"Will you succeed" is a question that a lot of network marketers ask themselves.
I had an experience today that caused me to think more about that question. Often times that question is stated a little differently.
Today I was out running errands in my car, and I had full intentions in coming back to my house and recording a video. I already had a topic in mind, and I was ready!
Will You Succeed In Network Marketing?
When I am driving around in my car, I am usually listening to podcasts. I have a bunch of podcasts from many top network marketers that are downloaded to my iPod; and when I am in my car, the iPod syncs with Bluetooth to my car's audio system.
I was listening to an interview that Simon Chan was doing with Cedric Penn.
A question was asked, and that question made all kinds of bells go off in my head. I got all excited because Simon and Cedric were talking about MY experience! This was my experience for a very long time.
In network marketing, we have always been taught that you never fail until you quit. You have heard that, right? Today that statement was phrased just a little different. Here was the question:
If you don't quit, will you succeed in network marketing? If you stay in network marketing long enough, will you eventually succeed?
If You Stay in Network Marketing Long Enough, Will You Succeed?
Maybe. Maybe.
There is a condition to that question.
If you stay the same as you were when you started network marketing, then you probably won't succeed at network marketing, no matter how long you are in network marketing.
To succeed in your network marketing business and to grow in network marketing, YOU NEED TO GROW!
You need to learn some new skills and put those skills into action. Self development and new skills are needed to take you from where you are to where you want to be. If you sit around and do the same things that you did when you started, you are only going to go so far.
Unless you are continually learning and continually building your skills and continually growing, then, yes, there is a possiblitiy that you won't succeed.
To determine if you will succeed depends on your actions.
Listen to podcasts, to webinars, watch YouTube Videos, subscribe to successful network marketers' website and newsletters, and learn from the people around you. Then you can succeed.
In my case, I have plugged into the systems that bring that information right to my computer. In the old days, we had to drive many miles to events to listen to top network marketing performers. The self-improvement books and tapes were expensive, as were the tools to build our business.
In today's world, that is all available right from our computer. And we don't even have to search all over the internet to get the information. There are prepackaged systems that will give you the tools AND the knowledge to be successful at building your business over the internet. And you can do it without spewing a bunch of hype and without spamming everybody.
Yes!! If you grow yourself, learn and develop, apply what you have learned.....then, yes! If you stay in network marketing long enough, you will succeed!
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When your prospect asks you what you do or what is your business, how do you respond?
For many of us, we believe those questions give us the signal to go ahead and verbally dump on our prospect. The tendency is to tell them everything good we know about the company or product in hopes that something will resonate with him.
Often times we will talk about how smart our company founder is, or how our company is rated number 1 in the whole universe. Or we talk about the patents that our company has on its products.
What DOES Your Prospect Really Want To Know?
That is NOT what your prospect was asking. He simple wanted to know what you do. If you owned a store, would you immediately talk about how many degrees in business administration you have? Probably not. But if you did, the person that asked the question would probably think that you are pretty weird!
But, unfortunately, many network marketers do just that when asked about their business.
Find Your Prospect Hot Button
In the video, I tell about two experiences that illustrate this. The first experience is about a well-known network marketer that was asked on the spot to convince a friend's friend that she should drink more water.
The network marketer could have talked about ALL the various reasons why a person should drink more water, but he didn't do that. He didn't have the time to go into a detailed presentation about drinking water.
Instead, he quickly made a judgement about what the friend's friend might be concerned about, and he just said "If you don't drink enough water, your body will retain what water it does have and you will get bloated."
Her eyes got real big, and she said "I do have a problem with bloating lately!! I DO need to start drinking more water!"
He found her "hot button" and she was ready to listen.
Your Prospect: My Own Personal Story
My own personal experience happened when I was giving a shuttle ride to a person from a car dealership to his home. I explained that I drive this shuttle van two days a week, and the other five days I work on my home business.
He then asked me what my business was. At that point, I could have launched into a full-scale presentation for my network marketing business. Instead I simply said that I marketed a product for people who have stiff and sore achy knees. I then said "If you know anybody with stiff and sore knees, I am the one they need to talk to." Then I shut up.
The first words out of his mouth were "I have sore and achy knees!"
I hit his hot button!
