Having been in the network marketing industry for over 30 years I’ve had a chance to train and coach tens of thousands of people and I’ve heard every reason for failing in network marketing, but there is one that is absolutely #1 killer of businesses and dreams – FEAR!
It’s what keeps people from talking to their friends and family, calling purchased leads, talking with strangers, and following up when people show interest. It’s the number one reason why people fail in network marketing. In fact, the primary difference between the huge percentage who fail and the small percentage of people who make millions of dollars in network marketing is the way FEAR is handled. It’s not that the top income earners don’t have FEAR, they’ve just learned how to fight through it.
Okay, you’re probably thinking that FEAR is natural. Yes, if you were out in the back woods camping and a bear started chasing you, the natural fear mechanism would kick in and cause flight. If someone attacked you, it might result in fight. However, fear over making a phone call or talking with someone about your business is not natural fear. Rather it is:
False
Expectations
Appearing
Real
It’s been scientifically proven that your mind cannot tell the difference between a firmly planted thought and the real thing. So, if you start thinking that people are going to get mad if you present your business or they aren’t going to be your friends anymore and you dwell on that long enough, it becomes real to your mind. However, the truth is that it is a false expectation appearing real. It hasn’t happened and so it isn’t real. Your mind just thinks it is.
So, here’s what the top income earners have done to build a business in fear. When those false expectations try to enter their mind, they take the thought captive, cast it away, and replace it with the opposite thought. For example, let’s say you are getting ready to call some friends about your business and you begin thinking that they aren’t going to be interested. STOP those thoughts and replace them with thoughts that they will be interested. In fact, they will actually be looking for exactly what you have.
This down economy is creating a great deal of FEAR and that is often resulting in interest in ways to make extra money. Your network marketing business is an awesome solution for many people. It may even be an answer to prayer. Start thinking those thoughts and it will make it much easier to make that call or talk with that great prospect.
The other key is to just do it. I remember back in High School and College when I had a horrible fear of speaking in public. I avoided all speaking classes and would even get physically ill the day I had to do a presentation in my regular classes. My stinking thinking resulted in physical sickness in my body. However, years later I started a business and realized that if I was going to make enough money to live, I’d have to get past that FEAR, so I purposely set up speaking engagements. The first few were terrible. Then they were just bad and after awhile, they weren’t too bad. Then they were fairly good; then good, and today I love to speak in public. Is the fear gone? No, I battle it every time I have a speaking engagement, but I’ve conquered it so many times that it doesn’t take long to move past it.
FEAR will keep you from succeeding in network marketing if you let it. Change your thoughts and just do it in fear. The more often you fight through the FEAR, the easier it will get and the greater your success!
