I was talking to a colleague on the phone today, about using social media to enroll new people into your network marketing opportunity, and for some reason the old “here fishy fishy fishy” clip popped into my head. You know the one – Bert and Ernie out fishing, Ernie starts calling the fish and they start jumping in the boat? I’ve posted it below for your viewing pleasure. By the way, if you read my blog title and knew exactly what I was talking about, give yourself a high five. For everyone else, here’s what I’m referring to…
I thought this Sesame Street video was an excellent metaphor for some of the nonsense advice I’ve been running into regarding internet marketing lately. Here’s what I mean:
I’m running into more and more people lately who tell me they’ve been using “social media” as a sponsoring tool, but that they’re having very little success. Someone told them it would be easy… Just throw out a link to some of your company’s videos on Facebook and Twitter, and BAM, you’ll have people signing up all over the place! “That’s right Bert, no need for that fishing pole anymore, just call the fish and they’ll jump right into your boat.”
Oh, if only life were like that… just yell a little louder and have fish (distributors) jumping into your boat (your business) on demand. Unfortunately there are a lot of people out there telling you that if you buy their product, or follow their system, you’ll be able to drop all of your regular tools and methods (aka your fishing pole) and become a top earner in your company over night.
Don’t buy into the hype my friends. Marketing your business online is a great tool, but it’s only half the battle. You can’t expect to post a bunch of links tonight and have five new reps tomorrow. The internet may be changing the way we do business, but the old way certainly is not “dead” as many gurus would have you believe. Network marketing is still about building trust and lasting relationships.
If you are completely frustrated, wondering how it is that you’ve posted a million links online and still have no sign ups, you’re not alone. This is real life, and yelling (either online or in a boat) will only scare the fish away. Don’t throw away your fishing rod just yet.
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