Discover The Lie Of Network Marketing - Lie#5

Lie #5 – We have the best products ever!

"We have the best products ever!"

Now it’s not that this statement isn’t necessarily true (although often it isn’t)…it’s that it doesn’t matter. Hang in there for a second, I’ll explain.

Like most of them, this lie takes on many different forms. Here’s just a few of the variations:

The product sells itself!
Nothing else on the market can even compare to this!
We have the most lucrative comp plan in the industry!
Our leadership team is unbeatable!

Each one of these assertions could go off on their own little tangents, but really what they all boil down to is this: Network marketers place all the emphasis on all the wrong things.

It’s not that all these things (product, compensation plan, leadership, etc.) aren’t important.

These are all critical elements.

The problem is that while everyone is focusing on all this stuff, they forget about the most important factor of all.

To illustrate this problem, consider investment properties for a moment. There’s an important lesson to be gleaned from real estate that can help shed some light on the situation.

It’s often said that the three most important factors in choosing investment real estate are
(1) location, (2) location, and (3) location.

If you’re looking at a piece of property from an investment perspective, you shouldn’t be admiring the beautiful perennials out back…or concerning yourself with how many kids the neighbor has…or noticing how well the drapes go with the carpet. If you are, you’re looking at it through the eyes of a home owner, not an investor.

In order for your endeavor to turn out profitably, you have to keep the main thing the main thing.

Well, just like real estate, when it comes to running a highly-profitable business, a similar formula needs to be applied. Namely the most important factor of all is…
(1) Marketing, (2) Marketing, and (3) Marketing!

This may seem obvious to you, but think about how many people go running around, diving headfirst into one company after another, following the latest and greatest product, only to end up scratching their heads when they don’t make any money. I know used to.

Just as focusing on things like the landscape, the flowers and the neighbors is the way a home buyer looks at a property rather than an investor…putting all your focus on things like the product, the compensation plan and the corporate leadership is the way a consumer looks at a company rather than a business owner.

Let me share something else with you, a personal story, to help drive the point home further.

There is a friend of mine who is a physicist and an inventor. He’s designed lasers for the military and has also helped design Harley Davidson’s assembly line.

A lot of his work involves light and its uses. About 6 years ago he invented a lighting design of his own that he had very high hopes for.

The invention was a light that produced no glare whatsoever on any surface it shined on.

Perhaps not the most glamorous invention you’ve ever heard of but it has a ton of great uses in situations like illuminating photos in a gallery, reading things in the dark and providing lighting for detailed mechanical and electronic work.

Well that was 6 years ago and he’s been trying to market it ever since.

He’s literally driven around the country in his car trying to peddle it to whatever businesses will listen to him. To no avail. He has not one contract to this day.

My friend is a brilliant man and an incredible scientist. But heaven knows he’s no salesman.

He’d probably score in the negative on the marketing IQ test. He hasn’t been able to sell his product because he doesn’t know how to market it and he doesn’t have the necessary sales skills.

He doesn’t understand the most important fundamental of all: It’s not about the product.
It’s about the marketing.

Please allow this to sink in:
You Can Have The Most Ground-Breaking Product
In The World, But If You’re Not Using Effective
Marketing, No One Will Know And No One Will Care.

Effective sales & marketing is bar-none the most important function of a business.

Think of it this way: A one-of-a-kind product that’s being shipped from Chicago to New York is only as good as the truck that’s carrying it. If the truck breaks down and never reaches its destination, it doesn’t matter how great the product inside it is.

Well, your sales and marketing system is the truck that carries your product. No matter how good your product is, it doesn’t matter if your marketing can’t deliver it.

Not only that, but sales is the only activity in a business that actually brings in the cash.

Think about it. Every other activity uses up that cash.

The product, the compensation plan, the timing, the people, the leadership, the management…all crucial aspects of a business…but none of them are income producing activities.

The revenue brought in from sales is what makes it all possible. It’s the driving force behind everything.

And that’s why you need to be more concerned about the sales strategies you’re using than anything else.

This can’t be emphasized enough. It could be the most important thing you ever learn in your network marketing career.

