The Home Business Radio Network launches tomorrow, January 30th.

Are you interested in learning more about how to build a successful network marketing business from some of the most respected and powerful leaders in the industry?

Does hearing about the success of home business industry leaders inspire you to find out how they did it?

Would that possibly make a difference in your network marketing business?

The training, education, news, music, and special events that you can be a part of will be amazing. We like to call the Home Business Radio Network “Positive Powered Radio“. Our goal is to Educate, Entertain, Encourage, Empower, Elevate, and Enlarge your ability to succeed in your chosen home business. This will be positive and powerful content that will help you achieve greater heights than ever before.

The network shows will be focused on many different aspects of building and promoting a home based business. Some of the topics will include network marketing & MLM downline building, attraction marketing, personal development, Internet marketing, recruiting and prospecting strategies (both online and offline), niche marketing, personal branding, copywriting, list building and conversion, social media, and many other topics that will help YOU master the skills necessary for success.

Not just skills, but there will also be a ton of encouragement and support for everyone out there working to create a successful future with a home business.

The founders of the Home Business Radio Network, Doug Firebaugh and Paul Saunders, have worked together to develop a slick social friendly platform with incredible sound -  it’s just something you have to experience to see what sets it apart from anything the home business industry has seen.

Visit the HBRN home page at Home Business Radio Network and subscribe for updates and announcements.

Some of the leaders hosting programs will include:

Chris and Josephine Gross, publishers of the highly respected Networking Times magazine

Nick and Grace Keohohou- Founders of the Direct Selling Women’s Alliance

Ray Higdon – #1 earner in his company and a powerful leader with a gift for teaching

Zig Ziglar & Tom Ziglar – legendary trainers and motivational speakers

Doug Firebaugh – one of the top trainers in the network marketing industry, and co-founder of the HBRN

Troy Dooly – well known spokesman for the industry who tells it like it is and keeps us up to date on the latest news

Rachel Henke – the “Niche Expert” and network marketing leader with a passion for helping others find their ideal niche

John Milton Fogg – author of “The Greatest Networker in the World” with a wealth of knowledge and experience to share

I am honored to say that I will also have a show, the “Eldon Beard” show. My focus will be on how to get found online, SEO, blogging, and other topics related to building a successful home business.

There are several other excellent show leaders I haven’t named, so be sure to tune in the Home Business Radio Network and see what we have to offer! We believe we are going to make history in the home business and network marketing industry, and would love to have you join us!

Success in network marketing is what you want, and hope for, from the day you sign up.

Some people do very well from the beginning, others never seem to gain traction and live up to their potential for success in the business. Often, there are obstacles that aren’t even apparent, but they are very real.

There are two common obstacles to success in network marketing which, if you recognize them, can be corrected. Getting these problems fixed can go a long way toward helping you make money and sponsor prospects into your business.

These two obstacles are, “broad focus” and “open options”.

Broad Focus – Just Want to Make Some Money?

Real success in network marketing requires more than just a desire to make some money. You need to have significant motivation for desiring that income, and you should have a firm vision of how much you want or need. I think too many people start a business with only a vague idea of what they want from it.

There should be a target – “I want to earn $2000 per month from my business by December“.

There should also be reasons driven by some emotion – “It is painful being in so much debt, I really really want to be free of this!”

There is that old saying – “your why should make you cry”. You have to have something backing up your business goals, something to keep you moving forward when things get tough. Success in network marketing is a lot easier when you tie it to something that is really important to you.

Open Options – Easy In and Easy Out

Many people go into MLM and network marketing with an attitude. I’ll give it a try, if it doesn’t work I’ll try something else. This is what I mean by “open options” – just giving the business a try with the idea of backing out if things don’t go as well as hoped.

I think that’s one of the big problems in this industry. Low cost of entry, combined with easy out, makes it pretty painless to quit.

Compare that to a traditional business investment – a franchise. If you sink $100K into opening your own franchise, you are going to take it very seriously. You will be trained, watched, and subject to high expectations. It is your business, but you are not in a position to just walk away if you decide you aren’t making enough money. You have to stick, work hard, and make it work.

There might be a lot more people enjoying success in network marketing if it cost significantly more to get involved, and it wasn’t so painless to quit. That said, though, I’m glad that this is an income opportunity that is open to so many. You don’t have to have a lot of money to start a business and achieve success in network marketing.

