Affiliate since: 02/16/2015, Power Rank: 99999999

While on a tropical vacation, I tried to talk my wife into trying scuba diving but she flatly refused. So I joined some scuba charters by myself. I started socializing in the evening with the scuba divers I was spending my days with and my wife joined me for that - but she felt somewhat left out of the conversation that was mostly about scuba diving. Within a few days my wife had done a complete 180 turnabout and now she WANTED to scuba dive too.

The above paragraph has nothing to do with the question asked and yet it has everything to do with it too. The VERY best way to promote SFI is actually to let SFI promote itself. Scuba really promoted itself to my wife when I couldn't talk her into it.

So how do set up that scenario where SFI can shine for you? That is the more relevant question.

Let's slightly modify the wording of your question here "...who have no experience with online business - YET?" Understand that they don't have experience - YET - because nothing has yet drawn them into wanting to gain the experience. Allow your prospect the opportunity to see what you are doing and let your infectious pleasure at how SFI is fulfilling your dreams be the lure.

That should be all it takes because the SFI program is a much better salesman than you or I will ever be. :-)
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While on a tropical vacation, I tried to talk my wife into trying scuba diving but she flatly refused. So I joined some scuba charters by myself. I started socializing in the evening with the scuba divers I was spending my days with and my wife joined me for that - but she felt somewhat left out of the conversation that was mostly about scuba diving. Within a few days my wife had done a complete 180 turnabout and now she WANTED to scuba dive too.

The above paragraph has nothing to do
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Affiliate since: 02/16/2015, Power Rank: 99999999

If I was asked? Didn't you just ask me? <Smile>

So I have been asked and here is what I have to say. Certainly I like many thinks about SFI. I like the fact that Gery is a real 'hands on' person with respect to steering the company forward, I like the training and marketing materials, I like the forum and the Ask SC features and I like many other of the same things you like/love

BUT what I really love is the fact that SFI is the REAL DEAL.

I've been on the Internet almost since before the Internet. I've see and been involved with a whole range of programs that promised the moon but delivered mainly moonshine sprinkled liberally with hype. SFI doesn't offer anything that it can't deliver. SFI promises success in a fairly quiet voice but this is grossly understated because the success is actually a guaranteed thing.

You need to understand this one salient point - The ONLY way to fail at SFI is to quit before you achieve the success that would've certainly come.

How can this success be so inevitable? It is because of duplication and the built in quality of the SFI platform/program. First you have check in everyday to get the points on your todo list. You also need to spread the SFI word and make an honest effort at being successful at it. When you find that magical a single down line member that duplicates, then you have won the success that you waited for.

That is really what I love about SFI. I love the inevitable fact that my perseverance and my efforts WILL be rewarded in the end.
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If I was asked? Didn't you just ask me? <Smile>

So I have been asked and here is what I have to say. Certainly I like many thinks about SFI. I like the fact that Gery is a real 'hands on' person with respect to steering the company forward, I like the training and marketing materials, I like the forum and the Ask SC features and I like many other of the same things you like/love

BUT what I really love is the fact that SFI is the REAL DEAL.

I've been
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Affiliate since: 02/16/2015, Power Rank: 99999999

There is a reason why hindsight is 20/20 and don't we all see it clearly in our rearview mirrors.

Fortunately, I don't think I've veered too far off of a fairly optimum track. I'm qualified for E365 but I got a slow start there getting disqualified in round one. I'm very glad there was an option for getting a second chance. I just needed to achieve the rank of Bronze Team Leader to get it. Staying in E365 to the finals is important because of the possible prizes but mostly for the image of yourself you present on your leadership page - (Lead by Example)

I haven't been in SFI long enough to have gone too far down the wrong roads but I know I haven't concentrated hard enough on A) getting sales B) getting good affiliates C) setting up some ECA.

I set up a standing order for enough PSA's togo to get and keep my fast track. Again I suggest that having the fast Track badge sets a good example for my affiliates. However, if I had it to do over again, I would load up on T-Points instead because they are cheaper and the PSA's togo I've gotten so far have been 100% tire-kickers.


