Should I tell my friends and family about my opportunity?

[ToddMorris]

Many people have a problem telling there family and friends in the beginning. I think you should tell them but not until you are already making good money. When it comes to mixing money and family you want to be careful.

This would be a classic example of someone with a low belief level.

That would be the only reason anyone would have a problem telling
anyone anything about their business.

I was thinking the same thing ...

Gotta love it when people show up in a thread to give "real life" examples of exactly what you're talking about.

[Mike_Michelozzi]

We told all our family and friends about the products we were beginning to use and hoping they would help Shirley and out of hundreds a few dozen wanted to try them and today a dozen continue and they've passed it on to a few more people. We were honest and said, "We don't know what this is going to do, we've heard some stories, and we hope it helps and it comes with a money back guarantee."

We heard: Everyone knows 200 people - some said 2,000 - by they time they're an adult - so lots of people we'll go talk with OK?

NO. Not everyone knows 200 or 2,000 people because many people are loners. Or they never knew people they met, or family - every connection was superficial and in passing - no relationships.

Or people know dozens or hundreds of people but after calling cousin Mike, sister Sue, and stopping in on laundry worker friend, bank teller friend, factory worker friend, and store clerk friend getting NO NO NO NO NO NO they've had it. That's it.

Or for many reasons the family and friends they know are not very nice people, they never made good friendships with nice people who would at least listen to someone.

NOT everyone is right for network marketing and many of those I just described could never go out and talk to people cold market either - they don't have the ability, confidence, wherewithall to do it. Many many many people who jump into nwm fit all of the above.

Thoughts?

Mike

[[[erika]]]

Many people have a problem telling there family and friends in the beginning. I think you should tell them but not until you are already making good money. When it comes to mixing money and family you want to be careful.

I used to think like this before until someone told me and read from a book called, "your first year in network marketing" that telling your friends will make you gain experience before you go to the cold market.

Thanks for replying though,
Erika Samperio Solores

[Tsnyder]

Many people have a problem telling there family and friends in the beginning. I think you should tell them but not until you are already making good money. When it comes to mixing money and family you want to be careful.

I used to think like this before until someone told me and read from a book called, "your first year in network marketing" that telling your friends will make you gain experience before you go to the cold market.

Thanks for replying though,
Erika Samperio Solores

Erika... learn how to work warm market properly and you'll never
have to waste time and effort beating your head against the wall
known as the cold market...

Don't be fooled for even a second... the people who enjoy BIG
success in this business DO NOT waste time working cold market.

[ryapos]

If you truly believe in your opportunity then you should share it with family. If you are worried about the opportunity then you must not believe fully in your business.

Link Removed per Forum Guidelines

[ricksalas]

Ok so I was listening to a podcast called "mentors on a mission" and I was liking the information they were giving. They said recruiting people is not hard as everyone thinks, it is just by following these 3 simple steps:

1) Telling people about your business opportunity
2) Show them your MLM presentation
3) Follow up

and I agreed to that UNTIL they said, "I respect my family and friends too much, to bug them and annoy them with my business opportunity, go online instead." My mouth dropped! Don't get me wrong I love using the internet to get leads but the part that got me was when they said they would never bug their friends and family with the opportunity. Why? Because if you have this great opportunity that can potentially change their financial situation and help them change their lives, wouldn't you want to show them your business opportunity! Why would you hide something so great from them! I wouldn't forgive myself if they saw me super successful, top recruiter of the company and come up to me saying, "Why didn't you tell me you were involved in this opportunity?" I would feel horrible and guilty because I basically took something away that could have changed their lives.

So my suggestion, if you really care about your family and friends, then go out there and show them your opportunity! Don't hide it from them! If they say no, who cares it is their loss and hopefully see it sooner or later.

Erika Samperio Solores

That stuff they teach you never works Erika. I've been there. If you have to go to them to ask it's impossible. But if they come to you it's incredible. You have to qualify them to see if they're worth your time and effort teaching them about the tools and resources to build a business. If they ask, tell them "what has recently changed that has you open to a home business" Everybody wants to be open...right?

If they're open find out why. Tell them that if you could show them how to spend more time with the family or whatever reason they're open to a business, would they be interested building a home business? If not, who cares? There are so many things you can do to get targeted traffic that wants to join you because of You. You're unique.

