The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing: The truth hurts

I was reading Mike Klinglers article The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing: The Controversy and it prompted me to write this article. For more information on why Mike wrote this article and for a great resource on what to do after you've read the eBook, check out the internet network marketing blog

It's a funny thing about positive and negative. Negative people just say they are being realistic and positive people are being Pollyannaish. I tend to shy away from anything negative that is written about network marketing. I passionately believe in the potential of this industry and see it is as the only really viable solution for most of us. I can't honestly remember how I came to click on The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing. I have clicked on the occasional article and as soon as they started slamming network marketing I clicked away; I felt sorry that they just didn't understand.

I started reading 7 Lies and I was immediately drawn into reading the entire letter. Every word resonated with me as the truth. I didn't perceive it as negative; that is a choice of course. I read it as the absolute truth; a truth I didn't want to believe being such a staunch defender of network marketing. The blinders are off now and I look back at what I so fervently believed and wonder how the heck did I believe that for so long??? After all Robert Kiyosaki endorses network marketing and he had sat down with our very own system leaders to do an interview for a CD. Kiyosaki doesn't endorse all companies but he did endorse our program because of the education system. When you think you have the best you aren't open to new information...and then along comes Ann Sieg. My take wasn't that she was slamming the industry. She was pointing out some uncomfortable truths to be sure BUT she was offering solutions! What a breath of fresh air! What an exciting journey I have embarked upon! I bought The Renegade Network Marketer; the best $67 I have ever spent. Now I understand the value of continuing education and having thought I was in a great system I willingly paid $50-$60+ a month to receive a book and CDs on a monthly basis; however the value that Ann Sieg provides along with her e-book is phenomenal. I had no idea that would be the tip of the iceberg! The value that you receive in the back end system is worth a whole lot more!

Some truths from The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing that finally penetrated my bubble:

p.4 "Have you ever thought to yourself: There's got to be a better way to do this"; I kept thinking this all the time! I'm now amazed at my strong belief when the ‘facts' were all around me that 97% failed.

p.7 "Everyone wants this, they just don't know it yet!" I truly believed this; I kept thinking if they only knew what I knew everyone would want to do this.

p.12 "If you are in network marketing ,you're in sales";. This was a hard pill for me to swallow; I was very anti-selling; not sure why but I had completely pulled the wool over my own eyes. I truly believed this was word of mouth advertising however Ann Sieg's definition resonated as the truth.

p.17 "You do need an ongoing monthly marketing budget";. When you are building offline you will take anyone with a pulse just to have someone to show the plan to so this important factor gets sidelined.

p.26 "The marketing in network marketing is missing!" Wow! Ann hit the nail on the head! The proven system of names lists, referrals, warm markets, home parties and hotel meetings is not all it's cracked up to be. Ann was not whistling Dixie here! In the end it all boils down to having people to show the plan to! Even if I was willing to make cold contacts my downline was not and they also guarded their own list of names closely and were very reticent to share it.

p.28 "If you've been hard at it for over 3 years and you still aren't cash flowing..Something is seriously wrong! And I can guarantee it isn't your motivation." I've been at it a lot longer than that; ebbing and flowing but at the end of the day extremely frustrated. I was very ready to read p.28. You mean I could be using a bulldozer instead of a shovel??!!! I was all ears!

p.29 "The truth is, they don't know why most of their people aren't successful." I believe this is the crux of it; no upline is knowingly leading us astray but the industry has changed and the way they became successful isn't working in the 21st century.

p.30 "What I am saying is that when it comes down to it, you can do without the inspirational CDS. You cannot do without a good marketing system." As I said I willingly paid $50-$60/month.... But the system that Ann is offering is far superior at much lower cost. And she was offering far more than inspiration, she was offering a good marketing system; actually teaching marketing skills.

p31. "Just follow the proven system". I had bought into this completely, listening to the success stories and never considering the numbers. 97% never reach a positive cash flow. This was also made even clearer to me when reading the thread for the SBI contest where people told of how they had achieved high levels of success only to have it all evaporate.

p.33 "A mediocre message to a great audience will always do better than a great message to a mediocre audience!....this explains why it's so puzzling to people when they bring a friend to their hotel meeting and they witness a phenomena presentation, yet seem to be totally indifferent afterwards." I could never understand this! I would get re-sponsored every time and I couldn't get why they didn't see what I saw. They saw what their perceptions allowed them to see and they got what they were looking for.

"Doing it the old manual-labor -make-a-names-lists-and-ask-for-referrals way is like using a typewriter to bang out 10,000 letters when you could have a printing press do it in a fraction of the time." Wow! Bring on the printing press! And the clincher: "That whole problem of not having duplication went away."..."wouldn't you like your business to run that way? Wouldn't you like your sales process to be a machine that runs on autopilot, constantly generating leads for you whether you're awake or asleep?" Bring it on!

Having experienced ebb and flow in my own experience I strongly feel that Ann Sieg has saved me months of frustration and disappointment. I think if uplines seriously looked at what Ann Sieg is teaching instead of taking offense they would jump on board. To reiterate no upline is knowingly leading us astray but the industry has changed and the way they became successful isn't working in the 21st century.

Irene Kirkman teaches newbie's Internet network marketing so you can learn to generate your own leads on a budget & attract your prospects to you. To plug into training with Irene click here or email me at: irene.paradigmshift@gmail.com