The Game of Networking_MLMers ARE MANY. NETWORKERS ARE FEW.

by Rob Sperry

  THE HOST GETS THE MOST

  Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the best actors I know, and he did an excellent job in The Great Gatsby. Leo plays Jay Gatsby, an extremely rich and even more mysterious businessman that lives in West Egg, New York, during the Roaring 20s. No one has really met Jay Gatsby (at least at the start of the movie), but everyone knows of him and speaks very highly of him for one reason: he throws the most incredible parties!

  Every single weekend, rich and poor, old and young, Wall Street brokers and street sweepers would all meet up at Gatsby’s huge mansion for the most amazing parties, complete with magicians, acrobats, singers, dancers, live music, and lots of booze! These lavish parties were a great way for people to come together and network.

  Furthermore, even though no one had actually met Gatsby, everyone liked him because he was the Host. Now, I am not telling you to throw wild parties like Jay Gatsby, but becoming the Host will help put your networking on steroids! It’s great to be liked. It’s even better to be needed. The Host always receives the most appreciation because people are naturally attracted to the leader. This may not be your personality; it may feel uncomfortable, but this is where you must and will shine. This is where you can create some massive value.

  You may have read through the Likeability and Credibility sections and found some action points that you can easily apply starting today, like smiling more or never showing up late to events. Putting the Law of Recallability into practice by becoming the Host will be the most labor intensive but also arguably the most rewarding. The Host becomes the go-to person, and any time you can put yourself in a position to hold that kind of power, you should do it!

  A TOAST TO THE HOST

  You can become the host in several different ways. As you can see, many of them start off very small and simple, and it can turn into an incredible experience that leaves a lasting impact on your crowd.

  Dinners at your house

  Invite people to watch sporting events at your house

  Group lunches

  Golf, skiing, or whatever hobby you may enjoy

  Anything fun you have planned, invite some friends

  Christmas/Hanukkah get together

  Halloween get together

  Summer BBQ’s

  Visit your neighbors. Knock on their doors. Say hello.

  Go to church

  Get on an H.O.A. board

  Find service groups

  Find networking groups

  Develop a new talent

  Go workout at the gym with a class

  Join a book club

  You can start small and have a dinner at your house. Doesn’t have to be fancy, just casually having some friends over and getting some good food prepared will do the trick. I would also recommend not inviting all new people. Invite a few new people, but also invite others that you feel comfortable with. This will make the environment much more relaxed and fun. If there is a particular sporting event or even TV show that you like, invite people over to watch with you. If you want to break the ice and really get to know people, play games.

  Y ES, I SAID GAMES.

  Before you laugh and blow off this idea, hear me out. Adults like to have fun, and there are plenty of fun games. Playing games and having fun can create a great connection. Who do you think would stand out more: a host that held a dinner where everyone was trying to be really proper and uptight so as to not stand out, or a host that held a dinner and also played games so everyone was relaxed and had a better time? I think you know the answer.

  Yes, sometimes just having fun conversations is a good way to start. Or try putting together a gathering that is of interest to your new contact. If you follow these principles and put on your own events, people will have an incredible amount of respect for you. Even more importantly, you will be recalled by those people as they tell stories and share memories of that great time and experience they had with you. You create recallability because you have now injected yourself into these memories and stories that will be shared with others that weren’t even there.

  If you are looking for network marketing specific events, try to go to the annual GoPro convention, an ANMP (Association of Network Marketing Professionals put on by Garrett and Sylvia McGrath along with several other industry leaders) event, a network marketing cruise, or any and every network marketing event you can. There are many different non-company affiliated network marketing events. Use them to get to know other professionals and your Credibility will go up by the Law of Association. More importantly, you will be able to learn from these professionals.

  Eventually, you will make friends with other networkers, and your network will increase dramatically. You will be amazed at how one person can open up an entire new network to you, and the larger your network, the more value you can provide to people, and the more recallable you become. As always, do everything with the right intention! Look to provide value to people. Look to be a good friend always striving to give. Focus more on giving and having the right intentions. If your intent is in the right place, the reward will naturally come.

  B IGGER SCALE EVENTS

  Marketing is a contest for people’s attention. — Seth Godin

  Once you become a great networker and you’ve got the above activities down pat, it’s time for you to move on to the bigger events. I know because I’ve done a number of them. They are always worth it. They could be called Recallability on Steroids!

  Colten Shea understands the principle of hosting an event and the social benefits that come along with it. Colten is a young ambitious top industry leader in network marketing. He learned years ago, even before network marketing, that people are attracted to the host. A few years after high school, Colten built up his social influence by simply creating different events. He would throw parties and other fun events at his house, and as the events grew, so did his social influence. Colten became “the guy” to be around because he was the host. The host gets the most!

