The Roller Coaster Ride of a Network Marketer

This past week has definitely been a true example of the ups and downs that are faced by most people in the network marketing industry. I thought I would share this experience so that you know that you are not alone. No matter how successful a network market may be or how many years they have been involved in the business, they still have to deal with the exact same negative and positive aspects of the business as you do.

Early last week, I contacted a prospect and made arrangements for that person to attend a home meeting. I felt very confident that this person would attend because the night prior to the meeting he actually thanked me for allowing him to look at the opportunity.

However, as the time was inching closer to the 8pm meeting time, this prospect was nowhere to be seen, nor did he call me. I knew at that point that he would not show. I elected to call him just in case. I never expected him to answer let alone provide me with the excuse that he did. He apologized for not attending and said that there was a family emergency. I have heard that line before, but he was more specific and said that his father had a heart attack. I can't imagine anyone making up something like that. Would anyone want to place the forces of nature against them by misleading someone about the health of a parent. So, i believed him and he surprisingly was still open to looking at the business. In fact, I am meeting with him this week for a one on one. By the way, his father is okay.

Well, I was feeling a little cursed but nonetheless, spoke to more people and had 5 attending a presentation on the weekend. I was somewhat unsure if they would all attend but was most certain of a specific two as I was to pick them up. On Friday evening I spoke to this prospect to confirm the appointment but he had to cancel because of work. I was fine with that and we made arrangements for me to call him back on another day. But, later that evening, he called me to say that his boss no longer needed him for work so he was now able to attend the presentation. he went further to ask if his wife would be able to get involved in the opportunity and if she could attend. I said yes and it was confirmed that I would collect them at their home the next day. They did not meet me at the planned location nor did they answer my calls. Later that night, I was able to speak to the prospects wife who told me that they had an emergency and had to attend a hospital. What is it with these emergencies all of a sudden. I certainly did not believe her.

Well, that morning while en route to the presentation, I was feeling a little down. I decided to call the remaining people who were to attend. One person actually said he was already at the location and waiting. Wow, feeling up again. The other prospects I could not get a hold of and they did not attend.

So I met the one prospect and had him sit through the presentation. As it turned out, he had already seen the opportunity about 2 years previous but was willing to stay. the room was very busy and he had to sit alone while I stood at the back being able to see him. When the presentation ended, I went down one row to meet him but he must have gone up another row as he left without talking to me. I felt very angry and thought who on earth does something like that. even if he was not interested, I felt he should have spoken to me to say so. I tried to call him, but he was not responding. I felt completely dejected and wanted to leave the remainder of the presentation. But I did not. I sent the prospect a text message and a short while later he called me. he apologized for having left but he had an appointment . He said he was interested to learn more about the opportunity and it was agreed that we would meet during the week.

What an unbelievable week. So many ups and downs. So many highs and lows. But at the end of the day it worked out well. but even if it didn't. This is the nature of the business. Expect it and embrace it. As a famous saying goes, "Every setback is a set up for a comeback." Ride the waves and sooner than later you will reach your goal. Never give up! Any number of times this past week, I could have given up, but I persevered and hopefully these prospects will join the business. Remember, you are not alone, we all go through this.

Imagination is the Key to Finding MLM Leads

I am sure that you have all heard of the old saying,"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." Well, what if that horse was already at the water? Would that make it any easier to get that horse to drink? No it wouldn't!

No matter how that horse got there, whether it came on it's own, you coerced it, rode it, forced it, it doesn't matter. Once there, the horse will do what it wants. You would have no knowledge as to what is in the mind of that animal.

You might be wondering what the heck all this has to do with leads? Well, the horse is your lead! Now I don't mean that literally. I don't want you calling your friends, family and co-workers horses and then blaming me. The main point that I am trying to make is that you have to think outside the box when trying to identify leads. Do not rely solely on "the list" or more so not on lead generating systems.

There are hundreds of people out there promoting their lead generating systems. I am sure that some of those systems work, but I can guarantee you that most do not. It can't be that simple. Remember, everyone is charging you money for these systems and therefore they have an agenda. Most are not doing so to help you out. Personally, I have not used a system because I haven't needed to. I am not ruling out the possibility that I will, but for now I have that on hold.

Getting back to my horse story. In using these systems, you will get many leads, but their is no guarantee that these people will join your company. In fact, the majority will not. Many of these people are simply tire kickers and you will be wasting your time with them while others don't know what they want so they will explore anything. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying all this to dissuade you from trying these systems. Go ahead, please do so. But, keep in mind that they may not work so I want you to think of other options.

This is where your imagination comes in. I am not talking about a child's imagination of monsters and such. Your own imagination is a key to developing your ideas. All the great thinkers, inventors, artists had great imaginations and they were able to harness that into amazing ideas and creations. In the book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill discusses using your imagination as a key element in association with the Law of Attraction. I will not go into detail about that as I encourage you to read that book as it will change your life.

There are so many different ways to go about and developing leads. You truly have to take some time and think. Whatever comes to your mind about developing leads, simply write that down. You will be surprised with what you can come up with. Do not think that your ideas are silly. They may very well be and you can determine that afterward. Just write it all down. Remember to think outside the box. Go against the norm. Do something that others are afraid to do or will not do.

I don't want to suggest any ideas because that will go against what I am trying to have you develop within yourselves. Remember that everyone is a potential lead. You have no idea what their true situation is in life, you have no idea about their wants and desires. Everyone you encounter and meet is a potential lead. There are hundreds if not thousands or tens of thousands of people around you depending on where you live. You see or walk by many people everyday. You have to come up with ideas as to how to approach these people.

Do not let anyone tell you that leads can't be developed this way or that a list you compile will not work. Many people will try to strongly promote the lead generating systems as the only means of being successful. Recall how you were introduced to your business opportunity. Was it through one of these systems? I wasn't introduced that way.

I have thought of many different ways to find leads and have been successful in doing so. If it worked for me then it will most certainly work for you. Give it a try and I would love to hear about your success.

Motivation is the Key

I realize that it is often very difficult to motivate oneself to work, especially when a person can't see immediate rewards. When you get involved in network marketing, for the most part, individuals will not receive instant monetary gratification. It is therefore very important to stay motivated and focused until your desired gifts are granted.

I experienced this scenario this past weekend. I vowed this year that I would attend most if not all of the training that is offered by my company. These training sessions occur mainly on Saturdays. The training is very important for the following reasons; first it provides motivation to tackle the week ahead and to get over the negative aspects that we encounter every given week. Second, it provides a different perspective on the business. Although the information provided does not change much from week to week, what does change is the person providing the information. That person may say something a little different that the last person or provide one piece of detail that you have never heard before. Every little bit of information helps you to build your business.

Despite the fact that I truly believe the above, it is still hard to get up on a Saturday morning and spend a few hours away from the home. The weekend is the main time when my family can be together for an extended period. My kids want to play with me and that breaks my heart that I can't because of the business. I also leave the children with my wife after she has had a busy week at work herself. She is not always pleased with the fact that I have to be away from the house for a few hours.

I was very close to not attending the training this past weekend. I could have easily slept in or stayed at home with a coffee and the newspaper. But it is at times such as these that I must dig deep and think about the long-term goal of my business. What would my team say to me if I did not attend. If I do not find the training relevant enough, then what would they say or do. Remember, your team will emulate what you do. We have to set an example and do what has to be done not only for our own benefit but for the benefit of your team.

So I got myself out of bed and eventually made it to the training and felt good after doing so. I did however have to deal with the backlash from my wife when I got home, but I will save those details for another story.