Network marketing has a bad reputation in some circles. It's been called a
pyramid, illegal, a scam, a ripoff - and these are some of the nicer things said
about it. And because if this reputation, it can be difficult to present your
opportunity to others. You might be embarrassed or afraid because you think you
know what your prospect is going to say. And indeed, they might reject you,
laugh at you, and ask you questions you'd rather not deal with. How do you
overcome this. I have only one suggestion - Always Tell The Truth!
There
are pyramids and scams aplenty out there masquerading as legitimate business
opportunities. And there are dishonest people who are so focused on making a
fast dollar that they lie about the business they are in just to sponsor one
more person. These are the things that have given network marketing it's bad
name. The only way we will overcome it is if all true network marketers promote
their businesses with integrity.
What can we do? First, always answer
questions honestly. "How much are you making?" Don't lie and say you're making a
fortune if you aren't. Tell the truth. If you aren't making any money yet and
don't want to admit it, then turn the question back with a simple response that
I was taught to use. "It doesn't matter what I'm making. What matters is how
much you want to make."
"How much does it cost?" Again, tell the truth.
I joined a company a few years ago when my sponsor told me it was completely
free to join. What he neglected to tell me was that in order to get paid by the
company I had to have a certain number of points which I would receive by
ordering the product. The cost of the product was $145 and I was supposed to
order every month. So in reality, it isn't free to join this business. It's $145
per month. Does that mean it's a bad company? Not at all. But I sure felt
cheated for a while. I always tell my prospects that exactly what it costs to join and exactly what they have to do to make any money.
"How long have you been doing this?" Don't lie! If you've been
doing it for years say so, even if you aren't making money. You can always
explain that. When my husband and I first started network marketing, we signed up, paid our
fee - and then did absolutely nothing for almost two months. Therefore we made
absolutely no money. Then I quit my job to take care of my father and we decided we had better get serious
about this. So I told my prospects, when they asked, the truth. I've been doing
it for almost three months. If they didn't say anything, then I didn't say
anything more. If they did ask what I was making, I used the response given in
the example above. And if they knew I wasn't making much yet and wanted to know
why I told them the truth. I hadn't been working my business. Sometimes they
believed me and sometimes they didn't.
"Isn't everyone doing this
already?" Be honest. When I signed up to sell Amway (yes I admit it!), it seemed
like there was an Amway rep on every corner. It was sort of discouraging. Same
with
Melaleuca and
Mary Kay. And it wouldn't have been a problem except that I had been assured by
my sponsor that the area was still wide open. So if someone asks me this
question,
I tell them the company has been around for quite a while. The Arkansas team is huge.
You don't have to market and recruit locally. I have teams in Dallas, Florida,
Las Vegas, Canada,
and Missouri and who knows where else. I have customers all over the country. So now my prospects know
that they can do the same.
"How long will it take to make any money?" and
"How much time will it take?" These two go hand in hand. If I hear one more
person tell me I can be making thousands in a few months with no effort, I think
I'll scream. Can you make thousands in a few months? Yes. Will most people do
so? No. Will they do it without any effort? Absolutely not. It's a business. Not
all businesses are created equal. However all businesses take effort. In my town
there is a small bookstore and coffee shop run by a friend of mine. On the other
side of town there is a Barnes and Noble with a Starbucks. Two "identical"
businesses. Does my friend make as much money as B&N? Of course not! Does
that mean all bookstores are scams? Do both stores have to work to make their
money? Let's see - someone has to order the books, put them on the shelves,
interact with the customers, advertise the business, do the bookkeeping, keep
the store clean - and probably many more things I'm not even aware of. Sounds
like work to me! The same is true with network marketing. I don't know how long
it will take you to make any money. I'm not you. But I can promise you, you will
have to work. Because if you don't I can make you one more promise - you won't
make a dime no matter how long you wait.
These are just some of the
questions that can easily lead to misrepresentations and lies. If you have to
lie to bring a prospect onto your team, you probably don't want them anyway
because they aren't going to help you grow. They don't get it now or you
wouldn't have to lie and they certainly won't get it later on because they
bought into something that didn't exist. What they will do is go out and tell
everyone they come into contact with that your business is a pyramid, illegal, a
scam, and a ripoff.