The Game of Networking_MLMers ARE MANY. NETWORKERS ARE FEW.

by Rob Sperry

  The Self-Promoter: When every post or every other post is promoting some sort of accomplishment or a throwback picture to glory days. When just about all of the comments are “Well done!” or “You’re amazing!” or “So impressive,” it is time to change up your posts. It’s obvious when people fish for compliments or are humble boasting. Every so often is okay, just not constantly.

  The TMIer: “Jocelyne is headed to Walgreens to get something to fix her diarrhea, my poor baby”: (“Um, wow. OK. I really would have been OK not knowing this”). Don’t share private things in public. You and your significant other just had a fight? Trust me, the world does not want to know!

  The Alluder: “Hang in there Jamie, don’t worry, your secret is safe with me!” That’s not even alluding and usually people are more subtle than that, but you know what I’m talking about. Don’t allude to things no one else knows because you think you are more important or a better friend. Maybe you do know more but stating it for everyone else to see just makes you look bad.

  The Maddening Obscurist: “Should I, or should I not?” “All things happen for a reason.” No one knows what you’re talking about! If you feel the need to just put little thoughts into the universe, get a journal. Don’t be weird.

  The Chronic Inviter: Game requests. Petitions. Game requests. Quizzes. Game requests. Tests. Game requests. Group Invites. Game requests. Page invites. Game requests. Please, stop the madness!

  SN APCHAT, INSTA STORY AND FACEBOOK STORY

  Snapchat, Instagram Stories and Facebook Messenger Day are very personal opportunities to show people more about what you do and why you do it. They all give their users so much freedom, from sending pictures and videos about ‘their reality” to chatting via text or live video. You can let people into your personal life by letting them see what you’re up to, anytime you can access your camera phone, which is just about any time. Personals snaps are like texting pictures to your friends, while adding snaps to your story is like adding photos or videos on your Facebook feed.

  The engagement rate on Snapchat, Instagram Stories and Facebook Messenger Day is extremely high. They could be considered the most addictive of all the social media platforms. One of the major reasons people are engaging on these story-type platforms is the 24 hour time-limit on snaps. They will be gone forever, so you better not miss it! This fact also encourages more posting instead of limiting yourself like the other platforms. People snap about everything and anything because it disappears. All three of these story platforms can really let people see who you are as a person in everyday life. It’s like your own reality TV show.

  Snapchat, Instagram Stories and Facebook Messenger Day can be the perfect tools to build your brand. You are going to be able to share what your life is like with your friends, family, and followers. Whether you are focused on finding more customers or just promoting your business, your stories can share anything you want them to… and the crazy part is people will WATCH IT!

  According to my good friend Dallin, this is what you NEED TO DO to be successful on a story:

  Allocate some time to learning the platform.

  Look at YouTube How-To Videos.

  Be real.

  Show your lifestyle daily.

  Be consistent.

  Don’t start unless you are going to let people in on the ride.

  Provide value.

  Remember, content is King

  Snapchat, Instagram Stories or Facebook Messenger Day could be a big asset this year to your brand this year. We are in the business of telling stories, and there is no more engaging way of telling them. Personally, I recommend you use one of the three consistently. Don’t try to use all three or you will not build any of them. If you haven’t yet focused on building any type of story platform on social media I would recommend you start where you already have the largest audience. For example, if you have the largest following on Instagram then you should be using Instagram Stories. If your following is the largest on Facebook, then you should be focused on building your daily stories on Facebook Messenger Day. Start where you have the largest following and then stay consistent.

  WE ARE ALMOST THROUGH THE SOCIAL MEDIA SECTION!

  If you aren’t overwhelmed, then congratulations! If you are bored, then skip ahead past this section. If you are enthralled by this section, we have a few more platforms to cover.

  Live Streaming is becoming more popular whether it be Facebook Live, Periscope, or whatever is the latest live streaming sensation. There is something about ‘live’ that makes it more genuine, real, and attractive. At the time of writing this book, live video streaming is still fairly new and not many people are using it. The ones that do use it currently do a great job at connecting with their audience. They take advantage of the platform by interacting with their viewers in real time, and that makes the viewer feel special.

  It is also cool to watch a live streaming video because you get to see someone in real-time without having a fancy edited video to go along with it. It allows you to look into someone’s real and raw lifestyle, and it makes that person seem more real. I would recommend going live at least once per week, even if it’s only for five minutes.

  I realize how uncomfortable it can be to do any live videos, let alone daily ones, so start with once a week and build up from there. At the beginning, don’t be discouraged by the lack of views. It will take time to build an audience and polish your live skills. That’s all part of the process that you must be willing to go through in order to become a professional. Be consistent in doing your live videos. Be authentic and do your best to have a concise message with a few simple steps. Lastly make sure to do live videos for the replay. Don’t be constantly giving shout outs to everyone who joins. That will annoy the person who replays your video which will be the vast majority of your views. Don’t wait for people to join your Facebook Live. Remember to do your Facebook Live with the replay viewers in mind. Don’t waste time. Get started and get to the point.

