Network Marketing v Traditional Business/Job

Hi All,

Whilst going through some old paperwork yesterday I discovered some notes I’d taken at an MLM training some time back.  The notes covered a discussion we’d had about the benefits of Network Marketing in comparison with a job or running a traditional business.

We came up with 17 comparisons, and in most of them MLM rated highly.

*	Network Marketing	*	Traditional Business/Job
1	Low start up costs	1	High start up costs
2	Work from home	2	Cost of Premises Office/Shop/Warehouse
3	Normal Home Overheads	3	Business Overheads Electric/Gas/Biz Rates – etc
4	Telephone	4	Telephone (same?)
5	Fuel	5	Fuel (same?)
6	No employees/staff	6	Staff Costs Payroll/Insurance/Pensions etc
7	Flexible Working Hours	7	Long & Fixed Working Hours
8	Low Stress/Sociable business	8	Can be very stressful
9	Choose Training Courses	9	Company Controls the Training
10	Network of support	10	No external support
11	Unlimited Income Potential	11	Limited Income Potential in most cases
12	Lots of Incentives Cars – Travel – Profit Share – etc	12	Incentives not available to all employees
13	Fully Portable Business	13	Relocation difficult and expensive
14	MLM is a National and International growth industry	14	Possibly little or no National & International Growth
15	Lots of Personal Recognition	15	Contribution not always recognised
16	Easy Administration	16	Complex administration
17	Simple Business Model	17	Complex Business Model

Obviously this table is biased in favour of MLM and makes you wonder why anyone would choose the other models. So I wondered if any of you could come up with any comparisons weighted in favour of having a job or a traditional business.

Additionally, if you can think of any more comparisons favouring MLM let us know about them too. Any input is gratefully received.

Please leave your answers as comments.

To Your success,

Mark

10 Rules for Being Human!

I found this on a website sometime ago and liked it a lot. I’ve meant to post it here ever since, so hope you like it too.

I believe it was originally posted by a lady named Cherie Carter-Scott, so let’s give her the credit!

10 rules for being human

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it’s yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, “life.”
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately “work.”
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There’s no part of life that doesn’t contain its lessons. If you’re alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	“There” is no better a place than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here”, you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.”
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life’s questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

How do I speak to a business owner about my MLM Business?

It seems to me that lots of network marketers are joining business networking groups these days. The Business Club, BNI, 4-Networking, etc, there certainly seems to be no shortage of events in the local calendar. In fact, if you look hard enough, you could probably find an event reasonably close to you at least once a week.

In theory this can be a good idea. Not only do you get to meet lots of interesting new people, but they are business owners themselves. And that means they must be just like us! They must have drive, passion, and a desire for something more than just a ‘job’.

‘These are just the type of people I need’, you may be thinking. ‘If I can just sponsor a few of these people my business will really take off!’

Well that may be the case, but there is actually a lot more to it than that. The very fact that they are business owners means they are usually very focused on their own businesses.  In the main they already believe they have in their hands the vehicle that will help them achieve their dreams.

And if that’s true, why would they want to start another business? Why would they feel the need to invest in something new and untried? Something that may take time out of their existing business and dilute their focus?

Mostly they wouldnt.

Then there’s the fact that the majority of network marketers still perform like rank amateurs, pitching everyone from day one, and going about things in totally the wrong way.

Sorry guys, but if you’re walking into a room full of new people, handing out business cards and telling everyone they should join your fantastic business so they can make an extra income stream in just a few hours a week, it just won’t cut it these days.  People have heard it all before and it’s very boring.

Cringeworthy even!

So what should you do? Well it’s quite simple really.

Ask questions. Listen. Build relationships with the local business owners. Ask people about their businesses, and ask how you can help them.

Then, when they ask you what it is you do, just tell them ‘I’m a network marketing professional’ and leave it at that.

Most people are actually quite curious as to what it is we really do, but they are frightened to ask most MLMers for fear of being pitched.

Using that approach, if you have taken the time and effort to get to know people first, they will then usually be open to asking you questions about your business. In my experience it is then, and only then, that you let them know what it is you do and what you are looking for.

When you do give info to business owners, bear in mind what I said earlier about them being focused and not ‘in the market’ for something new. Unless they ask you directly and you know it’s for them, This would be the approach I’d recommend.