We talked a little bit about his knees, I found out how long he had been having bad knees, and I asked if exercise seemed to help or hurt his knees even more. I then told him that 80% of the people who have tried my product have liked it well enough that they have ordered more.
When I suggested that for the price of a month's supply of my product that he could know whether my product was going to help him or not, he was interested.
We set an appointment for the following night for me to call him. After a brief review of what we talked about the previous day, I took his order over the phone.
What Your Prospect DOESN'T Want to Know
Now here is the real message of this experience!
He never once asked me about the credentials of our company's founder. And he didn't ask how many patents our products have. He didn't even ask if this was network marketing!!
And get this:......as of this moment when I am writing this three days later.....he doesn't even KNOWTHE NAME of the product he has purchased! He doesn't even know the name of the company that sells it.
All he wanted to know was if this product was going to help his sore and achy knees.
What Your Prospect DOES Want to Know
And isn't that really all your prospect wants to know? Doesn't your prospect just want to know if our product can solve his pain, whatever that might be?
If they like the product and become a customer, THEN it might be appropriate to talk about what makes this product so special. WHEN they have the interest, THEN they might be willing to hear about the advanced degrees that your company's founder might have. But not before!
Summary For What Your Prospect Wants to Know
In summary....sometimes network marketers come across as being very "salezy" and hypee because we spew all this stuff at our prospects when they are not the least bit interested.
We throw all the information that we can at them in hopes that one tidbit will stick and make them want to buy. It is far better to take a little time and try to figure out what your prospect wants, what he doesn't want, or what he is concerned about.
Then out of all the multitude of products that you might have, you can pick the one that will best stop his pain, or address his concern.
Talk to your prospect about what he needs. Talk to him about what he wants. Then exlain to him how your product will solve his problem.
Don't spam everybody, don't give them hype. Just find their need and offer to help them address it.
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Recruiting using Facebook is becoming a popular way to build your network marketing business. However, there are some things that you will want to be aware of. Here are five steps for recruiting using Facebook.
The First Step to Recruiting Using Facebook
The first step is to be connecting with people all the time. You are always looking for new people for your business. For the details about how to find people to connect to on Facebook, see this blog post about how to connect with new people on Facebook.
However when you connect or reconnect with people on Facebook, the ONE thing that you DO NOT want to do is to pitch your business or product during the first couple of conversastions with them.
Pitching your business in this manner is considered by most people to be spam. Do our industry a favor and don't spam. Instead, grow your business in a professional manner.
The Second Step to Recruiting Using Facebook
On the first interaction with your potential team mates, give them a compliment about something that you admire about them. Find something in common with them, and talk about those things.
Learn about them. You can ask something like this, "By the way, what do you do?" Then talk about their answers. Make the conversation about them. Talk to them like you would to a friend.
The Third Step to Recruiting Using Facebook
After you have started developing a relationship with your new friends, then....and only then.....should you introduce your business to them and then only under certain conditions. Don't spring it suddenly upon them. Lead up to it with some genuine questions. You want to find out if they even have a need for what you have to offer them.
If you don't uncover a need, don't progress any further with trying to get them into your network marketing business. Just continue to treat them as a friend and keep the door open to future opportunities to talk to them about business.
If you do find a need, then you can say something like this, "Would you be open to checking out something that might help you to solve your problem, if it would not interfer with what you are currently doing?"
But if they are NOT open to it, you cannot proceed onto step five.
If they are open to more information, then you can go ahead and send them your business opportunity link or a link to more information about what you have to offer.
The Fourth Step to Recruiting Using Facebook
The fourth step is to follow up. If you don't follow up, then you can't collect the decision. Ask them when would be a good time for you to follow up with them AFTER they have watched the video that you have sent them.
Remember that you HAVEN'T sent that link to them until they have indicated that they are open to receiving it. If you know that they are open to receiving your link, it makes it much easier for you to follow up with them. And you MUST follow up with them to get some sort of decision from them.
Make sure that they really want to watch the video before you sent it. Let them know that there will be no pressure from you after they have watched the video. But they do need to know that you will NOT send the video link unless they will watch it.
The Fifth Step to Recruiting Using Facebook
The fifth step is to close. If you have followed the steps, the close is very easy. You will not have sent the video unless they are open to it, and they will know that you will be following up. The close, or collecting the decision, becomes very easy.
