The Emir and the Seller
Once upon the time, there was a young, wealthy Emir, but the population of his emirate was very poor. One day they discovered oil under the ground. Owing to this extraordinary influx of money, the Emir decided to implement numerous works to improve the quality of life of his people and to erect beautiful buildings. He also wanted to get to know his people and his land better and so he started travelling accross the land, visiting towns and talking to everyone he met, interested in their impressions and needs. As he travelled around, he realized that the roads were in a terrible condition and that the streets were full of garbage and all kind of debris. He therefore decided to organize a competition to improve the conditions and selected a construction company with a long tradition in stone and marble building. Being so rich, he could afford grandiouse buildings and decided to start from the streets. He wanted them paved with cobblestones, precious stone and marble coming from every corner of the world. While speaking with citizens from all strata and walks of life, discussing the improvements and new projects, he came accross an old street seller and decided to share his plan. The seller said that he remembered that the streets had once been beautiful and clean and was sad to see them dirty and destroyed. Perhaps it would be enough to clean them, he suggested. The constructor started the works nevertheless and discovered a wonderful pavement beneath the dirt.
Just like those streets covered with garbage, the minds of many people are clogged with prejudices, scepricism and mistrust.
When it comes to Network Marketing, it would be enough to remove the prejudices that dim the minds for people to reveal something that could improve the quality of their lives.
Prejudices prevent many people from using these fantastic products and make them think that they are not up to the occasion, and so they never even try. As we say here, “They apply a bandage before they get injured”. Many prople start attending courses and seminars, but it is enough to read the documentation or watch the videos and follow the suggestions and instructions provided by long time Network Marketing experts. Here are some examples:
1) YOU CAN ERR, BUT DO IT AT ONCE
Out of fear of making a mistake, people hesitate before they venture into promoting the products. Meanwhile, their enthusiasm withers.
In small and big companies, like in a family, money is more often wasted due to untaken than due to wrong decisions. Therefore, go for it! Do not be afraid of making a mistake, of telling the wrong things, because we learn from our mistakes. There are always 60 million Italians and 7 billion people in the world waiting for you to get in touch with them. And, language is not always an obstacle.
2) YOU FIND QUALITY IN THE QUANTITY
We learn from experience that, when it comes to Network Marketing, it is necessary to communicate with many people in order to find one person who is willing to listen to you. Knowing this, you will not be discouraged by the many rejections. In any case, if you saw good seeds, with time, many negative responses will become positive. It takes patience, determination and perseverance, of course, but the results are a matter of statistics.
One of the greatest networkers in the world from the Far East claims that 99% of his attempts are failures.
3) YOU CAN NOT EXPECT TO EARN A LOT BY SPENDING LITTLE
Well, initially you have no financial resorces to invest, but, as your income begins to grow, you can spend part of it on initiatives that can help you earn more. Some netwoekers spend a lot to see their names on top of the list. I would not do that if I were you. Envy, jealosy, and even inferiority complexes are unhealthy, even though they are quite common in the world today, with people who reason: “If I spend 100 and earn 300, it was worth the trouble. Moreover, I have helped people reach objectives that had seemed impossible”.
4) THE MORE YOU HELP OTHERS, THE MORE YOU HELP YOURSELF
This is so true, but helping others implies certain qualities. You can be the most generous person in the world, but if you have no means, you will not do much. And so, in the beginning, you will have to make an extra effort to earn enough to be able to do good. Therefore, my motto makes sense: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ASPECT OF HAVING SOMETHING IS BEING ABLE TO SHARE IT WITH THOSE WHO CAN APPRECIATE IT. Do not expect people to be always thankful, though. Quite the contrary, do not do good if you can not stand ungratefulness. I have experienced, luckily not many times, that people whom I had helped in many ways – by giving them money, products to sell and my time and energy – not only did not appreciate what I had done for them, but turned their backs on me. Anything can happen in Network Marketing. I have also tried to assist my peers who were suddenly left out of work, facing grave financial difficulties, with families to maintain and rents and mortgages to pay, without any income. Well, being an engineer myself, I tried to highten up their spirit by helping them earn some money. All they needed to do was to have their friends and family drink some aloe, which is so beneficial, use another toothpaste, and try other products. After all, what are friends and family for? Sending postcards when on holiday? Sending Christmas and Easter cards?
