The product doesn't matter - really?
"I am a networker, for me the product is not so important. The main thing is that I build a big downline and make a lot of money! I don't care what I become a millionaire with." Mostly they come from particularly ambitious networkers who see multi-level marketing primarily as a suitable vehicle to become economically successful. There are many colleagues who nod affirmatively when they hear this. They see it in a similar way.
Shark or missionary
Other distributors roll their eyes at such phrases. They think such people are greedy sharks with no morals or inner attitude. Other things are much more important to them: The product must be right! They only feel comfortable in their business if they themselves are enthusiastic about the product and therefore have to tell the whole world about it. They see themselves more as missionaries for a good cause.
Reasons for getting started
Surely you have already heard such statements? Which side do you lean towards? Or is it perhaps a combination of both in your case? Then you are in good company. Surveys by the Austrian Chamber of Commerce and the DSA Direct Selling Association showed that both are strong motives for entering the direct selling business - with a small lead among product enthusiasts. Around 80% of respondents each said they started because of the products and the opportunity for additional income. Other important reasons were independence, free time management and the opportunity to meet interesting new people through this business.
Success - what is it?
These survey results are consistent with my observations: It's never one motive alone that drives people to join our industry. But what subsequently leads to success? And how lasting is this success? The answer to these two questions can only be answered individually, because everyone defines success differently for themselves - and not everyone is looking for lasting success.
While for some, a monthly additional income of € 300 means a significant improvement in their standard of living, others say they won't even pick up the phone for such "peanuts".
Many want a stable long-term income, from which they can live also in the age, others want to fulfill themselves however only a certain desire, and become again inactive, as soon as this is fulfilled. As soon as the new living room furnishings have been built and paid for, after the purchase of a second car or after returning from a nice trip around the world, it's time to take it easy again. So how important are the products for whom?
Get rich quick
For those for whom network marketing is primarily the vehicle with which they go on their ego trip, who above all want to get rich quickly, the products only have to be good and original enough to tell a good story. They usually do not develop an inner bond with your product range (see above). If it doesn't work out quickly enough, they are gone as soon as they discover a company whose products have a supposedly better story.
Permanently successful
For others who are not so driven by money and fame, but who want to build a permanently successful business, the products play a strategically much more important role. They recognize that first-class products are the only way to create satisfied customers, which, after all, include their own sales partners. Only if the external customers and the internal consumers in the downline are happy will there be regular repeat orders. This ensures stability and real growth. Because only then do newly recruited partners contribute to the expansion of the business and are not just replacements for frustrated sales partners who have left or become passive, whose disappointed customers only order once - and then never again.
In love with the products
For the statistically largest group, the products are the real reason they are in business in the first place. They are the ones who have fallen in love with the products. They are so excited that they want to tell the people around them about them. Their goal is not to get rich first and foremost. They enjoy interacting with other people, are happy to get the products for their own consumption at a lower price, and are satisfied when a tidy additional income lands in their account at the end of the month. It is those 55% of the players who earn monthly from the small pocket money up to € 500, - from their business. They are the ones who provide stability. They enjoy what they do and often remain loyal to the business for many years. Without them, there would also not be that 1% of distributors whose monthly income is over € 25,000.
It's up to us
So I believe that products play an immensely important role in long-term and lasting success. But even the best products in the world can't make us successful. It is we ourselves who have to move to get the message out to the world. It is our job to show as many people as possible how they can improve their lives - with outstanding products, services and a brilliant business idea.
Let's get to work!
