The Secret To My Success

I have been in the Direct Sales and Network Marketing business for almost 25 years. In that time period, I have earned approximately $70 million in bonuses and commissions as a distributor. While there have been numerous million dollar earners from this industry, I have found that those who truly made fortunes avoided the common fundamental mistakes of leaders in this industry. The lessons I learned are outlined as follows and can be applied not only to the network marketing industry, but to business as a whole.

Mistake #1 – Making Sales a Greater Priority than Relationships.    Sales will always be a big part of the Direct Selling industry. However, one of the most important lessons I have learned in this business is that the key to long-term success is to build long-term relationships. Keep in mind that a sale is simply a “promise”. Often in this industry people are paid very well for making promises, especially when they get paid from inventory loading or higher fees from enrolling people in an opportunity. However, relationships can only be earned by “fulfilling the promise”. The simple fact is that wealth in this industry is a byproduct of building relationships with both customers and distributors. If you fail to build successful, long-term relationships, then as a result retention and rebuilding becomes the focus of your business.

Mistake #2 – Getting Stuck in Management Mode.    I have always believed that this business has two modes – building and management. Building the business is defined by constantly recruiting new customers and distributors. It is about working with the leaders in your organization while continuing to create more frontline leadership. In essence, a large Network Marketing business is both deep (number of distributors under a frontline distributor) and wide (new frontline distributors and leaders). However, the most common problem is that once people reach a certain income level, they begin to focus more on overseeing their existing distributors and as a result stop building width. When this occurs, they tend to control leaders vs. empowering them to grow to a point of independence (the ability for them to succeed without the help of upline leaders). Remember, you don’t build people by controlling them. You do it by empowering them to be totally responsible and capable of controlling their own financial and business success.

Mistake #3 – The Lifestyle Trap.    So often, this industry enables people to earn more money than they ever dreamed. In addition to the income, once they reach a “critical mass of relationships”, they then also gain time freedom. Given both income AND time freedom, a large majority of leaders often make a critical mistake at this point in their business – their lifestyle becomes a bigger priority than their business. I have never agreed with the term “passive income”. Experience has taught me that you should always strive to provide value and you should always seek to earn your way in relationships in your business. All successful people deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labor. However, those who make fortunes in this business don’t retire FROM their business but instead “into their business”. In other words, they are so passionate about their business that it remains an on-going focus in their life. I can tell you that after 25 years in this industry, I am more passionate now about my business and it has nothing to do with the money. Instead it has become about using my business as a means to change the lives of people’s health and wealth. Wisdom has taught me that the measurement of our lives is not our accomplishment but instead the difference we make in the lives of others. In all honesty, I have lost count of how many great leaders retired from their business, lived big lifestyles, and eventually their business fell apart. It is important to remember that our businesses which are built on the foundation of relationship always need our love, guidance and leadership.

Mistake #4 – The Grass is Greener Trap.    One of my close business associates, Gordon Hester (www.gordonhester.com) gathered research last year which indicated that the top 30 companies in the Direct Selling Industry represent almost 97% of the entire worldwide sales. I was very fortunate to find a company (NSA) in this industry that has stood the test of time. The history of this industry has been defined by massive amounts of failure with start-up Direct Selling Companies. Equally, one of the most incorrect myths is that you can only get wealthy if you get involved “at the beginning of the game” with a new Direct Selling company. I have seen countless leaders learn how wrong they were in thinking the grass was greener by leaving a proven company and chasing opportunity with a new one. While for some their decisions turned out well, for the large majority they gave up something successful, stable, and long-term because they bought into a flawed belief. The end result was generally total financial failure. If you are fortunate enough to be with a great long-term leader in this industry, my advice is to stay put and keep working. Remember, you cannot be a successful long-term distributor if you are not part of a successful long-term Direct Selling company.

Mistake #5 – Neglecting  to Define Your DMO.    Most of you are probably familiar with the term DMO (Daily Method of Operation). It is basically a term for the daily routines we use to manage our lives. While these routines are often much more than just business (living a balanced life), it is these habits that impact our lives more than anything else. Over the years, I never struggled with consistent discipline. That is because my DMO was defined by 5 words – paying activity, growth, contribution, love and fun. Here is a look at how I manage each of these areas. Paying activity – The major part of our DMO should always be that aspect for which we are paid. This is required in order for any business to grow. Growth – Tony Robbins taught me that we are either growing or dying. An important part of my DMO has always been to learn and increase my value to the marketplace. I honestly believe that one of the biggest rewards from the Direct Selling business model is personal development. Contribution – the core of our business is based on contribution. If we do not focus on contributing to something bigger than ourselves, then we really never accomplish anything. Love – a foundational part of passion and also a part of relationships. I have always loved what I did for a living. Equally, I have always loved the core relationships in my business and did my best to earn the love that I received in return. Fun – experience has taught me that no one does anything very long unless it is fun. I was always clear on how to have fun in my business and never gravitated away from keeping my business enjoyable. So many get caught up in responsibilities and other matters to a point where they forgot to have fun with their business. For those distributors, their journey feels way too much like work and not enough like living life on their terms. I would encourage everyone to build their DMO around these 5 words because obtaining this balance will build a pathway for success, longevity and fulfillment.

In closing, I encourage any of you who desire a huge MLM business to take a hard look at your business to see if you are making any of these mistakes. For those of you who are not in the Direct Selling Industry, pull out some of these lessons and see how you can apply them to your work or business. They are truly universal and can help anyone to advance momentum in their business and find more fulfillment in the process. Remember, awareness can only produce results if you follow it with action. I am hopeful that what I have shared will help you in your journey towards a long, profitable, and fulfilling business career.