Good Day !
There’s nothing worse than not knowing who you are talking to.
The numerous emails that come into your inbox every day with
offers of the best opportunity since slice bread, and the one
I crack up on is “Join free and you will make tons of money”
You see, this type of marketing doesn’t work for the long haul.
Why?
Remember you are in the business of serving others. You have to
bring value, respect and credibility to the people you serve.
Network Marketing is built upon the foundation of 3 simple words:
Know. Like. Trust.
So find out the other persons “Who” and What statement?
Why are they doing network marketing? What is their story?
Now let me tell you my story:
I am a small town girl from Newfoundland, Canada who loves networking and all it has to offer.
While living in Ottawa from 1989 – 2002, I meet a lady who introduced me to the home base business frontier. What a trip! The products were great, the management had integrity, and a great team of people who built a great organization. After 3 years, the bottom fell out. I had to keep recruiting ( notice the word Recruting) new people into the business.
What happened?
I had a great mentor. A 4 foot, 90 pound soaking wet, 70 year young lady, who was one of the top distributors in the company. She spend countless hours with me and reflecting back, most of that time was talking about me, what I wanted out of life, where I was going and most of all showing genuine interest in who I was.
She taught me the words,
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”
While I repeated those words over and over, It took me until 2007 to realize what those words truly meant and I was going about the business in the wrong way for all the wrong reasons.
My greed and ego was the size of a tandem truck – no, bigger than that. I never had any skills in creating value for these people. Yes, it felt good to make other people feel good about themselves, but my focus was on making the money , not creating value. Doesn’t work guys! On reflection, she was telling me that over and over. I guess I was not ready to receive it.
Sure money is the reason we all do this, but money is only a means to an end. It is the journey that matters.
From an early age, I was that submissive, shy little girl who did not want to cause any waves.
Married at an early age to a guy who was very dominating did not help my submissive nature.
Two lovely girls and 9 years later, we ended the relationship. I am a sucker for knowledge, so decided I would get some training. I stepped into the hair dressing world and loved it. I was becoming my own person. Yes it was a long hard road with 2 young children, but life was coming together. Three years later, I had a job offer 4 hours away from my ex. I didn’t take it.
Why you ask?
Well remember I said I was a submissive personality. My ex started showing interest and really he was the love of my life and I would do anything to have him back. So guess what? Yup, here we are again. The girls were a little older and were happier than pig in “you know what” that mommy and daddy were back together.
Life was great for a few years, thriving hair salon and ambulance business, the girls were back with their friends, and comfortable with their surroundings, then the same old patterns started to creep back in. By this time my self confidence was down in my boots and I was on the edge of despair. I ran.
Where did I run? Spent a year in Bermuda, then to Ottawa. An entrepreneurial mind which I get from my dad, owing a hair salon, along with an ambulance service – which my ex and I started, I didn’t want to work for anyone else.
So what did I do? I went back to school. This time in the health care field as a Registered Practical Nurse. Upon completion, I went to work in a Rehab setting.
While the work was satisfying, helping and teaching spinal cord and neuromuscular patients how to adapt to the changes in their lives, I still was not happy with my life. The long hours in traffic, getting up to an alarm clock, was not my idea of what I wanted for my life.
Hence, my interest in network marketing. I jumped at the opportunity to be my own boss. Remember what I said earlier the reason I went into network marketing - For the money.
Don’t get me wrong here. The money is great. But it is not the most important thing if you want to build a sustainable business that will last for years to come. A lesson that I learned the hard way.
You see, the most important thing that happens to us in network marketing is who we become in the process and who we help others to become. You have to grow yourself in order to grow your business. The money you make is just a means to the end you want to achieve.
In 2007, I joined a team of expert professional networkers who were there to help me learn the skills to be successful in this industry. By plugging into the system whenever I could, listening to the calls, following the advice of the tremendous leaders, I have finally got it. I have come full circle.
It was not easy for me to get here. At first, all the information was so overwhelming to me. I never had time to sit and listen to the calls or read anything. I worked full time outside the home and felt if I could not put my all into what I was doing then it wasn't worth it.
Boy was I wrong! ...not sure what it was but something Michael said.
“Make it Simple...Follow the System”
I have been following the system for 4 years, doing the few simple things every day with persistence, consistency and hard work. I have finally done it!!! It has paid off. What an awesome feeling!
My business is growing because I have grown. I love the concept!!!
I have found my passion… identified my strengths….become a student of the industry…. and have set out to make a difference in other peoples lives. Now I know what I need to do, I want to show anyone who is not afraid of hard work, willing to follow a step by step plan and make a commitment so you too can find your purpose in life.
This is an industry that will define who you are, your purpose in life and your passion. There will be obstacles to overcome, there will be times when you want to quit, throw it all done and go back to living the life you don’t want, to the job you hate, and all the worries that go with it. It will be a constant challenge for awhile.
Believe me – I have been there done that!
These are the times when you remember:
“If you only do things that are easy – life will be hard”
“If you are willing to do things that are hard – life will be easy”
The network marketing industry is a wonderful industry. It lets me be the difference people want to see in this world. I choose to be the light in other peoples lives - Making a REAL difference.
We all have certain skills and strengths that we bring to the table. When we work together through the process, we will have a community that people want to participate in – a culture where attitudes, values and goals are integrated and shared.
With this community, I can now fight my fears, handle objections, turn failures into learning experiences and accept me for who I am.
The two silent questions that will be on most peoples mind is ( but rarely ask)
Can I do what you do? Will you help me?
The answer to both of these questions is:
Definitely!
The gal you call when you want to be grounded.
Marilyn Harbin
709 676 2916
Gander Bay South, NL Canada A0G 2H0
The heart is wiser than the intellect
