The 3 Basic P's for Network Marketing
Have you ever heard someone say something like, "If you’re just patient
long enough, you will achieve your goals?" Patience is critically
important in network marketing, but without the footwork, you’ll be
waiting for success forever! Prospecting and persistence provide this
footwork. In this article I will explain the significant roles of the three
basic P’s in network marketing: prospecting, persistence, and patience.
Prospecting
Without question, prospecting is the key to success in network marketing. No activity is
more basic to a viable network marketing business than prospecting on a regular basis. The
people with whom you come in contact via your prospecting can become partners in
business relationships that may last a lifetime. By and large, network marketers are some of
the most dynamic and interesting people you’re likely to meet.
Prospecting must become a regular activity if you truly wish to create a residual income in
network marketing. As for myself, I spend a minimum of one to two hours every day
prospecting on the telephone. I train my downline to establish a regular prospecting routine
that fits their individual situations. When I’m not on the telephone, I usually have a
prospecting tape, booklet, or something related to my business opportunity with me just in
case I run into someone with whom I might like to work. Tangible selling aids are a big plus
when breaking the ice with new contacts.
Network marketing is a prospecting and people business. There are, however, people
promoting "free lunch" programs that promise to build a check for you without the need for
prospecting. Time and time again these "downline-building" programs go out of business
without delivering what they promised to people.
Persistence
Persistence is my personal favorite of the 3 basic P’s. To understand persistence,
take for example, the love of my life, my four-year-old daughter, Angie. Not long
ago, we were at the park and she decided she wanted to climb up a slippery slide
- not up the ladder, but up the slide. After two or three attempts, she looked
back at me with an expression of frustration. I just smiled and shrugged my
shoulders. Angie stepped back, removed her shoes, and took a deep breath and
was up the slide like a bullet! Through her sheer persistence to get up the slide,
she found a way.
Just as persistence was critically important in my daughter’s slide experience, so it
has been in my network marketing career. My first attempts at network marketing
weren’t going in the right direction. This resulted in countless wasted hours and
thousands of dollars poorly spent. But, it was a priceless education and because
of my persistence, success started to come little by little. I could have quit years
ago, but my love for this business and my sheer will kept me going.
Patience
For me, this has been and continues to be the hardest of the three basic P’s to
develop. One of my best friends and a valued mentor is always reminding me to
seek first to understand others before becoming a presenter, a teacher, a friend.
Believe me, that takes patience. I want to be understood. I want to share my
ideas with others. However, I am learning, that to be understood, we must first
listen to what our prospects are telling us. If we move directly into selling our
program, how can we possibly know what our prospects’ needs and wants really
are? If we are patient, ask and listen, the resulting communication tells us!
By mastering prospecting, persistence and patience, you can achieve success in
network marketing. Success takes consistent, focused action over time, so apply
these three P’s daily in your network marketing program.
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