As a new affiliate, how much should I invest in SFI to start earning money every month?
Earl Winfrey, Aff (South carolina, US)
4/3/2016 2:57 pm
Affiliate since: 11/10/2003, Power Rank: 150
The short answer is that you should invest whatever you can afford to lose.
Here is a more detailed answer. Way too often, people jump in with both feet and end up digging a financial hole for themselves because they think that the more money they pour in, the more money will come out. While the size of your investment directly affects your ability to make money, be careful not to allow your investment to cause you to miss a meal.
Set aside a certain amount of money each month that you know you can do without and build from there. If you can afford a standing order, purchasing 125 TCredits ($36.35) is the best way to maintain your EA rank, but if you are not able to invest that much right now, save your money and work on selling products instead.
Either way, you should be saving more money than you invest so a portion of your money will build up every month. For example, if you have a standing order for $36.25, set aside $40 so you can save $3.75 every month. After 12 months passed, you will end up with $45 on top of the money for the standing order that month!
In addition to saving money every month, you will also be earning commissions along the way. Don't spend your commissions outside of SFI and you will be able to use that money for your standing order too. That will help you build a nice cushion for future purchases should you find yourself needing to reduce your personal investment for a while.
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The short answer is that you should invest whatever you can afford to lose.
Here is a more detailed answer. Way too often, people jump in with both feet and end up digging a financial hole for themselves because they think that the more money they pour in, the more money will come out. While the size of your investment directly affects your ability to make money, be careful not to allow your investment to cause you to miss a meal.
Set aside a certain amount of money each month
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What are some good tips for leading and managing my SFI team--besides sending weekly newsletters?
Earl Winfrey, Aff (South carolina, US)
3/16/2016 1:10 am
Affiliate since: 11/10/2003, Power Rank: 150
One of the most overlooked leadership opportunities is the celebration. Doesn't it feel good when somebody congratulates you for something you either won or earned? It can put a smile on your face because you know that somebody out there is happy for you.
Imagine how good it would feel if you could make your team members smile. When they win something from the Daily Grand drawing, send them an E-Card to congratulate them. When they show up on your movers list, send them a quick message to let them know that you appreciate their commitment to staying active.
Run a contest to celebrate those who make the EA rank and then create a winner's list on your leadership page. You could offer 2 TCredits as a prize or reassign affiliates for those who maintain their EA rank for 2 months in a row. There is also a Recognition category in the forum. You can create a thread for your team acknowledging those who did something great and then share that link with your PSAs.
Above all else, you should celebrate your team any chance you get and that will create momentum because the morale will be high and the excitement will be hard to resist!
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One of the most overlooked leadership opportunities is the celebration. Doesn't it feel good when somebody congratulates you for something you either won or earned? It can put a smile on your face because you know that somebody out there is happy for you.
Imagine how good it would feel if you could make your team members smile. When they win something from the Daily Grand drawing, send them an E-Card to congratulate them. When they show up on your movers list, send them a quick message
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more
What are some ways to use Attraction Marketing to build my SFI business?
Earl Winfrey, Aff (South carolina, US)
2/14/2016 1:41 am
Affiliate since: 11/10/2003, Power Rank: 150
I see attraction marketing as a "Come and see" kind of approach. That means we want to catch a person's attention and get him/her to respond by either signing up as an affiliate or purchasing something. Here is what I would do.
1. Create a target audience by making a list of who you want to reach. Who is in the group? Are they older, younger, working, in school? Your approach may be different depending on who you want to reach.
2. Select the appropriate ads for your target group. Decide if you want to promote the games, the store, the auctions, or recruit affiliates. Don't be a afraid to choose more than one category if you think it will work with your target group, but try to avoid using the "Scatter gun" method of flooding the group with too many options. That could work against you.
3. Monitor your marketing to make sure it works. Once you get started, don't be afraid to change your approach. Sometimes, trial and error is the best way to find the sweet spot for marketing. Take notes and keep a log so you can evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing so you can make the best use of your time and resources.
