Articles One of the more popular avenues of achieving “financial freedom” is network marketing. The vision of working hard for a while and then having “residual income” forever “without working” is appealing on many levels. So how does that work in practice? I am not going to bore you with statistics and case studies, although I could share my own undistinguished experiences. I want to take a look at the mechanics from a coaching stand point and offer some strategies that may help you succeed if you choose this business model.

The advantages are many, especially for single parents. Not only are start-up cost usually low, it is a business you can operate from your home. So there is no commute and your children won’t necessarily have to be in daycare or after school care while you work. The hours can often be arranged around other items on your calendar. The money can be good (we’ve all seen the checks) and the residuals keep rolling in.

It sounds pretty simple, and it is. All you have to do is share the “opportunity” with your friends and family (they trust you and like and want to see you succeed, after all). Then you help them do the same with their circle of influence. Pretty quick you have a couple thousand people in your organization and it practically goes on auto-pilot.

So why isn’t everyone doing it and becoming successful? First of all, it can be difficult to share the information with people. We all want to look good and avoid looking bad to other people. No one wants to have people laugh at them or question their intelligence for getting involved in a “scam.” So the voices that tell us how to act tell us to avoid our close circle because we don’t want to lose their respect, especially if this isn’t our initial foray into the world of MLM.

So we refocus our attention on strangers as our market. How do you get enough strangers to attend meetings or listen to audios, etc. in order to build a team? How do you identify live prospects? We are told it is a numbers game. The no’s lead to yes’s. So just keep asking and you will eventually get enough people to be successful. Very soon you may develop an aversion to “no” even if it comes from someone you will never have to speak to again.

After a couple of months or so, the enthusiasm wanes, you stop attending motivational meetings, and pack your materials in a box which you put on the back corner of the top shelf in the garage. You use the typical excuses – I can’t sell, No one wants this product – to justify your lack of success and move on.

So what does it take to succeed in network marketing? I think there are three keys – passion, purpose and planning.

Passion for your products and business

In any business you need to be passionate about what you are doing if you want to succeed. The passion fuels your desire and sustains your efforts. When conditions are difficult – money isn’t flowing, prospects aren’t appearing, energy is low – your passion for what you are doing provides the motivation to continue.

In good times or bad, money alone will not motivate you past the point of “taking care of business.” At some point, the lack of excitement and conviction can’t be overcome by dollars. Fulfillment requires purpose beyond the bottom line.

Purpose

We each have a reason for our existence, a purpose in life. We may or may not recognize it, but it is still there. To live without a sense of our intended contribution to society is not really living. It is simply existing, going through the motions until we cease to exist.

Identifying your purpose can come from examining your natural abilities (strengths), passions and pastimes. What we do without effort is a clue to the tools we have to perform our purpose. Just as a mechanic has the required wrenches, sockets, and screwdrivers to fix automobiles, each of us has a tool chest filled with the instruments we need to serve our purpose.
Trying to use our tools for the wrong purpose is a cause of great anxiety and turmoil. Imagine a surgeon using a pipe wrench and a “drain snake” to remove your gall bladder. Likewise, having the tools of a surgeon and trying to unplug your drains would probably not end well.

Planning

We’ve all heard the old saying, “failure to plan is planning to fail.” In business, and I would say especially network marketing, that planning should include the need for support. There will be peaks and valleys. You need mentoring/coaching through both.

Having a steady, uninterested party, for feedback, accountability, strategizing and support is crucial. It is especially important to include third-party coaching in the mix, someone without a vested interest in your outcomes. An objective perspective can help keep things in personal perspective, rather than just in terms of how it impacts the rest of someone’s organization.

Next steps

If you are looking at a network marketing opportunity, then I say, “Good for you.” It may just be the ticket to financial freedom and personal fulfillment. Be sure to pay attention to your passion, purpose and planning. For many of us there is nothing like the feel of running our own show, writing our own paychecks. Find someone to serve as your third-party, objective mentor/coach.
Then go for it.



For more information visit www.RichardBaum.com.
Author: Richard Baum
Richard Baum is an Examiner from Seattle. You can see Richard's articles on Richard's Home Page.




 


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