Make Sure Opportunity Knocks! By Bob Hipple

In the MLM business, of course, you have to have a great product! That is very, very important. But really, the best product you have to offer is the business opportunity because, at the end of the day, that is what’s driving a direct sales business. What people really want and need from you, even more than a great product, is an opportunity to better their lives.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

– Henry David Thoreau

What Thoreau is saying here is people aren’t always going to openly say to you, “I don’t really like my life.” When the question is asked, “How are you doing?” The response is usually, “I’m doing fine.” But when that individual goes home and talks to his/her spouse, is that same sentiment reflected—is life really good, in all reality? People are not going to share that with you! There are millions who are looking for opportunities to better their circumstances. The timing is not always right, but they’re looking, nevertheless.

What you’re really marketing in MLM is hope and opportunity. Think of it as promoting two products—1) your product and 2) the business opportunity. You have to give both powerful emphasis within your business. It isn’t good enough to just put the opportunity message in a brochure. And, it isn’t good enough to just put it up on your website. You must work to build an “I Believe” culture within your business based on the principle that recruiting drives the business.

If you have any doubts about this, just back off on the recruiting and find out what happens to your business. Just take your foot off the gas pedal for a minute and see what happens.

Sometimes distributors or consultants love their products so much—which they should—that they don’t focus on the opportunity as they should. This especially happens in party plan companies where women love their products. They’ll go do a party, book more parties, make great sales, but they’ll forget to talk about the opportunity. Reality says we all have to accept the fact that you have to recruit people to be successful in MLM.

You have to start developing the mindset that recruiting really does drive your business. You have to give both the product and opportunity powerful emphasis within your business. It isn’t good enough to just put the opportunity in a brochure. It isn’t good enough to put it up on your website. Instead, you must build a culture within your business based on the principle that recruiting drives that business.

Recruiting is finding people, discovering what they want, and if the timing is right, showing them how your business can help them get what they want in life. It’s not about an hour-long presentation about how good your product is. It’s about showing them that your product is great and how your system can help them achieve what they’re looking for in life.

Sometimes distributors and MLM companies overload people. They give them way too much information. Instead, you want to zero in, find out what people want, show them how they can get it, and then help them create a business that will achieve their dreams.

The bottom line is you want to create an environment where recruiting and building people powers the engine. Building people, which will help them build their dreams, is a key component in your network marketing business!