Chasing Down Friends, Family, and Strangers Does NOT Make You a Business Owner!

The following is a story about my first brush with Network Marketing:

Several years ago, I stopped by a local Best Buy to pick up a couple DVDs after work. When I exited the store, a guy who I'd never met came running up to me and started a conversation as if we were old pals. It was basic small talk, and I was curious as to why this guy had decided it was prudent to chat with me about the weather.

Still, I was cordial, and as the small talk began to grow stale, he launched into a diatribe about this "fantastic opportunity" he had available and how "so many people were getting involved" and I could "make boatloads of money working part-time from my house."

I was taken back by what he was telling me, so I asked a couple questions. The answers revealed that he was offering me an opportunity in a home-based, Multi-Level Marketing company. And at that point in time, I had no idea what Multi-Level Marketing, or MLM, even was
.
My next question resulted in the greatest answer I think I've ever received: "Why me," I asked.

The reply: "Well, because you're dressed up in a shirt and tie and I think you would be perfect for this opportunity."

End story.

From that experience, I learned that a killer sense of style doesn't just make you popular with the ladies, but it also gets you verbally attacked in a Best Buy parking lot.

Needless to say, I did not join that gentleman's opportunity. But fast-forward several years, and I did get involved with a different opportunity and learned first-hand how frustrating that gentleman's plight must have been. Chances are, he was just doing what he was told...just like I did. TALK TO EVERYBODY! TELL THEM THEY'D BE FOOLISH NOT TO JOIN YOUR OPPORTUNITY! THIS COMPANY IS REVOLUTIONARY! CASH CASH CASH, MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!

I have news for you that I found out first-hand through struggle and wheel-spinning: NONE OF THAT MATTERS!

Despite that experience, I ended up doing exactly what that guy did because that's what I was told to do. I talked to family, I talked to friends, I talked to strangers, and in return, I got a big pile of nothing.

I later discovered the truth: People do not join an opportunity because you "convince them to." They don't join because they think the product is revolutionary and the compensation plan is out of this world. And, believe it or not, they don't join because you think they look nice in a shirt and tie.

They join because it makes sense to them.

Think about it: When was the last time you bought something from a fanatical salesperson who chased you down and did nothing but spout off flashy buzz lines while taking no time at all to discover what your true needs were? Starting a business is a big decision, and most big decisions in your life were not made while standing in the middle of the food court at the mall, when all you were trying to do was get to American Eagle for a new pair of boot-cut jeans.

If you want to truly make an impact on your prospects, don't even talk about your business. Forget the compensation plan. Forget the product. Forget it all. Because it all means nothing if you don't have one thing:

Trust.

Looking back on my story, do you think I trusted the guy in the Best Buy parking lot? You'd probably think the answer is no, but truthfully, how could I determine whether I trusted him or not? All he did was talk about the rain clouds, then proceed to "pitch" me because of my shirt-and-tie combo. He had no idea what my motivations were or what sort of goals I had set for myself. Maybe I already had a business. He would've never known.

What he did was completely untargeted, and if you are spending your time chasing down your friends, family, and strangers in front of the Orange Julius stand at the mall, your business-building efforts are completely untargeted as well.

As a business owner, your primary objective is to draw prospects to you. And the way you do that is to provide them with value. Establish trust, establish a relationship, discover what's right for them instead of you, and you'll immediately transform yourself into a leader within your niche.


Be the Best,

Jason Cercone
Internet Marketing & Home Business Consultant
jason.cercone@gmail.com
412-965-8428

www.homebizsuccessfactor.com
www.alternativepaycheck.com