Thanks so much to Megan, Dena and Nicole for taking the time out of busy schedules to think about and comment on the “Three Foot Rule.”

We all know MLM is about building relationships. But then we contradict ourselves and tell downlines to talk to anyone they can touch!

I think Nicole your hunting and farming metaphor is right on. Those of us out there hunting with that 3-foot rule stand a good chance of not only missing our “target” but also of shooting ourselves in the foot!

Dena you also hit the nail on the head when you talked simply of being real. Unfortunately being real can at times be anything but simple. We’ve all had lots of lessons in making sure we don’t look pushy, don’t look hungry, don’t look too eager, but look eager enough. It’s no wonder real feels a bit “unreal.”

Megan you said you’ve used the 3-foot rule but realized you’d not brought anyone into your business through it. Not many of us have brought too many people into our businesses from the 3-foot rule. But it does happen.

I think it’s important to be REALLY CLEAR (sorry for shouting) that I’m not saying never talk to strangers. What I’m saying is use your head. Be professional and coach and mentor that to your downline. The use your head part…

You can do your business in a myriad of ways including the 3-foot rule. But the 3-foot rule is not everywhere all the time.

And this is not permission to use your fear to stop you from talking to someone. I’m happy to be used for lots of purposes but not to make it easier for you to stay out of money making activity.

You do need to talk to people. You need to be in constant contact with people in order to grow your business. Period.

Ok, seems that this would be a great topic for a coaching call. Watch for time and cost (we’ll keep it cheap) and make it happen soon.

You can be really good at the 3-foot rule because you know:

How to use it
When to use it
And How to be real while using it

Watch for the date and time.

How many of you practice and teach the “Three Foot Rule”?

It goes something like this - if someone is within three feet of you then talk about your company or your product.

If you do this, please stop it now. Without knowing it you’re helping to run the reputation of the network marketing industry into the ground.

Yep, into the ground.

And you’re killing your new business builders.

This week (like most weeks) I got a call from a distraught business builder who asks, “How can I introduce my product or business to people I don’t know? My upline says I’m supposed to talk to everybody I meet.”

How many of you have been told when you go to a party to look for a way to bring up your company or your product?

How many of you have been told to join the Chamber of Commerce (or just go to the mixers) and pass out your cards and “listen for a need” so you can talk to people about your business?

How many of you really feel comfortable doing this? For what it’s worth according to the people I coach not many of us do? Why? Because it’s disingenuous and unprofessional.

I’m not saying don’t talk to people. And I’m certainly not saying never talk to a stranger. But I am saying the industry needs to upgrade most of the training I hear about. And that folks means it is up to us. When you train your business builders to attend an organization to “see who you can get” rather than to get involved and offer what you can give, it is going to continue to drive down the reputation of our industry…and drive away our business builders not to mention customers. It’s obnoxious.

I know of business network groups who have “banned” network marketers because of this kind of business practice! And to drive that home a bit, how many of you shouted with joy when you found out your company was network marketing? hmmmm

Let’s put this into perspective. How many times do you go to a party and meet someone who’s a real estate agent and they ask you if you’d like to buy (or sell) a home?

Or how many times are you at a party and the person you’re talking to manipulates the conversation to find out you don’t have life insurance and then wants to sell you some?

Or have you ever met a dentist at a party who said to you, “you ought to come into the office” because s/he could straighten your teeth?

Why not? Because it’s not professional. But we teach, train and sometimes bully our new business builders into doing this. I had an upline in Excel that told me (and everyone else in his downline) that anyone who wouldn’t be my long distance customer wasn’t really my friend and I should tell them so! Yikes!

I know that one of the keys to build a successful MLM business is to get in front of new people all the time. But the only way that works is to be invited in - not to push or trick ourselves in. We need to cultivate professional relationships by working with others on projects, in professional communities and organizations.

If you want our industry to take its rightful place as a powerful way for people to take charge of their lives –

Then its time we build networks not crash them.

As networkers we are all looking for that person with the ever expanding sphere of influence. Yes? Aren’t the best sponsors exactly what they are looking for?

I know this will take a little longer. But businesses are built systematically and typically by members of the community..

Wouldn’t you love it if the next time you tell someone you’re a network marketer they tell you a wonderful story about a networker they met once.

What do you think?

Hello my Arbonne readers,

This post is for you. (And actually if you’re not part of Arbonne, you can still benefit, so read on, and think of this as your sneak peek - every company goes through this.)

