The Game of Networking_MLMers ARE MANY. NETWORKERS ARE FEW.

by Rob Sperry

  He’s trained himself to be a Giver instead of a Taker, and I feel so obligated to him because of that. I still feel that I always owe him. He is always thanking me. I don’t even know how he finds so many things to thank me for, but his graciousness makes me feel important. He is always communicating with me and asking what else can he do to help me in business and life. Because of all the value that Woody has provided me, I know that if he ever needed my help, I would do anything possible to help him achieve his goal.

  If you only network when you desperately need it, then you will be perceived by many as a Taker. Network marketers make this mistake often. Many network marketers have ruined friendships because of that Taker mentality. With the Taker mentality, it’s as if all relationship-building practices go out the window the moment the Taker starts to prospect. It should be the exact opposite, because recruiting is all about building relationships! In network marketing, as soon as most people get a no, they instantly just move on to the next person. While you may not get any business out of a prospect the moment you prospect them, don’t confuse moving on to the next person with discarding a relationship altogether.

  G IVER VS TAKER

  There are givers and takers in life. The takers eat well while the givers sleep well. Givers focus on providing value for others. Takers focus on what’s best for them. One of my favorite books of all time is Give and Take by Adam Grant. This book studies how ambitious Givers typically start off slow but end up victorious at the end of the day. It makes sense! By focusing on others, you sometimes make perceived sacrifices but those sacrifices are like investments: you may be down a little bit of money right now, but it pays huge dividends in the long run. No one trusts a Taker. No one generally likes a Taker. Give more! Develop a relationship. Yes, it takes longer, but it’s more successful.

  Adam Grant looks at how some Givers that are too nice in the workplace end up at the bottom of the sales chart because they are not aggressive enough. Givers like that are on the brink of being fired for lack of productivity. It was also found that some Givers were also at the top of the sales chart, and they were usually over 50 percent higher than the Takers in the middle of the chart.

  What does this mean? It means that Givers that don’t know how to incorporate their own needs into the goals of others end up as chumps, while Givers that figure out how to incorporate their own needs with the goals of those they work with completely dominate the field. The Law of Profitability is Win-Win. Both sides must be taken care of for a deal to be successful. They are champs in every regard, and their Giver traits are a huge reason for their success.

  The currency of real networking is not greed, but generosity. — Keith Ferrazzi

  MEET THE GIVER

  Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver, and this connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging — Deepak Chopra

  Years ago I met this crazy optimistic dreamer. He had all of these crazy ideas. Right away, there was something about him where I just knew I could trust this guy. I could tell he was a Giver. I don’t know if it was his charisma, how he spoke, or what he said, but you probably know that type of person. The person that you instantly know you can trust. This individual isn’t just trustworthy; he is the “favor” guy. He is the guy that will do anything for anyone without anything in return. He is what I call an “Ambitious Giver.”

  Ambitious Givers provide so much value that they always win in the end. They also end up becoming super profitable in whatever they put their focus on, whether it be finances, relationships, growth, and more. The book The Go Giver is one of my favorite books of all time. It is all about how to become an Ambitious Giver. In summary, here is what I interpreted an ambitious giver to be, as taught in The Go Giver.

  Principle 1: Value.

  Give more than you take in income.

  Principle 2: Compensation.

  Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. If you want to be a billionaire, go serve a billion people. When you provide great value you will become a referral producing machine.

  Principle 3: Influence.

  Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first. People do business with people they know, like, and trust!

  Principle 4: Authenticity.

  The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.

  Principle 5: Receptivity.

  The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

  There may be times where some take advantage of Ambitious Givers, but it is rare to find someone who is so selfless and equally ambitious. This Ambitious Giver has given so much, that he is the go-to guy anytime you are looking for any sort of connection. Do you remember Brandon Carter who was mentioned earlier in the book? Let me refresh your memory. He helped Lance Conrad and me create a brand new initiative for a company that had $3 billion in lifetime sales. If you are going to start a business, you call an Ambitious Giver like Brandon Carter because everyone likes, respects, and trusts him. If you are looking for a job or a favor, or really anything at all, you always have someone like Brandon Carter at the top of your list. He provides so much value for so many that he has developed a huge network.

  It pays big time to be an Ambitious Giver. Companies consistently seek Brandon’s involvement because of his skillset, but even more so because of the strength of his trusted network. Your goal is to always strive to give more value to every person in your network compared to what they give you. One way to give is to help others out in any little way you can, such as random acts of kindness.

  # RAK

  Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth. — Muhammad Ali

  With the advance of technology, we are aware now more than ever of how life is outside of where we live. We see starving, homeless people on TV, or we see in movies how those less fortunate are portrayed as helpless beggars. As people become more aware of how the rest of the world lives, that awareness has created more humanitarian efforts than ever before.