  Social proof is the validation that others like you and want to be associated with you. It almost makes you a low level celebrity in a weird way. Colten understood this principle and started to focus hard on creating great inspirational content, as well as outstanding lifestyle branding, on his social media. He adds everyone to his social media right when he meets them. Once they see his posts, and the number of followers and likes he gets, that becomes his social proof.

  Becoming the host and understanding social proof isn’t an overnight project. It would be a more advanced strategy for the overachievers. If you aren’t running an event, a good tip when supporting an event would be to show up early or stay late. Do this so that you can help out. Helping out the hosts will go a long way! You will stand out and get a chance to better know the host.

  Someone that has taken his social proof to the next level is Eric Worre. Eric is the most influential leader in all of network marketing. Everything he touches turns to gold and everything he says comes out just right. How did he become the most influential? He is the #1 host. Remember, the host gets the most!

  Years ago, Eric started Network Marketing Pro. His mission is to help network marketers stop being posers and amateurs and to help them make the decision to go pro. His best-selling book, Go Pro: Seven Steps to Becoming a Network Marketing Professional, really catapulted him into the spotlight as the premier trainer in the network marketing industry. Every year, he hosts a Go Pro Recruiting Mastery that brings in 20,000+ distributors (not counting those that watch on-line) from all different companies all over the world. The non-company specific training is taught by leaders from across the world, male and female, young and old. Just about every great leader wants to speak at the Go Pro Recruiting Mastery and get their whole team there as well.

  The coolest part about hosting big events is that you do not have to make the event network marketing specific. Realtors, brokers, actors and actresses, waiters, computer tech people, construction workers, you name it can also host large events, just like one of the top rea
ltors in all of Utah, Jimmy Rex.

  Jimmy Rex is a master at networking through big events. He hosts incredible events just like Jay Gatsby did but without the booze and gambling. He started out with small events and slowly grew them, and now his events are some of the largest in all of Utah. He has a yearly fireworks show where over 5,000 people attend. He consistently rents out movie theatres, giving out free tickets to clients and friends. I attended six of his free movies before I finally used him as a realtor. He has raised over $200,000 to fight sex trafficking. Not once did he ever pitch doing business with me at the movie theater, firework show, or any event that Jimmy threw. Jimmy simply created a fun environment and brought people together.

  As I picked Jimmy’s brain, he told me he tried to host any type of function he could to get to know new people. He didn’t pitch them on business. He just became their friend and always offered to help them in any way he could. As he made more friends with different groups, he was invited to more functions and then he would make those people part of his network. It is a never ending growth cycle for Jimmy, and he understands the host gets the most. Jimmy Rex is likeable and credible but where he stands out even more than anyone else is that he really gets the law of Recallability, and it has made him millions of dollars.

  This may all sound overwhelming to you, and it is for most people. This isn’t something you have to do. This would be a technique for the overachievers! If anything, you can apply this principle on a smaller scale to help you network. As I mentioned just a few paragraphs earlier, start with group dinners or lunches. Start with planning a movie with other friends and help coordinate. There are so many small ideas that you can implement to start the process. As you do this, you will start to feel more comfortable and your confidence will grow.

  Sometimes you will have to use your resources or get creative. I am fortunate that my grandma owns a cabin that I can use to have bigger functions. Twice a year, my wife and I invite lots of couples to the cabin. We always create fun games and coordinate everyone bringing food. In settings like these, it is harder to get to know people, but there is a lot of energy and it is fun connecting with so many people.

  When you organize an event, you will be invited to many other people’s functions. It is the law of reciprocation. What we give, we receive. This is just a natural process of providing value for others. I know state this often but it is always important to understand the right intentions behind everything you do. You don’t host because you expect others to then invite you to everything they do. Some will and some won’t, but if you authentically provide value for others you will receive more value back than if you had not provided anything at all. Even more importantly, you feel good about doing it.

  Years ago, my wife and I were invited, by Jarom Dastrup, to go to Lake Powell with about 13 couples. I only knew two of the couples going on the trip; however, we are always up for making new friends and we’re always looking to have a good time, so we decided to go. We weren’t sure what to expect, as many of the others were really good friends already. It is always a little uncomfortable going with a large group of new people who you don’t know, but by the end of the trip, my wife and I had made many lifelong connections. To this day, I still frequently go to lunch or get together with many of the friends my wife and I met at Lake Powell.

  The Law of Reciprocation was in full effect as years later I was able to help Jarom land a very big job. He was going through a transition in his career. As he is a master networker, he started by calling many from his network to see if they had any connections that were a fit for his personality and skillset. Jarom had multiple offers for high-level jobs from several different industries. He had great options because of his skillset, but those options would not have been available if he had not put the work in to maintain a good network. He had made a tremendous amount of deposits into his emergency networking account, so when it was time for him to receive help finding a new job, he was able to do so very quickly.

