Lesson One: What It Takes To Be Successful In Network Marketing

Network Marketing is perfect for everyone.  

However, everyone is not perfect for Network Marketing...

  I believe Network Marketing is an amazing profession, and truly is the last bastion left in the free enterprise system where someone without education, famous bloodlines, or a large investment can become wealthy.   The benefits are extraordinary.  Unlimited earning potential,tax breaks, travel opportunities, and the chance to help others while you are building your own success.  But it's still not for everyone.  


Because it takes a certain personality type to be successful. So, while I would certainly urge anyone who desires a better lifestyle to consider Network Marketing as a career choice -before you commit to doing that, give yourself an honest evaluation.   Most people equate security with a nine-to-five job.  

They see the rat race as a necessary evil in life.   Network marketers suffer from no such delusions.  They see a job as an insidious trap - one that gives you just enough income so you are afraid to fore go it - yet not enough to achieve any financial freedom.   They look at people clawing their way up the corporate structure with the detached wonder you would expect to see on the face of a ten-year-old child, watching the activity in an ant farm.  They know that we need ants in this world, but they certainly don't want to be one.   

Most people strive to maintain the appearance of having a good job, even if it's one they despise, because that is what society expects of them.  They look for a "real" job with a certain status or title, and will often settle for that their whole life, because they don't know any better.  Networkmarketing professionals dream of a career of limitless potential, personal development, and growth, and then work until that dream becomes a reality.   We look at the rat race and wonder why people would fore go their human dignity in the pursuit of a steady pay check.  

Make no mistake: if you need someone checking over your shoulder, you can't seem to motivate yourself, or want the security of a Friday paycheck, then Network Marketing is nof or you.   You will need an entrepreneurial mindset if you expect to last in this business.  Not everyone has this.  Imagine not getting a paycheck every Friday.  No guarantees.  Just a big bonus check, which is directly dependent on what you produce.   If that scares you, you may be better suited for a corporate job.  But if the idea of determining exactly how much you can earn excites you, then you are a great candidate for thebusiness.   

As a rule, strong personality types do best.  You must be self-motivated, able to work without supervision, and good at followup.  And while you must be a strong personality, you also mustbe smart.  Here's why...   Network Marketing is a business of duplication.  A big part ofthe business is the ability to follow the successful patterns,strategies, and systems developed by your company and sponsorship line.  It means less personal glory, but more personal security, because your business is not so dependent on you.   So smart networkers adopt the systems and procedures that have been successfully demonstrated to work from their sponsorship line.  This ultimately gives you better security, because youcan later back off from the business, without a decrease inearnings.   If you are insecure, and need your ego constantly massaged, the business will be quite difficult for you.   You'll build everything around yourself, and that means you'll never developany passive income and become a grinder.  

Like any entrepreneur, you must be confident in the face of peerpressure and challenges.  What we are doing is different.  Many people are threatened by things they don't understand.  That will make some of the people you know suspicious, others willbe skeptical, and yet others will be jealous.   So when you proudly announce to the world that you have joineda network marketing company in search of a better lifestyle,don't be surprised if some of those people assault you with allthe reasons you shouldn't...they wouldn't...and you couldn't,possibly succeed in such a venture.   Then these "well-intentioned" souls will regale you with onehorror story after another, of people who tried NetworkMarketing and failed, bought a garage full of products in thedream of instant riches, or contracted an almost fatal case ofhives from using some skin-care product.   Many people are not willing to be wealthy.  

They have been raised with "lack" consciousness.  They subconsciously believethey are not deserving of riches; they mistakenly believe thereis something spiritual about being poor; or they have discovered that becoming wealthy involves a degree of work.   It's highly likely that these kinds of people are all around you.  And nothing is more threatening to these people than to think that someone they know is becoming successful.  They will do anything in their power to dissuade you, and in some cases,actually sabotage you.  If you want to make it in the business,you must believe in it strongly, and not need the validation ofothers.  

My career took a dramatic up swing when I learned avaluable lesson...  

