The One and Only Right Way...

The One and Only Right Way...

The idea of duplication has taken on considerable status in the theories of Network Marketing business-building. Some "success systems," however, take this idea too far--to the detriment of many distributors with unique skills and connections, says Tom Schreiter. Here's what the seasoned Networker has to say about the myth and reality of duplication...

by Tom (Big Al) Schreiter

I LIKE THINGS TO BE BLACK AND WHITE, RIGHT OR WRONG WITH no ambiguity. Don't you? Knowing how to do it right saves me from thinking.
So, wouldn't it be nice if there was only one right way to do Network Marketing?

Sure... would be nice. But I certainly haven't found the way. And, I'm not sure why there should be only one way to do Network Marketing right.
I see many ways of doing our business that work. Every day, people succeed in our business, each doing the business a little or a lot differently.

For example: I hate using the telephone. I'm extremely uncomfortable whenever I'm in a phone conversation longer than 30 seconds. So, what would happen if my sponsor told me, "The only way to be successful in Network Marketing is to use the telephone."?

Well, maybe I could force myself to suffer for a month or two, but after a period of continued suffering, I'd look for another way of doing the business that was more comfortable for me--unless I'd already found a way out of the business.

I've sponsored leaders who have built their entire business over the telephone.

The process works. I just choose to do it in a more enjoyable way for me.
My favorite method is to sponsor someone across the kitchen table. Maybe it's my preoccupation with food--I don't know--but that method works great for me.

But what about my leaders who build their business by phone? They'd quickly return to using the telephone if I forced them to do the business in my "table-top" way.

Some leaders build their business through opportunity meetings, product parties, person-to-person cold calls, direct mail, advertising, referrals... many different ways. I respect all these methods. I don't use them all myself, but I respect them. And, as a leader, I try to learn as much as I can about each method, so I can help new distributors who choose one of these alternate ways of building their business.

Network Marketing should be fun. We should enjoy our business. So why would you want to ruin your fun by using a business-building method you hate?

HOW MANY DIFFERENT METHODS are there to build your Network Marketing business?

Lots. I've written five books on recruiting and each book is filled with different methods and techniques.

The biggest service we can render to new distributors is to help them find what method works for them. Then, let's help them use that method to build their business successfully.

Egos and Hero Worship
Here is where the different methods make people uncomfortable: imagine you are a leader and have built your group by running radio ads for opportunity meetings.

Great! It works for you.
However, being human, you decide that you've found the one and only secret to success. In fact, you insist that everyone in your group uses the exact same method (and worships you as the founder of the ultimate Networking success truth, too).

Then what happens?
Soon the radio is full of similar ads. Listeners turn off their attention as soon as they hear the ads run again. Some of your distributors run their own ads that don't work. People with hearing disabilities will never hear of your opportunity. Some communities in the valley don't get good radio reception. Some people are watching TV.

Well, you get the point. This one ultimate truth isn't so ultimate, i.e., it won't work for everybody.

The Duplication Myth
I'm not sure who started the rumor that everything you must do in MLM must be duplicatable for your entire downline. Maybe an escapee from a mental institute? A communist insurgent? A government official? I see no need to insist on duplication of your activities--other than to get your ego massaged.

It's okay to use different activities and methods to achieve the results you want. Just because your sponsor doesn't do opportunity meetings, doesn't mean that you are banned from using this proven activity to build your business.

Some people have natural strengths and talents and should take advantage of them to build their Network Marketing organizations.
One of my friends has a 10,000 mailing list of customers who know and trust him. What am I going to say to him?

"Don't mail or contact your customers. Sure, lots of them would love to join and be in your business, but it's not duplicatable! No one else has 10,000 customers. Don't do it. You're setting a bad example."

I don't think I could tell my friend that. It's ludicrous. I'd encourage my friend to contact his natural market even though few people could duplicate his method.

What about someone who is a great speaker who motivates crowds to his cause? If your system insists that all activities be conducted one-on-one, across the kitchen table, aren't you doing your speaker-distributor a disservice by not allowing him to use his natural talents to build his business?

The Key Difference
Here is what we really need to duplicate--Results!
What results are we looking for in Network Marketing? We want to sponsor distributors and make them successful--right?
If we focus on results, we can allow people the freedom to achieve those results in many different ways.

Some will achieve results contacting prospects by mail. Some by giving product parties. Some by wearing three-piece suits and conducting opportunity meetings. And even some will achieve these results in Bermuda shorts at the beach.

The bottom line is: Don't worry about duplicating activities. Focus on duplicating results.

Why Techniques and Rigid Systems Don't Matter

In the end, it's not so much what you do? it's who you are.
Have you ever seen a new distributor excited about your opportunity? Your new distributor makes all kinds of mistakes and still sponsors lots of people.

Why?
Enthusiasm. Trust. Personal belief. These things show through your new distributor's presentation so loudly that the prospect doesn't care about the business details. Prospects join because of who you are!
They don't join because your marketing plan pays 4% on level three in the alternate months, or because your product explanation took only 2.3 minutes with a magic Columbo close.

Prospects buy you--not your company.

How Do You Learn the Sponsoring Technique That's Right For You?
I learned from personal trial and error.

It's a great way to learn. Unfortunately it has two drawbacks:
It takes a long time to try and test different techniques. It could take years of trial and error and you may end up with scars all over your body (heart and mind). If you have a lot of time and can wait a few years to get your business started, then you are one of the fortunate few. Most of us want results a bit faster.

It's expensive to fund all your trial and error campaigns. Very expensive. If you have money to burn, or just enjoy being poor--abused by credit card collectors, then it's not so bad. However, most of us hate to waste money.

Those are the only two things I have against the trial and error method of finding a good sponsoring technique that works for you.
There's a better way.
Read some books. Attend seminars. Consult with your sponsor. And listen to some tapes of people who have gone before you (check to see if they have scar tissue). Why beat yourself up and spend lots of money when you can read or listen to the results of the different methods you are considering?
Capitalize on the experience of others.
I think that's why many Network Marketing distributors enjoy the Big Al books. They know that I've been out there in the trenches, continue to be in the trenches, and the techniques I write about are from experience. I leave out the hype. I don't tell distributors what techniques to use, I just report them. Adults are smart enough to pick out the techniques they enjoy.
As my good friend Tom Paredes says, "Even if you go to work at McDonald's flipping hamburgers, they still make you go through their training program." With our business, so much more complicated than flipping hamburgers, don't you think it makes sense to learn how to do it?
What Is The Ultimate Secret To Network Marketing Success?
The real secret?
It's to build leaders and make them successful.
Distributors come and go. It's the leaders who count. You want to develop a few good loyal leaders and then, if you choose, you can retire.
If I had my entire career to do all over again, I'd concentrate on building and developing one leader each year.
We talk about the cumulative effect of our efforts in Network Marketing. Well, only leaders accumulate. That's why you should focus your effort into developing leaders.
I have a friend who started with me in Network Marketing 24 years ago. We lost touch until about four years ago. During those 20 years we both worked hard in Network Marketing.

When we finally met, I had a self-sustaining, large and profitable organization. He was starting all over again.
The difference?

I had developed some leaders during my 20 years of hard work. He had sponsored distributors during his 20 years of hard work. We both worked hard. Today, he has no organization. He is still starting over.
THERE IS A "RIGHT WAY" to build your Network Marketing business: Help your new distributors find what method works for them. Then, help them become leaders doing what they do best.