Who gets network marketing?

wbhawkins — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:31:16 +0000

It's a rational business decision.

Building a business is a tough thing to do. You need not only a good idea (which, to be frank, is the easy bit), you need to know how to execute your idea so that people know about it, understand it, feel comfortable with it and ultimately decide that your business idea, service or product is something that they will buy from you. When you have been in business for a while, you get to know what questions to ask about a business before you commit to it.

For instance, some years back I was keen on buying into a franchise which is a yacht brokerage. I was looking at selling other people’s yachts, boats and dinghies. With a franchise, the key commitment that the franchiser is looking for is the fee that you pay to buy into their ‘proven’ system. Before I was going to do that, I did some market research into the ‘area’ which would have been my allocated territory.

My research showed me that the market was not for yachts and boats in the centre where they suggested was the best spot, but was, in fact, the inland waterways. Inland waterways are a totally different market to yachts and so, I concluded, I would be better off starting my own business selling barges, cruisers and narrow boats rather than investing and borrowing £90,000 to get into the franchise for yacht sales.

A few years later, I started my own business in live, online learning training IT professionals around the world through the internet. In short, everyone thought the idea was great, but the business struggled and I ran out of money to be able to carry on with it. I lost quite a lot of money in the process but I learned many lessons.

When it comes to starting a network marketing business, I could immediately see that the idea is good, the business is proven, there is a ready and untapped market in the UK, there is no franchise fee to worry about, I believe in the products, I have all the right skills and experience to be able to make it work and I can start it part-time and work it around my other commitments.

This week I spoke with an old business friend of mine about the business with the help of Cora, my sister-in-law, and presented the business over the internet. My contact was very open about the business and was keen to understand the details. He had come across the Forever Living business five years ago but had not pursued it because, amongst one or two other reasons, he had not known anyone in the business to understand why people were so positive about it.

Furthermore, he had spent several years working in the food industry marketing health food products, so he understood the market well. His main enthusiasm from our presentation was the fact that over half of the business’s revenue comes from one aloe vera drink. As a businessman, he understood the business model and knew that the business model is not some wacky scheme but that network marketing is a proven business strategy. His enthusiasm for the opportunity was based on rational thinking and experience.

The plain fact is that people understand and enthuse about this networking business for different reasons. Many because they believe in the products. Some because they can also see the opportunity. Others because they see how it can help them achieve what they want to achieve in their lives which ordinary jobs can never provide on their own.

All of them see it for what it is, which is an unconventional business which helps people. It is honest, non-pushy, high quality and enables those who want to change their lives change them for the better. If you don’t believe it, then that’s fine.

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Why people in network marketing are so happy

wbhawkins — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:29:14 +0000

Being happy is encouraged

From the outside, people you may know who run their own network marketing based businesses probably appear to be highly enthusiastic about what they do. You might even think that this enthusiasm is evangelical in its fervour. I have heard that some people think that people in network marketing are “brainwashed”. They are keen, effervescent and highly motivated.

To many people, this enthusiasm seems odd. Our culture sometimes discourages people from being overtly enthusiastic about their work. Occasionally, I hear people comment about anyone who smiles a lot. “What’s wrong with him or her?” “Why are they smiling all of the time?”

I have just started my own network marketing business and I did it for very good reasons. I have spent many years working in large or medium sized businesses which include the British Army, Microsoft, and Hewlett-Packard. Much of my business career has been disappointing in terms of the level of the leadership, management and enthusiasm. I have had moments of great fun in my working career but I can count the number of years where I was truly happy at work on one hand.

Most of the rest of the time was miserable. I was expected to work hard and be grateful that I was working in such a well-known business. Or the business had employed me to do something which turned out to be impossible to achieve because they had not appreciated just what was needed to make it feasible. Sometimes, I was given a target to achieve to which a bonus was payable when it was achieved and exceeded only to be disappointed when, at the last moment, it was denied to me despite having beaten my targets. Working in corporate life became increasingly dissatisfying and my morale was often low.

Contrast that to the network marketing business I have joined and started, Forever Living. The team of which I am part is full of enthusiastic people who love what they do. They like their products. They enjoy helping other people and they enjoy the support and enthusiasm that the business they work with shows towards them.

But, more importantly, having talked to lots of successful people in Forever Living, I began to realise why they are so happy. The products and the company are excellent, yes, but there is more to their enthusiasm than meets the eye. I realised that the reason they are so happy is that they are very clear about why they are running their independent businesses. They run their businesses to help them achieve their dreams which might be a great holiday each year, financial independence, putting their children through good schools, international travel or just having more time with their families. They are happy because they make the choices about their lives and what they want to do with them.

Contrast that with traditional businesses or workplaces which provide you with a way to get through each month and which are often filled with people who care little for you. I know where I would rather work.

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Who gets network marketing?

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Why people in network marketing are so happy

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