 23,2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libya .

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    Source by Bobby Mobini

    Views: 0

  • Is MLM Dead? Top 5 Reasons Multi-Level Marketing is on Its Way Out!

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    What a simple question to answer. Right? Not a chance. How in the world can a sixty year old business model shrivel up and disappear? The truth of the matter is that Multi-Level Marketing or MLM has its place in society. The problem is, this model is totally antiquainted and just doesn’t deliver as promised. At the beginning, MLM was revolutionary and literally changed the face of business. Due to technology advances and computerization, the limitations that come along with the MLM structure and associated compensation plans, have MLM’s days numbered.

    What does this mean for the companies that have built there businesses around MLM? For now, it means that the the business consultants that are earning a substantial income will continue earning, less and less as their downlines shrink and are not replenished due to more sophisticated and much more lucrative comp plans. This has already begun and will pick up momentum as people get educated about the alternatives.

    So what are the limitations that have MLM begging for mercy? Lets look at the top five reasons that the extinction of Multi-Level Marketing is inevitable.

    1) Expiring Volume- Before computers, all sales had to be calculated and tracked by humans, which means that mistakes and errors occurred. The longer the errors were carried over, the more of an impact they would have as they compounded. This is the reason that volume expires at the end of every month and the counters start at zero again. Obviously computers have been available for at least 20 years, so why do these companies continue to have expiring volume? a better question is, why do new companies continue to use models that have expiring volume? The answer is that companies that predate personal computers can’t change without shortchanging their highest paid affiliates and newer companies that have volume that expires every month should never have started doing things this way. Either way, it makes it very difficult for average people to succeed this way.

    2) Horizontal Growth- In many cases the strategy that is employed is to start a new line of distribution with every business partner a leader “signs up”. In other words, you are creating a competitor out of all of your personally sponsored partners. Now they are not a competitor of yours of course but they are all competitors of each other and that creates a few problems. It is very difficult for most people to manage many organizations(most MLM’s suggest 6-15 or more organizations). It creates a sense of competition rather than team synergy. It separates people who should be in the same organizations one another.(family members, friends or co-workers). Lastly and probably most importantly, it splits the sales volume up between all of the “legs” which makes it much more difficult for your teammates to earn money.

    3) Organization built in “levels”- The major limitation of organizations built in levels is that no matter what happens or which business partners thrive, the leader is only able to get credit for so many levels of growth. What this means is that if and when any “leg” grows below the level in which the leader is given credit, there is a much less motivation of the leader to train that leg in depth. The biggest problem however is that often times it takes people leading to people leading to people in order for a new leader to emerge. I that process happens at a level below what the MLM’s compensation plan will pay on, the leader is just plain out of luck. Wow, imagine working day after day, week after week and month after month training a leg or team. The training pays off, growth happens and it is very exciting. As is supposed to occur, people lead to people and a superstar is brought into the team. It just so happens that the superstar is one level below what you are paid on and your just out of luck. THAT SU__KS!!!!!!!!

    4) Commission structured in percentages- All the limitations with levels discussed above are still an issue. The problems are compounded when the commissions or payments are calculated using percentages based on levels. As the level increases the percentage paid generally decreases. This reinforces the competition of teams and teammates and also puts the leader in the position where recruiting must continue in order to get large pay increases. If the leaders are concentrating on prospecting and recruiting new partners for themselves, how much time do they have for educating their downline? Not much and even if there was the time, how much motivation does a leader have to train partners that he is paid very small percentages on.

    5) Sign up game- Because of the structure of MLM’s and the philosophy of business plans, most of the emphasis is put on recruiting new partners and not on moving products or services to the end consumer. This limits the amount of volume that each partner produces. The focus of Multi-Level Marketing is to get anyone who can fog a mirror “signed up” and worry about whether they are qualified later. This aids in the high level of attrition and fallout that occurs in MLM. Attrition is is the other major factor that leads to limited commissions and the discouragement that is so common when talking with ex Multi-Level Marketers.

    The forgone conclusion with most MLM companies compensation plans is that because of the limitations noted above, expiring volume, horizontal growth, building in levels, paying in percentages and the sign up game mentality, they are just not designed for the “average” person to succeed. The business models are designed around what the company wants or expects from their distributors and not what can realistically be expected.