And understand this:
You Can Make A Lot Of Money With An Awesome Marketing Plan And A Mediocre Product. You Will Never Even Come Close To Making As Much With An Awesome Product And A Mediocre Marketing Plan.

Don’t believe me?

Ask Robert Kiyosaki:
In his book ‘Cashflow Quadrant’, Robert talks about how he has people approach him all the time about starting a new business or how to raise money for a new project. He can instantly tell whether that person’s focus is on the product or the system of business by the words they say.

Things like:
“This is a much better product than company xyz makes.”
“Nobody else can compete with this product.”

After listening to their pitch, he slowly asks them, “Can you personally cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” So far, everyone he’s asked that question has said “yes,”
they can.

He then asks, “So, if you can cook a better hamburger, why does McDonald’s make more money than you?”

Some people see the difference immediately and some just don’t get it. The problem, as Robert explains, is that most people focus on perfecting their skills at making a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger. McDonald’s may not make the best hamburger, but they are the best at selling and delivering a basic, average hamburger.

He then goes on to say how the absolute most important skills a business owner can ever develop are sales and marketing.

Or as Seth Godin, former Vice President of Marketing for Yahoo!, says:
“Marketing is all there is. You don’t win with better shipping or manufacturing or accounts payable. You win with better marketing…”

Why I am I telling you this?

What’s the lesson for network marketers?

Simply this: Your product (or your opportunity), no matter how good, will not sell itself and will not make you rich.

Also, keep this in mind:
You May Believe With All Your Heart That Your Company Is The Best, Hands Down…
But So Does Everyone Else.

Therefore, the person who succeeds is not the one with the best company, but the one who can do the best job communicating the idea of their company.

Now just so that no one gets the wrong impression, I want to stop and emphasize something.

I am not saying that your product doesn’t need to be top-quality. It does. I am a firm believer that the only way to do business is to provide a product or service that far exceeds your customer’s expectations. Both for ethical reasons and for the obvious business reasons of getting repeat business from satisfied customers. Anything that you sell to anyone should always be of enormous value in comparison to what they paid you for it. It should always over-deliver.

An unbeatable combination therefore, is to have a killer marketing strategy and a killer product. You want the best of both worlds.

BUT
the reason I’m stressing marketing so much is because in MLM industry, it is so sorely lacking.

Many times people are given the impression that if they’ve got an awesome product, they’re as good as gold and the rest is all gravy. The product will do all the selling for them and they’ll be swimming in money.

At this point, you may be thinking something along the lines of: “Well, seeing as how I’m in network MARKETING…that means my sales and marketing system should be pretty much taken care of for me. I mean, we use one-to-one sales and word of mouth
which of course everyone knows is the most powerful form of marketing there is.”

That’s what they’d like you to think. But unfortunately it’s not the case.

You see, one of the most important (and shocking) things I realized when I made my transition from a floundering distributor to a thriving one, is this:

The Marketing In Network Marketing Is Missing!

I know that sounds crazy, but it all makes sense when you understand that…

(a) Network marketers do not truly use word of mouth advertising, as explained in Lie#2

(b) Just because we use one-to-one sales does not in any way mean that it’s an effective form of one-to-one sales. That’s like saying - I play golf, so that makes me a good golfer.

(c) Most of the marketing materials (brochures, websites, etc.) used by MLM companies are awful and have very little value to you (the reason for this is too long to get into here but suffice it to say that most company’s marketing materials are little more than pretty showcases that fail to connect with what the prospect is really looking for); and

(d) The “proven” system of names lists, referrals, warm markets, home parties and hotel meetings is not all it’s cracked up to be.

I’ll explain in the next posts.

Discover The Lie Of Network Marketing - Lie#4

Lie #4 – We’ll build your business for you.

We’ve all seen the stuff on the net about fully automated online recruiting systems and how you can make outrageous money while they do all the work for you. Maybe you’ve tried a few. It certainly is an appealing idea. Who wouldn’t want a turnkey system that does everything for them?