  People appreciate feeling connected to you, and you will build yourself up, almost as a celebrity, because of the effect that “seeing someone on TV” has on people. As always, watch others perform Facebook Lives to learn from them. Two of the people you should study are Billy Funk and Jessie Lee Ward. Jessie has that natural energy that attracts an audience but there is much more to her Facebook Lives than just her charisma. As you watch her closely, you will see specific techniques that she uses to engage her audience. She is constantly sharing personal stories and being very relatable. She is constantly asking her audience questions so that they actively engage in the comments section. This draws in the audience and will also gain you many more videos views. Billy, on the other hand, seems so quiet and reserved in normal conversation but you should see him on a Facebook Live. He also truly gets how to engage the audience. He creates great titles in his videos. He is well-prepared with his content and gives you a step-by-step process to implement. At times, he will even do crazy out-of-the-box things like wear a blue wig to grab your attention. His style may or may not be yours. That’s not relevant. You should study anyone who is successful at engaging the audience on Facebook Live and learn the principles of what makes them successful. Then apply those principles to your own style and personality. Facebook Live is quickly becoming the most important branding tool in all of network marketing.

  B LOG OR NEWSLETTER

  While the act of blogging isn’t actually considered part of social media, having a presence online that allows people to tap into your raw thoughts can be very valuable. Nowadays, people are all about transparency, and a blog can help you seem easier to understand. You will increase your visibility, frequency, and Credibility if you create solid content for your blog. Everyone looks people up on social media or in a Google search. If you aren’t found on the Internet, you aren’t credible. Get your content out there and distinguish yourself from the masses.

  WordPress is free for blog creation and is very simple to learn. There are also many gre
at websites that can help you create a newsletter. Having a consistent newsletter with your insight and content is just another powerful way to add to your brand.

  S TAND OUT

  Social media can help you as an individual be your own brand by making your social media one big story. Being a storyteller pays big money. Steve Jobs was one of the world’s greatest storytellers. He said, instead of simply delivering a presentation like most people do, he informed, educated, inspired, and entertained all in one presentation. Jobs once asked Pepsi then-president, John Sculley, “Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?”

  Differentiate yourself from the pack. Stand out! Disrupt comfort zones. “Ships in the harbor are safe… but that’s not what they’re built for.” Become memorable! It doesn’t take much, but it will make all the difference for you. Master the message. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can’t communicate your ideas, it doesn’t matter. Social media is not your business, but it is an absolutely necessary asset to your business.

  Remember, social media is constantly changing. During the course of writing this book over the past year there have already been three major changes in the social media world. My main goal with these lessons is to teach you the principles. As you learn them it is actually pretty easy to then adapt them. Until then it all can be quite overwhelming. Yet, while social media is very important to your business, it cannot replace verbal communication.

  Technology is a compulsive and addictive way to live.

  Verbal communication cannot be lost because of a

  lack of skill. The ability to listen and learn is key to

  mastering the art of communication. If you don’t use

  your verbal skills and networking, it will disappear

  rapidly. Use technology wisely. — Rick Pitino

  CHAPTER 7

  THE LAW OF

  PROFITABILITY

  LAW #3.5

  Does anyone know the story of one of the greatest mergers of all time? It was the 2006 Disney/Pixar merger which saved a struggling Disney. As the two companies were negotiating the merger in 2004, they came to a dead-end and it seemed as if the deal would never happen. From 2004 to 2006 they couldn’t get a deal done because they failed to follow this last Law of Networking.

  The two companies broke off talks due to a strained relationship between Steve Jobs and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. When Bob Iger succeeded Eisner, he immediately extended an olive branch to Jobs. Within three months of taking over as CEO, Iger had created a seven-billion dollar merger that many believed to be too expensive. Both sides felt their value was extremely high, and both sides were right; but Bob Iger understood the win-win scenario that could be created between the two parties. He made a bold move that literally transformed a struggling Disney company and a moderately successful Pixar company to legendary status.

  As of late 2017 Pixar has now released 17 movies, and ALL have grossed over 300 million in sales! Disney has quadrupled its stock since 2006 with a massive increase in their animation, which is a large part of their brand strategy. Their animation fuels their merchandise, cable TV, and theme parks.

  But before going into detail about the last half-law of networking, I am going to give you my definition of The Law of Profitability. Simply, it is creating a win-win scenario. That’s it. Think bigger than just money, although sometimes it is money that creates your win-win scenario. For some a win-win isn’t the money, it’s the association or mentorship.

  Here is a super simplified formula to being successful. The Law of Profitability is only a half-law because it is all about putting the three Laws we already covered into action. My Strategy to implement this law is:

  Read 30 books a year (Learn).

  Go to lunch or dinner with 70 different people a year (Likeability and Recallability).

