Don't you just hate it when somebody "quits" your MLM program?
Don't you hate to see your genealogy with a bunch of people with a big fat -0- next to their sales volume for that month?

I used to.

But, I don't anymore.

Why not?

Because I've learned after 12 years in this Industry what the 80/20 rule REALLY means.

Let me explain.

I've been in sales most of my life.

And, I've been self-employed in one way or another most of my life, too.

I've always been able to stick with something and "close" the deal.

Why?

Do I know some secret that you don't?

Is there some magical "script" that I use or body language that my prospects see that makes them say "yes" and sign on the dotted line?

No.

I'm not that good of a salesman. Really, I'm not.

If fact, I hate COLD calling anyone.

Instead, I've designed a system where people call ME and ask for information or ask questions instead of me hounding them down like a pack dog.

Why?

I hate selling. Really. And, I hate being SOLD.

I went to the mall here in Norman last night.

ARRRGH!

I went in a furniture store looking for a few outdoor chairs and cushions for my back porch.

I wasn't ready to "buy" at that time, but I had about $100 bucks floating around in my head that I would drop if I found the right stuff.

I saw him coming.

I tried to ignore him.

I tried to melt into the woodwork as I heard him say in a cheesy voice, "Can I Help You Sir!"

I thought to myself, "Hey, I'm 6'3" and weigh 200lbs, why am I such a whimp when it comes to sales people?"

Why do I cringe on the thought of being "sold?"

Why did I want to "bolt and run" out of that store? Especially since I was in desperate need of some
outdoor furniture!

And, I had a $100 bucks to spend.

Go figure. Ever been there before?

You leave the house all "pumped up" about your little "buying adventure". Then, a slick, cheesy sales person goes and ruins it for you.

Huh.

Now you can understand what over 80% of your prospects for your MLM go through in their mind when you're talking to them.

Women, you know are different. They cut through the bull when it comes to "buying".

I think they were created with "buying" in mind, if you know what I mean! No offense ladies!

My soon to be wife, Sheri is a classic example.

When she walks into a store she goes and finds what she wants. Sees if she likes it and if she can't find it she asks for directions from a sales clerk--unlike men!

And, she actually LISTENS to the sales person and when the sales person goes down a path or suggests something she doesn't like she'll kindly say:

"No, I'm not looking for that."

She always brings her sales person back to square one.

I got to thinking that maybe this is just a gender thing.

Women vs. Men.

But, then I started thinking that when it comes to MLM I'm just like Sheri.

I'm assertive. I know what I want. I ask questions. I listen

So, why do I feel like such a "fish out of water" when it comes to buying clothes, jewelry, and furniture.

I guess it's because I know absolutely NOTHING about them and I am afraid that I'm going to be SOLD something that I really don't want or like.

And, I don't think the sales person has my best interest at heart.

I think he or she is just interested in making a commission off of me.

And, because I know that I know NOTHING about the furniture, he or she could pull one over on me and I'd never know the difference.

Would I feel better just blindly buying something and then get it home and it fall apart?

Yes.

But, I'm a prideful man. And, at age 38, there is little hope of that changing.

I'd rather just take Sheri with me and watch her GO!

So, Robert. How does all this relate to the 80/20 rule in MLM.

Simple.

You see, once you start understanding why YOU buy and why YOU don't buy, you'll start understanding the whole buying/selling process.

You see, when I "do" MLM I act like I'm selling myself.

I want facts, figures, all that sort of good stuff.

And, I want to sleep on it and contrast and compare that MLM deal with any others that I may either be in already or am looking at.

If the furniture guy would of come up to me and said:

"Hi, I'm Nick (offered his hand and gave me his business card) let me know if I can help you."

I would of asked him a question or two and would of probably dropped my $100 there instead of at another store later that same afternoon.

Yes. My own insecurity drove me to his competitor.

He didn't blow the sale.

I blew the sale for him.

I didn't even give him a chance.

And, unless my "buyer" by the name of Sheri was there with me, I wouldn't of stayed--and I didn't.

So, why did I eventually go to another store an hour later and buy that $100 of patio furniture.

Fear, dang it.

Fear.

