NETWORK MARKETING IS A REAL BUSINESS
Contrary to popular belief, network marketing is hard work because it is business development. It is not get rich quick schemes, but rather it is an opportunity for a person to build a small home based business that grows in organizational size and offers good, quality products and services sold not just to people who join the organization, but are also sold to customers who might not even know there is an independent business associate opportunity available (not that these customers would be interested if they knew). And does the last one who joined make less money than the one who had been with the company for a while? Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t. The best network marketing companies allow your work effort to advance you, not your level on a sign-up chart. Good companies have people who go on to outrank and out earn their recruiter simply because they work harder or smarter or both. And that is the way it should be. It is unfortunate that for decades some network marketers have recruited by telling people to lasso your friends and family to a meeting and get them signed up. That is not a business plan. It is a plan of failure.
I once saw a fellow who made the first three ranks really fast, and, of course, that put some money in his pocket right away. But the only thing is he came from a very large family, and so he immediately signed up about a third of his siblings, which totaled about four, and some adult nieces and nephews. He was flying really high for a while. But then reality set in. Since he had already pitched to the family, who were they now going to pitch to? I’ve seen people race to get to a certain neighbor first. I’ve seen people get upset because an acquaintance handed their card out to someone they had talked to. And then the latter one was upset with the other one because he “stole” the prospect away from him. It’s almost like people getting upset over a parking space during the Christmas rush. That is not the way it is supposed to work people–not at all. So if you were ever pitched a networking program (often called multi-level marketing), and the first thing they told you to do was make a list of 25-100 people you know. Then they give you a script to read from when you call people on the list. Frequently they do not tell you that most of the people on that list are going to say no to your request. And the ones that do say yes to a meeting either will not show up, or if they do they are merely being polite out of respect for you because they love you. Your loved ones are not likely to join, and if they do, they are not likely to stay in because they are probably not inclined to this type of work.
So if you run away from network marketing because someone told you all you had to do was sign up a few of your relatives and friends, well, I’m sorry, but they lied to you. Now, it probably wasn’t their fault because that’s the line handed down through the decades in network marketing. And unfortunately that is the line that has caused so many people to think badly of network marketing. It’s a startup plan that has you trying to lasso people who do not have any proclivity for sales. You see, there are CPAs who want to open their own offices, but they never do because they do not like to sale and promote. There are some hairdressers who never succeed independently because they do not have the aptitude for sales or the discipline for business. Do you see my point?
The people who succeed in network marketing have a disposition for sales and the discipline for business. They are so inclined, or have the willingness to developed these skills, as they see network marketing as a business. It is promoted to get customers, develop relationships, and act upon opportunities to expand business. We call it network marketing because networking is necessary to grow. People who specialize in business development understand this concept well. In fact, the job description one company gave in their quest to recruit a business development specialist (BDS) was:
“responsible for generating new business avenues for the corporation. This person will manage and execute the acquisition of new clients, accounts and projects. They will work with other departments including sales, marketing, and customer service to ensure proper follow through and account sustainability.”
And another company listed the position of a business development manager (BDM) as, ” your job as a business development manager is to identify sales leads, pitch goods or services to new clients and maintain a good working relationship with new contacts. …Communicating new product developments to prospective clients. Overseeing the development of marketing literature. Writing reports.” The BDM most likely makes more money than the BDS. And most likely the BDM has more successful experience in the field of business development than the BDS. Those are both very good descriptions of what a network marketer does, only the network marketer is building his own business–a home based business that provides many more advantages than the job of a business development specialist or manager.
For one thing, a business development specialist is a full-time job, so if you already have a full-time job, and you are looking to earn extra income, being a business development specialist for a big company will not work. Nor will it work if you want to earn a little something extra if you are a stay at home mom or dad. The same holds true if you want to spend more time with your kids. In fact, a business development specialist more than likely spends less time with family because of the nature of what he does. Network marketers sometimes involve the kids like a family project. One woman said that while she was sitting under the dryer at the hair salon, unbeknownst to her, her little girl booked two appointments for her while telling some women what her mother did for a living. And parents also learn to work the phone while the baby swings in the swing-o-matic.
You must promote your network marketing business like you would any other type of business. You have to promote the products or services you have for sell, and you have to promote recruitment to build an organization. Look at these two model of comparison.
The work of a business development manager is easily compared to the successful effort of a network marketer. The skills and attitudes are similar, but usually as a network marketer develops business, his rewards are greater in the long run than those received by the business developer.
Network Marketing Model
A good network marketing company has several ways of earning income. They have the commissions earned on the products or services you sell, as well as for recruitment. Together this is business development. Now the more strategic you are, and the more creative you are in your strategic planning, the more opportunities you can create to grow your business.
Think of yourself as a consultant because you are. Learn about your business. Don’t expect your recruiter to do all the work for you. Sooner or later your recruiter will become too busy. If you were ever recruited by a temporary or job placement agency , or recruited into a military–your recruiter did not do the job for you did he? Did your army recruiter do your weeks of boot camp? Of course not.
Network marketing is a great way to make money, but it is not an easy way to make money. So if you just want to make some extra money, why not just get a part-time job and save yourself time, money and effort. Here’s why.
- A part-time job means that you have to put in the hours or you don’t get paid. I’ve heard some people who worked part-time jobs complain that they couldn’t get enough hours to make as much as they had hoped to make.
- Most part-time jobs do not give you the opportunity to build residual income. Residual income has two meanings. One is the amount of money that is left over from net income after paying all expenses , such as mortgage or rent, car payments, insurances, groceries, etc. Whatever is left over from the expenses is residual. The second definition of residual income is money that continues to be earned after the work has been done. Artists and people who develop intellectual property earn residual income from the work they produce. This income could continue to flow for a lifetime and be passed on to descendants. People in some sales positions may earn income residuals. This type of income is also called passive income. And most network marketing businesses have a good stream of residual or passive income built into their compensation plan.
- On a part-time job as long as you come in and work those hours, you get paid, say, $10.00 an hour. So if you work 20 hours a week on your part-time job, you’ll make $200.00 extra dollars for the week. If you get tips add maybe another $100, so that is now $300.00, and $300 x 4 weeks = $1200. Not bad, except that if you do this for five years, at the end of the 5 years you still only make $1200 a month.
- Network marketing is a business that you own. So if you work it smartly for 20 hours a week for five years, at the end of the five years, you will most likely have more money coming in from at least residual income that flowed to you without you having to actually clock in for it. As with most businesses, it is up to you. Market something there is a demand for, and also something that you like.
For now remember. Thomas Edison would not be known today, brilliant scientist that he was, had he also, not been a creative marketer. Successful network marketers hone their skills. They never meet a stranger. They promote, promote, and promote. They find interesting and creative ways to keep their products, services, and offers out front and center of the crowd.
THE REAL TEAM NETWORK 