So, for greater success in network marketing and MLM:

• narrow your focus and have a clear and well defined goal, along with very strong reasons and motivation for achieving that goal

• go in with an attitude that “this is going to work and I’m not looking back” – make it happen where you are with what you have

This will go a long way to help you achieve the prosperity that you deserve.

Too many people in network marketing and direct sales let fear and hesitation hold them back from ever achieving what they started their business for in the first place. This is often centered around a fear of rejection or embarrassment. Whatever the reason, this lack of confidence can hold your business back and cause you to never experience success that you are perfectly capable of achieving.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Not long ago, I finished listening to the entire 24 hour audiobook version of the biography of Steve Jobs. Jobs was an entrepreneur, visionary thinker, and a good example of what many would call a “free spirit”. He had a vision and dream for his life, and did what it took to achieve it. He overcame many obstacles because he was driven to succeed. Failure was not an option.

I can’t say that his life was perfect, because it wasn’t. Like all of us, Steve Jobs had his own personal challenges and issues, but he didn’t let them stop him from living his dream.

I recommend anyone with a desire to build a strong and profitable business in network marketing or direct sales to read this book. Or, if you are like me, you might prefer to listen to an audio version while exercising or working around the house. Even if you aren’t particularly interested in the high tech world that Jobs worked in, there are significant lessons about business (and life) to be enjoyed here. I appreciate Ray Higdon for blogging about this book, because it is his post that inspired me to check it out.

Below is a video of Steve’s commencement address at Stanford University in 2005. It is 14 minutes long, and worth every minute. This is some great insight. His “third story” is especially thought provoking.

When thinking about “online MLM” and building a business on the Internet, what do you consider the most important key to success?

The actual process of building a successful network marketing business online has been the subject of considerable debate and discussion over time.

The reality is, far more people go online looking for a home business than search through more traditional methods such as newspaper and magazine ads. People who don’t know specifically what they’re looking for will “Google it” until they find something. If they find you, you need to be prepared.

Many online MLM entrepreneurs do all the right things, up to a point.

• they create a blog for attracting and communicating with prospects

• they come up with a free giveaway and set up an opt-in form to capture leads

• they load their autoresponder with some good follow up copy

And then wait….for something to happen.

That’s all great and part of what you should do. Problem is, though, many people doing online MLM stop right there. Their followup messages are designed to entice prospects to click a link, review their MLM opportunity, and hopefully sign up as soon as possible.

What’s missing? What is the number one key to success, if you want to succeed with  network marketing and recruiting online?

Taking the prospect offline and creating a relationship. It’s really that simple.

Why do so many fail to do something as simple as calling their prospects who leave a good phone number? We know quite a few won’t leave valid contact information, and you can’t make people do it, but at least follow up personally with the ones you can.

Unless you already have a strong reputation online and people looking at your opportunity seek you out specifically as a sponsor, you can’t afford to skip any opportunity to make that personal connection.

Look at it like this. Using online MLM sponsoring and recruiting methods is best for accomplishing one thing – identifying an interested prospect. Past that, you need to do whatever it takes to make a personal connection with that person. Otherwise, they are likely to bounce around looking until they find someone who will.

If your prospect leaves a phone number, call them. If most of your leads are not leaving them, or they are leaving information that looks or turns out fake, consider where your leads are coming from. Free classified sites, traffic exchanges, places like that tend to send a less serious prospect.

I’ve found that the best prospects, the ones most likely to leave contact information, come from places like:

• social networks where they can review my profile and learn a little about me before they visit my blog

• ads on work at home or home based business sites that publish great content (this attracts good prospects)

For better success in online MLM, get your profile and opportunity out there where your ideal prospects are likely to be. Then, make it a point to take the prospect offline as quickly as possible and begin building a relationship.

If you haven’t set goals for your network marketing business in 2012, it isn’t too late!

I remember when I used to think I had to sit down no later than December 31 and write out my goals and plan for the next year in its entirety. Everything.

Later, I realized that there is nothing magic about January 1, it is simply a popular point that people traditionally use to get a new start on things they want to do. If you haven’t already created targets and goals for your MLM business this year, now is a great time to do so!

Without some goals and objectives to shoot for your network marketing business can become like a ship without navigation, just floating along and hoping to reach the Isle of Success someday. If you just float and drift along in your business, you will achieve far less than you’re capable of.

