What Makes You a Professional, Part 2
Some great comments on the first post about what makes you a network marketing professional. Thanks for participating. Here’s what I think is the second distinction…
How about doing the business in a professional way?
Sounds simple enough, but how many thousands of people do we have doing things in an unprofessional way? Some things that jump off the top of my head…
Do you dress professional? Not just when you go to team events. How do you look when prospects see you for the first time in your day-to-day life?
Do you always carry marketing materials in your purse, briefcase, or car for when you run across someone sharp? Are you on the lookout for good candidates, or do you completely forget about the business as you do other things?
What do your events look like? Are they conducted in good properties or are you doing them in substandard facilities to cut costs? Are the presentations professional or amateur?
Are you throwing up all over people and spamming them on the social media sites, or do you engage, provide value and develop relationships?
Are your marketing materials professional, or are you one of the people knocking off copyrighted property and giving out cheap looking copies? This shows a lack of integrity, which may be the most unprofessional thing of all.
It’s things like these that separate network marketing professionals from the posers, tourists and amateurs. So how do you stack up? Where can you improve? And what did I miss? Please share your thoughts below. And next post I’ll share another element of professionalism – one that may be the most important!
-RG
P.S. I’m doing a world tour and I can tell you things have never been better for our profession! Had great events in Sydney, Jakarta, Medan and Kuala Lumpur. Now I’m in Singapore and head to Korea next.
Okay, sometimes I don’t feel like dressing up, when I go buying groceries or so. But most of the time I do really dress up and always smile a bit (never look sad) when I am outside my house. Pick up the phone properly (in a professional way). Always looking out for people who can become prospects. Listening to stories people tell me and being aware I can maybe help them.
Whether you are meeting someone in person, phone or skype always have a smile on your face. Yes, people can see you smile over the phone. Have purpose with everything you do. You don’t have to dress in an Armani suit to go the grocery store, but show your success by what you wear, how you carry yourself and by what you say. Be respectful to everyone you meet, regardless of their position. That dishwasher in the restaurant could be the next Randy Gage and aspire to be you. Have a legitimate and sincere desire to help people. You do that by taking the time to ask them about themselves and then you listen and care about what they say. Being professional, while having fun is the key. Attract not Attack.
I always looked polished and confident when I’m out & about (even at the grocery store). I don’t dress ‘grungily’ when I’m out, but I can look stylish and quite exuberant, in a good pair of jeans and a great top. If I’d look too ‘professional’ when I’m out, I’d be less approachable, and folks would think they’d have to ‘dress up’ to be in business; would not contribute to me being a recruiting magnet.
I always carry business cards & a tool(s) with me; you always have to be ready when you meet folks who ask ‘what do you do?’. I think it’s a matter of being prepared and looking polished and neat – ‘professional’ in network marketing is a whole lot different (and miles better) than having to do the suit/tie or skirt/pantyhose routine.
Gina Koinski
Ok, so I’m an actor, author, AND an NWM. Now as an Actor, we dress grungy sometimes, b/c well, that’s how we do it. Authors are professional when they’re in robes and slippers. I guess NWM have to be in “motivationsl” attire?
As I said before, I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and yesterday, I was at the Big Apple Comic-Con here in NYC, and a few people recognized me as the author of “Captain Kirk’s Guide To Women”. They told me how funny and Star-Trek specific the book was, and how they enjoyed the tons of “in-jokes”. How was I dressed?
As a StarFleet officer!
So, maybe THAT’S how a professional dresses!
I’m learning. Always learning.
Randy,
You may be a bit off on this one, so I beg to differ.
Unfortunately, the notion of the snake-oil salesman makes us all winch, however, we are all too young to know that during their heyday, these same salesmen were usually THE best dressed, smoothest talkers around. As a result, the “normal” working stiff grew to mistrust anyone dressed in suits attempting to sell them anything.
