Cindy watched in amazement as her business and income grew as a result of
their activity.
Cindy had connected with someone who knew a lot of people. She be-
came known as the “Internet Queen” in her company. She was able to quit
her job at the post office and spend more time riding her horse. Cindy’s lack
of a warm market did not prevent her from achieving success in her business.
Instant messaging provided her with an alternative way to meet new people.
The Internet replaced her warm market.
Today, there are hundreds of millions of people using instant messaging.
Yahoo! claims to have 237 million people using its instant messaging system.
ICQ and MSN both claim to have 180 million users on theirs. AOL follows
with over 90 million users.
For some people, it’s easier to start an instant message conversation
and make a new friend than it is to go to their current friends. The Internet
can replace your warm market as the best place to go when you’re ready to
build your networking business. The new three-foot rule in network mar-
keting is: When you’re sitting in front of your computer, you’re within three
feet of the online world when you know where to find people and how to
use instant messaging.
Warning:Instant messaging is a valuable tool when used properly. Send-
ing out mass instant messages with a blatant sales pitch to someone—or spim-
ming, as it’s called on the Internet—is the same as e-mail spamming. It’s not
the smart thing to do—it will get you into trouble and not produce the results
you want. In many states, it’s against the law. Sending singular sales messages
via instant messaging is also considered spimming.
Max Steingart used instant messaging to build a network marketing organiza-
tion of more than 7,000 people in two years. One of his students put 1,000 peo-
ple into her business in four months as a result of using his system.
Max is no stranger to introducing new computer applications to peo-
ple. He has owned several successful businesses, including an Inc.500 pub-
lishing company. He’s a highly quoted author, a professional speaker, and an
accomplished sailboat racer. AT&T called him a visionary of the computer
industry.
Max has helped people use computers to connect with other people since
1975 when he introduced an innovative computer system to the yacht broker-
age industry. Moneymagazine called him “The Match Maker” because his
computer-generated lists made it easy for boat owners to connect with people
interested in buying a boat. Today, every major yacht brokerage firm in the
world uses elements of his system to conduct their business.
230 THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO NETWORK MARKETING