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There is a reason why hindsight is 20/20 and don't we all see it clearly in our rearview mirrors.

Fortunately, I don't think I've veered too far off of a fairly optimum track. I'm qualified for E365 but I got a slow start there getting disqualified in round one. I'm very glad there was an option for getting a second chance. I just needed to achieve the rank of Bronze Team Leader to get it. Staying in E365 to the finals is important because of the possible prizes but mostly for the
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Affiliate since: 02/16/2015, Power Rank: 99999999

Olufolake;

The answer to this puzzle is both some completely simple and yet infinitely complicated at the same time. The simple part is that to generate sales, you need to have your gateways seen by as many targeted people as possible.

The complex part involves getting the best bang for your buck and putting your gateway pages in front of the right eyes at exactly the right time.

This is a really big topic so I'll bring it down to size and use only Traffic Exchange hits as an example. To start with you want to have a good understanding of exactly who you are advertising to. Most of the people at a TE site are business promoters that are looking to sell you something too. So think about what they might want and what nobody else is offering them.

Surf around at a selection of traffic exchange sites to get a feel for who is advertising and what they are selling. SFI is a popular program so note which gateways other SFI members are using. You want to be unique and you want to be able to satisfy a need. You want to tailor your pitch to fit the potential demand that you predict is there.

Suppose you see that while many are touting memberships in bux programs and other TE sites, you see that some are actually offering products for sale. Since the sellers of the TE's and Bux programs, including SFI, are likely at saturation, you might advertise the ECA gateway instead. Perhaps you might put in an intermediate step by advertising a your blog post that praises the hundreds of thousands strong sales force that ECA can put on a seller's team - and link that post to the ECA gateway. ***A splash page or gateway will convert MUCH better if it is presold before the buyer sees it.***

As I mentioned earlier, this is a huge topic that I could expand on for days! I hope with this I've given you a good general gist to begin from.


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Olufolake;

The answer to this puzzle is both some completely simple and yet infinitely complicated at the same time. The simple part is that to generate sales, you need to have your gateways seen by as many targeted people as possible.

The complex part involves getting the best bang for your buck and putting your gateway pages in front of the right eyes at exactly the right time.

This is a really big topic so I'll bring it down to size and use only Traffic Exchange
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Affiliate since: 02/16/2015, Power Rank: 99999999

Hi Geoffrey

You've asked an interesting question here and I suppose I'm one of the ones best qualified to answer because I've seen and often participated in just about all the others. SFI has them all beat by a country mile and that's why I've pulled out of just about everything else to devote my efforts completely with SFI. Some say 'don't put all your eggs in one basket' but I see SFI as a basket where I can place a lot of eggs without much worry.

"How does SFI compare to other online businesses?"

Many online business are flash in a pan. They show up and make a splash on the launch and then they often seem to fade into obscurity. SFI has stood the test of time on the web by being a growing concern for 17 years. I think that online years compare to bricks and mortar years nearly like dog years relate to human ones and 17x7 over a century. :-)

Online business also tend to concentrate on only one thing at a time. The exceptions like Google, Yahoo and SFI have become diverse because they only added new services after the other(s) were doing well. Now SFI is a number of excellent goodies like pricebenders, tripleclicks, eager zebra, PPA, and ECA rolled together. Add to that the vast assortment of commissionable items and you have a program that you can do almost anything and everything with.

So to answer your question in one final sentence I would have to say - "No other business can compare online to SFI because SFI beats them all the rest, hands down".
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Hi Geoffrey

You've asked an interesting question here and I suppose I'm one of the ones best qualified to answer because I've seen and often participated in just about all the others. SFI has them all beat by a country mile and that's why I've pulled out of just about everything else to devote my efforts completely with SFI. Some say 'don't put all your eggs in one basket' but I see SFI as a basket where I can place a lot of eggs without much worry.

