In part 1 of this series, we explored the realities of
establishing a work at home affiliate marketing business.
In part 2, we'll look at the value of establishing
relationships on line that will prove beneficial to you
personally, and to the growth of your online business.
The one major factor lacking in comparing the 'brick and
mortar' business world with the 'online' business world is
communication and interpersonal relationships. The word to
describe this lacking ingredient would be Mentor ... a
person uniquely involved with your development and willing
to critique your progress and offer a plan of action for
continual growth. The best mentor for you is the person who
takes an interest in your growth, and is willing to stick
by you through all of your slips and falls.
The very nature of the internet makes this a tough nut to
crack. Initially, it makes complete sense that if you are
in a person's downline or an active affiliate, your success
certainly enhances their success. Does this happen? In my
experience, rarely. Of all the lists and programs that I am
in, I have received only 1 unsolicited personal message and
1 phone call from my immediate upline. I have received
responses to MY initiated upline contact, but every other
communication has been either a follow up or broadcast
autoresponder message.
Are there really successful Internet marketers that are
willing to take you under their wing?
Yes, and here is an example. Recently, a well known, very
successful internet marketer said the following. She
stated that she had reached a point where grand scale
growth was no longer her primary focus. Wow! Her primary
focus was going to shift from directly building her
business to developing her people that were willing to
accept her help and advice. She acknowledged that 'people
development' had been lacking in her organization, and, in
order to cement long term stability, it was necessary to
personally develop strong links in her chain.
So, where do you find one of these 'people' persons.
This is where the patience and persistence comes into play.
Just as in establishing a rapport and level of trust with
your lists, you must do the same when approaching a
potential consultant or mentor. After an initial approach
and response, your communication should be brief, polite,
and to the point. You must convince them that helping you
will be a wise investment of their valuable time. Like any
other business decision that they make, a return on their
investment will be a factor. This makes your upline in any
given program a logical choice, but don't limit your
options to strictly this approach. Be aggressive, take
action, go after what you want/need.
DO NOT be intimidated by a name or fail to take action
because you're afraid of getting no response or a generic
"join this program and all will be revealed" response. That
is exactly the type of person that you ARE looking for.
Why? ... so you can scratch them OFF your list of potential
mentors and keep looking!
Must a mentor be an individual? Not at all. One of the
programs that I promote provides me with some of the best
advice and response rates to my questions. I very seldom
talk to the same person twice, but the information is
always excellent and not only helps me grow in their
program, but in all areas of my business.
Finding a mentor is not necessarily an instant roadmap to
the pot of gold. However, doing so can certainly improve
the process of establishing a solid business plan, and
creating a clearer vision of where you are and how to get
to where you want to be.
You must be realistic about your expectations. If you don't
have the patience to learn as you go, you are only setting
yourself up for a series of frustrations. Be willing to
take the advice of those individuals that have proven that
your success is important to them ... not simply your check
in their bank account.
Bottom line ... there is no Holy Grail! Humble yourself and
seek out and accept all of the help that you can get. Don't
let a prideful "I can and will do this" mentality lead you
down the wrong path. When you hit a roadblock, ask for
help, and if that is not forthcoming, retreat and take the
time to fully discover the true nature of the roadblock,
and take whatever steps are necessary to overcome it. This
may take a little time and effort, but once accomplished,
it will never be a problem again. Accept the reality that
time, in this industry, is most often measured in weeks and
months, NOT days.
An old saying sums up a healthy philosophy towards building
a work at home business ... "How do you eat an elephant?
..... One bite at a time". If you need to humble yourself
and ask for help, so be it. After all, you are trying to
build a successful affiliate marketing online business here
... not inflate your ego! Success and a growing bank
account will be all of the recognition that you need! :-)
Enjoy your elephant, and, I wish you well!
----------------------------------------------------
When not enjoying the natural beauty of the "Big Island" of
Hawaii, USA, the author enjoys pursuing his Internet
marketing interests. For your FREE report on building your
business from Super Affiliate Ewen Chia (SELECT the
"Grounded" article), and other Affiliate Marketing Training
strategies and goodies, visit "Newbie Heaven" at
http://now4u-website.com
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