Affiliate since: 02/05/2013, Power Rank: 359

There are two SFI’s Rules of Success that pertain directly to this question:
Rule #4 – Work with the Workers
Rule # 19 – Some will, some won’t. So what?! Someone’s waiting! Next!

Every member of SFI who has a downline runs the risk of having inactive affiliates “who never do anything.” I have PSA and CSA who never logged in after signing up, despite a welcome letter and multiple attempts to connect them in other ways during the first months. Some join SFI because they want the opportunity SFI has to offer, while others were simply “tire kickers” (just looking).

The best we can do is work with the workers and not use up our time trying to get the inactive to do the work. The choice is theirs. We need to respect others choices, whether we agree with them or not. This includes those who were active and choose to stop SFI. We do not know the circumstances which led to their decisions, unless they tell us. All we can do is encourage them to come back, stay in touch with the weekly team mail and move on.

Some have answered do not waste any time on the inactive. Others say continue trying. I came to my own conclusion: send out weekly team mail to all on my genealogy list – active and inactive. I know the team mails are received through SFI’s mail system and in our personal emails. If the affiliates’ personal emails are accurate they will receive the emails. I did my part, now it is up to the affiliates. Some will read, some won’t read. Some will do, some won’t act. I cannot control their actions. I only control my actions/reactions. So, I continue to work with those who want my assistance and I move on to the next person who wants to work with the opportunity SFI provides for us.

This may seem harsh, yet the reality is our own time is precious. If we only worry about the inactive, we are using up our precious time which can be used in other productive ways. Do not be discouraged! As the SFI’s Rules of Success says work with the workers and move on.
less

There are two SFI’s Rules of Success that pertain directly to this question:
Rule #4 – Work with the Workers
Rule # 19 – Some will, some won’t. So what?! Someone’s waiting! Next!

Every member of SFI who has a downline runs the risk of having inactive affiliates “who never do anything.” I have PSA and CSA who never logged in after signing up, despite a welcome letter and multiple attempts to connect them in other ways during the first months. Some
...more

Affiliate since: 02/05/2013, Power Rank: 359

Simply put the best way to get more VersaPoints is build your team. However, there is more to this then simply stating "build your team." When you have an active downline, you will earn more VP than simply logging in daily to review the tabs, play games and check off the basic suggested to-do list each day to earn VP.

Review your VersaPoints (VP) Ledger, which tells us which VP we earned and what VP we still can earn. A condensed version of our VP Ledger is under the To-Do List tab on our home page. However, do not focus solely on earning VP each month, but on how to grow your business.

The VP Ledger is a guide to help us do steps which will grow our business. If we build our downline and have active Personal Sponsored Affiliates (PSA), who maintain a level of EA2 and above, the VP points we earn surpasses the daily review of our home page tabs. As an example, we earn around 10-12 VP each day by logging in and reviewing the home page tabs, depending on what we review. This earns us around 300+ VP each month if we are faithful at logging in daily. Compare this to earning 100 VP for each PSA who earns the EA2 rank for the month. Say you have 5 active PSA that would be 500 VP for the month.

So, the best way to get more VersaPoints is build your team (downline). Work with the active affiliates and do the other daily task along with building your downline. View your VP Ledger as a guide of what task you need to do to help grow your business and you will earn the VP you desire.


less

Simply put the best way to get more VersaPoints is build your team. However, there is more to this then simply stating "build your team." When you have an active downline, you will earn more VP than simply logging in daily to review the tabs, play games and check off the basic suggested to-do list each day to earn VP.

Review your VersaPoints (VP) Ledger, which tells us which VP we earned and what VP we still can earn. A condensed version of our VP Ledger is under the To-Do
...more

Affiliate since: 02/05/2013, Power Rank: 359

SFI reminds affiliates who do not have a Standing Order that they should get one. On the alert page, SFI writes a notice about the benefit of having a Standing Order. When affiliates without a Standing Order go to the TripleClicks tab on the homepage, at the very top there is a reminder the affiliate does not have a Standing Order, along with an explanation of the benefits of having a Standing Order. My opinion is SFI already does a good job at pressuring affiliates in regards of setting up a Standing Order.

The best we can do as sponsors is to provide them with information of Standing Orders. Educate them about the benefits of setting up a Standing Order, but most important, lead by example and have a Standing Order ourselves. Then we need to leave the decision to them and respect their decision.

Individual circumstances determines whether an affiliate can set up a Standing Order. Some affiliates do not have the financial means to sustain a Standing Order on a monthly basis. This may be the reason they have not set up their Standing Order. Other affiliates might have set up a Standing Order, but due to financial struggles had to cancel their Standing Order.

