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[Amanda Reynolds Contribution Level: 1]

Wow, door-to-door selling is intense! Glad to have you around!

Hope you find the community to suit you well, all the best!

[Richard Bravo Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 9]

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Excellent points Dean.
And I think you touched on one of the core issues in the debate... semantics.
And as you may know, as an SEO, semantics is a bit of a hobby of mine.

So what is the real debate here... "Selling vs Building a Business"
Well, I have one of my infamously long responses all written out, but I'm not sure I should post it.
As with the same respect you gave the other post, I don't want to drown out the conversation you've started here. Maybe I'll wait to see how this progresses before I dump a full page post in here.

~richard

[Dave Kotecki Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 5]

The only reason for any business to exist is to sell a product or
service in order to make a profit for the owners. Period.
Anything else isn't a business.

The only reason to "build a business" is to sell more stuff.
Try to "build your business" while sales are going down.
What are you going to build it with if you have no profits?
You could borrow, but you'd better have a plan to increase
sales in order to pay the loan back. (with interest)

Everyone would love for people to come and buy their
stuff without them having to lift a finger. Why do you think
the concept of "attraction marketing" came along?
To convince people that they can have a sales business without
actually having to sell!
It's ridiculous when you think about it.

It's funny to hear someone say "I'm a marketer". And then in the
next sentence they explain how they don't sell things.

Yeah, I know, "People don't join a business, they join You!"

B.S.

If you could pick for your upline someone you like and trust
or someone who would ensure that you make a pile of money,
which one will you pick?

And by the way, the one you do pick simply did a better job of
selling you on the idea that they were the best one to help you
make a pile of money in network marketing.

And that's IF you even looked around before joining.

Honestly. Do you think most new network marketers go and do
a bunch of research before joining a company? They just heard
about this great new product, saw the presentation, got stars in
their eyes, and dreaming of easy money, they signed up.
Of course, believing the whole time that they would never have to
actually learn how to make money in network marketing.
(SELL)

They just have to be a good person who proclaims loudly how much
they want to help people, (they're not in it for the money) and others
will come flocking to their page to buy the stuff (that they're not really selling)
and the money will come rolling in. Oh, I guess the money actually goes
straight to a charity because they only wanted to help people.

How can someone possibly say they want to build a network marketing
(sales) business, yet do it without selling?

Do any of you still wonder why so many people fail at anything,
including network marketing?

[Richard Bravo Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 9]

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My post was too long... converted it to an article for anyone interested...
Selling vs. Building a Business - Siamese Twins or Mortal Enemies?

~RB

[monica odenwald Contribution Level: 3]

WOW! These paradigm shifts are having me rub my eyes... you know...sharpen my lens

I like how Richard (was that a potential BLOG or new article?) did suggest boldly that "sales" is the bottom line and key function in "doing business."

I appreciate ALL those definitions. Can you put that into an article that I can keep please?!?

For me building and doing are what my upline keeps clearly looking over my shoulder over. (He states that my training online is a total waste of time)

Isn't sales - in the market place (call it vending, online marketing, trade shows, door-to-door, lists,) the distinction between the prcoess of "doing business" and "building one?")

I liked how Dean danced to the networking tune of building a business and market domination. A friend in need is a friend indeed!

Thanks for this thread. It has helped me put things into a clearer perspective and appreciate the gigantic shifts in these simple terms and key components of my new experience in this career, life work or profession otherwise termed network marketers.

PS Doesn't it sort of matter if how essentail your service or products are and to whom? If fifty percent of home owners need security systems, Joe entrepreneur down the road will find a way. Perhaps not to invent them - leave that to the great engineers and inspired scholars - but to definately make a buck sellling and making a whole lot of new friends and contacts in the process!

I know its late at night and my mind is wandering but I wonder: if Thomas Edison could time travel, would he spend more time monitoring how his tvs and light bulbs sell in the market place, or search far and wide how they have affected the over all health and well-being of this planet...just a little bedtime thought of how we want to be remembered when we leave here.

Quote from Thomas Edison: Genius is 1% Inspiration and 99% Perspiration.
Good night
Monica

[Danielle Long Contribution Level: 2]

Just had to add my two cents...

Whether we like it or not, we are always selling in some way, whether it is convincing ourself that we are right for this business or that we really should pick up that phone, or sharing with a potential new marketer why they should join OUR team instead of the other one that is dominating page one of google.

I do think it is mostly a semantics issue, though. Of course there is way more to building a business than just SALES as we typically think of it. However, sales as we typically think of it isn't necessarily the most effective way to sell anyway. When you are asking questions and trying to determine someone's needs so that you can offer him something of value, you are selling. When you are trying to get your personality to shine through in your video, you are selling. When you are adding value to a forum, you are selling. Just because you aren't saying, "Join me in the Trump Network Now!" you are always selling something: an idea, a concept, a product, a service, a system. (And yes, that was a shameless plug, but used to emphasize my point!)

That said, I also have just started a new sales job, one where 100% of my time is spent actually selling: no prospecting, no marketing and no follow up. Someone else takes care of that! I am really enjoying that because when I'm building my business I probably spend 99% of my time on those other sales activities, which are a lot of work!!!

Dean, I'd love to catch up with you and hear about what you are doing...

[Richard Bravo Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 9]

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Selling vs. Building a Business - Siamese Twins or Mortal Enemies?

[Dave Kotecki Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 5]

You guys make some great points.

If, however, a person is trying to build a business turning a profit is not necessarily the primary objective. As I said on another thread - I doubt Google was making much of profit in its initial phase. They had an objective, which was to dominate online searches (they have since moved on to global domination but that is another story) and in order to accomplish that they had to build a large customer base or network. Once they established themselves they began focusing more on monetization.

We see this kind of behavior all the time as a new business tries to carve out a market share. The first goal is to establish a brand, and obtain customers. The second phase is to make it profitable.

Just to be clear.
I'm a bottom-line kinda guy.

None of the actions taken by Google or any other company
(in the context of this discussion)
were for any other reason than to make money.
And neither are yours.
If you can say I'm wrong, you're probably not making any money.
Why?
Because you're not trying to!

Imagine this conversation with your (fill in the blank):
"Honey, I know you're building your business, but are you
EVER going to make any MONEY?!"

They may have been in different phases, if you will,
but the bottom line was to build the best search engine
in the world in order to SELL advertising, and thereby, profit.

If phase one wasn't directed at making a profit, that's like saying
"We're laying a foundation, but we don't ever expect to build a house".
My point is this: No company would ever take any action
unless they considered it to be profitable. (now or later)
If their decisions are wrong, they won't be in business for very long.
Because you must profit to stay in business.

The goal of all business action is to profit.

There is no reason for any business to ever exist except to
make a profit for the owners.
What they intend to do with the money is another discussion.

[Jerry Chen Company: Symmetry Corp. Contribution Level: 4]

...
What are the differences?

Are we just arguing over semantics?

You know, Dean... I think we ARE arguing over semantics.

Spamming is annoying and ineffective (and illegal), although the end result we want is the same, right? Making a sale.

But the manner in which the set of actions is executed makes all the difference in the world for sure