The Missing Marketing System: The #2 Reason Why Most MLM'ers Fail Miserably?
Marketing System...it's something you will NOT find in MLM in Singapore or MLM in Malaysia. In fact, most MLM Network Marketing organizations in Asia do not have a System To Do Marketing! Shocking? Yes, but that is the truth. I have shared in
Fact 2 of the 7 Hard Facts of InterNETwork Marketing
, that the Business Profit Equation for Network Marketing consists of 3 parts:
1) Marketing System, 2) Training System and 3) Compensation Plan
Most network marketing organizations have a training system but not a marketing system. Today, we are going to talk more about this #2 Reason Why Most MLM'ers Fail Miserably (in case you are wondering, the #1 reason is NOT Taking Action). What I am about to share with you took me 5 years to figure it out. I spent many years building my network marketing business the traditional way of approaching friends and relatives. I worked very hard and soon I ran into a brick wall when I ran out of name lists to call. My business slowed down to a crawl without fresh prospects to talk to. My business stagnated and was going nowhere. When I talked to my upline about my challenges, he told me to work on my belief system, have a long-term thinking and to persist in the business.
Persistence Does Not Equal Results
But as I "persisted" in the business, I was STILL going nowhere and I noticed my downlines were having the same problems too! I saw many network marketers struggling with generating new leads and many of them giving up after they ran out of people to talk to (because they didn't feel good about roaming the malls and stalking on public transports to cold-call....). That was when I realized there was something fundamentally wrong with the way network marketing was conducted.
All Businesses Need a Marketing System
Without an effective marketing system, the odds of succeeding in any business would be extremely low. There need to be some sort of marketing system to bring a continuous flow of qualified prospects into your business. Without it, it would take a hardcore prospecting animal to generate the kind of numbers needed for success. It suddenly dawned upon me that all businesses need a marketing system, including network marketing.
For example, a retail business has a shop as its primary marketing system. Who are the people who would walk into the shop? Obviously people who are interested in the shop's products. The sales person in the shop doesn't need to waste time talking to people who DIDN'T walk into the shop, he/she only needs to talk to those who DID. And being qualified prospects, these people who entered the shop are more likely to buy than people who just walked by.
Another example would be advertisements. Who are the people who would call the hotline number in the advertisements? Obviously people who are interested in the advertised products right? And these people who called are more likely to buy than people who did not call.
Self-Sabo Teachings That Kill Network Marketers
While we can see clearly how a marketing system works in a traditional business, network marketers are blinded by numerous flawed teachings in their MLM system trainings.
Some of these Self-Sabotaging Teachings are:-
1) Just need to share with friends and relatives in your Name List There is nothing wrong with sharing good opportunities and good products with your warm circle of friends and relatives. But if your business depends SOLELY on them, you are condemned to fail. Can you imagine if you opened a Fried Kway Teow stall and you depend only on your friends and relatives to support your business? Even the Fried Kway Teow uncle has a stall as a marketing system to attract interested prospects to him!
In my 7 years as a full-time network marketer, I did not have a SINGLE friend or relative who joined me in the business. Some did become my customers but NONE joined me to do the business. All of my business builders are strangers that I have cold-called.
2) Just ask for referrals The problem with this is that, if the person joined you in your network marketing business, his referrals would become his downlines. So you can only ask for referrals from people who did not join you in the business. With the negativity that is so prevalent in this industry, what are the odds of someone who did not join you referring his friends to you? He would be worrying about you harassing his friends about your MLM!
3) Don't mention 3 things: Company, Products and Plan When I just joined my network marketing business, my upline taught me not to mention the company name, products and plan when inviting my prospects. His reason for this was that most people have a incorrect impression of network marketing, and that they may not really understand how this business can help them. So in order for invite them out for a presentation that will show them the complete picture, I should avoid mentioning these 3 things. While this sounds logical, it is in total contradiction to point 2 above!
I was careful not to let my friends and relatives whom I have yet to invite, know that I'm doing MLM. But how are the referrals going to happen if none of them knows what I'm doing?! That is why in all my 7 years, I didn't have a SINGLE referral from my friends and relatives!
The Blind Leading The Blind
The above ridiculous teachings are the norm in any MLM organization trainings in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and the rest of Asia. To ensure 100% duplication, these self-sabotaging teachings are passed from uplines (who are mostly employees with no ideas about marketing) to downlines (who are again, mostly employees knowing nuts about marketing). This is the very reason why ordinary people find it so difficult to succeed in network marketing.
Because these are all just methods about How to Approach People and not How to Attract People! And that brings me to the question "Are You Doing Network Selling or Network Marketing?".....
Next I will share with you How to Attract Prospects to You Instead Of You Chasing Them Down!
Move on to Fact 4 of the 7 Hard Facts of InterNETwork Marketing.
Committed to Your Freedom,
Willy Lim, "Bridging InterNET to NETwork Marketing"
