Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Frustrated and Dissappointed Networkers


Recognize yourself? Yes! You are not alone! The numbers are growing everyday… or should I say it is growing EXPONENTIALLY using GEOMETRICAL PROGRESSION?

This is not what was supposed to happen. This is not what was promised at the Business Opportunity meetings. Your team was supposed to grow EXPONENTIALLY and your income was supposed to multiply GEOMETRICALLY. You were supposed to be able to fulfill all your DREAMS and DESIRES. You were supposed to have RESIDUAL INCOME and retire at 40 and have FINANCIAL FREEDOM, PERSONAL FREEDOM and TIME FREEDOM.

You are probably on your second, third or for some of you, even your tenth program. You trusted your friends who introduced you to the programs, you trusted and believed absolutely in the products, company, upline and yourself. I am sure you had positive mental attitude and went to all meetings and trainings spending your own money. By now you probably don’t have any warm contacts left and you are having a hard time looking at yourself in the mirror. You must be feeling pretty lousy about having introduced a lot of your friends and family promising them all the same things that was promised to you.

Am I striking a chord some where deep inside? I bet you are angry, very angry with your upline, angry with your companies and yes, probably angry with the entire Network Marketing Industry.

Believe me I sympathize with you. Really I do.

Now if you can stop wallowing in self pity and start getting a little bit angry with yourself, we can examine what really happened and get a handle on what sounds like the end of the world situation.

Are you ready?

Good!

First a little bit about me. I have been in this industry since 1981, mostly part time and full time for the past ten years or so. I guess you probably won’t believe me if I said I have enjoyed every minute of it and this is one of the best things that happened to me in my life. I am so much richer in many ways for being in the industry and have actually fulfilled many of my goals along the way and still have many more to go still. I am only 65 and am sure I will achieve most of them before I get too old and fragile to sit up in front of my computer or talk on phone!

Are we talking about the same Network Marketing Industry? Yes, we are! Then how come there are so many frustrated and disappointed networkers around when many like me are happy and satisfied networkers?

Since you are asking the questions and since you tried second, third and fourth and may be more, it stands to reason some where deep inside you, you still believe that the industry should work. But you have been unable to make it work for you. Otherwise, I am sure, you would have run far away from the industry soon after your first failure and not kept trying.

If you are still reading and still want to know the answer or still wondering where you went wrong or what went wrong, then please allow me to share my story and my analysis of the situation.

My story is probably no different than yours. I have been in few different programs myself.

My first one was in Health and wellness Products Company. I had to discontinue that as my sponsor disappeared and in those days, you had to depend on your sponsor to get your products.

Second one was in Ready Made diet foods with a unique concept for finding customers and prospects. Within couple of years the company closed down.

Third one was in electronics and security products. I actually did quite well in this company both in retail sales and building a small team. Company was expanding to other countries including India. Soon after I came to India to introduce this program they closed up shop as well.

Fourth one was my first Indian company and was a founder member, built a huge team, reached the Diamond position and really contributed to put Network Marketing in India on the map. Politics and power struggle raised its ugly head and I decided to terminate my membership in the program. One of the benefits of Network Marketing is Personal Freedom – being able to do what you want, work with whom you want etc. When that freedom was about to be taken away from me, it was time to say good bye.

Fifth one was just an exploratory one, which I undertook at the same time as the fourth one, as I felt their financial services product would be an ideal product for India. We did introduce the product for India in my fourth program.

After that, I took up a consulting position with a company and was on the other side of things for a change. Being able to influence a company and implement a program that had all the best things about a Network Marketing program was very exciting and satisfying. For various reasons company was unable to maintain the service levels and deliver what was promised to the field. Not being able to accept this and also due to health reasons, I terminated my consulting.

At the moment, I am involved in a program which comes very close to what I consider a perfect Business opportunity.

So you see, just like you, I have faced many challenges. Challenges with sponsors, uplines, company and my own health. But none of them have frustrated me or disappointed me. If any, I have become wiser, smarter and stronger with each experience.

