First posted in 2009, there are still some great tips and resources for people in the Network Marketing industry and those independent word-of-mouth marketers who make it tick.

The artcile features 18 websites and tools aimed at helping you improve your Social Media Listening and Monitoring, your Editorial, Publishing, and Content Syndication and, of course, measuring your Conversation and Content Sharing.

Here's the link: 18 Essential Tools for Every Word-of-Mouth Marketer

Do you think social media tools like these can help your business flourish or are they more helpful for traditional products and services?

Network Marketing isn't about leaders or the company making you successful. Network Marketing is about improving yourself so you can make others successful.

Sure, leaders are important. Yes, picking the right company to begin with is important. But if the basic criterion are met, the rest is up to you. But no leader is perfect and no company is immune to mistakes or criticism.

However, most leaders and companies will present the opportunity like it is the "one and only" when what you really need to do is find what company matches your personality and goals. So, unless you really aren't seeing results from the product (so you are unable to create your own success stories), you would be smart to "love the one you're with" instead of hopping around.

The real key will be to continue to grow in your own ability to present the opportunity. Use tools -- like the Unity website -- and get training, like any other professional would.

Then, when you go out and do the work, let the people know you are an imperfect person working for an imperfect company that happens to have a product that you love and will use forever because of the results you get. This honesty will not only prepare them for a challenging road ahead but will earn you respect for telling it like it is upfront.

No lies, no hype and no unrealistic expectations. If you both have a clear vision of what it will take to succeed, you can reach out together to shape your own financial futures.

The best testimonial you'll have of how great your products are is your own. If уοu want tο succeed іn direct sales, уοu need tο sincerely believe іn уοur products. Your story and, even better, your results are your best defense once customers start asking the tough questions.

2. Honesty іѕ always thе best policy.

If you truly believe in what you are doing and in the products you are using, you won't need to lie about anything to sweeten the deal. Don't make up earnings figures, don't claim product miracles (unless they happened to you personally) and don't tell people they'll become millionaires in a matter of months. Just be you and let results and your personal story do the talking.

3. Never, ever beg.

If you are feeling desperate to make your first sale or are trying to make the payout requirements, do it with class. Always. And if begging ever works for you, the person you brought in will never work the business because they only got in because they felt sorry for you. The last thing you want is for people to avoid you when they see you coming and, if begging is your strategy, you'll just start to reek of desperation. That's not attractive. So, be confident, happy and friendly and people will start asking you why.

3. Get people excited to hear your offer.

Be enthusiastic. Speak with confidence. Have a sense of humor about things. An upbeat tone саn help people be receptive. Get to know new friends and learn what makes certain people tick. Then you can prepare yourself and approach each person with a message that is catered to whаt thеу want tο hear. Use their interests to find a way to connect it to one of your products or a part of the opportunity.

4. Assertive vs. Aggressive.

Be excited but give people their space. Make your follow up calls a few times a week or less. Here's an important tip: If at any time someone tells you they are not at all interested, thank them for their time and ask if they know of anyone who might be receptive. Then cut them loose. Give them at least 3-5 months before you even think about calling back. There's a fine line between showing confidence in your message and wanting to get people excited and pushing your boundaries. Be confident but never force your will or your presentation on anyone. This is a business of relationships so don't burn bridges by being forceful or stubborn.

5. Bе patient.

Do you best and then let people come to you. Building a quality team can take a lot of hard work and time. Trust your message and your products. Don't give up.

6. Bе genuine.

Be yourself. This is the only way people will know they can trust what you say and give you a chance. If you try to act like a super-salesman and you're not or if you try to use words and language that your upline does, it won't seem like you and people will sense it and be turned off. Trust your product experiences and your energetic personality to sell for you.

7. Use a proven website system.

There are a lot of horrible MLM or Network Marketing websites out there. Not every one will really give you support or the right tools. Most of them will take your money, send you some crappy leads and call it good. A good system should help you market your products and opportunity with good design, a solid presentation and lead capture. It should have a Back Office that gives you reporting tools, training, contact management, calendars, tax management and resources to build your business. It should have a community where you can socialize, share stories, videos, pictures and stay close to your team. Sure, we'd like your company to use ours because we think it's the best tool out there for building a successful team but, either way, a good marketing site should be on your list of priorities.

