My Dad Tom made this comment last night when we were meeting with a lady last night and I had to write it down. She wanted to hear about what my team does online, and why we are so excited specifically about the company we are involved with and its product. She invited us into her lovely home in Fort Worth and we sat around the kitchen table with some snacks and coffee.
She knew the product was great, knew the leaders were legit, knew the compensation plan was the best in the biz, but she openly admitted (and I appreciate it SO much more when people are straightforward and honest like this) that she wasn’t “all in” as we call it. She wasn’t ready to talk about her new business with people just yet. See, this lady is a well established businesswoman – she has started and run 2 of her own companies and been highly successful in the world of sales. Sales. As we all know, everything in life is sales, in definition and concept yes, but not in practice. In Network Marketing if you try to “sell” anyone or “close” anyone you will never be successful. And though I hate it, its true, over 90% of people who EVER enter the world of Network Marketing will FAIL. Only finding themselves consuming the company product, if the product is good than there is no problem here – a high quality product shipped directly to your door at wholesale price is a great thing – but if they got in wanting to make some extra income on the side, they should never try to sell anyone anything.
See, this lady, lets call her Wendy, she isn’t the type to jump straight in the pool head first. Which is fine! There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. See, she saw the value of the product, and the benefit of joining a potentially explosive company early, so she did. She is just waiting to really find her passion about it, which may or not come (I think it will for Wendy, and I believe she will be great one day), either way it doesn’t matter. That is just one type of person, give those people their time – BUT don’t waste your time trying to coax them to jump in with you, let them walk down the stairs, one step at time. They will realize just as we all do, when you’re in the pool, you can’t understand why you didn’t just jump in earlier, the water is great once you get used to it!
The people who just jump right on in have their own potential problems as well. They may do a belly flop, splash around like a drowning one legged cow, and actually cause people to jump OUT of the pool simply because there is a doofus like that in there and they want no part of it. These people who flail their arms crazily, telling everyone they meet about “how to make money fast” are worse than the people who take their time. I wouldn’t partner up with people like that in this business. It’s one thing to be excited and gung-ho about your opportunity, that is a needed quality, but you need to exercise some reserve and control – we should strive be the Professional Networker who exudes confidence and astuteness, that way we ATTRACT that same type of person.
As it always seems to be the case, there is a happy medium to find here. You should look for and attract the person that gets excited, and has a sense of urgency – BUT – you also want that person to have the fervent desire to do it the RIGHT way. Show them how, and teach them to teach their new teammates. That is really when it works, when you have everyone on the same page, approaching people right, slowly but surely getting familiar with this industry. Then, like everyone who finds success, wonders why they didn’t jump in sooner. The water is always fine.









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Hey Clay!! I totally agree!… You are looking for people who are HUNGRY and willing to do WHATEVER IS NECESSARY (WIN) to make it happen! The great thing about our business is that you can pick and choose who you want to work with so as you find a happy medium, people will emerge and you’ll be ready to work with them when the time right!
Yo Bro -
Robert Kiyosaki describes network marketing as “The Perfect Business.” There are several reasons he sites, but one is patience. This industry allows people to wade into the water at whatever pace they choose. And we as mentors simply get to support them through their transition however quickly or slowly THEY’RE comfortable with.
Eric’s right. Ultimately the choice is ours as to who we will work with. I am not bothered by slow and steady. Nor am I bothered by fast and furious. However, a drowning one legged cow I can do without
Keep rockin’ it Clay,
-E
Eric Fagerstrom´s last blog ..Get Knowledge! Take Action!
This is great stuff, Clay!
I totally agree with you in that we should never try to bring people to where WE want them to be. Ever hear the expression, “You can lead a horse to the water, but you can’t make him drink it”?
Well nuff said, right? It is super self-explanatory.
Sure, you can encourage someone, but NOT force, someone to do something.
It’s actually absurd to think that there are so many others out there doing this day in and day out; forcing people to sign up with them because this and that…
What ideally should be happening is that they should be weeding, filtering, whatever you wanna call it, THOSE that are not the best ones to partner up with and THEN start talkin’ business to those that have the interest…how hard is it to grasp that idea??
It’s really and truly simple: “You can lead a horse to the water, but you can’t make him drink it.”
Don’t waste your time trying to coax someone into joining you!
Let’s keep this show rollin’, Clay!
Smiles from Guam,
Jaclyn
http://jaclyncastro.com
Jaclyn Castro´s last blog ..“Leave Your Presence With a Gravatar”
Hey Clay,
Great post…
…and so true. We have to meet people where they are and not try to force them to be, or do, something they are not ready for.
It makes one appreciate honesty all the more when a person can tell you exactly where they are at.:)
Most people say ‘yes, I’ll join your biz’ , then, they dissapeared from the face of the earth.
Finding the right peopel is ‘key’!
To finding the right people,
Sharon
Sharon Hartman´s last blog ..How determined are you?
Hi Clay,
You have such great insights! What I get from your words is that every person will get where they need to be in their own time. There are pros and cons to every style and that is OK!
Those who jump right in, need to pace themselves or they can risk burnout. Those who ease in have to get going before the pool closes! LOL!
You are saying, Be the happy medium yourself and you will attract happy mediums!
Happy?
Nancy
Mentor Mama
Hi Clay, This is a really great post. I have actually been thinking about some of these VERY things you talk about here. Finding people to partner with who are excited, want to do well, and do it the RIGHT way are always worth waiting for during the sifting and sorting process. Thanks for sharing!
Kara Grabenhorst´s last blog ..Team… What Does It Mean?