Market Prospecting

I've heard a lot of debate about the whole "Warm Market" thing. Traditional network marketing guru's seem to have a strong opinion that warm market prospecting is the only effective method, while the new marketers of the digital age think they're crazy and can't imagine going to their "friends and family" when they can access over a billion people online.

Here are the top five myths I've heard, and my take on each one:

1. You can only build a network marketing business in your warm market.

This one should simply be re-phrased to, "I can only build a network marketing business in MY warm market." Because this is only said by traditionalists who don't know any other way. There are just too many success stories in the online network marketing arena to back up that claim.

2. Nobody has built a big team online or with leads.

Again, this statement should simply be re-phrased to, "I don't know anybody who builds online who's successful." Well, this is simply a matter of you not educating yourself on the current marketplace. They're out there, but you haven't met them yet.

3. Home meetings are the best way to build your business

This one is purely subjective. Have home meetings built massive teams? Absolutely. And if you love home meetings, go for it. But that doesn't make it the best method for everybody, it just makes it the best for you. For me, home meetings are the WORST way to build my business. I'm a family man, and when I'm home I'm home. I love time with my wife and kids, and I'm busy with their sports, singing, church activities etc, and I want to keep it that way. Because I build my business online, my home remains a home, and my online systems work for me 24/7, building my business automatically.

4. Weekly hotel meetings are essential for network marketing growth.

This is another very subjective thing. According to Randy Gage, weekly meetings are only effective in the start up phase of a business. After that they become a hang out for "professional meeting attenders," and the meeting numbers stay fairly flat while core people meet weekly to show off their new clothes and cars to each other. But the ratio of guests to distributors is terrible.

So if you love a weekly meeting, go for it! But to assume it's essential for growth is simply not true.

5. It's a relationship business.

Now here's where I'm going to get in some hot water. What if that statement isn't true? It's one of the core beliefs of traditional network marketers, but let's analyze it for a minute.

Why is network marketing considered a relationship business? I mean, all network marketing is is a network of distributors recommending products or services to others, who then do the same. In the end, will these people buy the products or services because of a relationship, or because of the merits of the products themselves? Remember, every company out there believes their product or service is strong enough to stand up in the marketplace regardless of whether there's a compensation plan attached or not, right? So it stands to reason that people will continue to use a good product even if they DISLIKE the person who told them about it.

So the fact is that the person who actually will make the most money isn't the one who builds the most relationships, but the person who has the most volume in their organization. It's a brutal reality, but there it is.

But before you go screaming that Dave Sherwin is some heartless marketing monster, I'm really not. I love people. I just choose to build my business online. And the fascinating paradox of this warm market vs. online marketing debate, is that my "warm market" is bigger than it's ever been! I have friends all over the WORLD! I have distributors in countries I haven't even visited! After all is said and done, I have more relationships than ever before because of online network marketing.

So if you are fascinated by the world of online network marketing, go for it! It works, it's fun, it's rewarding, and it can be VERY profitable.

Dave Sherwin is a Network Marketer who won the "Rookie of the Year"award in a large international network marketing company, building a team of over 700 people his first 6 months.