In our life growing up, we were taught a lesson that was very good advice for children. "Don't talk to strangers!" That is great advice and wise counsel for kids in today's world. I even taught my daughter that when she was a toddler. And I will admit, it was a concern of mine with all the meaness and trouble in the world today.

"Don't talk to strangers!" is still good advice for network marketers as well, if you want to remain a baby in the mlm industry. People will tell you that you are not to talk to strangers as they will reject you.

God forbid.

There are many different philosophies in the MLM industry today, and many are good and some are not so good. You need to find what works for you. But the one thing that will not change is the Truth, and all that comes with it.

The Truth is, talking to strangers can be one of the best things you could do for your business. Anyone who tells you different does not understand what it takes to Succeed in this mlm business.

I have always taught one thing about people that you do not know, better known as the Cold market:

Stangers are simply friends that you have not met yet. Period.

The benefits to talking to people you do not know are enormous, unless someone is trying to sell you the latest and greatest tape of the month CD, website, or DVD telling you not to. Nothing wrong with that. There are some great trainers out there. But you have to ask, what are their intentions... to guide you to Success or something else?

What are those benefits?

1) Talking to Strangers Forces You to Grow.

Personal development is everything in life, and network marketing. It is what keeps your check growing, and your Success growing. And it is what guarantees you not being the same person you are this year, next year. Your income will always grow as you do. Yes, talking to people you do not know to sell them something or recruit them may be a little uncomfortable, but don't talk to them for that reason.

Talk to them to see simply get to know them as a friend, as you do not know even if MLM will be for them or not. It may not be! But what have you lost by talking to them? Nothing. And you could gain a new friend that could help you find someone who MLM is for.

Talking to strangers grows you on the inside, and helps build within you better people skills and communication skills in network marketing. It grows your leadership, and also your recruiting skills. And most importantly, it grows you to a new level of confidence and knowing you can Succeed in this business.

2) Talking to Strangers Extends Your Reach.

The single most valuable prospecting reason to talk to people you have never met is that it EXTENDS YOUR REACH in the marketplace.

There are about 270 million people in the US alone, and most people today, if you are 25 years or older, know about 1000 folks.

So what that says to the network marketer, is that there are about 249,999,000 people to go for you to talk to. You reach in the marketplace needs to be extended daily. THAT IS PART OF ANY BUSINESS PLAN. It is part of network marketing. And here is the great news...

Everybody that you do not know, knows a person that could EXPLODE your mlm business! What is wrong with finding them?

3) Talking to Strangers develops new Relationships.

The secret to Successful leadership in network marketing is RELATIONSHIPS. And some of the multi million dollar producers in our group were people we did not know, but did meet, and they went on to become some of my greatest friends and still are today. One "stranger" I met by accident ended up producing 10 million in volume. And it became and still is a great relationship as well as friendship. If I had not been blessed to meet him and talk to him, because I did not know him, my life would have not been enriched like it has been from knowing him.

If you are looking to develop new relationships that will last a lifetime, many folks that you will meet over the course of your career will be those people.

4) Talking to Strangers is a myth in MLM. There are no strangers. It depends on your perspective.

I do not look at people I do not know as "strange." They simply are friends that I have not connected with. Are they interested in the things that I am? Who knows? Many will not be.

But if you truly understand the driving force behind MLM, you will never meet a stranger. Only people who are after something from someone with their own selfish agenda meets strangers. People who are in the life changing business and are what we call "Transformation Specialists,"(TM) are interested in people that they can help, not be concerned that they do know them.

My advice is simply this:

If you want to remain a baby in this MLM business, then don't talk to strangers. SIMPLE AND PLAIN.

But if you desire to grow beyond the average, succeed beyond the average, get paid beyond the average, lead beyond the average, communicate beyond the average, make a difference beyond the average, and have a lifestyle beyond the average, then TALK TO STRANGERS.

It's your call. But speaking from experience, if you don't talk to strangers, you will end up limiting and restricting your Success massively in MLM and Network Marketing.

Blessings...Doug

Doug Firebaugh is one of the top MLM Network Marketing Trainers in the world. Over a million people a month read his training ezine. He spent the last 7 years traveling the world speaking and training on Success. He lives in Birmingham Michigan, and you can receive a FREE subscription to his training ezine- The MLM Success HEAT- at: http://www.passionfire.com/pf_heat_8.html and http://www.passionfire.com