Death of a Salesman

In the famous Arthur Miller play, “Death of a Salesman,” we follow Willy Lowman, who has definitely seen better days in his profession. The message of the play is clear – you can focus on the wrong things and in the end, have little or nothing to show for it. With family relationships in tatters, and no financial safety net in place, Willy was definitely focusing on the wrong things, and he paid dearly for it. He had a long life, but an unfulfilling one.

Sales is a tough profession. Too often, companies ratchet up expectations and raise the hurdle to an impossible height. You hit the top of your comp model, but they change it all mid-stream because you brought in more than they could handle. It can get nasty out there.

Network marketing is no different. The culture of a business is incredibly important. You want to be sure the company you are working for is a good fit, and that you are a good fit for selling products and recruiting new members of your sales team into that culture. There’s no reason to wind up like Willy Lowman. You can survive and even thrive as a professional in network marketing.

Some Tips for Network Marketing Success:

  1. One thing to remember in sales: It’s not about you. When you serve others – that is, serve your customers and your downline sales team, you will put yourself and others in a better position to win in network marketing. If you make it all about you, crushing your numbers whatever the cost – you will burn out and you will lose the influence within your network that being a team player can bring you.
  2. Find a mentor – we are huge proponents of mentorship, whatever adventure you are getting yourself into. This could be in the form of coaching from your upline, the person who recruited you into network marketing, or someone in sales who you admire outside of your network marketing company. Whoever it is, find a model of the success that you strive for, and learn from them.
  3. Mindset – Maybe Willy started out with the right mindset, but he got worn down. Don’t let that happen to you. Gratitude and positivity are crucial for any sales success.
  4. Focus – I love what network marketing entrepreneur Sulaiman Rahman has to say about focus in this interview, “Time management is a myth because time is already well managed into 24 hours a day. FOCUS Management is the challenge for us all. How to stay FOCUSED, and WHAT to focus on is also a topic in itself. It helps to have mentorship to assist you in this category.”
  5. Be a lifelong learner. Continue to learn and hone best practices in sales. There is always something to learn about connecting with people, overcoming objections, and providing potential customers and sales representatives with the best information at hand for them to make an informed decision about purchasing a product or working within your network.

If you are not doing what brings you joy and what you are gifted in doing, we can all end up like Willy Lowman; frustrated and not living up to our full potential.

In network marketing or in any endeavor, you want to develop the principles of proven success. Hone your skills as a leader and as a sales professional. When you take the business and yourself seriously, network marketing can be a means of taking control of your own destiny.

If you are good at sales, and if you have strong networking skills, then network marketing may be for you. If you can lead and sell, develop communication and future leaders, network marketing can provide a platform for you and your team to grow quickly and make good money.