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From Bankruptcy to Bestselling Author and Award Winning Marketer: How Network Marketing Changed This Woman's Life Forever For the last seven years, Toni Vans and her husband would fully commit to a network marketing startup called MONAT and now enjoy a consistent multiple seven-figure annual passive income

By Srivatsa KR

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Probably one of the most misunderstood phrases in the English language - network marketing. While many have dabbled in it or at least been pitched this idea by one of their college buddies or a relative that only comes on holidays, network marketing remains as a mysterious industry that most don't understand. While the potential to create wealth and freedom through network marketing is very real, few people have the ability or know-how to find lasting success in this industry. Toni Vans is one of those people. For the last eight years, Toni Vans has created a multi-million dollar income for herself, written three best selling books and helped over 500,000 people to achieve financial freedom through the power of network marketing.

Eight years ago, Toni Vans made a decision that would ultimately change her life. "We were in the process of losing everything. We had maxed out our credit cards and filed for bankruptcy a few years prior. That's when she made a decision to follow up on a new opportunity. "One of our lawn care clients had been pressing me to listen to an opportunity about a network marketing company." I had been burned by bad business and greedy owners in the industry before, but she was one of our best clients - so I decided to give her a chance and that was over 20 years ago. What started out as merely being polite turned into falling in love with the industry. For the last seven years, Toni and her husband would fully commit to a network marketing startup called MONAT and now enjoy a consistent multiple seven figure annual passive income. While this would be more than enough to sell the power of network marketing, Toni is more proud of another accomplishment. "More important than the money and the accolades, I really enjoy the ability to change other people's lives." Whether she is on a stage, her backyard oasis, or her social media, Toni Vans shares her formula for finding success as a network marketer.

The first key to finding success as a network marketer is to grow your market. "Network marketing is one hundred percent about who you know." Often, she runs into students or people that are struggling to build their network marketing business and that is the problem. They aren't growing their contact list. She attributes this to the difficult nature of the industry. "I believe network marketing is one of the hardest industries. You have to have thick skin… and really understand people." In some industries, you are able to get away with not really building a connection or getting to understand your clients and peers. Not the case with network marketing. The moment you stop growing your contact list is the moment you start losing your business. That's why it is important to run events. Whether you are hosting a live conference at a local hotel or restaurant or meeting people online - you have to make it a consistent part of your business to grow your contact list.

The second key to finding success is the ability to follow-up. As you probably know, most people are not ready to jump on an opportunity or especially to spend money on a new product. This can be attributed to many different factors: lack of trust, non-interest, lack of funds, or simple forgetfulness. This is why it is important to follow-up with your potential customers and partners. "Most people do not buy into something until they have been exposed to it at least seven times… but a study shows that most people give up after three "no's." A trick to following up with customers that Toni Vans shares is to use audio and visual. "Email is dead. It doesn't get the return you used to get. Ideally, you want to try to use audio or visual... If you have to send a message - send it via text." This is where she believes that "thick skin" comes in handy. As a network marketer, you must be resilient. "You have to be used to getting a lot of no's. That's part of the game." While many of us are wired to stop after hearing a no, she notes that the key is to keep going. Every no is one closer to a yes.

The final key to success is to be present. While this advice certainly can carry over to any aspect of your business - she particularly was addressing social media. While many are still slow to implement social media as a part of their marketing scheme or plan a strategy for using social media - she recognizes the power that building a social media presence has for a network marketer. While social media is a powerful tool, she does warn against being too salesy. "Never put up salesy ads. Your content should be 80% personal and 20% business." The second key of social media is storytelling. "All of your posts need to be a story with a beginning, middle, end and a call to action." Again, don't be salesy. Keep your social media authentic and playful. While she believes that these keys will help you find success as a network marketer, she also doesn't believe it's for everyone. "It's hard work and you have to find the right company. But if you do that, you can truly build the life of your dreams."

Toni Vans is dedicated to helping as many individuals as she can to build financial freedom and stability. If you are interested in learning more about what she does, grabbing a copy of her book or simply reaching out to her to say hey, she encourages everyone to send a message on her Instagram. You can also learn more about her brand Effing Simple at her website.

Srivatsa KR

Start-up enthusiast & Blogger

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