What else do you think would be important? Are there any experienced networkers out there that have found certain tips to being successful? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

It's worth a read in full but here's an excerpt:

"If you really want to succeed in network marketing, if you really want to sell your company's products and recruit others into your business, then it is imperative that you take an enormous amount of pride in your network marketing business."

The concept should be a given. But for some reason, many people who start a new network marketing opportunity get discouraged because their friends and family don't consider what they are doing a legitimate business. Well, one of the ways to prove them wrong is to take pride in what you are doing, and treat it just like you would any other business or company for which you've ever worked.

As with any other business, the head of it must believe in the products and business model while taking pride in the fact that they represent a brand capable of becoming hugely successful. How many entrepreneurs do think started their new business with the attitude that they hoped their friends and family never find out what they are doing?

Mirro then offers some decent suggestions as to "How" you can start out with pride and confidence in your new business opportunity and we've listed them below mixed with some of our comments on them as well:

• Take a different perspective. Share your own positive story about the company, products and business plan. Take pride in the fact that you are representing a company that enables you to make residual income. This is your business. Treat it as such.
• Wear your pride as if it were a national brand. Would a McDonald's or Subway owner not tell people what company they operate? Would a real estate agent try to hide their affiliation with the real estate company that allows them to pay their bills? Of course not. 
• Every industry has its scars. Network Marketing gets a bad rap for having scammers and fraud. But what industry doesn't have that? Is the Internet any better? The energy industry? Oil? Exactly. So, we all just need to get over it. There are scams everywhere these days. And the "pyramid scheme" argument doesn't hold water when it's a legitimate company you are joining. Explain that any business where a product is sold and new distributors have the ability to make more than those that started before them.
• Turn your pride into effort. Take pride in your company today and promote it like it's your lifeblood, because financially, it is. It could set you on the path towards financial independence.
• Use the products. Doing this adds enthusiasm and a love for your company and products that people feed off of. And there is nothing like really believing in something to put a boost in your confidence and pride.
• Be honest. Some people use terms like "revenue sharing" and "affiliate marketing" to hide the fact that they are in a multi-level marketing business, especially online. Why all of the cover-ups? If you like what you do and you like your product, you don't need to hide it. Share it loud and people who are really interested will come.

No more fake it till you make it.

No more tricky business names and hiding what you're really doing.

You're a network marketer. You're a business owner. Have some pride and people will gravitate to your attitude and passion.

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts on this post in the comments below.

What do you say?

You are a network marketer. You make money sharing great products with people, leading them to find a "marketer" within and achieve their goals. But in this specific instance, is it as easy as simply saying you are a network marketer?

Sure. But once you do, where do you go from there?

This is precisely why it's important to figure out early on what motivates you in this business and know WHY you do what you do.

Are you a Product Person or an Opportunity Person?

Did the product resonate with you so much that you had to share it with others and a business grew out of your passion for it or did you start this business primarily to change your financial situation and help others do the same?

Once you know which one you are, you can learn to identify which one your prospects are but you need to develop your personal story first. If you are motivated by the product, have a three minute version of how the product changed you and got you into this business. If you are motivated by the opportunity, share why your started your business and how this means so much to you. People may criticize this industry but they can't criticize your genuine passion and a heartfelt story.

The Approach: Product and Opportunity

So far we haven't mentioned "sales" or "selling" in this post. This is because this approach isn't really about signing them up right in that minute. This approach is about them. Listening, responding, sharing your story and more listening.

Instead of talking and selling and trying to convince people you have a great thing to show them, try to lead people to ask YOU questions. People are more open when you are responding to their inquiry vs. "telling" them all about product A or benefit B. Try to get to a place of genuine concern and interest in them as an individual and go from there.

