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Friends are not a demographic.

12 years ago
6 Comments
by Kim Klaver
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We call ourselves, “Network Marketers” or “Multi-Level Marketers.” The profession is network marketing, or multilevel marketing.

There’s one part of ‘marketing’ that has been forgotten by
the trainers in the industry:

The first element of a marketing strategy is
“a well-defined target market.” See here.

A target market is defined as people with certain values and
preferences that they spend time and money on.  From wannabe
tennis pros who spend their last cent on the pro racquet (whether
they play well or not) to those who will forage for real foods
because they value unprocessed real foods over food-like
substances in the crinkly packages.

Successful people focus their marketing efforts on certain
well-defined groups. People who want the cheapest
(Wal-Mart) or people who want a one-time high-end
special item (Tiffany), or people who want super-duper
cool gadgets (Apple) are examples.

Unfortunately for NM, there is no demographic or market called
‘everyone.’ And ‘friends and relatives’ are neither a market nor
a demographic.

Worse, asking friends for money is a very difficult thing. Friends are not
used to paying for your recommendations.

Pitching your product or business is not at all “like recommending
a restaurant to a friend.” Do you finish your movie recommendation
by asking for money?

But, with no business experience,  and no reason not to trust those
in front of the room, newbies take the bait.

Telling newbies that it’s like recommending a movie borders on evil.

Shall we be bold and truthful? Do we dare define
the people our products, services or programs
are for? And more important, who the business is for?

That would mean we actually teach folks how to market.  Gasp.

Or do we just keep pretending ‘everyone’ is a market? And blame
the reps for being lazy?

PS. One gent asked, shouldn’t friends want to do things together?  Answer: well starting
one’s own business is a big fat decision. So if no friends want that, consider joining an
entrepreneur club.  You’ll make friends with entrepreneurs. 🙂

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Kim Klaver

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6 Comments

  • Well said. the answer to this maybe starring me in the face, besides the product line how as a new be how do I define my true market?

    Reply

    • Robert,
      One way to begin to describing the kind of person (in your market) you are looking
      for is to ask this question:

      What does it take to build a great and successful network marketing business?

      Here are two characteristics of the right kind of person to be seeking out for
      your business.

      1. We are called “marketers.” So “marketing” and sales are two basic
      skills one must master to succeed in NM. And to become great at it,
      a person has to love it. Be consumed and defined by it. Feel driven
      to totally be the best at it. That’s why someone who tells you
      they don’t want to sell is a lousy prospect to build a successful business.

      So first, ask for someone who loves sales and marketing. That’s what
      we do. It’s in our profession name. Network Marketers.

      2. You need an entrepreneurial mindset. Because. There is
      NO GUARANTEED INCOME.

      No matter how many people you talk to, no income is guaranteed.
      You’re not paid by the hour or by how many people you talk to.
      You get paid ONLY (that’s if you qualify with your company) when you bring
      in an order to the company.

      So this ‘no guaranteed income’ thing means you must seek out someone
      who is willing to put in time, money and resources BEFORE they see
      any income. The right person keeps right on asking for people who
      love sales and marketing until they find a right one. By asking for them.

      Once such a person likes what’s being sold (product or service) and how you’re expanding,
      you can ask,

      “Do you know anyone who loves sales and marketing like I do, who
      might like to know about a business like that?”

      OR

      “Do you know anyone who wants to build a business empire, like I do, who
      might like to know about a business like that?”

      Does that help?

      Reply

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