The Game of Networking_MLMers ARE MANY. NETWORKERS ARE FEW.

by Rob Sperry

  I asked him to help us create this new initiative and also asked if I could meet on a regular basis to make sure that this project was on the right course. After paying the CEO respect, asking for his advice on what had been created and for help for all future decisions, I had his buy-in. I knew it didn’t matter if we created the greatest program in the world if we didn’t have the buy-in from the CEO.

  A year later, the CEO felt like this was his project. He felt like he had created this new initiative. In reality, he didn’t create anything, but he supported everything that was created. Networking, business, and friendships are about creating the best possible outcome. In order to do so, you need to follow the law of the buy-in and you can’t worry about who gets the credit. You can make a lot of money if you don’t get easily offended and focus instead on giving others credit.

  There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit — Ronald Reagan

  Not only do I have experience of getting others to buy in, but I have bought-into someone myself! The very first time I met Jordan Adler, the author of Beach Money, I was shocked at the questions he asked me. He is very well-known and respected in the network marketing world. I hadn’t been introduced with any sort of background, so Jordan had no idea if I was wildly successful or a brand-new network marketing distributor. I told him I enjoyed his book. He immediately started asking me for advice on which title I liked best for the new book that he was writing. I walked away feeling important, thinking, “Wow, what a great guy Jordan is, asking me for advice when he has no idea my background.” He immediately gained more Credibility in my eyes and won me over as a fan.

  It didn’t take much, but Jordan Adler had his Credibility shoot up through the roof by asking me just a few simple questions and getting me to buy-in. By feeling more involved with the process, I bought-in to what Jordan is all about, and his Likeability soared through the roof. Anytime you can raise your Likeability significantly in a single transaction, you are going to raise your Credibility as well. The same can be said for increasing your Credibility. It will increase your Likeability. Both will help raise the other.

  H IGH LIKEABILITY BUILDS HIGH CREDIBILITY

  What can you do to build your Credibility? There are five key factors to focus on when building your Credibility. All things being equal, your likeability will be the key to winning the tiebreaker. One of the greatest things about building up your Likeability is that it helps to build Credibility. People like people that exercise these Rules.

  Let’s say you meet two people that are both very smart on the same topic. As you talk to them, one of them smiles at you and the other one doesn’t at all. Which one will you think is more credible? Probably the person that smiled at you, even though a smile has nothing to do with the Credibility of the content he is telling you. Instinctively, you are more trusting of the person that smiled at you because of that built Credibility.

  Building your own Credibility comes through both your actions and your ability to become a great communicator. Communicating properly builds trust, which builds Credibility. When it comes to building your Credibility, there are five laws that come into play.

  1. THE FIRST LAW IS TIME

  We all seemingly don’t have enough of it. Everyone is always busy, or in a rush. Because of this, it is important that we not only value our time but the time of the person we are communicating with. It can be very easy to point fingers and accuse certain people of having no respect for other’s time, but let’s not play the blame game. I know you hate it when someone wastes your time over and over again, so have enough respect for the person you are networking with to limit your time with them and not waste it.

  Being late to meet someone shows a lack of respect for their time. Be prompt for all of your appointments, business or social. If you are running late, show respect and courtesy by letting them know. Something as simple as this boosts your Credibility and Likeability because you are showing respect for the other person.

  Time management on your part will help you respect other people’s time. Always plan on being ten minutes early, in case something goes wrong. In order to help you be ten minutes early, always plan on each task taking longer than expected. Plan for the worst, but hope for the best. If I have a meeting at 1 p.m. that is supposed to last for an hour, but I have no control over it, I will leave myself a buffer of time in between to ensure I am on time, or I will let my 1 p.m. appointment know the exact time I have to leave.

  Time management is actually one of my strengths. The simple answer is to plan ahead well, give yourself a buffer, and realize many things take a lot longer than expected. Don’t always assume best-case scenarios for; instead, always assume the worst-case scenario. If you show up early, I am sure there are always calls that you can catch up on.

  2. THE SECOND LAW IS SUCCESS

  Or more specifically, your own success. Learn how to tell your story properly, just like we went over earlier in the book and will touch up on again. People love success stories! With all the negativity reported by the media nowadays, a feel-good story or celebrating someone’s success is a big deal! Whether you’ve had great successes, or a series of small successes, leverage that! People won’t give you the time of day if you can’t prove your Credibility. This does not mean you go brag to everyone about your accomplishments; rather, find common ground where you can share a success story about yourself that will prove your Credibility and open the door to further conversation.

  3. THE THIRD LAW IS LEVERAGING OTHER PEOPLE’S SUCCESS

  Learn how to borrow other people’s stories. This becomes especially important when you are proving yourself as a mentor that has helped others achieve success. The law of association is very powerful. If someone credible is either associated or working with you, that lends you Credibility. People care about all your accolades and your greatness but most people think, “What’s in it for me?” You need to show people your Credibility and open the door for more communication by showing people that you’ve created success for Person X, Person Y, and Person Z, and you can do the same thing for them. When you are able to show people your proven track record of success, most will want to listen.

