When you build your networking business it is important to know the answer to a simple question: who do you attract your prospects to – yourself or the company you’re involved with? Why is knowing the answer so important. Because when you know who’s who in this business – that is, who does what – then you act respectfully. You are your company’s agent, but this is YOUR business. So, if it’s your business, who should you promote? Who do prospects deal with – you or your company? They are your prospects and they don’t care about your company. They care about the value you represent. They care about how they can benefit from what you offer. Your company is just like a theater stage where you and your prospects play the main role. It doesn’t matter how great your company is; it matters, however, how you act on behalf your company. You can be a lousy agent for a great company, or you can be an outstanding agent for a lousy company. You have to position yourself as a business owner, as your own business’ CEO, and expert.

In the old school of marketing we were taught how to make great company presentations, compensation plan presentation, product line presentations, and all kinds of other presentations. Did they ever teach us how to attract prospects to us? At least my uplines didn’t. We caused more and more rejection every time we talked about the company or its products. Well, company and its products are good things, but they are worth nothing without people who do the marketing. Do you now see the shift? You, not the company, are the main component of this business. Your company can appear and disappear, but you and your prospects/customers remain. So, logically, if you invite your prospects to join your company, not you, and if the company evaporates, so will your prospects. They will not be looking for you to present them a new company you join. They will be looking for someone who provides value, expertise, who can teach them business. It’s simple: you attract prospects to you not because they need you, but because they need your expertise, your value, your knowledge, and experience. You don’t go to a supermarket because you need the supermarket. You go there because you need what it offers – food. When you buy a book, you do not buy a stack of paper with a colorful cover. You buy a book because of its content, right? So, no matter in which shape or form your company represents itself, you should be a valuable content which draws people like gravity.

According to Ann Sieg, not everyone is your prospect. The old school of marketing teaches the opposite. When you position yourself as a professional your prospects most likely want to become part of your team. But one of the principles of attraction is sorting. It doesn’t matter whether a prospect wants to be on your team. What matters is whether you want them on your team or not. This brings us back to Lesson #2 on how to sort your prospects. People come to network marketing for different reasons. But you only need motivated folks, because it is easier to teach a person who’s already motivated that to waste time motivating an unmotivated one. Time is more precious than money, so don’t let any prospect steal it. They should know that your time is also a value and they are not allowed to neglect it by wasting it on the phone or in a face-to-face conversation. Do not let them think you need them. They should beg you to become a team member of yours because you represent value. If you start chatting with them about the weather or sports, they will realize that you don’t value your own time. If they realize that you don’t value your own time they will get an impression that you are not busy building your business, which is a sign of non-professionalism. You will never get a second chance to make a first impression. Your prospects will go to someone else.