Marc Enriquez

A Successful Martial Arts Instructor Reveals:

"Why I Stepped Off The Floor, Out Of My Comfort Zone, And Into The World Of Network Marketing"

I Still Teach Exciting Classes To The Masses, But Everyone Wants To Know Where My EXTRA Energy Comes From!

9:41 AM

Hey there, friend!

Even before I got into MLM, I developed leaders for a living, raising some from as young as the age of 4... and with my eldest student having attained his black belt in October of 2008... at the age of 87!

I have a real passion for helping people see the best in themselves, and becoming that person.  As positive as I felt about my ability to do that once I got them on the floor... the challenge was always this: how do I get more students on the floor?

And when you translate that into Network Marketing terms... it's not too unfamiliar a challenge, is it?

And we were really starting to hurt... especially when the economy began to hurt... people started looking at things like character education as a luxury... really though, isn't education supposed to be a necessity?!

The Call That Changed Everything (For The First Time...)

I was looking for a karate school owner whose business was about 25 minutes from ours.

At first, I wanted visited to his school to participate in a seminar.  Little did I know that he would change the way I saw marketing forever... looking back, I found his school by reading his blog and had no idea how significant that was!  He got me to attend and pay for a seminar, having never met him before, and his cost to acquire me was zero!

That's When I Asked Him The BIG Question

We developed a good relationship after I decided I'd continue coming to his school for one class a week (so it didn't interfere with my teaching schedule) and it was after one of those classes on a Monday evening, that I decided to ask him that question... "what do you do to get students?"

You see, in the martial arts industry, people love to throw around those key words that are supposed to make the doors fly open every hour.  Discipline, respect, fitness, confidence... and that's what we'd do, because we were good at what we did, and what we did wasn't marketing.  That's the way our instructor did it, and that was great for us.  That's what the competition is doing, so it must be the right way to do it...

And folks, if you're not familiar with the term, that's what Dan Kennedy calls "Marketing Incest," when everyone in a particular industry stands around in a circle and uses ideas that everybody says "really works" but actually don't.  Ok, so  I paraphrased... but anyway...

My Marketing Mentor Showed Me The Path, Not The Destination...

In the martial arts, we have a saying: "seek what the Masters sought."  And the Masters didn't seek postcards, business cards, sizzle cards, or even Pay Per Click!  Because I think you, and everyone else who's read what's written here has discovered... it's not the MEDIA... it's the MESSAGE!

Once I Discovered The Secret, I Stopped Looking For Students And Waited

There were times I was late coming home for dinner because as I'd lock up for the evening, someone would come running from the parking lot!  Thankfully, they'd usually come with brochure in hand, or they might have received a kick instead of a handshake!

My mentor had shown me where to go to learn how to craft an effective message... and that was the start of it... because despite being the highest priced academy in the area, we were growing faster than our less-than-half-priced competition, and with none of the headache bargain hunters to boot!

Times were good.  And then...

The Visit To Smoothie King That Changed Everything (Again...)

The owner of the local Smoothie King I frequent is a great guy, older than I am, and one day, instead of our usual chat about, well, anything of popular interest, he asked if I'd be open to a business proposition.  I was uncertain, but I figured I'd hear him out, and asked what it was about. We'd talked about my marketing strategies before, and so he said "don't worry, I think you'll like it because if not simply because it'd a marketing challenge for you."

So I bit.

He introduced me to his upline, a charismatic, and sharply dressed young man... about a year or two younger than me.  To tell you the truth, I was a bit embarassed for coming in jeans and sneakers but we went into the back office of Smoothie King and that's where I was first presented with Network Marketing.

And I JUMPED at the opportunity.  Not simply because the compensation plan was so impressive... but because I was seeking another way to sharpen my marketing prowess... and to get the chance to work with and develop leaders within a different industry!  Yeah, I'm ambitious like that.

But at the End of the Day... What I Really Want...

What I REALLY want, is to have the freedom to commit to my future family (right now it's just me and the girl of my dreams, Michelle) and teaching the martial arts.