MLM Training - The Three Booby-Traps of Network Marketing

Posted in Home-Business on September 28, 2007

Let s start out with defining the word booby-trap: a situation that catches one off guard a pitfall a hidden hazard.

The reason I chose “booby trap” is because the subjects I m going to explain to you can in fact catch you off guard and be a hazard if you re not knowledgeable about their existence.

There are three phases that one goes through as they advance (if they do) in network marketing - each can be a booby trap to the individual.

Introverting
The first phase is what I call Introverting. Introverting is defined as: To concentrate upon oneself or what one is doing. So how can we use this definition in network marketing? Normally introversion occurs in the very beginning of one s career in network marketing. The indicators of someone introverting are when one is greatly concerned with what he or she LOOKS or SOUNDS like to others. When they re studying or practicing scripts they re so focused on the actual words that they don t communicate the meaning or concept to the prospect. What they say sounds stupid - like they re scared or uncomfortable. Their voice shakes and they sound very unsure of themselves - which communicates, “I don t believe in what I m doing” to the prospect. See they re not focused on the prospect - they re focused on SAYING the right thing. Therefore the concept of what they re saying doesn t REACH the prospect.

So if you re a new person and you are constantly thinking about what other people think about you - you must get past it. Here s how to get past it:

1) Drill - which means repeat something over and over, what you re going to say BEFORE you get in front of a live person.

2) Focus all your attention on the prospect and
3) Get into such a high activity that you don t have time to focus on your fears.

When you confront what you fear enough times, you fear it no more. As you CONTINUE to do this, you will start focusing on DOING IT instead of worrying whether you CAN do it or not. Then something bizarre will happen. You ll sponsor someone in the business. And on that day you ll realize you really CAN do it.

Distributors who do not get out of introversion end up trapped by it and either quit or don t succeed. They are also the ones who say, “The MLM business just isn t for me.” Or they will claim the WHOLE industry doesn t work. Every time I see or hear this I think, ” Wow, should I send my bonus check back to the company - EVERY MONTH - because somebody says the industry doesn t work?” Of course it works. But the first barrier you have to get past is what other people think of you.

Okay, so for this discussion, pretend that you actually get past yourself (introversion) and into activity. You start bringing people into your home business and you feel wonderful. You get real confident and it almost seems effortless to bring people into the business. The people that are still in introversion are almost mesmerized by your abilities and want to know your “secret.” When they hear the secret they re shocked that it s the same old stuff. There is no secret. The primary difference is one is out-of-introversion and DOING IT and the other is still worried about what people might think and are “TRYING” to do it right.

DOING IT ALL
The next trap I ve called DOING IT ALL. The success of being able to sponsor people eventually becomes a booby trap as well - and it is very well concealed. The person has sponsored several people and has been praised so much by his or her peers for the ability to sponsor people that they identify themselves as “the person who can sponsor a lot of people.” Meaning their identity gets stuck to that one activity. I ve seen people sponsor 30, 50, 100 people and just keep on doing it. Waiting for someone to be as effective as they are. Occasionally one might sponsor someone who has gotten past introversion in another field, but normally not. The symptoms of DOING IT ALL are statements like,
- “None of my people are doing anything!”

- “How do I motivate my downline?”
- “I keep sponsoring duds.”

If this is you - you ve watched very valuable, very capable people fall through the cracks. You re adding people as fast as they re dropping off the other end.

You are delusional to think you re going to find someone who will get past introversion without your help! Stop it. You re doing the industry a disservice because it generates a higher failure rate in the industry. You re doing yourself a disservice because it can be very disheartening to sponsor all these people thinking you re going to be making a ton of money on them only to see them quit within a month or two.

You must train the people you sponsor. If you re unwilling to make a leader out of the person you re sponsoring - don t sponsor them! It takes great patience to train people. You have to sit through the pain of listening to them present - WARNING - don t do this on an empty stomach. You want so badly to save them - you can t… if you ever want to make a lot of money in network marketing. Doing it for them only handicaps them. You cannot do it for them - you must train, train, train, and when you think they will never get it - you train some more. They will get it when YOU get enough patience. By the way, don t stop your training until you see that your distributors can properly train THEIR distributors. If you don t do this step your organization will not move past the 3rd level. You won t build a Christmas tree (better than saying pyramid J), you ll build a diamond. All your volume will be up in your first 2-3 levels.

Velvet Rut
The final trap is what I call the VELVET RUT. You re making 3- 7 thousand dollars a month and the thought of going back to recruiting again is daunting. The reason I call it the velvet rut is because you re making just enough money to keep you in the game - so it s kind of comfortable, but because you re not making the money you ve dreamed of it s still a rut - therefore a trap. Go back to work and sponsor 3 or 4 more and build them into leaders. GET YOUR DREAM.