Your upline wants you to make a list of your 25 closest friends and family members so you can jump on a quick three-way call to introduce them to the business, right? And, as much as you want success in your MLM, you just do not feel good about tricking family and friends into joining your business. Believe me. I understand. Been there. Done that.
That’s why I did my own research on industry leaders in the network marketing space and I realized one key thing. I could find ALL of the most successful network marketers online. They either had a blog, website, podcast, super sick Facebook fan page or to-die-for Instagram profile. I knew that if I approached my MLM business like an actual business, I could leave the broken 90’s style marketing tactics recommended by my upline in the dust.
That’s why I built a personal brand.
That’s why you should build one as well.
As a network marketer, you are already competing against every other person in the company because you are selling the same products. The best way to stand out among the competition is to showcase your unique personality through a personal brand online.
Here are my Top 3 Tips on why you should build a personal brand within a network marketing business.
1) You Get To Set The Pace For Your Business
Let’s forget the fact that you are in a multi-level marketing company and focus on one thing: This is YOUR business. Period. Doesn’t it make sense that it should be built around you? That is why building a personal brand is important to the long-term success of your business.
It’s easy to do the comparison game when you first join your MLM because your upline has most likely outlined your success relative to what others in the business have done. “So-and-so reached platinum, double diamond, executive leader of the world in 2 months. Do you think you can do that as well?” Sound familiar?
Probably.
It’s a game you cannot win. So don’t play it.
Instead, sit down with a piece of paper and ask yourself a few questions to help shape your business and then write down the answers. Who is your ideal client? What impact do you want to have on them? What lifestyle do you want for yourself and what lifestyle do you want to help others achieve? What does success in this business look like to you?
Doing this will allow you to craft your business around who you are (or who you want to ultimately become) and release you from the notion that you’re climb to the top has to match or exceed the company’s top producer.
2) You Get To Tell Your Story, Your Way
True story. I joined a well-known network marketing company and my up-line gave me a blueprint of how I HAD to lay out my Instagram. It didn’t give me any room for my own style, edge or personality. Plus, I felt like I was competing against a bunch of 20-something women with brightly colored “cool” hair, who were all fitter, had bigger homes, unlimited travel budgets and a dedicated social media team to make their content flawless. There I was, an almost 40 year old who was working two jobs and barely had enough time to eat well, never mind create enough interesting content to sustain posting 85 times a day (okay, she only recommended 3-5 posts a day but still — it may as well have been 85).
I eventually jumped ship and joined a new network marketing company. But, I still had the problem of how to bring my whole self to social media without seeming “fake” or overly-curated for the ‘gram. What I realized is I have a passion for helping people who looked like me and could relate to me. I wanted to help women who hadn’t given themselves permission to practice self care with a good diet and steady exercise because they thought it was somehow selfish. I wanted to help women who wanted to feel accomplished without counting calories day in and out or posting their workouts every morning. I wanted to help women who were over 30 and didn’t want to be counted out, but instead wanted to start their journey to better. I knew that story. It was MY story and it was the one I needed to tell.
That’s why creating your personal brand is so important. Doing so allows you to reach the audience you most connect with and want to help. Yes, in network marketing you have competition. But your story is uniquely your own. Building a personal brand gives you the freedom to share your story and how you can help others achieve the same results you have.
3) You Get To Be Wherever Your Clients Are
I hate three way calls. Always have. Always will. Maybe it’s because they feel so slick and unwanted. Maybe it’s because every three way call I’ve been on the other end of has meant something bad was happening (from high-school gossiping to high-pressure sales). Because I hate them so much, I know I could never build a legitimate MLM business with three way calls.
Making a list and combing through everyone you know gets old, fast. And, it sets you up to burn bridges with your family and friends. Building a personal brand allows you to sidestep all that nonsense to find your target audience exactly where they hang out. Does your ideal client listen to podcasts? Great! Start one. Does your ideal client live on Facebook? Good. Create a Facebook Fan page (so you can run ads and not depend on friends and family to build your business).
Wherever your ideal client is, create an outreach plan that includes building your brand around the places you know you will find them.
Bottom line, you got into business in order to do it your way and be your own boss. Part of that is not letting your upline convince you that building your business with outdated tactics is the fastest, most reliable or sustainable path to success. You know it is not. So bring your network marketing business into the 21st century by building your own personal brand.
If this sounds good to you, let me help you with next steps!
Do you want a simple training that will jumpstart your journey into starting a personal brand for your business? You’re in luck!
This will teach you how to build a personal brand (even if your upline doesn’t think you should)
Work From Home
Want to learn how to start an online business and work from home like I do?
