Solavei?

My concerns about Solavei are:
1. How do people pay for one of the 3 phone choices they have?
2. Prices for the phones are somewhere about $150 - $550.
3. Are you targeting the same low income market that Cricket
does?
If so, see #1. I know people find the money for what they want often before getting what they need.

Will the market be receptive to those 3 phone choices?
Some phones already in possession by your potential client may be Soavei approved to switch over, but only work at 2g speeds.

Will people be willing to pay early cancellation fees to switch over or are those people not your market?

It will be interesting to watch this company's progress.

Yeah - after I joined some guy phone blasted me trying to sell his phone MLM. The biggest difference I see is the cost - Solavei doesn't bloat their prices to turn themselves into an MLM, they just do away with advertising.

I agree - to some extent. Yeah, it definitely helps to be good at network marketing, and to have a team already in place...but with the right angle you can also make this into a simple affiliate business (think of all the Sprint / AT&T / Verizon ads that you see every single day on the web).


True. Which is why Solavei now has SIM cards you can get in advance, to set people up on the spot. Personally, my most successful strategy thus far has been reaching out to affiliates who already know how to set up campaigns (note, affiliates, not network marketers).

To answer the OP...
1) yes
2) yes
3) yes

Yeah, a good downline definitely helps. The nice thing about this is that you can make money without a downline if you just set up the right types of campaigns. In other words, you can be a network marketer and make this work, and have a team working for you - or you can be an affiliate, and make this work solo.

As for me - I'm doing a combination. I've got a team of affiliates who I support....plus a bunch of people just looking for cheap phone service.

Yes, that is how MLM works, having large (but more important: active) downliners. Unfortunately they are scarse, the active ones I mean. MLM/Network Marketing is a tough business in spite of what people tell you on their sales pages.

In this case...the company is so new everyone has the same opportunity as the next.

This is such an easy sell.

I was printing up some flyers where I work and my best friend/owner saw the flyer and later asked me about it since his Sprint contract was up.

Now he is signing up and so is his brother and so is another one of his employees and so is a friend.

Who doesn't want to save money on cell phone?

I broke my ATT contract and I'm coming out way on top over the next 12 months.

He asked me how he should handle it and I said it would b best that those 3 sign up under him instead of me because he would get a bonus and he would get $20 every single month. It then was a no-brainer to him that his phone bill will net @$29/mo and he is not even working the business. his exact repsonse "That would help me".

This is too simple,


Manny

Yes, I agree that it makes sense in principle; yet a lot of people are doing such things and the Solavei powers that be don't seem to be doing much about it, so to me, if they're going to have rules then they have to try to make it an even playing field, not let some get away with it. And from what I have heard some of the initial founding members are breaking rules like this. I haven't investigated it because it's not my job but I did hear this and if it's true then that's not cool.

The rule makes sense but enforcing it is another thing altogether. At some point they'll have to hire a full time "enforcer" if they intend to keep the playing field level.

And I do think they may be clinging a little TOO tightly re some rules. There are a few things I do question their strictness on.

But in general I love the company and see a lot of potential and my service is great so far.

There are always some problems or disagreements with any company that makes and enforces (or doesn't enforce, as the case may be) rules! :p

In the end it can get down to a company (as in the case of one I'm dealing with now) arguing over distributors' rights to use the word productname vs the word product-name, and it's just ridiculous. Both keywords have 4000 monthly searches so to not use one is to lose 4000 potential customers but they're worried about their "brand" as opposed to caring about making sales!

Another thing is a company will say YOU CAN'T PUT "PRODUCTNAME" in the name of your domain, but then they allow everyone to put pages up like "MYSITE.com/PRODUCTNAME" so really, what's the difference?? Do you see what I mean? Sometimes it can get kind of petty and silly.

And sometimes the rules are not enforced and sometimes then they are selectively enforced and that's what I have a problem with... when it's not a level playing field and the rules do not apply to everyone. And as I say, sometimes the rules cannot be enforced, really, unless the co. hires a full time staff to enforce them!

So it's going to be interesting to see how this all pans out!

In any case I am very optimistic about Solavei and INTEND to make a lot of money with it!

