Jay Abraham: 3 Tips to Becoming a Maven In Your Marketplace

I posted this article about a month ago, and figured it was pretty good, so I'm adding it to my blog. I know, I should have put it here first, but it was one of those "quickie" articles that I cranked out on the first draft, didn't think it was that good, and just let it simmer for a while. But having just completed my Maven Matrix workout, I realized that these tips are actually worth their weight in gold. So here's the re-post of the article:

If you look at the greatest leaders in entrepreneurial sectors they are normally the entrepreneurs and businesses who engineer the maximum quantity, quality and consistency of breakthroughs in marketing, strategy, innovation and management. - Jay Abraham

At Rich Schefren's StrategicProfits Live event he opened the doors for a sneak peek at a few of the comments from the presenters at the event. One such peek was marketing maven Jay Abraham's Q&A session.

In the video, Abraham divulges the top three "must do's" for anyone to become the maven in their marketplace, regardless of industry, product line, or any other factor. Knowing these items is important, but effectively implementing them is critical if one is to build a reputation of expert status in your market niche. In Direct Sales, there are specific examples of how to implement these three tips.

Tip 1: "See things that no one else sees and articulate them"

It sounds complex, and on the surface it may be, but in conjunction with #2, this becomes easy. This isn't about predicting the future as much as it is about being able to identify customer concerns that may not be apparent in the short term. For example, a customer may only want to order a trial size of a product that garners much repeat business. You would be remiss not to share the potential savings of an autoship program for that product.

But it's a deeper issue than that, as well. Pay attention to your company's trend reports. Prepare your customers when their favorites are being discontinued or replaced. Advise them of transitions so they can be ready. Customers will look to you as an expert in your market if you can guide them through changes in ways that bring them farther ahead on the other side of the transition. Have a method of articulating that message to your clients - an ezine, newsletter, phone service, personal or video messaging, etc. Be consistent in the use of that method. For example, as an author, I use articles as my primary method of articulation to my clients. People expect to see my articles, and if I were to phone them, that might throw them completely. Having a consistent message delivered in a consistent way makes it easier for people to establish trust because of a level of predictability.

Tip 2: "Be genuinely concerned about your customers"

Abraham suggests being so deeply concerned about your customers that you establish a concern for their final outcome, not just the sale of the moment. At the core of this is passion for your cause. Don't just say you care. Mean it. And prove it by going beyond the transaction - even beyond the relationship - to the ultimate outcome of the relationship.

I turn away recruits on a daily basis because I don't believe that their best interests (or mine) are being served by signing them into my organization. I tell everyone that I want them to be successful on their terms, not mine. And if I'm not convinced that the timing is right, or that there's a good fit, I'm honest. I can't count the number of times people actually thank me for turning them down. It all comes down to being concerned about their ultimate outcome and helping them make an affirmative buying decision that's in their best interests. Don't be fooled. Booking and recruiting are just as much a buying decision as the sale itself.

Tip 3: "Commit yourself constantly" to innovation.

Abraham points out that "innovation is a misnomer... it can be just bringing greater value to the marketplace that they perceive and desire." Which, in Direct Sales, means being their consultant for life - but being unique enough to draw them to you, rather than chasing after them.

It's also about continually improving every aspect of who you are as a business person and what it means to build your personal brand. Abraham points out that no one could possibly learn everything there is to know about every possible topic. He suggests using the power, knowledge and influence of like-minded individuals to further your development.

"We believe very ardently in creative collaboration. You need mentors, you need mastermind groups. You need brain trusts."

In direct sales, that can be as simple as attending team training meetings, or as complex as a series of training courses or seminars designed to build your skills in a particular area. Some of the more successful direct sales consultants have even studied at Harvard Business School. Wherever your education comes from, it's clear that continuous improvement is a key component to successfully establishing your authority in your market.

It's as if you're saying, "I'm at the top of my game, because I keep learning about what's new, what works, and what's the best choice for my business. - and implementing it."

Follow me.. Where I Go....

...Who I am, and What I know...

Sorry, I couldn't resist singing for a minute.

Just wanted to post a quick note that thanks to a really loud set of instructions, I have finally managed to remove the no-follow code from my blog.

That means that your comment links will be googled and they will count for page rank.

Don't say I never gave ya nothin'!

But I will be vigilant on comments, so please be relevant or don't post. Thanks!

