MasterNetworker Article #97 - July 24, 2001
Copyright 2001 By Lon Lindsey
Now that you are actively involved in network marketing or at least taking a close look at it, I want to make you aware of a SERIAL KILLER OF NETWORK MARKETING BUSINESSES. By that I mean, a serial killer that attacks a network marketer and his business simply because of something that new network marketers just don't know and understand.
Excitement about what a network marketing business can do for a person in terms of goals and dreams is what draws people into network marketing. Let's face it, the real product in network marketing is "MAKING MONEY." Don't let anyone try to fool you, but that product must be supported by quality "real products" that are consumed on a regular basis so commissions are generated which creates the "making money" product.
When you combine a compensation plan that has you making money with a strong desire to make certain dreams a reality, it creates excitement. In fact, it's more than the money that gets people excited. It's really about what that money can do for a person. If you don't think so, do this. Tell yourself what you want if you had the money to get it. You see, although making money is the product, what you can do with that money is what the excitement is all about. So, it's about that new luxury sports car, or a million dollar house along the beach, or an income that allows you to quit working for a controlling boss or a retirement income that allows you to be financially independent or knowing your children's education is paid for, or traveling WHERE you want to WHEN you want to or it is ________________________________ (fill in your own dream.) Remember this formula:
A tremendous desire to make money (Your Why) + A vehicle to make it happen (A network marketing company) = EXCITEMENT!
This formula then translates into taking action which equates to joining a company as an independent distributor.
This is where the serial killer of network marketing creeps in. No, he doesn't creep in immediately. He is smarter than that. He knows where your excitement level is and in fact, the higher your excitement level, the more effective he will be. He waits until you have set unrealistic expectations, and allows you to act on those expectations for approximately 30 - 60 days and then pounces on you until you say "I give."
You see, what seasoned network marketers don't want to tell you for fear of your giving up before you start, is feeding this serial killer to the point that he will not only hurt your business, but will kill it before it even gets going. Network marketers need to provide you with the facts at the beginning so you know what to expect. In fact, with proper education and knowledge, you will be able to fight off this serial killer single handily.
Knowing this one little piece of information will totally change how you go about building your network marketing business. Knowing that 20% of the people do 80% of the work is so powerful that it stops our serial killer right in his tracks.
You see, our excitement about what a network marketing business can do for us allows us to set up unrealistic expectations. Don't get me wrong, having expectations and goals are important and even necessary, but they must be realistic. New networkers look at a business in terms of anyone who joins with them is going to work as hard at it as they are or at the least will purchase products for the sake of having the products. There are all kinds of reasons why that doesn't happen. In fact, I call it "The Lacka Syndrome." It could be lacka vision, lacka time, lacka funds, lacka desire, lacka knowledge, lacka help, lacka truth about network marketing or whatever. The thing is, 80% of the people who join network marketing programs have the "Lacka Syndrome" leaving the other 20% overcoming the "lacka syndrom" or at least attempting to.
I remember my first network marketing company. DID I LOVE THOSE
CIRCLES! I was excited about all those circles because it equated
into money which translated into some dreams I had. Filling those
circles was certainly a challenge in itself, but the real downer
came when I filled those circles only to find that 80% of the people
I had in my organization did nothing! In fact, they didn't even
purchase products! Why in the heck did they join in the first
place?!
It wasn't until later that I discovered something that happens in network marketing. In fact, it happens in such a way that in no other business would this be possible. Write this down and put it on a mirror and look at it daily. In network marketing, with only 20% of the people doing 80% of the work, millionaires are created! What other business can have only 20% of the employees working and yet that business be successful. With network marketing it is possible . .. . More than possible .. It happens all the time.
When you realize what I am saying here and you understand how that can be possible, it will totally change the way you think about building your business. Knowing this fact will totally incapacitate the serial killer of network marketing because it not only changes your attitude when you get people who do nothing, it energizes you to do something that is necessary to reach that million dollar income.
Okay, let's get down to where it is all at and channel your excitement towards real expectations so you can achieve your goals and dreams.
