Decisions...Decisions...How to Decide?

In my last entry, we discussed finding legitimate home based businesses.

I also mentioned my own preference for marketing online versus home meetings - again, just my personal peference. There IS another reason for this preference, apart from my aversion to rejection. :) This other reason is that the internet gives us a far wider customer and prospect base than say, a community of 200 people might give us. Note: This is NOT to be used as an excuse to not join an opportunity. I personally know people who have made a LOT of money in Network Marketing (MLM) who started in their own little towns. So, don't use "I don't know a lot of people" as an excuse. I've used it myself. No more. Be done with excuses! Remember the old saying: "You can make excuses or progress, but you cannot make both."

That's not to say you should join an opportunity just because you feel you might be the only one missing the boat if you DON'T join - Your opportunity MUST resonate with you - of course, this is my opinion. My reasoning is this: If you do not just love the product, how excited do you think you will be when it comes time to share it? Hmmm.

Ok... Back to the subject at hand.

While you are searching for the right opportunity, here is another thing to consider:
DEMAND: What is the demand? What are people searching for on line? Example: A lot of people are looking for ways to recruit others to their opportunity. This is a biggie. There are ways to capitalize on this need. I don't know about you, but I have a strong dislike for prospecting. I say that prospecting stinks, and if I need to prospect (and who doesn't), then I need some help. You can become an affiliate of a few different prospecting and marketing programs, and advertise these to earn some cash. I personally use a few of these.

DETERMINE THE MARKET: But, how can you determine the market? How do you know whether people are looking for a particular item or not? If you sign up for an account at www.WordButler.com, you can use their reverse keyword search tool for about $20 per month or so. You can also get these tools if you sign up for Yahoo Sponsored Search or Google Ad Words.

There are other places to get reverse keword search tools, too. I am a Stores OnLine customer, and have a few websites hosted by them - and one of their tools for merchants is a Reverse Search Lookup - where we put in a keyword and we get a report on how many people are searching the internet for that particular term. Pretty valuable stuff! Search the internet for "keyword research tools" and you'll find something that can help you.

COMPETITION: Then, of course, you need competition. If no one else is selling the thing that you're interested in, chances are good it's not a strong enough product to sink your teeth into.

BACK TO WHAT INTERESTS YOU: I do think it's important to stay within your range of interests. For example, I mentioned that I don't particularly care for jewelry - but one of my friends does, and is a representative for a jewelry company that markets via home parties - and she's earning a nice chunk of cash doing so. She's not earning it from me - but evidently a lot of people like jewelry out there!

In my case, my husband and I really enjoy travel. So, that's why we market for Global Resorts Network (GRN). We love it! And some of the reasons we love it so much is because:
1) GRN's travel partner has more than 22 years experience in customer satisfaction;
2) We get paid fairly ($500 - $1,000 per sale before our expenses);
3) We had experience with some of the resorts even before we joined and they are top-notch; and
4) We can market the memberships without EVER having to tell someone that there is a business opportunity attached to it. Talk about a true stand-alone product. We have a retail-only site - where there is NO mention whatsoever of a business opportunity. Let's face it, not everyone who travels or loves to vacation is necessarily interested in going into the business end of things. It would be like trying to sell a car to someone who doesn't have or want a driver's license.

And YOU may not be interested in travel at all... So let's move on.

STAND ALONE PRODUCT: So... that's another thing you might want to consider - marketing a product that does not require that you build a sales organization. In our case, we welcome both aspects, as mentioned above. If you have a strong interest in natural health products, study the business model and see if you can market the product without the need to market the opportunity. Same goes with any area of interest to you.

Well, that's about all I have today on this topic! I'll write more as I become inspired.