A VIP way of treating your customers

Since The Russian who hates vodka wrote a VERY inspiring blog post, this is from a life-changing network marketing story.

The approach

Many people have the thinking that "My idea is going to change the world because people will buy from me." Nice try, but that thinking sucks. Or rather, steals.

The idea that people will want to buy is pointless unless you provide a reason to buy. You cannot provide a reason to buy unless you have a story.

Each person has a story. Each person has been put down at some point and as a result, a cancer of doubt has begun to grow. Most would say "I'm fine", but in reality, they look a bit like this.

They try to maintain that they are okay. How willing do you suppose a broken person will want to buy anything from you when what they have tried leaves them broken?

Life changing event

I was a teenager when my mom was heavily investing in MLM companies. She understood the process of network marketing and tried her best to work. In everything that she did, she was able to build up a small base of customers. It got her a few checks. It even promoted her in her business to where she got to go to a National Convention. She could take 3 people with her. She took my dad, her brother Aaron, and I.

It was in Louisville, Kentucky. I saw the "big city" like I'd never seen before. I also saw a LOT of people who were the Platinum level of the company. The ones earning $50-$250 a day. The ones with 6 figure incomes.

For the most part, they stayed to themselves and wouldn't mingle with the lowly. All except Dale.

The man who changed everything for me

The convention was held in an arena and all the people who went stayed at the Hyatt Regency hotel. Complete with 14 stories and a revolving restaurant at the top floor. It was on the ground floor that I met Dale. Dale was the CEO and President of a company that my mom was involved with.

I had been riding up and down the elevator because it was the first one I'd ever been in with glass walls! After riding up and down several times, I finally got tired and decided to walk around on the floor.

As I stepped out of the elevator, I saw a man in a tan suit slowly making his way towards the elevator. I recognized him immediately and with boldness I'd not known at such a young age, I stepped in his path and said, "Hey Dale, I got a question."

He stopped and immediately asked me what my name was. I replied, "My name is Norm."

"Ok Norm, now that I know your name, what is your question?"

"Dale, I have always wanted to know what your secret is for being able to approach any person and convince them to join New Image International." I was prepared for a hyped speech, but what I got blew my expectations out of the water.

How to Help, NOT Hurt

"Norm, when I meet a person, the first thing I know they will want to know is if I am real. They see the cars, they see my stories, but they want to know if I am real.

"The first thing that I do for that person is to assure them that they are real, their stories are real, and I am willing to identify with their stories. If I do not identify with their stories, I AM A THIEF!

"If my only goal is to see their problem as my personal gain, I am robbing their hard-earned money. However, if my only goal is to identify with them in their story, I become their friend.

"I become their friend by listening to the story and telling them how I would feel if I had to go through what they went through. Once they have told me their story, I tell them mine. I tell them of being dirt poor and having to start off with a dream, much like Martin Luther King Jr.

"When I show them my dream and where it has taken me, I become their mentor. I haven't even begun to teach them anything. I put aside what I have or haven't earned because just as I am real, SO are they. Just as their problems are real, so is my offer to help.

"Do you understand what I am saying, Norm?" In the time that I had watched him explain all of this, I saw a passion in his eyes and in the way that he talked with his hands.

"You approach each person with the goal of helping them where they are, not to find out how deep their pocketbook is." I don't remember my exact words there. I remember more that I was getting a marketing strategy from a billionaire.

"That's close, Norm. I don't worry about their pocketbook. I only want to show them that I believe they are real. When I show them that they are real, they in turn believe that I am real. I know that I am real, so that is not the question. The question is, does the person you talk to believe that they are real? There is confidence in decision making when the customer is confident in themselves."

"Norm, is there anything else that you want to know?" When Dale had been walking towards me, he had his room card in his hand. When I stopped him, I watched him put the room card back in his pocket. Now, after the question, he had his hand on his pocket.

"Dale, I thank you for your time. I have no more questions." I was sure that I had worded that right. I was in for a surprise.

"Norm! Never stop asking questions!" And with that, Dale Calvert went on his way.

(Image from A MLM review site.)