So, it is a fine line we walk in trying to teach our downline of the benefit of having a Standing Order. We don't have to convince them of the benefits. We simply have to provide them with the information, be an example and leave them to their decision.


less

SFI reminds affiliates who do not have a Standing Order that they should get one. On the alert page, SFI writes a notice about the benefit of having a Standing Order. When affiliates without a Standing Order go to the TripleClicks tab on the homepage, at the very top there is a reminder the affiliate does not have a Standing Order, along with an explanation of the benefits of having a Standing Order. My opinion is SFI already does a good job at pressuring affiliates in regards of setting up a
...more

Affiliate since: 02/05/2013, Power Rank: 359

The main investment a new affiliate or any affiliate needs to make in order to succeed in SFI is time. It takes time to log in daily and review the home page tabs. It takes time to learn we can work with SFI to build our own business as an affiliate. It takes time to learn the skills which can help us build our business. It takes time to advertise and follow up with individuals who respond to the advertisements. It takes time to encourage companies to become ECAs on TripleClicks. It takes time to build our teams and support our team members, so they can succeed in SFI. This is why I believe the main investment is time.

Another investment which will help affiliates progress in SFI include completing the free training SFI provides all affiliates. The advise of "Read, read, read" is shared often as a suggestion on how affiliates can progress in SFI. Along with this advise I suggest putting what we read into action. Investing in educating ourselves, through the free training and other means, helps us to continue finding new ways of improving on our skills. Besides the initial training is free, so why not take advantage of starting with the basics and going through the LaunchPad lessons.

SFI's President, Gery Carson, present the SFI Rules of Success. If new affiliates invest in following the rules of success they can succeed in SFI. Gery suggest to write out a business plan. I strongly agree. Think about when we take a trip, if we did not have a destination in mind or a plan on the route we would travel to get to the destination, how would we know when we reached our destination? It is the same with our business. If we do not have a business plan, how will we know when we have achieved our goal?

There are other investments new affiliates may want to invest, but my opinion is these are the the basics. Once the foundation of understanding SFI has been laid, then affiliates can invest in a wider variety of plans and actions to help succeed in SFI.

An important thing to remember about SFI, the progress will be slow initially. It is not a get rich quick program/scam. Affiliates who are persistent and consistent with doing their SFI work typically see progress. So be patient and good luck to all.
less

The main investment a new affiliate or any affiliate needs to make in order to succeed in SFI is time. It takes time to log in daily and review the home page tabs. It takes time to learn we can work with SFI to build our own business as an affiliate. It takes time to learn the skills which can help us build our business. It takes time to advertise and follow up with individuals who respond to the advertisements. It takes time to encourage companies to become ECAs on TripleClicks. It takes time
...more

Affiliate since: 02/05/2013, Power Rank: 359

The concept of “too much and unnecessary communication” is individual for each recipient. Some individuals are what I call ‘social creatures’. They seem to thrive through interacting with others. Then there are the opposite, individuals who need to be away from people to rejuvenate. These individuals have a limit on how much interaction they can tolerate with others.

Now, let us look at communicating with a group of people in business. Many of us have worked for companies where weekly mailings or staff meetings are a standard. How many recall being bored in those staff meetings, because materials being discussed were already known or should have been common sense?

Now, let us look at it from the prospect of management: An employee breeched company policy. How do we ensure this does not grow into a major issue? -OR- There is new company policy that will be implemented soon. How do we ensure all employees are aware of the new policy? We will review the policy in a staff meeting! -OR- We will send out a companywide email/mailing. Oh, we just had new hires; we best include the basics, so they are not lost. The responsibility now lies on the employees to receive the information and what they will do with it. Some might take the basic information incorporated in the message as an insult to their intelligence, without realizing management is looking out for the company as a whole. Again, it goes back to individual recipients.

Let us return to your question of “What would you consider to be too much and unnecessary communication with your team?” It depends on each individual member in your team. The best you can do is to send out a weekly team mail with information pertinent to your entire team. When communicating with individual team members specifically, ask them how much communication they want. Some will want more than others.
less

The concept of “too much and unnecessary communication” is individual for each recipient. Some individuals are what I call ‘social creatures’. They seem to thrive through interacting with others. Then there are the opposite, individuals who need to be away from people to rejuvenate. These individuals have a limit on how much interaction they can tolerate with others.

Now, let us look at communicating with a group of people in business. Many of us have worked for companies
...more

Affiliate since: 02/05/2013, Power Rank: 359

Effective leaders are flexible and teachable.

In regards to your question “What do successful Leaders in SFI know and do?” I observed the successful leaders in my upline are those who have worked this model of Follow, Walk Along Side and Lead. Basically, they followed the recommended Duplication of SFI. They seek ways to understand/learn about their affiliates whom they work with and maintain communication with their downline and are accessible to them. They continue to lead, instead of sitting back and expecting their downline to bring them residual income.