When I analyze the past history, this is what I find are reasons for my not getting frustrated:

1. I took responsibility for my success and failure
2. I understood how this industry works and why it works
3. I treated this like any other business
4. I took control
5. I prepared my business plans that suited me – not my upline or the company
6. I set reasonable and achievable goals for myself
7. When a company closed – I refused to take it personally – just like any other employee would when their company shuts down in the traditional world
8. When I resigned or quit – it was like a decision that any employee makes to move on in their career and move to another company
9. I did not expect anything from my upline or company – but believed that – “if it is to be, it is up to me” and did everything I could to make it happen
10. I never hyped or made promises that I could not deliver
11. I presented the program honestly and provided all the support I possibly can to those in my team
12. Most of all I understood that I need to grow in this industry just like I would in any other industry and learnt from experiences and tried not to make the same mistakes again – but yes probably made new mistakes from which I can learn new things.
13. Never spent anything beyond my means - knew my limit.
14. I kept my emotions in check and used logic to analyze the situation and took the best decisions possible at that time.
15. Most of all built one big asset – lots of friends and contacts, who have remained friends, with or without a program

It all started with my First program – I took responsibility. No one invited me to join. I went to the meeting after seeing an advertisement in the paper. My sponsor did not insist that I join. Neither did he take my credit card out of my purse and sign my name. I did. So I am responsible for not understanding the program and responsible for my failure. As a matter of fact, I really do not consider this as failure at all. Instead, this is what opened the doors for me into this industry.

Bear with me as I explain. Just like any of you, I sat through my very first Business Opportunity meeting with a room full of people. The person on the stage was so excited and was explaining how we can earn huge amounts of money but not really explaining it in detail as to how to do it - as is the practice in all meetings, as I discovered later. What all I was able to gather from the meeting was that I can purchase five of their products at wholesale and sell to my friends and family at retail and that is how we earn money.

I was earning $50,000 or more at that time and considered myself a smart business woman. So I did the basic arithmetic we learnt in our middle school. What we sell at, less what we buy for is our profit. So in order to earn even half of what I was earning how many of those products did I have to sell? That too only to my friends and family?

I am a popular lady and come from a large family. But certainly not large enough for me to earn what I would have liked. I was just about to walk out of the meeting and say all these people are trying to con me. Something inside me said, “may be you did not understand what they were saying, not every one in the room including the company representatives can be con men.”

So I decided to ask the sponsor that same question. How can I earn $25,000 by selling products with $5 to $10 profit margin? Where will I find so many customers to buy from me? Even if I did, where will I have time to service them? Where will I find the funds to purchase the inventory, store it etc. etc.

He said, “all of that is explained in the Business Manual which you get in your starter kit”. So I purchased the kit and went home and studied the entire manual that night.

That was my first real lesson on how Network Marketing works and why it works and even today I remember very clearly the light bulb going on in my head and how excited I was to have found out about the simple but exciting marketing concept. (I will describe it soon).

So this was my primary school in Network Marketing. Next few programs were middle school, high school, university and graduate courses, which have made me a professor and an expert in this field. Along the way, I have achieved my goals
 Owning my own business
 Moving away from technical IT and managerial job to a sales and marketing field which allows me to deal with general public instead of machines and technical staff.
 Earn enough income required to get into my next project.
 Come back to India and give something back to the country, which gave me the education and character and made me who I am.
 Earned enough money to live a comfortable life in India for 13 years.
 Build our own dream farm house on a 2 acre land, which we used as a place for team socials and training sessions.
 Made lots of friends – the biggest asset one can have in this business. Friends, who do not expect anything from you but like you for who you are and become friends for life.
 We have travelled to so many places, which we would never have done otherwise.
 How does one measure the knowledge one gains, from the programs themselves, leaders, associates from all different walks of life, from all over the country, all ages and religion?

So why should I not consider myself successful? What is there to be frustrated about? You can only be disappointed if your expectations exceeded way more than what was possible to achieve. If you set up reasonable expectations, like any logical business person would, you would be achieving your goals and then there is no reason in the world to be disappointed – am I right?

So did all of the above make you think a bit about your own past history and analyze the situation for yourself? I am sure it has and am glad if this article helped you with it.

Let me close the article with few tips and advice from an old lady.