A person who is turned off by Opportunity discussions won't let you talk to them about anything else once they know you are "pitching" them a deal even if they might love, need or be open to the product. This could also work the other way too. The point is that you are being relevant for the individual you are talking with. Anyone will appreciate that you value their individuality and that you don't come across as pitching the next big thing.

Know your prospect. How do you figure them out?

Remember, it's more about listening than it is anything else. If you bump into someone out shopping and you start to catch up with them, be sincere. Start some general discussion about where they are in their life. Or, if you see them often, just use your basic knowledge about them. A few earnest questions and a little basic knowledge will generally be enough to know which avenue to take with them. Finally, never pre-judge anyone. Listen, be sincere and let people make their own decisions.

SolutionX Unity: Catering to Both Types

Once you know which category they fall into, you can cater their experience with your company and business to them. A product person will want to know more about ... da, da, daaa ... the product. What's in it, where'd it come from, who made it, how it will benefit them? An opportunity person will want to know more about the company, who their leadership support is, how to get trained the right way, and how they can make a check.

The best tool to help these people would be something that caters to both sensibilities. Most likely you will want a website (like the ones produced by SolutionX) that helps tell both stories equally and with similar passion. The site should have a landing page for the Product and the Opportunity.

Once you have an effective tool, your conversations with people can end with you referring them to it to get more information that will actually help their particular need. But a tool won't help you unless you learn to listen, follow up, ask sincere questions.

So, know why you are doing this, know what motivates each type, listen to the people you talk to and treat them as individuals and you will know when the timing is right and what part of your business will perk their interest.

Did we miss anything? Comment and let us know how you approach people with your network marketing business.

In the five or so years I've been working at Solution X, I've found that the companies who have had less than satisfactory results with their web properties and resources in the past are the companies who never showed how having web tools would be a benefit to their sales force or distributors in the field. Their distributors never saw the point of using the web to convert and retain leads.

There will always be a percentage of sales force that are a little Old School and don't feel they need the Internet and can do just fine without it.

But to be able to tap into that large percentage of people who have not tried network marketing or shy away from MLM because of negative feelings about the industry (through misinformation, previous experiences or other) the web becomes the conduit to break the ice, inform and educate. It's great for people who are natural at marketing using technology but who are apprehensive about holding meetings or selling people face-to-face. This has been our experience to date.

With social networking sites and tools permeating the Internet and truly shrinking our world into a series of online networks, the web becomes an even more viable tool. Businesses and marketers who ignore this trend will be at a disadvantage.

While our systems are built to help users reach and communicate, the end game is to provide our clients with more people who enroll, more people who stick around and more people who will find a gathering place, a sense of community, and a home within the company.

What sets Solution X apart from other web development companies?

Our philosophy that it must be more than just a website. Anyone can build a website. The Solution X team members have extensive backgrounds and experience in network marketing as distributors and owners. Our CEO, Rodger Smith was a 200K Premier in Xango. Co-founder Ken Forrest formed a network marketing company in the mid-90s that was the first to market exclusively on the Internet and was a pioneer of our niche in this industry. We feel like we understand the marketing needs, strengths, weaknesses and the obstacles distributors face. We have designed our systems to help them do what they do more efficiently and, of course, to expand their ability to introduce their products and opportunity to others in a way that is highly duplicable.

Take a look at what else Solution X systems can do to help your company or your team here.

This business is about duplication. It does not matter how skillful or talented you are. It does not matter if you are a salesman. It does not matter how knowledgeable you are or how many academic degrees you have. What does matter is that you leverage the resources available to you as effectively as possible.

There are systems available that provide an incredibly simple process to maximize your effective use of all the resources available to you. A step by step system will ensure your success. The sooner you find or create such a system the faster you will be able to build a stable, lucrative, and growing enterprise.

Within the network of distributors representing your company, there are hundreds of resources at your disposal. There are more being created and refinements being made all the time.

Regardless of the specific resource you choose to use, the key is the application of the principles provided in a step-by-step system.

Find and stick with a system and you will solidify you effective application of the key principles of growing your own business. Check out SolutionX.com to see if one of our systems could work for you.