I believe effective leaders know when to follow, when to walk along side and when to lead. This is true for SFI leaders. Majority of successful business leaders followed this model through the building of their careers and establishment of their businesses. Ask a successful business leader if they did it all by themselves and majority will tell you they had a mentor and often others whom they consulted with, before they learned to walk on their own.

Follow: Another way to view this step is to call it Learn. Everyone has to learn in order to become a leader. Ineffective have been the leaders throughout history who have attempted to lead nations without learning the needs of their people. Often when national leaders have not learned and addressed the needs of their people it led to civil unrest and wars resulted. Effective leaders take time to learn about their people, what their needs are, what systems will benefit their people and how they can implement those systems for the benefit of their people. They do this knowing by building their people, they are building themselves.

Walk Along Side: This step can be viewed as the building phase. Beginning with our infancy, we have needed someone to walk along side us as we learned. Once we achieved learning our lessons, we became teachers to others, whether by being examples or literally taking the time to teach another. The most effective way of teaching has always been walking along side the learner. This allows the learner to feel secure in exploring the world around them, while encouraging them to advance in their learning.

Lead: An effective leader will lead with counsel, never force. They recognize the individualism of each person and respect them for who they are. They adjust their teaching/leading style to the needs of their followers, understanding everyone learns in a different way. They allow those who require little guidance to advance as they want, with little interference, while providing necessary assistance to those who request more assistance. Ineffective leaders often will do the work for others or tell them what they are to do. They tend to think for their people and not allow their people the opportunity to explore their own skills and growth. Sadly, this route often stifles the growth of new ideas and therefore, stifles the growth of a business.

These steps are exactly what SFI teaches: Learn about SFI (Follow), and then help other affiliates build their business (Walk Along Side/Lead), which in turn builds your business (Lead). SFI calls this system Duplication.

I broke the steps up in this explanation, but an effective leader will flow through these steps as needed. He or she may be a follower with one affiliate, while walking along side with another affiliate, while leading another affiliate all in the same day. Basically, an effective leader is flexible and teachable.
less

Effective leaders are flexible and teachable.

In regards to your question “What do successful Leaders in SFI know and do?” I observed the successful leaders in my upline are those who have worked this model of Follow, Walk Along Side and Lead. Basically, they followed the recommended Duplication of SFI. They seek ways to understand/learn about their affiliates whom they work with and maintain communication with their downline and are accessible to them. They continue to lead, instead
...more

Affiliate since: 02/05/2013, Power Rank: 359

Use the resources available to you. There are ECA post cards and brochures available for purchase through TripleClicks. These explain the ECA program to potential prospects. You can read further about the ECA program under the Marketing tab on the scroll bar.

I suggest writing down questions you think potential ECA prospects might ask prior to reading about the ECA program, then taking notes to answer those questions while you read through the ECA program. Some sample questions ECA prospects might ask are: Why should I join this program? How will this benefit my business? What will the cost/bottom line cost be?

You may want to research the benefits of online marketing, as there are companies who still view online marketing as ineffective. When you speak with an ECA prospect, you want to enter as though you are going in to sell a product, because this is exactly what you are doing. You are selling them a product on how to increase their sales through online marketing.
less

Use the resources available to you. There are ECA post cards and brochures available for purchase through TripleClicks. These explain the ECA program to potential prospects. You can read further about the ECA program under the Marketing tab on the scroll bar.

I suggest writing down questions you think potential ECA prospects might ask prior to reading about the ECA program, then taking notes to answer those questions while you read through the ECA program. Some sample questions ECA
...more

Affiliate since: 02/05/2013, Power Rank: 359

Let you Personally Sponsored Affiliates (PSA) do what they want to do. As their sponsor you are their to support them on their journey as they build their OWN business. True, you want them to succeed; however, each of them are their own individuals. Unless you know each of intimately, there is a very good chance each of them has their own learning style, own drive and own way of doing things.

I will use myself as an example. It has been 18 months since I joined SFI. I earned Silver Team Leader (STL) Status my first month. I did not rush through the Launchpad lessons, what got me the points to earn my STL my first month, was reading all the "extras" on the VersaPoints Ledger. I did not have a responsive sponsor, despite my attempts to contact my sponsor. However, I continued to work my way through the system.

I did not have a team my first; however, in my second month, I won some Co-sponsored Affiliates (CSA) through PriceBender Auction. It wasn't until my fourth month when I got my first PSA through S-Builder. I eventually had around 20 PSA through S-Builder; although I managed to make contact with 5 of them, none were ever active. Eventually, all have been removed from my genealogy either through opting out or through being inactive to long.

All through this I managed to maintain a Bronze Team Leader status up until about two months short of my year mark, when I realized it was not really benefiting me to maintain the BTL status, as I did not have a team to lead. The only benefit I was receiving was more TCredits and CSA awarded each month, but cost wise to me I was in the negative.

