Blog Post #9 - Overcoming Objections (Part 3)

Objection #4: I don't have the money to start a network marketing business.

Let's assume that if someone says this then they are saying it in all sincerity and not just using it as a way to get you to leave them alone. If they are truly interested in what you're sharing with them but are honestly concerned about the financial commitment then this objection boils down to one thing: THIS PERSON DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE OFFERING.

If someone truly wants another stream of income then they need to understand is that this is a real business they're starting. Businesses require money. The beauty of a network marketing business is that it (usually) requires a very small amount of money. For example, at my company it costs a whopping $40 to join. Forty freaking dollars and you're a business owner! That $40 reserves a position in the organization, allows you to purchase product at wholesale price, gives you a website where you can do business and keep track of your team, and gives you access to all the infrastructure that the company has put in place. That includes a customer service department, structured shipping and manufacturing, a legal department, etc etc. In other words, the company takes care of all of the overhead and allows you to participate and benefit for a measly $40. To put that in perspective, to open a McDonalds restaurant you are required to have $750,000 in liquid assets, you must pay a $45,000 franchise fee, you have to pay over 10% of your profits back in royalty fees, etc. In addition, statistics show that 70% of home-based businesses succeed within 3 years while only about 30% of traditional businesses succeed in that time frame. So what's the riskier option?

Sidenote: I mentioned something similar in a previous post but I refuse to believe someone can't afford the $40 enrollment fee. If you were to tell someone that you'd give them a house for $40 you can bet they'd scrounge up that $40. It all just depends on how well you can help that person understand the value of that $40 investment.

Let me further explain, using my company as an example, why I feel that the "I don't have the money" objection is silly. It costs $40 to enroll as an independent business owner in my company and that is a one time fee. After that, if you want to qualify for commissions, the company expects you to have at least 100 points on your personal account each month. 100 points is equivalent to 1 case of product and costs around $120. They require this for 2 reasons: #1. You should have some skin in the game since it's your business. #2. You should be using the products so you can honestly talk about them with people. (This is pretty standard for the industry.) This $120 a month is another area where people become concerned because they think they can't afford it. Now, this may sound harsh but that is only a legitimate concern if you're not serious about being a business owner. Some people get so stuck in the "well $120 is a lot" mindset that they don't open their eyes to see what that small investment can get them in return. To own your own business and to have the ability to make anywhere from $100 - $100,000 a month for only a small fee of $120 a month is amazing! Here's the other amazing part: my company offers a way for you to NOT have to spend that $120 a month anyway! All you need to do is get a couple of customers buying from you each month and the points from their purchases would make you eligible for commissions! In other words it is entirely possible for you to spend $0 every month and still be eligible to make an unlimited income. Frankly, network marketing is an incredibly low-risk way to invest a small amount of money with a high potential payoff. If you're looking for another stream of income I've yet to find a better way than through network marketing.


Comments on my blog are always welcome. However, if you'd like to reach out to me privately my email address is kalfreedomgroup@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Post #8 - Overcoming Objections (Part 2)

Objection #2: You can't make money in network marketing.

This objection is actually my personal favorite. I love it because it makes me smile every time I hear it. Not in an arrogant way but because I too used to believe that same thing. However, after working as a corporate employee for 2 different network marketing companies over the past 6 years, I realized that I couldn't have been more wrong.

Let me illustrate how silly this objection is by sharing some industry statistics. Some of the latest statistics show that the network marketing industry is worth around $180 billion dollars. Yes, you read that right, $180 billion dollars. That's about the same as the music and movie industry combined...and then doubled. Now, remember that network marketing companies, on average, take about 40% of their revenues and use that to pay commissions to their distributors. So lets do the math: 40% of $180 billion = $72 billion dollars. $72 BILLION DOLLARS is being paid out to independent distributors on a yearly basis. That's approximately $6 billion dollars a month, $1.4 billion dollars a week, and $200 million dollars a day. If you can't make money in network marketing then I would like to know where that $72 billion dollars a year is going...

Bottom line is this: People make money in network marketing....if they are willing to make an effort. Some people make part time money, some people make full-time money, and some people make big time money. I've seen the checks with my own eyes. Sure, there are a number of factors that play into how much money a person makes (timing, compensation plan, building strategy, etc.) but do you know which factor makes by far the biggest difference? How hard a person works. Nothing trumps working hard. Ever. As mentioned in previous posts, however, most people want a get rich quick scenario and for some reason think that network marketing shouldn't have to be treated like a business yet it should pay like a business. Makes no sense....I'll leave it at that before I go off on a tangent...

