AVON LADY OR MARTHA GIBSON?

“Should I promote myself as Avon Lady or as Martha Gibson?”

My usual answer has been: “Whatever feels right for you.” But after thinking about it, I realized that there’s more to it than a gut feeling. In fact, there’s a lot more to it.

Ask yourself: Should you put yourself out there as a representative of the company you are working for, or should you make a name for yourself?

Most people struggle when answering this question, so let me tell you something I’ve learned over the years: people evolve. You and I will evolve. We might be in love with the company we are with now, but what about five or ten years down the road?

I was faced with this question when I was with Tupperware in the late 2000s. I loved the company, but it didn’t stand for everything I am. I wanted people to see me as myself.

HOW DO LEADERS HIT 6 FIGURES INCOME?

It was then in 2009 when I was with another marketing company that I witnessed something phenomenal.  I saw first-hand how a leader in network marketing immediately made a lot of money after only a few months in the new company he joined.

I was in awe at how he had gotten to that point so quickly.

You’ve been there before, right? Attended a convention and heard about people reaching the top so quickly.

It’s an inspiring tale to hear. But there’s an untold story behind the success that no one really tells.  It’s a story that, if you knew, wouldn’t make you feel so inadequate—like a failure. Rather, it inspires you to get your own shit together and build a sustainable business system.  

What I found out was that he, like many other leaders in the industry, was following a practice that is not well-known to people in the lower ranks of the network marketing world.

When he left his previous company for this new one, he had, in fact, took his followers (that he had amassed over the years) with him as well. It wasn’t an “overnight success”.  He didn’t get hundreds of people into his downlines within a few weeks or months.  He already had people in his list; they were leaders that he had nurtured over the years,  and all he had to do was to move them over to the new company, which appeared like an instant success.

It reminded me of a saying I once heard: “People are not loyal to products or services, they are loyal to people.” I knew this before, but it wasn’t clear to me until I saw how this man made over six figures during his first few months in the company.   It was not an instant riches story as they’ve led people to believe—it was a wise business strategy.

Leaders and big earners in direct sales and the network marketing world do three things that set them apart:

  1. They brand themselves and become influencers.
  2. They have a list: a database of people who believe in them.
  3. They have systems and process in place to build #2.
  4. They know how to sell themselves and build leaders.

Although they want you to believe that you can follow in their footsteps to immediate success, the truth of the matter is that it’s not an instant success. It takes years of making connections and adding names to your list and nurturing them to reach that level.  Successful entrepreneurs understand this.

You can do that too if you master the 1-4 above which I teach in my Network Marketing Profit course.

Now ask yourself: should you create a business for yourself or for someone else?

Everything you do now should evolve with you.   

Take me as an example. Three years ago, I was helping business owners with their website and social media marketing strategies. Now I focus on using my sales and marketing experience to teach people how to sell comfortably–without pressure.  If you’ve been following me over the years, you’ve seen how my websites and social media accounts evolved with me, and that’s the reason why I use my personal name.