(The following information is taken from Your First Year in Network Marketing by Mark and Rene Yarnell. I am providing you highlights in the next several blogs in hopes that you will be equipped to survive and thrive in your hardest year of your network marketing business – the first one. Here are the highlights from Chapter 4.)
In this chapter, the authors seek to dispel myths used to recruit unwitting associates.
Because the MLM industry has the reputation of producing millionaires, it is easy for folks to think that they have failed if they are not earning big money after their first year. What is even more detrimental is the false notion that success in MLM can be achieved without much effort or time investment.
The reality is, this is a work industry. The folks who have succeeded have worked hard and have stayed with it for several years.
In MLM, the rewards are proportional to invested time and effort. Many new associates start out with false expectations of MLM because they are misled into thinking that they can achieve their goals quickly and without much time or effort.
Traditional Business vs. MLM
Traditional businesses are the real pyramids in our society. The real income earners are the top few workers, and the lowest paid workers are at the bottom. The lowest level worker can outwork the CEO, but they are still never going to earn an income above their pay grade.
In MLM, every new associate who works hard and is persistent can out earn anyone else in the company. In MLM there is nothing that can hold associates back except our own negative thinking.
That being said, it is important to see the difference between the potential of MLM and the reality of what it takes to get there.
There is a place in MLM for everyone, but each of us will experience success in our own unique way and time, and our incomes will vary immensely.
Balance Upside Potential with the Realistic Picture
We must portray a realistic picture of just how much hard work is involved in attaining financial security and time freedom. Too many recruiters fail to tell the truth about the necessary effort.
Success comes to associates who personally recruit large numbers of associates and then educate their associates to duplicate their system. MLM is far more teaching than sales. Those who are the most successful are usually the good communicators.
We must not create false expectations by waving fat checks in front of people without also telling them about the time and effort needed to earn them. Much of the attrition in MLM can be attributed to presenters making false promises about how easy it is to make lots of money quickly with minimal effort.
As soon as these false expectations go unmet, new associates perceive MLM as a scam and quit. It is not a scam; it’s just more time and labor intensive than what was presented to them.
Misguided Belief that MLM Requires No Effort
New associates are going to have to work hard for the first year if they are able to do it full-time. For those who are doing it part-time, it will take 2 to 3 years to replace their income.
Some folks will sign up a new associate promising to work the business for them. This never works!
Nevertheless, they ask for their contact list and may even convince some folks to join. But, because they never trained their associate to train others, that is the model that will be duplicated and the downline will eventually collapse leaving many expressing contempt for MLM.
Working the business for others is often called ‘sifting.’ Those who are wrongly trained to do this are simply sorting through contact lists looking for a ‘winner’ instead of teaching associates to build their business through relationships.
When recruiting, emphasize that MLM is not a get something for nothing business. It takes real time and energy to build a successful organization.
In MLM, it is only those who treat it like a profession who get the big money. Work at it part-time, stay with it steadily, and you will get there eventually. There is no way to make big money by handing over a contact list to a sponsor.
Honesty is Everything
In MLM honesty is everything. If you cheat someone in MLM, 200,000 people in 20 countries will know about it in a week. So, tell the truth about the marketing plan and the tremendous amount of work entailed for success.
Offer support for your downline, but do not do their work for them. The more honest and upfront we are in our presentations, the less attrition we will see in our frontline, and we will be respected by those in our organization.
Unrealistic Assumption about the Numbers Needed to Succeed
The reality is that those who are successful in MLM have never limited themselves by numbers. The more people we personally recruit, the more success we will see. We must not think small, but rather, wide and deep. While training our new associates, we should not stop recruiting.
Inaccurate Perception about the Time Needed to Succeed
It is critical that new associates set realistic financial objectives over a one-, two-, three-, five-, seven-, and ten-year plan. Then, we need to seek out an upline mentor who has already achieved this level of success to help us set goals to accomplish this plan.
Be realistic about the time it will take, but think big as well. It is by unleashing your limited thinking that you will be able to rise to your full potential.
Part-timers earn substantially less than full-timers. Part-timers tend to recruit part-timers, so their business will grow slowly as will the ones of those they recruit. Remember this is a business of duplication. Your recruits will do what they see you doing. Work hard and they will work hard. Treat it like a hobby, and they will treat it like a hobby. You cannot accomplish full-time goals on part-time effort.
Final Thoughts
View MLM not as a career, but rather as a vehicle to enabling you to do the things in life that really matter the most to you. MLM is the most lucrative profession in the world, but it’s also the hardest work you will ever do. It is not a get rich quick scheme, but if you’re willing to work hard for the first several years, you can enjoy financial and time freedom like never before. It’s tough because you have to prospect a lot of people before you will find one who is willing to do the hard work.
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