by Mario Remedios on January 24, 2010
If your ideal business revolves around network marketing you should consider the importance of finding and researching a competent leader. A while back when I was relatively new to network marketing I signed up for a direct sales company. I researched the company and the product. To be honest, I loved the idea of huge upfront commissions. Subsequent to finding the right product, I went on the lookout for the right leader.
I saw many promoting the product on YouTube but ended up liking one the best. Remember people don’t join products or businesses, they join leaders. They join those who they like best, those who could help them succeed.
To keep his name out of the picture, let’s call him “Bob.” I noticed that Bob had a system in place to help his team with training and support in general. I gave him a call and before I knew it, I spent thousands of dollars with this business.
Of course, during my first few weeks, I was happy to start a business with a product that I knew I would enjoy. But all this excitement didn’t last long, it quickly vanished.
The more I went through the training material provided by my upline, the more I realized I had joined the wrong leader. I noticed that many of the strategies that Bob discussed during his training, he didn’t even use.
How can he be an expert in something he has no clue about? Although, I must admit some of his training was useful, it was being delivered by someone who probably did some research in the area but who didn’t really practice what he preached.
In addition to the above, in the beginning, there were a few webinars but little by little they died down. I never heard again from Bob, never received an e-mail update, never received any additional support.
Are these the qualities of a good leader? I would answer “NO” and I’m sure you would agree with me. Unlike in the affiliate marketing field, in the Direct Sales and MLM arena, taking care of a downline and providing team support are essential for replication and success. If you don’t think you have what it takes to be a leader and help others, stay away from MLM and direct sales. You might be better off with affiliate marketing or some other business you believe you’ll enjoy more.
My advice to anyone interested in joining a direct sales company is to interview the person that you are planning to partner with. Partnering is in fact what you will be doing. Ask some good questions and challenge their leadership.
Don’t just throw your money away with the wrong leader because this will be something you will ultimately regret. If the person has not been around for that long, ask to speak with his/her upline and make sure that the upline sponsor will be there to help you as well in case you have any questions or concerns.
Don’t rely 100% on your sponsor. Don’t blame him or her for your failures. Instead, actively seek training and help from others who will unselfishly provide them to you. I made a newbie mistake but who cares, what happened to me has just made me better. Since then, I have learned a lot about marketing, a lot about leadership, and a lot about helping others.
So the point is that having the right leadership does help with your personal growth and success, but if you end up with the wrong person don’t just sit down and wait for something to change. Instead, actively seek help and a solution to your problems, but most importantly, take full responsibility for your actions.
This post was submitted by Mario Remedios.
by Mario Remedios on January 14, 2010
Have you ever worked on a goal and woke up one day feeling like quitting? I have, it’s part of human nature to feel ups and downs throughout the different phases of a particular goal. Sometimes, all you need is someone to tell you not to quit.
When I was in college my mom gave me a poster that had a message with a poem about not to quit. Every time I felt down I would quickly glance over it. All of a sudden, I felt reenergized again, I felt focused, and I stayed on the right path to completing whatever task I was working on.
Amazingly, the poem kept me on track and even now I still refer to it. If you ever work towards a goal that you believe in, that you know you’ll be better off after completing it, don’t ever quit. Don’t quit because the truth is that everything good in life is worth battling for. Read the poem below is called “Don’t Quit.”
by Mario Remedios on January 5, 2010
About a year ago, I received an e-mail from one of my contacts where the guy (John) asked me if it would be easy for him to become an entrepreneur. He particularly wanted to know if he had a chance to make his business profitable simply without much effort. Of course, I replied and told him that he had to dedicate some time to build his business and to become a successful entrepreneur.
I was clear with my view that in order to see a plant flourish, you first need to get the seed into some soil, water it often, probably add some fertilizer, and expose it to the sun. Then and only then, the plant will start to grow and develop. Now what happens if you stop watering and taking care of this plant? Yes, you’re right, it will die. This implies continues work and dedication to see hopeful results.
Your new business (whatever it might be) will suffer the same fate as this plant. You need to put work into it if you want to benefit later. No one said it was easy, and if they did, they lied.
As I talked to John and worked through some additional examples, he realized that starting a business wasn’t the right thing for him to do at the moment. He added that he didn’t have the time to do everything that would be required.
Maybe John was not ready. Maybe, he was overwhelmed with all the required start up procedures and the promising work awaiting. Who knows…
What matters is that this guy seriously needed a reality check. Entrepreneurs walk on a lonely sidewalk and are faced with endless challenges and decisions. Therefore, working for someone else at times is the right thing to do for most.
by Mario Remedios on December 23, 2009
My wife (Erin) and I are thinking of renting a storage place so we went on the hunt to see what’s out there. For the most part, the prices were similar across the two storage facilities we saw, but the salespeople were different.
Salesperson #1:
As we approached the front desk, the guy asked if we made a reservation. Erin jumped in and said she did, blah, blah, blah. From there on, I almost didn’t exist. Seriously, he might have missed me as throughout the whole tour of the place, he barely made eye contact with me.
He handed a small brochure to my wife, and on he went with his sales pitch saying that his place is the best and that the prices will go up if we don’t reserve right away. You know, typical salesman, selling the wrong way.
The interesting part was that I mainly asked all the questions. I asked about their insurance, security, etc. Yet, he focused his attention to Erin. Umm, that made me wonder! He was almost ignoring me like I wasn’t going to add to the final decision of renting there or not.
He was also very pushy, his final words were “if you don’t reserve by latest tomorrow, 9:30 A.M, the price will go up.” Listen pal, go tell that “fairy tale” to someone else.
Salesperson #2:
Similar to above but with the only difference that the guy actually had a more even eye contact between my wife and me. He also asked for our names and called us by our names. Unlike the first guy, he wasn’t pushing for us to rent, but instead, he told us about how much people have enjoyed it there and that they are a new facility, etc.
He was also trying to encourage a conversation and avoid quite awkward moments. Finally, he gave us his business card, wrote down the price information on it and shook our hands goodbye.
What a difference between salesperson #1 and #2! Obviously #1 should take some lessons from #2.
From my experience, usually salespeople try to target and work harder on convincing the person they think is the decision maker and this sometimes could cost them their commissions. When trying to sell something consider all parties involved on the other side.
Don’t conclude that the person that acts more graciously and smiles more often is the easy come decision time. If the buyers don’t feel comfortable or don’t think they were given the attention they needed, they won’t buy.
If we had to rent somewhere, we’ll certainly go with salesperson #2.