If you’re like most people, as I am, you’re probably a bit skeptical when you hear absurd claims like, “No selling or recruiting required - we build your downline for you!”

As you should be. After all, if it was really that easy everyone would be driving a BMW, right?

Really what these claims are the lazy bum’s appeal.

“Just secure your position today and we’ll build and manage your downline for you. There are already hundreds of people waiting to be placed underneath you, all you have to do is secure your spot! With our amazing automated system, even a couch potato like you can get rich!”

Just like every “get rich quick” scheme that’s ever come along, it’s an easy pitch to sell.

Because…

People Always Want To Believe That The
Road To Success, Fame And Fortune Is
Quick, Easy, Painless And Risk-Free.

An appeal to laziness is a very strong appeal indeed. The promise of something for nothing is as old as time itself.

But let’s break this down a little further and reiterate a point I made at the beginning of this post.

Network marketing is unique in that it’s a business venture that’s made available and offered to an extremely large amount of people. Never before has owning your own business had such widespread appeal.

With network marketing, the average person now has viable and realistic dreams of “making it big.” 50 years ago, the road to riches was not so accessible. You had to start your own brick and mortar business with employees and all the works.

Here’s where the problem comes into play.

You’re a salesperson. All business owners are.

There’s two things that every network marketer sells. One is the products that the company provides, such as telecommunications services, nutritional products, etc.

But what makes you unique is that what you’re also selling people is a business model.

You’re selling them a vehicle to achieve whatever financial goals they may have.

It’s really the first time that a business model has been sold to the public in this manner.

Thing is, the average person, who’s known the employee model their whole life, doesn’t know a lot about business. They don’t understand basic business principles.

As a “customer,” the average people is not business-savvy and does not know what to look for when selecting a home based business.

So to our instant-gratification-society, the idea of a “hands-off” system that will generate a ridiculous income with no investment of time or effort and just a little bit of money, seems like an actual possibility.

Business 101 is that somewhere along the line, a product or service must be sold to an end consumer. If a company says that “no selling is required on your part,” this is a dead give away they’re playing you for an idiot and you’re about to be taken to the cleaners.

Just ask yourself this one simple and obvious question:
If No Selling Or Anything Else Is Required On
Your Part, Then Why Would They Need You?

The answer is: They wouldn’t.

If you’re not contributing anything to the business besides a measly sign up fee, there would be no reason to pay you obscene amounts of money.

You have to be contributing something in order to justify getting paid. That’s a
fundamental economic truth. There’s no such thing as something for nothing.

There’s no such thing as getting filthy rich with a $99 investment and no time or elbow grease.

Here’s what you are contributing in a real legitimate mlm business to make it work: The indispensable human interaction.

This is why genuine network marketing companies do indeed need you and are willing to pay you big bucks for building a huge organization.

The key thing to understand is that…

Automated Marketing Systems Are Crucial To
A Successful Business – But They Can’t Do Everything For You.

The truth is, an automated system is only half the equation. You, a real live human being, are the other half. No matter what anyone says, network marketing is and always will be built on relationships. As any stable, long-term business is.

Personal interaction and mentoring is the glue that holds an organization together.

When distributors hit those “rough spots” in their business, the coaching and advice that they receive from their sponsor…upline…downline…crossline…whoever…is what keeps their steam going.

See what you’re really getting paid to do is manage an organization. Help your people succeed. Develop leaders. Something that no automated system can do.
No automated system will ever be able to replace human leadership and the ability to manage a group of people. Every person is different and is going to need individual guidance and direction in their path to success. It takes a human being to do this.

And that is why you’ll never get paid for doing nothing.

Plus, all systems – no matter how automated they are – still require a human being to monitor and manage them. There is no perpetual machine that runs completely on its own steam. There still has to be someone who puts gasoline in the tank…starts the engine…operates the gas and the break pedal…and turns the steering wheel.

HOWEVER…despite the trap that one can fall into when relying on systems, they are truly an indispensable piece to a successful network marketing business. It’s just important to know what they can and can’t do for you.

Discover the Lie of Network Marketing - Lie#3

Lie #3 – Anyone can do network marketing or start MLM business!