Objection #3: I'm not a salesman/saleswoman

I HATE when people say this to me. I understand why they say it but it just reminds me how little people understand about network marketing. (I remember I was the same way). Most people think they understand it but then when you explain it to them (if they let you get that far) a little light bulb turns on in their head and they become much more open to it.

Network marketing is not sales. Network marketing is education. Education on products/services and business opportunities. If you educate people and as a result they become interested in the company, then you encourage them to sign up as a wholesale member in order to get the products at a cheaper price. If they do this then the company is grateful to you for bringing them more business. They then pay you a commission for that. Now, keep in mind that everyone already does this type of thing ALL THE TIME but isn't paid for it. For example, lets say you try out a new Mexican restaurant and you love it. It's the best food you've ever tasted! What do you do? You tell your friends about it. You post it on Facebook. You go back a few days later and take some people with you so they can try it out too. And now your friends start telling their friends, and those friends start telling their friends, and so on. You just got that Mexican restaurant a whole bunch of business and made them a ton of money! They'll pay you for that, right? I mean, you did a whole bunch of advertising for them so you'll be compensated, correct? Nope! I'm sure that restaurant is grateful for the new business but you can bet that you won't get a dime from them. Well that kind of sucks, doesn't it? That's the beauty of network marketing. Good network marketing companies innovate and create unique, valuable products that make a difference in people's lives. So if you try their products, have a good experience, and then tell your friends about them, they'll compensate you! That's not sales! There's no quota you're trying to hit! That's educating people on something that you like and because you care about them you're telling them about it! Let me emphasize this point by pointing out that studies have shown that the people that are the most successful in network marketing were not salesmen in their previous careers. They were teachers. Teachers educate. That's not a coincidence. You're already educating people all the time about things that you like so why not get paid to do it?

Side Note: I won't spend too much time on this but a common misconception is that network marketing is the same thing as direct sales. (You know direct sales people, they're the ones that are always saying things like "I just need to sell 4 more of X in order to get my next promotion!") It's not the same. There are some similarities but usually, direct sales is much more focused on the act of selling products and collecting the retail profits as opposed to the network marketing model where you focus on signing up people as wholesale members on your team and building an organization. Network marketing is preferred in my opinion for a few reasons:
1. It's usually cheaper to invest in ($40 at my company).
2. Doesn't require monthly quotas of sold products.
3. Its much easier to do part time.
4. It allows you to leverage the efforts of other people, not just yourself.
Direct selling people are recognized for the amount of product they personally sell and is great for short term money, but network marketing is where people turn when they are looking to build a residual, long term income. 

Comments on my blog are always welcome. However, if you'd like to reach out to me privately my email address is kalfreedomgroup@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Post #7 - Overcoming Objections (Part 1)

If you’ve been involved in network marketing for more than 5 minutes then you have probably already discovered that people usually have a lot of complaints/concerns/assumptions/objections about the network marketing industry. Some of these objections may have solid reasoning behind them but most of the time they are the result of ignorance and a lack of research (I mean that in the nicest way possible,) I’d like to highlight a few of the most common objections we hear in network marketing and discuss ways to overcome them. Be aware there are other ways or explanations to overcoming these objections…but this is what I have found to be most effective as I build my own business. I will most likely need 2 or 3 blog posts to cover all of these...

     Objection #1: “Wait, is this one of those pyramid schemes?”

Have you heard this one before?? This is the most common objection I run into

and MOST people ask this question. And you know what? I’m ok with that! Pyramid schemes have and do exist so it’s a legitimate question. I like to use this opportunity to educate on what a pyramid scheme is and how they are completely different from what I’m offering. Wikipedia explains a pyramid scheme as follows:

A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products or services. 

In other words, a pyramid scheme is asking people to invest financially in something without giving them any products or services in return. All they get is the hope that as they recruit other investors they will make commissions off of them. As recruiting multiplies, the organization takes the shape of a pyramid and only the people at the top make any money from their investment. Pyramid schemes are never sustainable and always eventually crumble….resulting in a lot of unhappy investors.