"How does SFI compare
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Affiliate since: 02/16/2015, Power Rank: 99999999

By the very nature of the ECA program, you can't help but approach prospective clients differently. The ones in your geographic area can be contacted and dealt with on a face-2-face basis while others farther away must be contacted by phone or email. The customs in particular regions will also dictate how you deal with people.

Affiliate since: 02/16/2015, Power Rank: 99999999

Dzul;

I'll list the most effective ways to communicate in descending order according to my opinion and my experience.

1. Face to face in person - Despite the many advances in technology, very best communication will always be standing directly in front of the person you're talking to one-to-one. This in person manner will allow for the direct contact of a handshake and even body language can be read in both directions.

Tip - Meeting your affiliate in person will cement a bond between you as friends. It will build better rapport if you buy them a coffee. Handing them a gift card will say even more than an online gift certificate.

2. Face to face by skype, facetime or other video teleconferencing program - Seeing a person on the other end of the conversation lads tremendously to the perception of honesty and intimacy over simply talking on the telephone.

Tip - Have some samples or visual promotional material close at hand so you can easily pick them up and show them for better effect.

3. Telephone - Almost everyone can speak faster than they can type so the telephone is better than even instant messaging or chat. This would be especially important if you're trying to help your affiliate to solve a problem or to perform some complex task. The combination of telephone and chat is truly powerful.

Tip - There are programs through the Internet where you can get long-distance rates at a fraction of the cost of your local carrier.

4. Chat or Instant Messenger - Questions and answers can come in real time. Links can be passed back and forth. I find a chat between myself and an affiliate is very helpful.

Tip - Keep a note of the times when you see the green dot showing your affiliate is generally online. Then when you wish to chat with that person, you'll know when to expect them.

5. Team Mail or SFI E-Cards - Team mail would be used especially when you anticipate some reply.

Tip - Everyone likes to get encouragement or some recognition from time to time. Send out the occasional E-Card to show your support and just that you care.

6. Email to the affiliate's address - This is the most reliable way to contact a member of your downline and it's the best avenue when trying to wake up an inactive affiliate.

Tip - When sending emails to a number of affiliates, DON'T do it by bulk because all the email addresses will be sent to each recipient and you've just compromised someone's privacy.

Than you Dzul for your question. I've enjoyed providing my answer for it.

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Dzul;

I'll list the most effective ways to communicate in descending order according to my opinion and my experience.

1. Face to face in person - Despite the many advances in technology, very best communication will always be standing directly in front of the person you're talking to one-to-one. This in person manner will allow for the direct contact of a handshake and even body language can be read in both directions.

Tip - Meeting your affiliate in person will
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Affiliate since: 02/16/2015, Power Rank: 99999999

Ana;

There are numerous ways of attracting younger people but your question here was to describe the best strategy so I will limit this answer to just one. I believe the number one strategy is to appeal to their long term financially independant situation.

Pose your proposition to the younger person as if you're describing a retirement package for their employment. When a person is in their 20's and early 30's, the prospect of retirement seems to be a very long time away. Similarly the objective of graduating high school seems like eons away when a child is only in grade 2 or 3. Basically, your pitch to the younger person is that SFI can drastically cut the number of years a person has to wait for their golden years.

Instead of having to toil away for several decades while waiting for retirement age to retire, they can quit much sooner. And they will retire with a healthy and growing income instead of a minimalist or fixed retirement allowance. Also, the younger person will have much longer to savor their financial independence. They could have full financial freedom for half a lifetime or more.

I personally look back upon my life and I think that maybe the distance behind is a fair bit longer than the path ahead seems to be. I recall having people try to council me on saving for a time in the distant future when I would want and need it more. I didn't listen and I spent too much on pleasures that didn't last.

But SFI is not really like that so there is no reason for the young prospect to refuse. They don't have to sacrifice the present for the sake of the future. SFI can simply give them a steadily growing second income that can turn into their primary or only source of revenue whenever they are ready.