Won't Someone PLEASE Get My Mail?

How's this for strange:

I've been a loyal customer of the post office for years. I think most of us have been, but I have a vested interest in this because several of my family members have served their time - I mean worked dilligently - at the post office for decades. And before I get hatemail, I know being a mail carrier is a thankless job. And I try to meet my mailman at the door every day and tell him "Thank you" because of it.

But Monday's mail carrier takes the cake.

I run a business out of my home, and I "train" all my carriers to expect several packages per day to be waiting for them when they arrive to deliver my daily mail.

Most of the time, there is no problem. My carriers are a delight to work with, and several of the window clerks (like my friend Mark) are just amazing when it comes to delivering superior customer service. Those stories about crazed postal employess do not reflect the quality and character of the people I've had the pleasure of working with in the past decade.

But through some mix up that was apparently my fault (which I still can't figure out), 7 packages that were set out for delivery did NOT get picked up at my home.

Good thing I only live about 4 minutes from the post office - and that my aunt is the delivery supervisor at that location.

At least, I thought it was a good thing

Remember the good old days when you could put the red flag up on your mailbox and the carrier would know there was a pickup? Well, according to my aunt, they now have to CHARGE me for same day pick up of mail parcels. Seems odd, since they've never done it before.

According to the USPS website, I don't have to pay as long as the carrier is picking up as part of their regular routine. As long as they have a delivery, they just pick up whatever's waiting for them and take it on their way.

Not so, says my aunt, who starts telling me about on demand pick-up and the fact that carriers should be charging me for picking up my package.

So my carrier returns to his regularly scheduled route on Tuesday and tells me "don't worry about it, just keep leaving the packages, and I'll pick them up as usual - and don't tell your Aunt."

That puts a big smile on my face, but makes me wonder whether or not I'm breakin' the law.

I mean, I don't want the Federali's coming after me for making my carrier work extra hard.

Yet on the other hand, I'm stymied by the fact that even the supervisors aren't clear about what's procedure, and what's not. And this isn't the first instance of miscommunication in postal regulations.

My mom used to tell two stories: one about media mail, and the other about the flat rate envelope's "one piece of tape" rule.

Media mail is very specifically for books, periodicals and the like. It's an ultra-low rate that makes shipping heavy books more economical. Mom told a story (over and over) about how she bought a 3-wick candle on ebay (weighing in at approximately 10 pounds), and the shipper was only charging $5 for shipping because she was going to send it media rate. USPS reserves the right to open and inspect any media mail shipment, and had that candle been opened, it would have been rejected and returned to the sender.

Priority mail regulations state that the flat rate envelope may not be altered so as to enlarge the envelope. To further restrict the contents, the rules stipulate that one piece of tape may be applied to the seal of the envelope to reinforce it. At my mother's post office, there are sticklers that would reject her parcel if the tape wrapped around any side of the envelope, or if more than one piece of tape was used. They would cite this rule religiously when rejecting her package.

Then came the day my mother got a flat rate envelope from Hawaii. "It had half a roll of tape running around it lengthwise and crosswise, and it was STILL ripped open" according to mom.

In larger companies, it can be difficult to establish and enforce rules across the board, but doing so is an imperative. Either let everyone slide, or get sticklers in every office. Know the rules, communicate those rules to the people that are in charge of enforcing them and make sure they're CLEAR on how to enforce them. I don't mind paying my fair share, but I get a little indignant when no one can tell me clearly what the rules are because then it doesn't seem so fair.

Consistency is the "David" in any "Goliath" company. But even if you're small, it's easy to get lax on communicating consistently.

It's days like this when I think I should just ship via FedEx.

I'll give you $20 if you'll give me $2.50

Let's talk about Chuck E. Cheese for a minute.

I've started affectionately calling him Charles Edward Cheese III lately, just to be silly.

After all, isn't that how all super-rich bluebloods should be addressed?

These people have the best racket in town. And the funny thing is, we LOVE them for it.

I took my son last night, as a reward for being so well-behaved and performing exemplary with his choir at our local children's museum.

I'd tell you that the place gave my sticker shock, but I'm not so shocked anymore.
We've been going there for over 10 years - heck, I even went there as a child with my aunt and cousins. Back then, though, it was called Showbiz Pizza, and the star of the show was a purple gorilla, not a mouse.

And there weren't security guards patrolling the place, but I digress.

