Together..... We Will Succeed!

Just for Clarification...I didn't change ANYTHING about the Network Marketing Business Model. It's a Beautiful Thing as it is! And what it is, at its heart, is a Free Enterprise, Level Playing Field, Accessible but Scalable, Small Business Opportunity.

Having said all that (and that was a lot to say...I know), so many people never really achieve any level of noteworthy success "Doing" this business. 

So why is that?  Well, it's NOT the business model, because for so many other people, the business model works GREAT. 

I believe that a Big Part of attaining success in this business, is a person's approach to "Doing" this business in the first place. Both Figuratively and Literally!  

And that’s where the “Reverse Engineering” comes into play...in the Approach.  How you should think about the business to begin with AND some do’s and don’ts that go right along with that more Empowering Perspective.

For Example:

In keeping with my theme of "A Business Owner's Approach to Building a Successful Network Marketing Business", I don't know of any business owners out there, from any other types of businesses, that weren't ABSOLUTELY Intentional about building their business, resigned to the fact that it wasn't going to be easy, but knew (without ANY guarantee of success) that they were going to make it happen...One Way or Another!

This is usually because these people had something on the line...typically MONEY they had to invest or a steady JOB that they had left behind, in order to get started. So they had to make it happen! No Ifs, Ands or Buts about it!!

This should also be the Attitude and Approach that every person trying to build a Network Marketing Business brings to the table, Every Single Day. Whether they are tying to build a small business, a small business they intend to Scale Up someday or a Really Big Business from the Get-go, the approach they have to have, is that their Network Marketing Business, is as real of a business, as ANY other possible business that they could have gotten involved with.

Unfortunately, because no one is actually writing any huge checks or taking out second mortgages on their homes or quitting their very stable jobs tomorrow morning to get started in their brand new Network Marketing careers, many new distributors don't truly view this opportunity as a Real Business at all. To them, it's kind of a no lose, if it works - it works, "some-time" (not even part-time) money making "Gig" instead.

And that's Incredibly Ironic! Because two of the many reasons that make Network Marketing such a "Beautiful" business model in the first place (namely its Financial Accessibility AND the opportunity to build a scalable part-time business, in and around the hours that it takes for other commitments - like a full-time job) are the same two reasons that some people take it less seriously. They equate ease of entry with a lack of legitimacy for some reason. And as a consequence, they develop the wrong idea about this whole thing and they stand to lose out on, what could quite possibly be, one of the Best Business Opportunities that they will ever ACTUALLY be able to take advantage of.

So Perception is important. Attitude is important. And together, they affect your Approach, which is important.  

Therefore, to help you see and create a more "Business Owner" Like Approach to "Doing" this business for yourself, I've listed below a number of "Ways" or "Approaches" to building a Network Marketing Organization, that are a little, to a whole lot different, than what has traditionally been taught to New Distributors just getting started.

So check them out and see how they feel to you.  Ask me questions for further clarity.  And use them - IF YOU WANT! 

Disregard them - if you don't!!

Ultimately, that's one of the OTHER great things about Network Marketing...It's your business. And as long as you're Honest, Work Hard and you're Consistent with your Effort, you can use Any Approach you want to.  Because again...It's YOUR Business!!!

So, here they are. Let's get started.....

1.  People closest to you should be your first, your best and longest lasting "customers" for sure. But that's about it. Unless you have a very unique relationship on your hands or you've been doing this business successfully for a while, I don't believe that it's a great idea to try and "recruit" the people closest to you "into the business"...for a variety of reasons.

In other words, in this business we need customers and we need partners (other distributors like us) who want to build their own businesses. So, with that thought in mind, figure out ahead of time, from your Initial Master List of Contacts, the people that you already know really well, the people that you know of (and would want to get to know better) and everybody else in between, who's who in those two categories and then stick to that. Who's best suited to be a prospective customer and who's best suited as a potential business partner? At least for right now. Deciding on this ahead of time, will make your Business Life and your Personal Life much less complicated, less stressful and believe it or not, actually quite Fun! 

Yep...I said FUN! This business, when done right, can be a whole lot of Fun!

The reality of this, is that most of the time in Network Marketing, it IS suggested that you talk to your Family and Friends FIRST, about joining “Your Business”.

