Say you're learning to drive a car. You've hired a driving instructor so you can make sure to learn everything you need to know to avoid getting in big trouble. The first thing your instructor tells you is, "Remember: always look both ways before turning out of a driveway!" That's pretty good advice, right? Who wouldn't follow that?
Anyway, you get your license and an awesome new ride. You're at the dealership, you've just signed the papers for your dream car, and you're ready to hit the road. Overwhelmed with excitement, you zoom out of the dealership at top-speed -- without looking both ways. I mean, maybe you're thinking about your instructors' advice, but there's a louder voice in your head: "DUDE! I JUST GOT A NEW CAR! I WANNA FLOOR THIS SUCKER!"
Well, when that milk truck comes barreling down the road, and a couple of hours later you're watching your shiny new baby get hauled away by a tow truck, you'll probably be thinking, "Man, I really wish I'd listened to my instructor!"
Sadly, lots of people just getting into referral marketing are so amp'd up by the opportunity that they forget the basic rules their "driving instructors" (trainers and leaders) give them. We talked to networking legend Robert Hollis, one of Gano Excel's top affiliates, about how to go about building your business without being the giddy driver we described above. Robert has made over $26 million in this industry, and has become a "true believer" in Gano Excel's product, Cafe 2.0 philosophy, and powerful compensation plan. This is clearly a dude to take seriously!
Read and Listen to Robert talk about how to avoid falling flat on your face in your "first year in network marketing," and remember: DON'T RUN BEFORE YOU CAN WALK!
1. IT'S LIKE GETTING A LAW DEGREE...
"Think about a lawyer or a doctor," Robert says. "They say they want to be something, then they spend years in school learning how to do it."
Would you want to hire a lawyer who's never read a law book, or a surgeon who never dissected a frog? Didn't think so.
So why would you trust a networker who hasn't done his or her studying?
"Don't forget: this isn't a get-rich-quick scheme," Robert adds. "It takes time, just like anything else. But it's better than the alternative -- the get-broke-slow scheme. Be patient with yourself! This is a process!"
Don't get frustrated when you're not pulling down $2,500 a week two weeks after you sign-up! Doctors go to medical school, lawyers go to law school, and networkers go to the school of hard knocks -- learning from leaders what they need to know to make their business grow.
2. DON'T MEASURE DIRT.
"This has to be a passion," Robert says. "And if it's a passion, you won't care about all the dirt."
What's "dirt"?
"It's all the hours you put in, all the things you have to do, to make your business work," he explains. "Making calls, learning about product, all that."
If you have a real passion about something, the dirt doesn't matter. Do you think Tiger Woods counts the number of times he's swung a golf club at the end of a year? No! He swings it because he loves to swing, and he knows he'll get better if he keeps practicing.
"Measuring stuff like that means nothing," Robert concludes. "It's about passion and dedication, not the number of hours you've put in."
"When all somebody talks about it how many hours they've worked or how many people they've called, I know they aren't passionate enough to make this really work."
3. BUILD YOUR BELIEF SYSTEM!
If you don't have faith in the product you're selling, the referral marketing system, and (most importantly) yourself, you might as well get out now.
"Your first sell is to yourself, and it's your most important sell. You have to build a belief system, or this isn't going to work," Robert says.
By attending training seminars, sitting in on conference calls, and reading everything you can, you become a "product evangelist" -- someone who believes in a product and opportunity absolutely, and want to bring it to others.
4. THE #1 THING TO WORK ON IS YOU!
"Do you think it's possible to make yourself 1% every day?" Robert asks. "Think about it. I'm not talking about 20 or 30 minutes a day - I'm talking about 1%, one or two minutes every day. At the end of the year, you'll be 365% better!"
Go to YouTube and watch a short Jim Rohn video every morning; check the corporate blog and read about what our product is doing for people, and the best ways to share it; log-in to your Back Office regularly and keep up on what's going on.
"Look, you can't get rid of bad habits," Robert insists. "You have to replace them. And you have to replace them with success habits -- being 1% better every day."
5. QUITTING'S NOT AN OPTION!
"Quitters never win, and winners never quit," Robert insists. "If you're ready to quit, you haven't developed a strong enough reason why."
The 'Reason Why' is the thing that keeps you going in this industry. Whether it's something for you (a new car, financial independence) or something for others (paying for a loved one's surgery, donating to a charity), you can't get by without one.
"Ask yourself, 'Why am I doing this?' Gano Excel and Ganoderma Lucidum are a vehicle: if your 'Why' is large enough, your 'How' will come," Robert concludes.
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Finally, all of Robert's advice points towards the same thing: YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING ON YOUR OWN!
To make it in this or any business, you have to rely on the strengths and knowledge of others. Don't be a "wreckless referral marketing driver" -- just because we're giving you a license and a hot new car doesn't mean you're ready to be Dale Earnhardt yet!
