An Open Letter To The Struggling Network Marketer Ready To Throw In The Towel
I had a Network Marketer who had been trying to get his MLM business going for quite some time with dissatisfying results reach out to me the other day via email with the all too common tale of frustration and disappointment at the overwhelming skepticism he received from 98% of the people he had invited to join his MLM business opportunity, and he was ready to throw in the towel. As I responded to his email, I realized the value this information would have to other Network Marketers with similar stories.
Dear Network Marketer,
Thank you for your email. Your story, unfortunately, is quite common in this industry; to the tune of roughly 98% of network marketers (a horrifying statistic), but stats are stats, and there is no running from the numbers. You are spot on when you say that your gut tells you that there must be something more to this (Network Marketing) than harassing friends and family and literally wrestling them into your business of which they did not wish to be a part of in the first place. Let me tell you straight up that the problem lies not in you, the distributor, but surprisingly in the techniques & methods you have been taught by your networking company via your upline.
A while ago I did some digging around and discovered some disturbing truths. I found out that the majority of the "big dogs" of any particular organization who have seemingly built their businesses and reached the top levels, in a sense, overnight had a few things going for them that the average network marketer did not. Either they already had a downline built through a previous company and "swung" them over to the new company, or they already had a sizable "network" or database from their job or business and pretty much could sell ice to eskimoes, or were already financially well off when they joined their MLM company and they flash their "bling" around when recruiting using the opportunity when, in fact, they made their money elsewhere and not the business. Or, most importantly, they knew how to apply the art and science of Marketing to their business.
Let us not forget the ones that have reached an intermediate level where most of their income is actually paid from the bonuses and not the residual, and the fact is that if they have reached that level through luck and "friends and family doing them a favor" then the last week or so of every month is an absolute panic time for them, and you will find them usually frantically trying to increase their Group Volume or pushing recruitment as they know that without doing so means either no check or itty-bitty check.
Where does that leave the rest of us? Most of us are not "blessed" with already being part of a huge "network" or have the "gift of the gab", or even enough financial wealth to insinuate to a new prospect that being part of the business got you there. The reason you are feeling like you are fighting an uphill battle is that you are told to lead with the opportunity of getting rich when the fact of the matter is that you are not yet rich yourself, and you are trying to "sell" pipe dreams to people who can see that you are not rich, so you will continue to receive the skeptical comments from your prospects you have been getting. I mean which real estate agent would you choose to sell your home, the one driving the old beat up Ford Pinto or the one driving the flasho BMW that just screams success.
The point here is that if you lead with the money and you, yourself don't have money, you only increase other peoples' skepticisms and in return your frustration. And when your new recruits don't see the money, the drop off quicker than hiccups because the "money" was all they were there for in the first place! There were no solid foundations such as a passion for the company's product to keep them there. The business is only as strong as its weakest link, so why build your business on promises when you should be building it on product like truly successful business do? It personally upsets me that MLM's continue to push this type of recruitment strategy as a "duplicatable system", because at the end of the day it's like the blind leading the blind, and the only one who mathematically benefits from all of it is the company itself.
There is good news in all of this though, and the key secret to success in this business lies in the latter part of the title "Network Marketer" and that is MARKETING. When you are able to master the power of marketing you can use the value, benefits and solutions of your company's products to drive people to your message who are pre-dispositioned (already have a want, need or desire) for the value, benefits and solutions your MLM company's product can offer, and want to join you in business.
The trick is to stop looking in your "own backyard" for your downline and start communicating your message to the masses using the power of the phone, internet, and written word; all of which are extremely inexpensive but very effective tools. Most importantly you must have a communication system that guides prospects from "hello" to "goodbye" straight into your business. This is all part of a skill-set that you build using education and application. I know it may sound a bit scary at first, but not when you have someone to show you how to properly master the art and science of Network Marketing.
John Hewell is an internationally recognized MLM Mentor and Home Based Business Consultant. Backed by over 35 years of marketing experience, he helps struggling Network Marketers to master the art and science of Network Marketing, and create a massive, rock solid 6 figure income producing home based business. In fact, his organization produces a new 6 figure income earner every 60 days! Find out more at his website www.TruthAboutMLM.Net.
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