Brian Tracy
His catchy lectures and seminars about leadership, sales, effective management and business building strategies are both concrete and inspiring. Today, Network Magazine representative is talking with Brian Tracy about good business and, of course, MLM system.
Michał Świderski: Good morning. It is a pleasure to have you here, in Poland, Warsaw. Today we have some time to focus on MLM system. Could you please tell us the story of your career? Now you are a facilitator, a coach but it would be perfect if you could tell us how did your adventure with MLM start?
Brian Tracy: I have started with quite a low education. I used to work physically, For years I have been working in factories, on farms, constructions. Later, I got the job in sales department. I did not have any idea about marketing but I was not afraid of such a work and I strongly believe this is the key to success in MLM. You cannot be afraid of working because every single business requires a long-term, hard work. So I went into sales and started my job. After 6 months I started asking why some people succeed. I questioned those successful ones about their achievements in sales branch. They told me their best practices and I was trying to imply those into my work. Consequently, my sales went up! I read books written by the sales leaders or listened to podcasts recorded by them and it also influenced my own sales success. Then, I became a manager, general manager and vice-president of the company in which the 100 of other people were hired. Each of them was invited by me, trained by me, I showed them how to sell. Sales is something normal but people get nervous about it without any particular reason. They still do not know how to do this. You may compare it to driving a car. I ask the salesman: “Can you drive a car?” “Yes!” he says. „Does it make you nervous?” I keep asking. ”I don’t know.”, he replies. “Exactly! Because you are brilliant at it! You have learned how to do it! Once you learn how to sell, you will be able to sell everything no matter where and when!”.
Michał Świderski: Do you believe that everyone can be a good salesman?
Brian Tracy: Of course, no! In my opinion only 10-20% of people can become good salesmen. Some people are afraid too much to achieve so. If you are terrified by failure, rejection, embarrassment, if you have plenty of inner fears – you simply cannot sell. Such people do not really have to be bad, they are just paralyzed by their fears. The main reason of lack of success is the fear of failure and to this point your achievement will be overcoming this concern. When you do so, you will start selling. When you start selling, your fears will disappear! There is one difficult thing that needs to be taught to people. They must say:
I CAN DO THIS! And they need to repeat it over and over again, as these words break the fear of sales. When you reach such a level when it will be easy for you to say “I can do this” – your self-confidence grows and you get rid of your concerns.
Michał Świderski: I understand, but some people have in mind the perspective of the lack of money, the fear for the family… What then?
Brian Tracy: As the answer for this question I may say that work in MLM is usually an extra job you do in your free time. If you do not have full-time job, you have to find it. There are not many people who are successful at the very beginning of their MLM adventure. Usually, they need to continue working in their main company. In the same time, they become more experienced in recruiting dealers and building their own business path. It may take even 2 years from treating sales as your side work to the moment when it becomes your main source of income. Another fact is that if you do not have money, it is good to develop your business fast. The main rule here is to keep your full-time job until your e-marketing is not grown enough.
Michał Świderski: Before the interview you have told me that in the past you had direct contact with MLM. Could you please tell me something about network marketing in USA?
Brian Tracy: I was working with few network businesses, usually in the role of customer. In the same time, I was building my own business. I had conversations with MLM people from all around the world, including China, Kazakhstan, Russia, USA, Japan and Australia. MLM is a good system because it allows people to start their careers even if they have small amount of money or they do not have money at all. For example, instead of opening a store what would cost you a lot, you can open an online business not investing too much. The only thing that is demanded from you is to work hard and be able to talk to people. I keep telling this to people around the globe! I try to encourage them to question the 100 of people, collect addresses, names and find them as soon as possible.
Michał Świderski: The 100 of people. Are they your relatives? Friends?
Brian Tracy: Exactly! They are people who I work with, they are my family or friends I think of. I have friends in MLM who call everyone they have contact number to. The key here is to be focused on the conversation with the 100 of people. If you do it once, you will not be afraid anymore. You will start being good at your business, you will be prepared to whatever can be said during such conversation and your business will grow.
Michał Świderski: I have heard that it was your own idea to join one of the MLM businesses. What, from your point of view, is the most important thing to do to succeed in this particular sector?
Brian Tracy: The fundamental to the MLM success is something I had written books and articles about. First and foremost, you must like your product. You must be into the product so much that you will be likely to use it on your own, to sell it to your mom, brother or best friend. If you are not able to do so, this may indicate that there is something wrong with the product or with you. This will also indicate that you simply are not able to sell it. Another case is about the company itself. It must be solid, it needs to hire bright sales managers and experienced salesmen. The product you will sell must have affordable, with non-limited guarantee. This will keep you customer safe – if he does not like the product, he will be able to give it back. Be sure that the company which you chose has a proper accounting system and you will receive your salary on time. Be convinced that you really like talking about the product. Your enthusiasm and trust in the product will be your most important and the most powerful tool in MLM system. I love the product! It is really outstanding! I use it! My friends use it!