  One of the greatest lessons a leader can learn is that he or she doesn’t need to know all the answers—he or she just needs to know how to pull the answers out of the best people. — CEO and Founder of the Og Mandino Group, Dave Blanchard

  4. THE FOURTH LAW IS COMMITMENT

  Commitment is about sticking with your goal through the tough times. It’s about not letting anything stand in the way between you and your success. Commitment is also about committing to your team. It’s about investing in your people and leading with servant-leadership. The old school “boss” mentality is long gone. People don’t like bosses anymore; instead, they like leaders. Bosses demand too much and give too little. Many bosses are considered takers while leaders are givers. Commit to being a leader for both yourself and for your team, and never let there be any doubt in your team’s mind about your intentions; this way your belief levels, and those of your entire team, will be elevated. It’s harder to quit on someone when you know they won’t quit on you.

  5. THE FIFTH AND FINAL LAW IS HONESTY

  I don’t care how amazing you are to someone and how much they look up to you. The first time you lie to them, things will never be the same. Everything you say will be taken with a grain of salt because they know you could be lying. If you’ve lied once, what’s to stop you from doing it again? Honesty is always the best policy, and it is pivotal to your brand and Credibility. Even though it may be tough sometimes to tell the truth, it’s a lot harder to have to own up to your lies down the road. Would you rather be known as the person that has lied their way to the top or the one who kept their integrity all the way through?

  You know those people that are so likeable that you almost want to punch them? Bob Snyder has been in the direct sales industry for over 20 years. He currently owns a non-MLM
direct sales company. The first time I met Bob was at a networking event. He was so likeable with his smile, positive attitude, and charm. As I got to know Bob I wanted to learn more about some of his investments, so I did what I always do: I went around asking other trusted friends if they knew Bob and what their thoughts were of him.

  Every single person, without question, told me that Bob was one of the most trusted people they knew. The responses weren’t simply, “Sure, Bob is a nice guy.” Instead, person after person repeatedly had a strong stance that Bob could be trusted. His authenticity was real, and he had grown a reputation that he was not only likeable, but he could be well trusted.

  Above all, success in business requires two things:

  a winning competitive strategy,

  and superb organizational execution.

  Distrust is the enemy of both.

  I submit that while high trust won’t necessarily

  rescue a poor strategy, low trust will almost always

  derail a good one. — Stephen M.R. Covey

  CHAPTER 5

  THE LAW OF

  RECALLABILITY

  LAW #3

  My mama always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’

  This town ain’t big enough for the two of us.

  Houston we have a problem.

  Are you crying? Are you crying?! There’s no crying! There’s no crying in baseball!

  Can you guess which movies these quotes come from? If you are from my generation, or earlier, these quotes are obvious! They are all quotes from famous movies starring Tom Hanks. Hanks is one the of the top ten highest grossing actors of all-time. He is extremely likeable as a movie character and has created as much Credibility as anyone in the acting world. He has become so recognizable due to his Likeability and Credibility that his movie scenes are very recallable. Whether it is Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Woody from Toy Story, or The DaVinci Code, you can recall famous Tom Hanks movie scenes.

  So, what exactly is Recallability? First off, it’s not a word I just made up. Recallability is the ability to have an awareness of something or someone. If you have a high Recallability, you come to mind often. If you have a low Recallability, then no one thinks to network with you. Many times those with low Recallability have high Credibility but are never thought of. You can be likeable and build up tons of Credibility, but if no one can recall you when you would have been the perfect fit for the job, then there’s no way you will be profitable! This is a perfect place for me to remind you to go join my Facebook group page, The Game of Networking. Not only does it help my recallability but it can help yours. This is a great place for you to post valuable content and become more recallable.

  There were no storm clouds in the sky or raindrops falling when Noah built his ark. More than likely, the sun was shining and the birds were singing, but, Noah knew better. He was busy chopping down forests, turning them into planks, hammering them together, and building an ark. The days and weeks went by. The months passed and then the floods came and the rest is history. Because Noah prepared himself, he was ready and did not get overtaken by the flood waters.

  It takes time to network. The most important time to network is when you don’t need anything. Build up your value by building up others with good intentions. If you do, you will build a reservoir that you can use when needed; if you don’t, that reservoir will be empty when you need it most. Real relationships aren’t convenient. They take time and work. Don’t wait until it is too late.

