Creating a steady income from home can be a daunting process. Being successful from home can often take more work than your regular 9 to 5. But, if you learn to break things down and follow a simple forumla, your home business can give you all the income and time freedom that you are seeking in a work from home business.

My successful business formula involves 5 steps. I follow these same five steps with every person I come into contact with. Having a system not only makes my days more organized, but also it opens up more time for me to enjoy the financial rewards that the system creates.

Here is my simple formula:

Step 1; Collect Leads:

This is an entire article in itself (which is in the works). For the sake of keeping this article on track, I will touch on this only briefly. There are many ways to get leads. You can buy leads, place ads in papers and on the net, use ad words, submit your site to search engines, mail postcards, etc. There are literally 100's of ways to advertise. The trick is finding a couple of advertising techniques that you like best and that fit your budget and then try them out. Those that bring you the most success can be tweaked further to give you the results you want. Just remember to always test each ad or lead generating technique you use. From my own experience, I like to talk to those that are in my business and find out what they are doing. They have most often been through the trial and error process and can save you some time.

Step 2; Call Leads:

This is the step that most people have reservations about. If you want to be successful in any home business, you must pick up the phone. This does not mean "cold" calling people. I never call anybody that has not asked to hear about my home business. Use your lead generating techniques in step one to create leads that want to hear from you and then contact them. Whether you business costs $5 or $5000 to join, people want to know that there is a real person behind the business that they can consult with questions. Talking to them and establishing a rapport and trust will go a long way to making sure that the prospect joins you in your home business. When still a "rookie" to making calls, it is best to have a script or outline to follow. This is not to say that you read directly from that. Just use it as a guide to keep you on track and in control of the call. Most importantly in regards to calls......LISTEN. Listen and take notes about what the prospect is telling you. Remember, you are trying to get to know this person and establish their trust.

Step 3; Email

It is hard to ignore this powerful tool. When collecting my leads, I always get an email and phone number to use in step 2 and 3 of my system. Just as I do not make cold calls, I do not send emails to those who have not asked for it. Spam complaints will kill your business and your rapport with people. When I get an email, I simply have that email address automatically entered into an autoresponder. My autoresponder then sends messages every few days to keep me fresh in my prospects mind. Autoresponders are a must have for any business. They allow you to stay in contact for long periods of time while doing virtually no work. They also increase the amount of times your prospect is exposed to you and your business. Remember this, on average a prospect must see your message 5 to 12 times before joining you.

Step 4; Direct Mail Information Packet.

With all of the new email laws and email blocking systems, direct mail is making a comeback. As I said in step 3, you want to expose yourself to your prospect as many times as possible. But, if you use one method of exposure....your prospect may begin to ignore you. Diversifying your exposure types will keep them interested. I must state that I do not mail information packets to everybody. Only those that I have talked with and that have expressed interest. Mailing the packets can become expensive if you mail them to everyone. That said, putting the pack together is very easy. I used the ad copy on my website to develop the packet. Then I throw in a business card or flyer and send it on its way. This also makes sure that people actually see the content of your site. Many have seen so many websites that they just browse them. They are more apt to sit down and read printed text than to sit at their computer and read through your website.

Step 5; Direct Mail Postcard.

Postcards, like direct mail, give you another way to expose yourself to your prospects. They are fun to design and can be sent quickly and easily. Because they are less expensive than the direct mail packets, I send a postcard to all of my leads. People love getting postcards. They do have the junk mail stigma and if designed well, they can give a personal touch to your business. I actually send a postcard campaign that sends multiple postcards over a period of 45 - 60 days to my prospects. I use a service that does this automatically and even personalizes each card for me.

Always remember this, it takes on average 5 to 12 exposures to get somebody into your business. My 5-step process actually includes multiple exposures within each step. For example, my emails include phone numbers to live calls and links to movies to watch. One email can get me three or more exposures. The key to any business is to have a formula or process to follow. Knowing what you are going to do each day keeps you focused and allows you to track how your business is doing and what may or may not be working.

That's it! Those 5 simple steps earn me a consistent 6-figure income from home. Your results may differ based on your business, and your compensation plan among other things, but this process will definitely increase your sign up rate.