Old School, New School, Direct Sales Success School

A timely debate has been going on online over the past few years about “Old School and New School” techniques to build a successful Network Marketing business. Lately, it’s been spinning a little out of control with sides lining up over who is right and building a better business/

The question is asked “Can’t we all just get along?”

Here are some of my thoughts on why these two concepts SHOULD get along, and how we can all come together to stop the perceived “fight.”

First, it’s crazy not to let people know what you are doing in your business. If you opened an ice cream store, you would let your warm market know. You wouldn’t beg them to buy from you, and you probably wouldn’t offer them a job (unless they ask.) Simply notifying them is all you need to do.

My friends and family are some of my best customers. None of them are my business partners. That is fine with me. It keeps personal and business connected but not uncomfortable.

They know that I am in Network Marketing and they know that it has provided a nice income; lifestyle and most recently, a beach home for our family. And, they are happy in their own careers, and maybe not all are, but they are not interested in finding out more about what I do. Again, that is fine with me.

Now, part of the problem in what I see bantered about on the internet is this assumption that there is only one way to contact your warm market; and that involves bugging, badgering and begging. Very often, there is success in warm market contacting/notifying. And, when it works out, it can be a great thing. So, our job as sponsors is to teach our team how to contact responsibly, be it warm market or cold market.

Success in Network Marketing is all about relationships. The internet proves that every day as more and more people begin to “Sponsor Shop” and make a business decision about who they are going to join forces with. If one thinks that letting a capture page and series of auto-responders is all it takes to build that relationship, they are crazy.

Yes, fortunes are being made by people who never set a finger on a keypad and get into the online world. And, yes, fortunes are being made by those who are online, “doing” network marketing with integrity and professionalism.

Why not allow the two to co-exist in peace? I’m not sure I would ever be where I am today if I had not first started with offline “Old School” methods. The business skills and knowledge I developed is priceless. And, I never chased my family and friends. I simply notified. I learned to get myself and my personal feelings out of the agenda. I learned that a “no” was not a direct assault on my business decision. And, it in no way determined the legitimacy of Network Marketing.

After 10 years of building my business almost exclusively online, I am taking steps again into the offline world, and having some great results. For me, it’s been about timing. The internet offered a solution to me as a mother of pre-school children married to an airline pilot, gone half the month. I needed a way to work my business in a “full time” way without being gone from my home. 9pm to midnight became the perfect business hours for me. I could put in a “full time” day online, with no distraction.

And, those efforts created a viral marketing effort that still creates prospects for me today. Yes, I also pre-date the concepts of “Attraction Marketing” and “Web 2.0.” Social Media for me, a decade ago, was about forums and groups online; writing articles and getting involved in “communities.” Really, we’ve changed the platforms, but the concept is still the same. Connect with people; respect people; be authentically involved with people.

Do these things, whether offline or online, and you’ll experience huge success!

EXPECT Success!

Jackie Ulmer