I have talked to a lot of people in network marketing and a lot of people who have been in and out of network marketing.
Of that second set of people, many were out of it because of what happened. They were rejected, they didn’t make any money, people told them it would not work and it was not easy.
In fact, many tell me that they feel jaded by the company, by the people and by the whole experience.
They talk about lack of leadership, poor or high priced products, no head office support, no processes, no teamwork, and no training or coaching.
Yet, I wondered why so many people seemed to be living the lifestyle and making great money. And I also wondered why Investor, Robert Kiyosaki was saying: “Network marketing is the fastest growing business model in the world today.”
The problem is that they incorrectly assume that all network companies are the same and that the business model does not work.
I totally get that.
But let’s understand something – surprisingly, not all network marketing companies are the same.
They don’t have the same leadership, the same structure, the same products, the same rewards, the same incentives, the same compensation plan, the same support, the same tools, the same analytics, and so on.
To add to that, many people join a company without doing their due diligence and research, without an actual commitment to build a business, without a belief in the products, without the confidence in themselves, and without an understanding that it takes work.
Many have joined a network marketing company because a friend has asked them to and told them they could make extra money just by working a few hours in a week. “It’s easy”, they said.
When they don’t make any money or don’t ever hear from their upline (team leader) again, then they definitely feel jaded and assume every network marketing company is the same.
And when they fail in building the business, they blame it on the company or the business model itself.
So when we get poor service by a waiter, do we assume all waiters are terrible? If the roofing company does a bad job on our roof, do we assume all roofing companies are bad?
Then why do we assume all network companies are the same?
Many successful people in this industry went through many companies before they found the right one that suited them or met their requirements.
For example, industry icons Eric Worre went through 11 companies and Jordan Adler through 13. Each one of us has different requirements.
So you have to do your due diligence in researching any network marketing company before you join it.
That is why I wrote a book about doing exactly that – Creating Freedom – What you need to know to be successful in network marketing – to help people understand the business better and to make an informed decision before joining.
But more importantly, you have to want to build a business, you have to be willing to learn and believe in the business model, and most importantly you have to believe in yourself. Then you can look at a network marketing company to see if it meets your needs.
I was just like many of you, who questioned this whole idea of business ownership.
I hate to admit it, but my ego got the best of me. I too was jaded, even though I had not been in it before. I thought it was not a real business, and that it was beneath me. (I’m embarrassed to say this, but I want to be totally authentic and speak my truth).
So, when I was first approached several years ago, I did my due diligence and looked at the pros and cons and this is when I knew I had to jump in, even though I didn’t know for sure it would work.
Why?
Because I wanted to create residual passive income for time freedom and work on my own terms. I also realized that there are very few ways to do this without breaking the bank, like investing in a franchise or any other type of ‘bricks and mortar’ business.
I was willing to learn the skills to make it happen and here I am today, leading teams who also want the same thing.
So if you feel jaded from being in the network marketing business, don’t feel bad, you are not the only one.
But ask yourself these questions.
Did I do my due diligence before joining? Was I fully committed? Did I follow the processes and use the tools? Was it really the right company for me? Did it provide the right support? Did I really believe in the company, the business model and the products?
Those are the questions I ask people I meet when they tell me they are jaded.
“If I would be given a chance to do it all over again, I would have chosen network marketing.” – Bill Gates