Dealing with NO.

Network marketing is not for the faint of heart, that much is true! The successful people in this industry hear the most "no's", and some "no's" are harder to take than others.

When I started my first business, I was starry eyed with the excitement of a new venture. I just knew that EVERYBODY was going to buy my products, pass on their referrals, book parties and join my business ! Why wouldn't they ? I just found the BEST business EVER !

I did everything I learned. I made a list of my close friends and family, memorized the script, and started calling. Oh, I laugh about it now. At the end of the evening, after making a WHOLE bunch of calls, I had exactly 2 people coming to my Grand Business Opening. My sister-in-law and my best friend.

What happened? I was a little bit bewildered, and, I have to admit, VERY disappointed. After all, I had just started a business!! I did everything I was supposed to.... why couldn't everybody see what a great opportunity this was??

Thank goodness for my recruiter on that day, and thank goodness I had enough faith in her, to call her. The words she spoke to me that day had the power to make my career, or send me back to the hospital in defeat. She did not take that responsibility lightly. This is what she said to me.

"Shelley, it is always hard, when your family doesn't support what you yourself are excited about, and I understand how you feel right now, but look at it from their point of view. You have been a nurse for 16 years. The Shelley Penney they know goes to the hospital and saves lives. They don't know me, and they haven't tried our product. All they know is that you are doing something you have never done before, and they want to protect you. They don't know that you are serious about this. You need to prove yourself to them before they will be able to see this as a good thing for you. Change takes time. Let me ask you this. Why would you let the opinions of others determine your success or failure?"

Sandra, this thank you is for you! I learned something on that night that would propel me to the top of my field. Not everybody will share your vision. Do you really want them to? If everybody saw what you see, there would BE no opportunity.

Here is what I believe, and I believe it with every fibre of my being. Most people do not say "no" because they want to hurt you. They say "no" because they don't have enough information, they are not interested in your product, they have a prior engagement, they are busy or the timing is just not right. They say "no" to your business opportunity because of many reasons, but usually it is simply because they are afraid, or they don't want to be "sold". It very seldom has anything to do with you.

There are ways to approach the "no's" and turn some of them into "YES", BUT with new people, I recommend NOT spending a lot of time on them. Especially if they are your friends or family members. There are thousands of people in your world who will be interested in what you offer, and it is naive to think that you can grow a large business on the backs of your friends and family. Besides, your family knows that you didn't know anything about "widgets" (or whatever :-) yesterday. They are not going to see you as an expert! Strangers, however, will follow your lead, so if you approach your business with confidence, they will see you as a professional.

Give me a stranger any day. Some one I have never met, that I don't know anything about is perfect. Then I can concentrate on the person in front of me, and not their history. If they say "no" to me, then there are so many other strangers to meet. Chances are, if they do say "no", I will never see them again anyway. A fresh slate to write a story on is empowering, and you can write that story any way you want.

Let me leave you with this final thought, taught to me by yet another very wise person.
"NO" is not a negative...it is a neutral. It is just like you never asked at all! Think about it.... if you ask your neighbor to try your product, or look at your business, and she says "NO", nothing changes. You haven't sold any product, you haven't got a new business partner and she is still your neighbor. HOWEVER, if she says yes, then you many positive things can happen. You could sell something, she could refer a friend, she could be interested in yuor business.

In this business, there are no negatives, only positives and neutrals. If you never ask, nothing positive will ever come out of it!

Shelley Penney is a network marketing and internet marketing specialist with 7 years in the field. She is currently mentoring a small group of people to achieve financial freedom from home.