Sharing, Selling And Marketing - Are They The Same?
Posted by Reyn | January 4, 2009
Here is the ironic reality – when the term ‘network marketing’ was coined, everyone focuses on the first word rather than the second. In other words, they go around networking instead of marketing!
Most distributors do not have a clue what marketing is all about.
They go about recruiting friends and family on their name list while deluding themselves into thinking that they are ‘sharing’ or ‘marketing’ their products to people.
MYTH: Network marketers are not in sales, they are merely sharing products with other people. (The optimists think they’re marketers.)
TRUTH: Network marketers who don’t have a system in place are actually in pure SALES. What they are actually doing is SELLING an idea to others, not sharing. Whether they are selling the product or the opportunity, they are trying to convince people to change their mind about what their offer. In short, they hard-sell like door-to-door salesman.
First of all, sharing is different from selling. It is totally different.
If you are my friend and you are having a conversation with me right now, I would share with you about my passion for digital camera. When I’m sharing with you, I have no intention to sell you digital camera. Get the idea?
Selling is not merely sharing. And trust me – people can smell “incentivized” referral from a mile away. If you are not a professional salesman, you will unconsciously be pushier when selling.
Next, you need to understand that there is a better way to generate sales without actually ’selling’ - which is marketing. It may sounds confusing, so let me elaborate more about the difference between selling and marketing.
Let me first clarify to you that I’m not suggesting you to not sell any products. All I’m saying is that the approach when it comes to marketing versus selling is totally different. Take a doctor for example. A doctor sells his or her services. But they don’t go around recruiting patients or sending out flyers and advertisements saying that they are the best gynecologist in town!
When people go to the doctor, they seek the doctor’s expert advice. They listen intensively to every word they have to say and they will take whatever medicine they recommend. (So much different compared to network marketing recruitment, don’t you think?)
The same principle applies to marketing!
Marketers sell products, but not in the way sales people do. A person who markets their business effectively is an expert. They don’t go around peddling their wares like a sleazy salesman. They are good at marketing themselves in such a way that they will always attract prospects to come to them instead of inviting their prospects individually.
Think about it this way – which one is more possible in building thousands of downline: convincing 1,000 prospects one-by-one or attracting 1,000 prospects that are ready to join right away?
You see, many heavy hitters do not work 10 times harder than mediocre distributors. They work 10 times smarter by marketing their presence to the people who are already pre-heated and are eager to join their business.
|
|
Posted in How Network Marketing Works |
Like This Post? Share it With Friends...
Share this post with a friend by clicking "share this" below or just print a copy of this page. Also make sure you receive the latest blog updates via email by entering you email below and click subscribe.
Others Also Read...
- The Science Of Attraction Marketing
- 3 Tips To Make You Stand Out From The Network Marketers Crowd
- Ways To Attract Prospect To Your Network Marketing Business
- 4 Ways To Get Your Subscribers To Trust You Quickly
- Developing The Posture Of A Leader
Previous post: New Year Resolution - How To Snap Out Of Your Slump And Kick Ass!
Next post: 3 Deadliest Sins In Network Marketing
10 Responses to “Sharing, Selling And Marketing - Are They The Same?”
Got Something To Say?
Feel free to share your thought about this post. The only rule? Be responsible. Comments that contain meaningless content, abusive language or personal attacks will not be accepted. Preserve the quality of this discussion by giving us your valuable comments.
Great post- I completely agree. Attraction marketing is so much more attractive then selling. You hit the nail on the head.
Reply to this comment
Hi Reyn. Great article. I believe that in this day and age, it is much more important to position yourself as an expert within your sector, to attract potential clients, as opposed to using ‘cold’ techniques to source potential clients. Only then will you seem more valuable to your client base, and add more value to your offering with your expertise and knowledge. I recently have written an article about this. Feel free to have a look. I hope you find this useful.
http://carlosdajackal.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/the-year-of-the-experts/
Carlos
Reply to this comment
Nice post, Carlos. I like the three elements of an expert: confidence, network and education. Thanks for sharing.
Reply to this comment
Hey Reyn,
Just got your Twitter message and wanted to say, Hi!
Love your blog theme. Is it a Graph Paper Press? Very nice!
I’m a themeaholic.
Be well,
Pat Marcello
Reply to this comment
@Pat Marcello - Nope, I’m using Clean Copy Right Sidebar by Cory Miller. But I modified it heavily. Anyway, here’s the original template if you’re curious.
http://www.mynetworkmarketingblog.com/resources/clean-copy-right-sidebar-1.zip
Reply to this comment
Hi Reyn,
Also jut got your twitter message.
Twitter is amazing
Great article and awesome blog.
I agree with Pat this blog theme is very nice.
Love the “Live Traffic Feed” Will go check Feedjit
All the best in 2009,
Cedric Aubry
Reply to this comment
@Cedric Aubry - Thanks Cedric. Feedjit is fun for watching the demographic traffic and which referrer site they’re coming from.
Reply to this comment
Great topic Reyn. It’s true. There seems to be a lot of confusion between selling, advertising and marketing. I like to think of it like this: Marketing is the car, advertising is the engine or other major part and selling as the destination. Advertising is just one part of marketing. Marketing is a complete strategy that can include advertising, research and planning, customer support, pricing, distribution and many other factors.
Reply to this comment
Hey Reyn,
I agree with: “Network marketers who don’t have a system in place are actually in pure SALES”.
Your network marketing blog is really refreshing.
Thanks,
George
Reply to this comment
@Brian D. Hawkins - That’s a good analogy, Brian. There are indeed many more activities inside a marketing system.
Reply to this comment