By Kirk Bannerman
While it is true that heavily branded websites like amazon.com
are household names and carry an implied trust with visitors, the
vast majority of websites are not well known and are found and
visited as a result of searches performed with search engines.
In these instances, the visitor is probably arriving at the
website for the first time and human nature often dictates fear
or suspicion of the unknown.
If someone is shopping around for the best price for a particular
item, say a Cuisinart food processor, they would probably go to a
site such as Ask Jeeves (at ask.com using the Smart Search for
Products feature) and quickly obtain a list of sources and prices
for the desired item. The "yes/no" purchase decision has already
been made and it is simply a question of who to buy it from.
In the case of network marketing, it is of critical importance to
build a sense of trust with your team members. Network marketing
is very definitely a relationship business and each relationship
typically starts out with two complete strangers sitting at their
respective keyboards.
The team building aspect of network marketing is of vital
importance to the success of each individual member and to the
team as a whole. Two key elements of team building are trust and
confidence and these factors play a very large role, particularly
for new team members.
As a team leader, you need to be knowledgeable about the business
(products, services, or whatever) and straightforward with
answers to questions about the business as well as providing
timely and thorough support to your team members. These actions
will cement the relationship and build trust and confidence among
your team members.
Network marketing has many aspects, but promotion, persistence,
and patience are three key elements which are critical to
achieving successful results.
PROMOTION is the lifeblood of network marketing. Whether you
are using online methods or offline methods, or a combination of
both, you must constantly strive to get your offering in front of
a targeted audience.
There are thousands of published sources that deal with specific
methods of network marketing (both online and offline), but the
key point to be made here is that you must have an active
promotion campaign designed to bring in a steady stream of new
prospective downline members.
PERSISTENCE is a key element in network marketing success.
You've gotta "just keep on keepin' on", even though frustation
levels can be quite high at times.
After you have been at it a while, and have a downline large
enough to provide reasonably accurate statistics, you will
probably find that about 95% of your downline members are dormant
and do nothing at all. Its easy to get down in the dumps or take
it personally when you encounter so many "do nothing" people.
Therefore, it is really important work with and actively support
the 5% or so that are serious about participating. And clearly,
an active and effective promotion campaign will continue to
bring in increasing numbers of potential participants so that
while 5% is small on a percentage basis, it can still be a
sizeable amount from a pure numbers standpoint.
PATIENCE is vital. You can expect that it will take about a year
before the awsome power of geometric growth kicks in.
A classic illustration of geometric growth is the frequently used
penny-a-day example.
If you save one penny on the first day, and double it every
successive day, (day two you have 2 pennies and day three you have
4 pennies, and so on) how much will you have at the end of
30 days? The answer, to the astonishment of many, is $5,368,708!
Amazing, but true.
Its a sad statistic that most network marketers fail and it is
often traceable to the fact that they did not exhibit enough
persistence and patience to continue constantly promoting their
business for the year or so that is required for success.
Network marketers that stick with it for a year or more often end
up becoming the proverbial "heavy hitters".
In closing, I would like to encourage you to increase your chances
of becoming a successful network marketer by always keeping a
clear focus on "the three P's" of Promotion, Persistence, and
Patience.
About the Author
Kirk Bannerman operates a successful home based business and
coaches others seeking to start their own home based business.
Visit his website at
http://www.business-at-home.us for more details.
