Network Marketing Success - Why Does it Elude so Many?
For prospective marketers the World-Wide Web has dramatically levelled the playing field. Internet access is affordable, and available almost everywhere. Marketing software is, generally speaking, inexpensive or free. We are constantly bombarded with ridiculously cheap 'opportunities'. I am not even mentioning all the 'free stuff'!
Consequently, 'every guy and his dog' joins the gold rush. After all, the recession is hurting many, and this seems like an easy way to fix the household budget. However, more than ninety-seven percent of aspiring marketers will not achieve any measure of success. Why on earth is the drop-out rate so high? Let is investigate possible causes.
- Is there a shortage of marketing mechanisms? I would tend to say "no". There's PPC, e-zine marketing, video marketing, MySpace marketing, free classifieds, forum marketing, article marketing, Facebook marketing, list builders; the list seems endless, just take your pick. It is not hard to pick one or two options and start using them.
- Is a lack of marketing tools then a possible cause of failure? Again, the answer is negative. For every type of marketing one can pick amongst several options. A few weeks ago I had to decide on some software for the automated posting of articles in article directories, and I found at least five different options, with prices between $0 and $197. There are also many free (and good) keyword research tools. I recently wrote a 50-page e-book on free and inexpensive software tools for online marketing.
- Is there a shortage of information in print? The answer is an emphatic NO. There's an abundance of it on the Web. There’s a huge amount of free training on the Internet. It’s a matter of ‘Google’, click and read. A notable exception is PPC, which is a tough nut to crack. With list builders, on the other hand, it is possible to have a few cheap leads within a day.
So, if a lack of tools or know-how is not the problem, then what on earth is? Is the problem maybe not external, but within ourselves instead? Aha, now we’re making progress! Successful marketers will tell you that the problem (and solution) is mostly in the mind, but will seldom offer you proper advice in this regard. Here then are my personal recommendations. It has taken me thirty years to get my own head around this this, so I do not expect you to agree with me immediately. However, you no longer require several years to fix your faulty thought patterns, because the knowledge regarding the operation of the human mind and the number of available methodologies for 'reprogramming' it has increased in leaps and bounds in the past few years.
The fundamental obstacle to network marketing success relates to our subconscious thinking. According to Lou Tice of the Pacific Institute; “the quality and quantity of our thoughts will determine the quality and quantity of our actions”. I have to point out that he is primarily referring to subconscious thought patterns.
Here is a very brief summary of how it works. The operation of our subconscious thinking process revolves around our so-called ‘self-image’. This is a complicated mental picture that dictates who we are, how we are likely to behave in given circumstances, and what we can do (or cannot do). The problem is that a lot of the inappropriate stuff has been embedded in there during our first five years. Most parents are not clued-up on this issue, resulting in adults (like most of us) with less-than-ideal self-images. What aggravates the matter is that we cannot, at least for a reasonable amount of time, behave in a manner that is contradicting our self-image. If our self-image does not include being wealthy, that will be reflected in real life. Our subconscious mind will preserve the status quo at all costs in order to keep us sane. So how do we override all this less-than-helpful programming that keeps on sabotaging us?
- Firstly, we need PASSION and DRIVE. We need someting to keep us 'fired up' permanently. To state it simply: we need a big 'WHY'. We require something to generate excitement. A goal so enormous that it keeps us in a continuous state of excitement due to its sheer magnitude. A goal with such an extent that it cannot be achieved by a single person. If the extent of a goal is so small that we can achieve it all on our own, than it is probably too small!
- In the second place, we need MOVEMENT. Goethe once said: “what you can do, or dream you can do, begin it; boldness has genius, power and magic in it". Stop sharpening the tools and jump in with both feet. Today, not tomorrow. Procrastination is an insidious mental disease that robs people of their lives. If the mind refuses to move the body, let's do it the other way around. Act ‘as if’. Just get going. People sometimes tell me they don’t know exactly what to do next. My answer is that it does not matter what you do, the subconscious will kick in with suggestions once you are in motion. Try it, it really works!
- In the third place, we require ACTION on a MASSIVE scale. This is crucial, especially in the beginning. Unless an aircraft applies full power at take-off, it will not become airborne. This is not sustainable in the long run, but even with a Piper Cherokee it is ‘throttle against the dashboard’ until the aircraft is at least 400 feet above ground level, at which minor adjustments are permissible. Notice the amount of power the space shuttle needs to escape the earth’s gravitational pull. For a new online business, I would say that around 80 hours a week for the first 6-12 months is appropriate. If you have to depend on a current job to cover living expenses during the start-up phase, then factor that into the number above. But if you are a strictly 40-hour-per-week person, I’d suggest you stick to a ‘job’, no offense meant.
- Lastly, we have to REPROGRAM our subconscious mind. This is, by far, the greatest challenge. By the time a person hits the twenty-year mark there's already a lot of inappropriate programming between the ears. But this aspect is perhaps more important than all the previous ones together. We can toil like a slave, do eveything by the book, have clear goals, and do whatever else we think is required of us, but if we do not truly believe that success is ours, then little will transpire. Significant and permanent change starts on the inside, and then materializes on the outside. It never works in the opposite direction. Aha, NOW we are talking!
How do we start the re-programming? At this point you need to take stock of 'what's in your head'. Decide what and who you want to become, what you want to have. In some of my other articles I will share with you some tools and techniques I use to keep me focused. May you enjoy success with your network marketing efforts. Start to live your dreams. Just GO for it!
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Deon H Reynders is the CEO of Visionary Marketers and lives, with his wife Marijana and an assortment of four-legged and feathered friends, near Toodyay in the Western Australian wheatbelt. Deon is a marketer, electronics engineer, private pilot, prospective around-the-world yachtsman, international traveler, published author, granddad, educator, and coach. He believes that we should all work hard at creating extraordinary lives.