This one is actually sort of a half-truth. A very dangerous half-truth.

It can be very misleading because the simply fact of the matter is…

Not All Network Marketers Are Created Equal.

Everyone comes into this game with different advantages and disadvantages.

Some people have an enormous head start on others in terms of skills, time and money, and just because they were able to build an enormously profitable business in 24 months does not guarantee the next person will be able to.

The problem with statements like “Anyone can do MLM business!” is they imply that everyone - regardless of what their current situation is - can jump right in cold turkey and get the same results the heavy hitters got, just as fast.

Here’s an example that’s not uncommon.

Maggie, who holds a high paying executive position in the corporate world, decides to enter network marketing. Say she was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for XYZ Widgets Corporation in Randomcity, Texas.

She’s obviously got quite a background in sales or she wouldn’t have that job.

So right off the bat, she’s way ahead of the pack. She’s also already making a high six figure income as it is, which means two things…

…First, she isn’t dealing with the same kind of financial “crunch” and emotional stress that most people experience as they try to pay their monthly residual bills. And…

…Second, she has plenty of cash to fund her new business venture.

Now…if you’re looking at it from a “warm” market approach (a big mistake for anyone to make, which I’ll explain later) she also has truckloads of professional contacts to work with and these people have a lot of respect for her. Safe to say that pretty much everyone Maggie knows is going to take her at least somewhat seriously if she brings a new idea to them.

She also has lots of professional sales contacts like herself, who also have tons of other professional sales contacts.

Let me ask you: Do you think that someone who’s a stay at home mom, secretary, college student, electrician, school teacher or bank teller is going to be able to see the same kind of results that Maggie will in the same period of time?

Probably not.

That’s just one example – more of an old school one – but here’s something else that happens all the time in mlm: When an upline with a big organization moves from one company to another and takes their whole team with them.

People on the outside looking in only see the rapid growth and big bonuses, but what they don’t see is everything that’s gone on behind the scenes. They’re not getting the whole picture.

Yes, that upline brought in a huge team with them and began earning big money pretty much right away…but…it took years and years before they got to the point where they were actually in a position to do that.

They had to develop relationships and build a team that was loyal enough to them that they would even be willing to move with them wherever they went.

The point though is that…
Everyone’s On A Different Timeline And
There Are Multiple Puzzle Pieces That Come Into Play
That Determine How Quickly And How Easily
A Person Will Make Money.

A big one is skill level.

As we discussed in Lie #2, multi level marketing is a sales business and the amount of sales skills that someone brings to the table in the beginning will have a huge impact on their success.

Anyone who wants to can develop sales skills.

Some will take longer than others.

Obviously someone who has 14 years of sales experience has a bit of an edge on
someone with zero sales background and rather poor communication skills in general.

I don’t qualify people on skills because anyone who has a true desire can develop them.

Instead, these are the three areas I do qualify on: Time, money and interest.

I put people through a multi-step prospecting process.

I interview them to make sure they have a serious interest in building a long-term business…rather than just looking to make a quick buck.

I can’t get into all the details of a good marketing system here, but know that the more steps a person takes to get information, the more qualified they are.

I tell prospects that they can build this business with 8-10 hours a week, BUT – if they’re serious – they’ll need at least 15. The 8-10 hours needs to be pure action time (i.e. – income producing activities). After that you still need time for training and other “support” activities.

As far as money goes, every company is different when it comes to the initial start up costs. But aside from that, you do need an ongoing monthly marketing budget. Your upline or corporate team won’t tell you this, but it’s absolutely mandatory for running your business at full potential.

Without a marketing budget, you won’t have the constant flow of fresh, qualified prospects you need.

There are two ways to get these leads for your business.

You can generate them through your own advertising or you can buy them from people who do that for you. You want to strive to generate your own because the advantages of doing so are enormous, but that’s not to say buying leads from other sources doesn’t have its place. Sometimes a combination of both approaches can be highly effective.

But either way…without leads, you don’t have a business.

Yes, you can start a network marketing business with very little time, money and skills.

