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Have you signed up for a multi level marketing opportunity, only to find out that it is nigh on impossible to recruit anyone into your downline?
Do strangers shun you?
Are your friends and family too clever to get sucked into your latest ‘money making scheme’?
If that’s the case then how are you supposed to find someone who is dumb enough to sign up under you?
The answer is simple.
You need the ‘MLM Dummy’, and here’s how to identify them -
PROFILE OF THE MLM DUMMY
- Typically over 30, they either live alone or with their parents still.
- The MLM Dummy earns minimum wage, and always has done.
- They are stupid enough to respond to a flier stuck on a telephone pole or bus shelter.
- They actually believe they can earn $3,000 a month whilst working part-time.
- They believe you when you say that Harvard Business School teaches Network Marketing.
- They also believe you when you tell them that half the products sold in America will be distributed via mlm by the year 2012.
- They have dire financial problems. Those facing unemployment, divorce and foreclosure are normally desperate and not thinking too clearly. Take advantage as some of these people arn’t normally dummies and the window of opportunity will be small.
Have you successfully recruited an MLM Dummy, or do you adopt other tactics to fill your downline?
This is the seventh and final post in a series that examines the 7 deadly sins of network marketing.
The previous 6 posts have been about
THE SEVENTH SIN - PRIDE
Pride has always been considered to be the worst of the 7 deadly sins.
It can be characterised in terms of vanity, a desire to be more important than others and an excessive love of one’s self.
In some respects, too much pride can lead into each of the other 6 deadly sins.
ARE YOU TOO PROUD?
If there’s one thing that I’ve noticed more than anything else about network marketers it is their boastfulness.
Visit any internet forum, or blog which allows comments, and there will hundreds of examples of network marketers going on and on and on about how their business is so much better than all the competition.
Typically, this is not so much about why their business is so good though.
Quite the opposite - they put themselves and their opportunity up by bashing down all those who stand against them.
Then there’s the self-promotion.
Putting yourself forward is, I believe, essential if you wish to succeed in any type of business environment.
But have you seen how vehemently the mlmers do it?
Some of the things they say sound quite unbelievable and, frankly, they probably are!
Another downside to these guys’ pride is the fact that it forces them to talk but never to listen.
They are so intent on talking up themselves, their ‘opportunity’ and any products their business sells as a sideline to recruitment, that they never have any time to listen.
I don’t know about you, but it really annoys me when someone wants to lecture me without considering any feedback I give, or answering any questions I may have.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Are you too proud?
Does your ego play a huge part in your business dealings?
Does pride actually get in the way of good business?
Come on guys, these posts have been incredibly popular with the RSS readers - have none of you got anything to say or add to what I have written???
This is the sixth post in a series that examines the 7 deadly sins of network marketing.
The previous posts have been about
THE SIXTH SIN - ENVY
Envy is not only one of the deadly sins.
It is also a powerful motivating force which can be used for both good and bad purposes.
For the ambitious and determined person envy, or jealousy as it is otherwise known, can drive them to improve themselves and their business so that they can achieve that which they covet.
The lazy man, however, will find that his envy leads to a state of despair as he realises that he will never have what he wants so much.
I firmly believe that both types of envy exist within network marketing.
I NEED. ACTION.
The determined individual will see other’s success, whether it be real or simply perceived, and will be spurred on to emulate that success by working harder, making more calls, obtaining more leads and networking with more people.
They will listen to the motivational speeches from their upline and get excited about the prospect of owning those huge houses, flash cars and yachts that the founders are so proud to brag about owning.
Something deep within their personality will force them to knuckle down and milk their opportunity for all it is worth so that they too can earn a stack of cash.
These positive mlmers will pursue any opportunity to make the money they need and will take no prisoners in their quest for financial freedom and residual incomes.
I WANT. INACTION.
On the other hand, the lazy network marketer doesn’t feel the need to obtain all that they desire.
Sure, they would like the trappings of success, but it’s all too much hard work isn’t it?
They’ll try to recruit friends and family, often with little success, or at the cost of previously strong relationships.
They’ll look over their shoulders at those who are doing well in their mlm organisation and will, at first, wonder why they are achieving so much more than them.
They will be jealous at first, wishing that they too had the same level of income, but that feeling soon passes.
Instead of looking at themselves, they look outward for an answer as to why they are failing.
Because they only ‘want’ success, instead of truly ‘needing’ it, they will never have it.
The lazy marketer will never put their own house in order but will blame others for their lack of success as they feel much more comfortable living within their own delusion.
Instead of putting in the required level of effort they will likely give up on network marketing, blaming the system, or even calling it out as a scam.