Learn to qualify them and see if you want to spend time with them. I learned to never spend time trying to recruit friends and family because it's a heartbreaker if they expect everything to be done for them. If you want me to let you know what to do if they ask you how much money you're making just ask. I would really like to see you be successful in your business. It can be done even though so few are successful at it.

P.S. Just because somebody tells you they're making fortunes on the internet and want to help doesn't mean they have a way to get you and your recruits to become independent.

To Your Success!

Rick Salas

[Tsnyder]

I "short-cutted" that whole process and learned how to never
waste time and resources trying to recruit anyone.

This business is incredibly simple if you'll let it be...

[Chris_Cannon]

Ok so I was listening to a podcast called "mentors on a mission" and I was liking the information they were giving. They said recruiting people is not hard as everyone thinks, it is just by following these 3 simple steps:

1) Telling people about your business opportunity
2) Show them your MLM presentation
3) Follow up

and I agreed to that UNTIL they said, "I respect my family and friends too much, to bug them and annoy them with my business opportunity, go online instead." My mouth dropped! Don't get me wrong I love using the internet to get leads but the part that got me was when they said they would never bug their friends and family with the opportunity. Why? Because if you have this great opportunity that can potentially change their financial situation and help them change their lives, wouldn't you want to show them your business opportunity! Why would you hide something so great from them! I wouldn't forgive myself if they saw me super successful, top recruiter of the company and come up to me saying, "Why didn't you tell me you were involved in this opportunity?" I would feel horrible and guilty because I basically took something away that could have changed their lives.

So my suggestion, if you really care about your family and friends, then go out there and show them your opportunity! Don't hide it from them! If they say no, who cares it is their loss and hopefully see it sooner or later.

Erika Samperio Solores

I totally agree with you Erika. Great post

[CherylHess]

I 100% agree that you should share your opportunity with family and friends. You never know where your next client or team member may come from. Your family and friends know and talk with how many people? What if, in the course of a conversation, a topic related to your opportunity comes up? Then your family member or friend would have the ability to tell that person about you and what you do/have - and that could be your next sale or addition to your team. If you never mentioned it - then nothing would be said, right? Networking is one of the best ways to market your business/opportunity. Just because it's not a fit for someone that you are immediately speaking with doesn't mean that they won't pass it the information onto someone else!

[Mike_Michelozzi]

Give me your insights - not a trick question - help me understand this from different perspectives. Only people in multi level marketing talk about this belief thing and going to family and friends. No one else.

We've had family and friends open store fronts, start delivery services, sell Fuller Brush, Avon, get into real estate and insurance sales. And they've told us: this is what I'm doing if you need XYZ let me know otherwise you might know someone.

If I were to go to these people and say"s let's talk about your why, your belief system, your motivation, your vision - they'd cock their heads and go "HUH?" with a puzzled look on their faces.

When we started our business sixteen years ago this month by summer we were telling people what we'd joined, why - we hoped the products helped Shirley - it was network marketing and we wanted them to know because it might be for them or someone they know. We thouht some won't be interested but others could be offended if we didn't at least let them know. And if not offended wonder why we never told them.

Any thoughts?

HikinMike

[NicBrits]

Give me your insights - not a trick question - help me understand this from different perspectives. Only people in multi level marketing talk about this belief thing and going to family and friends. No one else.

We've had family and friends open store fronts, start delivery services, sell Fuller Brush, Avon, get into real estate and insurance sales. And they've told us: this is what I'm doing if you need XYZ let me know otherwise you might know someone.

If I were to go to these people and say"s let's talk about your why, your belief system, your motivation, your vision - they'd cock their heads and go "HUH?" with a puzzled look on their faces.

When we started our business sixteen years ago this month by summer we were telling people what we'd joined, why - we hoped the products helped Shirley - it was network marketing and we wanted them to know because it might be for them or someone they know. We thouht some won't be interested but others could be offended if we didn't at least let them know. And if not offended wonder why we never told them.

Any thoughts?

HikinMike

G'Day guys

I agree with Mike here 100%.

I've also had quite a few family and friends start different types of businesses, and even new jobs. And, they have all told me about their new job or business, mentioned if I need their service or products I know where where they are etc, and asked me if I know of anyone else who may need their product or service.