What building your business is all about is identifying those 20% who are going to be doing 80% of the work. In other words, your job is to go through all the "tire kickers" to find that 20% you are looking for. It's a process and it all starts with prospecting, recruiting and training. Your reward will be knowing that only 20% of the people you sponsor makes it possible for you to build a very successful income-generating business.
Out of these 20%, you will have some who are simply customers. Actually they are distributor customers who either want to purchase the products at wholesale or more likely they are distributor who think they may want to build a business but just don't get around to doing it. In fact, some will be victims of the serial killer unless you or someone else alerts them to the truth about network marketing.
Here is another exciting piece to the puzzle. Out of this 20% will
come those people who will build your income for you . . .in spite of
you!
Knowing this, I want to clue you in on something. Leaders are developed, not born! Now with this in mind, knowing this fact could actually speed up your building a huge income-generating business for yourself. If you are lucky, you might find one leader out of the 20% you sponsor . . .that is if you are lucky! If you take on the attitude that leaders must be developed, then your business will flourish and your business will grow in spite of you! If you provide a way for people in your organization to be developed into leaders, rather than your getting 1 leader (lucky if you do), you'll get at least 5 leaders based on a plan of development. Putting a few numbers to it .. .suppose you have 100 people in your business organization. You can figure on 20 of those people either purchasing products or building a business or both. Out of those 20, most likely you will not have one leader based on one just appearing. If you have a leader development plan, there is an excellent possibility that you will have five leaders emerge from those 20.
That brings me to leader development. You, personally, don't have to be a great teacher or mentor to develop leaders. All you really have to do is plug your people into what is available for leadership development. Many companies provide such via conference calls, training materials, regional meetings, newsletters and other training materials. Plug yourself into such tools and plug your people into the same AND communicate with your people and leaders will emerge.
I've heard this phrase over and over. "It's just a number's game." I totally dislike that phrase because it hints at a game of chance. Network marketing is not a game of chance. It is a business of numbers, but more than that, it is a business of people and the relationships you create with these people. Approaching your network marketing business based on a "numbers game" translates into a "chance" business. "Chance" businesses die! Planned businesses grow. You've probably heard the phrase, "develop a plan and work it." Plan for business growth, but understand the facts so you won't be a victim of the network marketing serial killer.
When you prospect, understand that the person you are prospecting could be your next leader, but understand that he may simply be a customer only or even worse, a non participant, but remember this . . . .if you have a plan of business-building based on leadership development each person you sponsor is another person closer to your next leader. In other words, in network marketing, you are looking for your next leader. It just so happens you start out through initial sponsoring that you find those people who will be your leaders in your business organization.
With network marketing, it is possible to become a million dollar income earner with the right company and with only 5 - 10 leaders whom you have sponsored if you teach the same process to those leaders and so on.
Let me mention another facet to business building. Remote marketing is another way to prospect and sponsor new business partners. Remote marketing is such that there is less people to people interaction and due to such, it sometimes requires more people to find those leaders, but only because of the nature of remote marketing. Some people prefer this approach over other types of prospecting and sponsoring. This includes advertising, postcard mail outs, flyers, emailing, etc. The good news is, it is possible to build a million dollar business in this manner also. It may be more costly due to postage or business-building costs and it might take slightly longer due to time delays in what is being done, but the results can be just as good if there is a leadership development program in place. You see, the key is . . .even though you may use remote marketing to attract people to you, there will be those people you can develop into leaders who will utilize additional ways to build their business.
In summary, I want to encourage you to have dreams, set goals, have expectations, but let them be realistic. The difference is when you have realistic expectations, you won't give up. You'll see your business-building efforts as a process based on how the industry really works. When you mail out that next batch of 200 postcards or you send out that next email blast or you place that next advertisement and the results were not what you thought they should be, consider that your expectations were wrong based on your not knowing the real truth about network marketing. Yo see, the real truth can actually set you free because now you know that 20% of the people do 80% of the work, yet you can still build a million dollar business when that happens. Only network marketing makes that possible!
Take on your business!
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