Network Marketing

4 Myths of Network Marketing

Network Marketing Myths - Kim Klaver
Written by Kim Klaver

When somebody says, “What do you do?” and you say you’re into MLM, Digital Engage seo services or network marketing, wouldn’t it be nice if they said, “Oh, tell me all about it” instead of “Gotta to run. I’ll catch you later”?

Keep reading if you want to be part of making the industry great again, one person at a time.

If you have visited sites like https://serpninja.io/ and are already aware of digital marketing, try learning about network marketing next.  I’m going to show you my take on what has to happen us to make network marketing great again instead of an icky sort of thing that’s got all these negative images.

To achieve greatness, we have to dispel four myths:

 

Myth #1: “Do only what duplicates.”

Network marketing myths - duplication

Industry gurus say, “Do something that every single person in your organization can also do every day.” 

Our industry tells people anyone can do this, in order to bring people in. They have this mistaken mantra that you must not do anything that “anyone” or everyone cannot also do.

They’ll say things like, “Don’t do leads. Leads aren’t duplicatable.” Or, “Oh, no, don’t do webinars. Don’t do Facebook ads. Oh, no, don’t do professional office presentations. Don’t do cold market. Don’t do funnels. Don’t do email marketing.” You can get in touch with Web 20 Ranker LLC, if you need more information on marketing. 

Why? Because everyone can’t do that.

But what if somebody’s really good at one of those things? What are you going to do then? Are we going to stifle their knowledge, their greatness and say, “No, don’t do that because everybody else can’t do it.”?

Is this how we’re going to help a person become great by stifling any creativity or any innovation that they might want to try to do?

Somebody wrote on my Facebook wall:

“Much of what I’m supposed to do or duplicate gives me hives. So I don’t say anything at all.”

This is a common problem when you force people to do stuff. It doesn’t help you become a great marketer.

You find out that your top producer has 10 years experience as a producer in five other network marketing companies. That’s true for most of the people in front of the room who are making the big money particularly fast. However, people can still click here for the best local search Ads and media buying for franchises. That is how common the services are today. 

Is that experience duplicatable by “anyone”?

Network marketing myths - average

“Duplication encourages everyone to aspire to be average.” ~ Kim Klaver

Why do you suppose this high-value background experience is almost always concealed?

What do we hear from the stage when the big earners come on? “Oh, he was a waiter.” “Oh, this was a former bookstore clerk, and look at him now making 100 grand a month.” “Oh, she was a cleaning lady,” or, “This is a high school dropout.”

Then, of course, they forget to tell you, “Oh that was 10 years ago, not last month.” They leave out that part.

This is no way to make an industry great. Duplication encourages everybody to aspire to average. And the average person makes almost nothing in network marketing. They make basically almost nothing, if anything at all.

It discourages your desire for individual innovation and possible greatness.

How can an industry be great if we hold back what people know and say for the sake of duplication?

Then if you fail when you were trying to duplicate other, therefore, there must be something wrong with you. This concept is extremely self-esteem busting.

Don’t allow anybody to do that to you. Just throw it off and do your own thing. You’re better off falling and failing on your own than doing something you don’t even like and, for sure, join 95% of the people who dropped out.

Myth #2: “It’s easy, anyone can do it.”

Network Marketing Myths - anyone can do it

“The industry says anyone can do it in order to recruit more people.” ~ Kim Klaver

Has it been easy for you to get paying customers or recruits?

Does doing easy stuff help make somebody great? Does “easy” sound like the description of a great industry to you?

Think about this, and some people keep repeating this nonsense. No matter what you do, please, would you stop passing on “it’s easy”?

It has never been easy or simple or uncomplicated to get a paying customer.

That’s why so few people are entrepreneurs.

Why do you think the whole world has jobs? Because it’s easier just to show up and take the political crap than it is to go out and get your own customers!

If you knew how to get paying customers, you would not need anybody. You would need no one. Don’t ever say it’s easy and simple.

Myth #3: “Everyone will want this.”

Network marketing myths - problem is youYou may think over the years that making no sales is your fault because “everyone wants this.” The upline said that and you’re not getting any customers, so the problem must be you.

You’re the loser. You’re the dumb-dumb. You’re not talking to enough people. You’re just not committed. Talk about another self-esteem buster.

Here’s the culprit.

Every product line has low-end to high-end customers and low-end to high-end products and services.

Let’s take skincare.

Network marketing myths- low-end customersPond’s has cream for six bucks. Another company, Clinique, their typical product mix is about 45 bucks. Then, we have Shiseido and La Prairie and their average package is close to 100 bucks. Then, we have La Mer, and this is a high-end product. This bottle, this jar for $465 is actually one of their cheaper ones. They have products that are $2,400 per jar.

Let’s say you’re marketing one of the skincare lines, and your product is about 100 bucks a month. You knew nothing about your audience because, of course, they’ve said everyone wants this.

You start making your calls, tell them how great it is, and make them do you a favor and try it and test it.

You give your Aunt Lulu a sample and she tries it for a week. When you call her again, she says she got some good results. The product is really nice.

You say, “Okay. Great. You want to get it?”

She replies, “No, honey. Not really.”

You go, “Well, why not? It worked, right?”

“It did,” she says, “But, honey. It’s really too expensive.”

