Network Marketing legend Tim Sales regularly answers questions submitted by his readers. But this month, instead of answering a question, he addressed a statement. That statement was, "Network Marketing is hard."
You see, Tim was at an event this past weekend, and happened to be seated at a table where a few distributors were talking amongst themselves and discussing how hard they thought Networking Marketing was.
Here's how it all played out...
If You Thing Network Marketing Is Hard...
I was at a table where a bunch of distributors were talking between themselves and each got on the bandwagon and threw in their own proof of how "hard this business is." I let the pity party continue for a while, then finally exclaimed, "You're joking, right?"
If ever you could have heard a pin drop it would have been at that moment.
Let me describe my view on the subject, and then I'll write what I told the people sitting at that table. I'm doing this in hopes that you, too, will stop or will leave the "pity party" when you hear it. Your success depends on it.
To be able to see my view, allow me to take you back to just prior to my entering MLM.
The year was 1987. I was with the US Navy's underwater bomb squad team in the Persian Gulf. Our "job" was to locate and defuse the bombs that were in the Gulf. Of course that's plenty dangerous - but the sea snakes bothered us just as much.
Sea snakes are extremely territorial and the most toxic of all snakes. So imagine defusing a live bomb while looking over your shoulder for sea snakes. That's quite a distraction!
Fortunately, sea snakes don't have long fangs, so we would wear 1/2 inch thick wet suits as a safety precaution. It's difficult for the snakes to penetrate the skin through a 1/2 inch wet suit. But wearing a thick wetsuit is an additional problem because, with the outside temperature between 100 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit (38-49 Celsius), it's extremely hot wearing a 1/2 inch wetsuit in that heat.
Oh, I almost forgot the other hazard - the enemy. The enemy is someone whose intention is to kill you if he sees you.
So that was my life leading up to me answering an ad in the Washington Post for my network marketing company.
Now back to the discussion I was having at the table with the people who were complaining that network marketing is so "hard."
My statement was, "You're joking, right?" Then I went on to say some of the following:
What's hard? You sit on your butt in an air conditioned (or heated) room with your drink of preference on your desk. The bathroom is within a few feet of your office. Food is abundant. Your only distraction is your child or pet coming into the room...what's hard about that?
In the bomb squad, in order for us to get to our work we had to skydive in, or row a boat in (underwater bombs don't like the sound of motor boats). For a network marketer to arrive at "work" they normally have to walk up or down some steps or down a hall - what's hard about that?
In the bomb squad, if we goof a little, we blow up. DEAD. If you are terrible on a phone call - NOTHING HAPPENS - you don't blow up - you don't die!
- You call a prospect, he's not there. Go to the next one.
- You call a prospect, he's there but isn't interested. Go to the next one.
- You call a prospect, he's there, agrees to watch a video and then won't answer the phone afterwards. Go to the next one.
- You call a prospect, he's there, agrees to watch a video, you reach him for the follow-up - says it's not for him. Go to the next one.
- You call a prospect, he's there, agrees to watch a video, on the follow up call he says he's super excited, but his wife won't let him do it. Go to the next one.
- You call a prospect, he's there, agrees to watch a video, on the follow up he says - I want to do this. You sign him up, help him...and go to the next one.
What's hard? The only hard part is not knowing what to say to your prospect - But that is all covered in Professional Inviter.
Even if you call someone and get a super jerk on the phone, the worst he'll do is yell at you - so what? He's not going to shoot you. Network Marketing is NOT hard!
This is a great post. I have studied Tim Sales for years. It is often our attitudes and philosophies that cause failure in network marketing. Feel free to take a look at my blog: http://jonrousseldaily.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteHi, Aaron. This post is fantastic. I feel that this is one issue that must be addressed in most network marketing circles.
ReplyDeletePeople don't know how easy they have it. At least the very least you can be thankful you don't have to go door-to-door or table-to-table.
I have linked this article to my MLM blog. Keep up the Good work.
Jon,
ReplyDeleteYou're exactly correct - peoples' attitudes and philosophies do cause their failures in many cases.
Tim definitely knows what he's talking about. He's a great individual.
Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by.
Shine on,
Aaron
Khai,
ReplyDeleteThanks! And I, too, agree that it needs to be addressed. I think it's important to get people to realize that's it's really not that hard at all.
You'd be amazed how much a peoples' businesses pick up once they really get it through their heads.
Thanks for visiting - and thanks for the link!
Shine on,
Aaron