I went to the counter, ordered my "small" pizza and the obligatory tokens. I opted for the "deal" where I saved $6.25 because they gave me 29 bonus tokens for buying 80 tokens all at one time.

So I paid $20 for this little cup full of jingly coins. And just to be sure you don't use that cup at the over-priced soda dispenser, they drilled little holes in the bottom.

Classy.

Did I mention a bottle of water was nearly $2? Seriously.

But like I said, we love it. Because there's nothing else quite like it. Our kids love it, and because of that we're willing to pay for it.... and PAY for it.

The idea behind tokens is clever. You're trading value, so you don't really think about how much money you're actually pouring into the machines at this place. The token machines even take credit cards these days.

Ahh, the age of convenience!

So you put a token in, and a little over half of the games will spit out at least one ticket in return. The other half of the games are entertainment rides, pinball machines, or video games - that will take longer to "eat" your token if you've got some skill.

But the attractive nuisances are the games of chance that loom in nearly every corner of the place. The ones where you can drop in a token for a chance to win 50-250 extra tickets.

And the odds of winning the extra tickets are slim. Very slim.

I remember when Skee-ball paid out tickets for every 40 or 50 points you earned. Now, until you hit 450 points, you're lucky if you get 3 or 4 tickets when you play.

And when you go to cash in those tickets, they are only worth about a penny a piece.

Did you just see what happened?

They traded your value down. WAAAAY down. And our kids jump up and down and celebrate!

Because in trading down value, they offer a little bit of entertainment along the way.

And I even tried to just give my kid $20 to go to the "prize" table and pick out some stuff, but he wanted to play "like the other kids".

So my $20 turned into about 270 tickets - or about $2.70.

Plus a little "entertainment" on the side.

But gone are the days of the big stage shows with the anima-tronic characters, or even the big TV's with videos for the kids to watch while they wait for pizza. So the adult entertainment value has REALLY dwindled.

So your marketing lesson? Well, it's two fold today. First, if you can find a way to convert value like Chuck, you're in luck. Creating a perceived value that's higher than your actual cost is what creating a profit is all about, but in this case, not only are you making a profit, you're virtually gouging your clients AND they're saying "thanks, we had a great time, see you soon!"

And before I get cards and letters, I know that there are overhead expenses for a place like that, but I also know that if they're SELLING those prizes, there's already a mark up on them, so to reduce the value even further with tickets only validates my point.

The second lesson is that if you can go the OTHER way and provide even MORE value for your clients, you'll reap an even greater reward. Chuck did this after months of customer complaints regarding the "price" of the games. Now, all single player games only "cost" one token. And they advertise the heck out of that value. So your "money" goes even farther now at Chuck E. Cheese's....

Where a kid can be a kid, and a parent can be broke by the time the pizza arrives at the table.

In Home Party Sales: Assume the Booking

The consistent complaint I hear from home party consultants these days is the desire to increase bookings both at and away from shows.

The economy right now isn't being helpful - especially here in Michigan. Many consultants I know are struggling to get more shows on my calendar. I myself have found that my average number of bookings per show has declined slightly - but my show sales averages are higher this year than they were last year. I'll tell you more about that in another post.

Consultants acknowledge the importance of getting more parties on their calendar, are willing to "do anything" in order to get bookings, yet sometimes it's the simplest things that prevent us from securing those bookings.

Today, I want you to consider how you're asking for bookings.

Choose your words carefully. Do you believe that booking a party with you is the best experience in the world? Or are you like many consultants that approach customers as if they are doing you a favor by hosting a show?

Once you carry yourself as though everyone would want to book from you, your results will improve. It sounds cliche, but it's true. When you know you're the best, people will believe you. Carry yourself with confidence that your party is the best party on the block.

Invite people to book with you. It seems obvious, but make sure you are asking people to book with you. If you leave an invitation open-ended, they just might book with someone else. Tell your guests that you will be inviting them to book with you when they check out. And continue to plant booking seeds throughout your presentation.

Assume that everyone wants to book with you. This doesn't mean that you should skip the invitation! On the contrary, you should do your inviting under the assumption that everyone wants to book a party. Instead of using word choices like "Could you see yourself having a party in the next 30 days?", invite your guests to pick the best day that works for their calendar. Here are some example word choices:

"Thinking of you and your friends, would weekends or weeknights work best for your party?"

"You had such a good time tonight! What day are we going to schedule your party?"