I hope this has helped. I actually believe I could've convinced my younger self - or maybe not - I was pretty head strong back then.
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Ana;

There are numerous ways of attracting younger people but your question here was to describe the best strategy so I will limit this answer to just one. I believe the number one strategy is to appeal to their long term financially independant situation.

Pose your proposition to the younger person as if you're describing a retirement package for their employment. When a person is in their 20's and early 30's, the prospect of retirement seems to be a very long time away.
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Affiliate since: 02/16/2015, Power Rank: 99999999

Zoran;

You can certainly be successful without investing any money. That is one of SFI's founding principles and I'm not sure how many times I've heard Gery Carson say the same thing in the forum. To achieve success without investing money though, you have to be willing to spend something even more valuable than cash and that is your time.

Investing money just makes becoming successful quicker but the action and thoughts you put in are much more important towards your advancement that the money is. I suggest in fact that the people who invest money but ultimately fail at SFI do not succeed because they were unwilling or unable to sufficiently invest their time and efforts.

I hope that sufficiently addresses the first part of your query. Here is the second.

There are many methods you can use to be successful that don't require money. You can find these listed under your marketing center tab - https://www.sfimg.com/Resources/MarketingCenter?form=MarketingMethods

This is actually one of those occasions where it's easier to say what you can't do. Without the money to invest, you can't pay for advertising, you can't buy affiliates and you are unable to supply monetary perks like gift cards. Do you suppose those are absolutely critical to your business? I say they are not.

1. You can't buy advertizing in the form of pay per click, pay per impression or even rent spaces for ad placements but you CAN spread your business message with word of mouth and there are innumerable spots where free advertising can be obtained. Just putting your gateway link is a form of word of mouth advertising and word of mouth is the MOST EFFECTIVE advertising of all.

2. You can't buy PSA's to go to CSA's to go without spending money but those require your time to cultivate them too and if you don't bring those purchased affiliates along then they are just wasted anyways. Are you understanding now why I suggest that your time is worth more than your money is anyways?

3. You also can't supply perks or monetary incentives like gift cards, complementary ad coop inclusion or even T-credits without spending on them first. Those really aren't the deal breaker towards your success. In lieu of monetary rewards or a place on an s-builder, you can offer better and more well researched advice instead. Hey. Be a super-supportive sponsor for your affiliates and maybe some will give you a gift card back in a show of appreciation.

But when you begin having your success in SFI through your determination and dedication, then you will have the money that has come in reward for your efforts.

Cheers and best of fortune with your business,



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Zoran;

You can certainly be successful without investing any money. That is one of SFI's founding principles and I'm not sure how many times I've heard Gery Carson say the same thing in the forum. To achieve success without investing money though, you have to be willing to spend something even more valuable than cash and that is your time.

Investing money just makes becoming successful quicker but the action and thoughts you put in are much more important towards your advancement
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Affiliate since: 02/16/2015, Power Rank: 99999999

Jithender;

Others likely have different strategies and I'm looking forward to reading some other thoughts. This is the way I do it.

Firstly I should say that for the past few months I have had a standing order to buy 50 PSA from proprofit the ECA here at Tripleclicks. http://www.tripleclicks.com/detail?item=408585 This has given me a well-stocked genealogy to draw from.

From these PSA, I watch for the most promising ones and besides my own sponsoring help, I submit their contact information to the prosperman video follow-up series. When a few PSA start performing, I will reassign my inactive PSA from his/her language/regional group over to them.

The thoughts behind this strategy were recently discussed in the SFI news.
http://news.sfimg.com/2015/05/20/did-you-know-a-potentially-easy-way-to-awaken-sleeping-affiliates/

Anyways, this is what I think is best and I hope I've given you some helpful ideas.
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Jithender;

Others likely have different strategies and I'm looking forward to reading some other thoughts. This is the way I do it.

Firstly I should say that for the past few months I have had a standing order to buy 50 PSA from proprofit the ECA here at Tripleclicks. http://www.tripleclicks.com/detail?item=408585 This has given me a well-stocked genealogy to draw from.

From these PSA, I watch for the most promising ones and besides my own sponsoring help, I submit
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