Here is my point: If I had a sponsor discouraging me to not become a team leader right away, I most likely would have quit SFI, unless that sponsor was able to CLEARLY explain to me why he/she was discouraging me to become a team leader. Without a sponsor guiding me, I had inadvertently worked my way up to STL Status my first month and maintained BTL for 9 months after. Through my own education and continued efforts, I came to my own realization the negative cashflow I was having and the better benefit of returning to EA status as I continued to build my own business.

So, I go back to what I said at the beginning, let you PSA be themselves. Simply, support them, encourage them in what they are doing. Teach them as best you can. Let them make their mistakes, while kindly offering advice; but do not discourage their actions, as you might discourage them right out of SFI.
less

Let you Personally Sponsored Affiliates (PSA) do what they want to do. As their sponsor you are their to support them on their journey as they build their OWN business. True, you want them to succeed; however, each of them are their own individuals. Unless you know each of intimately, there is a very good chance each of them has their own learning style, own drive and own way of doing things.

I will use myself as an example. It has been 18 months since I joined SFI. I earned Silver
...more

Affiliate since: 02/05/2013, Power Rank: 359

The best actions to focus on are those which will help you achieve the goals you set for yourself when you joined SFI or the goals you now have for yourself, as goals can change; basically, what you view as success. Many will state logging in daily, ensuring you complete the daily tabs to earn VersaPoints, play some Eager Zebra Games for more VersaPoints, advertise to gain sign ups and build your team are the best actions to focus on. Although these are important, they are not the complete picture. We need to look at everything which will help us achieve our goal/success.

I will use my own main goal when I initially signed up for SFI as an example of what I mean by looking at the complete picture.

My main goal: To Get Out of Debt.

What I am doing:
-Log in every day to SFI and review the daily tabs; in turn I claim the daily VersaPoints.
-Read through the Forum on topics which will help improve skills that will help me grow my business, such as online marketing, Pricebender Auctions, as well as other topics.
-Participate in ASK SC.
-Do some advertising as best I can; I am still learning, since I have not done this before.
-Invest SFI's commissions into business, by purchasing TripleClicks items, along with TCredits, which allows me to participate in Eager Zebra Games, which in turn allows me to win more TCredits to utilize in Pricebender Auctions.
-Sticking to budget created to stop going further into debt and to pay off debt!
-Ensure I am not going further into debt, by no eating out, no unplanned entertainment (outside of budget), no purchases outside of budget, being creative in entertainment for 7 y/o child, such as finding free classes to engage in within the community.

Through reading the above list, you will note there are steps which do not include SFI/TripleClicks items. However, they are vital to my success within this business and achieving my main goal of getting out of debt, which is part of why I joined SFI; basically, how I will know I achieved success. If I continue to accumulate debt, then I am defeating myself and ensuring I will never see success.

Therefore, the best actions to focus on will be whatever actions will help you achieve the goal you set for yourself to achieve success. Some of these actions will be outside of SFI/TripleClicks, but will complement actions you are doing in your business and are vital to your business success. Do not overlook those actions as well.
less

The best actions to focus on are those which will help you achieve the goals you set for yourself when you joined SFI or the goals you now have for yourself, as goals can change; basically, what you view as success. Many will state logging in daily, ensuring you complete the daily tabs to earn VersaPoints, play some Eager Zebra Games for more VersaPoints, advertise to gain sign ups and build your team are the best actions to focus on. Although these are important, they are not the complete picture.
...more

Affiliate since: 02/05/2013, Power Rank: 359

I think one of the main key will be longevity. Why? Many affiliates start off SFI excited, rightly so; however, after the ease of earning VersaPoints is gone, majority of them disappear, unwilling to learn skills to help themselves earn a long term income. Those who stay around asking questions, seeking answers and trying to figure out how to build their business are serious at becoming successful through SFI.

The fourth or fifth month may be the better months to know which PSAs and CSAs are your more serious affiliates within the system. These are the ones who are staying around after the easy VersaPoints earning has been used up and are still trying to make sense of how SFI works. However, this does not ensure they will stay around long thereafter either, but the percentage of them staying around does go up. I did have an active CSA drop out of in his sixth month, so you never know.

However, the one thing I have notice is those who stay around longer, meaning month after month, are those who are serious enough about building a successful SFI business. It goes back to one of SFI's Rules of Success: Work with the Workers. Still, don't disqualify the rest, but mainly focus on those who are trying.
less

I think one of the main key will be longevity. Why? Many affiliates start off SFI excited, rightly so; however, after the ease of earning VersaPoints is gone, majority of them disappear, unwilling to learn skills to help themselves earn a long term income. Those who stay around asking questions, seeking answers and trying to figure out how to build their business are serious at becoming successful through SFI.

The fourth or fifth month may be the better months to know which PSAs and CSAs
...more