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…But by the Content of Their Character

Success is not based on who is following you on Twitter. Success is not based on how much traffic you get to your blog each day or how many people are subscribed to your RSS feed. Success is not the measure of how many people appear to be watching your content online. If this paragraph makes you frown in confusion, you most certainly need to read on because you are in need of some help.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Aug. 28, 1963

(Thanks to @boycaught for reminding me of the full quote)

This quote by Dr. King not only applies to race, but to any other insignificant or material characteristic of a person. You can’t judge yourself or anyone else based on the statistics surrounding your online presence. Darren even breaks it down into an equation for you and shows how detrimental it can be to your success.

In my post, A Leader Doesn’t Care What You Think, I give a few examples of some characteristics that most leaders share. The overall idea is that someone who is successful, a leader, is one who is always looking ahead. These are people that are always trying to learn from those smarter than themselves.

Is Scoble a success because he has the entire Social Media Militia following him, or are they following him because he often leads to something new and interesting?

Scoble has said on a few different occasions that he seeks to talk to someone interesting and/or learn something new everyday. He doesn’t base his life on what others think about him. This is the attitude you should have if you want to have anything close to the status and respect he has.

Just recently, Twitter users lost huge numbers of their followers and the community was (still is, actually) in an uproar. Their ability to broadcast to hundreds and thousands of listeners was taken away. Cyndy is actually depressed that some Social Medialites are more focused on broadcasting than actually having a conversation, while Corvida writes that this is a golden opportunity to reach out and expand your horizons.

These ideas extend well beyond the realm of the Social Media community, past “The Internets”, and right into your own home:

  • You are not the center of the universe
  • You must become a comet, a moving target
  • No one can follow you if you’re standing still
  • No one will even notice you

Make sure you are not so full of yourself that you can’t take  in anything new. Allow yourself to grow. People will start to listen to you. Your prestige will rise. The followers, the traffic, and all the numbers that some obsess over will eventually follow suit.

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Just Say No!

Everyone remembers this phrase from back in the day. It was supposed to help deal with the large number of young kids abusing drugs in the 80’s and 90’s.  I’m afraid it didn’t really work, you want to know why? because back in the day there were no rehabs like the holistic drug rehab centers around today that also help you on where to go after detox, like Life Assurance Recovery. This is proven by the fact that a lot of network marketers and home-business owners to this day refuse to say “No.”

Let me explain. How many times have you been on the phone with a prospect and you could tell they would NOT be a good addition to your team? Maybe they sounded lazy, not really interested, asked too many negative questions, or maybe they even asked you outright if you were trying to scam them. What did you say? Did you try to overcome their objections or did you do what a pro would do and tell them to kick rocks?

As I stated in a previous article: You Are NOT a Salesman. You are not out to change everyone’s mind about joining your business or buying your product. You are here to help those that want to be helped. When you are prospecting, you are interviewing people and sorting them to see if they will be able to benefit your organization.

If it seems like you are putting in too much work to enroll someone, just tell them straight up: “I’m sorry, I don’t think you would be a good fit for this position. Good Luck!” and end the conversation there. Time is your most important resource because you can NEVER get it back. Never Waste Your Time!

If you are going to be successful in this business, you have to be a leader. Maybe you don’t feel like one. Maybe you’re kind of shy. Maybe you didn’t hang out with the “cool” kids in high school. Who Cares! You are running things now. This it YOUR business. Own It!

You are the one offering help to someone else. You already run your own business and the person on the other end of the line wants what you have to offer. You do not need them to sign for you to be successful. You are already a success! This person will not make or break you because you keep your pipeline filled in many different ways.

I would like you to perform an exercise I read about in Mike Dillard’s “Essential Reports” e-Book (bundled with the highly-recommended Magnetic Sponsoring System). The next time you’re doing calls, make it a point to tell at least 5 people “No.” Just pick any old excuse and tell them that you don’t think they are going to work out.

This exercise will change your mindset and your posture instantly because it gives you all of the power and it will help you adopt a mindset of abundance which is a critical trait that all Alphas share. Your mind will finally understand that you are the leader, and that the success of your business is not dependent upon any one person or handful of leads.

-Mike Dillard

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Please Hold All Questions

After dialing about 30 numbers (15 of which were disconnected), leaving about 10 voicemails, and listening through about 4 of the most annoying callertunes ever, you finally get someone on the phone. You are conducting your interview of this potential prospect, feeling them out, when they decide to interrupt you with a question of their own.

What do you do?

Some reading this may have no idea why this is even an issue (don’t worry, I’m going to bring you up to speed). Others are smiling right now because they already know where this is headed. The bottom line is: the person asking the questions is the one in control of the conversation.

Do police officers or soldiers answer questions? No, they control situations. They ask YOU questions. They slap your questions aside like mosquitoes on a muggy day.

Think of your interview as a fencing match. The person asking the questions is the one on the attack. They are in control. They are looking for a weakness or flaw to take advantage of in their opponent. The other participant is simply defending. They hold no sway in the outcome at this point. Unless the attacker makes a mistake.

So, where do prospects get off interrupting you to ask you questions? You are supposed to be a leader, a master recruiter, an expert in your field. Start acting like one and control the conversation! You do it however you feel comfortable, but you do NOT answer any questions until you are done asking your own. Here’s a couple of examples of things you might say:

  • “That’s a great question and I’m glad you asked it! We’ll be getting to that in just a sec. Now, you said you have 2 kids, right?”
  • “The purpose of this call is simply to find out if you would be a good fit for my company. My time is very valuable, so we can either end the call here or I can continue the interview. Which would you like?”

Notice how both statements end with a question directed back to the prospect. This puts control of the conversation firmly back in your hands. You are probably going to stick with a variation of, “Good question, I’ll be covering that shortly. [insert random question here].”

Of course, you don’t want to sound like a robot and you may want to make sure that “random question” allows you to pick up right where you left off. If someone is consistently interrupting, then you may want to go with the more stern example above and probably end up sending them along their way. One of the best things you can do to avoid battling for control is to tell your prospect to write down any questions they may have so that you can answer them later.

Not only will controlling the conversation help you to maintain your leadership status, but it will help you sort you prospects faster as well.