Network marketing bears almost no resemblance to a pyramid scheme. Yes, there’s a business opportunity that people can invest in but they receive products or services for that investment! That’s a HUGE difference. Not only do they get these products but the products are usually (depending on the company) very high quality and worth every penny! That’s also why a large portion of people that get involved in network marketing get involved as product consumers only  - with no interest in making money! In addition, contrary to a pyramid scheme, it doesn’t matter where you sign up in the organization. You can make money regardless of your position in the structure. You can be the first person that ever signed up or you can be the millionth – doesn’t matter. As long as someone is committed and willing to work hard they can make money in network marketing. Period. (Side note: Doesn’t a corporate structure strongly resemble a pyramid? CEO on top making all the money, small group of VPs below him, larger group of Directors/Managers/Supervisors below them, and then the largest group of regular employees on the bottom. Interesting when you think about it….)

After educating people on the difference between pyramid schemes and network marketing I usually like to let them know that there are many well-known and well-respected businessmen and women who praise network marketing and often talk about it as one of the best ways to own your own business. Stephen Covey, Paul Zane Pilzer, Donald Tump (even though that’s a bit sensitive right now), Robert Kiyosaki, Richard Branson, etc. The list goes on and on. There’s a reason so many endorse the industry.

Comments on my blog are always welcome. However, if you'd like to reach out to me privately my email address is kalfreedomgroup@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Post #6 - The Power of Listening

I'd like to talk about a skill that is important to have in any business setting but is INVALUABLE to a professional network marketer: the ability to listen.

Some people might read this and think to themselves, "oh, I know how to listen, that's easy." Sadly, from what I've seen, most people don't know how to listen. They know how to HEAR. They hear the words coming from someone's mouth but they are so focused on their own intentions that they often forget to listen to that person which results in missed opportunities. Let me give you an example of this in network marketing:

Person 1 says: "Hey I have this amazing business opportunity that would be great for you and your family. You can make a healthy living doing this part time and still work your other job while it grows."

Person 2 says: "Oh I appreciate the offer I just don't have the time to do something else right now."

Person 1 thinks to themselves, "well I don't want them on my team if they're that busy. They'll never do anything for me and my team will never grow."

Do you see what happened here? Person 1 is just talking, not listening! They are so busy worrying about their own desires (building a big network marketing team) that they didn't stop to LISTEN to what person 2 wants/needs! When someone says they don't have time for something then what they're really saying is "I don't have the time for this because you haven't given me a good enough reason to make time for this." If someone wants to do something then they MAKE time for it. Period. That excuse is just a way to get rid of you because you are not appealing to them. This rule applies to almost all excuses network marketers receive. I heard someone use a interesting example to explain a similar point. They said, "If someone uses the common excuse that they don't have the money to do this, that's not true. Everyone has or can get the money to do something they WANT to do. Always. If you were to tell this same person that if they enroll they'll get a Ferrari then you can bet they would find the money to enroll. It's all about how well you can explain to them the figurative (possibly literal) Ferrari they get with network marketing."

So how do you encourage people to want to do something in network marketing? By listening to them! By taking a GENUINE interest in people's lives! Let people tell you what they are looking for in their life and then you can determine if there is a way for network marketing to help (hint: there is). You must appeal to people's needs and each person is different. One person might be interested in the financial opportunity, some might be interested in the products, others may be interested in having more time freedom, etc. It's up to you to figure out what will appeal to who. But here's the good news: there is a proven system for talking and listening to people that will help you determine how you can help and appeal to them. It consists of 4 parts and is represented by the acronym F.O.R.M. Let's break it down...

Family. Ask them questions about their family. LISTEN to what they have to say. How many kids do they have? How old are they? How many boys, how many girls? How long have they been married to their spouse? Do they get enough time with their kids? Do they vacation often with their families? How is their health? Etc.

Occupation. Ask them questions about their occupation. What do they do for work? How long have they been doing it? Do they enjoy what they do? What do they think of their boss? Do they travel for work? Do they feel fulfilled with what they are doing?

Recreation. What do they like to do for fun? Do they like to travel? Play water sports? Ski? Fish? How often do they do these things? Do they wish they had more time or money to do the things they love?

Money. How do they feel about money? What are their thoughts on the economy? Do they wish that financially things were different? Do they feel like they will have a comfortable retirement when the time comes? If they're already retired are they making enough to truly enjoy their "golden years?"

