Assumptions

Wednesday night, I was back in the bedroom working out on our new Nordic Track and watching one of those investigative news magazine shows. I heard water running and assumed that Karen had gotten the kids to bed and was doing a load of wash. Meanwhile, Karen was in the family room sitting with the children while they watched their "going to sleep" video. She heard water running too, and assumed that I had finished my workout and was taking a shower. We were both very wrong in our assumptions.

When I finished my workout I changed clothes and took my sweaty clothes out to the garage to set on the washing machine. It was then that I discovered the supply hose to our washing machine had burst. The running water we had both heard for the past 20 minutes had been spewing at full force all over the garage. By the time we discovered it, water was coming through a back door and through the walls and getting our carpet soaking wet. What a mess!

Assumptions can be deadly. If you assume that everyone will stop for a red light, and proceed on through without looking when you have a green, you could easily get broadsided one day.

And in network marketing, we must be very careful about making assumptions. Because network marketing is a people business, and because you can never truly know the mind of another person, it is easy to make assumptions that are way, way off base.

Most people that have been in this business for a while will tell you that you should never, ever pre-judge people. People that you would never have thought would be even slightly interested in the business, often turn out to be your strongest team members. And people that you just KNOW will dive into this business, often do not even want to hear about it. You just never know.

Another thing that I've learned is to never assume that no means no. Many times NO means KNOW. (After all, they sound the same). People may tell you no when they really mean they'd like to know more. In fact, I'd say from my experience that the real skeptics, the ones who are the quickest to express contempt and suspicion at what you are doing, in the end may turn out to be the most loyal customers and distributors you have. Because if you can, through consistent effort and a show of belief and dedication, convince the skeptic, then they'll turn all that skepticism into their own belief. And I'm not talking about hounding people to death. I'm talking about simply using your products and doing the business day after day, month after month. People will notice, especially the skeptics.

If you truly believe in your products and your business, then you will want to give everyone the opportunity to know about it. It is actually the height of arrogance to assume that anyone would not want to hear about it.

And don't assume that everyone you sign up wants the same thing out of the business as you do. You may be a go-getter business builder, but that will not be true of many of the people you sponsor. Take the time to find out at the very outset what it is they want out of the business. Many people simply want to be distributors just to buy products at a discount. Others may want to retail a little bit to their family and friends, but may not want to actively recruit distributors. If you push everyone you sponsor to be a go-getter business builder, then you'll drive people away. And you don't want to do that, because those "preferred customer" distributors, the ones who get into the business just to get a discount, will slowly but surely start recommending the products to others, and just naturally build a big business. I'll take a slow starter, someone who really likes the products but has no interest in the business, any day over a go-getter who cares nothing about the product.

We each have our own view of the world, our own perspective. No two people see the same thing in the same way. In network marketing it pays to remember that. Open your mind to the other person's point of view. Don't assume -- watch, listen, and learn.