Network Marketing is NOT an INVESTMENT PROGRAM Just because you bought a business opportunity, it will forever be a business ‘opportunity’ and not a business if you sit and do nothing. This is not Unit Trust or Mutual funds or a Fixed Deposit Savings Account. The money doesn’t grow by you becoming a distributor. The more you invest doesn’t mean you will necessarily earn more.
Common Mistakes to Avoid For Newbies
Trying to understand everything
If you are new in your business and you sit down for days (some even take weeks before they make their first phone call) trying out the product, reading all the company brochures, understanding every single calculation about the compensation plan, memorizing all the names of the management in the company. This is a VERY SLOW way to get started in your business.
Reading every single book in the industry
Most MLMs recommend a reading list and they are very helpful for new people especially if the information is factual and informative about the industry. Reading is also a very good habit to develop. But one of the major mistakes of new people is thinking that the more books they read, the more money they are going to make! Those books are mostly self-help books or network marketing self-improvement.
Most newbies spend too much time reading books for a number of reasons
- Overwhelmed by ignorance. Once again, trying to understand everything before going out there
- Overwhelmed by fear. The paralysis causes them to retreat to their books without meeting people
- Overwhelmed by frustration. They assume that after reading their first book, if they don’t achieve enough success, they get disheartened and feel the need for self-help more! They try another book. If they fail again, they will blame themselves again. Always remember: Books are subjective. It may work for one author but differently for another.
Doing the business alone during the first 30 days
Network marketing doesn’t care of if you are a CEO, entrepreneur, manager, housewife, college kid or a beggar. If you are new to the business you start from ZERO.
If you think you can earn a six-figure income in 2 to 5 years time without following a system then you are grasping at thin air. There are people in traditional business who do make it within a few years but everybody learns from SOMEBODY and network marketing is no exception.
Here is an example
There is this one guy who is an experienced businessman. He started in network marketing and wanted to do it his own way. He rented an office, hired a few staff, created a sales team and sent them out after spending a few hundred thousand dollars on capital alone. After 3 months, his business had nothing to show.
What happened? One of the main reasons of his failure was the fact that network marketing is not designed to run this way. His staff or sales team will not be able to duplicate the process.
There are uplines mentors to guide you and they don’t cost you any money to ask for help. I would go to them like a sick man would go to a doctor instead of an architect.
Quitting your job
Network Marketing is a business like any other business. Don’t get psyched into thinking that by burning my bridges and giving all I’ve got for the next 6 months without any financial support.
There is this saying that goes, if the only tool I have is a hammer, all my problems will look like nails. In network marketing, ANY form of financial pressure might kill your prospects because you will keep seeing them like money bags before and even after they ‘get in’.
Some seasoned networkers only ‘consider’ quitting their job when their income in their business matches at least double their current income.
Selling the business – I have a business opportunity for you
What you are doing now will be duplicated downline. Most people would agree that 80- 90% of the population are not trained salespeople.
Most people who CAN’T SELL, SELL things that doN’T SOLVE other people’s PROBLEMS, to people who DON’T LIKE BEING SOLD, who perceive you as a SLEAZY SALESMAN trying to get into their pockets.
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This means that most newbies make the mistake of trying to sell the opportunity to others (who don’t like to be recruited or sold to). People are looking for solutions to their problems – therefore pitching the opportunity usually comes across to prospects as a way for the business builders to get their hands into the pockets.
Begging people to join
New distributors get so hard up on recruiting people that they wind up coming across as high-class beggars in suits. They pitch and sell and pitch and sell that prospects get afraid of them. Some even chase down their prospects.
Always remember that the ball is in your court. They are the one who needs the opportunity and you are HELPING them to realize this. Don’t try to convince them. Instead, when you start helping people out of a genuine concern, dealing with their problems, they will be attracted to you and they in turn will ask you for opportunities.
Not being yourself
This is the worst kind of disease among distributors.
Imagine if you are looking for your good buddy whom you have known since high school. Every time you see him, all you talk is jive, or nonsense. All of a sudden, you go, “Dude, I’ve got this business opportunity that will CHANGE YOUR LIFE!” Your friend will think you are on drugs or something.
BE YOURSELF! Don’t try being someone you are not.
Emotional Attachment
Don’t get too hard up when a prospect says NO to your business. It is easier said than done but we must realize that MLM is just like any business – mixing emotions with it is a recipe for disaster.
When a prospect says NO, we must not take it personally because most of the time they are saying no to the opportunity and not YOU. They might not believe in themselves or they might be having things on their mind at this point of time. They might say YES in the future so don’t dissolve friendships just because they don’t join you.
The worst thing can happen is that you start feeling sorry for yourself and brood or complain about the business. If you let the NOs sap your excitement, it creates a domino effect which will kill your business for good.