Suits equated to slick, is there any wonder that many of today’s car dealerships went to the polo shirts for their salespeople in an effort to escape that stigma?
Professionalism is an attitude of knowing and believing in your industry and and always being prepared to share it (gently, but with confidence), with anyone who shows an interest in finding out what it is that you do.
Slick presentations, fancy suits, upscale hotel rooms, etc, only give the prospect, (who may not be accustomed to those things), the same feeling that the aforementioned snake-oil salesmen probable gave their “victims”, that of “put up your guard here comes trouble”.
People will recognize a leader no matter what they wear or carry in an expensive briefcase. A firm commitment and unflappable integrity are very difficult to cover up.
On the flip-side, the same goes for trying to cover up the lack of these qualities with suits and slick marketing. At least, that has been my experience over the last decade or so.
Dress to placate, not intimidate.
Mike.
Do I smell a hint of lack programming there? “Money is bad, rich men are evil and wearing suits is for only dishonest snake-oil salesmen”
The person INSIDE the suit makes all the difference. A nice suit, like money, magnifies what you already are. And that personality can very well be one of honesty, integrity and good will.
Question for you Mike: what do you think is the appropriate attire and venue for a network marketing opportunity meeting? If it’s not a suit and a nice hotel meeting room, then what?
Actually Mike, I think you are very correct about this… I’ve had a ton of people tell me that they had to “try to overlook” the suits. Modern business is less and less about slick, and you may be absolutely right.
The guy who disagrees with you has a point too, but hey- we’ve DONE that already, haven’t we?
Maybe we can let everyone be who they want to be, dress how they want to dress, and that way prospects can feel ACCEPTED, probably the most “attractive” feeling there is.
Bones, why do people put on their very best clothes for a job interview, but show up for a network marketing opportunity meeting in shorts, flip-flops, a tank top and a baseball cap?
I mean, where do you draw the line?
If you ask me, the way people dress tells how serious they take their business.
P.S. Did you know that on casual Friday, productivity is way down compared to normal working days, where all employees wear formal?
Is that because it’s Friday or because they dress casually? Love to see the stats to back it up either way.
HI Steve, I can’t remember which magazine published the article. But they compared casual Fridays to ‘normal’ Fridays within the same company. And the ‘normal’ Fridays always did better in terms of sales, productivity, etc.
Hi Robert,
I beleive you and the article are correct… That feeling more put together and professional brings better results. So, we are back to the bigger social experiment question, does wearing a suit make you professional, or just a tie, maybe a jacket… or does it send the message of being slick? I think everyone can agree, that wearing shorts or tanktops is too casual, and walking around everyday in a 3 piece suit with cuff links and an ascot is a bit over the top.
So where is the center line?
Clothing consultants teach people how to dress and they know that certain styles of clothing have an effect on others. if they did not, woman would not be wearing the low cut red dress, and men who want to impress would not be heading off for the interview in a black suit. People choose their style of clothing for a reason, and people judge others by their clothing styles.
I could certainly go through my wardrobe and weed out my relaxed (read that as comatose) clothing especially as I am working full time on my business. When I headed out the door to go to work I was better dressed, and as I did my shopping on the way home, I was reasonably presentable. Some promoters for working at home, tell people that they can work at home in their pyjamas. I disagree with this, even for phone work as I find being dressed affects my attitude on the phone.
Mike, thanks for your imput. I’m a 62yrs. young guy who is retired and ready for a new, rewarding life in NM. Would you recommend that one-on-one iterviews (or three with your upline) would be more effective that the standard “business opportunity” meetings in hotels? It seems the more direct and straightforward we are with people we approach, the more receptive they are. Your feeling and/or experiences with this?
To our success.
Dick
Hi Dick,
Appreciate the question.
