I am neither impressed by, nor approve of the methods of “typical MLMers”. In fact, it’s fair to say that I find them to be among the most unprofessional, annoying, pushy and self-absorbed jackasses on the planet.
If I have to “hammer the phones” 12-15 hours a day, making “cold calls” or calling the people who hung up on my 800#… there’s something intrinsically flawed with my company, my product or my presentation.
Professional entrepreneurs understand that growing a STABLE business, that will produce six and seven figure returns, is ONLY possible when your focus and intentionality are BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS & CULTIVATING PRIMARY GREATNESS.
Self-interest, making a quick buck, or hounding your people to “get out there and sell” are the strategies of the kinds of people who populate the world’s binary, Ponzi, and urinary comp plan schemes … You know, the kinds of companies that like to make outrageous claims… slam the folks in by moving them from one failing company to the next “great deal”… and then broker backroom deals for the “top players”, without the majority of folks ever making more than $50-$200 a month tops.
I am not interested in competing with every vitamin, nutrition, and miracle juice drink company out there. I am not interested in competing with the cosmetic counter at the local department stores, or my local grocery store. I will not compete with my local utilities companies, or sacrifice my integrity, by offering people the “amazing opportunity” to pay absurd prices for technologies like video chat, video email, SMS messaging and other things that are already available for free for over a decade now!
I understand that in order for a compensation plan to generate residual income, the easiest way to do that is to ensure consistent monthly orders. However, I will only do business with companies that recognise that the professional model for distributor compensation must allow the minimum personal volume requirements to be fulfilled by cultivating retail clients/customers, not restricted to personal use, autoship orders or mandatory inventory. In fact, I will not do business with a company that encourages independent consultants to carry inventory, because this is the 21st century, and that is an outdated approach to ecommerce.
I do not need to do three-way calls, and ambush my prospective business partners with pushy, obnoxious and self-interested sales people. Expressions like “the three-foot rule”, “FRANK Lists”, “BAMFLAM”, “home parties” and “hotel meetings” have NO PLACE in my business and marketing strategy, and are best left to the carnies and snake-oil salesmen, who have given MLM the reputation it now has (and deserves!).
My product and opportunity are strong enough to stand on their own. If I make a thorough, ethical and solution-oriented presentation, and provide the prospect with easy access to me and anyone else they may need to speak with in their due diligence process, I will cultivate lasting partnerships.
When you have the right business, the right product, and the right compensation model, you can leave network marketing and 1980s MLM/Direct Sales behind you, and emerge as a leader in the movement we call “Entrepreneurial Dialogue 2.0”.
– Dr. F. Gianmichael Salvato
Barefoot Millionaires Dream Team
ph: 202.297.3223
http://bit.ly/gtncall
(thanks to our pal, and true pioneer in the field, Art Jonak for the “urinary plan” giggle!)
Prosperity Reinvented® 