Once you become a pro at using F.O.R.M and LISTENING to people you will notice a change in the way people receive you. You begin to look more like someone that is genuinely trying to help another human being and less like a person who is desperately trying to recruit for their team in order to hit their quota. After working on the corporate side of network marketing for 6 years I am a strong believer in the products and financial opportunities this industry offers. I see the Ferrari, it's just a matter of helping other people see it too.

Comments on my blog are always welcome. However, if you'd like to reach out to me privately my email address is kalfreedomgroup@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Post #5 - Things I've Learned (Part 3)

DSA

What I'm about to share with you in this blog post is something I learned from the founder of my current company. His name is Tyler Norton

and he is probably the most brilliant businessmen I have ever known. He had (and continues to have) a long, successful career in the traditional business world and he brought a lot of that knowledge and experience to the world of network marketing when he helped start ASEA. I remember sitting through a presentation he gave shortly after I started working as an employee at ASEA. The presentation blew me away and had a lasting impact on me - it is something that I have applied to my professional life in a variety of ways since hearing it. The title of his presentation was a 3 letter acronym: DSA. He explained that anytime you are considering investing in a business opportunity, it must meet the DSA criteria. DSA stands for Differentiated Sustainable Advantage. Let me break that down and explain...

Differentiated. When looking at a business opportunity - and this definitely applies to network marketing business opportunities - you need to make sure it is differentiated from any other opportunity out there. The company must offer something that no one else has. For example, in the world of network marketing, people should be looking for a company with a very unique product line.
If you join a company who has tons of competitors with similar products then you are going to run into some major obstacles. First off, you'll constantly be trying to convince people that your product is better than the competitor's. That will get old really fast. In addition, if there are several other network marketing companies out there with similar products then the perceived value of your products will drop. If your customers can get your products from other mlms then why should they buy from you? Lastly, if your product line is easily copied then guess what? It will soon begin showing up on shelves in Walmart or other big box stores. I see this sort of thing happen all the time with network marketing companies. As a matter of fact, we have a super successful network marketing company in Utah that has grown extremely quickly over the past few years. Just the other day I walked into my neighborhood Walmart and saw  rip-offs of their products on a beautiful display right smack dab in the middle of the store. And even though I'm sure those rip-offs are much lower quality I guarantee there are a lot of people that buy them simply because they are cheaper. If there's one thing I've learned about business it's this: if people can copy your products then they will. Always. You want to partner with a company that has something completely unique that can't be copied.

Sustainable.
The company you join should have a sustainable business model. Does the company have a lot of debt and investors that it's constantly trying to pay off and keep happy? If so, do they have a strategic plan that allows them to pay back their investors while also doing what's best for the business long-term? Does the company manufacture their own products? If so, do they have the facilities and infrastructure in place to support growth? Are they planning far enough into the future to assure they are capable of handling the increased demand for their products? Are the products created easily enough that they'll never run out if the company grows quickly? For example, if the company's product revolves around an exotic berry found in the amazon, are there enough of these berries to support the demand when the company grows? A company must have solid plans in place in order to sustain growth in all facets of the business. Sadly, there are many mlms out there that don't have the infrastructure to support growth and that often plays a part in their downfall. Sustainability is key and is something you should investigate before agreeing to any business opportunity.

Advantage. This one's simple. Does a company provide products or services that provide a clear advantage to its consumers? In other words, do the products give real results to the people that use them?

Do the products provide a clear advantage over supposedly similar products in the industry? In the world of network marketing, your long-term success and residual income depends on whether or not people continuously purchase the products so it is extremely important to make sure the product provides real results. If a company's products provide a clear, powerful advantage then you may just have a terrific business opportunity on your hands.


Any time you are considering investing in a business opportunity make sure it fits the DSA criteria. It may just save you a lot of time, headaches, and money.

Comments on my blog are always welcome. However, if you'd like to reach out to me privately my email address is kalfreedomgroup@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Post #4 - Things I've Learned (Part 2)

Mistake #3: GIVING UP TOO SOON

This one kind of ties in with my previous post about not treating your business like a business but I feel like this point needs to be highlighted regardless. I have seen people, time and time again, enroll in a network marketing business, work really hard for a couple months but when that 2 or 3 month mark gets there and they are still only making a couple hundred dollars a month, they get frustrated and walk away. Again, it's this weird mentality that a network marketing business should be easy and should produce fast money. These people assume after 2 months that no one can make money in network marketing and they start to believe that their enroller lied to them about the financial opportunity. Well, obviously, this isn't true. Just like any other business, it takes time for you to build it until it starts being really profitable (I say REALLY profitable for a reason. You can still be making decent checks starting in month one). Those first several months in the business are spent planting seeds with people.

