Monthly Archives: January 2014


The Universe Rewards Courage.

–LYnn Selwa

What causes distributors to “overprepare”?

Happy New Year to everyone and Welcome to all new subscribers, with a special hello to those who joined after reading my Networking Times article. I hope you find helpful insights for your independent distributorship business on this blog.

So… why do scientifically and technically trained network marketers and direct sellers “overprepare”… they’re ‘getting ready to get ready’… before marketing their businesses?

Here’s my opinion.

One word: fear.

But how to overcome it?

First, step inside their minds.

These are people who spent years in primary, secondary, college (and even graduate or post-graduate) schools, specifically studying the details of mathematics and science.

Solving difficult math problems. Understanding the assumptions (simplifications) used and what are their limitations (air flowing over a jetliner’s wings behaves quite differently from the superheated air surrounding the Space Shuttle during atmospheric re-entry).

Experiencing the temperamental behavior of chemicals in the laboratory. Observing the laws of physics and biological processes. How one wrong keyboard character can crash a 300-line computer program.

Separating correlation (things happening at the same time or seeming to cause a result) from causation (what really triggered the reaction).

In a nutshell: They are trained to identify and follow procedures and rules.

You might call such a person “methodical.”

So, let’s use that trait to help our technical distributors.

My suggestion: develop sufficient structure in their outreach plan and do role-playing until they’re relatively comfortable with using the plan.

What is “sufficient”?

Again, the technical distributors look at this much more conservatively than you might imagine.

For example, in rocket science, engineers deal with eliminating as many unknowns as possible, to create a probability of launch vehicle mission success higher than 99%. That’s called six-sigma reliability. Yep, that might seem a little crazy… but would you want to fly aboard a spacecraft that quote “might” get to its destination? In this arena, that high level of sufficiency is a good thing!

Your scientific distributors are struggling with this concept of “sufficient.” They sense the need for structure (scripts, the step-by-step process of giving a presentation or training a new distributor, how to handle objections) and likely are applying the levels of sufficiency they learned in their technical careers.

Sponsors Can: realize your distributor is learning a new way of thinking. (Ask yourself, How lost would you be if you were thrust into their job?) Help them create a strong and detailed structure for marketing their business and ROLE PLAY with them until they feel more comfortable.

You will likely find that the more role playing they do, the less detail they need to consciously write into their action plan or outreach process.

Distributors Can: understand they are trying to eliminate the feeling of fear by applying large amounts of detail to their plan of action. That is an approach that boosts reliability in the technical job but can be a huge stumbling block in a direct sales/network marketing business. So, create a step-by-step written or typed action plan and role play it with your sponsor or another person. Challenge yourself to gradually transition from word-for-word detail to bullet points, and then later to aim for speaking the words that pop into your mind. Understand that the feeling of fear may never go away, and that’s OK. When you are reasonably prepared, you are still competent even while feeling fearful. And in contrast to the scientific work you do on the job, no one will die if you mess up your prospecting phone call or presentation. In fact, a little human stumbling makes the presenter more believable.

-LYnn, “The Rocket Science Coach” ™

P.S. If you found this post helpful, please share it with a distributor or sponsor who fits this “overprepare” pattern.