We all know that many old fashioned methods of talking to people and trying to recruit them don’t work in today’s skeptical market place.
See for example the kind of emails Lulu is still sending to her friends here. Screaming “Enroll in MY deal!” “300 sign-ups in 3 days!” “$10,000/mo PART TIME!!” is still de riguer for most network marketers, especially new recruits.
We know most burn through their friends and are out of the business within 90 days.
Question: Who should take the initiative for retraining reps to talk to people and present the business in ways that are more in tune with the way folks are today? Versus even ten years ago?
Results so far here.
Most definitely the upline. Except in those instances where the new recruit is an experienced networker that has changed companies. The new recruit is vulverable to so many “pukies”. Both inner and outter. He/she needs to be informed as well as taken by the hand and shown how to do this business. Never let them do it on their own. The failure rate is too high when that happens. Then allow them to get their feet wet before diving in.
Kim my first thought was it should be the Company – Upline. Then I realized we are the Upline to the new people joining us.
So, 100% it is up to us to take the initiative to teach a better way for ourselves and ALL people we bring in.
Company’s are not going to change what they don’t see as a problem. I know of one exception to this. My upline – company owners changed everything to help the affiliates, even though they (upline) could work the business with the old model.
I’ve got the initiative…
As I read what I just wrote it seems like it should be both.
Robin
I answered recruits retrain themselves, because the companies are still making money on the old ways, so there is no incentive to change.
It is the individual who tries old-school MLM and crashes and burns who either walks away disgusted, or looks for a better way to build their business. The companies might catch on some day…
Tracy
Tracy Austin
Yahoo! IM: tracyaustin30
Call Me Toll-Free 1-888-617-0014
MLM Work At Home Blog
Kim,
What an interesting question.
Companies should do it, but they won’t, because the old school method works for them. A company with 10,000 reps sells enough product to those reps to maintain profitable volume. And if just 10% recruit only one new rep per month, that’s 1,000 new autoship buyers per month. Never mind that only 50 of them will be there in 90 days. In a year that’s still a net gain of around 600 reps, or 6%.
The larger the rep base, the smaller the incentive to retrain. From the company’s point of view, the system ain’t broke.
I checked recruits on the survey question. They’re the ones who have an incentive for retraining. The trouble is, they think the company and their uplines are giving them the training they need. Recruits burn out, thinking the problem is with them (“I’m just not cut out to be a salesperson”), without ever realizing that businesses are built with customers not recruits.
Peter Drucker said it best: The purpose of a business is to create customers.
Your New School approach is the future of home business because it recognizes Drucker’s dictum and teaches practical, non-manipulative ways to get and keep customers.
The New School approach will spread because it starts with and focuses on the customer’s wants and needs, which is the essence of marketing.
Bryant Sandburg
Lisbon, NY
I think it is definitely up to us, the upline to share a better way to market. We have to be innovators if we want to help people get better results. From there it is up to the recruit to be teachable.
I have to agree with Bryantw. As long as the companies are making their profits and growing, they have no incentive to change. I was one of those who burned out in 90 days, well it took a little longer, and gave up. It took me a long while, and much research to realize it was the system that failed me. I just couldn’t do the things I was told I had to do to be successful. High pressure and fear just isn’t for me.
The problem self perpetuates as new recruits are told “everyone is your prospect” and “anybody can do this” and without any real training these people are nothing more than cannon fodder. Absolutely, the upline is responsible for training on a realistic system that is customer centric and duplicatable.
Hi Kim,
Neither my upline nor my company retrained me. They are still doing the old school stuff.
I came to myself and realized their methods weren’t going to work for me no matter how long I kept at it.
I was about to quit the industry for keepers when I met Ms. Stud.
I retrained myself and I am still working at it. Very few network marketers that I talk to can see clearly enough through the propaganda fog in their heads to recognize the truths we speak of. They just get defensive.
Recently I got to listen to a live conference call with one of my favorite trainers of old. I thought I would enjoy his presentation, but instead it was like he was singing off key the whole call. He is still training the same way he did 12 years ago. I had to struggle to stay with it; hoping he might say at least something I could rally around. Nope. If I were to name him, many on this blog would probably know him and have his stuff.
I can see clearly now,
Tom Doiron
http://www.TomDoiron.com