But what you start off with in the beginning will have a direct impact on how
easy/difficult it will be for you and how long it takes you. That said…

…I Occasionally Turn People Down. You Should Too.

If someone has only 5 hours a week and $50 a month, I’ll tell them it’s honestly not worth it for them until they can free up more time and a little extra cash.

Let me just say that if they like the product and want to get it at wholesale cost, of course you want to sign them up. The majority of your income is generated from people like this. In order for a business to be profitable, it needs to move lots and lots of product.

However – if they are not in it for the product, you’re doing a disservice to both of you by recruiting them with the idea of building the business. It will only lead to headaches and in the end it’ll be more trouble than it’s worth.

It’s in their best interest to wait until they’re in a better position. Starting a business illprepared usually only leads to discouragement, failure and ultimately quitting.

Are there people who have surmounted all obstacles and succeeded despite incredible odds against them?

Absolutely.

Which is why I’ll never turn someone down if they’re dead set on it.

The desire to success is key to be successful in network marketing.

Discover The Lies Of Network Marketing - Lie#2

Lie #2 – This really isn’t sales. We just share products with people.

“It’s not selling. It’s sharing!”

Doesn’t that just give you warm fuzzies inside?

This untruth also has a distant cousin which often takes the form of gibberish like this:
“Your family and friends should buy from you just because you’re you. I mean, why would they give their business to some large corporation when they could give it to a close friend or relative. It’s called keeping your money in close circles. People a hundred years ago used to do it.”

More about this in a minute.

First, let’s talk about the severe ramifications this whole idea of “sharing” has for people who are just getting started.

Here are the two major side effects of this lie:

Side Effect #1. There’s a huge deficiency of proper sales training because if it’s not sales, then there’s no need for sales skills. As a result, people are thrown to the wolves totally unprepared to retail their products and their opportunity.

Side Effect #2. People are set up for failure because they’re given false expectations about how easy this is going to be. Labeling this whole business as “sharing” makes it sound like child’s play. New distributors are given the impression they’re doing one thing, when in fact it’s something else entirely. They think this is going to be a cakewalk and when they find out it’s not they aren’t too likely to stick around.

When people are fed the idea that it’s simply a matter of sharing, they’re in for a very harsh reality check.

They go out and eagerly “share” their incredible product with all their family members, only to be sorely disappointed when they’re shot down. Then they’re baffled as to why it didn’t work for them.

One of the main reasons people tell this lie is because they don’t want to scare new prospects away.

They want people to get this nice, cozy feeling that all we’re doing is telling the rest of the world about our wonderful product and people will be so swept away by our enthusiasm that they’ll automatically buy.

After all, it’s common knowledge that most people hate sales. So uplines and sponsors will beat around the bush and basically sugar-coat this inconvenient and uncomfortable fact:
If You Are In Network Marketing, You Are In Sales.

Understand this: Anytime you’re asking another person to give you money in exchange for something, you’re talking about sales.

Selling is not sharing and sharing is not selling.

We’ve all heard it before. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising there is, right?

Right!

What do you do when you see an incredible movie at the theatre? You tell your friends how awesome it was…how gripping the plot was…how engaging the actors were…blah, blah, blah, all that good stuff…and that they absolutely have to go see it. Same with eating out at a great restaurant or picking up your favorite artist’s new CD.

People will be very likely to go spend money on these things after hearing a glowing report from you, their trusted friend.

Here’s where the stick gets thrown into the spokes.

Your personal recommendation for all that stuff is so powerful because you have nothing to gain by “selling” them to your friends. As soon as you throw a financial interest into the mix, everything changes.

Both for you and for them.

For starters, you’re not as comfortable. You don’t feel as natural as you did with something you don’t make money off of. Now you’re forcing it and as a result, it just doesn’t “flow” the same.

It’s also different for them because they know you’re making money from the deal. It’s no longer an unbiased, “third party” opinion. People can smell an “incentivized” referral from a mile away. The whole dynamics of it has changed.

So the fact is, in network marketing you have now crossed over from the world of personal recommendation to the realm of direct sales. Don’t let anyone tell you they’re the same, because they’re not.

