Obtaining job satisfaction in our modern world is difficult. Most of the time, employees are unmotivated and ideally would change their job in a heartbeat if it were that easy. Everyone wants to have a job that pays well, that lacks controlled schedules and horrible bosses. It’s the main reason why people look for something different to pursue. However, without the knowledge of stability, many people shy away from taking risks.
But what if there was a way for you to earn a living on your terms? Whether you want to start your own business or join a new company, network marketing has taken over as the new way to make money. Everyone has different opinions about it, but understanding it is the first step you need to take in joining successful network professionals across the globe.
In this book summary readers will discover:
- The five traditional employment categories
- What is network marketing
- The 7 skills needed to be a successful Network Professional
Key lesson one: The five traditional employment categories
When the author began this book, he asked people to describe their perfect profession. They managed to compile a list of what this profession would and would not have. Globally, it was found that employees do not want bosses, schedules, employees, policies or educational requirements. What they do want is a substantial salary, scheduling freedom, growth opportunities, low risks, enjoyable work and colleagues.
Traditionally, employment has fallen into five categories. These are blue-collar professionals, white-collar professionals, sales, traditional business owners and investors. Understanding these categories helps one to better understand why the perfect profession list contains the items that it does.
Blue-collar professions represent the manual labour force. Workers in this profession have jobs that rarely fulfil their needs for the perfect profession and are unlikely to achieve their dreams. White-collar professions represent the people employed to perform varied tasks of a professional nature. These are usually office workers and these jobs are considered stable and safe.
Those involved in sales are usually bigger risk-takers as the job is not always stable. Most salespeople work on commission and are therefore driven to work hard to maintain the good lifestyle they have. When sales are bad, however, things can get tough which puts a lot of pressure on salespeople.
Traditional business owners start with a dream of being their own boss. They invest everything they have in their business and take on all the roles necessary for them to achieve their dreams. However, his leads to them being spread very thin and neglecting the product or service they offered in the first place. Success as a business owner, therefore, is not guaranteed and many fail.
The last category is that of investors. The people in this category have the money to be an investor but that alone is not enough. They have to have the know-how to spot trends and investments. Even with this know-how, the business they invest in is not necessarily in their direct control and success is not guaranteed.
A closer look at these five categories tells us that they all have flaws in them that make achieving the perfect profession impossible. So, where do we go from here?
Key lesson two: What is network marketing
Around the world, there has been a change in how companies pay their workers due to the change seen in the economy. Technological advances have meant that many of our jobs can be replaced by machines. Thus, to be an employee anywhere, you have to be one of the top performers in your field. In addition, employers have lowered the basic salary they offer to introduce a new method of payment. They offer employees incentives to achieve weekly, monthly and annual targets which givers them a chance to earn a substantial income.
This way of working has enabled the world of network marketing. Technology has enabled us to be in contact with anyone in the world. This gives people the power to spread the word about their products or services globally. A network marketer is defined as a person who sells products and recruits others to also do so for a small fee or commission.
The concept of network marketing is becoming more and more attractive, not only to individuals but large companies as well. The reason being is that network marketing almost funds itself. The money that companies save on advertising and promotion can be used to pay the network marketers themselves. It is an extremely efficient system especially in the new economy we are faced with.
For network marketers themselves, they now have a job that they define. Their income is only limited by their performance and they get to determine their own work schedule. Therefore, network marketing is the best shot at achieving the perfect profession. However, if you choose to become a network marketer you must not be deterred by others. Many people are not fans of network marketing as they have tried and failed – or know of someone who has. The simple truth is, network marketing is not easy. You cannot decide to be a network marketer and expect to earn a substantial income with little effort. You have to be dedicated and hone your skills as a network marketer. It is only with the right skills, determination and patience that you will become a professional network marketer or Go Pro.
Key lesson three: The 7 skills needed to be a successful Network Professional
To be a true Network Professional there are 7 basic skills that you need to master. These are finding prospects, evaluating prospects, presenting your product, monitoring, impulse, help starting out and events.
- Finding prospects
A prospect is defined as the recipient of the product or service you are offering. In other words, your customer. These are the people who should have a need for your product, have the money to purchase it and have the decision-making capability to purchase it.