  If you want to build a million dollar check you have to build million dollar relationships. — Clif Braun

  You don’t go to a garden that hasn’t been attended to for months and say, “Why don’t I have any tomatoes?!” Any chance of you having beautiful, ripe tomatoes was squandered months before when you made the decision that your tomato garden was not important enough for you to tend to. That decision you made months ago was reinforced every single time you thought about tending to your garden but decided something else was more important. Then, when you really wanted your tomatoes, surprise! There aren’t any. By failing to plan, you planned to fail.

  Your future will become what you make of it.

  If you choose to plan nothing, then nothing is what you’ll receive.

  However, if you choose success and plan for it… success is what you’ll receive. — Mel Atwood

  So much more time needs to be spent on cultivating relationships, building connections, and creating the root system for your network. If you try to pull the product without even letting the roots establish, you will kill off any progress that may have been made. Feed the roots and let the roots grow deep before going in for the kill!

  It is worth so much more to help someone when you get nothing out of it at that moment. Think of those moments as your deposits into your emergency savings account. I promise that when you do need something, the favor you receive will be reciprocated in a huge way and well worth all those pesky deposits.

  So when I am asked “When is the best time to network?” there really is no best time because you should always be networking! It is called netWORKing for a reason. It takes time and work. Anything worthwhile takes time and work, and great relationships are no exception.

  Lisa Grossman is one of those people who is known as one of the most brilliant trainers in all of network marketing. Even more than that, she is always striving to strengthen relationships. It isn’t by coincidence that she is one of the most influential leaders in the entire industry. She has NETWORKed. In the first conversation I had with her, she gave me advice for an hour without asking for anything in return. She texted me a week later asking if there was anything she could do to help me and my team. I’m not even in the same company as Lisa, and she still went out of her way to check up on me! Isn’t that incredible? She still continues to do this on a regular basis.

  Lisa understands the principle of working your network and providing value for others. She is building her ark before it ever rains. If Lisa ever had to start over in network marketing (which she won’t have to, but stick with me here), I know she will have no problem rising to the top ranks again because she is no fluke. She has tended to her tomatoes and built her ark so nothing will stand in her way. She has spent countless hours with my team and the teams of other top leaders without any financial gain. She is a master NETWORKer and is easily recallable as one of the top leaders in all of network marketing.

  W HEN GETTING NO IS GOLD

  Follow me on this. The best invite can be getting a ton of ‘no’s. That sounds funny and doesn’t make sense but let me explain. This technique is gold for Recallability! No, I am not talking about inviting someone to join your network marketing business. I am talking about something completely different.

  Let me give you an example. I was given a tee time for four to go golfing last summer. I had three spots to fill for free golf. I filled those spots, but in order to do so, I invited 12 people to go knowing I could only get three to say yes. The tee time was right during the middle of a normal workday so I knew ahead of time most wouldn’t be able to go. Even though I knew most couldn’t play, I knew the gesture would still go a long way. Of course, I hoped all could go but realistically I knew that wasn’t feasible.

  Now, think about what I just did. I had three people that I was able to go have fun and connect with, but I also had nine people that felt pretty important that they were invited. I got a ton of goodwill out of simply inviting and being thoughtful of others. Sure, I knew some would say no, but that didn’t stop me from inviting them. I can all but guarantee you that each one of those 12 people will have me on the short list the next time they go golfing or the next time they do something fun like that. Even if I had not been given a free tee time for four, I could have applied the same principle just by scheduling a tee time and inviting others.

  Be inclusive, and don’t stop inviting. Sometimes, my wife and I love just going to the movies with no one else. Other
times, we will plan to go with a small group, or, on special occasions, we will go to the movies with a large group. Say you only have room for ten couples. If you are at seven couples, don’t stop inviting. Keep inviting until you get to ten! Those who were invited but don’t end up coming will feel very important just by the mere fact they were included.

  You don’t have to have something free to offer others in order for this to work. If you are inclusive and invite others to feel a part of your life, people will feel important and well connected to you. Using this technique the right way is one of the most powerful ways to follow the Law of Recallability.

  Please don’t misuse this principle. Your intentions are important. My intentions aren’t to purposely get told no; I don’t hope to get a no. I genuinely love people, and I love the camaraderie of being with others. I always hope for a yes rather than a no. My main point is for you to understand the principle of being inclusive, making others feel important, and how getting a no on your invite can still be a great thing. It is also important to understand the value in no because many fear getting told it, especially in a social setting. It isn’t as great as a yes, but there is still is great value.

  I have known Greg Merrill since the 8th grade. I lost track of him for several years after high school, but then we ended up being neighbors. Greg is a successful financial advisor who distinguishes himself by networking. I have been invited by him to countless movies, golf outings, ski days, lunches, and many other fun social gatherings. Greg always wants someone to say yes to his invites, but when someone says no, he doesn’t freak out. He continually invites others applying the principles taught above. By frequently connecting with so many and by constantly inviting others to many different functions, he has made others feel included. He has turned the connection into the relationship. He has become The Host and made others feel important.