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The other day in my inbox, I opened up an email from one of the most respected network marketing professionals of our time, Richard Bliss Brooke. All of his emails are important and have meaning, but this one was pretty special. I wanted to share that email and plug in my own comments. I hope you enjoy this note.
We belong to one of the greatest professions. And yet our lack of awareness about what is really important to us leads us to join any shiny thing that is dangled in front of us.
So many of us make our decisions this way that now there are far more shiny opportunities available than relevant ones. We have become our own worst public relations nightmare.
In my last blog post, 3 AHA CONSIDERATIONS IN CHOOSING A COMPANY, I gave you 3 questions to consider in choosing a company for life. In case you missed it, here they were …
What’s Most Important to You?
Promises vs. Longevity of a Company Easy vs. Impactful Products Free-for-All vs. Common Values Culture
If I were building again as a sales leader, here’s what would be important to me … remember, just me. You may be different.
LONGEVITY
Why? Because I hate starting over. I am not good at starting over. It literally makes me ill. I like to know what to expect this year and next. I like seeing the same people at every event … new people as well, yes, but it gives me comfort seeing the top leaders over and over again and building on those relationships. I like seeing the same owners and knowing who they are and what they stand for. I like continuity. It makes me feel safe.
Totally on the same page here. My company has been in business for over 20 years. For me, moving to NC was kinda a big deal for business purposes. I was nervous about “starting over” and meeting new people. But the truth is, because of the team I’m a part of, I still have their support at my disposal through the wonder of social media. And I don’t have to reinvent the wheel to be successful.
Because I want Asset Income. I want to build something once even if it takes me 4, 7 or 10 years. I want to know that what I am building can withstand the test of time, both in success and adversity. I want to be ABLE to retire and go sit on an island naked, sipping a mojito and smoking a fine cigar. Not that I would, but I want that freedom.
Most likely I’ll be sitting on a beach, with a bathing suit on, sitting next to my husband Sam and drinking water with essential oils in it. But yes, I want something that will last.
What if something happens to me or a loved one and I cannot continue to build or lead my business? I want the security of knowing my income will continue. I want to be able to tell myself I am a multimillionaire with my $5,000 to $10,000 a month income, and if I get it up over $50,000 a month, to know I am a $10-million-dollar man. I want the Asset Value that comes with pure Asset Income.
Now this sounds fabulous and farfetched from where I am right now. It’s not to say that it’s not possible with my company. In fact, it’s very much possible! But my first attainable goal is a bit lower. I’m looking for the $5,000 per month income even if I’m sick in bed, or better yet, on that beach with Sam.
How will I know the company I am choosing will last?
I will look first at the ownership. Who owns it? What are their names? Where do they live? What else have they done in business, in life, in family, in Network Marketing? I will look for failures as well as successes. We don’t learn much from success. We learn a lot from failure, especially if we get back up to pursue our vision.
I will ask myself: Are they Network Marketers? Do they believe in the concept of Asset Income? Do they bleed Network Marketing? Is it in their DNA?
If the owner is a nameless, faceless legal entity with profit as its core value, I will pass. Sooner or later “it” will likely sell me out.
This part I love. My company is such an open book. They literally wrote a book about its founder and the how’s and what’s and why’s the company is what it is. They are completely transparent and I love it. Our founder hands his hands in everything from the ground up. Literally! The CEO was in another network marketing company before this one existed. She lives and breathes network marketing.
I will look at the company’s track record. If it is new, the owner is of paramount importance, as is cash. Starting a competitive Network Marketing company today requires millions of dollars in cash and that alone guarantees nothing.
Which of these people started Network Marketing companies that did not make it past 3 years? Pat Robertson of The 700 Club, Zig Ziglar, or Ted Turner? Answer: All of them and 10,000 more. I would vastly prefer a company that is 7 years or older and growing. My company was incorporated in 1989.
Which of these older proven companies are no longer growing: Nu Skin, Herbalife, Shaklee, Amway, or Forever Living Products? Answer: None. They are all growing. Amway, in fact, is doing a billion dollars a month now. Don’t believe the stigma Network Marketers put on the established companies. They kick all the shiny companies’ butts and could buy and sell them in their sleep.
Why don’t you hear about the sales leaders in these companies? Why don’t you hear about how much they earn? They don’t have to tell you. They really earn it, tons of it. They don’t need you.
In 2015, our company hit the Billion dollar in sales mark! There aren’t many network marketing companies in the billion-dollar club. But we’re one of them.
IMPACTFUL PRODUCTS
I want a product that people rave about, that people thank me for, that people swear has changed their lives. I don’t mind mastering what it takes to educate and enroll people in the idea of it. I believe that is part of what a company is paying me millions to do.
I will look for a product line that has a chance of being relevant for as long as I want to earn my asset income, which, for me, is at least 50 more years. I don’t want to be 75 years old when all of a sudden my income runs out. I don’t want to be “invented” out of existence. I don’t want to sell anything technology or service-based that some 15-year-old wunderkind will make obsolete with a few keystrokes of his computer.
I want a product that will change people’s lives so much that they declare, “This is the best darn ____________ I have ever used. I see it. I feel it. It is going to change how I function and how others see me for the rest of my life. And I will never look at another option for this as long as I live.
This is a life branding decision. People have been making these for centuries, whether it is Ford trucks or Folgers Coffee or Nutrilite vitamins.
I first started using our products back in 2000. I was a retail customer and was happy to use 5 or 6 different products, ordering a few times per year. Frankly I didn’t even realize there was more. It wasn’t until 2012 that I decided that I need something more. And I was like, DUH, I’ve already got access to quality products! And man did I see things change for my family. The more we used, the healthier we became. Not just physical health, but emotional too. Then in the last year, I decided my financial health needed an overall too. That’s when I decided to become a network marketing professional.
COMMON VALUES CULTURE
I will look for a culture … an extreme culture that matches my values. I will look for honesty, integrity, vulnerability, fun, leadership, personal development and honor. When I say “extreme,” I mean that I am looking for the culture to scream at the world who they are. I want that from the owner on down … everyone is held accountable to express the culture.
I want these rules. I want this order. It helps me become a better man. Let me loose for the rest of my life at Burning Man and I will explode in a burst of indiscretions. And I expect most people would. I want to be around people I can trust to protect me and my honor, to hold me accountable to do right.
And I want culture because it is essential for longevity of the organization. A culture that matches my values will fend off the cancer of greed and competition. All great societies were rich in culture. Everything else is just a frat party.
You will have an opportunity to change this in your own small way next time you are in a position to research and choose a company.
Heck yeah! Not only does the company itself breed a culture of wellness, abundance, and purpose, but the team I chose to be a part of embraces this motto like no other. From supporting other members of our team to supporting the world as a whole, this company rocks! I know I found my home.
Choose wisely, my friend. Your life literally depends on it.