What, Exactly, Is Network Marketing?

Networks are groups/systems of interconnected people, places or things working together to serve a common cause.  However, essential to effective "network marketing" are three components:

• People
• Tools
• Opportunity 

When interconnected people use tools, systematically, to promote each other as opportunity, marketing systems are deemed marketing enterprises, networks, remarkable opportunity and marketing companies, required utility. 

Promoting companies, products, services or compensation hardly constitutes network marketing.  These practices annoy people and, at best, are rarely effective.  True network marketers aspire to simplicity.  

Network marketing = promoting (marketing) interconnected people (networks). 

Do Not Entertain Futility - Tips, tricks, strategies, and techniques aren't required to be nice to people and say hello converse respectfully; to introduce opportunity before inquiry annoys everybody and screams futility.  Further, opportunity-marketing usually intrudes because:  

• Through notifications, everybody who follows us probably sees us engage. 
• Notifications include links for anybody who wants to “see more”.  
• Nobody needs our help to follow links. 

People Are Naturally Curious - We humans are inherently curious creatures who need our questions answered. Anything unusual (and I do mean anything) sparks our curiosity.  Therefore, as a group or “system” of interconnected people (a network), we use unusually high engagement in ordinary conversation as our unique tool to: 

• Systematically promote (market) ourselves (our network) as opportunity. 
• Pique curiosity, establish culture, and attract naturally. 
• Exploit every social platform's highest and best use. 
• Compel our most notorious skeptics to inquire. 

You Cannot Be Too Safe - When curiosity causes somebody to inquire, assume you're speaking to a skeptic and avoid explaining our movement publicly or privately because if you mention “opportunity”, they'll probably avoid you. 

In Network Marketing, People Are Priority - Susan sponsors Bob, Joe and Debbie.  Bob, Joe and Debbie, each, sponsors 20 people.  Susan tags Bob, Joe and Debbie in a post.  Bob, Joe and Debbie likes and comments on her post and tags the twenty people they each sponsored. 

However, Bob, Joe and Debbie only recognize 21 of the 63 names tagged (Susan's and their direct sponsees').  They don't know each other nor do they know each others' sponsees.  What everybody does next will determine if they're true or typical network marketers. 

A true network marketer recognizes Susan's post as the place to meet everyone on Susan's team and everyone on each of their teams.  She/he starts liking comments and greeting people on Susan's thread because this interaction legitimates future friend/contact requests. The true network marketer reaches out to like-minded people who understand that supporting each other helps everyone build their followings exponentially. 

A typical network marketer is usually new and often more reserved.  So, sometimes, you gotta be the one who “breaks the ice”.  Or he/she thinks as follows: “I don't know these people?  They're not on my team.  I won't get paid for their efforts.  Why should I waste my time liking and replying to their comments knowing that it does nothing for me?”  Well, quite simply, because they're people.   

That's it.  That's all.  That's why.  SELF is your worst network marketing nightmare. 

Promoting Opportunity Requires Unity - You've probably seen “Do you know 'So and So?'”, before you were able to complete a friend request.  This helps protect people from frowned upon behavior.  However, to like or comment on somebody's status before sending a friend request creates engagement, helps to make anybody's status noticeable, and sets the stage for future connection.  So, before sending people friend requests, like / comment on their posts.  

• FRIEND/FOLLOW – Upon joining any opportunity, friend / follow your sponsor and eventually, every sponsee on every social platform (to see each others' posts).  In at least one post/day, follow Susan's example (above) and tag your 1st level sponsees. 
• LIKE/COMMENT/REPLY – On every teammate's status, do as follows:  Like, comment, and tag your sponsor and each sponsee.  Don't regard how deep your comment's buried because every comment increases visibility.  You could extend a casual greeting “Hello, Susan”, “Congrats, Bob” or “Good morning, Joe”.   Greet ten teammates you haven't met.  Respond to every teammate who greets you.  
• RESIST PITCHING - Using ordinary conversation's gotta become habitual.  Do you want to literally turn somebody off?  Pitch your business opportunity before they inquire.  Also, spamming your teammate's status is utterly disrespectful.    

WE ARE OUR OPPORTUNITY - Network marketing's always been and will forever remain about the T.E.A.M. (Together Each Achieves More).  Following our rules of engagement, start fostering  relationships with everybody you speak to because your network (not the “company”) is your actual opportunity.  In network marketing, people are priority.    USE marketing companies - they're tools (required utility).  JOIN PEOPLE because, if you gotta do it alone, it ain't network marketing.  PERIOD. 

And, THAT, my friend, is as real as it gets.

Sincerely,

William Vigus - Operation Overflow