Your goals should be tied to numbers or benchmarks,whenever possible, that you can use to measure your progress. For example, a networking friend of mine focuses on prospecting and sponsoring people he meets through online social media. This has worked well for him, but he realizes that he is leaving a lot of business behind by not working and prospecting in his local area as well.

So, Roy has set a new goal for his network marketing business in 2012. He will connect with at least two new prospects in his local area each day. “Connect” means actually talk to somebody and invite them to review his opportunity. This might be a friend, an acquaintance, or someone he meets and strikes up a conversation with. People are everywhere, and many more are open and looking for opportunity than ever before.

What are your goals for your MLM business in 2012? Here are some of the things I plan to accomplish in my business this year.

1) Put more focus on my local prospecting efforts – I’ve been a strong online marketer for years, and honestly have not paid enough attention to my local area market. There are some powerful and influential business leaders in my area who are much more likely to work with someone they know locally. I am going to seek and find the ones who are open to additional opportunity.

2) Allocate more time to personal development and sharpening my skills – I’m a big believer in ongoing self development and improvement, and I’m going to kick it up a notch this year, knowing that this will also have tremendous benefits for my network marketing business. I have already reserved my place for two training seminars in January, with more to come.

3) Become a more effective leader and sponsor for my team – I’ve always believed that the difference between a downline and a team is my leadership and how I relate and work with the people in my group. In 2012, I will strive to spend more quality time working with key team members, and work harder than ever to help them develop their own successful network marketing business.

What are your plans for your business in 2012?

This is a good time to kick back and think about all the great reasons to start making money with a network marketing program.

If you’re currently building a business, this can help remind you of what’s ahead. If you’re thinking about doing it, I hope this will give you some incentive.

Put aside all the hype and let’s look a realistic look at what a solid network marketing program can do for you.

1) How do you feel about spending the next 10 years or more pretty much doing what you do now? How does that look to you? Are you interested in an alternative?

2) Getting serious and building your business requires you to help other people succeed and achieve financial prosperity, which is a great feeling!

3) Success with a network marketing program demands personal growth and getting outside your comfort zone. It might hurt for a while but the joy of liberation that comes later is intense.

4) Your job may be secure now, but if something happens, what are your options? Build yourself up and become a leader, and you will never lack for ways to earn an income.

5) Do you have kids and family you’d like to spend more time with? A prosperous home business opens the door to time freedom. You sacrifice up front to reap rewards for years to come.

6) What business, apart from a legitimate network marketing program, lets you achieve a solid residual income for so little money invested up front?

7) You probably know people less fortunate than you, and you’d love to help them, but your current income doesn’t allow you that option. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to share your wealth and help others in need?

8) Think about how it feels to wake up on the weekends (or your days off) and be able to relax and enjoy your day at your own pace? Full time income from a network marketing program can give you that option.

9) Your future is much brighter when you take charge and design your own destiny.

10) Most people enjoy traveling, if only to “be somewhere different” for a few days. How would it feel to travel when you wanted, stay as long as you wanted, and not be tied to “vacation days”?

Now, this has been intended as a brief look at a few of the benefits you might enjoy if you enroll in a network marketing program and achieve success. Of course, the big thing that makes much of this happen is money.

This isn’t all about making a lot of money, because some of the most miserable people in the world make tons of cash and are set for life. It’s in part about how you receive that money (residual income beats the heck out of trading time/jobs/projects for money).

Another thing is what rewards that earning money this way can bring you. To be truly prosperous in MLM and network marketing, you have to build relationships and help other people achieve success. This is not like the corporate world where in some cases you are fighting tooth and nail and playing politics to move up.

A network marketing program can bring success, fulfillment, and freedom. How many long hour, high pressure corporate jobs can do that for you?

Are you pursuing a full-time network marketing career? Lots of people start a home based business with this dream.

The idea of being financially independent and firing your boss is very exciting. The opportunity to call your own shots and manage your own working time is something quite special.

If you seeking a network marketing career to help attain your personal and financial goals, take some time to consider what working for yourself really entails. If you have owned your own business before, you should have a great idea.

If you are moving from traditional employment to self employment though, it might not be so clear.

You Are Your Own Manager

As a full time network marketer, you’ll enjoy the ability to manage when and where you work. You will call the shots. Nobody will dictate that you have to be a certain place at a certain time.