The exact opposite of what I'm promoting! 

And that's just because the perception is, that the people closest to you will be easier for you (a new person) to start with. But that's just not true! At least when it comes to looking for, finding and ultimately sponsoring other distributors into their own businesses. 

On the other hand, if you have some Really Great and some Really Unique products in your portfolio (and by the way....We Do!) you can approach those people closest to you with absolute CONFIDENCE about OUR PRODUCTS, knowing that you have a large number of things that are Very Interesting and potentially Very Beneficial to SHARE with them.

I know that if a friend of mine called me up and said....

"Ed, you know that I'm starting a new business and I'm gonna take my best shot at building this thing as big as I possibly can make it, for sure. But, in order for me to do that, I have to start someplace, so I need to develop a core group of customers. And I'd love for you and Katie to be two of those founding customers. But you know, I don't want you guys to buy ANYTHING from me, JUST because of that! We really do have some pretty cool stuff, in a number of different categories, and it would be really awesome...if you guys could  just take a look at them and see if there's anything at all that you might find interesting and be willing to try out. And who knows, maybe you'll even fall in love with something and become a customer for life?" 

If someone close to me asked me to "just take a look" at his or her products, just to see if there was something I might like, I would be All Over That!  Of Course I would and I'd actually be pretty excited to see what kind of things that he had to SHARE with me.

And one last thing.  And this is the COOL part.  If my friend didn't, because it wasn't the original premise for us getting together, try to "recruit me" into his business while I was there, things just wouldn't get awkward. Everything would stay light and fun and you know, I would probably end up buying something from him. I also know that I would be pretty excited for him starting up a new business and I'd be truly supportive in his efforts and interested in his progress over time.

But that's just me. How about you?  How would you feel if your friend or your brother or sister approached YOU like that?

Would you be offended, or would you be curious and supportive? 

I think most people would fall on the supportive side of that question....and just how COOL would that be, for you and your potential new business, to have that kind of Loyal and Supportive group of people actually rooting you on!

2.  Use the Front Door, not the Side Door or the Back Door when approaching potential partners (new distributors), about the Business Opportunity. 

As I've mentioned before in my Welcome Story, there isn't a shortage of people, even in this good economy, looking for a legitimate business opportunity to listen to and evaluate.

So keep your eyes and ears open and when you notice someone special, start a conversation with them. Find out more about them - who they are, what do they do, what do they WANT to do in the future. And when you know those things, if you still feel there's something special about them, ask them if they'd be open to a serious conversation about a serious business opportunity. 

And guess what? They'll tell you! 

If it's YES (and there's a Very Good Chance it will be), swap contact information with them and call them back later to set up a face to face appointment to discuss the whole idea with them in more detail.

No Games, No Wasted Time!

3.   We're in the Distribution Business, so products need to be sold. You need to have real customers...repeating, loyal customers who enjoy the products and buy regularly.  But You DON'T need to sell the whole world! That's not how massive volume is created in Network Marketing. 

Instead, we all build teams of distributors, who also have their own loyal group of  customers that they serve.  It's through this "Network" of distributors and their own "Relatively" Small Groups of loyal customers, that accounts for all the sales revenue of the company.  And that's how we get paid the commissions on our own personal sales and the overrides we get on our sales teams' volume. In order to do that successfully, we need to understand the "DNA" of Network Marketing.  We need to break this down to the basic building blocks (a.k.a DNA) of this business. With simple, understandable and actionable steps.

In all the research I've done over the years, I just haven't seen it described this way.  But it will help you to keep "first things first" and it will help you to more easily and effectively describe this business to others that you're working with. Because.....

4.  We're also in the "Communications" Business and you need the right tools and the right words to be able to communicate what this business Really Is, how this business Really Works and how your potential partners could benefit from it. 

That's where I come in. That's where this website comes in (as a tool for me, for you and for others). And that's where growing your KNOWLEDGE & UNDERSTANDING comes in. The more you get to know this industry, the more you'll understand it. And the more you understand what it Really Is and how it Really Works, the more you're gonna appreciate it...and the better you'll become at talking about it with others, in a more comfortable and authoritative way. Then, at that point, people will become even more attentive and attracted to you and you're message...and then, that in turn will make it more likely that you'll ultimately go on to build something that's Significant and Meaningful!

