3 things that you may or may not know about me by now are 1) I'm a Christian, 2) I'm a homeschooling mom, and 3) I have a home business. You need to know those facts to understand where I'm coming from in this piece.

Our homeschool day typically starts with us reading through a chapter from the book of Proverbs that corresponds with the date. (Yesterday being August 11, we read through chapter 11.) In my business life recently, I've been spending time learning about a new school of sales called Attraction Marketing. Basically, it's a philosophy that success comes from offering people value and being interested in their needs, rather than constantly offering your "opportunity" to every Tom, Dick and Harry.

Now I am of the opinion that the Bible offers real, practical answers to everyday issues in my life, but I was absolutely floored yesterday by how many verses we were reading confirmed some of the business principles I've been learning in this model. Here's a sample:

Proverbs 11:24 - "One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty." Successful network marketers ~ or any business folk, for that matter ~ are always willing to share their lessons-learned with others. Mentoring and establishing relationships is what it's all about. And that takes giving and receiving. "What goes around comes around" has never been truer than in the attraction marketing model.

Proverbs 11:18 - "The wicked man earns deceptive wages, be he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward." The difference between wages and a reward is this: wages can be temporary; a reward is permanent. Deception, or making inflated promises or claims, may bring in a flurry of income for a time. But they result in broken business contacts, disappointed customers and the like. True interest in others' success, mentoring others by sharing what you know or have learned, giving accurate information to colleagues and customers ~ this is what builds a successful business based on attraction marketing principles.

Proverbs 11: 1 - "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are His delight." Many of us have heard ~ or experienced ~ MLMs that promise you the world. Of course, it's always at a price, but that's usually in the fine print! Attraction marketing is all about ethics. That's not to say that there aren't some "bad eggs" in the bunch: we're all still human, after all. But one of the principles behind it is that you don't promise what you can't deliver. Any business opportunity takes time, work and creativity. A budget is necessary as well. But your business won't succeed if you over-promise ~ you just lose your credibility.

Well, that's just a sampling of what we read yesterday, but you get the point! I'm not trying to "over spiritualize" a sales philosophy. Just passing along something I learned ~ no hype and no charge! Contact me if you'd like to talk more about how Attraction Marketing fits into your business.