Manny, I didn't mean convince them in the sense of arguing with them or pleading etc. I meant convince them just in the sense of having web pages etc out there and getting them to bite. Not sure what method you're using but I'm just not getting a lot of bites.

I agree it's a no brainer. It just seems like people aren't "flocking to it" - so far - the way I thought they would. To me it is an easy choice.

Actually, a bunch of prepaid phone services can compete with that. I have on right now that beats that. I just want to say, beware of these miraculous MLM's that tell you that they will be around 'forever.' This is not the first of it's kind. As a matter of fact, I was in a company almost exactly like this about 1.5 years ago. They had basically the save type of service and plan. Get 3 and your service is free. I paid for the expensive phone, never received, a couple weeks like the company went bust, and I never got my money back. I was one of the biggest disappointments I ever had. There have been other MLM phone service companies just like this before. They are not the first. These companies all promise that they will last forever and will basically take over the world in a few months or years. Just about all of them fall apart MUCH sooner than that, and it is usually near impossible to get any of your money back. I don't know for certain what will happen to this company, but one thing I have learned in evaluating MLM type companies is to always ask yourself, 'If I was the last person to get into this business, would I still get my money's worth or be able to do near a well as the first guy who GOT IN?' Think of it this way. If 100 people buy the same car for the same price, one after the other, until all the cars are sold out, will the last guy to buy get less of a product for the same money spent as the first guy? The obvious answer to that is no. However, with a lot of these MLM companies, the last guy to GET IN, can never get the same value for the same money spent as the first guy to GET IN. I believe in social marketing companies, but the only ones work are the ones that give everyone the same potential.

that is tough, I would purely suggest rather than waiting for it to be on page 1, if we could actually engage potential customers to your downline.
What I meant by that is:

tweet about your services
facebook and share,
use pinterest
.............. and many more,
because search engines crowed are getting a little bit harder day by day due to competition but if we can engage potential customers from various sources then surely you can make money.

Best wishes,
Swrajit

Manny wrote: I think this was a mis-type. What you should have said and probably meant to say was that Solavei is offering a FREE SIM CARD and FREE MONTH OF SERVICE through December, not a free phone.

Most of my signups have come from cold market. Networking events, forums, Facebook, co-op leads. Picking up the phone and reaching out to people who have shown interest has been key. But yes...warm marketing has been a few signups as well but way less.

Manny

Coach Manny,

Not sure where you saw that I put someone said anything.

They pumped and dumped a stock and I don't deal with companies like that.

Thank you for sharing and doing your due diligence!

You can take any reputable company in network marketing and put "scam" next to its name and get some type of negative feedback. This is the world we live in. People were saying negative things about how the company will fail before they event launched.

Less than 3 months later they have paid out over 2.5 MILLION dollars to its Social Members (I am one of them and have over 100,000 service users. How great is this?!

Manny

I'm not sure what your "success" expectations are but I'm very pleased with where I've come since prelaunch.

I've been in Network Marketing for over 15 years and I've never grown as fast or had as many team members under me. So this has been great in my opinion.

It's been a little of everything that has worked for me.

Warm Market
Networking events
Facebook
cold calls
IboToolbox
Forums
SOCO system has helped me when I put leads into my system

It has all added up to growth.

Let me know if I can answer any questions for you.

Manny

Hi seosoldier,

I think if you look at the top performers in Solavei (I mean the ones at Social Director and Social Executive levels), you'll see that most of them have one of two things going on -

A) They either have a system other people can plug into (complete with training webinars / calls), or

B) They have other people on their team who have a system.

The thing about systems is that they make it easy for people to recruit. With a system, you don't have to know anything to be able to plug in and make sales. Systems also make it possible for people with no marketing experience to succeed and build your team for you.

Also, if you examine the compensation plan - especially the 40% rule - you'll see that all you really need are 3 big builders under you. In other words, person X could bring in exactly 3 people (1 trio) into Solavei, and if those 3 people have huge lists or large networks (or a system that builds huge lists and large networks, or a person under THEM that builds a large network), person X would not need to do much else to get to Social Executive.

How do you find 3 big builders?

