Lifemax Lending Library: You Need More Friends

Any Gitomer Fans Out There?

(Can you tell that my hand is raised?!)  For years, I have been a fan of Jeffrey Gitomer, world-renowned and best-selling author, speaker, and self-proclaimed Chief Executive Salesman…or Janitor (depending on which work shirt he’s wearing during one of his hundreds of packed seminars each year).  As far as I’m concerned, this guy really understands what networking is all about.  One of my favorite quotes of his is, “People don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy!”  This holds particularly true in network marketing. Have you ever started a conversation with, “Hey friend, I want to tell you about a product you can buy that you are going to LOVE”?  OF COURSE NOT.  Some of us may have tried to start a dialogue with a weak pitch, but since a conversation takes TWO or more people, and since you probably got shot down somewhere between the “Hey friend” and the “product you can buy” portion, it’s likely that a conversation never took place.  Gitomer has helped me overcome many such rookie mistakes with his book, “Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Black Book of Connections:  6.5 Assets for Networking Your Way to RICH Relationships” in which he states:

All things being equal, people want to do business with their friends.  All things being not quite so equal, people STILL want to do business with their friends.  HINT:  To climb the ladder of success, you don’t need more techniques and strategies, you need more friends.”

Powerful statement, huh?  In our industry, independent distributors have the benefit of freedom; you set our own schedule, you act as your own boss.  The hand-off, as those of you who have ever held any sales job can attest to, is that the idea of a high-quality ”lead list” being handed to you on Day One is as unlikely as finding a CrackerJack prize in your Autoship of Mila (though I might really be onto a great idea there!)  No, in network marketing, we have to make our own leads, and the easiest place to start our search for prospective distributors is friends and family.  People with whom you already have an established rapport are easiest to connect with.  As Gitomer tells us:

Connecting is all about your friendliness, your ability to engage, and your willingness to give value first.  When you combine those three attributes, you will have uncovered the secret of powerful connections that lead to RICH relationships.

I know that making time for professional development–such as reading the works of gurus like Carnegie, Hill, Peale, and other classic authors–is not always easy, but it is without question VITAL to your success in any business.  I would go so far as to say that this industry necessitates it more than any other because when you own your own business, you are solely responsible for your success.  One of the reasons I’m a fan of Gitomer–and I’m not ashamed to admit this–is because his books are so short and easy to read.  And yes, they have pictures.  Plus, these are no-nonsense resources; he cuts straight to the point and shares practical and applicable tips for building your business.  And frankly, anyone who adds a bibliography to a book on networking and lists the sole resource as “Google” gets a gold star in my book.  Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this or any other “little” book by this guy!Happy connecting!Jenni “Lifemax Librarian and Friend-Finder, Too” SmithThe Little Black Book of Connections, Copyright 2006 by Jeffrey GitomerPublished by Bard Press, Austin, Texas