Maybe they will even become an mlm addict, constantly drifting between different companies, looking for the success that they will never have.
In any event, they will stick with network marketing because they believe they hype and so desperately want all the material things their colleagues have.
DO YOU SUFFER WITH ENVY?
If so, does it spur you on to achieve great things, or does it leave you feeling flat and demotivated because you never quite achieve what you want?
If not, do you think you prosper by focusing upon yourself rather than the lives and possessions that other people have?
TOMORROW : #7 - PRIDE
This is the fifth post in a series that examines the 7 deadly sins of network marketing.
The previous posts have been about
THE FIFTH SIN - WRATH
The fifth deadly sin of wrath is typically categorised as being either hatred and/or anger.
These are characteristics I see each and every single day, despite not being a network marketer myself.
From my own perspective, I see anger and hatred most often levied on websites, forums and blogs.
Whilst I have had the pleasure to come into contact with several exceptionally pleasant marketers over the last couple of years, I have also had the displeasure of reading verbiage from many, many more who could best be described as ‘haters’.
UNFORGIVING
My lasting impression of most multi level marketers is that they are a quite unforgiving bunch.
If you are not with them, then you are against them.
If I was trying to promote a business online then I would go to great lengths to market myself and whatever I was offering in a positive light.
However, my experience of watching network marketers is that many of them do quite the opposite - they open a dialogue by finding postings about their competition and then try to rubbish them.
Of course their opportunity is so much better that they then offer it up as the solution to all the ills of the competing business that they have just highlighted.
Should you dare to question their stance, or offer evidence of anything wrong or shady within their business then all hell is likely to break loose.
BLOOD-SPITTING COMMENTARY
If you locate a vibrant forum or blog that allows commentary about specific mlms then you can almost guarantee a comment-fest.
Network marketers must feel compelled to evangelise their opportunity, often far more vehemently than any religious nutcase ever would.
Multiple paragraphs, essays and dissertations are the order of the day as they attempt to justify why their opportunity is the best.
If they disagree with your views then the replies are often much shorter, and far more to the point.
They tend not to settle for just putting down the business you are worth.
Oh no.
Many mlm commentators are so twisted that they have to make their attacks far more personal, dredging up all sorts of rubbish and attacking peoples’ personalities.
I believe that is a very cheap tactic that shows their immaturity.
Not to mention the fact that their must be underlying causes for their anger and hate.
Anger, fear, aggression… the dark side are they.
Yoda : Star Wars VI - The Return Of The Jedi
When you read something you don’t like on the internet does it make your blood boil?
Do you feel compelled to reply?
Do you cave into anger or can you control yourself enough to offer objective responses?
TOMORROW : #6 - ENVY
This is the fourth post in a series that examines the 7 deadly sins of network marketing.
The previous posts have been about
THE FOURTH SIN - SLOTH
The modern definition of sloth is generally accepted to be laziness, or the failure to capitalise on one’s talents.
I believe that it is quite simple to link both of those afflictions to many members of network marketing businesses.
It is a sad fact of life that many people are naturally lazy.
In fact, I would guess that the majority of people in the world do the bare minimum to get by in life, sometimes even less.
Many have the talent to succeed.
This can be for a number of reasons, such as upbringing, lack of motivation, lack of planning, no ambition, etc, etc.
It is no surprise, then, to learn that many multi level marketers do not put in the required amount of effort in order to succeed.
It would probably be fair to say that laziness is the biggest cause of failure within legitimate network marketing organisations.
WHO IS TO BLAME FOR THIS LAZINESS?
Personally, I believe that each and every one of us is responsible for the way our lives pan out.
If things don’t go to plan then it can sometimes be due to external and uncontrollable events but, ultimately, it is our own responsibility to shape our destinies.
Network marketing recruiters are very good at seizing upon this sort of philospohy in order to promote whatever opportunity that they are peddling.
‘Take hold of your destiny’
‘Earn what you are really worth’
‘Shape your future’
‘Escape the 9-5, work the hours that suit YOU’
I’m sure we’ve all heard similar phrases associated with network marketing opportunities.
What you don’t hear anywhere near as often are phrases such as -
‘Network marketing is hard work’
‘99% of multi level marketers lose money’
‘Building any strong business takes years of dedication’
Therefore, is it not possible that these types of businesses are sending out the wrong sort of messages?
With the incessant need, so it seems, to continually recruit, are network marketers actually pitching their business in a way that attracts the lazy man who is attracted to the dream of easy earnings?
Are you guilty of portraying you business as an easy way to earn good money when, in fact, it is incredibly hard work?
Or do the majority of people fail simply because of their own inherent laziness?
TOMORROW : #5 - WRATH
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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