    At the end of the day, the vast Majority of people (approx 95-98%) that start a Multi-Level Marketing business never make a penny. Sure, they may earn a few two digit or three digit checks but for most it never amounts to even close to what has been invested. Thankfully we are not stuck in the 50’s or 60’s and there are new and improved compensation systems that do away with all of the drawbacks of MLM and truly give ordinary people who have some level of motivation and determination a real opportunity to set themselves free.

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    Source by Chris Olejniczak

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  • 4Ps & 6Ps – Marketing Mix

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    Marketing mix is one of the major concepts of marketing. According to the traditional base, there are 4Ps of marketing. These are referred to as the marketing mix. But in the modern use of the term, many more Ps have been coined. People have found six, seven even eleven Ps of marketing. In this article we will talk about the 4Ps and 6Ps.

    Four Ps

    The four Ps of marketing mix consist of Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Product means the thing that you are selling. It can also be a service like the tourism industry.

    Price means the rate at which the product is being sold. A number of factors are involved in determining the price of a product. These include competition, market share, product identity, material costs and the value customers perceive of a product. In fact prices are also determined by competitor’s products. If the competitors have the same product, then the price of a product will go down.

    Place refers to the real or virtual place from where a product can be bought by a consumer. Another name used for place is called “distribution channel”. Promotion is the way that a product will be communicated to the general public. There are four distinct ways in which this might be done- ‘point of sale’, ‘word of mouth’, public relations and advertising.

    Somewhere down the line people felt that four Ps were not enough for marketing mix. It had to face a lot of criticism mainly on the grounds that it was extremely product focused. This was not enough for the economy which is based a lot on services as well nowadays.

    Another criticism that marketing mix has to face is that it does not have a ‘purpose’. So it should be looked upon as a tool that sets marketing strategy. Another criticism of marketing mix is that it does not discuss customers. This is why the concept of Six Ps of Marketing mix has achieved relevance.

    Six Ps

    The six Ps contain all the four Ps of marketing – product, price, place and promotion. In addition, it contains, two new Ps, namely People and Performance.

    People include the potential and current customers of the business and how they make their purchase decisions. Market segmentation is also a part of this. It contains the features of market segmentation and the most attractive segments of this market.

    The next P is Performance. This implies the performance of the business. The financial and strategic objectives of the business are dealt with here. It is also seen whether these objectives are achievable and realistic or not. The metrics of financial performance are also seen and appropriated in this division.

    The six Ps of marketing mix help to overcome the criticisms of the four Ps. Hence the 6Ps serve to be a better alternative as compared to the 4Ps of marketing mix.

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    Source by Pepik Smith

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  • Top Network Marketing Company – Why Are the Products So Expensive?

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    I’m sure you’ve heard this question before, Why are top network marketing company’s products so expensive?

    This is one of those ever-present questions that networkers and direct sales people will continue to encounter (probably) forever–and there’s always more to it than meets a simple answer.

    One key is not to side-step it. There are good and genuine reasons for legitimate, premium-priced products–and of course there are over-priced ones as well. Honesty is best, as always, and I’ll endeavor to give you the general truth with my answer to the question.

    Special Products at Special Prices

    First, the products available through top network marketing companies sales and distribution model are mostly what are called “specialty” items. They are higher priced products to begin with, having more costly ingredients and more complex designs or formulas; they are simply more expensive to make and package. Some well-known non-network marketed examples are Clinique makeup and fragrance products, Apple computers, iPods and iPhones, Armani clothing, Mercedes and Lexus automobiles.

    Unless you’re dealing with a scheme or a scam, these premium products outperform their cheaper, off-the-shelf counterparts, giving consumers more and better benefits. Since they have greater value, they cost more.

    If these products are being outsourced by the networking company (produced by a “third-party” vendor/supplier), they tend to be manufactured in smaller production runs that do not allow for all the optimal low-cost advantages of buying and making in the high volumes mass-marketers enjoy. The manufacturing processes are more complex and exclusive. The profit margins are higher. This results in a higher quality product with more attention to detail and quality control.

    The reason manufacturers and marketing companies select network marketing and direct sales is because these higher-priced products are of higher quality, and they therefore require special methods of distribution and sales.

    Simply put, they cannot compete with the lower-priced, lower quality “commodity” products, which are sold based mainly on discounted mass-market pricing and brand awareness alone. Think Wal-Mart and Costco.

