Plug in to the System

Professionals tend to be "Lone Rangers." We're used to being relied upon to get the job done by ourselves.

That attitude will kill your network marketing business. NM is all about systems. From Day 1 it is no longer your job to do it all by yourself; it's your job to plug into the system.

What's the system? Whatever your NM company has to offer. It often includes training websites, materials (such as books and audios), conference calls, and events (from training days to annual convention).

My sponsor holds a conference call once a week. Unless I'm deathly ill (or on vacation), I'm on that conference call.

Why? You'd be surprised how easy it is to lose your motivation. Plugging into the system rejuvenates you, helps you remember why you joined, helps you see that your obstacles are the same as everyone else's and that they're not insurmountable.

This past weekend I attended a half-day training event my company put on. It's actually a kick-off event for our annual convention that is coming up. I was surrounded by lots of positive energy, enthusiasm, and excited folks. Not to mention I got some excellent training.

That event wasn't in my city or even in my state. I had to drive several hours to get to the event. I even convinced a couple of team members to go along with me.

Why did we go all that way? My sponsor says that often it's a small thing you hear that can result in a big shift in your thinking. And that big shift can cause exponential growth in your business.

Plugging into the system gives you multiple opportunities to tap into those kinds of shifts.

Have Fun!

Network marketing is such a fun business.

Then why does my sponsor have to continually remind his team to have fun? Because sometimes we get so caught up in achievement--trying to find people to show our presentation to, trying to sign people up, trying to get promoted--that we forget to have fun with it.

But here's the thing: the way we attract folks to our business is by having fun.

Everyone already has enough work to do. Most folks go to jobs they hate or at least dislike. They also have tons of errands to run and chores to do. What they don't have enough of is fun in their lives.

If you're having fun building your network marketing business, you're putting out some major positive energy. People are drawn to laughter, excitement, optimism, and big dreams.

Isn't that one of the reasons you signed up?

Log Your Hours

It's easy in network marketing to get caught up in stuff. Watching videos, reading books, going to seminars. Doing that stuff can make us feel like we're doing something to build our business.

Personal development and training are essential of course. But you've got to watch your balance. If all you're doing is learning about how others are building their successful NM businesses, you're missing something: Taking action to build your own!

I love how Dr. Tom Barrett describes this critical point in his book Dare to Dream and Work to Win. He uses the analogy of a pilot. When someone in the flying industry wants to know how long someone has been a pilot they don't ask, "How long have you been flying?" They aren't interested in how many classes the pilot has taken or how many manuals they've read. They only want to know one thing: "How many hours have you logged flying?"

It's the same thing in network marketing. The question is, how many presentations have you done? With my company, we have a daily scorecard where you can keep track of your activities. You score a certain number of points for each activity. You get the most points for doing a presentation. That should tell you something. Also, my sponsor also gives his team members recognition and a pin once they've done 100 presentations.

That was my first goal: to get that pin and the recognition for 100 presentations. So I set that goal and accomplished it in the first 10 months.

Does your company have a similar honor? If so, go for it. If not, you don't have to wait for your company to do it. Set up a goal and reward system for yourself and your team.

Getting Ready to Get Ready

When you sign up for your network marketing business, the first temptation is to spend hours and hours getting ready to get ready. You need to read a few more books about NM, understand every nuance of your company's compensation plan, maybe buy some training programs from a guru, redo the list of your warm market...

Professionals are especially guilty of this behavior when we start an NM business. We feel as if we have to know everything before we take the first step.

In fact, knowing everything before you start will actually slow you down. One, it gets you bogged down in details. Remember, NM is about simplicity. It also may cause you to share too much info with folks you talk to. That's the death knell. You'll overwhelm the person, and they'll run screaming.

"Well, Monica, I need to do some preparation, don't you think?" you argue. Sure. Your company will provide you with the fundamentals. Maybe a few checklists, a training website. Do the few things they recommend, and then just hold your breath and jump in the water.

The sooner you do your first presentation, the sooner you're on the path of doing what needs to be done to build this fabulous business that's going to provide you and your family with financial freedom.

So learn the fundamentals and then just leap!

Rejection Ain't Easy...Is It?

Rejection can hurt. You show someone your presentation, or, heck, just invite them to take a look and they say, "No." But what you hear is (imagine a deep booming bass voice echoing) "NOOOOOO!"

Professionals aren't used to out-and-out rejection. I got used to my status--as a Harvard Law grad and a big firm lawyer--opening doors for me. When I became a network marketer, all of that went out the window. Instead, I was just "Monica Parker, Network Marketer."