‘Would you be able to help me? I’m really looking to expand my business in this area. I know you are focused on your own business and what I do probably wouldn’t interest you personally, but you know other people.  I’m looking for anyone who is ambitious and entrepreneurial, or who doesn’t like what they’re currently doing or who maybe has been made redundant and is looking for something new. If I gave you this (3rd party info) would you take a look at it and let me know if anyone you know springs to mind? I’d really appreciate it.

This approach is indirect which is always good, and it’s also asking for help. People usually like to help others when they’re asked because it’s something we are conditioned to do.

You may have to find your own words so they sound right coming out of your mouth, but when you do you’ll often find people walking towards you when you enter your next networking event, not running in the opposite direction!

And guess what? Some of them will even join you!

To Your Success

Mark Hibbitts

What does it take to be successful?

I’ve been thinking.

What exactly are the common denominators that make a top earner? After all, we know MLM is not an easy business. You have to learn new skills. You have to get out of your comfort zone. You have to put up with rejection, having people who don’t quite ‘get it’ laughing at you and telling you you’re crazy, and that ‘it’ll never work’.

But of course, the upside is that’s why we can earn SO MUCH MONEY! If it were easy everyone would be doing it and the companies wouldn’t need us to lead teams for them.

So what is it that gives people that slight edge to succeed where others fail? I recently heard from a top earner in another network, someone I’ve known for a while and who has 20 years MLM experience, what he feels are the common denominators.

This is what he said. . . .

First, all the very successful Distributors have a huge desire to change their circumstances. It’s almost as if they say ‘I’ve had enough and I’m just not taking anymore. This is where I stand or fall.’ That’s not to say that everyone was at a financial or emotional low point, just that they realised MLM could give them the lifestyle they wanted which their careers couldn’t.

Second, they were hungry to learn. All of them were like sponges and absorbed all the information they could from anywhere they could; attending trainings; reading books; listening to cd’s; watching DVD’s. More importantly, they have maintained their learning attitude.

Third, they took massive action. They spoke to everyone they knew, and plenty of people they didn’t. They did it quickly, not dragging it out over months and years like so many do and wonder why it’s so slow in happening. They just kept talking to people, even when the rejection was huge and people were telling them that they were crazy.

Fourth, they found other like-minded Distributors, people like them who really wanted to succeed, and they hung out with them. They realised that their ‘friends’ from before who didn’t want them to succeed were really not their friends. They chose to mix with a crowd who pushed them in their ambition, not pushed them into acceptance of life as it is.

Fifth, they decided that nothing and nobody would divert them from their chosen path.

Sixth, they all had huge goals. Making enough from their company just to get by was never part of the plan. Having the life of their dreams was.

So, in a nutshell: A strong desire – Attend everything and learn – massive action – Choose who you associate with – Decide to Decide & stay focused – Set BIG goals.

So, how are you all doing with that? Do you have what it takes to get to the top, or are you lacking in some areas?

Do you have a burning desire, or are you really happier to stay in your comfort zone and settle for what you have now. After all it’s easy isn’t it?

Are you learning all you can about your new profession? Are you listening to GoPro and www.networkmarketingpro.com on a daily basis, attending all your team meetings, building your knowledge and your belief, or are you letting it slide by from day to day, thinking it’s not really that important?

Are you taking enough action to get results? You HAVE to fit this in around your current commitments or you’re wasting your time. If you only speak to one person a week you can build a business but it’ll be a slow old process, and your people are likely to duplicate you! Is that really what you want?

Are you mixing with positive, focused, successful people, that push you forward, or are you hanging around with the ‘neg heads’. You know the type I mean don’t you? People with no direction that live their lives aimlessly and will happily drag you down to their level? Association is SO important to your attitude and success.

Do you get distracted easily? I know I do and it’s something I’m working on every day. There seem to be endless amounts of opportunity out there, and I feel myself easily being pulled in different directions if I’m not careful. Focus is extremely important to our success.

Are you setting big challenging goals? If you’re with a top flight company you can do that, and you can do it with the confidence those goals can be realised!

So why not decide TODAY that you will do everything it takes for you to become a top distributor in your company? Don’t settle for mediocrity any longer. Go for greatness! Make your kids proud!

To your success,

Mark Hibbitts