Once you get this you’ll understand that you do indeed need to learn effective sales skills.

It isn’t enough to just “recommend” your products to people you know.

Just Because Someone Is Your Friend Does Not Constitute
A Good Enough Reason For Them To Buy From You.

It’s their hard earned money we’re talking about here. And now you need to give them real, solid and compelling reasons to buy your product instead of all the similar ones out there.

There’s a story I have to tell you that illustrates this whole issue very well.

One of the upline mentors used to give people this analogy to explain to them how to retail the products.

He said that if he were to open up a McDonald’s franchise he would darn well expect all his family and friends to eat at his McDonald’s rather than any other fast food joint in town. So therefore, just the same, all your family and friends should buy your products instead of going somewhere else.

Well isn’t that nice.

What if your brother lives 40 minutes away from your McDonald’s and he’s got a Burger King that’s 3 minutes away. Is he still expected to drive all the way over to your business every time he wants a burger and fries? Or what if he doesn’t even like McDonald’s?

What if he doesn’t like fast food at all? What if your brother doesn’t even like you?

See where I’m getting with this? Just because someone is your friend/relative does not mean they will or should spend their money with you.

Yes, your warm market is an excellent way to go for retail customers…but…just as you would need to give a stranger strong enough reasons to buy your product, you need to do the same with your friends and family. You can’t expect them to buy from you.

You know, there are families who will give each other their business no matter what. No matter how inconvenient it may be, regardless of whether they even like the product or not, they support each other in all their endeavors.

If your family is like that, great. But mine sure isn’t. And the reality is, a lot of people’s families aren’t like that.

So what it comes down to is this: Learning effective sales techniques is mandatory for success. You have to understand the sales process and what really motivates people.

For starters, know that…

When It Comes To Selling (And Therefore Network Marketing),
Far Too Much Attention Is Paid To The Product And
Far Too Little Attention Is Paid To The Person Doing The Buying!

Because there is one thing and one thing only that’s on your prospect’s mind…“What’s in it for me?”

And the successful salesperson is not the one who knows their product inside and out and can talk the other person’s ear off…it’s the one who can best make the connection between their prospect’s true desires and how their product/service will fulfill those desires.

Simply getting excited and telling someone about your product is not enough to consistently bring in sales.

Discover The Lies Of Network Marketing - Lie#1

If you feel like you’re struggling way too hard to make it in network marketing and nothing is happening, this post specifically for you.

Have you ever thought to yourself: There’s gotta be a better way to do this.

Something’s missing - it can’t be this hard?

I am sure it did.

After almost 2 years of religiously going to meetings, setting up appointments and showing the plan, I came to a point in my business where I hit a massive brick wall.

For all my hard work, I had nothing to show for it but debt, an abundance of products and a dwindling list of friends who actually still talked with me.

Maybe you can relate.

The worst part about it was, I could not – for the life of me – figure out why this wasn’t working! I was doing everything I had been told to do. In fact, I did way more than that. I was the kind of distributor you’d kill for.

But I wasn’t any closer to the dream of financial freedom than I was when I started. So I began looking for real answers to why I was spinning my wheels.
To make a long story short and get right to the point, I finally did figure out what was wrong. And when I did, my entire view of this business changed forever.

I’d like to share with you what I discovered:

Almost Everything You’ve Ever Been Taught About Building A Network Marketing Business Is Pure BS!

And here’s why: In this industry we have a genuine case of the blind leading the blind.

Network marketing is very unique in that it’s the only business opportunity that’s ever been marketed to the general public on such a massive scale.

Everyday, there are people who were told that they can jump right into this, with no prior experience what-so-ever and make a killing within 6 months!

For example, on the website of one well known nutritional company, would-be
distributors are told that “You don’t have to be a pro to succeed!”

Unbelievable.

This self-destructive message is broadcasted to thousands of people over and over again as they join this industry.

As a result, 95% of people who get involved in network marketing have absolutely no foundation in effective sales techniques or good business practices.

This has severe side effects.