Most people won't act unless you ask them to. So you can say something like, "Based on what you have seen, it appears that you are ready to get started." Or you can ask, "Are you in or are you out? If you are in, I can help you get started now. If you are out, I will know not to bug you about it anymore."
Sometimes they just need help to know that it really is a simple answer. They don't need to take a lot of time to make a decision. Are they in or are they out? It really is as simple as that.
Summary to Recruiting Using Facebook
First step is to connect with new people all the time.
Second step is to develop that relationship. NO links to your business or opportunity at this time. Not until you have established that there is a need for what you have.
Third step is to introduce your business or opportunity to your new friend by asking them if they are open to receiving a link or other tool.
Fourth step is to follow up.
Fifth step is to close. "Are you in or are you out?"
If the answer is yes, offer to work with them in getting started with their own business. If the answer is no, you stop bugging them about your business. But you do keep treating them as a friend, because sometimes their circumstances will change, and they will become more open to looking again at your offer.
Following these five steps to recruiting using Facebook will expand the number of people in your network, will give you a structured plan to move them towards being your team member, and will give you the path to collect a decision from them about joining you!
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I am not a single mom with kids, so I can't pretend that I know all the struggles and trials that you are going through on a daily basis. But I do have some inkling of what you are going through.
I served a few years for my church congregation as an employment counselor. Many of the people that I worked with were single moms with kids just like you. Every one of you is different in that you have different trials, different challenges, and different circumstances.
Single Mom With Kids Challenges
I know about some of the challenges you have because you have told me about them!
But even though you all are different, you also have some things in common.
So let me talk for a little bit about some of those common things that you have told me about.
I KNOW that you want to do the very best that you can for your children. As a single mom with kids, you seem to have additional motivation to raise your children the best that you can. And that puts a lot of additional stress on you when trying to be the best that you can be. It can be very over-whelming!
You want to be there for your kids when they are going through their own hard times, and you want to be there for their first accomplishments. That could be their first smiley face on their papers from their school. You want to go to their school activies with them, such as back-to-school nights or other special events such as the sports that they are participating in. You want to be there for your kids!
I also KNOW that you want to be there for your kids when they need you. Perhaps they are having a hard time at school. There may be difficulties with teachers or even difficulties with other students. Even more distressing, they may be dealing with bullies.
And you want to protect them. At the very least, you want to be there to listen to their problems when they need to talk to you. You want to be able to support them the best that you can.
Single Mom With Kids and Financial Concerns
In addition to providing a good family life and providing for their emotional needs, you also want to provide for them some of the material things that will make for a comfortable life. Making sure that they have enough food to eat and an adequate home is a high priority. Most of you want to be able to provide clothing that is in style as you don't want your kids to be made fun of because of the clothes that they wear.
You just feel like you want to be able to provide enough for your children so that they can be happy. Some of you have told me that you feel inadequate because you cannot provide all the things that you want your kids to have.
And yet you are trying to provide by yourself the things and support that many families have TWO people working together provide.
Single Mom With Kids and Employment
Many American families in this economy have trouble making ends meet with TWO incomes! If two-income families are struggling, no wonder you are struggling as well. But you adjust. You just suck it up and do the best you can.
One problem that you encounter is that because you need the time with your kids, you just can't work enough hours to make a sufficient income. When the kids are small, you may need to find a day care solution. Day care is NOT cheap! Day care costs are another expense in your budget.
Time spent with your children is very important to you, but sometimes you have to sacrafice some of that time by putting your children in daycare in order for you to work to provide an income.
If you have a job, you may have limited flexibility as to when you can work those hours. Some jobs will offer you some flexibility in your working hours but there is only so much that they can offer. And if you take too much time off, it could jepordize your chances for promotions and raises and could even endanger your employment.
Some of you are UNABLE to work fulltime for a variety of reasons. Either you can't find fulltime work or because of the needs of your kids, you can ONLY work part time.
Options for Single Moms With Kids
If you can't work full time, you only have a few options. You could work a second part time job. That could give you a little bit more money, but it will also increase the amount of time that you have to spend away from your family.
