How many of you remember your first network marketing meeting?
I can’t say that I remember the exact same one, but I have been exposed to this industry for a very long time.
My brother got involved with Primerica way back when it was A.L. Williams and all that they sold was insurance. It wasn’t until later that they branched out to mutual funds and their reps were able to get securities licenses and also sell mutual funds. Their whole mantra was “Buy Term (insurance), and invest the difference.” Well, at first they sold term insurance to replace the high priced Whole Life and Universal Life insurance policies that large insurance companies sold. Once they got into securities, they could offer the whole ball of wax to customers.
It’s odd, right? It’s odd in today’s world of vitamins, cosmetics, body wraps, etc that one could pair up the network marketing model with insurance and financial services, but they’re still out there and still at it. I know because that is how my brother makes his living.
While that particular model wasn’t for me, it lit a spark in me that would never go away. I became acquainted with the success and self help literature that so many of those in network marketing devour. Tomes like Think and Grow Rich and success gurus like Tony Robbins always spoke to me through that sort of work.
The thing was, while that is great for sales based people, it exposed a conflict for people like me who went to a regular job. I didn’t work on commissions, and not matter how hard I worked at my job, it was a toss up whether that would add up to more money.
Most of the time the economy had first dibs, and more than likely not it was a layoff that I would expect rather than a raise. When I did get a raise, it was the pathetic 1% or 2% paired with the, “Hey, be thankful that you at least still have a job” that I could expect from my manager.
It was my exposure to network marketing that made me so dissatisfied with that sort of existence.
Also, whenever I read people like Anthony Robbins, I was at a loss as to how their philosophy could help someone like me who was stuck in a regular job with a salary ceiling.
The Network Marketing Meeting
Your fist exposure to network marketing is usually through someone whom you call family or friend, simply because that is the model. People are encouraged to seek clients and recruits from their warm network of family and friends. That is how the industry stated and grew for decades.
Hey, it kinda works, for many.
It doesn’t work for all people, which is why the industry has fans and detractors.
Those who tried and failed end up with a bitter taste in their mouths, as if success is something that ANYONE can guarantee.
It’s actually illegal to guarantee success, and the laws usually lead to things like income disclaimers and “Terms and Conditions” statements.
The first network marketing meeting can be that face to face thing where your friend or relative comes over to your house to do a presentation, or maybe you go to a home party that they are hosting. At that home party you get to meet their upline who recruited them, and are introduced to not only the product or service, but the income opportunity.
Sometimes you are in for a real treat when the person’s upline hosts a hotel meeting, where they rent out a local hotel meeting room and give a group presentation complete with lots of success stories and fancy talking representatives who either are or who like to act all rich and successful.
They get all dressed up in their best suits and don their real or fake Rolexes in order to impress the attendees.
Sound familiar?
Breaking Free of the Traditional Network Marketing Process
The problem is that most of the time, for the average person who is introduced to these things, success is a pipe dream if they can’t figure out how to recruit team members or how to become a top producer in their niche.
Not everyone is filled with charisma and can motivate others to join and to follow them into the uncertain world of network marketing and direct sales.
Am I knocking the industry here?
Maybe just a little, but I want you to know that I am a big believer in this industry, albeit not the regular methods of recruiting people.
The problem is that for most network marketing businesses, the decades old methods are the best, since many of these companies are stuck in the pre internet age and don’t have web powered recruiting platforms.
That’s why I searched for something that suited my personality better.
I’m someone who is much better with the written word and not as good int he face to face situations.
In a crowd of like minded people I can stir it up with the best of them.
The thing is, I hate wasting time with people who are just lightly exploring or who never intend on taking action and making this industry work for them.
The internet blogging model is great because you can just create content at your own pace and put it out there to work for you 24/7. You should have a long term view because this is a long term strategy, but these longer term strategies really snowball when they have time to start rolling and gather up some momentum.
The only other thing that you need other than the blog and a main business, is a marketing and leads system.
When was your first exposure to the network marketing industry? Tell me below and let’s connect some more!
