I got into the Network Marketing industry based on a very real desire for change, having lost my family and home in a bitter divorce, added to the fact that I totally hated my J.O.B. I was so ready for a lifestyle makeover.

It all started when I received a letter with a check for $150,000 in my name attached to it, stating that this is what I could earn this year. The check of course was a fake but I was intrigued by the message on the letter, I called the 800 number, went through a brief interview and was invited to a live conference sales call.

After the call I was introduced by my interviewer to a few people who were making multiple 6 and 7 figure annual incomes commuting from their bedrooms to their home office. I reasoned that if this was actually true and not some get rich fairy tale, then I want in and promptly shipped my sponsor a cashiers check the following day.

Fired up and ready to go.

I was like a racehorse in a stall waiting for those gates to open, but first I was told by my sponsor to get trained and go through the learning curve. I attended every single training call taking copious notes on all the marketing strategies especially the ones I could afford.

After a week of training I was fired up and ready to go, I did as many things as I could, I shared the features, benefits and business opportunity with everyone I knew and also with people they knew, it was amazing my friends and family were only too happy to refer me to someone else just so they could get rid of me.

I joined my local Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club, I had a rubber stamp made and stamped post it notes and left them at every ATM, at every

Bank I could think of. I had corrugated plastic signs made and went out in the middle of the night and nailed them to wooden poles at major traffic intersections. I had business cards made, went to all the major book stores in town and left, them in all the books related to business and Network Marketing.

I took massive action, I bought as many leads as I could afford, I left flyers on windshields, sent out postcards and pounded the phone day and night my thinking at the time was if can get qualified prospects to the conference call, the leaders will do the telling and selling, I’ll do a couple of three way calls and the checks will come rolling in.

The checks didn’t come rolling in, not even trickling in, more like dripping in. Now bear in mind that this was the late 1990’s and the initial product retailed for $1250.00 and my commission was a cool $1000.00. Yes I made a few sales here and there but not enough to even cover my expenses; I couldn’t train my down line because nothing I did was really working. They eventually got burnt out and quit.

I loyally stayed plugged in to conference system as this was the only link to a lifestyle I so desperately longed for, I was almost in a cult like trance listening to how this leader made $50,000 last month another one made $30,000 and a new guy who just came made $80,000 in his first month. I remember cheering these guys on like a star struck kid at a baseball game wondering what the heck they had that I didn’t. Was it my mindset, my work ethic, my posture or maybe this was an art and I just needed to improve my skills.

I bought books and tapes that were recommended by the leaders, I scraped several thousand dollars together to attend an offshore seminar I spoke to many of the leaders in person looking for that ‘aha’ golden nugget that would turn my business and life around… I never found it. I was told by everyone it was simply a numbers game, bring 100 people through the system a week and you should get at least one or two signups. Instinctively I knew I wasn’t being told everything, I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

Eventually there was a huge scandal surrounding the company, it ended up falling apart and the founders went to Prison. (Those of you who have been in this industry for a while know the company I’m talking about.)

What now?

I was left with a huge void in my life and swore I would never do Network Marketing again. I learned how to trade stock and commodity options and started day trading. I did OK financially but I hated it as I was glued to my monitors from 9am to 4pm, I was a nervous wreck using one cigarette to light another one. Along came the sub prime mortgage mess and put an end to all that as the markets became so volatile I had no choice but to get out.

With an ageing Mother living alone in the West Indies and my need to travel frequently I was forced to look at Network Marketing again. This time with a fresh set of eyes, many technological changes had been made since my last encounter, it was obvious that people were making a good living and more importantly were free to live a life of their choosing.

This time I did my research and due diligence and came up with a set of criteria to make sure I did not make the same mistake. This is what I came up with:

• It had to be a business opportunity that I could purchase and work with without going into debt.

• It had to have a reasonable compensation plan where I could see myself generating at least $5,000.00 a month within 90 days.

• It had to be something I could totally do from home and if I chose to take it on the road it would have to allow for that kind of mobility.

• No employees, if I was going to sink or swim it would be based on my decisions and actions alone.

• The products had to be something I would consider buying even if there was no business opportunity wrapped around it.

• The product had to be in alignment with my beliefs. There was no way I was going out to pitch something I didn’t believe in or fully understand.

• The company itself had to have a stellar reputation and a great deal of respect within the Network Marketing industry.

I found a company with a sensational product an innovative compensation plan and a 5 star rating. I attended the training calls and was amazed to see that with the exception of some technology tweaks, very little had changed from what I was doing ten years earlier.

I even came across some familiar names in the new company I had just joined. These guys were doing great and I finally figured out why.

That was my ‘AHA’ moment!

It’s not really about the company, the state of the art system or even the product, it’s all about the person, think about it… You didn’t join XYZ company because their secret potion made you feel 10 years younger you joined because you were confident that the person who introduced you to the business could show you how to build your business like theirs.

This person is most likely already living the lifestyle that you long for and is confident and self assured. You find these qualities attractive and really want to work with this person. Instinctively we seek out a mentor who we feel we have something in common with and try to duplicate their success.

Many of these leaders are in more than one company, why because they have branded themselves as leaders and have built a huge customer base over the years based on leads they generated. A personally branded Network Marketer never purchases leads because they know the true power is in the list, he or she knows how to not only listen to a potential partner is saying but feel what this person is really thinking.

Once you’ve sharpened your listening skills you can match what’s going on in your prospects mind with one of the products you have to offer, even if that prospect doesn’t sign up at that time you build and maintain a relationship with that person through a series of auto responder messages and email broadcasts eventually creating income on demand.

A branded leader partnered with a core of powerful reps in his downline and a list of highly qualified potential partners can move from company to company breaking recruiting records as they go, this is how the new guy I mentioned in my old company was able to make $80,000.00 in his first month.

Years ago when I first got started in Network Marketing it would have taken many years to build your business to the level of the ‘new guy’. Back then generating quality targeted leads was more of an art than a science.

With the advent of the internet modern technology is rapidly becoming an integral part of this business automating a great deal the process and streamlining lead generation into a science. You now have the capability to literally reach millions of people across the world at the click of a mouse.

If you have the mindset to overcome the obstacles we all have to face, you have to be aware that finding the very latest tools and the training to maximize their full potential is essential to your business, not so much your company I’m talking about YOU Inc. You are fully capable of positioning yourself as a personally branded Network Marketing Guru within a matter of months in this exceptional industry.

Once you have won the internal battle and you see yourself as you want others to see you, and you have access to a truly successful group of mentors, you have tried and tested tools in your arsenal, and have developed the skills necessary to use them, there is absolutely no reason why you can’t be one of the top earners in any company walking across that stage, microphone in hand, telling your story to a hungry crowd of potential partners tripping over each other to learn your secret and join YOU!

This article was written by Herold Souter a member of the Online MLM Master Mind Community. To unlock the secrets of some of the most innovative minds in Online Marketing today and go from a mere business opportunity seeker to a Top Producer go to http://thesmartnetworkerstoolbox.com