Do you ever feel alone in the struggles you have in your network marketing business? I’ll bet you do. In an industry filled with personal growth and positivity, sometimes it’s really hard to ‘fess up about your challenges. Sometimes you are met with support, and sometimes you are met with “maybe you just don’t want it bad enough.” Perhaps you believe that these struggles are “just excuses” and you dismiss the challenge in making a concerted effort to address them head on and get some help.
Today, I hope to lift a burden off you. “You are not alone,” to quote Michael Jackson. This is part two of a three part series based on some real and raw interviews I did with about a dozen network marketers at all stages of their career. You can go back in the podcast feed to last week to get the first part, and make sure to subscribe to get the next part. Some were brand new, some were at the two-year mark and trying to figure out how to bust through what feels like a glass ceiling, and others were successful leaders.
Today I’m going to share with you the three top challenges the network marketers faced, AND some solutions to overcome them.
I am sure at least one of these will resonate with you and you will be better equipped to overcome them and take steps forward in your business.
Struggle #1: Balancing day job, family, and the business.
This one sure is number one! This was brought up as a struggle for literally every single one of the people I interviewed, no matter the success level. There were definitely different variations of this.
“Boundaries. Letting others choose how I spend my time.”
“Not using babysitters when I do my business.”
“Being my own boss.”
“I feel overwhelmed by everything I’m responsible for. I am always thinking of the things I should be doing instead. It never ends.”
“My kids are having a hard time with me not being emotionally available all the time, and that is really hard for me.”
The struggle is real. It’s not something made up in your head.
It’s not “just an excuse.” It’s not “just fear.” It’s real. Take a deep breath friend. It’s hard when your kid is crying for you. It’s hard when you are so tired and you have to choose sleep and health or your business.
I have to tell you the brutal truth friend.
You can’t do it all. Stop trying.
Here are some ideas on how to cope with the balance struggle.
1. Set goals that align with the time you are willing to contribute. If you set full-time goals but realistically will only be working part-time, set part time goals. There is no need to send yourself into a tailspin.
2. Pick one thing that you are going to stop doing now that you are running your side business. A business that is designed to replace your income cannot fit in the nooks and crannies of your life. There has to be a conscious decision. Is it turning your two-day weekend into a one-day weekend? Is it setting aside some of your volunteering? Is it *gasp* having your husband be the one that represents your family at your kid’s sports event?
3. Set an “I quit my day job” date. This is powerful. Some of these balance issues will work themselves out when you are no longer working your day job. If your goal is to replace that income, and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s a lot easier to make choices that align with your goals.
4. Take a deep breath. The kids will be fine. If you are worried about spending time with your kids, you are already winning the parenting game. “I’m worse off in my life because my mom worked a business 20 hours a week and I watched her impact people, achieve her dreams, and contribute to our family on her teams” said no kid ever. The kids are going to therapy no matter what. If you are with them all the time, they are going to therapy because they can’t function on their own. If you work 15 hours a day, they are going to therapy because they didn’t get enough attention. What they need most is a parent who shows them the value of hard work (however that looks), the benefits of believing in themselves, and what it looks like to live a life with purpose. The kids will be fine.
Struggle #2: How to follow-up with people who say they are going to buy without being pushy.
You are a good person. You want to help people. You have heard, “the fortune is in the follow-up” so you know you need to follow-up. You have heard that it takes five attempts at the sale to make the sale happen. BUT these are people you love and care about and you want to be respectful. It’s quite the mind “f.” What do you do about this? Work on your skills to make sales during the first time you speak with them.
Here are some ideas on how to cope with the follow-up struggle.
1. Have real sales conversations with them. Identify needs, explain products, and make an offer with an incentive to place their order that day. If they buy the first time, you don’t have to follow-up. I have tons of resources and posts about increasing closing percentage, check those out. Sure, some people might buy through FB messenger, but if you are struggling with follow-up there might be a better way. Also, those who bought through FB messenger would also buy if you give them amazing service through a sales conversation. If you cut corners, you will be sorry.
2. Set a specific date and time to follow-up, and make sure you both have agreement. I like to just tell the truth here. I don’t want to follow-up like a stalker so I want to make sure we are on the same page as to when you are planning on placing your order. Remember, it’s your job to set the structure, not theirs. They they will tell you one of two things. The first option is, “I’m not sure maybe… (insert vague timeframe) like in a month.” The other thing they could say is, “this is the date when I’m planning on placing my order.” Once you have that day, say, “would it be too much trouble if I don’t see it come through on that day, that I give you a call the following day to just process the order for you? I want to make sure you get the stuff as soon as possible and I know sometimes this stuff slips through the cracks.” Most likely they will agree and you have a non-pushy follow-up set up. Again, this takes more time, focus, and skill. Sending follow-up texts once a month is not super professional. Do a good job the first time and you won’t have to clean up the mess later.
Struggle #3: How to recruit business builders into their business.
This one showed up a lot in the time management struggles. Many of the people I interviewed were trying to reach the results of someone who has three or four business builders under them. When I probed a little more into what people were saying, it really felt like a funny pick-up line. Again, don’t be lazy. Do it right. Many of you are just starting out, so you can’t flaunt the success and lifestyle yet. And you won’t be able to until you recruit some business builders. It’s a major chicken and egg issue. The recruiting conversation requires a lot of different variables. Today, I will simply address your “pick-up lines.”
A while back I recorded a podcast, “How to Explain Your Business Without People Rolling Your Eyes” or something like that. In this episode I talked about the sales story, as explained and taught by the amazing sales trainer Mike Weinberg. This approach can and should be used to tell your business story. The core components of the sales story is to speak first about the needs addressed by your company, then the next big section will be where you explain the differentiators. Remember that no one cares about your opportunity, they only care about themselves and their lives. Let me give you a format that you can plug in with your specific company stuff.
XYZ company is a network marketing company selling ABC product.
Moms turn to us when… Here is where you will talk about the needs addressed, goals achieved, or problems solved. You could say something like “ Moms turn to us when they are tired of having their kids at daycare from 7am to 6pm but need to contribute an income to the family, and so on.” I would recommend at least five different bullets for this one.
Running your business with XYZ company can be done part-time or full-time with very low start-up costs.
What makes XYZ company different is… and now list four or five differentiators from either corporate jobs, other network marketing companies, or other leaders.
You will notice that the person you are “hitting on” will now be nodding their head and pretty engaged in the conversation if one of her needs, problems, or goals was brought up in the beginning.
For more details on how to craft a sales story, check out the post where I go into this in more detail and give an example.
Remember that when you are presenting your business, you are selling an idea. Which means you need to take the same care, actually more, than when you explain and sell your product. Again, don’t cut corners. Take the time to regroup and communicate clearly.
Ok wow, that was a lot. You might have heard this episode and thought, ok cool, now I know exactly what I need to do to overcome these challenges. Maybe you got completely overwhelmed by all of the suggestions. I try not to give you so many because I know you are listening somewhere and need something easy to digest. I’m going to ask you just to pick out one thing that really stuck with you, and work on that one for the next week.
If you heard all this and want to really dive in and something clicked for you, I’d like to invite you to join my core online program Your Direct Sales Foundation, or at least check it out. Head over to emergesalestraining.com/start and you can learn how the course covers goal setting, time management, appointment setting, closing, referrals, hosting, and repeat business. It’s all step-by-step with worksheets and you can go at your own pace.
I think that’s all for today. Thank you so much for listening and I look forward to chatting next week.
Tasha