"You were so much fun tonight! I can't wait to give you all the free hostess gifts. Which night will work best for you?"

By assuming the booking, your potential hostess still has a chance to say no, but because you've not verbalized that choice, they are more likely to book. You've made an open invitation in a more appealing way, and you've asserted your level of confidence in your product in a way that isn't pushy.

Above all, keep the guest's best interests in mind. Don't push for a date if they're just not sure. Be firm, however on hostess benefits. If your hostess won't get credit for their booking, let them know. They may decide to move up their party - or they may need to keep it where it's at. Rigid company rules can sometimes break the momentum of bookings at a show. Use your discretion as a consultant to do what's best for the customer AND for you.

The Attitude of Gratitude Pays Big Dividends

I've been trying to "take my mind off things" by reading a book. Mayflower Madam is out of print, and I picked up a copy on eBay the other week. It arrived the day my mom died.

Needless to say it took me a minute to get around to reading it.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the story (it was in the 1980's after all), Sydney Biddle Barrows, well-heeled socialite, built a successful "escort" service in Manhattan - and was busted after about 5 years of serving the "John" Q. Public in style.

Now I haven't finished the book yet, but my first big takeaway was a comment in the early chapters of the book: treat your people with respect - customers, employees, etc. and they will reciprocate.

More to the point, when you treat them with respect and appreciation for how they serve your business, they will be more willing to do anything to make you happy.

I have 3 very recent examples that drive this point home.

After completing a recent in-home party for my company, I mentioned that my grandfather had passed and that I would not likely be available for a few days to tend to the arrangements. The hostess was very understanding - and we got 3 bookings at that party for her.

One of the soon-to-be hostesses called me a few days later to provide me her guest list over the phone. I returned her call and sad that my mother had also passed, and that I would greatly appreciate it if she would just mail the list to me and I would still give her the special offer for getting the list back to me in 3 days' time.

Two days ago, I was out making deliveries to touch base with customers and hostesses, and I apologized for my tardiness in delivering because of the death of my mother. I mentioned that I would be at the funeral the next day, so to call and leave a message if there were any issues.

Yesterday morning, I received a call from that hostess. She said she was "in the neighborhood" and had something for me. When she arrived at my door, she had baked sliced and wrapped some home-made banana bread. I was dumbfounded.

At the church, when we were wrapping up and heading out the door, I walked into the kitchen, where at least 10 volunteers were cleaning up from the dinner held in mom's honor. I wanted to make a point to tell them thank-you, because many of them knew my mom, and while she wasn't always the easiest to get along with, I know they respected her and cared at least enough to give of their time and elbow grease to help comfort and feed her family and friends. Many of them could have been on the other side of the kitchen, sitting with us and telling stories about mom.

As I offered my thanks, one of the grumpiest of the men in the church turned to me and said "You are always welcome here, Lisa." Again, speechless.

Which, if you know me, is virtually impossible.

I'm skipping over a lot of details here, but as I stopped at home to drop off a bouquet of flowers, I checked the mail. In with the bills and usual junk (which, I love, by the way), there was a card from someone I didn't recognize. The would-be hostess that I had asked to mail her guest list had slipped that list inside a sympathy card, with a thoughtful personal note attached.

I've never spoken so few words in a a day in my whole life.

It's unfortunate that it takes an event like a funeral to give you a perspective about what matters - and to whom you matter. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of people - some I barely even know - who came to provide support and encouragement just for me - because I know no one else in my family knew who they were.

We packed that church - which is lucky to have 30-40 people on a Sunday morning. People were parking on the street because there was "no room at the inn" so to speak.

And I am so grateful to each and every one of them. I'm sure I didn't say hello to everyone, but I am truly blessed to know that I and my family matter to so many people. I am so grateful for all the kind words, donations, and thoughtful gifts.

I didn't deserve any of it. I am infinitely grateful for it.

So our marketing lesson (not to be disrespectful of my mom's passing, but I needed to share this while it was still fresh) is this:

Give freely of yourself - to your customers, clients, employees. Make them feel respected and equal - and treat them like friends. The rewards will come back to you ten times over. I've said it before, but it's true: friendliness is the root of all good things. The more friendly you are, the more genuine respect and appreciation you will garner.

You can't do any better than that. It takes time, but all things worth doing are worth doing well.

