My First Company

My friends call me "Swami" because they say I know it all, or I am a know it all, or something like that. They still call me for advice occasionally, so I can't be so bad....

I was introduced to network marketing right after college. I saw the benefits and potential of this amazing industry right away. I was so excited, I rushed out to share the amazing products and concepts with the world. After all, how could anybody in their right mind not join me and sign up for these great products and this incredible opportunity! Everybody will see the value! I saw it. I knew other people had to see it too. So, I off I ran to build my fortune!

Friends and Family Always Join!

I called my friends first, since they knew how smart I was and together we could amass fortunes! Some of them listened to me, but most of them just laughed at me. No one joined. I was shocked. I thought my friends were smarter than that! I knew my family was smart enough to see the “big picture”, so I called all six of my brothers and sisters, and told them about this great opportunity they needed to hear about. “It’s not network marketing is it?” I answered yes, and they told me they were not interested in that, or they were too busy or one of their friends had already showed them “that business”.

I had failed. How come I could see this real opportunity, but no one else could, or would even care to listen to it. If my family and friends wouldn’t join, how could I sell anything to anyone else? I was ready to quit.

Rallies Always Re-Kindle That Fire!

My sponsor wasn’t done with me yet. He talked me into going to a big regional event that happened to be in Denver that next weekend. What an amazing and inspiring event that turned out to be. I was fired up again! Forget my family and friends for now, once I start making the big money they will see how great this opportunity is and they will join me!

So again I went out talking to more friends, acquaintances and total strangers, sharing with them the amazing products and even better compensation plan that would lead them down the road to fortunes! I listened to the motivational tapes and did what they told me to do. I spent a fortune!  And once again I was shot down to nothing!  People actually laughed at me. Some even got angry with me for trying to “bamboozle” them into such an illegal activity! I tried to explain that there were some illegal companies that had soiled the reputation of this industry, but this company was above that. This wasn’t illegal, this was an extremely legitimate and, so I thought, reputable company. But almost no one I talked to saw what I saw. No one believed what I believed about this product, this company, and this industry. I was so lost I quit. No one seemed to care that I quit either. Years later I threw away cases of product and training tapes I had never touched from their “required to get paid” monthly auto-ship program. I had invested a lot of time and money into that company, and never got a check. My sponsor did go on to make a lot of money in that company. He recently joined our family in the business that has changed our life, and the lives of many people around us. More about that later. 

A 2^nd Try!

A few years after that fiasco, another friend shared with me product that was sweeping the country! I joined him and his group. I tried my hardest to learn everything about this product and how to sell this product. It was a challenge finding any information or help since my friend had already quit and I didn’t know anyone else in the company. So after experiencing almost identical results to my earlier attempt, I quit. I lost some money, but I was very careful to keep it to a minimum. I also noticed many similarities in the way they taught people how to sell their products

Strike 3, I’m Out!

A decade later, my wife and I were introduced to a great health supplement product we really liked and decided to share it with our friends and family. I knew the challenges in front of me, but this product was different and I knew we could make some money on the side. We had some success, but eventually we lost money on that business too. Once again I noticed trends in this industry on how and what they teach.  I was done with network marketing.

No Way!

It was then that one of my lifelong buddies, Tom, called me and asked me to sit down with him and look at a young network marketing company he had joined. We had drifted apart over the years, living hours away from each other and our families kept us way too busy to keep our close friendship. I shot him down even faster than anybody else had ever shot me down! There was no way I was going back into that marketing business. Besides, I had read somewhere that almost all new network marketing businesses fail in the first year, and half of the rest are gone by the end of the second year.

I Failed At Normal Businesses Too!

5 years passed, and I had lost money on two other businesses I had started and closed. My mother had been talking about how much success Tom and his brother had been having with their business for the last few years, and again suggested I talk to them. It wasn’t the first time she had suggested that. It was at my parents’ 50^th wedding anniversary that I ran into Tom’s parents. It was nice reminiscing about old times. They were also very proud of their sons’ success in the last few years. It turns out Tom had just bought a house in Aspen. Aspen, Colorado? Yes, Aspen, Colorado.

Wow. They must really be onto something. My wife said we should call him. But I knew it was network marketing, and I had already failed too many times at that. If life really wants me to do a network marketing business again, it will have to be very different, and it should find me. I already had another new business, and this time I was succeeding.

Chance or Fate?

As luck would have it, 2 weeks later at a little local diner in Denver I look over at the table next to us and lo and behold, there is Tom and his brother having lunch. We chatted shortly and I mentioned the stories of his success. He was humble, and he reminded me of our conversation years ago. I asked him why he never called back. He told me that the company he worked with was having so much success that he never had to bother or chase people to join him. They practically came to him. “What’s the product?” I asked. “This company is different,” he said, “There is a right way and a wrong way of doing this. We show this company to everybody we meet in the same manner so that they, too, can duplicate our success.”

I was impressed. So I made an appointment to see his company. I researched the company and found some positive information. I also found plenty of negative information, most of which was from people who think this industry is a get rich quick deal, and they get upset when they realize it actually does take some work.

Strike 4

Tom and his wife showed my wife and me a video and put us on the phone with some of his team members. We were impressed. This company was different. I was so excited that I ran out right away and started showing this to people. And I failed.

I had failed to follow what had impressed me in the first place, the duplication. I did it my way, and as before, it did not work. I had failed again.

High Pressure Sales

So what was different? Why did it work for him and not me? Suddenly it dawned on me. I now know why I had failed at every other network marketing company I had tried. It isn’t their products. All of the products in almost every one of these companies are top notch. It isn’t their compensation plans either. You get paid for your success. One part of the problem is their training programs. All of their training programs basically teach hard sales techniques. They keep you motivated and teach you to what to say in this situation, if you ever come across it. This works for high pressure salesmen, but not if you’re like you and me.

So Easy!

What Tom did was easy. He followed an exact system. He didn’t say a thing. He used the team that was there to help him. He dialed the phone and let other people tell their stories about what they liked about this company. Than he played a video that gave me most of the information I wanted. Than he put me back on the phone to his up-line who answered my questions. Tom never said much of anything. He definitely didn’t sell me anything. It was so easy.

The End?

So I learned how to use our system. And now I teach our system. When I have a question there is this huge team of people who are always there to help me. They are my network family. We are there for each other all of the time. If I don’t help them succeed, I won’t succeed. It really is different from other companies, and it really makes since.

This is a people helping people business and therefore I cannot use the name of the company I know will help you acheive your dreams. Contact me, and I will share everything that has helped me to dream again.