It Ain’t Only About the Internet!

Hey Gang!

So as I’ve told you in several posts, I was at the No Excuses Summit in Las Vegas with my dear friend and super network marketing genius Todd Falcone and we’re feeling pretty good when we first walked in. And then it hits us. This was not a typical network marketing conference. We were smack in the middle of a major internet marketing event — computers and web stuff and conversion rates. Oh My!

Now don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the internet. Heck, you’re reading this on the internet right now, aren’t you? However, it isn’t ALL about the internet. People forget that the real value and opportunity of network marketing lies off-line, not on-line.

But nonetheless, I learned a lot, especially when talking in the hallway (see earlier post about meeting people) with a great young man named Jason and his girlfriend, Casey. Jason was a smart kid, but when he started spewing out all the technical jargon of exactly what he did on the internet my eyes glassed over and my mind wandered back to when I was a kid and our teacher was explaining why it was so important that we learn logarithms. But I finally came back to the moment when Jason asked what I did for a living.

I told him I was involved in network marketing, mostly meeting people face-to-face and developing relationships. I said that he may have a data base of thousands of names, but I had a smaller list and each person on it was my friend. I told him how I love to have phone conversations with people, meet them for coffee, even send out birthday cards to them all.

Jason picked up on the birthday card thing right away. “Really?” he asked. “What’s your birthday card conversion rate?”

I cocked my head not unlike my friend’s Labrador Retriever when you ask him a question he doesn’t understand.

Jason plodded on. “What I mean is, do you research which font is most effective? Have you made the determination if blue ink is better than black? How many conversions do you get with each mailing and what matrix do you use to measure your results?”

I told this eager young man that he was missing the point, that I only sponsor people I’d sit in a hammock with in Costa Rica. Now it was Jason’s turn to cock his head. I said that the internet was a great place to meet people, but you’ve got to figure out how to bring your heart into the internet. “Jason, right now you’re just a faceless dude, worried about ad tracking,” I said. “What you need to do is worry about how to bridge the gap between the internet and the real people you’re reaching.

I told him that he could take a list of 100,000 names from his data base and I could take only 1,000 and I’d beat him out every time. Why? Because I am the face behind the name. I’m the handshake instead of the email. And once a year, I’m the birthday card instead of, well…the nothing that he sends.

I can’t say whether or not Jason really got what I was saying, but I was delighted when his fiance piped up and said, “You know, until now everything I heard in this conference made me want to run away from network marketing as fast as I could. But now, hearing what you have to say, I’m ready to sign up!”

So, should you use the internet? Of course! It’s one of the most valuable tools we have. However, it’s not the most important. Your voice on the phone is a much greater power and that 20 minutes over a latte with a friend or net business partner beats out all the technology in the world.

Now go out and give someone an AWESOME day. And do it in person.

No Excuses Means No Excuses Means NO EXCUSES!


Hey gang!

Aren’t excuses great? I mean, we can drop the ball, give in to our fears, just be plain lazy and a good excuse seems to make us feel so much better. Common. Admit it. It’s true. Rationalizing out our own inadequacies is great medicine.

And then someone comes along and says, “NO EXCUSES!” I hate when that happens. You see, excuses may make you feel better (albeit temporarily), but they do nothing for your business or your success.

That’s what the No Excuses Summit I recently attended in Las Vegas was all about. Getting out of the habit — and it is a habit if not a real addiction — of instantly coming up with an excuse rather than facing the reality of a situation and confronting it head on.

Now let me say right here that I have been known on occasion to be the King of Excuseland. Here’s a recent one.

Have you seen the new Flip camcorders? Amazing little devices that can record up to two hours of HD quality video yet small enough to fit into a pocket. They’re simple to use and make it so easy to share your videos instantly on Facebook, Twitter, even your own blog. Easy for most people, that is. Yep, I’ve got one and have recorded lots of great stuff.

So I’m talking to my good friend Cedric and he says, “Casey, you’re missing a valuable opportunity. You’re great in front of an audience and on camera. Why aren’t you recording on video and posting them to your various blogs and accounts?” I told him that, as a matter of fact, I right now have 18 videos that I’d like to post but that I didn’t know how to work my darned Flip camcorder to get them onto my sites. Cedric was very understanding. He simply said, “No excuses. Figure it out.”

I knew he was right so I went home and that night tackled the problem of getting my videos up on Facebook. Well, let me tell you, this was no easy task, at least not for me. It took forever just to get one video to post and then, to my continued consternation, it posted nine times! I have no idea why. (My apologizes to anyone on my Facebook page that night.) Then I couldn’t figure out the title sequence. ARGH.

Next I tried to post a video to my blog, theidealnetworker.com. I had just about the same success as I did with Facebook. I’m starting to get a headache that I think only a vast amount of adult beverages could cure when I look up on my white board and see the phrase, “No Excuses Means No Excuses.” After a big dramatic sigh (after all, I did work in the movie business for years), I said to myself, “Casey…you are not going to bed until this is done and it’s done RIGHT!” There may have also been big dramatic music in the background — I’m not sure.

Anyway, after many failures, misspelled words, “error” messages and one moment when I almost threw that stupid Flip thingy into the garbage, I actually posted a video. Genius! I gotta tell ya, doing the work right is such a better high than a good excuse any day.

Don’t ask me how, but after that one video posting traffic to my blog tripled! People signed up for my newsletter. I had moved out of Excuseland and into Actionville! I loved the new address.