By speaking to hundreds, even thousands of people. Or speaking to a smaller number of highly qualified people - those who you already know have the list, the capabilities or the connections. In other words, by putting way more than 3 people on your team.

Or, if you never pick up the phone, by getting so many leads into your system that eventually, sooner or later, someone big finds you and joins.

The more people you bring into your network, the higher your chances of them, or someone they bring in having a connection that explodes your network. It's a numbers game. Phone time reduces the numbers you need up front.

Systems, by the way, allow you to make warm calls rather than cold calls.
You talk to someone who's already expressed some interest in your program (i.e., Solavei) by opting in - and then has had a chance to review information (videos, PDFs, etc.) so that you can have an intelligent conversation with them (or, rather, a scripted conversation that positions you).

(As an aside, this is different from your warm market, which is your friends & family - people you know personally).

But let's get to the real question here, which is this: how can YOU make those top ranked sites / videos work for you? Without having seen your videos or websites, I can't say much - I can only ask questions.

1) You're obviously good at SEO. Where do you send people from your sites? What information are you giving them?

2) Are you building a list / getting leads?

3) Do you have a system set up OR have you plugged into a system that does the work of following up for you? If you're generating a good number of leads via SEO, you could build your own system that offers leads to those who join. That would probably get you a good number of very interested prospects.

4) You may hate making phone calls, but if you get someone on your team who loves making calls, could you work together - you get the leads, they make the calls? Could someone in your upline help?

5) Are you willing to stretch beyond your comfort zone - to learn & practice a new skill (such as talking on the phone)?

I guess what I'm saying is, play to your strengths. Use what you have, and get other people / systems to do the stuff you don't want to do. And if you're really keen on succeeding, stretch beyond your comfort zone.

Finally, to answer the question you posted personally, I'm having success with my warm market (family/friends), my list (people I've helped before), my business connections (coming from mobile marketing here), using an automated system, and getting leads through a variety of channels (mobile marketing, magazine ads, and more).

The basic method I use is this:

1) Share Solavei (i.e., let people know it exists). Depending on the keywords you're ranking for, you may already be doing this.

2) Follow up with those who are interested by giving them more information (I do this via automation - using a system).

3) Call people up after they've had a chance to review the information & sign them up.

Have I had people sign up without talking to them first? Sure. But I would have also lost many awesome team members had I not picked up the phone and called.

(As an aside, it's not a matter of selling on the phone. It's a matter of seeing how you can help someone achieve their goals).

I think your SEO skills are a huge asset. A little tweaking & a little bit of stretching out of your comfort zone would probably turn things around for you in a big way.



Does that help?

Hey CoachManny, I dont think the idea is to get into talking about the negatives stories of the owners, if any...Thats not my style, people can google for themselves on anything they want to do. I will probably edit t my post to take that part out so peopel do not focus on the owners but on the prodcut or ocmpany itself. i beleive the discussion should center on benefits or othersiwe of Solavie. Thank you

I am used to affiliate marketing. Basically send people to a page amd they sign up or order. I am not used to amking calls, even though I used to be a telemarketer and loan officer in before 2007.

right now i have no time for calls.

Also you know Big Al (mlm guru) does not do phone calls or something like that.

There are many network marketers who never pick up the phone...and there are many who do. If you've got the systems / copywriting / numbers for it, you can get away with never picking up the phone. It's basically a numbers game - the law of averages. But if you're limited on leads, picking up the phone is a sure way to increase your numbers and make more sales. So...if you don't have time for phone calls, make sure you have a system that does most of the heavy lifting for you. Would you pick up the phone and call if you knew that phone call would basically be to enroll someone?

BREAKING NEWS!
NEW members enrolling June 17-June 30 get $50 back on their Pay Card!
* Must enroll between June 17-30.
* Must Activate SIM card before July 15.
* Must pay bill & remain active through 9/12.
* $50 will be deposited on to member's pay card on 9/12.
* Member must be Social Member WITH service (SMO doesn't count)

Simply sign up for their $49/month unlimited voice, text, data (no enrollment fee) and enroll for their Purple Debit Card (no fee) and you get the $50 as long as you keep service thru September 12.

Pretty good deal!