    Specialty products are “education-intensive.” They need greater explanation; for example, what formula, ingredients and/or processes makes the product more expensive than those mass-market goods available through direct response marketing (such as the Internet and mail-order) or retail chain store sales. Many require demonstration.

    Mass-market products depend on advertising, promotion and merchandising at “point-of-purchase,” all of which are required to get consumers’ attention, let them know the product exists (to create “trial” especially if it’s “brand” new), and to give them enough compelling reasons to purchase and keep on purchasing.

    Going head-to-head with nationally advertised products, many to most of which are heavily discounted and sold at the lowest price possible, is a tough game for just about all smaller businesses to win. Imagine trying to sell vitamins or nutritional beverages or “prestige” cosmetics against a major manufacturer selling through Wal-Mart, or a natural toothpaste against a tube of Crest® through Kroger or Publix supermarkets.

    Specialty products are perfect for the person-to-person, information-rich education, demonstration and service oriented methods of network marketing.

    And that’s where the important second aspect of network marketing’s “higher price” comes in: the added value which you as a “distributor” add to the specialty products you sell.

    Added Value Added

    Network marketing and direct sales representatives add significant value to the product they sell and they are well paid when they do so successfully.

    We reach consumers with the awareness of new products and services that ads and merchandising–no matter how persuasive or promiscuous–would not be able to reach out and touch. And by virtue of our one-on-one, personal relationship with these buyers, we appeal to them with a level of trust and service no mass-market, retail product advertiser could hope to compete with.

    The extraordinary level of service Network Marketers provide is not available when buying through mail order or retail outlets. It is a real and tangible benefit, part of the product’s value–and its price.

    For example: Someone tries a network marketing anti-aging health product. It’s personally presented for them–either in person or via mail–with a host of educational material about the product: scientific studies, article reprints, even books or tapes explaining how the product was made, how to use it, its unique features and its benefits.

    Within one to two days, the network marketer again contacts the person to follow up, asking how they are doing, checking to see that their customer is following use directions properly, make recommendations, etceteras. These service calls continue daily, bi-weekly or weekly until the customer is satisfied and happy.

    The network marketer will also continue to send informative and educational material such as updates from scientific literature. He or she will also let the customer know about other products the company offers that this particular customer with his or her unique needs and wants might also enjoy.

    This is an extraordinary level of service that is a real and tangible benefit for the consumer. This kind of personal and knowledgeable attention is not available when buying through the Internet alone, or mail-order or most all retail outlets. It is one of the things network marketers are paid for and it is part of the product’s value–and its price.

    Are there cases where the above education and service are not offered? Of course.

    Are there products that do not have special ingredients or qualities that support a higher price? Sure.

    And are there times when a network marketed product is simply more expensive to pay for the multiple-level commission structure? Yes.

    Back in the early 1950s, a dog grooming service was opened in New York City to serve people living in the exclusive Park Avenue, 70th and 80th Streets area. They charged $25 to shampoo and clip a dog. They had no customers. Then they jacked-up their prices to $250 per visit–and were an instant success. The Cadillac Seville, when first introduced in test-market showrooms priced at under $10,000, bombed; at $14,000 the very same automobile became an instant best-seller.

    Value is a perception. The relationship between quality, benefit and price, i.e., value, is in the mind of the consumer-beholder. Businesses price goods and services according to what the market will bear. Successful marketers come up with just the right mix of value-benefit-price.

    The majority of network marketing direct sales products are of the genuine higher-quality variety, not available in stores, special in ingredients, design and making.

    Most offer the convenience of in-home or on-line ordering and to-the-door delivery. They are also special in terms of…

    Marketing and Customer Service

    The network marketing “sales person” adds value to the product through his or her education, service and sales to the customer.

    All of this has its price. And according to consumer trends and the explosive growth of network marketing direct sales companies and their products worldwide, more and more people every day think it’s worth it.

    What’s the truth about the price of products offered through network marketing? Are they too high? And if so, why?

    The full answer to this one is complicated. If you need a short one, mine is:

    High? Usually, yes.

    Too high? Sometimes… yes, but generally no.

    So, if they are high, why? Let’s start with looking at what kind of products we’re really talking about here.

