By Michael L. Sheffield | October 21, 2002 | Entrepreneur.com
Q: I've been working with a network marketing
company and am concerned about what others are saying about us being in a
recession. How will this affect my business? Should I be spending my efforts
on this part-time business
uncertain times? Should I focus on retail customers or on building my sales
organization?
A: Whether or not we are in a recession is a topic I'll leave to the
economic wizards. However, having worked full time in direct sales and
network marketing through several times of faltering economic indicators,
inflation, unemployment, layoffs, etc., I have some thoughts on this matter.
In today's news, you get mixed messages. But if we are in a recession, what
does it mean to you, the distributor? If you're not doing anything and
looking for an excuse not to do anything, a recession is about as good a
reason as any.
But if you're serious about your network marketing business, then, believe
it or not, a recession could be the best thing that's happened to you in a
while. Shaky economic times have historically produced a renewed awareness
of the need to make more money. You'll find people who were previously
uninterested in your business are suddenly looking for new financial
opportunities. They want a business that doesn't require a lot of capital,
allows them to establish their own hours and offers rewards that can grow
faster than capital or labor requirements.
Sound good to you? It's the business you're in right now!
While other businesses offer one or more of these benefits, only a true
network marketing plan can offer all three. The reality is that leveraging
your time through the multiplication process of network marketing is the
hardest principle to teach others, yet it's the easiest to attain if you're
involved with the right company and right product at the right time. It's
such a simple concept, people sometimes refuse to accept it as being
something that could actually work for them. They suffer from "analysis
paralysis," trying to figure out why it won't work rather than why it will,
making the whole process more difficult than it really is. But when people
are motivated by concern for their financial future, the sponsoring process
becomes much easier. Spouses are more supportive of their partner spending
extra hours working to create more financial security for the family.
If you're pre-planning for uncertain times, consider that customers
scrutinize your product or service more when dollars are tight. Is your
product or service a "need to have" or a "nice to have"? Products that are
necessities rather than luxuries do better during times of uncertainty.
Do you focus on retail or recruiting? In network marketing, these are never
exclusive. Building a strong retail customer base is critical, but you must
recruit others to duplicate your efforts. Learn the success formulas for
yourself, then teach others to achieve that same success. There is no other
way in network marketing. You can't achieve significant success on your
own--you only have so many hours each day. Nor can you sponsor that one
hotshot person who'll make you a success while you sit back and watch the
dollar bill sprout wings and fly into your mailbox. You need a plan to
duplicate your efforts through many others. It's a vivid example of the
biblical admonishment, "as ye sow, so shall ye reap."
Network marketing is and always has been a person-to-person business, so
nothing happens until two people talk. During recessions, talk to people
about protecting themselves against an uncertain future via network
marketing. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "It is one of the most beautiful
compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another,
without helping themselves."
Michael L. Sheffield is the CEO of Sheffield Resource Network, a
full-service direct sales and network marketing consulting firm. He is also
the co-founder and chairman of the Multi Level Marketing International
Association (MLMIA).
