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The 7 Great Half-truths of Network Marketing

There is a great ebook I read once. You have probably heard of it and if you haven’t read it, you should. I think some of the points of that book are somewhat dated or I guess just don’t apply to the businesses I do, so I decided to express my opinions on those points.

1. Everyone is your prospect

No, Everyone is not a potential prospect. However, everyone you come in contact with could possibly know someone that is a good prospect for your business. This means that you should still make it a point to tell everyone about your business. The trouble comes when you become a walking commercial and nobody wants to hang out with you. Don’t be “that guy”! Don’t try and shove your business down anyone’s throat.

2. This Really Isn’t Sales, We Just Share Products With People

This is total bull. Of course this is sales. You want money in return for goods or services. However, this is not a door-to-door-sell-a-refrigerator-to-an-Eskimo type business. You can’t go around overcoming objections and forcing people into things. You will be wasting your time, you will lose all the people you sponsor, your returns will be ridiculous. Don’t Be A Sales-Weasel!

3. Anyone Can Do This

Anyone with a true desire for success can do this. There are no real prerequisites. If you are willing to learn as much as possible and share that passion and knowledge with others, you are more than halfway there. You don’t have to have sales experience or be able to give an excellent presentation. Ultimately, people will listen to you because you are honest and confident in what you tell them.

4. We’ll Build Your Business For You

Of course “we” will, but this is usually only going to happen when it directly affects the success of your upline. Obviously, anything you make helps your upline, but you will get the most assistance in building your business when your upline needs you to get promoted in order to get them promoted.

5. We Have The Best Product Ever

If you think the product is crap, then it is crap. You can’t represent something that you don’t believe in. However, the product itself is pretty much irrelevant. Think of every network marketing product as a gun. All guns can shoot stuff, but some do it a little better than others and it always depends on who is doing the shooting. Use Common Sense, so when you’re looking to compare tools as this Webinar Jam, information as this Demio Review can result really useful

6. You Just Don’t Have Enough Belief

Actually, as silly as it seems, this one is more true than false. You have to truly believe in what you are doing to be successful at it. I could hook you up with the “best” company with the most lucrative, turn-key, automated system. You will still fail if you don’t believe it actually works. Everyone you contact will run from you because they will see that you don’t believe in yourself or your product.

7. The Proven System

There is definitely a proven system with most companies that you join. This system has probably worked for most of the people in that company in making a little money on the side. This system is how things have always worked. Eventually, though, every system has to be upgraded. Don’t just blindly do what “they” tell you to. Do your research. Network and learn from others.

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You Are NOT a Salesperson

People seem to have a huge misconception about network marketing and the people who are involved with it. They seem to think that this is an industry of salespeople. This is a perception that not only prevents many people from succeeding in this industry, but it prevents many people outside of the industry from benefiting from it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a business about making money by selling some type of product at some point. It is about building a network of people around you that you earn money from. It is about promotions, marketing, and sales. The problem is that it is NOT an industry of salespeople. This is not about convincing someone to buy stuff they may not even want or need.

This is a service industry. If you don’t understand that the goal is to help as many people as you can, you have already failed. On the one hand, you are charged with providing people with a quality product that will enrich their lives in some way. On the other, you are able to give people the power to make a positive and significant change in their lifestyle.

I once spoke to a prospect who was a car salesman. He was all about “making the sale” and “closing the deal.” He kept telling me that every conversation is about closing a sale. Coming from a sales background myself, I can understand what he is saying. Did I want him on my team? No. Never called him back.

There are a couple of ideas you should definitely take away from this article:

  • If they say “No,” then leave it alone. People don’t like to be sold. All you are doing is setting yourself up for returns and cancellations
  • If you have to “sell” someone to enroll them, you have to keep selling them to keep them on your team

Don’t set yourself up for failure. This industry is not about slick sales tactics to trick people. If this is your strategy, you will fail.

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Doh! You Forgot to Close!

You are having a great conversation with a prospect. You have related on many different levels. You’ve laughed, you’ve cried, you’ve discussed personal issues. You even find out that you may be related or once lived in the same neighborhood. Everything is going great. You really feel like you can help this person to succeed and that they would be an excellent addition to your team. You hang up the phone feeling good about that call. You feel as though you have accomplished something. So what’s wrong?

You Forgot To Close the Deal!

You let that person go without: adding them to your team, getting a committment from them as to when they want to join you, or even scheduling a definite callback!

What are you doing?!

This is probably one of the most common failings of many marketers and it is actually a very simple one to fix… Continue reading “Doh! You Forgot to Close!”