Being successful at network or internet marketing and the Ironman have many similarities for me.  As I am sitting here in my office recovering from last weeks triathlon, a thought keeps recurring in my mind.  “Why the hell am I doing this?”  I was really thinking that thought about mile 6 of my Olympic distance tri last week, which is a 1 mile swim, 26 mile bike, and 6 mile run.

Last year was my first year competing in triathlon and I was able to complete a half Ironman distance at the end of last year which consists of 1.2 mile swim, 56 bike, and 13 mile run.  There is another half on the calendar for this year, then next year will be the Ironman.  2.4 miles in the water, 112 on the bike, then a full 26 mile marathon to finish.

Much like network marketing, or most business ventures for that matter, the Ironman is a process.  There is much preparation and learning that paves the way to a successful race day.  My Ironman dream will be approximately 3 yrs in the making, and it began Sept 16, 2008 when I had to run/walk my first mile of training.  I made a decision on that day that I would do the Ironman.

Along my journey, I have had injuries and setbacks, and there have been highs and lows in my training.  I keep remembering that this is just for fun and fitness, but it becomes an obsession of sorts.  This is a screenshot from my logs for 2009:

2009 totals

Bike:                          146h 21m – 2465.2mi

Run:                           107h 58m – 608.16mi

Swim:                        67h 44m – 165393 yd

Triathlon takes 100% dedication and commitment to complete the desired goal.  My 2009 training hours totals over 320 hours of training for a 6 hour race.  This time consisted of pain, sweat, hard work, aches, soreness, and the list goes on, but sacrifice tops the list.  In order to reach my goals, there must be sacrifices made along the way.

Being a leader in a network marketing business has many parallels to my quest for Ironman.  Being a leader  will not come overnight.  There will be times when you just don’t think you are going to make it.  There will be times that your business regresses and you must regroup.

Think about the learning curve that online marketer must go through…learning all the tricks of the trade.  In order to be successful, a leader must make a 100% commitment to himself that success is inevitable.  Success in business is a journey; successful people build themselves and their business.

Leaders aren’t born they are made, and the same goes for Ironman.  An Ironman competitor has taken millions of steps in preparation for crossing the finish line.  The finish line for the Ironman is a very clear goal which may have been conceived years before the event.  Network marketers can also have clearly defined goals and there are many steps that must be completed along the way to be successful.

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Have you ever heard the phrase “Don’t leave money on the table”?  Well, throw that thought out the window because leaving a little “money” on the table can and will make your wallet fat.  Most of what I have written on my blog has been related to online marketing, because that is all the rage, but if you have a networking business, you HAVE to do a little offline marketing to be successful.

Much online marketing coins the slogan “be the hunted, not the hunter”, but it seems that most offline marketing adopts the hunter mindset.  What I am about to share with you is one of the best offline marketing stratagies I have ever seen, and it enables you to still remain the hunted.

First off let me give some kudos to my friend Cedric Harris who really turned me on to this strategy and the game behind it.  You see, you got to have a little fun while you are marketing, or it will become work.  Now, if you are like me, you walk through the streets thinking that certain people would be great prospects, but you just don’t want to come across as a complete idiot by stopping them and spamming them with your business idea.

TA DA!  The drop card.  And I am not talking about any old business card, but a card that will actually get some attention.  We have all seen business cards laying around places, and really who cares.  The drop cards that will be an effective voice in your business will be $100 bill drop cards.  These cards will look just like a $100 bill folded in half, and your message will be in the center.  Benjamin Franklin is now your business partner and he is going to help you build your primary business.

Don’t get ahead of me here.  We are not going to leave these things sitting on top of the urinals in the men’s restroom.  I don’t know where you ladies leave yours, but you get the picture.  These drop cards strategically placed can and will market your business to people that you would never come into contact with otherwise.  Moreover, these strategies are duplicatable and easy to do.

Following are some of the best strategies and places to drop a card:

• The Gas Station – Everyone pumps gas a couple or more times a week.  Take a card and insert it into the credit card slot.  The next patron will have to learn about your opportunity.  If he doesn’t like it, he will probably throw it on the ground where the next guy can find it.  If you are aggressive, most stations have 6 to 20 pumps…you get the picture.
• Junk Mail – Ha! I like this one alot.  Everyone gets 4 or 5 pieces of junk mail everyday.  These junk mail pieces such as credit card apps have a return envelope that has postage prepaid back to their origin to return applications and etc.  The people in the mail room of these business are making $10 per hour.  Put a drop card in the envelope and send it back to the company.   You could literally have 20 or more drop cards per week going out using this method.
• Newspaper Stands – Put a quarter in a new paper box and stuff all the papers left inside the box with your drop card.  Definitely worth a quarter to reach 10 to 20 new customers.  This would include real estate books and auto trader magazines.
• Book Stores – If you want to target the “entrepreneural” type, slip into your local bookstore and browse through the self help and business sections where you will find such titles as “Rich Dad Poor Dad”  and “The Secret”.  The readers of those types of books need to learn about your opportunity.
• Housekeepers and Waitresses – Do you leave tips?  If you leave good tips, you can throw in a drop card along with your tip.  If you are not a good tipper, don’t embarrass yourself.  A note might be appropriate to go along with your drop card.  “I know housekeeping might not be the most lucrative job in the world, but if you would like to earn a little extra from the comfort of your home…check out my website.”

These  are just a few ideas, but hopefully this will give you an idea of a very fun and duplicatable way to grow your business offline.  Think about the numbers.  What if 20 people in your team drop 10 cards a day for a month.  If my math is correct, that would be 6000 + exposures to your business.  A 1 %  conversion would bring 60 people into your business.  I like that.

A couple of great quotes to use on the inside of your card:

“If you want to work all your life that’s your business, if not that’s my business.”  yourwebsite.com

“Disappointed?  Don’t be! I can show you how to make 25 – 30 real ones every month.” yourwebsite.com

This information was taken from ONE of the free trainings offered at MLM Lead System Pro.  There are 73 other training videos in our back office that will show you how to market YOUR business both on and offline.  This is just an example of the incredible content that MLSP offers.  If you would like to learn a little more about creating traffic for your business, and if you would like to generate some income in the process, even if someone doesn’t join your primary business.  Opt in on the top right of this page or visit www.majorleaguemlm.com

Swing for the Fence,

Barry

P.S.  Yes these cards are offered at MLM Lead System Pro and are one of the 18 additional streams of income that our members take advantage of.  Here is the link to order cards.

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