Network Marketing Explained

Network marketing is a business model that allows you to leverage your personal and professional relationships to close deals and earn revenue. It typically applies most closely to the home-based business and network marketing space, but its principles can be applied to virtually any business or industry. Network marketing works because it allows you to connect with people first and sell products or services second. Humans are inherently social creatures, and we’re more likely to spend money

with people or businesses that we’ve already come to know and trust. With network marketing, you put in consistent effort over time to build a rapport with your network, and that rapport is ultimately what earns you sales when the time is right. At the end of the day, you have a built-in audience for anything you want to sell!

You may have heard of the concept of social proof, and network marketing is the perfect example of its power. Social proof is the term for the way our choices are influenced by the people around us. It’s why we’re more likely to want to buy from a brand if we know a friend or loved one can vouch for its value, and even why we’d assume better things about a restaurant with a line out the door than one with tons of empty tables.

Why does any of this matter to you? Network marketing is an incredible way to take your success into your own hands. For many people (especially women!), it offers an escape from the traditional cubicle, nine-to-five environment—and its income potential is much higher.

Unfortunately, network marketing has a bit of a tarnished reputation thanks to pyramid schemes and pushy salespeople who come out of the woodwork to make their pitch to old acquaintances or complete strangers. People using these tactics may be following the principles of network marketing on paper, but they’re missing the most important part of network marketing: building relationships that have value for both sides.

When you truly invest in your audience and they’re the right fit for the product or service you’re selling, you’ll be much more successful—and less irritating—with your network.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at who can benefit from the network marketing concept.

To put it simply, network marketing is for everyone!

Network marketing can be applied to virtually any industry that allows for selling directly to people. For salespeople in traditional corporate roles, embracing the network marketing mindset would involve viewing the sales cycle in longer-term increments. The key in these environments is to believe in the value of long-term relationship building, mentally allowing for the possibility of more touchpoints and connections before the sale is made.

One challenge of using network marketing in a traditional environment is that company managers and executives may not be receptive to the nature of the longer sales cycle. In companies that view short-term quotas as the end-all and be-all of the role, it may be best to seek another role elsewhere to leverage the full potential of network marketing.

For those who are willing to launch their own home-based businesses, network marketing is especially beneficial.

This avenue may be for you if:

• You want more direct control over your income, incentivizing the opportunity to put in more work if it means you’ll reap the rewards. If you’re inspired by the potential to take your finances to the next level, network marketing can help.
• You want a more flexible daily schedule, with complete control over when and how you choose to work. If the typical nine-to-five schedule doesn’t work best for your productivity levels, starting a home-based business allows you to work with your preferences.
• You want a more flexible daily schedule, with complete control over when and how you choose to work. If the typical nine-to-five schedule doesn’t work best for your productivity levels, starting a home-based business allows you to work with your preferences.

The key here is to understand that network marketing is a tool at your disposal in every facet of your life. The more you invest in the people around you, the more likely they’ll be receptive to your ideas and pitches down the line. Plus, in the meantime, you’re building an incredible network!

Mentorship is one of the factors that can transform your experience with network marketing. Having a mentor means you’ll always have someone in your corner, supporting your success and guiding you when you feel stuck or want to take your business to the next level.

In a space like the home-based business and MLM industry, having a mentor is even more critical. It can be tough to navigate niche industries, and the MLM concept is often met with criticism from the general public. To help ease your entry into the space, boost your success, and bolster your self-esteem when you face hardship, mentors are essential.

Your network marketing mentor can give you all their tips and tricks, empowering you to take your success into your own hands. Their support may even help you to skip some of the learning curve that can occur in the early phases of building your network marketing business. They’ve already been in your shoes, so they know exactly what to share to help you unlock massive success. Most importantly, in the network marketing landscape, having a mentor can broaden your own network to include key players from your mentor’s network too. Since network marketing is all about the quantity and quality of your audience, having the option to tap into a broader network can be helpful.

So, how do you find a mentor? Many people like to start by just engaging with other network marketers online, following their social media accounts and starting to interact with their content. Since other network marketers understand the power of building relationships with strangers, many prospective mentors will be receptive to this avenue!

If you’d rather take a more active approach, networking events like our online vendor shows at Trading-Secrets can connect you with others on the same journey as you. With each event you join, you’ll expand your community of fellow network marketers, and you’re bound to find someone you click with. Explore our upcoming virtual events here!

Yes! Network marketing is an approach and a mindset that you can take with you anywhere, whether you work in the home-based business space or not. Let’s take a closer look at how you might apply network marketing principles in a few common business environments. If you do operate a home-based business, network marketing should be at the core of how you approach lead nurturing and moving clients through your sales cycle. When you first get started, you may feel tempted to cast a wide net and hope for the best when it comes to sales. Network marketing would advise you differently!

Instead, consider how your processes might change if you focused on delighting every single prospective client you came into contact with. How would you show up differently? What would your expectations be? How could you provide value without immediately expecting anything in return? Network marketing leads us to believe that in the long run, all of this relationship building will pay off. Your network will naturally expand, and each person you invest in will know exactly where to go when they need what you offer. Plus, they will have received such a positive experience that they’ll send others your way, too.

The key is to adopt this mindset as early as possible. The sooner you realize that approaching your sales as a human being is a better approach than trying to mass-market to a huge audience, you’ll cut back on your own effort and get better results.

