How Not to Be Naïve When Joining an Online Business

Before you decide to join an online business, there are several fallacies (or at best exaggerations) that you need to be aware of. Just like anything, the key to not being mislead is to be informed. That said, I wanted to take the time to convey a few misconceptions that many companies articulate when recruiting new prospects. Commonsense should alert you that these statements are too good to be true.

Here are my thoughts on the most common exaggerations I hear by recruiters in the industry. Beware!

1. "Our turnkey system does 90-100% of the marketing and selling for you!"

Actually, there are no turnkey systems that do all the marketing and selling for you - only ones that help with the explaining and the information gathering process. Please don't be gullible here. Most affiliate marketers have replicated websites that certainly do have a helpful place, but they do not and will not replace your human effort.

2. "Being an internet marketer is easy."

Not true. No business endeavor is easy. However, in theory internet marketing is not that complicated, but it does require great consistency and effort - especially during the heavy learning curve period of the first few months. Fortunately, the financial rewards in this industry can be huge. The great advantage of internet marketing is that massive amounts of automation and leverage can be used to your advantage every day. Compared to starting a typical brick and mortar business, most online businesses have very inexpensive entry price points and are far less risky.

3. "There is no selling involved."

Umm...I don't think so. Most internet marketers are essentially affiliate marketers who market the products or service of a larger company. So yes, there is selling. I for example market Platinum One Destinations travel memberships. What I will say though is that online marketing can be done in a non-aggressive way which doesn't require upfront selling - instead relying on telling your own story and using personal branding to showcase yourself as a leader. If you provide useful information about online business upfront, you can then let prospects discover your opportunity on their own. This way, your prospects can approach you instead of you having to chase them. This is very different from the old school marketing methodology, where upfront direct sales pitches were the norm.

4. "To succeed in online business, you need to actively buy leads and spend your days calling them."

False. In the past however, this was the case for most network marketers, who generated their prospects by calling generic, paid for leads. These leads were often not targeted, and thus, required lots of human effort to warm them up. Luckily, today we have the opportunity to market our businesses online and let prospects come to us. Personally, I don't pay for leads and I don't cold call. I use what's called "my story marketing" and I do my marketing online.

In essence, "my story marketing" is just leading with your own story instead of directly pitching your opportunity. By leading with your story and by branding yourself as a leader online, people can essentially "get to know you" before they are presented with your opportunity. This is good because in reality, people don't buy businesses, they buy people. So, the next time someone joins your business, remember they're not really buying an opportunity, they're buying you...as a leader. So make sure when you start marketing online that you tell your story well and really convey to your prospects how you can help them succeed.

5. "Anyone can succeed in internet business."

Actually, 97% of the people who start in online business never make any money. So really, most people can't succeed. The big key lies in aligning yourself with a mentor who knows how to market online - and who can teach you to leverage your time and resources effectively. Obviously, you need dedication, consistency and patience to achieve success, just like with any other business. But if you don't have a knowledgeable mentor, then you most likely won't be able to become a top earner in the industry.

To Your Success,
Dan

Platinum One Destinations