To some extent, our world has lost trust. At a time when people have serious reservations about business, when they are shaken by the misuse of people’s trust and poor ethics in business and government, we tend to go back to the basics. That’s what network marketing is all about. The microcosmic essence of network marketing is trust, built one person at a time; once you have established trust, then the geometric progression takes over.

—Nido Qubein, president High Point University, North Carolina

My friend Jeff Olson was the the key note speaker at this year's DSA convention, something he has had the honor of doing several times before. He certainly has the credentials. He built some of the largest organizations in network marketing history, rising to the top of several companies on multiple continents. He is also credited with creating more millionaires than anyone in the industry.

Jeff was the CEO of two network marketing companies, one of which he started from scratch. And his book, "The Slight Edge," was an instant classic when it was published a couple of years ago.

The book's premise is that it doesn't take huge effort to create success, it is the little things, done consistently over time. The book isn't specifically about network marketing, but it's principles are a blueprint for our systems-driven business models.

Here is Jeff, in 1995, with a powerful story illustrating how the choices we make moment to moment, day to day, affect us over our lifetime. It is a great representation of "The Slight Edge".

If I could recommend only one book on the keys to success, it would be "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. It is a classic, a masterpiece of simple, effective advice for getting people to like you.

Mr. Carnegie's second of six keys is this:

"SMILE"

When we smile, there is a chemical reaction in our brains that makes us good. Try it! Even if you don't feel like smiling right now, do it anyway and take note of how it makes you feel.

When we smile at people, they tend to smile back at us. It is a natural human reaction. Our smile says "I like you" and people like people who like them, so they smile back. And they feel good when they do, and associate that feeling with their perception of you.

The more you smile, the better you feel and the more people will like you. This is clear. So why is it that people don't smile more often? One reason is they don't like their teeth. They may be discolored or crooked or there may be gaps or missing teeth. If your teeth need work or aren't as white as they used to be, it's hurting your business and probably your social life, too. Get them fixed, make them whiter, and SMILE!

In network marketing, surveys show that the number one reason a distributor signs up with their particular sponsor was because they "liked them." People do business with people they know, like and trust.

In the cold market (people who don't know you), your objective shouldn't be merely to get information into the hands of your prospects, it should be to build a relationship with them. Get to know your prospects and help them get to know you. A great way to do that is by putting up a personal web site.

Don't panic. A new web site builder, weebly.com, makes it incredibly easy. In fact, with no experience whatsoever, you could have your own web site up and running in a matter of minutes. And it's free (although they recently introduced an upgraded service.)

Weebly gives you

• A free web site (no advertising)
• Free hosting
• Easy as pie web site builder and designer
• A free Blog
• Templates you can use to be online today!

There are other choices. Google has sites.google.com which allows you to do the same thing. You could also set up a free blog at blogger.com or wordpress.com.

These services require no technical knowledge whatsoever. You can quickly and easily create a site that introduces YOU. Of course you can add information about your company and business opportunity and links to your company web site, but the focus of your personal web site should be on you and your story.

You should do this even if you're brand new in your business. Your rank doesn't matter. The purpose of the site is not to impress people with how successful you are, it is to allow them to get to know you.

• Tell your story: why you started with your business, what you want to accomplish, your "why"
• Talk about your family and your life, your hobbies and interests.
• Post photos of your children, vacations (or vacations you would like to take)
• Talk about charities you work with, or want to; what matters to you
• Make your personal web site just that, personal

Your personal web site will allow your prospects to know the person they are dealing with. It's the first step towards building a relationship with your (future) customers and business partners.

Go to weebly.com or sites.google.com or blogger.com or wordpress.com and set up a free account. Start with a one page web site. Your name and contact information, your photo, a link to your company web site, and one or two paragraphs about you. You can add more later, if you want. But put something up today so that the next time you speak with a prospect, you can send them to your personal web site to find out who you are.

Network marketing for smart people basically means treating your business like a real business. I've posted an article by that title in the article section of this web site.

It's unfortunate, but most people don't treat their business like a business. After all, most people have never been in a business and don't know what it means to do so. That's why we sometimes tell new people to "treat it like a job". They understand what that means–show up every day, get your work done, get help if you need it, and so on.

Failure to treat one's business like a business leads to high attrition rates, rampant discouragement and blame, and the media saying things like, "network marketing is a scam" or "nobody makes money in network marketing". No, network marketing is not a scam (although there are scams in network marketing), and most people don't make money because they don't treat their business like a business.

Take a look at some headlines I recently saw in a business opportunity magazine:

"$15,000 a month. Just mail the 2 letters I give you!!!"

"TOO DAMN EASY!"

"We do 90% of the work. You collect the cash."

"Ground floor opportunity. Get in now, spots are filling fast!"

"We take all prospect calls. We answer all questions. We make all follow-up calls. We close all the sales. We ship all the products. We send you the paychecks."

Do these sound like "real" businesses to you? Do you truly believe that you can make money in a business where you don't have to do any work or you just mail out a couple of letters?

I don't think you do. You wouldn't be reading this blog if you did. But many people do believe it. That, or they get so caught up in their desire for easy riches they act like drunken soldiers on shore leave–they just can't help themselves.

Every day, people start businesses representing companies that make these kinds of assertions. But not just network marketing businesses. Variations of these kinds of promises abound throughout the world of business opportunities. Google "business opportunities" or "home based business" or "internet business" and you'll see so much garbage, it's a wonder anyone ever finds a legitimate business, and no surprise that network marketing is so maligned.

Treating it like a business starts with doing one's homework and using some common sense. It would be nice, however, if common sense were a little more common.

"Network marketing for smart people" means exactly what it says. If you are intelligent and want to be the best you can be in network marketing, you've come to the right place.

This is a thinking person's web site, a place to come when you "want to know".

But it's also for people who, while they may not think of themselves as particularly intelligent in an academic sense, want to go about building their network marketing business in an intelligent manner. If that's you, then you too have come to the right place.

We all want the same things. We all want to be successful and we want to do it as quickly as possible. We want to build residual income that lasts for a lifetime, and we want to have fun in the process (although we all define "fun" differently). We are not afraid of hard work but we're also looking for anything that can give us an edge.

I've been accused (ask my wife) of thinking too much. I guess I have to plead guilty. I analyze things, sometimes ad nauseum, and I am something of a perfectionist. Twenty years of arguing for a living might have something to do with it. But I have done well in my network marketing business despite my ways or, as I like to think, because of them.

So, whatever your style of learning or method of operation, you are welcome here.

I've arranged this web site so that longer articles are in their own section, while shorter, more timely posts are in the blog, arranged by date. This is the first post.

To read the articles, click on the "Articles" tab and then click on one. To learn more about me, start with the first one, Why I started a network marketing business. You can also read my "About" page.

You can subscribe to this blog via RSS, and to my newsletter, The Ward Report, through the subscription box on any page or here. You'll get a gift when you do.

I look forward to hearing from you. I haven't decided what I will do about comments, but you can always reach me this way.

All the best,

David