There’s a horrible mess of hype, hot air, misconceptions, falsehoods, delusions,
distortions, myths and downright lies that get passed along from one sponsor to the next.

This is what happens when you take a bunch of people who don’t have a clue about sales and marketing and have them tell a bunch of other people who don’t have a clue about sales or marketing, to go make a bunch of money doing it.

The few techniques that actually do have some grounding in basic sales philosophy are all outdated and completely ineffective. They might work okay for you – if the year was 1984 – but in today’s modern society, these kind of ignorant tactics will get you slaughtered.

You see, not only do the common methods taught in mlm not work, they’re extremely destructive as well. That’s why it’s so common to feel like your working yourself into the ground and not getting anything out of it.

Well, I had put up with this for far too long. I started doing the opposite of what my upline had taught me to do and guess what? I didn’t just start to experience success – I was flooded with it.

I went from desperately coercing one person every 5 months into my business…to having more eager prospects than I could handle.

By ignoring conventional mlm “wisdom,” I learned how to have prospects line up to join my company and sponsoring 10 people a month didn’t just become normal – it became routine.

And if you’re willing to be open-minded and set aside any predisposed beliefs you currently have…for just a moment…you’ll discover how you can easily do this too.

Network marketing doesn’t have to be so hard.

Using the wrong techniques – like trying to force a square peg into a round hole – makes it hard.

So my purpose in sharing this post is to help you “deprogram” some of the nonsense andmisconceptions that pollute this industry. This is the crucial first step towards becoming a highly-effective, well-paid, professional network marketer.

Then, once you have a clean slate to start with, you can begin learning how to really make this business work.

Lie #1 - Everyone is your prospect!

As I was compiling this list, I was trying to think of which lie was the worst.

Which one was the absolute most detrimental to a business? Which one topped ‘em all as the “whopper of all whoppers?”

I tried to narrow it down, but I just couldn’t bring myself to select a definite winner.

They’re all so bad. I’ll tell you though, this one was a serious contender for the title:

“Everyone is your prospect!”

A similar version of this lie is:

“Everyone wants this, they just don’t know it yet!”

An article found in a popular network marketing publication declares that,

“You just have to believe that everyone is you prospect!”

This insane belief has led to such ridiculous practices as the “3 foot rule” and the “when in doubt, blurt it out” technique.

Because of this lie, people have the mistaken idea that talking to anyone and everyone they come within arms length of is an effective recruiting technique.

Prospecting TGIFriday waitresses…employees at Google…gas station
clerks…total strangers at malls…the postman…kiosk stands…the girl at pubs…leaving flyers on car windshields…

…These kind of antics have damaged this industry’s reputation almost beyond repair.

They’ve absolutely destroyed any image of professionalism and made it harder for everyone to sponsor people.

These “street hustler” methods of recruiting have single-handedly placed network marketing on the same level as some low-life schmuck peddling fake Rolexes in the minds of most people.

It’s absolute lunacy. Don’t buy into this fallacy. This isn’t evangelism for cryin’ out loud!

Not everyone is your prospect.

One of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned in marketing is this:
People Who Try To Be Everything To Everybody,
Wind Up Meaning Nothing Special To Anyone.

See, not everyone is looking to run their own business. Contrary to what we’ve been told, there are actually a substantial amount of people who are 100% content with being an employee and have no desire whatsoever to change that.

Some people love their job and wouldn’t give it up for a million bucks. Some people despise network marketing and would rather be buried alive than be associated with it.

Some people despise business in general. Some people think making lots of money is a bad thing. Some people don’t have the funds to properly run a business. Some people are absolutely scared to death of anything that involves risk. Some people have plenty of money and aren’t looking for anything else. Some people just plain old don’t care. Some people don’t have time. Some people just aren’t cut out to be entrepreneurs and are better off working at McDonald’s. Some people are perfectly content with where they are at in life and have no desire to change. That’s fine.

Whatever the case, you do not need to convince anyone to get into this business. It’s a waste of your time and energy to try and do so.

Please listen very carefully:
No One Is Worth Your Time Until They’ve Shown
An Interest In What You’re Offering And Have
Asked You For More Information.

