I've seen it all. Well…almost.
In the long, LONG time I've been doing network marketing, I've seen thousands of people come and thousands go. Sad to see people enter our profession, only to go back to what they didn't like so much to begin with and “throw in the towel” with network marketing.
The reality is that network marketing DOES provide all of us who choose to pursue it the unique opportunity to be our own boss and live life on our terms, rather than what someone else wants us to do.
The reality is also this. Network Marketing can be challenging. It's hard work. It requires a serious commitment. That's a fact.
Now…if you're not in any hurry to make a bunch of money, you can dilly-dally around, do things at a moderate pace, as long as your consistent, and eventually get somewhere pretty good.
The last business I built turned into over 15,000 people doing over $5,000,000 a year in sales and I did my part on an extremely meager level. I probably averaged less than three hours a week over the 7 years it took me to get there. But…it also took me SEVEN years to get there. I could have built it faster, but I had other responsibilities on my plate. How many of you would be thrilled with those kind of numbers with that little effort?
Of course, I can't take credit for the success. I didn't do it. All I did was started people in the business. When someone tells you they built an organization of X number of distributors, they didn't do it either.
So…where am I going with all of this in this post?
There are some very important things that you've got to do in network marketing in order to be successful, and there are several that will send you straight to the poor house.
The Five Dreaded Diseases, plus a Bonus Section from “Fast Times”
To me…the following flaws, mistakes, decisions, or errors in judgment (call them what you will), are surefire ways to prevent you from ever becoming highly successful in network marketing. I've turned them into diseases for the sake of entertainment.
- Splitter Syndrome. This is a devastating and ravaging disease that infects far too many people. Yeah. You've heard it before, but so what. It's worth saying a thousand times over. If you STOP building, you prevent yourself from becoming successful.
- Jumperitus. This itchy infection causes people to hop from one body to another, more deeply infecting the host and eventually causing a full on bleed out. Not pretty. I realize that you sometimes have to date around a bit before you find the right person to spend your life with…and the same may be for you in your MLM. Sometimes the company sucks. And sometimes it's just not a good match. Ever date someone only once? Why'd you not do it again? However, if you ARE in a solid deal with sound fundamentals, and it's just not happening as fast as you'd like it to be, you may just want to look in the mirror and ask yourself, “How have I shown up here?”
- Wussaholism. The addiction to allowing fears to rule you can be cause for cirrhosis of your check, but can be overcome with moderate action and prospecting therapy. We ALL have fears, but don't let them rule you. Face them. If you want success bad enough, if you desire something bigger and better, you'll fight through the wuss zone and smack your fears in the face. How silly is it to be afraid of talking to someone anyhow? I find it interesting how someone can talk to someone about the weather or some other trivial subject, but be afraid to talk business. Get over it, your you'll be out of MLM for good.
- Suckorrhea. It burns really, really bad. I had it. Thank goodness I didn't pass it on. I took a shot from a friend who said, “Dude…you need work.” I took his advice and worked on it. I sucked in a major way. Sure…I worked hard early on. I showed up and busted it. Work ethic was never an issue for me. But, I was PATHETIC. I decided being pathetic at prospecting wasn't for me, so I got good at it. Interesting how I was a pathetic wreck with my recruiting and now widely known in this space as one of the premier coaches and trainers on the subject of prospecting. My…how life can change when you decide.
- Fail to Finishism. Dammit. If you start something, see it through to the end. One of the biggest bail outs is when people initiate some contact with a prospect and don't follow up. LAME! They're waiting for you to finish. They WANT you to finish. Failing to finish any process is a recipe for disaster. And lastly..
- Just like Jeff Spicoli. If you've ever seen the movie “Fast Times and Ridgemont High”, that dude was stoned out of his mind for every moment of the movie. I smoked weed once…and yes, I even inhaled. Well, maybe even twice, but who cares since I'm never running for office. The stereotypical stoner is a space cadet…in la-la land. And while, marijuana doesn't make you Jeff Spicoli like, you've got to pay attention! Spacing out isn't cool. We've all got to be mentally present in all that we do in order to LEARN from our life's experiences. I see a lot of people who make the same mistakes over and over again and fail to ever fix them. Learn from what you do. Focus. Improve on what you're good at. And…if something isn't working for you, find out why and do it differently.
That's all I have to say. Don't you think?