I told Sheri that I would take care of it before she got home and if I didn't I knew she'd be upset with me!!! (gulp)

The honest truth in buying is that we ALL bring a whole bag full of "conditions" that have to be met before we fell comfortable buying.

It depends on our balance in our checking account.

It depends on your "mood" that day.

It depends on whether or not your kids are screaming bloody murder and you can't wait to get out of the store!

It depends on whether or not it is raining outside.

It depends....

Getting the point yet?

You CANNOT control the actions and attitude of your prospects or your downline members.

They are a "volunteer army".

Heck, most employers have set up rules and conditions to try and control the attitudes and actions of their employees and go to great lengths to terminate those who violate those policies.

And, that doesn't even work all the time!

You see, the ONLY thing you can control is YOUR attitude and actions.

And, when you TRY to control the attitudes and actions of others, well, frustration is an understatement!

So, again, Robert, how does this apply to the 80/20 rule in MLM.

Easy.

Buying and selling in MLM is no different than retail.

MLM is a business.

Yes, it's a niche when considered in relation to the Gross National Product.

But, it's a very PROFITABLE niche, now isn't it?

That's why so many people are drawn to MLM.

It has the "allure" of working hard once and making money forever.

That seldom happens, but the lifestyle that you can create (and I said create--as in work at) is unlimited.

I know.

The 80/20 rule states this in sales:

80% of your sales volume in any given month is brought to you by 20% of the workforce.

So, if you have 10 sales people, and your office did $100,000 in sales that month, $80,000 of that
revenue would of been generated by only 2 of those sales people.

The other $20,000 was generated by the 8 remaining so-called sales folks.

Don't believe it?

I didn't either.

I'd been in MLM for 7 years and then this happened to me (you see, I'd never "done" the numbers on the 80/20 Rule before. I thought it was a myth or some old MLM wives tale. But, this my friend, blew me away).

In 1996 I brought in over 500 people in a MLM program in 31 days. No, I didn't sponsor them all. I sponsored about a dozen and those turned into 500.

At the end of 60 days I had 1,000 in my downline.

At that time I had invested into a MLM downline tracking software that I used to process the applications and forward them to the home office.

We were running a "Matrix" program at that time and I was in charge of all the "placements" so the software was a necessary "evil" to make my system purr.

At the end of each month this software had a report that listed the "Top Recuriters".

I thought, "Hey, neat, now I can actually see who's doing all the work and who's doing all the talking!"

I was shocked.

No, I was devastated.

I couldn't believe my eyes. So much so, that I ran the report 5 different times just to make sure I hadn't screwed up somehow.

All 5 reports read the same.

Here are those numbers:

1,000 sponsored
210 sponsored 1 person or more
790 hadn't sponsored even 1 person

Hmmm. Should I call it the 79/21 rule?

Close enough.

But, the point remains. The 80/20 rule works.

And, it works for a reason.

One I'll explain in a minute.

The reason I was so shocked is that the program I was promoting at that time had a 30% monthly bonus on everyone you personally enrolled.

You enroll someone at $100 you make $30 a month from them!

Sponsor 10 and you're making $300 a month just from that one bonus!

That one point alone, I thought, would of motivated those 790 to sponsor at least one! Wouldn't it?

Plus, we promoted a matrix which had the element of spillover.

And, with a 3 x 7 Matrix we told and trained everyone to sponsor at least 4 a month to make the "spill" happen.

It didn't work.

No matter how much training I did, no matter how loud I screamed, no matter how many hours I spent on the phone the 80/20 Rule, RULED!

Or, was I?

How could I do a "Tony Robbins" and turn this thing around and ask myself a better question?

You know. Tony says that the quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask yourself.

So, I looked at my report, dazed, and asked myself this question:

"What's good about this?"

It took me about 5 minutes of mindless staring, but it hit me like an Oklahoma Tornado:

"I HAD CRACKED THE CODE!!!"

The code, Robert? What's that?

The "code" is your mind, my friend.

You see, expectations, or the lack there of, are what keep most from being in the top 20% of this equation we call sales--and in life as well.

I had EXPECTED about 50% of those in my group to sponsor one person or more.

They hadn't.

Only 20% had. And I felt like a failure. Can you believe it?