I don’t care if someone fits the mold of what would normally be considered “the perfect mlm prospect”: mid ‘40s…absolutely despises their high-paying corporate j-o-b…wants out of their 9-5…loads of connections…great people skills…sure, they might be a potential prospect, but they’re not a prospect worth pursuing until they’re actively seeking a solution to their problem.

It doesn’t matter how qualified you think a person is or how good you think they’d be at this business.

It’s not even enough if a person does want to start their own business. Until they go out of their way to get more information on how to do it, they’re just another bystander. Not a player in the game. They’re not worth going after.

Sure, someone could have great people skills (a waiter for example) but that doesn’t mean they’re a good prospect.

They could be so violently opposed to mlm, business opportunities or any other way of making money besides being an employee that it would take a massive barrage of information to ever sway their opinion.

If someone has a strong belief about something it can take years to reverse that.

It’s not a good use of your time to try and convince someone who disagrees with your way of thinking.

As a business owner, your job is not to make a convert out of anyone. Your job is to get the maximum returns possible for your time and efforts. And that means talking with people who are, for the most part, already on the same page as you.

Well…why not at least prospect them and find out?

For one, as stated before, it gives this industry a tacky, “second-rate” image.

And secondly, it’s a horrible first impression for your prospect. Because you’ve just shown them exactly how you do business – soliciting total strangers.
And no one wants to be a part of that.

You see, mlm uplines love to tote the fact that these marketing tactics (the 3 foot rule, etc.) don’t require any money and therefore are perfect for the average person who doesn’t have a whole lot of extra cash.

Here’s what they fail to tell you: Second rate advertising methods lead to second rate results.

When you market this way, it shows your prospect that you’re the type of business person who isn’t professional (or successful) enough to invest in some respectable marketing methods. It immediately projects a “cheap,” rinky-dink image.

Who wants to work with a person who advertises their business like that?

Think about it.

Do dentists or doctors go around trying to prospect every single person they cross paths with?

Hey there, got any built up plaque you want me to take a look at?

Even if you do happen to hit on someone who has a “business mindset,” they’re not likely to take you seriously.

Why?

Because…

…Who Finds Who First Is Very Important.

When you go head hunting and chase your prospect, the whole operation is doomed to failure because you’re viewed as a nuisance! When they find you and seek you out, you’re viewed as an expert.

Positioning makes all the difference in the world.

I remember this one appointment I had with my son’s friend’s mom. She was adamantly opposed to multi level marketing. The whole appointment with her was about as pleasant as vomitting blood. I don’t know why I even bothered doing it. (Oh wait – I do know why! Because everyone’s a prospect!).

Anyways. Towards the end of our lovely time together, I had given up trying to give a good presentation and I said, “So what’s your single biggest objection to network marketing?”

She immediately replied, “Taking advantage of your friends and family.”

I don’t know why but it was at that point during that appointment that I realized how much I truly hated sitting down at someone’s kitchen table and going through my little flip chart. And I realized that I completely agreed with her.

I used to get so excited about it. For a very long time I believed that network marketing was the cure to financial cancer and it was my job to spread the good news throughout the land. Maybe you’ve thought that yourself. Maybe you still do.

But what finally hit me – after I began feverishly studying anything about marketing I could get my hands on – was this: Why make it harder on yourself than you have to?

Why expend valuable time and energy trying to force-feed your opportunity down the throat of someone who’s entirely indifferent?

Why do that when there are millions of people who actually do want to start their own business? The ones who warrant your attention are the ones who take the initiative and go out of there way to find out how to do it. These people are prospects.

Another problem with this mentality that really started to wear on me is, if everyone’s a prospect that means you have to constantly be “on the prowl.”

Anytime you first meet somebody, you’re always looking for that “in.” The “in” that will allow you to bring up your opportunity. You know what I’m talking about don’t you?

Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to worry about that? To hold a conversation without thinking of ways to recruit them in the back of your mind? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to separate your personal life from your business life?

If that idea sounds appealing to you, keep reading and follow the next post. I’ll share more about how to do this by having people come to you instead.