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I see attraction marketing as a "Come and see" kind of approach. That means we want to catch a person's attention and get him/her to respond by either signing up as an affiliate or purchasing something. Here is what I would do.
1. Create a target audience by making a list of who you want to reach. Who is in the group? Are they older, younger, working, in school? Your approach may be different depending on who you want to reach.
2. Select the appropriate ads for
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How can I help ensure that my affiliates read all the exciting and important SFI announcements?
Earl Winfrey, Aff (South carolina, US)
3/3/2016 7:54 am
Affiliate since: 11/10/2003, Power Rank: 150
If you want to make sure your team reads all of the announcements, you need to set the example and read them first. Remember this saying: "If it is important to you, it will be important to them."
When the announcements are made, you should put a link to the announcement on your stream posts, in your team mail, on E-Cards, and your leadership page. If your team sees that you are excited about the announcement, they will understand how important it is to read it.
What would be a good 'elevator pitch' for SFI?
Earl Winfrey, Aff (South carolina, US)
11/3/2015 11:01 am
Affiliate since: 11/10/2003, Power Rank: 150
For a good "Elevator pitch," you need to make sure you set a goal for what you want to accomplish. For example, a goal for a "normal" sales pitch would be to make a transaction. A goal for a recruiting pitch would be to sign up an affiliate.
However, with such a short time for a presentation (30 seconds or less), it would be unrealistic to expect to "close a deal" with the pitch. Instead, your goal should be to break the ice. Have a card in your hand so you can give it to the person at the end of the conversation and that will open up the door for the transaction to take place later.
As far as the content of the conversation is concerned, you should check out the ads on our marketing page. Inside the banners and other materials, you will find plenty of "one-liners" you can use to start the conversation.
Once you get the conversation started, you can give the person a card and tell them to check it out later. This will leave a good impression because you didn't push for a decision right away.
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For a good "Elevator pitch," you need to make sure you set a goal for what you want to accomplish. For example, a goal for a "normal" sales pitch would be to make a transaction. A goal for a recruiting pitch would be to sign up an affiliate.
However, with such a short time for a presentation (30 seconds or less), it would be unrealistic to expect to "close a deal" with the pitch. Instead, your goal should be to break the ice. Have a card in your hand so
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What would be a good welcome letter for REASSIGNED PSAs? As their new sponsor, I don't want them to think they're being bounced around.
Earl Winfrey, Aff (South carolina, US)
1/16/2016 9:45 am
Affiliate since: 11/10/2003, Power Rank: 150
The fact that the PSA was reassigned tells me that he/she is already familiar with SFI and most likely received all the standard welcome messages that come with signing up. For this reason, I would advise that you send an E-Card instead.
If you use the "Excited" E-Cards, you can make this more of a celebration instead of a reassignment. Let the PSA know that you are blessed to have this wonderful addition to your team. I know it may sound over the top, but that just might be what it takes to get the people moving.
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The fact that the PSA was reassigned tells me that he/she is already familiar with SFI and most likely received all the standard welcome messages that come with signing up. For this reason, I would advise that you send an E-Card instead.
If you use the "Excited" E-Cards, you can make this more of a celebration instead of a reassignment. Let the PSA know that you are blessed to have this wonderful addition to your team. I know it may sound over the top, but that just might
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For my SFI business budget, on what should I spend the most?
Earl Winfrey, Aff (South carolina, US)
3/30/2016 9:07 am
Affiliate since: 11/10/2003, Power Rank: 150
The best investment you could make is to place a standing order for 125 TCredits. Not only will that guarantee your EA2 status every month, but you will also have a valuable resource that can be used for anything you want to do in TripleClicks.
If you can afford it, I would also recommend adding a unit from the S-Builder Co-op to your standing order. This will give you fresh PSAs every month even if you are too busy to recruit on your own. Along with the benefit of being part of the co-op, if you have it as part of your standing order, you will get a huge discount for PSAs to go!