This is all great, and something to strive for, but with it comes tremendous responsibility. You will need to develop excellent time management skills, if you haven’t already. How you manage your time can make or break your full-time network marketing career.

Managing Personal Growth and Development

As a full-time home business entrepreneur, you will always need to have a student mentality. You will want to work on personal development, attitude, and people skills. You will always want to strive to be better at everything you do.

In a traditional job, it is often possible to learn specific skills and coast along for years and get by. If you want a thriving network marketing career, you’ll need stay sharp and open to new things.

Self Reliance and Success

There is a famous quote – if it is to be, it is up to me! While this holds true for life in general, it is especially applicable to full time home business entrepreneurs.

You won’t have other people to pick up the slack in your network marketing career. It will be up to you to stay on track and keep things moving.

Self Discipline and Organization

In a traditional job, you are told what to do and when. You might have some flexibility in how you carry out your responsibilities, but ultimately you are being managed by a supervisor. That’s pretty much how it has to be in the workforce, otherwise there would be chaos. Working at home, though, you will be the one telling yourself what to do.

For some people, this is a difficult transition. Learning to be disciplined is a must for building a significant income and attaining prosperity with a network marketing career.

Time management skills are essential to making it, but self discipline is necessary. You can know how to manage your time, but fail to do it if discipline is lacking.

A network marketing career is what many dream of, and it’s a very worthwhile goal. The disciplines I’ve mentioned here are critical to achieving it in the first place, and even more important once you’re “the boss” and in charge of your own future and prosperity.

Yesterday, we talked about the perfect prospect, and described the ideal MLM lead that you would like to attract to your network marketing business.

Today, let’s focus on what’s important after you understand who you’re trying to attract.

Everyone out there looking for a home business has a story. They have needs, fears, wants, and reasons that compel them to look for opportunity.

Your job is to be the leader, the person and potential sponsor who can provide solutions and answers to what they are seeking.

Here is an example of how you could write out and describe some of the problems that your perfect prospects might face.

Your Perfect MLM Lead – What Makes Them Tick?

My perfect MLM lead prospects struggle with getting started with a business, especially online. They are intelligent and savvy, and may have had previous home business ventures. Most have never reached their potential of a full-time life-changing income. They have the desire but don’t know what tools they need. They just know they need to get their face and opportunity “out there”. They are at the same time confident, and fearful of failure, because they have never experienced the success they are seeking.

They might be interested in training that teaches them how to put their stake out on the Internet and build a base to work from. Establishing a long-term online presence that elevates and builds them up as leaders and successful entrepreneurs is appealing. They know they need “leads” and “prospects”, and they have heard that social media is currently the “place to be”, but perhaps don’t feel comfortable jumping into that.

They see the very active home business leaders who seem to upload new videos and content every day and feel intimidated by this. They feel that they could never churn out so much “stuff”, and wonder how they can get anyone’s attention against all the online competition.

Everything would be simpler and easier for them if they knew step by step how to establish their presence online. If they already have a business and a blog, they would love to know how to get more visitors and fix it where people doing Google searches would find them more easily.

They would appreciate anything that helps them cut through all the confusion and conflicting information out there. They will want solid marketing and promotion techniques that will stand the test of time. They don’t want quick fixes, they want to build a powerful presence for long term success in whatever business they choose to pursue.

Putting the Pieces Together

Once you have a good idea of what your ideal MLM lead prospect might be looking for, you can proceed to design your approach so that it answers their needs and addresses their problems.

For example, one of your top priorities is building a list. You can create a free ebook or webinar that addresses a need or desire that they have. You can use a generic MLM training system like MyLeadSystemPro to provide answers and solutions they are looking for.

The key to success is understanding that your perfect MLM lead prospect is looking for certain things. The better you understand who you want to attract, and what they need, the faster your business will grow. Your job is to provide answers and solutions to their needs. That’s the point of thinking this stuff through.

If you had a magic MLM lead magnet that would attract the perfect prospect for your network marketing business, what would that person be like?

I know that sounds awfully obvious. When I first started my business, I would have said that my perfect prospect is someone who “wants to make money from home”.

I’m sure your ideal prospect would have that characteristic as well, but let’s dig a little deeper. Try creating a model for the type of person you’d like to attract. Who would you want to work with in your network marketing business? Who would you best relate to?