Be on the lookout for some big changes in the coming months, as I start assessing what's important to me in light of these recent events.

When it rains it pours

For those of you that have been sending cards flowers and well-wishes at the news of my grandfather's death, many many thanks.

But you know what they say, when it rains, it pours.

Grandpa's funeral was yesterday and it was lovely as far as funerals go.

We adjourned to my mom's house, my sister, my oldest son and I. He wanetd to spend the night at my mom's to "keep her company".

She died early this morning in her sleep. My son found her.

There's probably a marketing lesson in this, too. but for now, I'm just heartbroken and sad for my little boy who loved his grandma dearly. He tried to be very brave today, and he was the most amazing kid I've ever seen him be.

So I guess the lesson here is that when things are at their worst, you really CAN pull it together and make something of a sour situation. You have to focus even harder and maybe even bite back a tear or two, but it's still very possible.

As an aside, I know I haven't had time to update teh sale page for Home Party Solution, so yeah, you can still get the discount, just don't expect much in the way of service right now. I have a TON of things going on at home.

Two Funerals in one week can really take a lot out of ya.

I'm really not trying to be flippant here. I miss my mom fiercely. I'm a list-maker and that's how I deal with death. All that grieving and crying will happen some time next week, after all the hubub and family have faded away and there's nothing left to do but sit alone with my feelings and figure out what happened.

So your continued prayers for my son especially are appreciated. She was the only grandparent that was actively involved in his life, and now that she's gone, there's a big space that can't be filled with anything but God.

So do me a favor, call your mom and tell her you love her. You just never know when and how it will all end.

Building on a Budget: Mike Dillard's New Book Falls Short for Newbies

I think I was probably the first girl on the block to order my copy of Mike Dillard's new book, Builiding on a Budget.

It wasn't at all what I expected.

That's both a good thing and a bad thing.

Building on a Budget, for starters, claims to be able to help any network marketer build their internet presence and grow their down line for less than $500. For those of you that have purchased or read about my new book, Home Party Solution, you'll realize that our objective is very similar.

How we achieve that objective is VERY dissimilar.

At first, I thought Mike was nuts, seriously. One of the methods he suggests is borderline "black hat", and VERY time consuming - posting ads daily on a particular free online service. It must work because I've seen several people on his personal sales team using those techniques.

As for me and my house? I don't have time to be posting ads every day - nor do I think a newbie should be spending every waking moment posting ads - or paying someone to do it for them. If it works for Mike, then more power to him, but I think a more long-term approach yields comparable results.

And I was shocked when I found out that Mike's book doesn't event talk about it!

Honestly, I pushed the release date of Home Party Solution so I wouldn't have to compete with Dillard's Building on a Budget. Mostly because I thought my book would pale in comparison as far as the scope of information provided. I mean, Mike Dillard's been an attraction marketing "guru" for over a decade now, and I've only come onto the scene recently.

And when you look at my book compared to his, you're going to get more hand on training, more in-depth step-by-step hand holding, and more FREE resources than Mike offers in the book.

Mike DOES offer a members area, but at this time, it's not functional, so who's to say what all will be in there later?

One thing that Mike DOES touch on that I don't is the power of video on your capture pages. But frankly, if you don't know what a capture page is, I think it's premature to start slapping up video.

Plus, half of his recommended $500 budget is for video and editing equipment. I don't think that's a necessary setup if you're just getting started. Seriously not recommended if all you have is $500 to get going!

I did like some of his ideas, and I'm not asking for a refund. I am canceling my subscription to the inner circle magazine that came along with it. It's a recurring monthly charge for what appears to be content that is regurgitated from the magnetic sponsoring community website. No thanks. I'll save my pennies.

So should you.
Frankly, if you're a brand new beginner, some of these ideas are too advanced. I would call Building on a Budget an intermediate level book. You have to understand concepts like Autoresponder and capture page before you even start this book.

If you like the ideas behind Mike Dillard's work, here's my recommended reading order:

Start with Magnetic Sponsoring. It's a great overview of what attraction marketing is all about, without getting too technical.

Then look at Building on a budget. This is an intermediate level business building book for network marketers using the internet.

But if you're totally clueless, I strongly suggest reading my book or another primer before you go there.

Birth, Death ...and Taxes

This has been an insanely messed up week. My tax refund arrived, my sister turned 8 (she's a leap year baby, so she's been on the planet for 32 "earth" years), and my grandfather died.

