More on Why It Doesn’t Work
Ok last post we discussed why things don’t work for people. And I said that I believe 90 times out of one 100, I believe that the person in question really hasn’t been following the true system and doing what they’re supposed to. So what about the other ten percent?
Why isn’t it working for them?
“rushdan” feels that leaders aren’t responding to local conditions in foreign markets. I have heard this a lot from my long distance teams, but haven’t found it to be as big an issue as they believe. They often say things like “people don’t go to meetings here,” or “home meetings won’t work here,” but that simply hasn’t been the truth. They had that perception, and they believed that, so they never gave them a chance. But the people that just went ahead and did them as recommended had success with them.
Mike raises another important point, which is how we view long-term. If you look at it as three years to build a solid income and five to become financially free, that would eliminate a lot of challenges for many people. Because they have done the system for three or five months and then dropped out believing it failed. It didn’t. They quit.
Lucinda raises the issue of not having the money to work the business, attend events or even use the products. That is very real, and the reason we should NEVER encourage people to quit their job when they begin, or come into the business instead of a job. This is a part-time business to start when you already have a job.
So that takes us back to the original question for the rest: Why doesn’t it work? Which is where we’ll pick up next time…
-RG
There have been some very interesting comments. Thanks for responding to my question Randy.
It’s a tricky thing to know whether someone is doing all that you teach them all of the time isn’t it? I see people in other companies hard at it for years (I’m talking 10+ here) and they are taking a lot of action and following their ‘system.’
Let’s face it there are systems and systems. I also agree with Rushdan and Russell about other markets but that is probably because we live in them!
I don’t say it doesn’t work because I wouldn’t be here if it didn’t but the reality is that in some markets people are more receptive to word of mouth marketing and for instance American business tools.
In the UK many people are turned off just by listening to someone American. That is just an example of how using an American system in the UK is very different to using it in America!
Does it still work? Do the Brits still follow all the American stuff? Yes of course they do because it’s the best MLM stuff out there but on the whole people are sceptical and negative about MLM and Americans. (And yes I know people are sceptical everywhere but try pitching some Brits this week and you will see we can take this to a new level!)
I know thousands of people agree with me on this but to be honest I don’t much care whether they do or not because that is what I’ve seen here in 7 years of MLM, and why the UK is not in the top performing countries in any MLM that I know of. The British leaders that make it big here usually have alot of business in other countries so thank god for the internet.
Can it be done? You bet but it doesn’t flow like some markets. How do I know the difference? Because I lived in Israel for 12 years and I see a massive difference in culture and how people are willing to share business with each other. People are in each others homes all the time, whereas in the UK people are very formal.
So what does it mean? Not a whole lot! We have to find our way in each market, use the tools and stick to the system as much as we can and make it work. The guys who can’t hack that quit or grind it out for years.
I think the answer is to follow your leadership system as much as you can but also by using technology available today with the internet, the world is in your pocket so where you live becomes much less of an issue.
Thanks guys for the feedback.
Rachel:
I would assume that you are British. How would you like to be approach? I know in Latin American countries is very rude to invite someone to a party and then switch to a business presentation.
If someone did that to me, It is a complete NO.
Lol I would never do that. I think that doesn’t work anywhere anymore!
For people that don’t have an entrepreneurial spirit it can be difficult to make network marketing work. I always interview potential distributors and learn of their goals, etc that they want to achieve with the opportunity. I tell them from the beginning what they will need to do to get there. There are those that do what they must do to become successful and get there and those that fall off because it’s too much work or the timing isn’t right for them. There are several avenues to work the business so if one doesn’t work you can choose another. This is not a difficult business but it can be made difficult if someone comes into it with the wrong perceptions.
Hi Randy,
Yes I agree one should never quit a job or avoid getting one to join this business. However, I do believe it’s not just about having a job when you start this business, it’s actually about having ‘disposable’ income. Most people have jobs but they are barely making ends meet. They see Network Marketing as a great opportunity so they jump in. Then harsh reality hits. They can’t get anyone to sign up, so in turn they are not making money to pay for their autoships or anything else that was promised by local leadership.
I cannot begin to tell you what a failure I felt like after my ‘Major Blast’ provided no results, then after about of year of conventions, tools and autoships, I ran out of money. To add insult to injury, leadership kept telling me I was just making excuses.
Plus, leadership also says if we don’t come in at the most expensive highest level of membership within that company, they cannot give us the time of day. We are not worthy of their help because we don’t have a large amount of money to work with.
Sorry for venting so much, but this is stuff that needs to be told. If the leaders within the different companies really feel anyone can do this, then they should put their money where their mouths are and step up and help those who are struggling instead of constantly judging them.
Thanks,
Lucinda
Randy:
Maybe, we are missing one of your fundamentals in building the business as you do.
My wife and I started in MLM this past June. We’ve had little or no help from our upline in fact when we started our sponsor discouraged us from following the tried and true methods and we followed because we didn’t know any better. After 3 or 4 months of struggle we went to the first company training and our eyes were opened to just how wrong we were doing things and how wrong our upline sponsor was. So we went to work learning the company’s methods, found ourselves a mentor, read books, ask for help from the best leaders in our company, who by the way were happy to help us even though they had no vested interest to do so. We are now seeing small victories and have many seeds planted. We made the decision to be the ones to pull the cart and not wait on a do nothing sponsor. Beleive in yourself and have your goals set and forget about all the distractions. Have the ant philosophy, find a way to do it or die trying. People fail because that’s what they focus on failure not victory.
After reading all the comments on “Why It Doesn’t Work”, they all confirm what I’ve felt for a long time: Belief is everything. When we believe in two things, ourselves and our business, magical things start to happen. We all SAY we believe in ourselves and our company,products, compensation, but deep down inside, we don’t. When we do we, and most importantly, all our contacts will know. And that is when success will finally become a reality.
Dick