Many times I am asked, and in some cases confronted, about network marketing with many different negative connotations. There are some who think that anything to do with marketing in general must be some sort of hocus pocus that "scams" people into doing something that they don't really want to do.
And then there is the attachment to "selling" that comes with the word "marketing". It reminds me of the story that Zig Zigler tells about Willy Lohman, and I hope I have it spelled correctly, the salesman in the play "Death of a Salesman". Of course Willy is depicted as a failure in the play, and even his name, Willy Lohman, seems to denigrate his character even further. Pronounced Low-man, it would indicate that his station in life was less than desirable, and it's all due to his occupation. A sad story to be sure.
But that was then, and this is now. I believe that the "sales profession", and it is a profession in every sense of the word because it is really the art of developing a favorable relationship with the customer or prospective buyer to enhance the possibility of gaining their business, and this is a learned skill that does not always come naturally. To some it might, but those are a very fortunate few. For most a considerable amount of time and effort must go into learning what, how, when, where and why to employ their profession. Most of the time the necessary skills are learned "on the job",so to speak, and because this is generally the case, the only way to overcome any deficiencies that might exist in the salesperson's techniques, is to increase the numbers of approches, or attempts, that he or she makes. The theory is that the more times you try, and fail, the more you learn from your mistakes, and with adjustments, the sooner you weed out the techniques that don't work, and begin applying only the techniques that do work. Great theory, but fatally flawed from the very beginning because the human psyche will not withstand the battering that the perceived rejection delivers, and so, the newcomer will fall by the wayside long before any real chance for success has had time to play out unless they are just really lucky.
So how do we avoid this high attrition rate among those we are recruiting for our network marketing organization? There are three things that are paramount in my opinion.
First, you have to be honest with the person you are inviting to your business and understand that not everyone is a fit for what you do. Be fair and don't be painting pictures of instant success and wildly exaggerated expectations of earnings.
Second, you need to help the new recruit develop an attitude toward themselves that will enhance their chances of success. Help them to develop the attitude that they are "problem solvers" who may happen to have a solution for some problems, but that there aren't too many products or services that will be needed by everyone. You might think that they need it, but do they? Even if they do, if they don't percieve the need, then it might just as well not even exist.
Finally, you need to help them develop faith and hope. Part of any success is in the "believing" that it can really become a reality. How will they survive approaching the large numbers of people who will have to be invited to their business if they are to succeed? I think it's by understanding that most of the people who join them will NOT be as excited about the business as they are. In fact, the tendency of most new recruits is to sort of sit back and watch their sponsor to see how the "plan" is working for them. If they get a sense that their sponsor is growing their business and earning money, then they will likely get more involved, but if you, as the sponsor, are spending all your time trying to get them to "do something" that you have told them they need to do before success will come, then they dont' have a model to guide them. People will follow a leader, and a leader is someone who is out front, doing the things that they are teaching. Ask yourself, are you a leader? What do you want your organization to look like? Have you ever heard the expression "birds of a feather flock together"? Then when you attract someone to you who wants to be a part of what you are doing, allow them to "become" an associate, an equal, and give them all the help you can without expecting them to do anything in return. For me that means not only making sure that the businesses I associate with are reputable, but that when someone chooses to join my organization they are shown where to get and how to use the tools to promote their new homebased business. There is a wealth of information out there, and much of it is free to use. You just need to know where to get it. One of my favorite places to get the basics and some good "first step" training by the experts is at SOHOMATIC (The Small Office Home Office Website). One could spend the better part of a half day purusing the materials and presentations there, and it's all straight forward, down to earth information.
I have a mentor who is fond of saying "people won't care how much you know until they know how much you care". Isn't that the truth? I believe it is. So just walk the walk and let them have a chance to see you moving forward. If they like what they see you will not only get an associate, you will get a little bonus along with it... A leader in your organization who will most likely emulate what they have seen you do.