This weekend I did a training at a car presentation for a memeber of our Savvy Sponsoring program. (hehe Savvy helped put another Mercedes in another driveway!)

There was lots of talk about going back to the “party system,” and not using the “drop system” anymore.

Lots of talk about building for stability rather than speed.

But what I got most of all is that people are all over the map!

Look, here’s the deal. It’s critical to focus on making sure people have the correct tools to do the business. Some people will buy 4 sets, or 6 sets or 8 sets. Some will buy one set.

Front loading is when someone is “talked into” buying more sets than they can use or will use. That’s not a system, it’s manipulation.

I got picked up at the airport by a young woman who is working a solid Arbonne business. She started at the $29 wholesale buyer level. She saved the money she made from her parties until she could buy her first set. She’s now a solid Area and working steadily toward Region.

Your income does not need to seesaw. Your income does not need to be affected by policy changes from the field or home office.

We’ve been hearing “system grumbling” for a while at Savvy. But this weekend put it into real focus for me. It’s time to talk seriously about systems and what they mean — and what they don’t mean. And how to ‘do’ them.

Take it from me who has been there and done that. Your income does *NOT* need to seesaw. It does *NOT* need to be affected by policy changes from the field or the home office.

So that’s exactly what we’ll do this Friday morning, Feb 16th at 9:00 am pacific time (that’s noon eastern time).
>> Click here to register It’s last minute because it’s THAT important we nip this in the bud.

Join us on this Open call (no fee, but only for now) to discuss:

How to implement the change around different systems.
How to coach your downline through these changes.
How to handle it when someone hears about someone who was frontloaded.

Come join us Friday for discussion and coaching where the rubber (Mercedes of course) meets the road. >> Click here to register

And hey, don’t hesitate to pass this around okay? This kind of grumbling - this kind of underground upset as it were - it can eat an organization from within if proper care isn’t taken. Not that that’s going to happen, but - Let’s make *SURE* it doesn’t, together, deal?

So first things first, book time in your calendar now for Friday, Feb 16th at 9:00 am pacific (noon eastern) >> Click here to register and be prepared for some real action to take afterwards.

Then, just as important, send this blog entry to everyone you know - that’s downline, upline, and crossline.

We welcome everyone to join in who could benefit. come one come all.

I was talking with a networker the other day and what she told me made my head spin.

She told me she was having trouble getting her business started. When I hear this the first thing I do is ask, “How long have you been in the business?” She told me about 3 months. Then I asked, “How many people have you called.” She told me 50 and out of the 50 she had four customers.

Now I don’t know about you but I have red lights flashing everywhere with that many people and such paltry results.

When I asked her what her upline said, she told me that they won’t work with her because, “I’m not successful.”

“Excuse me,” I said “What do you mean?”

She told me, it was upline policy to only spend time with those who are successful. This is not just her direct upline but the policy of the leadership in the upline.

Folks this is putting the cart before the horse. How does one expect someone to be successful if they haven’t been coached through the process of introducing your business and or product to people?

It is not the successful you work with - it is the willing and you help them develop the tools to be successful. You get paid to work with someone who is willing to do the work to develop a successful business. This is your job as a sponsor.

What sponsor in their right mind would let a business builder blow through that many people without debriefing them?

This gal (as all new business builders) needs to be debriefed after each call with a successful upline. Someone who can help her hone her approach and closing skills. This new business builder deserves this! Yes, deserves this. All new business builders deserve this.

Offering someone a way to improve the quality of their life through working with you in your business requires that you do your job. In my opinion this is what is meant by sponsoring with integrity. You follow through and make sure that everyone has access to the necessary tools for success. You also make sure that everyone who actually talks to people about the business and product has access to you to get better at using those tools.

By the way, I coached this woman for a few minutes until I heard the confidence in her voice rise and she was ready to make another call. After she made her call I suggested she call the most successful person in her upline to debrief. I also suggested that if they weren’t willing “because she wasn’t successful” she should immediately go to her company, explain what was happening - file a complaint - and ask for a new upline.

Are you a sponsor the Network Marketing Industry can be proud of? There is no middle ground. You either strengthen the reputation of our industry or undermine it. This doesn’t mean you need all the answers. It does mean you are on a quest to be the best sponsor you can be and you make sure everyone in your organization that is willing to work and is working gets the help they need. Because, frankly in my opinion, if you are not strengthening the reputation of our industry then please leave…there is no room for you.