Network Marketing: Is It A Business Or A Hobby?
The ease of starting a network marketing business is both a huge advantage as well as a cause for concern.
If it's too easy to start a business, too many people join without any idea of what it really takes to succeed. They often join to “see what happens”. They don't have enough “skin” in the game so as soon as the going gets a little tough, as it inevitably will, they quit.
As soon as someone indicates they want to “try it”, write them off, because they won't stick with it.
Contrast that with someone who buys a franchise or starts a bick and mortar business from scratch. A lot more thought, research and planning goes into the process before a commitment is made. Once they're in, because there is usually a significant amount of money on the line, they give it their all, regardless of the roadblocks along the way, in good and bad times. They're not going to “try it” to see what happens. They simply don't give themselves an option to quit!
On the other hand, if you've only paid a few hundred dollars to start your business, although it probably seems like a lot to pay at the time, a few months later, when you're out of leads and very few of your “sure” propects have shown any interest, it's just too easy to write it off as a “bad choice” and look for the next “easy” money making scheme to come your way.
The challenge is to get distributors to think of it like a real business, not as a hobby or something to “try”, to be abandonded at will.
If you want to build a successful downline, which you must do if you're going to create a lasting network marketing business, the onus is on you to decide who is worth investing your time and energy in.
To do this you must properly qualify each prospect to weed out those who are not willing or able to treat it like a serious business.
Why is this important, you might ask? Consider this. As a team leader you need to invest your time and energy to work with and mentor your team members. What you don't want is to spend that time and emotional energy on someone who will abandon their dreams after a short time in the business when they hit their first obstacle! Because you've got to realize, your time is a limited resource so you need to invest it where you will get the greatest return for that investment.
You might have been told to do something quite different. In some companies you're encouraged to try to sponsor everyone “with a pulse” just to see what “sticks”. Quite frankly, this is a bad idea.
I suggest you ask yourself these questions:
Am I willing to let anyone join my business just for the sake of increasing my numbers?
Is that really meaningful?
Would a better use of my time be to find out if a propect is seriously interested in building a business, that way I'd know if I should invest time and emotional energy in supporting them?
If you could reduce the wasted effort of signing up people who are not willing or able to fully commit to the business you will save not only your valuable time, but you'll reduce the emotional drain you undergo every time a distributor leaves or doesn't live up to your expectations.
As difficult as this is for you if you're new in this business, teach yourself NOT to get emotionally involved in your leads until AFTER you have meticulously qualified them and resolved that they are indeed someone who is worth your time and energy investment.
The questioin is, how do you know the difference?
The best thing you can do is learn from the experts. Mike Dillard conducted an hour long interview with someone who is, arguably, the best recruiter in network marketing. The link below takes you to a free one hour video where Mark talks about his techniques on how to talk to prospects.
Since the vast majority of people in the network marketing business do nothing, if you don't qualify your prospects early in your discussions, you're setting yourself up for disappointment and a lot of wasted your valuable time and energy.
Click here to learn how a master qualifies his prospects! For more tips and advice about building you home based business, check out Kim Thornton's blog, Surge To Success.. I am both an affiliate and a user of Mike Dillard's programs.
<!–
Related Posts
- May 2nd
Leave a Reply