Copyright 2008: Karen Hurd Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Network marketing works. The industry has nothing to prove in that regard. Network marketing is that it has created wealth and freedom for thousands and thousands of people for over 50 years. The truth is that what has worked for thousands and thousands of people will work for you.
The caveat is that you must obey the laws of network marketing. As Jim Rohn says, “success leaves clues”. You cannot violate the laws of network marketing and succeed any more than you can change the laws of gravity. If you have a poorly paying company (one in which the upline makes more off of your personal efforts than you make off of your personal efforts) then you must work the laws more diligently and tough it out longer than someone in a well paying company.
These are universal laws. They are true regardless of the company you are affiliated with. Obey them, understand them, and you will build a financial legacy for your family.
1) You must be committed to your dreams and goals. We are not talking about “fingers-crossed-wishing”. We are talking that unshakable, gut level determination. If you don’t have this, if you are just “hoping” this will work, don’t even get started. No successful person starts a business on a whim, or with a mere fantasy.
2) You must learn communication and people skills. This is a people and leadership development business. Understand people and you will understand network marketing. There is NO system that replaces people completely. Learn the personality colors or styles. Learn the art of active listening. Understand human behavior. Every wealthy person knows how people think. Every successful network marketer that I know or have trained under, is a master of understanding people and behavior.
3) You must be accountable to your mentor or upline. It’s amazing how this little thing matters. People who are dead serious about achievement in any endeavor are also serious about accountability. You must have someone who can hold your feet to the fire,encourage you when things go wrong and keep you on track. Can you imagine any Gold Medal Olympic athlete who was not accountable to their coach, or who didn’t log their practice hours?
4) You must prospect in sufficient quantity to match your dreams and income goals.
If you are buying leads for your business, then plan on 500-1,000 leads a month. Running ads? Run at least 5 ads/month. Making cold calls? You need at least 50 a week. Online advertising? You must have a system of advertising that is driving at least 100-200 hits a day to your capture page. One marketer I know of spends at least $2000/month in pay-per-click advertising alone. Working your warm market? You need to create a list of at least 200 people. The people who don’t prospect enough don’t make it.
5) You must prospect consistently. Not just on Tuesdays. You must prospect consistently 5 days a week. If you don’t have the time, then you make up the difference in advertising that drives people to your capture page. Prospecting like crazy for a week then doing nothing for the next 3 weeks is worthless.
6) You must understand that network marketing is a business of sorting and timing, not convincing or hard-selling. Sorting for those for whom this is the right thing to be doing right now. Pressuring people creates a bad image for our industry. Trying to make a networker out of someone who doesn’t like people is a waste of time. That’s why your trainer says “find people” instead of “create people”.
The sorting in our business is constant. First you sort through leads for serious prospects. Then you sort through the serious prospects for those who will join. From those that join, you sort for those who are coachable. Out of the coachable you sort through those who are resilient and who are making things happen. Out of those you sort for your star achievers and key leaders.
That’s how it works in sports teams and network marketing is no different.
7) You must be resilient. Your prospects are not there to meet your need to be liked. Sort through prospects. Develop relationships with those who are interested. Create deep relationships with those people in your organization that you can. Not everyone is willing. Remember this business is about those who WILL not those who WON’T.
8 ) You must understand that you will have distributors that quit. Do everything you can to lower attrition. However, that won’t change the people who quit on themselves. Every great leader in history lost people for one reason or another. It’s human nature. Prepare for it. Prospect enough so that your business can absorb the turnover. The moral of The Parable of the Sower (Bible – New Testament) is that most people WON’T stay for whatever reason. It’s not your fault. Focus on those that DO and stay. Those stay will create a magnificent harvest for themselves and for you.
9) This is a business of compound interest. Instead of compounding money, network marketing compounds people. It often starts slowly. Keep at it. It will build and compound. Those that understand that residual income is the result of compounding will create lifelong organizations and the “walk-away income” that made network marketing such a fabulous wealth vehicle.
10) Hang on tight to your dream, have a lose hold on the rest. Systems can change,compensation plans change, product lines change, methods of marketing change. The fundamental principles of network marketing are eternal.
Remain steadfast in your passion and determination to achieve your dreams through this unlimited industry. Make adjustments to your methods as the situation warrants it.
11) Never, Never, Never quit. Most people quit before the compounding starts. Big mistake. Apply the eternal principals, build your skills, stay focused, choose the right company, sort through enough people, and build with those who are willing. This works.
Tags: accountability, network marketing
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