You need them when the times are tough. They can help you simply by drinking some aloe and by using FLP toothpaste. If your friends are unwilling to do as little as to use another toothpaste in order to help you, then you should change friends. This is not a nice thing to say, I admit, but, if you think of it, this is the conclusion you reach. The netweork thrives on large consumptions, without turning peoples’ lives upside down. It is only a matter of changing the brand of products they use every day, anyway.
5) CONTACTS
The key issue is always how to make new contacts. Once you have spoken to all your friends, family and acquintances, there are always friends of friends, relatives of relatives, old school mates, ex colleagues, and so on. With them, you can already have a small foundation and a small income, perhaps more than you expect. You can also use leaflets, newspaper ads – free of charge or almost. Whenever you meet a new person, you ask them if they know someone who could be interested in using a different toothpaste and appreciate the extraordinary qualities of Aloe Vera. And this is when the circle starts to grow exponentially. Today, we also have the web and the social networks to amplify the horizons and multiply the contacts. In other words, Network Marketing is not about selling, but about informing and public relations – meeting new people.
6) WHEREVER THERE ARE PEOPLE, THERE IS BUSINESS
Take part in all kinds of events in your town and the nearby area: concerts, clubs, circles, societies, sports competitions, congresses and conferences, even the political ones. A funeral can became an opportunity to leave your business card to someone. Or, someone can even ask for your card because they no longer have it. Churches are also meeting places. Tactfully, you can create the circumstances to leave your leaflet and exchange business cards. Not to mention marketplaces, organic markets or even supermarkets. With time, the most casual encounters can prove to be more productive than the planned ones: on the train, bus, plane, in a caffeé, in the street and the like. Just keep talking to people.
7) HE WHO INQUIRES HAS THE UPPER HAND
We can talk just about everything, but some topics are more common than others: health, work, sports. What better occasion to start talking about FLP’s Aloe Vera and its supplements, its miraculous creams, and so on and so forth. Many people get carried away and keep talking and talking, without listening to others or allowing them to say anything. But, if you want to do business, you not only have to listen, but above all you have to put questions, because those who inquire have the upper hand. By asking questions, you find out more about people and their needs, what they are looking for and what they think. This will help you address topics of your choice. It might sound time-serving, but if you think that your work can be done everywhere and anytime and your success depends on other people, you realize that you are not an employee or a worker who can turn off the switch and stop thinking about work when he or she is not in the workplace. Your good chance, your auspicious encounter can occur when you least expect it, but if you do not look for those opportunities, you will hardly do business at all. In network marketing, there is no particular time and place to do business – any time, any place, any occasion can be the right one.
8) DO TO OTHERS WHAT OTHERS WOULD DO TO YOU, BUT BE THE FIRST TO DO IT
This phrase was used for the first time publicly in Haway, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor by an American journalist who paraphrased a verse from the Bible. He kept the only phone on the island busy all day, thus enabling his newspaper to be the only one to break the news on the attack. In our case, it is seen in the light of the opportunity offered by FLP, which should be grasped immediately, by getting in touch and informing, as fast as you can, everyone you know because, if you wait too long, you might find out that these people have already been sponsored by someone else. On the other hand, there should be no room for regret, as Italy has about 60 million inhabitants and there are about 7 billion people in the world. There is room for everyone, even for the laziest and the less skilled.
9) THERE IS NO SECOND CHANCE TO LEAVE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
There is always a first time, a first encounter – in life, at school, at work, in business and in any situation involving other people. Whether it is the first meeting with a stranger that could lead to a friendhip, a romantic encounter that could develop into a love relation or an extraordinary love story, a business meeting that could end up with a profitable collaboration, or an encounter with a teacher, employer, or a colleague, always present yourself in the best way, with your best smile, best suit, bringing out the best in you, in every respect. Clothes do make the man! Of course they are not everything, but most often what counts is the first impression. Network Marketing is no exception, being a public relations activity in which every little detail can be decisive, even a smile, a tie, a perfume, a briefcase… Be neat, always! Always patient! Once you have made a good first impression, it will be easier to maintain it in the future.
10) TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Despite the many books published on Network Marketing, you will discover that quite a few of the successful networkers have read none of them. Other successful networkers have written books that have served as guidance for other great networkers who followed their instructions religiously. There are no ready formulas, tricks of the trade or magic wands. Luck can certainly be of major help, but it comes with your striving to get in touch with as many people every day, working shoulder to shoulder with your downline, assisting those who deserve it, because they make a great effort.