I stopped taking financial advice from broke people!   When I started the business, I was penniless and struggling. Unfortunately, most of the people I knew were also broke and struggling.  They all tried to talk me out of the business, and convince me it couldn't work.   I came to realize that these people didn't know anything about business success.  So even though they were well meaning, they were trying to give advice in an area they knew nothing about.   When you need advice, you must go to people who have already done the business successfully.  When you understand and act on this, you dramatically increase your chances for success.   Another mandatory requirement for long-term success is conducting your business with integrity.  

Although there are some examples of people bringing down big-dollar incomes instantly by filling some one's garage full of water filters (or diet cookies, or bottles of juice), those incomes don't last.  It's only a question of time before these people run out of prospects to front-load and must find a new program to work where they can start the process all over again.  Long term, these kinds of practices will ultimately destroy your business.   In this business, when you sponsor someone, you are, in essence, his or her partner and mentor for life. 

Even after they learn the skills you teach them and become high-level executives themselves, they will always look to you as acompass for the moral fiber, accountability, and culture of the organization.  Much more than traditional business, Network Marketing revolves around the trust between the sponsor and hisor her distributors.   This is the strongest recruiting asset you possess.  Millions of people are fed up with the dysfunctional relationships,gossip, office politics and lack of accountability in the corporate world.  The honesty, accountability, and sense ofcommunity in Network Marketing will attract them even more than the money, cars and trips.   If you ever lie to your distributor - even thinking it's for his own good - you will destroy the bond that is the foundation of the business.  You will also eliminate one of the most powerful enticements that attract people into the business. 

Distributors who have built lasting success have learned thattheir word must be their bond, and integrity is sacred.   Another important prerequisite for Network Marketing success is good teaching skills.  Here's why...   About ten percent of the population are sales types.  They like to sell; they're good at it; and they don't fear rejection. About ninety percent of the population rank selling on their list of things to do right up there with jumping into a pit of rattlesnakes.  The mere thought of rejection sends themscurrying for the cover of their comfort zone.  If you make cold calling, knocking on doors, and approaching strangers on street corners part of your recruiting strategy - you will scare away ninety percent of your prospects instantly.   

Because they can not see themselves doing those things...   In fact, only one person in a thousand will be successful with those types of approaches.  Worse yet, because these technique sare hard to duplicate, people will have to keep sponsoring massive numbers of new distributors on a monthly basis, just to keep their income steady.  All the rah-rah hype they can muster will not change this.  They have no residual income security and will have to rally and rebuild lines every few months.   By contrast, successful network marketers concentrate on simple, duplicatable actions that they can teach to anyone.Their number one priority is making sure that their organization knows everything they do.  

The people they bring into the business can readily repeat the same actions, so the organization grows faster.  The formula for creating wealth in our business is:   Lead a large group of people, to consistently do a few simpleactions, over a sustained period of time.   You will find that school teachers, professors, sports coaches,professional trainers and yoga teachers naturally excel at Network Marketing.  So if you have good teaching skills, you're very likely to be successful in Network Marketing.   The next thing you have to do to be successful is commit todaily self-development time.  Usually the early morning is the best time to do this.  The kids are asleep, there are fewer distractions, and you can concentrate on you.  Plus you wil lput yourself in a great state of mind before you even leave the house, which will allow you to attract high caliber people.   It's important that you set aside this time each day for quietreflection and self-development.   

You need a learning libraryof books, videos, and CDs to stay motivated against negativeprogramming, learn new techniques, and keep your focus.   Initially, I thought that success would come from changing others.  I soon learned that real success comes from changing yourself.  The actions you take and the examples you set,create a ripple effect that impacts everything around you in apositive way.  I believe that your network grows only as fast as you do.   When you are growing each day, so will your business.   So as you can see, the business of Network Marketing is quite different from the corporate world.  It takes a certain entrepreneurial zeal, and a self-motivated mindset.  You must have strong self-esteem, and conduct your business with absolute integrity.  And finally, you should be willing to submerge your ego where necessary and utilize the systems that have been developed by the sponsorship line above you.   If the previous paragraph describes you...or how you'd like to be...then you are a great candidate for the business.  You have what it takes to be successful in the business.   


David Giudice 

The Cowboy Jedi