Keep it simple.
It's tempting to get caught up in all the details and complexities of your network marketing business. Often that's the path of least resistance. It's easier to become an expert on every little detail of the product line or compensation plan, than it is to pick up the phone and call people. The most successful network marketers don't fall into that trap. They keep the business simple. They focus on what they have to do -- expose the business to other people -- and don't worry too much about the details. That's not to say that you shouldn't be aware of all the details and complexities -- just that you should not allow yourself to get caught up in them. Simplicity is the key to this business. It is often said that network marketing is very simple -- it's not easy, but it's simple. And that is the basis for success.
One of the most successful institutions in the history of the world is the Christian church. The basic message of Christianity is simple and easily repeatable. And yet there is plenty of depth and complexity -- several centuries' worth -- behind that message. That is a powerful combination.
The best network marketing companies are the same way. Delivering a simple message, with plenty of depth to back it up. Often, however, people get sidetracked in one direction or another. On the one hand, they make the message too simple and inflexible, and offend the intelligence of people. On the other hand, they make their message too complex, and end up confusing people. The key to success is to keep your business simple, while at the same time being open and flexible to the needs of your market. Admittedly, that is a challenge. It requires many mid-course corrections and adjustments.
Be persistent.
The most important ingredient for a successful network marketer is persistence. It is often said that the only people who lose in network marketing are the ones who quit. That is so very true. If you have a good product line and a good, solid company, you will almost certainly succeed eventually if you continue to use the products and recommend them to other people. It doesn't matter how many people tell you they're not interested. Eventually you'll find someone who is interested.
There's a story that's been going around for a long time about an airline pilot. He signed up with a nutritional products network marketing company simply to get a discount on the products. He never set out to to work the business. Over the years, however, only when it would come up in conversation, he'd recommend the products to anyone who asked. He never pushed the products or the business on anyone, and only recommended them when asked. When it came time for him to retire from his airline job, however, his income from the network marketing company exceeded his full time salary as an airline pilot.
I don't know if this is a true story, but from my experience I can see how it could very easily happen. The point to be learned is this: persistence is the key. Not hard selling, not superhuman effort, not brilliant ideas, not bugging your friends and relatives to death. Just persistence.
There's a wonderful confidence that comes with persistence. You develop a faith is what you're doing that other people can sense. And when you talk to people about your products or opportunity, you're not pleading or begging. You're informing, with an air of confidence. You know that each presentation is not a make or break situation, because you are committed to persistence. That confidence comes across, and makes you much more effective. Have you ever noticed that the easiest time to talk to someone about your business is after someone else has just said yes? Knowing in advance that you'll persist until someone does say yes will give you that kind of power and confidence in ever presentation.
Have a clear idea of where you're going.
The key to persistence is to see clearly and precisely where you're headed. A big part of this is written goals. You can't keep-a-goin' if you don't know where it is you're going. You must have clear, precise goals and you must have a specific plan of action. You must know exactly what you need to do each day in order to achieve your goals. And then you must remind youself what needs to be done and do it.
If you don't know where you're going, and if you don't know exactly how to get there, it's far too easy to wander off course. Last week, sailing on the ocean, I had a chance to use an incredible navigational system called GPS. GPS uses dozens of low-orbit satellites and a handheld receiver to tell you exactly where you are -- latitude, longitude and altitude within a few feet. We were heading across the open ocean for an island that was only 28 feet at it's highest point. A little too far to the west, and we'd sail for thousands of miles without reaching land. A little too far to the east, and we'd run aground on a large coral reef that was just a foot or two below the surface. During the journey, we checked the GPS several times along the way. We were never exactly on course, but each time we checked we would know where we were, and we'd know where we wanted to go, and we could make the appropriate adjustments to get there. It wasn't too long before we saw palm trees rising up on the horizon -- our destination directly ahead.
The network marketing business is the same way. You're never exactly on target. If you know where you want to go, though, it's easy to make a correction before the winds and currents of life push you too far off course.
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