I totally get it – many (I would argue most) network marketers secretly wish they could just be straightforward about what they have to offer instead of having to dance around the misconceptions and judgments they’re bound to face. Not to mention the blood, sweat, and tears that go into learning the ropes while trying to avoid the soul-crushing sighs and eye rolls from potential customers that pierce through your heart, no matter how subtle they might be.

On the flip side, many of these distributors make unintentional mistakes that drive potential customers away before they even get a chance to know what’s on offer. We’ve all been there.

That’s why it’s essential to qualify your prospective customers. This is crucial in all sales roles to quickly sort out the buyers from the time wasting tyre kickers. Therefore, the ultimate goal is to attract genuinely interested customers who can comfortably explore your offerings at their own pace without feeling pressured or subjected to any annoying and manipulative tactics for a quick sale.

So, if you choose not to take a more professional approach, you’ll end up going in circles and expecting different results.

But here’s the hard truth, which may be a hard pill to swallow for some:

Most network marketers find it very challenging to genuinely market and sell a product or service supported by this model to real legitimate customers!

This is why many enthusiastic yet disheartened distributors give up, walk away, and grumble to others about how terrible it is, how it doesn’t work, and how they fell for a scam. Most people, especially those with some intelligence, understand that this is just venting and throwing a little tantrum because things didn’t go their way and didn’t meet their expectations (intentions versus expectations – there’s a big difference between them).

But keep in mind, we are human after all.

Feeling let down sucks, and it can be comforting to know that others have experienced similar disappointments. But let’s be honest; I’m not entirely sure how ranting and venting, without taking responsibility for one’s actions, can benefit a person’s emotional and physical health.

Now, let me express some genuine empathy for the many distributors to whom this has happened because in many cases, they were intentionally misled and had their good nature and people skills exploited to take on a new and exciting venture they were not really suited for.

Naivety and accountability play a significant role here, and it’s all part of gaining wisdom through knowledge and experience. However, I must also address the manipulative tactics often used to recruit new distributors.

You see, just because you may be “good at talking with people” doesn’t automatically make you a success in this business, because the moment you attempt to “share” (aka “sell”) something, you instantly shift the conversation from a casual chit-chat to discussing an exchange of energy in the form of a product or service usually for money!

Now don’t get me wrong… there’s nothing wrong with selling. After all, nothing happens until someone sells something, whether that’s a product, service, vision, idea etc.

Sales itself is not a bad word. We all engage in sales every day whether we realise it or not. Some will sell their time for money in the form of employment, some an idea or vision and others a product / service etc.

In business having happy, loyal, and ideally repeat clients is an integral part of the process because without them, the business simply wouldn’t exist.

However, things can become complicated when the freedom to operate a business becomes choked by very stringent restrictions on how a product or service can be promoted, which unfortunately is a common theme amongst companies to cover their own arse, whilst embracing a network marketing model.

This, in turn, often encourages distributors to resort to questionable tactics and behaviours that simply wouldn’t be acceptable in mainstream business, further contributing to the undesirable notoriety of the entire model as a whole.

As I’ve mentioned before, I believe this business model is suitable for far fewer people than commonly believed, and the numbers will clearly back this up. Therefore, it tends to foster a “love it or hate it” mentality with very little room for compromise from either side.

With that said, if you still feel it’s right for you then I sincerely wish you well and much success with your endeavours and encourage you to always keep the following in mind…