You are contacting and inviting, contacting and inviting, contacting and inviting over and over again. Most people are telling you no. Other people are telling you that yes they're interested! So you send them a video to watch but when you follow up they have joined the witness protection program and have disappeared from the face of the Earth. Everyone goes through this and everyone gets frustrated! You're not alone! But the difference between the unsuccessful distributors and the successful ones is that they keep going. They keep pushing. The successful distributors understand that even though their checks might not show it, great things are happening with their business as a result of planting all of those seeds and receiving all of those no's.

Let me explain further: Even though most people are telling you no, that seed has been planted and it will begin to grow without you knowing it.

Many of those exact people that told you no will start to see the potential with what you're doing. They'll see your Facebook posts about the money you've earned, they'll notice an improvement in your health, they'll lose their job and be looking for a financial opportunity, etc. Even if they don't ever want anything to do with your mlm they might think of someone else they know that may benefit from whatever it is that you're offering and send them your way. It is literally impossible to know how your message will influence people and their actions later on. As long as you are constantly sharing your message and planting your seeds then it will eventually pay off for you. It's just the way things work. The problem is that this takes time. In my experience I would say it takes 3 - 6 months of just planting those seeds before you really start to see your business begin to pick up speed. Referring back to the book "The 45 Second Presentation," Don Failla explains that as you get started in mlm you need to liken your business unto an office building. When you see an office building first being constructed it seems like it takes forever for those guys to level the ground, dig the hole, and pour that foundation. However, once they start on the parts of the building that are above ground it seems like they throw up 2 or 3 stories a day! That building is then completed before you know it and you can't believe how fast it was built! It's the exact same idea in network marketing. You have to spend several months in the beginning planting seeds and pouring your foundation. Once you have a good solid foundation, your business begins to grow at a much faster rate. I've seen this exact thing happen many times with distributor-run businesses so the trick is to just keep pushing yourselves and don't give up. Once it finally starts raining, it starts pouring.


Mistake #4: FAILING TO TEACH DUPLICATION

The vast majority of people have absolutely no idea what they are doing when they join a network marketing business. A huge chunk of your success will depend on how well you teach duplication and SIMPLICITY to your team, Duplication is EVERYTHING.  If you don't have duplication then you won't have a successful business. Period. Your team needs to be able to watch what you do and think to themselves that they too can do that. As a matter of fact there's a acronym in network marketing that sums up this point perfectly: KISS. It stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid. You'll find out very quickly that people need you to take them by the hand and guide them every step of the way - especially in the beginning of their journey. Make things easy to understand. Keep explanations in bite-sized chunks. If your team members see you doing a bunch of complicated tasks or you tell them to do a bunch of complicated tasks then they will become frustrated very quickly. The beauty of network marketing is that anyone can do it and be successful. The savvy network marketers recognize this and that is why they make everything extremely simple to duplicate.

For example, top network marketers will tell their teams to use a tool when introducing people to their company/products/opportunity. A tool can include a brochure, a video, a CD, etc. The reason for this is because anyone can do it! Anyone can hand someone a brochure, send them a video, or give them a CD. That's duplicable! Here's another example: On my team we tell all our new enrollments that their goal should be to enroll two people in their first two weeks and then teach their two new people to do the same. Now it's not a perfect system and not everyone does it perfectly but people believe that they can do that. That's duplication! If I were to tell them to find 100 people each then they would immediately shut down and give up. Most people can't do that. They don't have the time, they don't have the energy, they don't have the belief in themselves, etc. However, if you tell them to just get two, then you've created duplication and you're on the right track for success. The lack of duplication is why the "salesman" mentality doesn't work in this business. People with a "salesman" mentality believe that in order to be successful they need to go out there and sign up as many people as they can as fast as possible. This might benefit them in the short term because they'll get those commissions off the initial enrollments but those people will begin dropping off as fast as he/she can sign them up. 99% of those new sign ups will look at what that person is doing and say, "nope. I can't do that" and they'll disappear. Duplication is so vital to the success of your business so KISS!

Comments on my blog are always welcome. However, if you'd like to reach out to me privately my email address is kalfreedomgroup@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!