  I believe that increased awareness has created millions upon millions of increased Random Acts of Kindness (RAK). I see countless YouTube videos and social media posts of simple Random Acts of Kindness go viral. It is very inspiring. One of the major successes in my time in network marketing is creating a cause. If your company has a cause you can get fully behind, do it. Otherwise, create your own cause for your group. It can’t be a gimmick. You can’t say one thing and do another. If you have a cause then you need to support it, recognize those who support it and have structure behind it.

  I always had a desire to get fully behind something bigger than the business, something humanitarian-based. In 2013, Lance Conrad, Brandon Carter, and I, along with many others, decided to add that piece to our team. Every month, we would get together and go serve our communities. We weren’t allowed to talk about business at all.

  One month, we visited widows. Another month, we raised money for three fatherless families. I have had the good fortune of participating in all sorts of service projects, such as visiting sick kids, helping a pre-school clean up their whole play area, donating to food banks, raising money for the Oso, Washington mudslide, and more. Our goal is to attract the right like-minded people, and doing random acts of kindness will attract people that find that sort of activity desirable.

  In network marketing, we attract leaders based on different variables; one of the major ways to attract leaders is by showing who you are as a person. The better the person you become, the more leaders you will attract. How amazing is that?! You make more money while becoming a better person. One of the things I love about this profession is that it is like a mirror reflecting all of your strengths and weaknesses.

  Several times a year, my teams do Random Acts of Kindness blitzes. We challenge everyone to go do something to help out the world and brighten someone’s day. I have had all sorts of different types of Random Acts of Kindness blitz days. I have done anything from
paying for someone’s gas or food to simply complimenting ten people in a day. It doesn’t have to be about money, and it doesn’t need to be complicated.

  Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will bring your own life. — Arnold Schwarzenegger

  A study published in 2009 in the Journal of Social Psychology talks about the science of giving back. Participants were asked to complete a life satisfaction survey measuring multiple factors of their happiness and gave them certain scores. The participants were then divided into three groups. The first group was instructed to perform a daily act of kindness for the next ten days. The second group was told to do something new every day for the next ten days. The third group received no special instructions. After the ten days had passed, all the participants were asked to take the same life satisfaction test. The first and second group experienced a significant boost in their happiness ratings, while the third group had no differences in their ratings.

  If your team doesn’t have something like this, they are missing out. You are missing out! Making money is great, but helping others and becoming a better person during that process is priceless. Every network marketing company claims to have the best compensation plan with the best products. Of course, both products and the compensation plan are foundational pieces of a solid company. However, these days, companies need more. They need culture. Culture and values are very important to people because they want to be a part of something good and uplifting. They want to make a difference and feel relevant. Using company success to serve and create a culture focused on doing good will differentiate a network marketing company from its competitors.

  Not many people can raise $45,000 in one night, but Justin Prince did. Operation Underground Railroad has gathered the world’s experts in extraction operations and in anti-child trafficking efforts to bring an end to child slavery. After watching a powerful video on the huge world problem of child trafficking and slavery, Justin felt compelled to not just watch, but actually do something about it.

  I still remember getting a call from him inviting me to an early showing of the movie The Abolitionist, which shows real life extractions from Operation Underground Railroad. He was so passionate about helping out this cause. I would guess that 99 percent of the people in the theater weren’t part of Justin’s business. He didn’t do it to build his business; he did it because he believed in the cause. He did it because it was the right thing to do, and he happens to be a very successful network marketer. This story illustrates one of the major reasons why people are attracted to who Justin is as a person. In this case profitability wasn’t about making money; it was about becoming a better person.

  Without a strong culture, your network will fail. Jordan Kemper’s network marketing organization consists of more than 20,000 clients in 19 different countries. One of Jordan’s greatest strengths is his ability to create a strong team culture. When speaking on culture, he gives the following insight, “when you are fighting for a cause greater than yourself you will always work harder.”

  Melyna Harrison was a millionaire from a business outside of the network marketing industry. She and her husband John had already made a lot of money before Melyna even began network marketing. She started with her network marketing company as a hobby where she could work with friends and help other people. She didn’t need the money, so the purpose was deeper—to help others. When John had a drastic change at work, and the Harrisons lost just about all of their money, it was fortunate Melyna had already started with network marketing.

  Now Melyna needed to replace her family’s income. She had seen her husband work long hours for years only to have everything taken away. This also grew her motivation for her business. She was already deeply passionate about her company’s products and how they could help others. Now she was passionate about getting her husband home and creating a residual income where her family could travel and create long-lasting memories. Melyna did it. She worked extremely hard and was able to bring her husband home, and he now helps her build their business.