I had over 1,000 people in my group--800 were on AAA ship (another lesson coming soon) and I was making more money than I ever had in my MLM career.

And, I was depressed.

Go figure.

Our minds do wondrous and not so wondrous things.

Just don't forget you are the programmer of your mind and only YOU can crack the "code" to your mind.

Now, how did I turn this around into a positive?

I sold it, I taught it, I lived it.

And more importantly, I EXPECTED IT!

I developed entire ad campaigns with it.

I developed entire recruiting strategies and set my monthly goals by it:

Sponsor 10.

2 will duplicate.

They each sponsor 10.

That's 20 more.

4 of them will duplicate.

They each sponsor 10.

That's 40 more.

8 of them will duplicate.

Get the picture?

I was no longer walking into my office and "expecting" miracles to happen in my downline.

Instead, I created them!!!

How?

By teaching and training those who I talked to about the proper expectations they should have.

By treating my MLM like a business instead of a day at the track experience.

Or, worse yet, a day in line at the $40 Million Lotto.

You see, the worse thing you can do is to expect something that will never happen.

That is a sure-fire formula for failure.

Why do people Join your MLM?

They either know, like or trust you.

Why do people quit your MLM?

They had the improper expectations and somebody else in another deal uses their bad experience with you as a sounding board to say, "you can do what you want over here!"

So, Robert, how do you live and make money with the 80/20 Rule?

Simple.

First understand that it exists in every pay plan and with every product line.

Sure, you may get to 70/30 or even have a 90/10. But the point is that it's PEOPLE who are in your MLM program, not charts and graphs and 4-color brochures.

PEOPLE are the variable in every program that throws your expectations off.

I like to say this to those who call me and are having a problem in their MLM program:

"John, if you had 10 brand-new application in your hand right now for your MLM program would what you're talking about with me be a problem or not?"

If he says, "Yes", then we discuss it.

If he says, "No", then we move on to the task at hand-- sponsoring new people.

Sponsoring NEW people is the answer to 99% of your problems/challenges/improper expectations in your MLM program today.

Trust me.

Try it.

Forget your problems for a minute and imagine having 10 new apps. in your hot little hand right now.

How does that make you feel?

"But, Robert, that's my problem, I can't sponsor anyone!"

Positive self-talking aside, that could be your first and ONLY problem.

I've found that whatever you THINK happens.

My mind is a magnet to what I think about and focus on all the time.

I want a pizza. I focus on it. I smell the cheese. I taste the sauce.

Within 24 hours "Pizza Boy" is at my front door.

Amazing how that works, isn't it?

I think about quitting my MLM because my upline didn't return my call last night. Or, my product was late. Or, the conference call started late and everybody was laughing.

Or, (insert excuse here)!

If You Don't Want It In Your Life, Don't Think It!

At least don't DWELL on it.

Sure, you've got to think about your mortgage. And, I'm sure my article won't persuade your Banker to forgive you the balance.....

Robert's Rule #1 In Life:

Whatever You Think About & Dwell On You Get!

Everything. And I mean EVERYTHING that has happened to me in my life I thought of it before.

Good, bad, indifferent.

I'd thought of it before it happened.

The 80/20 Rule exists because it's a measuring device of our species.

Human Nature = 80/20 Rule

It's a universal law.

So, don't go trying to change it.

You might slice a few percentages off of it for a while, but over your lifetime in your MLM program the 80/20 Rule will be there--it won't go away.

Learn to live with it and learn to use it.

Most of my "hitters" are those that like the truth.

They aren't afraid of "working" and when they hear about the 80/20 Rule they say:

"That makes sense. You're treating this like a real business, I like that. How do I get started and what do I do first."

The distinction is that I live to attract the 20%.

I set dinner for them.

I send a limo to get them.

I call their name out at night.

I pandor to them.

I design my entire campaign around finding them.

Then, once I do, I teach them how to "sell" our wares to the 80% who do nothing but "buy" our stuff.

Pretty simple when you sit down and think about it.

The 80/20 Rule.

Check it out with your own downline report.

You'll be amazed.

Visit: www.FreeMLMNewsletter.com today for leads.

You need them.

I've got them!

Robert Blackman
(918) 335-3726
www.FreeMLMNewsletter.com

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