Manny

Manny, don't some of the Solavei groups promote a sales system of buying cold phone leads to make cold calls?

In any case a lot of them are doing it! I have already received 4-5 calls where people apparently get my phone number from one of my web sites and then call and leave a pre-recorded message on my phone.

It seems to me Solavei just doesn't have the man power to enforce their "Brand" rules and other marketing rules. I have reported youtube channels using "Solavei" (since mine was deleted without warning, and I wasn't EVEN using the word Solavei in my title), and months have gone by and they are still allowed to do it. The rules seem to be enforced selectively.

Without tethering - pretty much useless to me!

Solavei had their "Get Loud" webinar tonight!

Great changes to their plans.

They originally had 1 plan $49 for unlimited voice, text and data.

Now they have 4 plans depending on your data usage.

$29 Unlimited voice and text
$39 Same + 500 mb of High Speed Data before throttle
$49 Same + 2 gigs of HS Data
$69 Same + 4 gigs of HS Data



I'm getting ready to open a storefront so I'm super stoked to have plan options.

Still get unlimited worldwide text to over 200 countries.

Add on unlimited internationally calling starts at $10.


The Solavei Marketplace that launched in October has already seen members get back hundreds of dollars from shopping at places they would already be shopping at.

Great stuff!!!!

Manny :-)

Manny are you the co-owner or just the number one fanboy?

Is this a joke? I pay less directly with T-Mobile than the plans mentioned in this thread.

Ok so they shaft previous earners and now get to pay commissions to people that weren't producing as much or are producing differently. Makes sense alienate top earners and keep more in your pocket.

Ha ha ha. So basically an MLM company that promises unlimited earning potential wants to cap your growth because you earned too much by following their plan.


This sounds more like a way to pay out less money while keeping the customers that they were sent from the lowly worker. I've seen other companies do this. They promise you something and realize it's more profitable to just keep the client for themselves and no longer give you the residual income.

So you REALLY think it is right that they sold people a bill of goods: "Do this work and we'll pay you this much, forever, as long as they remain members!"... and then just totally pull the rug out from under them and quit paying those people who WORKED HARD to get, say, 80 members to sign up under them and created an income BASED ON WHAT THEY WERE PROMISED?

And so what you are saying is that it's okay for a company to use BAIT AND SWITCH tactics, which at least in retail, is illegal in at least some states, maybe all? If it isn't illegal it SHOULD be in any case!

This is pure bait and switch, and pure abuse of marketing. Using people to sell your stuff, promising them a long term commission based on their doing your advertising for them (word of mouth) and THEN just say "Okay, that's it! We decided we're not going to pay you any more for ANY of your level 2 members!" ??? REALLY, Manny?? You REALLY think this is a good company?????

Keep drinking the Kool-Aid!

If I sound bitter it's not about me. I actually am doing better with this new plan.

But what it shows me is that this company has no moral principles whatsoever. They will lie and change things again and again to make $, that's all they care about. Just like all the other corporations all they care about is their bottom line, never about the people.

They first showed this when they raised the prices for people using over 2gigs of data per month, after PROMISING "unlimited data" for $49/month.

Those people should have been grandfathered in based on the bill of goods they were sold.

Now getting rid of 2nd level payments is completely unacceptable and many many people had half the income they worked hard to get, wiped out in one fell swoop!

I cannot and will not justify this kind of behavior from a company that did it's utmost to convince me (and everyone else) it was about PEOPLE.

Clearly it's not about people, it's about making sure the people at the top get their pay while all those who did the hard work to build the business - the worker ants - get their pay CUT.

BULLCR*P!

But keep drinking the kool-aid. After a while you too will see that this company is not worth your time and you too will regret the time you put into it. Mark my words.

Good for you!
I wonder why you don't tell us all how much you're making with this after 2 years, and show some proof?
LOL.

I am in network marketing and have made $1k/month average, working just a few hours a week, for the last 2 years. I can provide proof.

My idea was to do the same with Solavei but I found it impossible to do without a huge list of "followers" which is how most have done well with it. OR people with tons of friends/family in an area where Solavei works well. That's the other problem: Solavei does not work well in a lot of locations and I had people cancel because of that.