Usually part time work doesn't pay as much as full time work. That contributes to another challenge that you are facing as a single mom.
There may be discrimination in the form of gender and age discrimination, causing you to earn less money than you might be qualified for.
And whatever money you might make in a second part time job, it still might not be enough for you to provide for your family in the way that you would like.
In the video portion of this blog post, I tell the story of Collette, who was a single mom with kids. She was trying to raise four children, two of which had medical disabilities. Be sure to watch the video to hear of her story and how she was able to overcome her trials. You can find the story at the 6:30 mark of the video.
So:..... here is the thing:
If you are a single mom with kids, and you are struggling, and trying to raise your kids and trying to bring in an adequate income at the same time, you have a lot of things stacked against you from the very beginning.
So you will have to start looking at some other options.
You can get a part time job. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't. You can get a full time job. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't. When you are working a full time job, you will have certain restrictions that may hinder your ability to provide.
A lot of single moms with kids are finding that working a network marketing business is the only thing that will give them the flexibility they need and also the opportunity to make the amount of money that they need. They are in control of their lives. They decide when they can go to their kid's recital or to their sports events.
Many of them are making good incomes. More income than they could have made by working a traditional job.
Summary of Single Mom With Kids
I don't know all of your struggles as a single mom. But I do know about some of the things that you have told me. You are doing a hard job, and most of you are doing an excellent job with your families regardless of your circumstances.
But sometimes you need just a little more financial help. If an additional part time or even a full time job isn't going to be enough, please at least take a look at network marketing. See if it might be a solution for you.
If you want to talk to me about what might work for you, please contact me and maybe we can work it out together.
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Have you ever been asked the question, "How long have you been doing this business?" Most network marketers have been asked this question; and if they have not been asked the question, they eventually WILL be asked!
How Long Have You Been Doing This: A Different Perspective
I would like to turn that question around and make it more of a philsophy, or a different way to think about it.
After you have made a presentation to a potential network marketing team member, a lot of times they will ask you,"Well.....how long have you been doing this?" They are trying to figure out in their own mind how successful they might be if they were to join you.
Perhaps they are thinking in their own minds that they are more successful in general than you, and that if you could do it successfully, then maybe they can too. Or perhaps they are thinking the opposite, that they are not as successful as you, therefore, they might not do as well as you.
That is what is going on in the back of their mind when they ask you that question.
How Long Have You Been Doing This?: Why Does the Question Scare Us?
Many network marketers fear the question because they don't know how to answer it. If you are relatively new, you may be thinking that because of your newness, it means that you don't have any success, that you have no experience, or that you have no results yet. It is natural to wonder why you should think that your potential team mate would want to join you.
If you HAVE been in your business for a length of time, and they ask you that question, the first thought that might go through your mind is: "Oh, boy! I have been in this business for a long time, and I have no success! I am going to appear to be a failure!"
So sometimes we fear the question because we don't know how to answer it.
So let's take that question and make a change in philsophy about it.
How To Deal With The Question How Long Have You Been Doing This
It is really NOT about how long you have been in the business, whether that be a couple of weeks or a couple of decades. What it IS about is how many conversations have you had with people in the time that you have been in.
If you have only been in the business for a couple of weeks, but you are talking or having conversations with a lot of people, you are on the right track. Those conversations can be belly-to-belly or face-to-face, or they could be done by social media or other internet options. They are all conversations. The more conversations of any kind that you have, the more success you will find.
On the other hand, if you have been in for a long time but have NOT had many conversations, you will not be as successful as someone that has been in for a short time but has had many conversations.
It is not how long you have been in the business that makes a difference, but how many conversations you have had during the time that you have been in the business. A person in the business for only 2 months but that has had 100 conversations will outperform a long-time person in the business that has only had 50 conversations.
In former times, it was much more difficult to talk to 100 people person to person. In today's world, you use social media, create a video, push it out, and you can be talking to hundreds of people with just the click of your mouse. It is now easier to talk to many people than ever before. And it could even be thousands of people!
So, don't think in terms of how many months or years you have been in your network marketing business. Instead, think in terms of how many people have you had conversations with. And how many MORE people you are going to have conversations with.
Use the internet and start talking to more people! That will take the fear out of the question "How long have you been doing this?"
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