Turning A Network Marketing Failure Into A Networking Success

Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin I agree totally with everything that has been said in many other places about the reasons people who enter network marketing fail. Unrealistic expectations, lack of knowledge, inexperience, embarrassment, fear, and so on. It's sad, because almost any good business can eventually be developed into a great business if the people do two things: 1. Learn how to market (and it doesn't have to cost a ton of money, nor require embarrassment) 2. Don't give up. It's obvious that if I have a good product, and enough money to buy a well-designed billboard ad on the busiest highway in America, I will probably do okay...and fairly quickly. Same is true if I can hire the best advertising company to put a 30 second spot on half-time of the Super Bowl. However, most of us in network/internet marketing, just don't have that kind of money, do we? For most beginners, "marketing" consists of handing out one or two business cards or brochures a day, or making a couple of cold calls, or luring two or three visitors to a mediocre website (or one that looks like everybody else's). Since successful selling is, in most cases, in direct proportion to the number of contacts made, presentations given, or brochures handed out, such slow-play tactics are probably not going to yield overwhelming results, at least not right away. The new network/internet marketer is probably also dealing with lack of time in addition to ignorance, uncertainty, and the slings and arrows of those who could be supporting his or her attempt to achieve success. Combine all the negatives, including poor income results, if any, and you have a recipe for failure, as many of us in network marketing or internet marketing know from experience. One way to change this is to make the new network marketer (I am going to talk about network marketing in particular, as that is my area, and network marketing techniques can be applied to internet marketing), aware that success is going to take time. Unfortunately, this adds another negative to the pile, even before he or she gets started. At least before we provided the fact of life, the new internet marketer could at least hope that tomorrow would bring a ton of sales. However, now we can lighten that load by helping erase some of the fear of failure or embarrassment, and take some of the financial burden off of the new marketer by showing him or her different ways to market. Most new network marketers have a mortal fear of trying to "sell" something. Two ways to change this are to change the product, or at least reassess it, and to teach the new network marketer how to stop selling. First, they should start with a product that is of real value that they have used or would have no problem recommending to friends and family, even if they were not selling it. NOTE: A lot of companies will tell a new marketer to contact their "warm market" first, that is, friends, family, coworkers, etc. For many, this can be the kiss of death. I don't want to go too deeply into this right now, but many times, Uncle Bob just really doesn't want your product and may even resent your inserting sales into the family. If you can show Uncle Bob that you have a good product that people use and respect you for carrying, he will come to you eventually...if he needs it. In addition, many new network marketers manage to alienate their warm market with their first, bad attempt at selling things. Later, when they know what they are doing or when they find a product that they really believe would be of value, their warm market turns very cold when they show up. Second, they should stop selling the product, and begin to sell themselves. This relieves the embarrassment and pressure of trying to sell things. Ninety percent of the people they try to sell things to will not be in the mood or position to buy at the moment they are being pitched to. Even if they are, they put up defenses the moment they realize that a sales pitch is coming at them. They will refuse even if the product is exactly what they need and is below the price of any equivalent they could find elsewhere. If, however, they know you and like you and know that you sell a health care plan, if, two months from now they realize that they need a health care plan, they will probably think of you. If you have convinced them that you are an honest and honorable human being who can be trusted and would not sell them a bill of goods, there is a good chance that your phone will ring, and THEY will be asking YOU about your product or service. If production of income is going to be slow anyway, why not spend the time building a network of friends rather than a network of people who move to the other side of the street to avoid you? Why go through all the rejection? It is also often easier to make a new friend every day than to make a new sales pitch. If you join the right groups and participate in the right activities, you may just find yourself with a rapidly increasing network of friends, who are not only potential customers and business partners, but contacts who will tell others about you. That's networking.