Success: Who doesn’t want it? Three rules of the road…
For this post, let’s say success is defined by income (you choose the number) and recognition. Here are three rules of the road.
1. Right attitude. Self-help movement leaders, mlm recruiters and Internet marketing gurus all tell us this is a key requirement.
Mindset. Attitude. Optimism. See the glass half full (v half empty). “Winners never quit and winners never quit.”
No doubt about that. We gotta adopt the ‘fail your way to success’ mindset. Next –
2. You must develop a finely-honed skill set. Whether it’s product sales or recruiting others, you must be not only GOOD at what you do, but remarkable. Else you won’t be noticed at all, much less have someone buy from you or join you.
3. Just do it. Even though you know you’re not very good yet. Doing it and adjusting it over and over and over is required. You can’t just think about doing it. Or talk about doing it. You have to effen DO it: reach out online, offline, however.
With those three firmly in place, it’s just a matter of time before you make it big. Right?
Wrong.
Unless you’re a follower (and practitioner) of the Gita (next), and you’re doing your thing primarily because you seek success, 1-3 are not enough. Not for big success. As academics like to say, 1-3 are “necessary but not sufficient.”
Because. You. Need. The. Cooperation. Of. Others.
No matter how optimistic, skilled and consistent you, your business or you products are (consider Apple), everyone will not buy. In fact, almost no one will, relatively speaking. What, one in 25 for your product (after the relatives)?
One in 375 for your business (that actually DOES anything)? And those are high numbers in direct selling. Usually, we’re looking at 1/10th of one percent “conversions” (buyers or joiners).
So am I seeing a glass half empty?
I hope not.
I tell you this for one reason: so that you STAY with it if you love it. My sticking advice:
1. Master 1-3. It’s a daily heart churn..
2. Do not plan your success around anything that requires the one thing you cannot control: the cooperation of others. Others have to buy your product or your story, don’t they? We all know that’s the bummer.
It may not be because you did a bad job. It’s that others have their own agendas. They’re not planning their day – much less their purchases and careers – around you.
3. After you’ve got 1 and 2 down, learn to FIND YOUR AUDIENCE p. 212-218). Find FIRST those who already share the values represented by your product or business.That will reduce by far, the Nos from all the wrong ones. Thus making the process less painful and more survivable.
Make sense?
P.S. And anyway, says Woody Allen, “If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”
P.P.S. Orange eBook hunt. I have put three links to a house copy of the Orange eBook on the Banana Marketing site. (NOT on the home page.) If you find one and click on it, you’ll get the download link to the eBook, If My Product’s So Great, How Come I Can’t Sell It?
Give it time to download, ok? Links disappear within 24 hours.
Hi Kim,
"Because you need the cooperation of others."
Would anyone disagree that in order to earn the big money in NM that you need to leverage a team. The heavy hitters have an unseen advantage, the inner confidence of a large cashflow. But how did they get there? I beleive that they talked to many, many, many people and sold the dream. Yes they got better as they progressed.
The cooperation to me is a bi-product of the confidence and belief the new team member has in their sponsor and company.If that goes away before the income starts to stream, the cooperation will leave the game too.
It's been said and I do believe that 3 to 5 aces will set your world in orbit. It has also been said and I believe it that you may have to talk to the whole world to find your 3 to 5 aces. Think?
Wishing You Plenty To Live,
Tom Doiron
Atlanta
http://www.PlentyToLive.com
Hey Tom,
Where did the heavy hitters confidence come from before the big cashflow? Why did they stick with it and get better at it while others simply quit?
Trish
http://www.thehomebusinessroadmap.com
I'm a grad student studying Sports Psychology and your article fits perfectly with the psychological skills that elite athletes use. It really helps to use self-talk, goal-setting, and mental rehearsal to achieve peak performance. But it is not enough to do all of that without the actual training and sweat. All those things are controllable by the performer.
The stickler is when an athlete spends energy worrying about things they can't control – weather, other competitors, the crowd – and it throws them out of their "zone" often with disappointing results.
For marketing, I agree with you, Kim. Do your preparation, become excellent, be where you need to be, spend your time with the people who "get it," and let the results take care of themselves.
Hi Trish,
Good question. They came from the factory that way or they had great parents that built that confidence into them. They are the 1 in 345 Kim mentions. They bought into the dream and spoke it to many people. The early arrival of checks inspired them to keep reaching forward and bolstered their confidence. They are the poster children for all the companies out there that teach their distributors to say "If I can do this, then anybody can!"
Trish, they are out there and some are already working in our industry.Some spent many "dues" in many companies before they got to "heavy hitter" status. Very few were instant successes. Kim was, but she had already developed great sales and people skills and besides she is K2, aka Ms Stud.
i guess i dont fully understand your article the first 3 points makes sense and i understand that you have to find you audience .. My question is do you have to develop a straight,narrow and almost an obsession type of focus to achieve this ?