Common Mistakes to Avoid For NonNewbies
Passing negative downline
I don’t care if you had a really bad day or if your downline is your best friend since junior high. When people join a business, they don’t join an opportunity, they join YOU! It means they believe in you and see you as some kind of leader.
If you pass negative down, they will lose their confidence in you and your business will be destroyed when they do the same to THEIR downline. When you have negative or challenges, BRING IT UPLINE. Never down.
Spending more than you can sustain
If you are a leader with a large group of downlines in different states around the country, you could exhaust yourself doing meetings and rallies everywhere. You may be making 5 figures, but always be careful.
Once, there is this leader who had people in another state asking him to do a rally in their town. He rented this hotel for a few thousand dollars. His people promised that they will bring more than 50 new prospects. But when the actual day came, only 5 turned up and only 1 signed up. The trip was a total disaster and cost him a bomb.
Another big mistake is spending all the money you earned on new cars and houses. But what happens if your network is not stable? There may be many leaders under your team but you will never know what happens the next day. Leaders can join other companies, they might get sick or even die! Then how are you going to pay for your new house, car or that new yacht you bought? Never spend too much. Always save for a rainy day.
Other Common Mistakes to Avoid
You MUST work closely with your upline. ‘But, I don’t want to bother them. They are so busy with their huge team. They are making huge income. I am not worthy to speak to them’ – WRONG! Don’t be afraid to call your upline! Don’t worship them. They are there to HELP YOU. The fact that they are earning money from your group gives you the RIGHT to request their help.
- Your Upline is NOT your BOSS.
- Good, sincere uplines are always there to help you and guide you (unless they are untrained and really bossy) but the norm is that generally there will be someone who wants you to succeed.
- We are in business for OURSELVES but NOT BY OURSELVES. If your upline calls you, motivates, encourages and helps you, YOU ARE ONE LUCKY PUPPY!
- Uplines are not OUT TO GET YOU, so don’t avoid them – if you do it is YOUR LOSS.
Another key point to remember about approaching your prospects
” THE HEALTHY DO NOT NEED A DOCTOR – IT IS THE SICK WHO DO! “
Everyone is ‘sick’ in a certain way and they will look for medicine to solve their problems. Ever seen a doctor hard-selling medicine? No, the patients beg the doctor to CURE them. The patients are looking for a solution and the doctor doesn’t sell them, he gives advice and prescribes.
Types of People to Avoid at All Costs
People who are pressured with Unrealistically High Entry Fees
Strictly, unless you can afford it and you love the products, you must avoid people who unnecessarily pressure you into high inventory loading or front loading. Your sponsor might be going to the quick sale and that can happen even after you join as a distributor.
Of course, you will normally get a much higher profit margin if you buy more products, but you have to consider whether your prospects are willing to do the same thing. Maybe they just want to be customers. Not all will come in at the most expensive entry level.
Hardcore MLM Junkies
I would only join serious networkers who work hard in his company. Some MLM junkies are only in for the fast money and you will find it hard to locate your sponsor if he suddenly jumps off toward the next smoking-hot opportunity.
Normally, an MLM junkie will join a company after they get really hyped up by the opportunity to meet or rally. They will be on fire for a while before they lose steam and die a natural death. The root cause of the problem would be running into difficulties in their business and when they can’t handle the struggles, they find reasons to leave and join other companies because they are ‘better’ or because their upline ‘is better.
Often, we must keep in mind that if we can solve the struggles within ourselves, then we will not find problems with our businesses. The main reason why I would hesitate to join an MLM junkie would be seeing him all hyped up about one opportunity and later on, he will tell you to join another one and give reasons why the previous one he got me into is not as good as this one.
The Energy Sucker
Sometimes, I would turn this prospect away from my group. This person is like a disease among the sheep. A good shepherd would remove the disease sheep from the flock to preserve the other sheep. They carry too much emotional baggage and are the biggest cry babies in the networking industry.
This energy sucker would suck your positive energy dry and frustrate you with his problems like all the pain of his rejections, complaining about the company, the team, the staff or even the products. If you are not careful, he will pass that negative energy to your other downline and he might get them all to leave.
The Negotiator
When you approach someone with your opportunity and they are trying to sell you something at the same time, you might be facing a hard time if that person is adamant about selling you his wares or if he is just plain stubborn.
Not that you must avoid every single negotiator, but bear in mind that these people are very calculative and will only join your network if his or her price is met. Then they might start pinching lines from your network and you will find that your people have gone over to the ‘other side’. Afterward, it would be too late for you to remove that spy from your midst.
Other people in network marketing, especially the more established ones will take contact over a couple of weeks or months before they are ‘ready’ to join yours. If I had to go for other networkers, I would rather go for the ‘weaker’ ones or else I would be just wasting my time. Furthermore, the weaker ones may have connections with their leaders so there is a chance you will connect through them because of their
relationship with their leaders.