Network Marketing Success – Why Don’t You Ask for Help?
Some people believe that experience is a good teacher, but that he wastes his knowledge on old men. That is so true.
Right now I am staring at a copy of a small Oxford English-Chinese dictionary, a memento of a business trip to Shanghai. You might be surprised to learn that English is not widely understood in China, although Shanghai is somewhat of an exception due to its British past. That realisation dawned on me the moment I tried to summon a taxi at Shanghai airport, and I knew that English was not going to be of much use during my stay. My first priority now was to find a Starbucks coffee shop within walking distance of my hotel, where the crew would most likely speak some English, and ask for directions to the nearest bookshop so I could obtain a dictionary.
The Starbucks crew gave me some verbal instructions, but I failed to locate the bookstore and nobody on the street could understand me, so I went back to Starbucks. This time I got myself some written directions in Mandarin. By approaching some friendly-looking passers-by for directions I eventually located the bookstore, only to find that the staff there could not speak English either!
I returned to Starbucks a second time, this time obtaining a scrap of paper explaining, in Mandarin, that I wanted a dictionary. I back-tracked all the way to the bookstore. Hooray, success at last! This was a somewhat amusing episode, yet so applicable to online marketing. The lesson learnt from this is that it never hurts to ask!
If you are a ‘newbie’ in network marketing there is so much you don’t know. Most new marketers experience a type of sensory overload in the beginning. But, instead of asking for help, they have this notion of doing everything on their own, without assistance. Not very clever! This approach could lead to countless hours of unnecessary wheel-spinning and time is money.
I am not suggesting that you abdicate whenever you face obstacles . You are, after all, building a new business. If you want to become wealthy, it’s only fair that you put in some sweat equity. But please – there is so much assistance available! Let me offer some advice based on personal experience:
- Use the search engines to find information. In this context Google really is your friend. Simply state the question the way you would put it when asking someone in person! I recently tried this when I forgot a technical formula and, after typing the search phrase in this way, Google referred me to the exact location in a textbook I’ve written myself a few years ago!
- Buy as many relevant {e-books and training courses} as you can. Knowledge will require some financial expenditure, but ignorance is even worse. Before the days of the Internet, I took a year-long sabbatical and studied for an MBA, because it was advantageous for my career at that time. A 37-dollar e-book, by comparision, is virtually free. If you are unsure about what software to buy, ask your upline. Alternatively you can ask me!
- Participate in forums, for example BetterNetworker.com. Interact with the members of the community. Be assured that your problems are not unique.
- Make sure that your service providers (e.g. web hosting providers) have proper (24/7) help desks and use them liberally. That’s what you are paying them for.
I could go on and on but I think you ‘get my drift’. Every conceivable network marketing problem you could have has already been solved. There are hordes of individuals out there that have achieved some measure of success with their marketing efforts, and are willing to share their knowledge. You just have to ask.
If that network marketing success that you are working towards is still a little out-of-reach, or you need some help with some aspect of your marketing, just ASK me. Marketing is my ‘career’, not my ‘hobby’.
