There is a very common piece of advice that is provided to all network marketers when they first enter into this industry. This network marketing tip is embedded into the psyche of all of us and we in turn try to instill this advice to the network marketers on our team. This tip is to beware of negative people!
There is so much emphasis that is placed on having network marketers having the proper mindset. Part of this proper mindset is to steer clear of the negative affect that certain people will have on your confidence. This network marketing tip is extremely important and vital to the success of your organization and network marketing career.
There is however, another network marketing tip that I don’t think enough focus is placed upon. It may be somewhat easy to stay away from negative people and negative influences as they are very easy to spot. They are not afraid of telling you exactly how they feel and will say that to your face.
I feel that there are other people whom you should stay away from or at least limit your contact with, who are not so easy to spot. Those people are your “time stealers”.
As the great Jim Rohn once said, “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.”
I find this quote invaluable! You will never get back the time you wasted. These time stealer’s to which I referred, can and will suck every bit of your time. They may not do so on purpose or with any conscious malice, but nonetheless, the damage they may cause to your business and your mindset could be irreparable.
So what do I mean by “time stealer’s”? These individuals are the ones who are doing nothing or close to nothing with their business, but lead you to believe that they are on the verge of a break trough. They do not regularly talk to people, attend meetings or training, they do not attend large corporate events, and do not sell enough products or services. But, every once in a while, they will suck you into believing in them and that they are ready to grow their business.
Every time they lead you to believe that they are ready for success, you in turn spend time with them trying to assist or guide them. Suddenly and unexpectedly, they revert back to their original mind set and attitude of doing nothing. You then look back and realize that you spent hours if not days with them. This situation can occur several times unless you put a stop to it.
Let me give you an example. I had one member of my team who assured me that she was ready to start growing her business once her retail store had closed. As she put it, she will at that time have enough free time on her hands to devote to her network marketing business.
Well, her business closed but she did nothing. I spent countless phone calls, emails, text messages advising her of upcoming events and trying to set up a game plan, but there was no feedback. But, she did over the course of a few months lead me to believe that she was ready by attending a couple of training sessions. Unfortunately after each one, nothing further was accomplished on her part.
I wanted so bad for her to succeed that I spent too much time with her and at times seemingly trying to convince her to do the business. Dealing with her became such a drain on me, both physically and mentally that I had to end the business relationship.
So, what do you have to do when you encounter a situation like this. At a certain point, you will come to realize that the person is stringing you along or rather stringing themselves along. When that time arises, you have to tell yourself that you will not devote anymore time to that person unless they actively become fully involved in their network marketing business.
You will also have to explain your position to them. There is no need to be harsh or rude. Simply advise them that until they are ready to routinely devote 6-10 hours a week to their network marketing business, you can’t be there to help. You must possess a zero tolerance.
Remember though, that these people may be your friends or family members. You do not want to tarnish your personal relationship with them. Tell them that you have no issues with spending time with them on a personal level, but you will not discuss the business until they are ready.
I hope that you do not have many of these “time stealer’s” on your team. But believe me, if you do, please stop working with them or it could very well mean the end of your network marketing career.
Wishing you all the success in the world!
Vince A. Giorno
(416) 937-1335