Here is an example of how you could do this. Do some brainstorming and visualize your ideal MLM prospect. Write it down – you will need to refer back to it.

My Target Market – The Perfect MLM Lead

I really like to work with motivated people who are sick of their job or weary of a career choice they pursued, and want to do something about it. These are people who are employed, have money to invest in a business, and are willing to make a commitment to get it done. They are not broke and do not need a job. They are okay financially but want more.

The ideal person that I would love to work with appreciates what they DO have, and is usually a dedicated employee who does their job well. Ultimately, though, they know that working under the direction and constraint of a corporate culture is not their vision for their life. These are people who may be where they are because they weren’t clear what they wanted in life early on, and pursued education in a field they aren’t passionate about so they could make money somehow.

They now understand that they prefer to march to a different beat. They are not content to go home after work and just kill time until they have to go back the next day. Regardless of age, they are mentally “up and coming” and want to make a difference in their own lives. They can be 60 years old but have the attitude and zeal of a 22 year old fresh out of college.

They may have started a network marketing business, or some other home business venture, in the past but it didn’t work out at the time. These people are in seeking mode. They read or listen to audiobooks, attend webinars, and in general have a student mindset. They do this to gain greater knowledge and power to shape their destiny. The one thing possibly missing is the right opportunity to put their energy and dreams into.

Your Network Marketing Business – Who Do You Want to Work With?

It might seem like overkill to write out such a detailed description as I’ve done above. I used to believe this level of detail and description wasn’t really necessary. And, we all know that many of our leads will not fit our ideal of the perfect prospect, regardless.

However, if you take time to do this and really think about it, I think you’ll come to the conclusion that it helps. Clearly visualizing the type of person you will enjoy working with helps you better plan how to attract that particular prospect to your opportunity. They are out there, and you want to maximize your chances for connecting with them.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about what you do after you know the type of network marketing business lead you want to focus on attracting.

Your network marketing team – the people you sponsor into your business – is your most valuable asset.

These are the people who will consume and sell your products. They will talk to people and sponsor them. They will help you grow your MLM business and make money.

It makes sense, then, to do all you can to help them get off to a fast start. Unfortunately, some people you sponsor will get started and then drop out all too soon.

What can you do to help them stick and establish a growing business?

Help your network marketing team members start making money right away.

A lot of people start their MLM business with great intentions, but put off getting started and lose some of their initial enthusiasm. It’s very important to get in touch with new associates in your downline as soon as they sign up, and provide training to help them get things moving.

You need to work with them through the initial learning curve and help them start getting paid quickly. The first 2-3 months after they join your downline are critical. If they haven’t started making enough money in that time to see some hope ($200-$500 per month typically), they may get discouraged and move on to something else. That’s the nature of the business today. With tons of other home business opportunities and potential ways to make money just a Google search away, some will lose focus and leave your team for another opportunity.

Help them get into profit quickly and they are much more likely to hang in and keep going. Sometime, people just need cash in their pocket before they believe that they can actually make money with a particular opportunity.

If your objective is to earn a full-time income and more in network marketing, you will need quite a few people sponsored into your downline over time. However, you can’t do it alone. If you are the only person in your group who is actively sponsoring, you won’t get the long-term growth and income you desire. It’s essential to get involved with training your new people right away.

Here are some things to consider.

• it’s critical to reach out and start training your new network marketing team members immediately

• avoid just pointing them to training videos and walking away – a personal touch is important

• focus on helping them take actions necessary to start making money their first month

• guide and help them get started, but don’t babysit – help them get momentum then let them fly

One point above that I want to emphasize – avoid just pointing them to training videos and walking away – a personal touch is important. Your team may have the ultimate online “success university” or whatever, and sending your new recruits there is important. However, please don’t forget the personal touch. If someone signs up and shows an eagerness to learn and achieve, be there to help them through the training and get them started making money.

Do your best. You’ll have people sign up who talk a big game, but never produce a single result. Some will sign up and disappear, never responding to your attempts to contact them. Others will gripe and complain and blame everyone but themselves when they don’t make any money.

Take it all in stride. The success of your network marketing team will be determined by the efforts of many. Your job is to be there in the beginning. Help them get started and get some cash in their pocket quickly. This will make a huge difference in your business.