It is really crucial. If you go into MLM only to earn money, you will not succeed. If you go into MLM because you are into the product and you wish to help people, then you will be successful!
Michał Świderski: In MLM business, people often aim something at the very beginning but they do not follow this path. There is no big money, there is no success. Instead, they have the feeling of failure. Could you please advise what to do in such a situation?
Brian Tracy: Achievement always needs more time than we expect. One of the biggest requirements on the way to success is patience. People who start their MLM business should be very patient. Many people, who begin their adventure with network marketing, invite 10 another people for conversation. There is only one out of these 10 who comes to the meeting. Next time they invite 20 people, and consequently, they meet only three of them. This is the price to be paid at the beginning.
When you believe that your product is good and it has power to help people, you will go through it! You need to remember that failures and temporary problems are the price for your future success!
Michał Świderski: Let’s say that someone comes to you and offers multiple products like insurance, supplements, cosmetics… There are plenty of them. Do you believe such behavior is ethical?
Brian Tracy: You can offer more than one product but they all should be signed with the same brand name. It is not possible to run two different businesses in the same time. You should join the company that sells products that have reasonable prices and sell only those products. There are companies like Amway which offer multiple products from different categories. During the conversation with your customer, you must recognize what he would like to talk about! If he is interested in supplements, you talk about supplements. If he prefers hygiene measures, you talk about hygiene measures. Do not even try to talk about every single product with every potential customer. Of course, it touches upon ethics but you also need to remember about your competitors. It is really hard to be successful when the competition is so big. You should decide which company you would like to work with and concentrate on running one business. You should stay focused on this particular business for 2,3,4 or even 5 years. This is what I’ve learned working in one of the richest MLM companies in the world. If you are not ready to invest 5 years to gain financial independence or the level you aimed, do not go into MLM. It is not an easy work and easy money. You must build this business for a long time to achieve prosperous and satisfactory life.
Michał Świderski: Very often people have some fears and concerns at the beginning. They are about to decide whether they should choose something else because their main idea is not good enough. What then?
Brian Tracy: There are two key words marking every success. They are – START and ENDURE. Once you do those two things, once you will start and you will continuously follow the path you have chosen, you have guarantee of success. Everyone who succeed in MLM is very persistent, joyful and determined in pursuing his goals.
The good friend of mine has build the great structure in MLM system. For the first time he was recruited five years ago. He was given a starter pack and told to “go and sell it to others” – and that’s it. Of course, he was not successful at that time and he was not likely to have anything in common with MLM. Five years later someone else from the same company found him and tried to convince him to start his own business. He kept refusing claiming that this business does not work at all. The man asked if anyone had taught my friend what the basic steps of business building were. “No. They only told me to go and talk to people.”, he replied. The MLM person was surprised. “So they did not teach you? Look! Here are next steps…”, the man presented basic points that helped my friend to start a successful business beginning with only one person.
Today, in my friend’s structure there are 90 000 people. It is a group that worth millions, Not so long time ago he told me that this distributor changed his life because he understood that when you build your business you need to be systematic. And it is another key to success.
It is not possible to achieve success in MLM if you are not systematic and disciplined when it comes to your working methods. It is also crucial to have a good coach who will show you how to work.
Michał Świderski: We live in times of technological revolution. There are new working tools, you can sell things sitting in front of your computer. You do not even have to meet people in the real world. What do you think about implying of new technologies into MLM?
Brian Tracy: This is the future! I strongly believe that this revolution will influence every business very quickly as even today you can use Skype or Messenger to communicate face to face with everyone on each part of the world. You can watch films, create presentations, publish them and present them to your customers. Presentations, forms, compensation plans, provision plans… Changes happen so fast!
Michał Świderski: Do you believe then that this is going to be our future?
Brian Tracy: Definitely. I think so because some of work methods seem to be quite oldish to provide us with satisfactory results. Time saving is currently one of the most important humanity aims. People wish to succeed but, in the same time, they are more busy, overworked, they do not have enough time. But MLM companies may make business building to be easier and less time consuming. You can talk tete-a-tete using Skype. But, on the other hand, such solutions will not substitute direct sales. Some people tend to send sales information via Internet to whole groups of customers. I do not think it is a good way. In my opinion, the business should be discussed face to face with each person! Everyone who succeeded in MLM joined the business because someone else had explained him or her in person what steps should be taken first.
Michał Świderski: Thank you for the conversation.