The only difference between you and those at the top is that they have heard more no’s. Building a network marketing business is pretty cut and dry. You show, they decide, some get involved (with the product, the business or both), they show and it starts all over again. If we were all robots working day in and day out, success would be a given. Unfortunately it’s not that easy. We are human beings and the real variable in our journey to success revolves around emotional issues; the most important being rejection. No’s have claimed more would be successful network marketers than anything else.
The fear of rejection can paralyze people. It contributes to procrastination, forces people to lie about their activity and postpone their dreams.
NULL How big a part the emotional issues play in our journey depends on how much baggage we bring with us when we start our network marketing business. That is why in this industry, both time and effort are devoted to personal development with a major focus on ways to increase our self-esteem and self-confidence. In the process of building a network marketing business, there are two areas where the likelihood of rejection tends to run very high. They are:
- the invitation to see the business
- the decision to get in the business.
There is no question that inviting someone to see the business and getting their decision to join creates intense anxiety. If you can help a new distributor become proficient in these two areas it will help give them the confidence and resilience to stay the course.
Distributors tend to measure their success based on the results they get in these two areas.
I try to insulate my distributors the best way I can by:
- Getting them sold first. Elevating their belief level in the industry and the company to solidify their commitment. This also includes creating their vision and internalizing their goals so that it’s easier to stay on purpose knowing that the direction they’re going is the right one for them.
- Increasing their skills so they feel competent. Teach them how to invite, avoid skepticism, present the business, respond to objections, ask for the decision, get someone started and get them trained.
- Making them understand the process and minimizing the psychological effects.
Eighty percent of recruiting is preparation. Companies don’t send their salespeople out on sales calls without preparation. Sports teams do not take on their opponent without a great deal of preparation. So preparation is critical. Early in my career, I have found ways to personally prepare against the debilitating effects of rejection.
First of all, I imagined putting on an invisible suit of psychological armor.
Imagine this invisible shield that nothing can penetrate, not bullets, arrows or even nos. You feel bulletproof.
Second, I live by the concept, “get attached to the process not the results”.
I know that this is a little different from what we are taught in life. After all, Einstein said, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. In life, most of our successes are based on measuring results to confirm that we are on the right course. Sports would be pretty boring without results. What makes it worse is that today’s society wants instantaneous results. There are young people who, because of technology, do not know what it is like to wait for information and results. They live in a now world.
Understand, I don’t mean you continue to do something that isn’t working, but I do mean, if the process required in network marketing is pretty standard and others have succeeded before you, then stay the course. Don’t get attached to the answer.
Don’t get attached to a yes or no. After all, a yes can mean no if they get involved and do nothing and a no can mean no for now and yes for later if you left a good impression. That’s how the mantra ‘next’… came about. It is critical to level your emotions, not allowing yourself to get too excited if they say yes and too depressed if they say no. After all, success in the show is not in the yes or no. It’s also not in the sell or the sign. If you have to sell them to get in the business, you will have to sell them to do something. They will probably do nothing because they didn’t get in for the right reasons to begin with. On the other hand if you think that merely signing them into the business is success, you will be sadly disappointed when they do nothing, and trust me, there will be some who do nothing.
Treat your network business like a traditional business. A retail business wants traffic. They don’t get hung up on one who says yes I’ll buy and who says no.
It’s the same in real estate. Selling a house is all about traffic. It revolves around the Law of Averages. It’s the same in network marketing. You cannot control who says yes or no just as you cannot make someone successful, but the sheer numbers will mean that you can be a success anyway, irrelevant of your influence. You just have to show enough people. The best part is that you can control the number of people you talk to and if you focus on the numbers, you will end up with enough people signed in your business to take you to the top. Let me simplify further. There are ratios involving the number of people you talk to and the percentage of that number that actually want to see the business. Then there are ratios between the number of people you show the business to and the percentage of that number that actually sign in. Finally, there are ratios between the number of people who sign into the business and the percentage of that number that actually do something. For example, if you have shown the business to 25 people and 5 have joined you, then your ratio is one in five. If of those 5 that signed in, one is a real leader, then your ratio is a constant one in five across the board. This means that if you need three leaders in your business to reach the top position, you will need to sponsor 15 and show 75.
Knowledge of the numbers and a willingness to work the numbers will put you in control of your business.
No more guess work. You know exactly what to do. When you understand this completely, you will understand how important it is not to get caught up in the answer. Just put on your armor and proceed with the process. Success does not have to be elusive. The only difference between you and those at the top is that they have heard more nos. It is all part of the price we pay for success. But remember, you do have control. You have control of you. So, get attached to the process not the results.
Downloads
- Stay the Course Long Enough to Discover the Magic by Paula Pritchard - May 1, 2008
- Get attached to the process not the results by Paula Pritchard - April 1, 2008
- Why Teamwork Works by Paula Pritchard - September 1, 2007