If you’ve been a distributor for a multi-level marketing company as long as I have, you’ve probably heard just about every numbers game system there is out there for people to follow. They tell you “the more people you sign up, the more you will make,” and “get three people who get three people who get three people and you will be rich.” If this were true, there would be 95% who succeed and 5% who fail rather than the 95% dropout rate that is taking place today in the Network Marketing industry.
The reason most companies train you to do this is because they know that whether you succeed or fail, some of those people will still hang around to buy products long after you are gone. This works great for them, but it doesn’t really help you build your own business. I mean seriously grow it to the point where you really do become rich. In order to do that it would cost them too much time and money. They would rather you focus on just selling for them and getting their name out to as many people as you can.
Simply enrolling people at random into your organization isn’t what builds it to new heights. What makes the difference is knowing how to select the people you want to work with based on their qualities(Kind of like choosing oranges without bruises, or bananas that aren’t too green) and also your ability to inspire them to new heights. If you could do that with one person, it’s more valuable than signing up 1,000 people who just aren’t ready or willing to do what it takes.
In order to begin the selection process, you first have to have an idea of who you are looking for. You never want to lead with your business first….meaning, stop distributing “work from home” signs and “earn what you’re worth” flyers. The types of people generated from these advertisements aren’t focused on what they would be selling and they’ll quit after a few months if they haven’t found the pot of gold.
Always focus on people who have a want, need or desire for the products you are offering. Talk to them and listen to what they have to say about themselves. If they are willing to what it takes to try your product without focusing on this coupon or that deal, it’s a good indication they are serious. Notice if they make excuses or if they take responsibility for their actions. Are they easy to deal with? Do they complain a lot?
Once they have an emotional attachment to the product after trying it, starting a business around it and succeeding is a lot more probable than someone just looking for extra income. They will have more of a desire to help other people get the kind of results they got, and helping people achieve their goals is probably the most important aspect of network marketing. You have to have the mindset of a leader to understand this, rather than the mindset of a distributor.
Once your customer is enrolled into the business side of your organization, ask them what kind of goals they want to achieve. This will give you a good indication of how to inspire them. Based on what they tell you, start giving them assignments and hold them responsible. Whether it’s a simple task like calling you at a specific time or attending a training call, they need to be accountable for their own business. These small goals will train them to acquire good business habits.
Once they have proved themselves worthy of your time and guidance, give them some more tasks to take them to the next level. Don’t expect them to shoot for the moon, just take it up a notch. Ask them to introduce you in a training call, or give their testimonial on a product that really means something to them. You don’t want them to jump out of their comfort zone and scare themselves out of business, so try to get them to just put one foot forward first.
Promotion is a big part of inspiring people in network marketing. The distributors who achieve goals beyond what they would normally do, usually have a reason for doing it. It’s not that they don’t have the desire on their own, but sometimes we all need a push to get us over the hill, or out of a slump. You must make your promotions attainable though. You want them to stretch just enough to go a little further. Setting the bar too high all the time can make a person feel inadequate if they can never reach it.
If your focus for enrolling prospects into your organization is playing the numbers game instead of inspiring people, your business will spin like a tire stuck in the mud. Your time will be spent filling out paperwork and struggling with people who contantly complain that they aren’t making enough money fast enough. Your enrollment numbers will increase, but your income probably won’t. Which one is more important to you?
I struggled for ten years with my home-based network marketing business until I received the right training. So many people came and went, and I kept sticking it out because I believed in what I was selling. But that was the problem, I was trying to sell products instead of marketing them. When you learn the basics of marketing and develop the mindset of a leader, your business will not only pick up in pace, it will literally explode you out into orbit.
It doesn’t happen from signing up every person you meet. It happens from finding the right people to enroll, and inspiring them to achieve their goals.