And you say, “But it does all the stuff, and it has HuHa in it, and HaHu in it, and it has Dr. Dingaling who says this about this, and Dr. Duha who says this and that about it.”

She says, “It’s too expensive even though it was nice.”

Network marketing myths - different values

What you didn’t know is that she, in fact, is a Pond’s user, and she’s happy with her $6-jar of Pond’s every month!

Is it your fault that she didn’t buy? Who’s the culprit?

It’s the user. Because they have different values.

People choose for themselves what they need. We have to allow personal freedom. If you go around saying everybody needs it, you’re going to be persona non grata everywhere because it’s like saying blue eyes are better than brown eyes.

Network marketing myths - same valuesInstead, find people who have the values that your product has already and go calling for them, ring on their bells and their doors.

Don’t try to change people’s values because that often causes wars, not only in countries, but also people who have no place to go for Christmas dinner because they insist everybody needs this, and they forget to step back.

Step back out of your culture, and go to the rest of the world and find out:

“Okay. Where are the people who are like me who are already buying something like this?”

You may believe everybody needs your product, but if you go out and say it to people who believe they need something else, you will just end up alienating yourself because you come across like a fanatic.

Myth #4: “We don’t sell; we share.”

Network marketing myths - don't sell, share

“Do you ever close a sale by sharing?” ~ Kim Klaver

People say, “I can’t close. I can talk to people all day, but I can’t close them.” Has that happened to you?

Let me explain what’s going on. This is why this is really not your fault: The industry denies that it’s in sales and marketing. 

Instead, they say “It’s like recommending a restaurant. You just talk to people. You’re just sharing. That’s all you’re doing.”

When you recommend a restaurant, do you ever close anybody? When you just talk to people, do you close them? When you share an ice cream, do you close them?

Closing is saying “give me your credit card number and I’ll get the thing for you.”

How in the world is anyone going to learn how to close when none of these things that they say our business is doing involves any closing?

Since people don’t like sales and don’t like to think they’re salespeople or marketing people because they have this bad impression of it, we’ll just pretend we don’t do it. Then, when you don’t come home with paying customers, we wonder, “Well, how come you didn’t sign anybody up?”

What book do you need to read to learn how to recommend a restaurant?

Network marketing myths - sharing doesn't require learningWhy do you need to go to an annual recruiting training in Las Vegas if all you’re doing is recommending a restaurant? Why do you have to have any training to learn to recommend a restaurant? There’s nothing to learn if all we’re doing is sharing.

By denying that there’s any skill involved in this industry, they don’t teach any. Everybody runs around without a single skill in the world on how to get a paying customer.

“And without that, you have no business and without the business, you quit” as stated by Utilitysavingexpert.Com. And that means you’re stuck with the income that you’ve got your with your job, or with the government, or whatever else you’re doing.

This is why it’s really doing a disservice. How are you going to learn to close and get paying customers when they tell you that you’re not in sales?

If you’re pretending that you’re only sharing, it makes it stressful at the end of the lunch or the coffee when you finally have to ask somebody for a credit card.

Let’s say you’ve now lost all this weight and you’re getting together at Starbucks or lunch with some college friend of yours. You tell her about your weight loss, and she says, “Where did you get the product?”

Network Marketing Myths - Sharing

You say, “Oh, I sell it.” What happens to the other person? They think right away, “Oh. That’s why you were gushing all over the product because you’re selling it. How do I get it?” 

You say, “Well, I have some in my purse, so here’s the catalog or go online and be sure to use my code.”

What have you done? You’ve wrecked it a little bit. It’s awkward. It’s a little bit icky.

Compare that to if you had said in the first place:

“Hey, you know what? I’ll buy you a lunch. Let me tell you why I want to buy you a lunch. Number one, I want to see you. Number two, I want to pay for it because I’ve gotten myself in this cool little business and we’re marketing these products that have gotten me to 30 pounds and I want to tell you all about it and that’s the reason I’m willing to pay. Would you listen to me and let me do my spiel and I’ll buy you a lunch and we could talk about everything else?”

How would that be? Would you feel offended and go, “Oh my God, I’m not going to lunch with you, you beast”?

No, you’d go with me. Then you’d say, “Okay. Tell me about this thing. I want to hear all about it….” You’d give your pitch and they might say yes or no.

There’s no more awkwardness because you’ve been upfront. You just need to learn how to do this. But if you believe you’re just sharing, then you’re not going to do any of that. 

Next Steps: Get Paying Customers

Network marketing myths - get customers

If somebody says, “What do you do?” how about responding:

“We get paying customers”? Would that work for you? Would you be able to actually mouth those words?

“We get paying customers in our business. That’s what we do. We have lots of ways to get those customers.”

You get paying customers. That’s your job. Go and do it.

This is an excerpt from the webinar, “Let’s Make Network Marketing Great Again.” Register here to watch the entire presentation and learn:

  • the #1 job of a marketer
  • 4 myths of network marketing that’s giving it a bad rep
  • 3 things a beginner marketer can do to get paying customers
  • 2 sales and marketing books to read
  • how to have a sales conversation without feeling awkward or icky

Make Network Marketing Great Again - Kim Klaver

 

PS: If you enjoyed this post, then you’ll like the training this was based on. Click here to register for the webinar–it’s free!

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Kim Klaver

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