All of my family and closest friends know exactly what I am doing. Not all of those people are customers or distributors in my business. But they all know if they ever need my products or are looking for a way to supplement their income or flat out looking for a business opportunity, they all know I have something they can use.

I was at at recent company event and one of the speakers used this analogy, for an exercise we were doing, which I think is appropriate to this topic. Paraphrasing, here is what he said:

"I would like you to think of the first 10 people who you will give $1million to right now. You don't have to come up with the $1million for each person, I will give you the $10 million to be equally divided amongst those 10 people! So, go ahead and think of the first 10 people you would like to give $1million to."

in my own case those 10 people were all my family and closest friends, and I'm pretty sure most, if not all of the other attendees would have have written their family and closest friends down as well.

As I said, it was for an exercise for working on our lists, but I do think it is appropriate for this discussion.

I hope this helps

[Yauchnd1]

Love the comments from everyone. I agree. It makes sense to at least inform them of what you are doing but manage your expectations. Not everyone will be interested in joining your business.

[jmatt06]

The podcast you are referring to makes valid points...and I also agree with you that you should tell your friends and family about the opportunity you are involved in. HOWEVER...I think you should take a "hybrid" approach to the situation...TELL them, but don't SELL them. What I mean is...tell them about what you are doing, just like you would tell them about other exciting things going on in your life. This way, when you become super successful, it doesn't appear as though you left them in the dark or were trying to hide something from them. Remember...people are skeptical of MLM. There are SO many opportunities out there and ALMOST EVERYONE knows someone that has been involved in MLM and didn't make ANY MONEY. So...share your successes with them, again, just as you would share anything else exciting in your life. This will get them INTERESTED in what you are doing...and now that they see you successful they will want to be like you. I have 15 years experience in sales, and I can tell you one thing...YOU HAVE TO BE PATIENT BECAUSE TIMING IS EVERYTHING. When YOU decided to get involved in your business, the timing was right for YOU. Don't shove it down their throats right out the gate...it can be a turn off and have a negative effect on your relationship with them. If they see you happy and successful in what you are doing, when the timing is right FOR THEM, they WILL reach out to you. In the meantime...focus your efforts on putting your business in front of people that are ACTIVELY seeking business opportunities. The reward for your efforts will be much greater.

[joerawlins]

Many people have a problem telling there family and friends in the beginning. I think you should tell them but not until you are already making good money. When it comes to mixing money and family you want to be careful.

I agree with Jared on this one. The reality of MLM is that there are always going to be haters and how often have you tried to recruit someone who wasn't interested because one of those haters was someone in their family? "Oh my uncle did one of those and..."

Families try to stick together. Naturally, everyone in the family wants a piece of your business consulting when you're just starting out. There's a tendency for some family members to be pessimistic. Why put yourself under the light? Motivation is really important in this business, there's no reason to walk into the Lion's Den if you don't have to.

The old-fashioned mode of thought in Network Marketing was to practice the three-foot-rule even in your home. There's nothing wrong with that but when you're doing it, you could come across as pushy and overbearing without trying. The most successful network marketers I know have all embraced the new philosophy of recruiting up and not just recruiting everywhere all the time. You need your energy to be focused, not scattered.

That being said, one of the most powerful networkers I know signed up with his grown daughters as his right and left teams in a binary and put them on autoship and simply said "You're in my business, now. I'm going to create financial stability for you and for my grandchildren" and then built a multi-million-dollar team with them. And they probably never would have done it on their own - but as soon as they were collecting those checks, trust me: they learned.

I wouldn't say to hide it from your family, but there certainly is merit to looking for experienced opinion leaders and team-builders first. If someone in your family is interested, they will probably be drawn to it!

[MPBDiamond]

Erika,

Your thoughts are 100% right on target.

When someone talks about bugging friends and family or chasing people it is pretty much guaranteed they have
some new cutting edge system to sale you.

Bugging friends and family is an attitude, it not a reality.

It is all about how you approach them and to not get EMOTIONALLY INVOLVED in their response.

Let's say I call my brother, his name is Wade.

Wade I need a favor can you help me out?

