Why does network marketing work? There are many lists of methods to work: network marketing, books on the subject, and role models to follow. No matter how you slice it, the bottom line is...people! We network as a natural way of relating to people in our lives. We hang around with people like us, we work with people, we go to church with people with whom we have something in common. Very often, we consider these people our friends, and we network for information and opportunity all the time. "Where's a good place to eat?" "Let me tell you about the tires I just bought!" "Here's what my dad did when he was up against that problem..." We just love to share information, to let people in on deals we have found, to get help in our struggles. And we do it through our networks of friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. Very often, they care about us (to one degree or another!).
What are you in corporate America? A number. Companies don't pay people--they pay positions. Work thirty years and get a gold watch. Do well, and they put you in a salaried position and, joy of joys, they can work you longer per week for a set amount of money. And what about the money? They're in control of what you can have--unless you're in something like sales. Don't do too well there, though, or they'll cut your territory and give part of it to some bozo who didn't have to put his sweat and time into developing it. Or they put you into sales management (Oh, boy!).
Of course, I'm being a bit cynical (ok, a LOT). There are many people in corporate America content with it. But judging by how many small businesses are started every year, there are a lot of people wanting the freedom of going at it on their own. Let's look at the figures there. 85% of new businesses fail in their first year of operation, and it takes five years many times to start turning a noticeable profit. Why? You have your office space, your inventory, your business phone line (can anyone tell me why it costs 3x as much for the telco to supply phone service for a business?), your office materials, promotional expenses...the list (and the need for money) is endless.
Networking is a great way to claim your American birth-right--freedom. You're in business for yourself, but not by yourself. You don't have to re-invent the wheel. You don't have to develop pricing, deal with suppliers, negotiate transportation contracts, lease warehouse and office space, etc. You don't start out with a mountain of overhead before you open your doors. You want to increase your income? You don't have to go begging to the boss. You talk to a few more people, get more efficient, study the methods of those who have succeeded, and reap the rewards of your own effort.
You could say that networking works because of mathematical certainty. Almost every company has some sort of example of "If you recruit X people per (time- span), at the end of one year you will have $X." If you haven't seen one, calculate it yourself. Albert Einstein is reported to have said that compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe. Calculating the numbers yourself just serves to prove it for you. The reverse is also true. It is mathematically certain that if *you* don't add, the *numbers* won't, either!
The people involved in networking are great, by and large. When you go to meetings (preferably with a new prospect!), you are with a group of people who are excited, who are going for the same goals as yourself, who are independent types wanting something better for themselves and their families and are willing to do something to get it, who, to sum it up, aren't average! Being around positive people helps you to be positive, and positive people have something to offer the world around them to make it better.
Network marketing works. It has developed a good track record. Of the 500,000 millionaires in America, 20% have made it in the last six years in our industry. Get excited, get motivated! If others have done it, you can, too!
Server space provided by Hurricane Electric