I've been trying to write a pithy piece on death and taxes, but I keep coming up short. Besides, how would that translate into a great learning bit for network marketing?

"The Show Must Go On" is about as close as I can get.

Call it cold and heartless, but business - and life - carry on after you die. It's true. There are people to see, proposals to make, deals to close and customers to satisfy. Just because your grandfather passes into the next incarnation doesn't mean the rest of the world stops to mourn with you.

Just to be clear, I'm not bitter. I was, however very apologetic to my hostess on Saturday for being 30 minutes late.

I hate being late. I'm sure if God sent me a memo that my death was scheduled for 7:42pm, I'd try to be there at 7:40, just to be safe.

And I'm not trying to affront my grandfather's death. I am deeply saddened by the loss of such a great man. His 85th birthday was this month, and he outlived a daughter, his wife, MY dad, a couple of his sisters, and two wonderful women that he met after my grandma passed away.

So this is VERY personal for me.

When people in my life die, I get ultra organized. I start "nesting" like pregnant women do. Trying to "prepare" things and get places "ready". I make lists.

Something about checking off to-do items makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something. Even though I know that all the minutia really don't matter in the grand scheme of life.

So I plan to pick up my sister and mom at the airport at 10pm, but when I arrive, the board says the plane is scheduled to arrive at 10am. So I head home and call my sister. She tells me she is AT the airport looking for me. So I head back to the airport, and load 'em up to bring 'em home. But first, we stop for food.

We arrive at a local coney island that prominently displays a sign:

After 9pm, seating is limited to 1 hour.

Pardon me? I'm hungry, just plunked down $30 to feed the three of us (and I'm thinking about dessert), and you're trying to kick me out the door in an hour or less? What if it takes the server 15 minutes to even take our order? What if she doesn't bring the bill? Should we just get up and leave?

Where did good old fashioned customer service go? Instead of dealing with the occasional vagrant that might order a cup of coffee and hang out all night, you post a rude sign scribbled in chicken scratch for customers to decipher? Hmph.

I appreciate signs. Really, I do. But I was running on no sleep, and I had lost my internal dialogue - and did I mention my grampa just died, too?

You should be giving me a free cup of coffee, dangit!

Okay, maybe not, but a little compassion would be nice.

I did manage to eek out a smile from my sister - after all it was her birthday. So I got a chance to sing to her before the clock struck twelve.

Then we went out for dinner - the whole family - to kind of commiserate and reminisce and celebrate my sister's birthday.

Our server was an angel sent from God - despite our rambunctious kids (that includes my 50 year old aunt). She was patient when we couldn't decide what to order, tolerant when we kept moving "the coat chair" into the aisle, and cooperative when I asked her about humiliating my sister with a birthday announcement in the middle of the restaurant.

She didn't know we were miserable. She didn't care. She just wanted us to have the best possible experience while under her care.

That's your marketing lesson. And it continues.
Today, we went for the family viewing. I arrived a bit earlier than the rest of the family because the funeral home is conveniently located across the street from my church.

Plus, I hate being late.

So my husband, the kids and I approached the greeter who escorted us to a waiting area. This funeral home was originally an old farm house, and I have an affinity for old houses. So as I was admiring the craftsmanship, and killing time, the greeter offered us a short "private tour" of the restricted areas of the old homestead. I was taken aback by the detailed woodwork and beautiful turn of the century detailing in the doorknobs and trim. My son was excited to be getting a "sneak peek" of places where people don't usually go, and my husband was just glad that everyone was smiling and not crying.

Is it okay to tip a greeter? This funeral home is always top-notch. My grandmother and great grandmother were both viewed at this mortuary, and every time we are treated like old friends.

I've said it before, and it bears repeating: how friendly are you?

Death is a horrible prospect for the people left behind, and most funeral homes are trained in sensitivity and decorum. But giving the tour was an extra touch that went a long way to occupying a couple of squirmy, bored children in an otherwise tense waiting game.

I really felt like someone gave a care that we were there. They could have just let us sit in the waiting area, bouncing on the couches and ogling the old antiques. Instead, they provided an extra touch that made us feel more at home.

What do you do to provide exemplary service to your customers. In network marketing, there's always another distributor around the corner waiting to service your clients - or recruit your prospects. What are you doing to protect your turf?

The more friends you make, the better off you'll be - in business, life and death.