Seems as if my intro of the suit wearing slant caused a bit of a stir. I’ll go into more detail. I don’t hate suits, I have several very nice ones, but I must admit that I haven’t worn most of them in a while. That doesn’t mean I don’t go to hotel meetings etc. I wear a shirt and tie and slacks and I tell my prospects to do the same. I ask female prospects to dress as if it was their first day on a job they wanted to keep. I then explain that this was not so much for the occasion, but more so that THEY didn’t feel out of place at the actual event, however, they are always welcome to wear whatever they felt comfortable in. In other words, we mimic the settings we are in if we can.
I do this because by the time I invite them to the event, I have already shared several pieces of information with them about my business over 3-5 contacts and have a strong feeling that they may be a fit for my business.
If I can’t qualify someone this way, chances are they won’t get an invitation to a bigger event just yet. My days of throwing it all against the wall to see what sticks are long over. My view is now one of, “so many prospects, so little time.”
Three-ways, one-on-one, dvd’s etc I consider them all to be types of contacts before the invitation. As such, I’ve done them wherever and whenever convenient to me and the prospect, irregardless of how either one of us is dressed. Man, at that point, I’m just trying evaluate your suitability to become a future business partner of mine. A very good friend of mine, my upline, does a lot of his one-on-ones on his lunch hour. He’s a transmission mechanic and greasy fingernails never stops him. Chances are he’ll not be a mechanic for much longer unless he wants to be one. Integrity cannot be covered up.
Be adaptable,
Mike
It’s interesting how all the comments focused on dress isn’t it? It’s a big issue for many. Personally I think being smart, clean, friendly and dressing with your own personal style goes a long way.
I could never show up looking casual to a business briefing – too many years of programming both in and out of network marketing and I think that’s probably a good thing.
Prospects don’t take you too seriously if you look like you just rolled off the beach.
Dress is first impression but what comes out of your mouth is also so important. It’s the whole package that is important. Many people dress nicely but talk in a way that can make you wince!
Have a great day guys. Working from home today and wearing my ‘smart’ casuals. 🙂
How to dress? This is a tough one. Dress to your audience,right? But our audience is diverse. You want to feel confident and have a strong posture. So, dress up only enough that you look put together and feel confident. Think architect, with a good sport coat to throw on if needed ..IMHO
if you’re going to be speaking, take it up a notch.
I’ve thought about this more, since my last post…
Randy- if you said to were a suit everyday, I would. You have vastly more experience than I. So why listen to you for everything else, but disregard what isn’t convenient? I wanted you to see where I was coming from.
I live outside DC in the Technology Coridor. The only people that wear suits around here are Politicians, Lawyers, and Realtors/Car Salesman. So the phrase “guilt by association” comes to mind ;). And yes I know there are some honest people in the above professions, but the image is what it is for a reason.
Maybe you can post a few pics from a catalog or something, of what you think is a good wardrobe for our profession. If people wear suits to work, the first question asked is, “do you have court or an interview?” So I’m conflicted to say the least.
Thanks for all you do!
Randy, if you choose to answer Steve’s question about a good business wardrobe, please include your views on a WOMAN’s wardrobe for our business.
And, regarding the “allergic to suits” comments I have read so far, add engineers to that list. Engineers tend to have a view that someone wearing a suit is a “bean counter” and is only interested in cutting funds (and therefore, cutting quality) from the product. I speak from experience as a retired aerospace engineer.
Actually I find all this talk about suits fascinating, because I never said a word about wearing them. All I talked about was looking professional. I don’t wear suits in my day to day life, but I look professional. I do believe men and women should be wearing suits at opportunity meetings and large events like that.
BTW, there are numerous studies that do show dressing down hurts productivity, regardless of the day of the week.
-RG
You might be right but when Apple and Microsoft were in their infancy, the engineers and programers used to sleep in their sleeping back working over 20 hours per day.
In my experience as a multiple six-figure income earner in network marketing, the outer appearance is very important however . . . what REALLY counts is who you are or are willing to become from the inside out.
Keep the great comments coming.
– Warren Little