My wife came home and told me a joke about a man who died and met a man at the Pearly Gates who asked him-
Do you want to go to heaven or hell??
This was an interested question, so the dead man asked -"Well what is it like at each place?"
The man was taken to heaven, and it was glorious place-it was neat, clean, and everyone was floating around wearing white.
The man loved it, but was intriqued about hell, so he asked to see hell.
As they went down for their tour of hell he noticed it was just like earth. There were lakes for fishing, and plenty of stores, etc. Everyone was laughing, joking, and having a great time. The man asked the dead man-"you like to drink?"
"Oh yeah" he replied...."Well that is great, we can drink all we want for free here"..
The man continued to say that they had a lot of fun in hell, and that they were free to do whatever they wanted...it was one big party.
After much thought the man chose Hell.
As he was lowered down he noticed a black dangerous place filled with fire pits, and slaves shoveling coal..
The man asked the first worker he saw... "Hey this looks like nothing I signed up for.."
The worker replied ."Oh you must have been to the Opportunity meeting"
This is funny but all to often true in our industry. People get sponsored on hype, and mistruths.
All the while they become discouraged, and quit because it is just not what they signed up for.
So what can we do to make sure they know what they signed up for? And assure your team does not have false expectations-
1. Posting ads like:
No Sales,No inventory, No monthly Quotas
No personal or group sales volume requirements
No Meetings, just call me to get started
Let your team know what it is going to take to make it in this business- the time requirements, money in advertisements, etc.
2. We made 10,00 dollars a month in 6 months of doing this business- Well while there are probably a tiny fraction of folks who do this-what are the percentages?? And the folks that did make it this fast worked the business full time-meaning 6 days a week 18 hour days.....usually folks who are already retired, and have that time to do what it takes to make it that fast.
3. Just make a list of your friends and family, and we will contact them for you- this is a people to people business-not only does this make for weak team members you also lose the connection with the person your talking to. It is better for your new person to contact their prospect, and screw up then to have you (someone they don't know) contact them.
4. Just sponsor 2 and then your done.- While this does get you started in most binary plans . most successful mlmer's know that they need to sponsor over time 75-100 people. -You need to sort through the team in order to find leaders who are going to build the business whether your there or not.. and that is the true meaning of mlm...building something once that will last a lifetime.
5. Retire- Well while it is true that most folks can retire if they put in the time and effort that is required to be successful..what does retire mean??
It means that they can build their home business full time...not to say that you will have more time to do things you enjoy- your leadership will still be needed for your business to remain profitable.
You will be a leader in your group who has made it, and just your story can spark a dream in others, so while you will not be working a job 9-5...the dream will still be in you to want to continue to help others on the team. If you think that you will quit forever when you start making 10,000 a month- " I don't think you have what it takes to make 10,000 a month". It has to be in your heart..
So if we told the truth to every new associate we would create a team of great distributors who would not quit when if in 6 weeks they don't make 1,000$, or when they contact 100 people and no one signs up. People wanna hear what it is gonna take... people want leadership. The truth.
False expectations can literally ruin would be great distibutors and destroy the credibility of the entire mlm industry. Be honest and professional when you present your business, and help put an end to the exaggerations that could pose a significant threat to the health and longevity of our industry..
Shane Clevenger has over 10 years experience in Network Marketing, and has a current mission of removing the stigma of mlm in our society. He can be reached at http://www.shaneclevenger.com