  Had Jarom not invited me to Lake Powell, I highly doubt that he would have called me to help connect him with a new venture. Since Jarom and I had created a stronger friendship through Lake Powell, he felt 100 percent confident in asking me for help. He is currently in a very prominent role in a $100+ million networking company and I couldn’t be happier that I was able to help a good friend.

  In 2012, I planned an 80’s style dodgeball tournament, for my wife’s birthday. I know, it is totally random, but it was a lot of fun! You may not want to be active in your events, and that is ok. My goal is to give you examples of what I have done to help get your creative juices flowing!

  On a different year, we went to the famous Pirate’s Cove, one of the greatest places on earth, hands down. Go YouTube Pirate’s Cove and you will see for yourself, but the video doesn’t do it justice.

  Pirate’s Cove is owned by a very successful individual. It is pirate themed with three pools and 21 master suites. I was able to rent out this place for three different groups in one week. Over 240 people attended with each family pitching in their share of the total cost. This was obviously a large scale event and was a ton of work, but I can tell you it was one of the most rewarding networking experiences I have ever had. I am not talking about results, as those are hard to quantify. I am speaking specifically about how great it felt to provide a fun experience for so many.

  Bottom line is that you need to become the organizer. Being the host signifies leadership, and people are attracted to leadership. As John Maxwell says, “Leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less.” The organizer typically becomes the leader. When you are providing value for others, they naturally want to find a way to reciprocate that value. People will naturally want to be around you more. Becoming recallable will be simple if people are making efforts to be around you and interact with you, but that won’t happen unless you first are that way to them. It isn’t what you know or who you know, but who knows you!

  Over four million online views annually from 150 plus different countries is enough to get anyone’s attention. Ever heard of Ted Nuyten? If not, have you ever heard of “Business for Home?” Ted was once a distributor in the network marketing industry. He decided that he wanted to create more validity to the industry, so he created a website sharing the incomes of other distributors. He had no idea at the time but he quickly found a huge niche and Business for Home was born. It is the top online news and recognition site available by a long shot. Ted makes a ton of money, and deservedly so. He is the top online host and, as we learned, the host gets the most. Even as you learn how to become the host you will still need to master the techniques I teach in my free eBook on how to taproot. Don’t forget to download your free eBook at www.robsperry.com/blueprint/.

  S TARTING YOUNG

  Learning how to host and network properly starts at a young age. You should teach your kids to network, whether you are a parent now or a future parent. Teaching your kids to network will be one the most valuable skills you can ever teach them. Becoming the host also applies to your kids as well. Have your kids host small get-togethers or parties. Remember, people migrate towards the host. There are several ideas you can implement with your kids that are simple, depending on your kids’ ages. You can find a local pool during the summer or simply have a movie night. Encourage your kids to compliment others and to invite over new friends. Remember, networking not only increases success, but it is one of the keys to happiness

  T HE LAW OF 250

  Joe Girard is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as “The Best Salesman in the World” because of a few strategies he implements better than anyone else. It seems like a difficult thing to get a concrete title for, but there are stats to back that up. Over the course of his 14-year car salesman career, he has sold over 13,000 vehicles. That’s an average of more than three per day! On his best day, he ended up selling 18 cars. By himself, he has sold more cars than 95% of all of the dealers in North America. How does one person become so exceptionally
good at sales?

  The Law of 250, which Girard came up with himself, states that the average person has about 250 people in their lives that would show up to their funeral or wedding. Some have more and some have less, but the average is about 250. To Joe, this meant that for every bad pitch he did when trying to sell a car, he lost a potential 250 referrals. However, for every good pitch he did that ended up with a car being sold, he gained a potential 250 referrals.

  Girard would keep records of every single customer who bought from him. He would follow up with them and take notes on not just how they liked their car but also about their personal lives. He would write down all of their kid’s names and what sports they played so he could develop a personal relationship with them and show that he cares about his customers for more than just their business. Last but not least, he always asked for referrals. Because of the great relationships he built, he didn’t come off as someone who was “salesy” when asking for referrals. In fact, his customers were more than happy to refer their friends to Girard, and almost every single one of Girard’s 13,000+ sales over 14 years were from referrals.

  Every time one of Girard’s past customers knew someone was in the market looking for a car, that customer would automatically think of Girard and have no problem recommending him, because he had high recallability. This would not have been possible if Girard did not do the little, mundane tasks like keeping records of all his customers or following up about his customer’s personal lives. How would your income grow if you had over 13,000 referrals in your career? Talk about putting the Law of Recallability to work!

  It always pays to go the extra mile for your customer to build a relationship. So many people try to shove their own wants and needs down the throats of their prospects, and the prospects hate that! People like to feel loved and respected, and that is what good relationships are built upon. Take the extra time to care about what your prospects care about, and watch how fast your network grows.