By: Sandi Krakowski
My first online business that grew to over $ 4.5 million in sales per year in under 4 years was a kitchenware business. This was a direct sales based company, which means that I purchased the products wholesale through vendors and was able to resell them with a reseller's license. We had more than 400 items for sale at our biggest time and more than 70% were being drop shipped.
My experience online includes direct sales and then network marketing, as far as my platform can be measured. After I spent 31 months in network marketing becoming the best phone prospector many companies had ever seen, I stepped into the amazing world of copywriting and have never looked back.
It is my conviction that if I don't have a proven track record for what I'm going to teach you it would be best you not listen. TIP: Seek to listen to those with a proven track record. So when I make a very bold statement like I'm about to make, know that it is with 14 years under my belt, having built several lists with more than 250,000 customers total combined and with a heart of compassion for today's new business owner, or wanna be business owner.
In the world of network marketing there is a saying that goes like this, "If someone has a pulse, is breathing and is within 3 feet of you, they are a possible candidate for your business." Coming from the background I did, having built 3 successful online ecommerce businesses, this always bothered me just a tad. Knowing that if you don't have prospects you won't have customers, I plunged head foot into this "3 foot rule" concept. To put it bluntly, what I experienced was disgusting ! Even when someone gave me the 'right words to say' or told me 'how to get people interested in what I offered' it always felt slimey and self-focused.
The reality is, the 3-foot rule is very self focused because it doesn't take into consideration any of the standard business 101 practices of demographics, psychographics or customer desires. In other words, it doesn't take into consideration that the woman I am about to speak to might not be interested in hunting equipment. She might not have one male relative in her life who hunts and very few friends who would fit the product I'm looking to market. Therefore, it is a self-focused ambition to seek to convert her on my hunting equipment.
Sadly, one of the biggest motives in network marketing is in making money. This is the only industry that you'll hear people introduce themselves and proceed to tell you how much money they've earned. It's a measuring stick that looks like this:
1- If you've made a lot of money you're great at business
2- If you haven't made a lot of money you need to work harder
This is SUCH a poor measuring stick that even writing it out makes me wanna be sick! There are a lot of people who make a ton of money in this industry who are massively self-focused and corrupt! There are equally a lot of people in this industry who are not making any money who have amazing business skills.
Can you see my frustration?
Business 101 would teach you to seek out those who are interested in hunting, have parallel interests and a buying pattern that includes hunting goods. It would not include harassing friends, family or neighbors to see if they might like to take an interest in said hunting gear.
And… we wonder why the average person in network marketing makes less than $500 per month and many people who 'try' to find success in that industry plain and simple… DON'T!
You can see why, with my given track record and the experience of the over 14 years I've spent writing copy for myself and the 6 years I've written copy for others, I am appalled at such a concept!
But wait…. introduce the world of social media marketing and we have a VERY big problem on our hands, ladies and gentlemen! Because social media is completely 100% built on common interests, likes and desires. If you attempt to apply the 3-foot rule to a group of people through social media you will look hypey, slimey and at best, like a jerk!
Don't get me wrong.. I learned a lot in the 31 months I spent in network marketing. Lessons such as how to coerce people, manipulate and create a fake image so that you can succeed were just some of the lessons learned, and regretted. I also learned that if you said things to people in just the right way, they would do what you wanted. So control was another lesson learned. I could bore you with more details, but there really is a good side to all of this-
I learned that many times I only wanted to work with people who were LIKE me…. and that judgements existed inside of me that prevented me from working with other people, who were not like me. It was a good thing this lesson was not only learned, but overcome. There is no other platform more rich in training soil than this industry to teach you how to get over yourself.
My mission when I was in network marketing was to be the best I could be, honestly and genuinely and after hiring the best trainers in the industry, Hans and Dani Johnson, it was a complete life change that occurred. So please don't get me wrong when I say that not everyone is cut out for MLM or a home based business such as this. My point is this- it was a life changing experience for me and a platform for where I am today. But that is a big key…. it was a platform, not a home.
Had I stayed in this industry for longer than I did, the company you see before you would not exist. I would never have spent over $ 250,000 on my education in prospecting, personal growth, lead generation, email marketing, email deliverability best practices, copywriting, auto responder writing, phone prospecting, team building, personality identification and implementation in specific company roles, project management, online marketing, PPC, CPC, direct mail and more. The 3-foot rule is not what got me to where I am today. Nevertheless, there are thousands of people I meet each month who feel lost because they can't make 'it', the 3-foot rule, work for them. This article is for them.
Have you ever considered that maybe you were not designed to prospect?
Have you ever thought through the possibility that you were not designed to do MLM?
Have you ever pondered the notion that maybe, you were created for something more?
What if you were meant to write, as I was meant to write?
What if you are able to help people in any industry succeed online with the words you write and the marketing you create? If this is the case, it's critical for you to know why the 3-foot rule doesn't work.
Social media has changed the marketing world as we know it and it's not going back. Period, end of story. So not only is it faulty to keep marketing in the ways we've always done, it's ridiculous to think that people will welcome or tolerate it.
Social media puts the consumer in control, not the business owner. This is a critical fact that so many people just don't understand. If you are going to be successful online you'll have to learn and master the skill of serving, not selling.
The 3-foot rule is based on sales quotas, goals and self-focus. It is not based on helping another person acquire what they have already indicated they want. Social media is the tool for connecting with people who not only want but are LOOKING for what you have.
This is why, my friends, the world of copywriting has NEVER ever in the it's entire history been so ripe for budding writers! But the old timers have to change their ways or step aside!
Social media brings the skill of copywriting to a whole new level! With email marketing, social media copy, PPC, newsletters, auto responders, sales pages and MORE, almost anyone with a strong desire to succeed and who is willing to learn can quickly learn this skill and succeed!
There's no phone prospecting and if you don't want to tell your friends, neighbors or relatives, you don't have to! Just hide behind your computer everyday, write for your clients and rake in big checks!
Business 101 demands however that you realize to make any money online, you'll have to work. Most of the 'cake walks' you'll find online are illegitimate and most of the 'get rich' plans out there are just plain ridiculous.
But if you're willing to work and you're willing to give it a try, you can learn to serve others, write words and prosper, all from the comfort of your home!
The 3-Foot rule has been abolished with the honesty, integrity and 'Enchantment' as Guy Kawasaki puts it, of the internet. Learn how to market with our feeling for a pulse on every person you see – Draw people to you – it is true January 31st at 7pm – 8pm ET (7pm CST). Details here Grab your seat before they are all gone.
My friends, we can't keep doing what we've always done and expect for things to change. It is TIME for A Real Change… and as a team, we can do this together!
With love,
Sandi Krakowski is a Serial Entrepreneur who refers to herself as a HAPPY entrepreneur….. with 11 successful companies under her belt and a "Back To Basics Step By Step Business" expert who currently serves more than 200,000 clients in over 147 countries.Her systems help the average business owner as well as big corporations get extra-ordinary results quickly. She has a track record for her 'bringing it into action' processes that company owners find easy to implement with quick results. She has been working online successfully for the last 15 years and has built 11 successful companies including her current business A Real Change Int'l.