To summarize, you should place a standing order for 125 TCredits, a unit from the S-Builder Co-op, and then you can order PSAs to go at a discounted rate.
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The best investment you could make is to place a standing order for 125 TCredits. Not only will that guarantee your EA2 status every month, but you will also have a valuable resource that can be used for anything you want to do in TripleClicks.
If you can afford it, I would also recommend adding a unit from the S-Builder Co-op to your standing order. This will give you fresh PSAs every month even if you are too busy to recruit on your own. Along with the benefit of being part of the
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When and how should I start preparing for my retirement from SFI?
Earl Winfrey, Aff (South carolina, US)
9/24/2015 11:17 am
Affiliate since: 11/10/2003, Power Rank: 150
I think it is great that you are making a plan for retirement! This kind of forward thinking is what we need to succeed in this business. If we don't know where we are going, we will never know if we have arrived.
Here is what I suggest.
Create a picture of what your retirement looks like. How old do you want to be? How much money each month do you want to have for living?
Once you decided how much money each month you would like to have, check your monthly commissions here at SFI. Then you have a realistic view of how far you need to go. At that point, you can use the income calculator to determine what you need to do in order to get to the level where you can retire. From that point, you need to work in order to get to that goal. It can be done, and it will be done as long as you never give up!
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I think it is great that you are making a plan for retirement! This kind of forward thinking is what we need to succeed in this business. If we don't know where we are going, we will never know if we have arrived.
Here is what I suggest.
Create a picture of what your retirement looks like. How old do you want to be? How much money each month do you want to have for living?
Once you decided how much money each month you would like to have, check your monthly commissions
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What qualities should we look for in our PSAs before sending them an invitation for the Designated Diamonds program? And where do I look?
Earl Winfrey, Aff (South carolina, US)
1/9/2016 10:14 am
Affiliate since: 11/10/2003, Power Rank: 150
When searching for the "Diamonds in the rough," you should focus on the active PSAs who stand out from the rest. It's not enough to just be active, but that is where they should start. The movers tab is a good way to find them quickly since you can use the drop down menu to sort them. However, don't just pay attention to the recent noise they are making.
Look for the ones who have been consistent throughout 2015. If they have been active throughout the year, there is a good chance that they will remain active this year. However, if they just became active this month, monitor them for a while to see how it works out.
Remember that since this is a new year, there could be many PSAs becoming active as a New Year's resolution who may not hang around after the month ends.
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When searching for the "Diamonds in the rough," you should focus on the active PSAs who stand out from the rest. It's not enough to just be active, but that is where they should start. The movers tab is a good way to find them quickly since you can use the drop down menu to sort them. However, don't just pay attention to the recent noise they are making.
Look for the ones who have been consistent throughout 2015. If they have been active throughout the year, there is a good
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more
What's the best way to get someone interested in becoming an SFI affiliate?
Earl Winfrey, Aff (South carolina, US)
3/30/2016 9:18 am
Affiliate since: 11/10/2003, Power Rank: 150
The best way to get somebody interested in SFI is to show that you are interested in SFI. The saying goes like this: Excitement is contagious. If you believe that you are part of the best of the best, who would want to pass that up?
Remember that it depends on you because you cannot lead somebody to a place where you are not willing to go. Show your excitement, celebrate your accomplishments, and don't forget to smile because you will show people that this is an opportunity that will change their lives!
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The best way to get somebody interested in SFI is to show that you are interested in SFI. The saying goes like this: Excitement is contagious. If you believe that you are part of the best of the best, who would want to pass that up?
Remember that it depends on you because you cannot lead somebody to a place where you are not willing to go. Show your excitement, celebrate your accomplishments, and don't forget to smile because you will show people that this is an opportunity that will
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more
4/3/2016 2:57 pm