And when people said "No" to my opportunity, it felt as if they were saying "No" to me. It felt as if I was being personally rejected, rather than my product. Ouch.

Does it have to be so painful?

Maybe not. It's actually a question of perspective.

Just think of your 3 closest friends. I'm betting they're all very different people. They probably have totally different perspectives about life.

That's exciting news. Why? Because it means you get to choose. You get to choose the perspective you want to have.

Let me offer a few perspective shifts for you to try on when you hear a "No:"

Perspective Shift #1: When you walk into a store, you browse around. You don't see anything you want. The owner asks, "May I help you?" You say, "No thank you" and walk out. Do you think the store owner dissolves into tears? No. They know it's not personal. They simply don't expect everyone to be interested or buy something.

Perspective Shift #2: Network marketing in some sense is a numbers game. The more no's you get, the closer you are to a yes. There's no way of getting around those odds. That means, every time someone tells you no, consider celebrating. I recommend hanging up the phone, jumping up and down, and shouting joyfully "Awesome! I got another no!!"

Perspective Shift #3: When my younger brother was a little boy, he had no qualms about asking for anything he wanted. Prime example: After my dad opened one of his birthday gifts, my brother said, "Can I have that?" My older brother and I were astonished by his audacity. My mom summed up my younger brother's attitude simply: "He figures the worst thing you can say is, 'No.'"

The next time you're feeling the sting of rejection, try a perspective shift. Use one of the above or come up with your own.

Never Quit on a Bad Day

The best piece of advice I've ever heard about building a network marketing business is this:

Never quit on a bad day.

So profound. Think about how that works. You've got 3 presentations scheduled for the day. You're excited. What if all 3 of them sign up? You don't want to get your hopes up too high though. Even if just one signs up, that's a pretty good day.

Then the first one cancels and can't tell you a date to reschedule. Closely followed by the second person who cuts you off even before you get started saying, "Is this network marketing? If it is, don't bother because I'm not getting involved in any of those pyramid scams." And the third, who's a close friend of yours, is a no-show. And avoiding your calls.

And to bring a wonderful day to an end, you knock coffee on your computer. Perfect. Just perfect.

It's tempting to quit on a day like that. "What's the point of doing this?" you growl. "No one's going to be interested. I hate people." You fume as you mop up coffee off your keyboard which is ominously typing the letter "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" across your screen without your assistance. "I don't know why I'm even bothering. I'm never going to be able to do this. I should just quit."

Stop. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. (Well considering you didn't sign anyone up today, I don't think we have to worry about that one.)

But seriously, stop. Take a deep breath and let it out. Never quit on a bad day. Go find your kids and head to the park to play Frisbee or something.

Because here's the fun part: they won't all be bad days. There will actually be some good days. And you won't be remotely interested in quitting then.

Not until a bad day rolls around again. Because it will. It's that day you're thinking about throwing your company's presentation materials in the toilet because a woman you showed it to says, "Let me check with my husband before I spend $10 a month on your subscription program" (never mind that you know for a fact this woman just bought a Prada bag, took a family vacation in Martha's Vineyard, and is thinking about signing up for a Pilates series--because she just told you!). Take a deep breath, let it out, and murmur your mantra: Never quit on a bad day.

So then it's on to the next day which turns out to be a lot of fun because you sign up a buddy who's really excited about the business, and you're back to thinking this is the greatest business in the world, and you're going to...

Pretty clever huh?

Don't Reinvent the Wheel

It can sometimes be challenging for professionals to become network marketers. You're too smart for your own good. Let's take lawyers, since that's my background.

Lawyers are trained to solve problems for their clients, to improve things. That same mindset will get you into trouble in network marketing.

You take one look at the presentation your NM company provides and think, "That's too simple. It could be so much better. More elegant, more organized, more (you fill in the blank)."

And so you start to tinker with it. Adding your own materials, your special little twists. Next thing you know you've got this elaborate, intricate, brilliant marketing campaign.

Let's say it works--you sign up some customers and distributors with your reinvented "wheel."

Here's the problem: Network marketing isn't about you and your special talents. It's about duplication. If the folks you signed up can't do what you're doing, they'll give up.

That's the beauty of network marketing: its simplicity. Your NM company has purposely designed its tools to be simple so that anyone you show it to can do it. More importantly, anyone you show it to believes they can do it.

The question for professionals who join a NM company then isn't, "How can I use my brilliance to make this presentation better?" It's, "How can I keep it simple so that anyone I show it to thinks they can do it too?"

And the answer to that question is, use the tools your company provides.