I just got involved in a new business and I am looking for 3 people that have leadership and management
abilities, I KNOW THIS IS NOT FOR YOU & I don't even want you to get involved, but I know you know some
entrepreneur minded people.

Can you (watch the video on this website, listen to this Cd, watch this DVD (Whatever your Play 1 is) and tell
me who you know that I would be great at this business?

--------------

If they are personally interested they will tell me.

The truth is the odds of the person you know being the right person is slim to none, but the odds of them knowing the right person is very high. It is not who you know, it is who they know.


I hope this gives you something to think about.

In the future when people talk about "Attracting" people to you and your business ........ RUN

Be who you are.

If you don't believe in your opportunity and what you are doing enough that you feel obligated to share it with those you love and care about, then you are in the wrong opportunity. It sounds like you are on the right track, I hope you stay there.

DC

[Larry1113]

Ok so I was listening to a podcast called "mentors on a mission" and I was liking the information they were giving. They said recruiting people is not hard as everyone thinks, it is just by following these 3 simple steps:

1) Telling people about your business opportunity
2) Show them your MLM presentation
3) Follow up

and I agreed to that UNTIL they said, "I respect my family and friends too much, to bug them and annoy them with my business opportunity, go online instead." My mouth dropped! Don't get me wrong I love using the internet to get leads but the part that got me was when they said they would never bug their friends and family with the opportunity. Why? Because if you have this great opportunity that can potentially change their financial situation and help them change their lives, wouldn't you want to show them your business opportunity! Why would you hide something so great from them! I wouldn't forgive myself if they saw me super successful, top recruiter of the company and come up to me saying, "Why didn't you tell me you were involved in this opportunity?" I would feel horrible and guilty because I basically took something away that could have changed their lives.

So my suggestion, if you really care about your family and friends, then go out there and show them your opportunity! Don't hide it from them! If they say no, who cares it is their loss and hopefully see it sooner or later.

Erika Samperio Solores

Erica, you're so right on this one! If you have a truly great opportunity that you know has benefited you why wouldn't you tell your friends and family. The only reason is fear of rejection.

Here's a conclusion I recently came to about rejection. I hope this helps.

I realized that all the top network marketing leaders seemed to not fear rejection at all. Or more accurately said, that they are all desensitized to rejection. Look around, have you ever seen a network marketing leader complain about rejection?

The concept of desensitizing is really easy to understand.

It's just like talking to a hot girl or guy (let's be politically correct haha).

Remember the first time you went to approach a hot girl or guy. You were probably nervous.

Heck you were probably nervous just looking at him or her.

But as you look at and talk to more and more hot girls and guys, you eventually become desensitized to their beauty.

After I realized this, I began welcoming rejection because I knew that every single rejection took me one step closer to being desensitized completely.

Each rejection is a GOOD thing! Each rejection is one more step towards becoming desensitized. Toward becoming YOU 2.0.

Becoming desensitized to rejection is just part of the process to becoming successful. There's no avoiding it.

This is simply the price we need to pay.

[RobWynkoop]

I just wrote a post on my blog basically titled: QUIT BEIN' CHICKEN!

I confess I have been petrified about approaching my warm market. I've been afraid of rejection and being judged. I admit I have succomed to a low belief level... but the other day I was on FB and I noticed a person who I had been terrified about approaching regarding my opportunity is now a motivated, active builder of Advocare.

It doesn't mean that she would have joined my team, but I prejudged her. Turns out she is receptive and someone else talked to her because I was scared to.

It is a really tough thing, but honestly - QUIT BEIN' CHICKEN! That's what I have to work on in order to achieve long-lasting residual income.

[CNM Design]

NO!

Make up some kind of phone script about your product, call them up and tell them you need some one to practice on. If they like what hear, they will “join you”
Never recruit family. If things go south it will be on them not you.

[Tsnyder]

NO!

Make up some kind of phone script about your product, call them up and tell them you need some one to practice on. If they like what hear, they will “join you”
Never recruit family. If things go south it will be on them not you.

More nonsense...

[Gery_D]

NO!

Make up some kind of phone script about your product, call them up and tell them you need some one to practice on. If they like what hear, they will “join you”
Never recruit family. If things go south it will be on them not you.

Semantics. It's the same thing.