A. Network Marketing is not a magic or a miracle. It is a marketing method, if used and implemented properly can be a very cost effective and fast growth distribution channel for manufacturers and service providers to get their product out to the customer. All Distributors, Consultants or Advisors as you may be called are no more than commissioned sales people just like insurance agents and real estate agents.
B. Network Marketing has one major difference, each of you are given the right to recruit others and get paid for their efforts as well as yours. This provides the leverage to grow and multiply your business fast. But this leverage is only useful if you set an example and ensure the people you recruit duplicate you.
C. You are an INDEPENDENT BUSINESS PERSON and are in business for yourself. You are using other company’s programs as a vehicle to achieve your goals. NEVER FORGET THIS!. As an independent business person, you are responsible for the choices and decisions you make. Sure you can take suggestions and advice from others, ultimately you are responsible for your success and failure, like any other business you undertake or any employment you take.
D. As an independent business person you can chose to use any number of vehicles (programs) that you feel are necessary to achieve your goals and of course you can handle. NEVER PUT ALL EGGS IN ONE BASKET!
E. If you have a job – do not give it up until you have established a steady income for at least six months and have saved up enough to live on for at least 3 months if the income stops for whatever reason. This will certainly help you to move on to another program or find a job if income is lost.
F. If you are un-employed, then please look for a program that allows you to earn basic income from your personal efforts, i.e. direct retail sales to end customer and don’t depend totally on team income.
G. If you do not like to sell, talk to customer or prospects, do not like to learn and teach new concepts and ideas, please stay away from joining any program. Yes, by all means purchase products if you like them.
H. Remember, there is no money unless you exchange something of value with a willing buyer. As a rule of thumb, the amount of income you can earn is roughly 10% to max 30% of your personal sales and roughly 1% to 2% of your total team sales (it may be higher at lower initial volumes and gradually decreases as volume gets larger). So question any promises of big money before you join. Just one question could save you untold frustration and protect your reputation - “Where does the money come from?”
I. Whatever program you are in, it must be a win-win. You, your downline, upline, the company and most of all, the end customer must benefit and see value in what they are getting.
J. If a program has no end consumer, stay away from the program. Just recruiting and or consumption only models will fold sooner or later.
K. Do not expect to make your millions in your first one or two programs. Learning and experience is required like it is in any career. Be happy that you can earn as you are learning unlike in schools and colleges.
L. Do not expect any program or company to last for ever. The world is constantly changing, technology, infrastructure, Government regulations, economy and so on. Just like any other industry, companies will change according to conditions or close the business. This is fact of life. No use taking it personally.
M. You are an independent Business person. You do not work for the company or your upline. So please let us not hear you say “My upline forced me” or “I had to do it” etc. These are just excuses. You were in charge and you had the right to say “NO”.
N. Always weigh the benefits against the challenges. In order to benefit from some you may have to put up with few things you do not like or want to do. But make a conscientious decision and take responsibility for your decision and not blame others.
O. Do not hop from one program to another. Most programs now-a-days offer a FREE or risk free 30 day money back guarantee. Review the program thoroughly before making a commitment. Ask questions. Once you decide to join stay in the program for at least six months and do what is necessary to make it work. Remember, you do not loose weight or get fit just by joining a fitness club – you do have to follow the program and exercise and keep at it!
P. Prepare your business plan and action plan. Do not let your upline bully you. The upline is there to help you and guide you. At the end you are in charge of your business.
Q. Be honest when you present the products and program to your customers and prospects. If the program or product is not what they need or want, move on. Few bucks from a sale is not worth losing a friend and certainly not worth losing your reputation!
R. Not everyone is suited for this industry. However, neither you nor your prospects know that until you get involved and work at it for a while. In my career, I have found that people are capable of doing amazing thing given a chance. What all you can do is provide support and encouragement as far as you can and they will show you if they are suited for this industry or not.
S. When some one decides to quit, move to another program, respect their decision and maintain the relationship you have built.
T. Never, ever put down another program. It is ok for you to have an opinion but you have no right to hurt another person’s business.

I hope all of these tips will help you leave the Frustrated and Disappointed Networkers group above and move into the Happy, Successful and Satisfied Networkers group below.