Have you ever experienced a moment when things just clicked? You know…that aha moment?
I’ve been mulling over one of those moments lately. I thought it might be beneficial to share with you some insight from a book I read that could potentially help you understand WHY people are choosing to go down the path of network marketing. I also want to give a brief summary of a few nuggets that spoke to me from the book, which does a great job explaining what it means to be involved in a network marketing program. The thing that really bothers me the most about my aha moment is that the book (which I’ll get to in a minute) has been sitting on my shelf for nine years.
NINE YEARS!
I was one of those people who gave network marketing a shot years ago, but I had limited resources back then. If I would have just opened this book when I bought it, I would have understood why most people fizzle out of this business. 
Doing this business the second time around definitely has its perks, though, which I’ll touch on later. The main message from the one-hundred-page book I’ll be referring to is that in order to be successful in network marketing, you must be good at teaching others how to do what you do. Most people fail in network marketing because they try to build an organization by emphasizing selling.
Stop looking for people who want to sell!
You have to let your sales come as a natural result of building an organization. Go into it with the state of mind of wanting to teach people how to teach and sponsor, so you can build yourself a large, stable organization. You can do this without selling anything, in the normal sense of the word “selling.” Essentially, it’s our job to teach people about products that are better for them. When they get to try the products, they fall in love, and then I simply show them how to get them at wholesale. — And then I teach them how to teach OTHERS how to do exact same — and make a living with it.
I also want to briefly clear up is this antiquated understanding of what network marketing looks like in the 21st century. Most people have a very “old school” perspective in that it’s some type of pyramid scheme. This is not one of “those things.” The people who think that just haven’t been educated about what network marketing is. Pyramid schemes are illegal because they fail to move a product and/or fail to provide a service. If a product doesn’t move, you cannot call it “marketing.” I wouldn’t be caught dead doing something illegal anyway, would you? Your choices will be misunderstood by those not meant to join you on your journey.
If you feel stuck, hesitant, have questions, are looking for your aha moment, or are serious about giving network marketing a shot, then lets get to the good stuff!
How to be successful in network marketing is spelled out for you in Don Failla’s book, “The 45-Second Presentation That Will Change Your Life.” He notes that you must be at least three levels deep in your organization. In other words, YOU have to teach MIKE how to teach CATHY how to sponsor. You cannot make the big bucks in network marketing until you’ve gone at least three deep, where you then become duplicatable. You cannot do it by yourself. What is meant by being duplicated is that your company has laid out a system for you to follow that is simple and proven to work; one that you can easily teach to others.
Look for people who want to teach others what they know.
After you sponsor someone, it’s more important for you to help them sponsor someone else than it is for you to sponsor another person yourself. This statement really opened my eyes. As Don says in his book, the magic number is FIVE. The key is to sponsor five people who are serious, and then teach them how to teach what I’m talking to you about.
I love this analogy…
Imagine for a minute that you want to take a trip in the family car from rainy Washington to sunny California. The sunshine in California represents you reaching the TOP of your company. The first thing you need to do is hop in the car and start driving. As you drive, you’ll eventually need to fill up with gas (gas=product). As you’re traveling, you’ll run out of gas (product) and you’ll have to refill. The point he’s getting at is that network marketing works best with products that are consumable, meaning you’ll use them up and have to buy them again. By the way, you must use the products from the company you represent.
So, which company is the best choice?
People pick their specific company (or companies) for various reasons. It could be that a friend or family member introduced you, or maybe it’s a ground-floor opportunity — and that’s OK! Personally, I think it’s more beneficial to pick a one with a wide selection of consumable products (skin care, nutrition, sun, makeup, bath, body, hair, baby care) These are products that you and your friends are already using on a daily basis. It’s already in their budget to buy shampoo, mascara, eye cream, sunscreen, protein shakes, lip balm, etc. Don’t get me wrong — I love jewelry and candles, but if my company only sold those items, not too many people will be replenishing a necklace or a set of earrings. With candles, we typically purchase the candle and holder set the first time, and will maybe replenish a candle or two the next, either because we love the scent, or to be nice.
The next thing Don talks about is getting out of neutral, otherwise you’ll never get to California (the top). The way to get your car into gear is by sponsoring someone into your business. When you sponsor someone into the business, you’re in first gear. Being that the magic number is five here, you should be in first gear five times, with five serious people, and you’ll want to get your five people into gear as quickly as possible. When each of your five people are in first gear five times, you will be in second gear TWENTY-FIVE times. Stay with me here…. When you teach your five people to teach their five people how to get into first gear five times, they are now in second gear twenty-five times, and it puts you into third gear 125 times. When you have 3rd-level distributors in your organization, you’re in third gear. But… in this business, we strive for overdrive, right? If you simply help and teach the people you sponsor to get their people into third gear, that puts them into fourth gear and you into overdrive.
Boom! Sit on that for a second.
Not only do I understand this business better than I did back then, but the team I’m following and chasing is doing it the best in my entire company, with the #1 income-earner at the top of our up line. We are sharing products with the people who are going with us on our journey, and we have them experience the benefits of using those products. When they want to know where to get the products, we link them to our website! You have to SHARE the products and the opportunity. When people see the benefits of your products, and read through your Success Plan, you’re going to make some new friends. (*wink)
Quit looking for people who want to sell and start looking for people who want to earn an extra $500-$2,000 a month without actually having to go to work every day. Sure it will take 5-10 hours a week of their spare time to build an organization, but it’s worth it! I don’t know about you, but I think it’s worth the residual income, the time freedom, and the ability to give back to others in a way I never thought possible.
It’s a brilliant business model!
Network marketing gives people the opportunity to get involved and try it out without sacrificing a ton of money or disturbing their present means of support. Once they get exposed and involved in the business, they start thinking about how far they can go and they’ll be growing and promoting constantly. Promoting comes natural after they understand what network marketing is, and setting their sights at the top. It’s important that your people understand that you are there to help them; not push them. All your people are going to do is SHARE with their friends, sponsor people, and build an organization.
Everyone is a winner here. The only LOSERS are QUITTERS.
Another one of my FAVORITE analogies from Don Failla’s book is “2×2=4.” This is a great visual and will give you another perspective on the power of adding one more.
2
x
2
4
x
2
8
x
2
16
Easy, right?
Let’s add one more to that equation…
3
x
3
9
x
3
27
x
3
81
In other words, you sponsor 3 people and teach them how to sponsor 3 more, which gives you 9.
You’ll then teach your 3 people how to teach those 9 how to sponsor. Now you have 27 people!
If you go down another level by adding one more… well you get the point.
The only difference is ONE! Everybody only sponsored one more person!
Let’s see what happens when everybody sponsors two more…
4
x
4
16
x
4
64
x
4
256
Here’s what everyone gets when they only sponsor three more people. 625 people in your network!
5
x
5
25
x
5
125
x
5
625
If you have this many people just using the product themselves, you’ll have tremendous volume.
THAT’S HOW YOU MAKE MONEY in this business! (Having a lot of people doing a little bit)
Again, you’re only working with 5 serious people.
A real sponsor is someone who’s committed to helping others ahead of themselves.
You deserve to be happy.
You deserve to live a life you are excited about.
Don’t let others make you forget that.
Let me know what questions you have, so I can help you get started!