Has anything like this ever happened to you?

It was about 20 years ago, and I was visiting acquaintances out of town.  We were at some sort of cocktail reception.  I didn’t know anyone in the room except my friends that I was visiting.

A well-made-up woman sashayed over to me and introduced herself.  It was obvious she knew my friends, so it seemed perfectly natural.

After we exchanged names and a few pleasantries, she remarked on how beautiful my eyes were.  Of course, I believed her, because I rather did think my eyes were beautiful.  I thanked her and said something flattering about her dress or shoes or something.

She then remarked on my overall beauty, and I thanked her again.  My, she was friendly!

Then she leaned towards me and said in an almost confidential voice, “Have you ever considered selling (insert name of well-known beauty company that has branded itself with a lot of pink) ?  You’d be wonderful at it!”

Ah.  Maybe my eyes weren’t so beautiful at all.  Maybe they were just attached to some new blood, fresh meat, someone from out of town, someone she hadn’t performed her pitch on yet.

I murmured a no thank you, and excused myself from the conversation.

She accosted me again later in the ladies’ room.

“I think you should at least let me tell you about it,” she said.  “You’re special – you just have that certain attractive personality.  I don’t come on to just everyone like this.  I just know that you could make a TON of money!”

Another woman came into the ladies room.

“Oh for crying out loud, Mary, leave her alone!” the woman said.  “Was she pitching her (insert name of well-known beauty company that has branded itself with a lot of pink) again?  She’s already spoken to everyone in town about it, and so whenever anyone new shows up, she has to talk to them too.”

I think I fake-laughed politely and slid out of the ladies’ room.

It’s too bad, because ten years later, when my niece became a consultant and invited me to join her, I refused to consider it.   It wasn’t because I didn’t think I could.  I was sure that if I wanted to, I would have knocked it out of the park.

It was because I could not be one of those horrible network marketing types.

Fortunately, my niece was better at it, and I didn’t have to writhe in embarrassment at social gatherings or fend her off newcomers.  And she did very well.

It was years before I opened my mind to the idea of launching a network marketing business of my own.  I realized that the problem is not network marketing itself – – the problem is that too many network marketers are doing in wrong!

I’m proud to say that since I started network marketing, I haven’t lost a single friend and I haven’t embarrassed anyone at social gatherings.  (Well, not through network marketing, anyway . . . )

Here are some reasons I’m now very excited about network marketing:

– There is the potential to make a lot of money.   What turned me off in the past was the focus on money.  But I realized it’s not about the money.  It’s about all those things you could do, but you haven’t yet, because of the lack of money.  Traveling with your children.  Paying off debt.  Going on missionary trips.  Supporting a favourite charity at a transformational level.  Not putting up with a soul-sucking job for 8+ hours a day.

– If you join a company you like (and why wouldn’t you?), the products can be transformative.  I’m using the products my company offers, and wow, for the first time in years, I have energy to spare, I’m losing weight, and I feel younger than I have in ages.  I’ve never used any products like these before.

– It can be a “last chance” for people who haven’t saved for retirement the way they should have.  It’s an excellent business to take into retirement, because you build it up with a lot of work at the front end, and then you can maintain it by working a few hours a day, if at all.

There is a right way to do network marketing.  It doesn’t have to be icky.  You don’t have to pester everyone you know and everyone you’ll meet in the future.  You don’t have to “get” people to sign on with you.  You don’t have to talk them into it or beg them.

As of this writing, I don’t have any training guides or materials developed (and I haven’t decided if I’m going to develop them).  But if you’re curious, contact me, and I can plug you into some excellent trainers online.  And many of them give their information away for free!

If you’re still doubtful, don’t take my word for it.  Consider what the following people have to say about it:

Steven Covey:  “Network Marketing has come of age.  It’s undeniable that it has become a way to entrepreneurship and independence for millions of people.”

Bill Clinton (yes, THE Bill Clinton):  referring to network marketers “You strengthen our country and our economy not just by striving for your own success but by offering opportunity to others…”

Seth Godin:  “What works is delivering personal, relevant messages to people who care about something remarkable. Direct Sellers are in the best position to do this.”

Warren Buffet: referring to Network Marketing  “The best investment I ever made.”

Robert Kyosaki:  “…Direct Selling gives people the opportunity, with very low risk and very low financial commitment to build their own income-generating assets and acquiring great wealth.”

By the way, the above quotes have been cited in numerous network marketing materials.  However, I found them all in one place in The Four Year Career by Richard Bliss Brooke.  I highly recommend you get this book if you’re considering going into network marketing!  And by the way, that’s not an affiliate link.  It’s just a plain ol’ link.  I won’t make a dime off the sale if you buy it, and Richard Brooke has no idea that I exist.

And if any pushy network marketer approaches you and won’t leave you alone, you send them to me.

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