It is useful to have a list of all the people you think meet these criteria. Start with a list of all the people you know, including friends, family and their acquaintances. This list should be constantly expanding every time you meet new people and you should always take the initiative to meet new people and grow your database.
- Evaluating prospects
This skill involves communication. Now that you have your database of potential prospects you have to make contact with them. Your success depends on this skill because it is with this that you will invite prospects to get to know more about your product or service. A huge mistake that people make here is that they take an approach that is too direct. They end up constantly flooding prospects with requests and offers which ends up being a big deterrent to prospects.
Successful network marketers take a slower and less direct approach by building relationships. In doing so they introduce the concept to prospects as a friend and not an outsider making a positive outcome more likely. Organized events also help as they generate a sense of security and confidence. You also have to remember emotional appeal plays an important part for both you and the prospects. Therefore, you should separate your emotions from your results. This part of network marketing is to educate your prospects, not win them over immediately. You should also remember to be authentic – don’t play a role because you think that is what they need. Enthusiasm is contagious so be passionate when your speak to prospects and always exude confidence.
- Presenting your product, service or opportunity
First and foremost, Network Marketing professionals know that it is best to act as a consultant when presenting their product or service. They are not the experts, but they can use other distributors to deliver the necessary information. This allows them to divert questions to others and instead remain the person telling them of their own experience dealing with the product. Thus, keeping the presentation relatable and appealing.
There has to be preparation involved in presentations to prospects. Do not believe that you can wing it. They will see straight through you. Try to share your story or that of someone else close to you who was lost before they discovered the opportunity of network marketing and all it had to offer. Be optimistic and they will be too.
- Monitoring
Monitoring is a skill that you need to develop continuously. Firstly, follow through on your commitments. If you say you are going to contact someone on a specific day and time, do so. Also, always aim to introduce the next event at the end of your current event – whether it be a meeting or presentation. In this way you keep the momentum going. You also need to be conscious of how much of your prospect’s time you utilise – do not overwhelm them.
In following these steps you can monitor your progress and gauge your prospect’s feelings about your product. If they voice any concerns, use your own experiences to address them.
- Impulse
This is the skill that you utilise once you have completely educated your prospects on the product. You need to provide them with the impulse to make not just any decision but the one you want them to make. This step is by gauging their concerns by the questions they have. By truly listening and understanding them, you can guide their decision and learn what is the best route to take with others.
- Help to start out
Once you secure a prospect, your work does not end. You cannot abandon them to continue working on other prospects – you have to be a mentor. To maximize your time, it is best to put together an action plan for those who decide to join your network. This action plan can contain all the information they need and all the hiccups that can occur along the way.
You can also include suggestions about how to deal with these problems. In doing so, they do not feel like they were left to their own devices. Many unsuccessful network marketers are guilty of abandoning their recruits. If they feel abandoned, they often leave without achieving anything both for themselves and for you. So, keep them motivated and encouraged when starting out as you will both benefit from it.
- Events
Although the internet allows us to connect with everyone, nothing beats face-to-face meetings. In network marketing, in particular, events are known to generate income by being successful. More specifically, if you want positive results, the bigger the event better. Planning events like this over a few days, in a central city, enables people to travel and be away from their usually stressful lives. They are more receptive to ideas and can relate more as they have escaped their realities to be there.
These 7 skills are crucial to you becoming a professional network marketer. If you master them, there will be no stopping you. You just have to remember this basic formula: 1/3/5/7. It will take 1 year for you to develop these skills, 3 years of constant effort with part-time commitment to transition to full-time, 5 years to get a minimum six-digit income and 7 years to achieve expert level. It may not be exact, but it is a good estimate of what you are getting into with network marketing.
The key takeaway from Go Pro is:
Network marketing has provided a way in which both companies and individuals can benefit tremendously. The economy nowadays is prime for network marketing to take over. Companies can save money on advertising and promotion and employees have huge incentives which motivate them to work harder and smarter. Every professional network marketer possesses 7 skills that enable their success and if you choose to develop these skills, you too can be on your way to your perfect profession.
How can I implement the lessons learned in Go Pro:
Start building your database now. Do not wait until you have a product or service. You do not have to approach them yet, just build your database of all the people you know. With a good registry of people which you constantly add to as you meet new people, you complete the first step. Then when you have your product, you already know where to start.