And then I go to Vegas for the No Excuses Summit. Naturally, I take along my now beloved Flip. Luckily for me, I was interviewed several times and each went great. However, did I take my Flip out of my pocket and ask if I could just hit record for each interview? Oh no…too embarrassed to do that. What if I screwed it up and everyone knew I was a tech-dummy? Couldn’t have that. So, rather than just plunging in and doing what I knew I needed to do, I made an excuse and missed a massive opportunity. The entire YouTube nation was just waiting for my next video posting. Yet, I chose an excuse over action and what did it get me? Nothing.

Here’s a simple question. How bad do you want it? If for every action you know you need to take you instead come up with an excuse — “It’s too early to make that call,” “They probably aren’t interested in my product or service,” “I’m no good on the telephone,” “They probably don’t like blonds,” “I’m never that good on a Tuesday.” — then all you’ll have at the end of the day are your excuses when, instead, you could have a thriving business and the best high you’ve ever felt.

Do yourself a favor. Come up with an excuse, a really good, iron-clad excuse, why you aren’t growing your business. Now, shoot that excuse full of holes. You know you can. It’s easy. It’s just an excuse. They can’t stand up to the light.

Just make sure you don’t make an excuse for coming up with an excuse to cut to shreds.

If you can’t think of a good excuse, let me know. I’ve used them all and I have no need for them anymore.

In blogs to come I’ll be sharing the other 7 awesome points I learned at the No Excuses Summit. They’re really powerful and I think you’re going to love them.

Now go out and give someone an AWESOME day. And I don’t want to hear any excuses why you can’t.

Hang Out With the Winners!!

Hey gang!

So many wonderful things came out of the No Excuses Summit I recently attended in Las Vegas. And one of those take-aways I had already done just be being there.

Most people, especially those new to network marketing, have a tendency to only attend local events or those sponsored by their company. Nothing wrong with that, unless that’s all you’re doing. Ever hear the phrase, “If you want to be a winner, hang out with the winners?” It’s so true. I remember my mom cramming into my head the opposite of that phrase — “If you want to be a loser, then go ahead and hang out with those losers!” She was right. So many times kids get derailed by hanging out with the “wrong crowd.”

But what happens when those kids, or we adults, start hanging out with the “right crowd,” those who are excited about our industry and have valuable insight to share? I’ll tell you what happens. That excitement rubs off on you. You’ll come away with so much more than information. You’ll get an attitude tune-up that’s worth ten times what you paid to attend.

So which events do I suggest you attend? All of them. Okay, maybe that’s not possible. But read the blogs and keep yourself current on which seminars and meetings are coming near you. Or, if it’s a big event, one with star-power speakers who you know in your heart could help you change not only your business but also your life — well, then save up a few bucks and fly out to wherever the meeting is taking place.

And here’s another bit of information that’s gigantic. During the breaks, DO NOT saunter off to a corner and call home to check on the kids. Talk to people. I’ve never been to any event where the main speakers, the heavy-hitters, aren’t totally available to meet and speak with attendees. Don’t pass up this golden opportunity. You’d pay mega-bucks to get their tapes and DVDs. Why not get a little free advice in person?

Try what I like to do when I’m in any crowd where I don’t know many people (or even if I do). I make it a point to go up and introduce myself to at least five people. Sound intimidating? Perhaps, but remember where you are…a network marketing meeting. Networking is the key word here and everyone expects you to come up and say hello. That’s what they’re doing. All you have to do is follow suit.

You know, the real magic of most of these events happens during the breaks. I can’t tell you how many great contacts, not to mention wonderful friends, I’ve met standing in a convention center hallway during a break. Have a pocket full of your business cards ready, too, and that ever-handy Sharpie pen for jotting down names and numbers.

So hit the road to success. And while you’re out there, give someone an AWESOME day!

So, Do You Come Here Often?

Howdy, Gang!

So, do you come here often? Cheesiest line ever, right? Unless you’re squeezed in among the cattle in Coach (as in airplane cabin, not purses), because then you’ll always get a laugh. This is step 1 to starting the “airplane conversation”.

When you’re stuck on an airplane, what do you do? Are you one of those who immediately sticks on the noise-canceling headphones, fires up the laptop to either work or play endless hours of solitaire, and tunes out the world? Now why would you do this when you have a captive audience? Think about it – you spend all week going to networking events trying to meet new people, yet when you’re sitting right smack dab next to someone new, you don’t even introduce yourself. It’s time to change your tactics, folks.

When I travel, I always choose the center seat. Ugh – no way, you think – too cramped, no room for my laptop, whine, whine, whine. Well remember, you’re not going to work or sleep, so why does it matter where you sit? Here’s the reason for the middle seat – you have an audience on either side of you. So you strike up a conversation with one and usually the other will join in. Or one is sleeping, but now you can turn to the other. How easy is that?

So what if you’re sitting next to Mr. or Mrs. Probably-Not-in-My-Typical-Demographic? I know you already know the answer to this, but I’m just testing you. As you’ve learned throughout your time in this networking game, somebody ALWAYS knows somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who either a) needs your services, or b) has services you need, or c) needs services of someone you can recommend. (Think: 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon.) Oh yeah, and don’t forget the “somebody” who doesn’t need anything you have to offer right now, but might in the next couple of weeks/months/years and you won’t even remember them but they’ll remember you or your brochure that they picked up out of an airplane seat pocket way back when.

Next time you book that airline ticket, resist the urge to choose the window seat with an empty seat next to it so you can relax. You know “relax” and “airplane” can never go together in the same sentence, right? So why pretend? Get out there and work it in the sky, because…..wait for it…..The sky’s the limit! (Okay, someone had to say it.)

Now go out and give your fellow travelers an AWESOME day!

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