  Take action in your profession (Credibility).

  Do this, all out, for five years, and I believe you will be successful. I know it’s pretty blunt and straight-forward, but I am almost certain that if you took action on the three things I just mentioned above, you’ll be doing way more work than 99% of your competition are currently doing. In order to truly Network you must make sure you follow through with The Law of Profitability. You must focus on creating win-win scenarios. This is one of my simplified strategies. Your strategy may be a little different but I hope you understand the principles taught behind my strategy. I hope that you create your own strategy based on the taught principles.

  T HE ABUNDANCE MENTALITY

  I have an abundance mentality: When people are genuinely happy at the successes of others, the pie gets larger. — Stephen Covey

  In networking you are only as good as the value you provide to others. Sean Brady needs to change his middle name to abundance! He and his wife Cherrie are literally the true definition of abundance mentality thinking. Unfortunately, there are some leaders who talk about having an abundance mentality, but end up showing their true colors (like Jake the Taker) when a member of their team decides to leave and go to a new company. So many leaders may pitch that they have this mentality, but the second anyone leaves their company, you see their true colors. They start to bash that leaving team member, clearly showing that they actually have a scarcity mentality.

  Sean has quite the story: he built a large network, lost it, and then rebuilt it all over again. He spent over a year in a foreign country, without his family, building his network marketing business. I don’t have time to do his story justice, so I won’t go into details. Sean literally cheers everyone on from every company. He offers to do three-way calls for other leaders in other companies to edify them. He begs to help crossline teams (where he has no financial gain) in any way that he can. He flies to many locations to do meetings where he has very little chance of financial gain and helps other team leaders. Sean is a flat-out winner who attracts the best of the best because he truly is the best kind of person there is. He doesn’t just pitch the abundance mentality; he lives it every day! I strive to be more like Sean.

  Both Sean and Cherrie taught me the value of karma over lunch at Malawi’s Pizza in Provo, Utah. They taught me that the profitability principle isn’t always about money. I was complaining to them about someone who had taken advantage of me in the business world. I was expecting both of them to feel sorry for me, but instead they taught me a powerful lesson.

  They both shook their heads and told me how awful they felt for the person taking advantage of me. They went on to say that what goes around always comes around. They weren’t worried about me. They knew I would be just fine if I kept abiding by the abundance mentality principle which, in the end, always leads to good karma. I learned at that moment that if you have the abundance mentality and focus on providing value for as many as you can, you will be fine. Don’t worry about other’s wrongdoings!

  They taught me that understanding who you are and how you deal with others says a lot about you. They said they always focused on helping others to be successful, even if it didn’t net them a dollar. Throughout their first five years of marriage, they were tested as they felt they were doing everything they believed was right, but it was not yielding the financial results they were looking for. It took them years of living the abundance mentality on a daily basis for them to see results. For the last 15+ years, they have lived a very successful lifestyle earning in excess of $15 million.

  A huge insight that they didn’t tell me, but that I learned from them is that compensation always catches up to skill set, abundance giving, and effort… but that it is almost always delayed. Their success hasn’t stopped them from living what got them there. In fact, now they feel like they have more resources and time to live the abundance mentality more efficiently. I have seen countless examples where Sean meets an individual for the first time. He gives them his phone number and encourages them to call him for help. He has no hidden agenda with these individuals and assumes nothing financially will ever c
ome out of it for him. He and his wife just believe that’s how you should live your life. Sean and Cherrie view the profitability principle very differently from others and it has paid off in a major way.

  I HELPED A COMPETITOR

  Years ago I remember a friend named Mark Klassen came to me for advice on leaving his network marketing company. Naturally, if someone is leaving, you would love for them to join your company. You know your company the best. It benefits you and your team the most. I told Mark I would be more than happy to assist him in any way that I could. I asked him if he were open to checking out my current company. He kindly said he would keep an open mind but that it probably wasn’t going to be a fit.

  Sure enough, after checking out my company, Mark was proved right: my company was not a fit for him. I ended up giving Mark my opinion on several companies, and I connected him with other knowledgeable leaders in the industry to give him another opinion. I helped connect him with four different companies that I felt were solid, and he ended up choosing one. He has had a tremendous amount of success with his new company. I got no referral fee. I have not been, nor will I ever be, paid for those services, but I was simply following what I was taught: The Abundance Mentality. Do the right things for the right reasons. You will attract who you become. That encompasses Profitability.

  T HE LAW OF RECIPROCATION

  I have a good friend named Woody Woodward, the same Woody from the Lake Powell trip mentioned earlier in the book. Woody always asks, “What can I do to help you?” It’s annoying because he is exactly what I am trying to be. I’m trying to be that guy that’s always providing value to others, and this guy is so good at it that even when I feel that I am providing value to him, I’ll know he’ll find a way to one-up me! It’s not a competitive thing, so much as it’s just wired into his DNA.