    The Truth is, Specialty Products Cost More

    Network marketing is predominantly a “specialty products” business: The products we sell most often tend not to be the type you’d find in supermarkets, drug stores or any other mass merchandiser. They are not the kind that combines the lowest possible price for the least acceptable level of quality. For a conventional retail parallel, look at the products in a natural or health food store, beauty salon, boutique or upscale department store.

    Specialty products cost more to make. The ingredients are unique and high quality and production is low quantity–the amounts manufactured usually are not great enough to take advantage of the economies of scale enjoyed by big-time, high-volume, mass-market producers. So these products more expensive–both to make and to buy.

    Also, specialty product makers usually cannot depend on major advertising to increase sales: they don’t have that kind of money. So they have to use more expensive forms of distribution, such as small, individual retail outlets whose profit margins are higher than mass-market stores and chains.

    Profit Margins and Markups

    Here’s an example: a discount chain drug store might be able to markup a bottle of vitamins that normally sells for $3.00 wholesale for less than the normal 33 percent retail profit margin. And, because they buy in large volumes, they’ll get the product for less than $3.00 to begin with.

    A natural or health food store might buy that same product at the full $3.00 wholesale price, and use a markup of 50 percent to get their full 33.3 percent retail profit margin.

    To the consumer, buying at retail, here’s the difference: $3.99 at the drug store and $4.50 at the health food store.

    And then there’s “what the traffic will bear.”

    There are sexy boxes of imported chocolate that go for $38.00 each, and poly-bags of 50 mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups you can get for less than $3.80. If your taste tends towards expensive, you’ll generally pay more–in “margin” percentages to middle-people and in total dollars.

    Let’s look at a comparison of one single product offered through the conventional manufacturer-to-retailer distribution system and the exact same product sold through network marketing.

    $$$ From Conventional Manufacturer to Consumer

    We know specialty products cost more to make; again, the ingredients are unique and high quality, and the production is low quantity, so they are simply more expensive.

    Manufacturers speak of “Cost of Goods” (CoG): that’s the figure that a product costs the company to make, including overhead, ingredients, packaging and labeling, sales commissions (such as broker’s fees), etc.

    The very minimum a manufacturer needs to sell that product for is double, or a 50 percent margin. Considering that most competitive businesses operate on a six percent pre-tax profit, that leaves them 44 percent to pay for everything else. So, the $2.00 CoG product they make, they sell for $4.00.

    Now, some manufacturers sell direct to retailers–not many, but a few do, and when they do, they’ll take a higher profit margin to pay for the Cost of Sales (CoS).

    However, most manufacturing companies deal through distributors, who charge for warehousing, shipping and selling the products to retail stores. Normal wholesale is a 25 percent markup, which you get by multiplying the purchase price–plus freight if not included–by 1.33. So, our $4.00 item would be sold by a wholesale-distributor to the retailer for $5.32. (Again, plus or not freight costs which can run 10 to 15 percent additional.)

    To achieve a 33.3 percent profit margin, the retailer has a 50 percent mark-up–or higher. Our $5.32 product ends up on the shelf at $7.98.

    Now, this is the minimum scenario–not what normally happens except in the more strongly competitive markets. It’s not the least bit unusual to find the manufacturer selling that $2.00 CoG product for $5.00 or $6.00… the distributor working on 35 percent instead of 25 percent… and a retailer – especially from a specialty market segment–look for a 50 percent profit (i.e., a 100 percent markup), instead of “only” one third.

    And if all of that were true, the retail price of the product through that sales and distribution system would be more like $14.95.

    $$$ In Network Marketing Direct Sales

    Let’s work this one backwards (because that’s how most of the numbers are figured for your commissions).

    If the networking company’s product sells to consumers for $15.00 it will have an average retail commission to the networker of from 20 percent to 40 percent. So, using a 30 percent retail commission, the company’s “wholesale” price to the mlm distributor will be about $10.50.

    Let’s say that your company pays out a full 50 percent in “downline” or organizational commissions. That means that the company’s lowest from-the-warehouse price for the product would be half of wholesale, or $5.25.

    That’s right in the ballpark for specialty manufacturing, distribution and sales.

    It’s a Question of Value

    There is also a greater value, beyond the “specialty products” issues of ingredient quality, cost of manufacture and so forth and that’s the education, information and service delivered by the person-to-person distribution network.

    Learning the product’s proper use, additional uses, history, all about the ingredients, etceteras, is all part of its value. And products offered through word-of-mouth network marketing have more of this “added value” than any others.

