Network Marketing - 1985 RIP . Its 2010.

As I was sitting there reflecting on my journey in the Network Marketing industry, I remembered vividly the not so unjustified fears of approaching friends and strangers in order to try and sell products or sell people on my dreams in my early days in MLM.

Yes, I was once an unsuspecting newbie who believed that chasing people to build this business was the only solution. Deep down, it didn’t sit well with me, but given I did not know anything about marketing at this point, I simply had to do something!

I still cringe thinking about how ridiculous this was.

I remember when I was really fresh and new and was told to go out prospecting in the shops and trying to strike up conversations. Even though I kept telling myself how dumb it was and I was so uncomfortable about doing this, I set myself a goal to speak to 3 people the first time.

To be honest., I can’t even remember what happened now, it was such a blur, but what I do remember is feeling like a complete loser and desperate. It somehow did not position me as a successful entrepreneur (after all you don’t see Donald Trump hitting the pavement in order to try and get clients).

To some people this may be a very natural way to do business, but for the majority of people, it’s completely uncomfortable and highly ineffective. Some will argue that its simple and duplicatable, Sure, anyone can do it and make a fool of themselves, but only a small handful of skilled and talented natural salesmen can pull it off and do it well.

Ok. So that didn’t work… what next?

Realizing that I would simply rather poke my eye with a stick than ever have to go through that again I needed to find another way to build my business.

Geez. I was given so many great methods in my manual of how to build a business and almost NONE of them involved using the internet. Flyers, fax blasting, cold calling (I remember actually just going through the phone book and calling numbers with a you beaut survey)  and you know what – they all work to some degree.

Hours and hours of consistent action delivering flyers or cold calling may even get you a sale! Yipee , only 172 hours of manual labour for one sale… it’s going to be a long road to a six figure residual income.

How to give your marketing rocket fuel

When I eventually stumbled upon Mike Dillard’s Magnetic Sponsoring book, it was like a real breath of fresh air.

Everything I instinctively knew was revealed in those pages. It made complete sense to me that attracting customers to you by providing valuable solutions leveraging the internet would not only be much more fun., but much more effective.

I feel sorry for the people that still think it’s cool to wear a button to the grocery store .

I remember some colleagues asking me once why I wouldn’t wear my button.

Quite simply it was dumb and completely amateur. Even back then when I didn’t even know anything about self branding or internet marketing, I somehow still considered myself a professional and knew that wearing a button or posting signs on street poles was NOT how a professional would do it.

Are you still pitching your company?

Whenever I see someone online who is pitching their company, its products , the compensation plan and how the actually company can help you.. I have to wonder how much money they are actually losing.

You see, in this day and age, people are actively looking for solutions. There are a gazillion companies that all claim to be the best and have the best products and compensation plans. So how do you break through this crazy onslaught of pitch fests?

You need to focus on selling solutions and not just your products.. People only care about the benefits that your product or solution offers., not necessarily about the product. How do I know this?

Because all my marketing speaks directly to a persons problem. People are desperately looking for leaders to help them achieve success. They are sick and tired of signing up for home businesses and then getting NO real marketing training other than methods that were being used in 1985.

The internet has certainly changed Network Marketing for the better, whether you agree or disagree with that.

I know that some people will argue that it’s still highly probable that you can build your business word of mouth. And I say kudos to you. It’s not for everyone and quite frankly neither is internet marketing, but I know that a lot of people would rather spend hours and hours learning solid internet marketing skills and avoid chasing people down in the street.

At least it’s a skill that is transferable and you can use to market anything.

Leave your comments below

What say you? Do you have any strong opinion about offline or online marketing?

Leave your comments below. No ones going to shoot you. Just remain true to who you are and what you believe in.  

While you’re here check out my report on the 3 Critical Components for Breakthrough Success in MLM. You may actually learn something! www.NewMLMSuccessFormula.com