5.  Your List, Your Leads and Personal OBSERVATION.

You do need to learn how to use your initial Master List of personal contacts and how to Create and Talk to New Leads in the right way. This is Super important for sure.  But, IF you can learn how to develop the "POWER OF PERSONAL OBSERVATION" (as Grover 2.0 from Sesame Street might say), you'll always have Interesting and Interested people to talk to!  

In fact, that's how I found you!

6.  Plus: A number of other things we can discuss when the time is right...Like putting together a Real Business Plan and figuring out what are the Best Times of the Day that you can actually work on your new business...before you ever get started talking to anyone else about it.  And on top of that, how you can get your family involved (in a supportive role), including your kids (if you have any) no matter what age they are!

7.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot -

The Biggest Difference between the traditional way that most Distributors approach people about the Business Opportunity and the "Business Owner's Approach" to doing it, is in "the order" in which you present the Various Parts of the opportunity itself.

Here's what I mean:

Typically, Distributors will emphasize their company's products, just how Great they are, what the Market Trends are for those products and how Uniquely Positioned their company is to take advantage of those trends. 

Then they'll talk about the Company itself, like how long they've been around, how big they are (or if they're not that big yet - just how FAST they're growing), and the Fantastic Company Culture they've created over the years! 

Now honestly, that SOUNDS like a lot of hype...and IT IS! But that DOESN'T mean that it's not true. It could absolutely be true...ALL of it in fact.  

But here's the problem with this approach.  Even if all of this IS true (and as Distributors, it's Incredibly Important to have Really Great Products, to be on the right side of a trend, a Fantastic Company backing you up and to be part of an Awesome Company Culture), the fact remains that the Biggest, Most Important Part of the Business Opportunity is...the Business Model itself...Network Marketing! Unfortunately, many Distributors downplay or even neglect this aspect of the business, because they think that it will scare away most of the people that they're talking to. 

Well, guess what? You get what you project, in Life and in Business!  Especially this one!!

So what happens is, people get all excited about the product(s), the market trends, the company itself and the company culture, but then their excitement starts to wane as they figure out that this is network marketing.  So, some people will say "forget about it" immediately, while some other people will "try" it anyway. But because they don't have Any Conviction about the business model itself, they usually have very poor results and Zero Fun! 

In their minds it becomes a Devolving Scenario. And you can see it...excited about the products, the trends, the company and the culture, BUT depressed about the business model. In fact, they don't really think that it's any kind of "business" model at all. It's JUST a sales Gig to them and nothing to get truly excited about.

These people just don't know. They're ignorant to the true facts about Network Marketing. How it actually works and what about it that makes it such a great business opportunity - for almost anyone whose willing to learn the business and apply themselves.

And that's because that info, that "INCREDIBLE" part of the story (which makes this whole thing work in the first place), was never really shared with them. At least not with the kind of passion and conviction that the products, the market trends, the company's history and the company's culture were all shared with them.

On the other hand, if in the first conversation you have with potential new Business Partners, who have ALREADY indicated a willingness to hear about a way for them to actually own their own business, was about How Great the Network Marketing Business Model truly is, How it "Really" Works and Ultimately, How They Personally Could Benefit from it...the chances are really good, that they going to get an education from that conversation. They are going learn some valuble information and important distinctions and because of that, they'll be Much More Excited and Open about the entire business and all of its possibilities. Because now, they'll actually see it as a Real Business, with Real & Great Products and Significant Upside Potential which they could scale up to someday!

Then, after you've properly explained the business model and they're on board with that aspect of the business...you can layer in the rest of the story - about the Great Products, and the Positive Market Trends, and the Fantastic Company and the Awesome Company Culture that they built.  

You see, the story is still the same and ALL true, just as I said earlier. But now, because the emphasis and the order of the story was adjusted, everyone has something more tangible (and Substantial) that they can sink their teeth into and GET really excited about. But more importantly...STAY excited about it!

This method ultimately creates an INFINITELY better chance for Everyone to achieve Success in their Businesses.