If you’re an entrepreneur with your own product or service, the process is virtually identical. When you start to think about your sales and marketing strategies, try not to forget that it’s all about relationship-building. The better you understand your audience and give them the information and value that they’re hoping for, the more devoted they’ll be to your product or service in the long term.

Lastly, if you work in a traditional corporate setting, don’t forget that you can still put network marketing to the test. If you work in a sales capacity, you might start with a conversation with your manager or company executives. Ask them about their understanding of network marketing and how a longer-term mindset might actually boost sales. If you get the okay, you’ll be in a perfect position to worry a bit less about short-term quotas and focus your efforts on delivering a great experience to every contact.

If you’re in a non-sales capacity, remember that you’re still “selling” something. If you work in HR, you’re selling the experience of working within your organization. If you work in vendor relations, you’re selling a partnership with your team. If you work in video production, you’re selling a visual narrative to your client. Regardless of the specifics of your day-to-day, when you put network marketing into practice, every interaction is about building a connection and aiming to please. That’s it! If you’re in a non-sales capacity, remember that you’re still “selling” something. If you work in HR, you’re selling the experience of working within your organization. If you work in vendor relations, you’re selling a partnership with your team. If you work in video production, you’re selling a visual narrative to your client. Regardless of the specifics of your day-to-day, when you put network marketing into practice, every interaction is about building a connection and aiming to please. That’s it!

If you’re just getting started with network marketing, welcome to the community! We’re so glad to have you.

Since network marketing is a bit of a niche space, we recommend starting by learning everything you can about the concept. Read articles like this to wrap your head around the key network marketing principles. The more you immerse yourself in this space, the better you’ll understand the nuances when it’s time to put them into practice.

Next, turn inward to make sure you’re clear on your goals. Make sure you know your why—your reason for believing in network marketing and for choosing this career path. If your entry into network marketing involves your own home-based business or MLM, make sure to choose your product or service carefully. Having powerful conversations with prospective clients becomes much easier when you truly believe in what you’re selling.

Lastly, create a plan to keep yourself on track. How will you capture contact information when you meet someone new? How often will you check back in with existing contacts or customers? What resource or information will you share if you’re not asking for a sale directly?

Think through these details now so that you’re approaching network marketing like a true business rather than an afterthought.

Now for the fun part: our best tips and tricks to set you up for success.

Know Your Product or Service Inside and Out

Starting with the simplest tip, it’s incredibly important that you know your product or service like the back of your hand before you have conversations with new contacts

Since network marketing is all about relationship building, your prospective customers are likely to have questions for you and generally request information while you get to know each other. If you don’t have an answer—or if your answer sounds like you’re reading it off of a brochure—you’ll make the relationship feel like a transaction right off the bat.

Read up on your product, test it out in as many situations as possible, and talk to other network marketers or users of your product beforehand. Become a true advocate for its benefits, and you’ll find that conversations flow much more naturally.

Test New Strategies Often—But Give Them Time to Play Out

Next, don’t be afraid to try new tactics as you grow and evolve as a network marketer. For example, you might want to try new messaging when you check in with old contacts. Or, you might want to start exploring local events as a way to meet new people.

Whenever you switch something up, the most important thing to remember is that changes take time. The worst thing you can do for your business is to implement a change, watch it underperform a few times, and then decide it’s worthless. You never know what really works until you’ve reached an acceptable sample size.

At a minimum, give it a few weeks and a few dozen examples before you make the call about whether your new tactic works or not. You may find that you just needed to hit your stride and get comfortable with the new approach before it started to perform. Don’t give up too early!

Always Invest in Your Growth as a Leader and Business Owner

Last but not least, remember that your own growth and mindset play a huge role in your business success. In the corporate setting, it’s common for ongoing training and continued education to be built into the employment terms. When you work for yourself, it’s all up to you!

It’s easy to get sucked into the day-to-day of running your business, always putting off your own development for “later.” As you can imagine, “later” never comes unless you make a point to carve out time. Whether you need to learn specific information like how to approach a new social media platform, or you just want to make sure you’re always growing and evolving, you’ll never regret time and money invested into yourself.

How to Leverage Communities Like Trading-Secrets

Consider Trading-Secrets your one-stop shop for the latest network marketing insights, trends, tips, and strategies to explore. We’re in the trenches with you, so we love to share what we’ve learned and lift up our fellow network marketers. It takes a village!

There are a few ways we serve network marketers and empower you to take your business to the next level. Our flagship offering is our virtual event concept, which brings together multiple home-based business owners and their audiences for an online vendor show.

The idea is simple: you invite members of your own network to the event, promoting the idea of engaging with thirteen other business owners and their products or services. You’ve likely already tapped into the power of your own network, but each of the other thirteen network marketers will also bring their audiences. So, in exchange for bringing your own contacts to the event, you get thirteen new sets of contacts to meet and sell to!

If you feel like you already have a handle on finding new contacts, we also offer a VIP membership to invest in your own growth. The membership includes access to training courses that cover everything from how to develop a growth mindset to how to use Instagram Reels to promote your business. Plus, we’re always developing new content based on what’s trending in the space, so you’ll be up-to-date just by nature of using your membership.

Lastly, for more resources to guide your network marketing endeavor, check out our blog. We’re always sharing actionable information to keep you informed and share what we’re learning about network marketing success.