    This last point begs the question:

    “Are products purchased through network marketing higher priced to make up for the compensation or commission payments to distributors and their networks?”

    Can they be? Yes.

    Are they… usually? No and Yes.

    In an authentic, intelligent, sincere and sensible network marketing direct sales company, one that’s well-managed and directed… a company that understands that the financial health and well-being of the men and women in the field MUST lead their mission, decisions, strategy, policies and procedures… no.

    But that new ostentatious corporate headquarters in the prestige location… corporate jet… an army of “distributor service” personnel… rock concert “conventions”… $50,000 “big name” keynote speakers… resort vacations and incentive cruses to exotic locations paid for by the company… luxury car allowances… are all expenses that need to be paid for. Where does that money come from?

    Directly (in terms of potential commissions that will not be paid out to people) or indirectly (in over-priced products and/or inflated charges for marketing materials, self-replicating websites, business building tools and trainings), the money comes from only one place… the men and women in the field.

    “So… do network marketed products cost more?” Sometimes yes and other times no.

    Can they be more expensive than similar items of equal value offered in a conventional market such as a retail store? Yes, they can.

    In fact, you can find numerous examples of both conventionally retailed products and networking products of similar sizes, shapes and qualities at prices that vary by as much as 30 to 40 percent or more.

    The only sure rule in product pricing the world over is, “What the traffic will bear…” No matter what distribution and sales route the product travels. It’s not so much a game of “Let the Buyer Beware,” as it is and always will be…

    “Let the Buyer Be Aware.”

    Factor in the at-home shopping convenience… the customer service… the satisfaction guarantee… personal attention… education and information–and in today’s increasingly competitive global marketplace, the “aggressive pricing” posture being taken by more and more networking companies around the world–along with the generally superior quality of the products available through network marketing and direct sales…

    … and I believe a growing number quality-conscious consumers will agree with me, top network marketing company’s products represent outstanding value.

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    Source by John Milton Fogg

    Views: 0

  • YEP – Young Entrepreneurship Program

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    With the purpose of inspiring better lives and promoting entrepreneurial success, HDI-Network Philippines started extending their aspirations to the younger generations through the Young Entrepreneurship Program or YEP.

    In YEP (Young Entrepreneurship Program), young people start to realize entrepreneurship as a viable career. They become equipped in managing their own business and immersed in real-life learning experiences. Plus, they get to learn the fundamental skills of entrepreneurship in various fun-filled ways.

    YEP (Young Entrepreneurship Program), also known as YEP-HDI, was established by the HDI Network Philippines, Inc. to provide opportunities and equip youth entrepreneurs in the multi-level marketing industry. The program employs HDI Network’s extensive 20-year experience in marketing and distribution of US-manufactured, bee-based health food products across six countries to assist young, business-minded individuals, even budding entrepreneurs, with the business.

    YEP is ideal for young, business-minded individuals who have little or no experience in entrepreneurship. It is open to all aspiring Filipino youth entrepreneurs of at least 18 years of age.

    Yeppies

    Yeppies are YEP-HDI’s brand ambassadors. They comprise young and motivated individuals who are open to opportunities and understand the need of seizing them early. Yeppies echo the company’s mission of creating real wealth for themselves and others. They contribute actively to the community based on HDI’s “One Family” values.

    All Yeppies are recognized in 4 HDI Network Inc. international offices and 6 domestic branches.

    The YEP Hub

    The YEP Hub is located in the heart of the Manila University Belt. Situated in Mendiola Square along C.M. Recto Avenue, YEP-HDI is just a walking distance from Manila’s prime universities. It serves as a training ground and a hang-out place for young Filipino entrepreneurs of YEP.

    YEP History

    YEP takes pride of HDI Network’s success in the marketing industry since 1986. For more than 20 years, HDI Network has improved the lives of more than a million customers across five countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong) and more than 300,000 distributors through its high quality products and competitive financial benefits. It has long since then created a big name in the multi-level marketing industry.

    In November of 2009, HDI Network extended its aspirations to the Filipino youth. It established the YEP (Young Entrepreneurship Program) with a firm belief that involving the youth in entrepreneurship would improve more lives.

    2010 is a promising year for YEP. At its official debut this June, YEP-HDI envisions the evolution of a new breed of successful young entrepreneurs.

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    Source by Jenny Araojo

    Views: 0