Sunday, August 3, 2014

Does Network Marketing Suit Everyone?

Network Marketing, like running any business, suits some people more than others. Here are some qualities that make for great Network Marketers. If you’re lacking any of these but determined to make your business work; then here are some skills you can work on to be a better Network Marketer.

1. Self Discipline: Running a home business means 99% of the time you’re answerable only to yourself so a good amount of self discipline is needed before all that spare time fills up with other things. It takes a lot of effort to set aside your time for the business and keep up the same tasks every day. Many people find they are brimming with enthusiasm when they start and burn out a few weeks down the track. You need to be a tortoise marketer – one who slowly but surely plods away at the business week in week out until they achieve success.

2. People Skills: Of course being “Network” marketing it’s a given that people skills are vital. The ideal marketer has a good phone manner, a friendly and efficient personlaity and is able to conduct themselves professionally. Like all marketing roles, the word “no” seems to be heard more often than “yes” and it takes practise to turn more “nos” into “yeses”. Network marketers sometimes meet people who don’t like their business and will even respond quite agressivly and rudely to them and it takes someone with a lot of self control not to fight back. I got kicked out of a mall once for wearing my pin – the manager decided I was “touting” my business without her permission and asked me to leave. I gracefully left with my wallet and bought my lunch elsewhere – their loss not mine!

3. Patience: It takes time to build a business and you have to hang in there for what seems like eternity before things come together.Many Network Marketers give up because they were shown DVDs and promotional material with stories of marketers who made hundreds, even thousands, in their first month in business and feel the company must have scammed them because they haven’t done the same. Responsible MLM companies should provide a more realistic view of starting a business so prospective marketers can understand what is involved and have more patience for making the business work.

4. Financially Secure: Contrary to MLM company material, you need to have some finances put aside to start the business and a regular source of income to pay the bills. Yes, there are stories of people who were flat broke and made thousands overnight but there are more stories of people who ran out of money to run their business and quit. If you have a day job keep it, if you don’t get a part time job to pay the bills and ease the pressure (and desperation) of needing to make that sale. A broke and over-eager salesperson is such a terrible cliche.

5. Stickability: People who like to chop ‘n change and move from one next best thing to another are going to waste a lot of time and money in MLM. There’s no one industry that’s miles better than the others, but sticking to it makes it so. If you meet someone who’s already sold make-up, skincare, saucepans and diet pills through MLM then they’re probably not going to be a star in your business either.

6. A little maths, office skills and organisation: You need to learn how to do your taxes, manage your finances and cash flow, order stock and keep track of customers. Effective management of the business will prevent any nasty bills down the track from putting a marketer out of business.

7. Leadership: To build a down line you need to be able to demonstrate your leadership ability and show your new recruits how to be successful (and survive); inspiring leaders make for inspired distributors.

8. Personal Improvement: To build a successful business a person needs to work on themselves first. A strong desire to improve and the humility to accept and learn from their mistakes is essential. Flexible, eager learners make better marketers.

9. Passion: That final elusive ingredient. Each of us expresses our passion in different ways but I think it’s best put by the quote: “Do what you love at work and you’ll never work a day in your life”. There’s a world of difference to being served in a new cafe by the owner to getting coffee from a teenage employee in Starbucks. They both say: “have a nice day” but one of them means it and that makes all the difference.


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