  Recently, Melyna and John decided to take their kids to Mexico for an entire month. What an experience! Without Melyna having that strong ‘why’ for her work, there is absolutely no way she would have been able to overcome all of the obstacles on her journey to success. Your struggle becomes part of your story, but only if you overcome that struggle. Your ‘why’ is what will get you through the struggle.

  There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it. — Napoleon Hill

  CHAPTER 8

  MASTERING THE

  WIN-WIN

  H OW TO RECRUIT OTHER NETWORK MARKETERS

  Don’t let this section fool you. This is not going to be “Cross Recruiting 101.” I am not going to teach you how to steal people from other companies for your own personal gain. That is selfish and a quality of a Taker, and you are not a Taker, you’re better than that. You are a Giver. You make friends. You stay in contact. You provide value. You continue to build your Credibility. If people are ever looking to leave and start with a different company, they will call those they like and respect the most. Hopefully you!! You need to become that well-liked and respected person that people will come to when they are looking for change.

  When recruiting others, I don’t ever target companies. I don’t ever target leaders. I don’t buy or call downline lists of other companies. I always tell each leader that is brought to me from another company that if they are happy where they are, then I support them and would love to just connect with them. If they are unhappy with their current situation and open to learning from me, then I will provide value however I can to educate them. If they tell me they are happy where they currently are, I leave it at that! Don’t pester someone to the point where they don’t want anything to do with you. I don’t connect with them just to try to slide in little remarks about how amazing our team is and indirectly recruit them. That is what Takers do, and you and I are better than that!

  It’s important you adopt an abundance mentality. Everybody pay attention to this: there is enough to go around! You don’t need to target other companies or leaders. Yes, it is true that there is a chance that ‘Double Blue Star Diamond Ambassador Executive Director Legend’ leader XYZ will switch companies someday. If it happens, it happens. If they do switch companies, do you think they just decided to randomly drop out and become a network marketing free agent? No! They went to someone beforehand and made a game plan to make sure their team was in the best position to succeed.

  There is not a chance in the world that desperately messaging and talking to someone will get them to want to partner up with you. That is what Takers do, and, once again, you and I are both better than that. You needed to have established that relationship and connection before they announced they were switching companies. Then they might have come to you when searching out new options. If you would have been a Giver, then you would have at least been in the running.

  Make friends without a hidden agenda. Don’t be a hyena waiting to attack when the moment is right. Learn from each other. It will build both your Credibility and theirs because you will both talk positively throughout the industry about the other. If that leader ever switches, and you’ve built a good enough relationship with them before they make the decision to switch, then of course they will call you. However, that should never be the focus or reason you make friends with another leader.

  Remember, there are plenty of other ambitious leaders who have never been a part of the network marketing or Multi-Level Marketing industry. If you are new and still aren’t sure what Multi-Level Marketing really means here is the simple definition. Multi-level Marketing, or MLM, is a system for selling goods or services through a network of distributors. Some call it network marketing while others call
it MLM. Both have the exact same meaning. Len Clements is an incredible network marketing leader and is also like the Wikipedia of info for the network marketing industry. Years ago he wrote an article on MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) pirates.

  A pirate is an old term used in the network marketing industry that describes a distributor who purposely targets other companies’ distributors. Pirates see someone else’s large body of work (large organization) and want to somehow take that group at all costs into their new group. Pirates are always looking for the shortcut. In Len Clemens article he said the following about MLM pirates: They aren’t doing the industry any favors either. MLM needs new blood. We must increase our numbers by attracting more professional people from outside our little world. One of the reasons why it just hasn’t happened (yet) might be the way this industry feeds on itself. We, in general, seem content to just keep recycling the same people over and over and over, until they drop out. For the most part, those entering MLM for the first time just enter the same cycle along with everybody else. And the number of new people coming in isn’t exceeding those going out by much.

  HOW TO HANDLE NETWORK MARKETERS WHO LEAVE YOUR ORGANIZATION

  Michael Jordan is considered the greatest NBA player ever. In college, he was highly recruited and ended up with The North Carolina Tar Heels. One of the greatest rivalries in all of sports is the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils. Mike Krzyzewski is the coach of the Blue Devils and is the college coach with the most wins in college basketball history. His famous nickname in the sports world became Coach K. He was early on in his career when he lost the recruiting battle for the great Michael Jordan. I would expect a coach young in their career, losing a recruiting battle to a rival, to be a little immature or at the very least to not reach out to his lost recruit. Coach K had the maturity to handle the loss of a recruiting battle. On October 29th, 1980 Coach Mike Krzyzewski wrote the following letter to Michael Jordan.