Team National - Grow Your Downline Smarter, Not Harder
The Biggest Secret They Never Teach You In Team National (Or Any Other MLM)
Greetings,
What is a brand? Why does a brand matter? How does it affect home business owners?
I want to take a few minutes to explain the power of a brand. You see, companies spend boatloads of cash every year to "brand" themselves. What they are trying to do is position themselves in the publics mind as an expert in __________. Meaning, they are attempting to make themselves a "reflex" in the consumers mind every time a consumer considers buying something.
For example, when want to fix something in our house - we think Home Depot. When we want to buy stuff dirt cheap, we think of the low-price leader - Wal-Mart. When we are thirsty for a tasty, cool beverage, we think "always Coca-Cola".
These organizations have spent fortunes in positioning themselves as leaders in their respective fields. The reason they've dumped so much money on positioning is because they know it's worth it. In the long run, branding pays off.
But how can the entrepreneur that's just starting out, that has just opened the doors to their networking or home business, access and use the power of branding?
Here's the answer: creativity
Creativity makes all the difference.
Read this excerpt from Harry Beckwith's excellent book "Selling The Invisible":
"Brands are for the rich, you say.Not so - as the story of the baby-sitter shows.
Kate Thurman is the future president of a very successful company, but today, she is a high school freshman, a baby-sitter, and a born marketer. Kate seeks out every neighborhood place that parents frequent: the toy store, Gymboree storefront, day care centers, and school summer camps. She convinces proprietors they are serving parents by posting Kate's signs for her service, "KATE LOVES KIDS."
Borrowing the idea from local remodelers, Kate also creates a red, blue, and white sign: "KATE LOVES KIDS - World Class Babysitting: 555-1212" and mounts it on her old red-and-white rocking horse. On the lawn of every house where she sits, Kate plants the rocking horse.
Kate's uncle Frank owns the neighborhood video store - another marketing opportunity. Kate convinces Frank to let her place her red, white, and blues ad in the clear sleeves on the back of each video jacket. Kate pays for this with three free nights of baby-sitting for Frank's baby girl - whom Kate adores and would happily watch for free.
Kate then becomes a baby-sitter temp agency. She lines up other girls to work in return for 10% of their pay. Local parents know they will always get a sitter through Kate, so they are willing to pay Kate a 15% premium for eliminating their hassle of finding sitters, especially at the last minute. So Kate's employees make more per hour through Kate than they would earn on their own. Naturally, savvy local sitters start going through Kate.
Kate has created a dynasty. Everyone in her ten-square-mile neighborhood recognizes her name. When parents from other neighborhoods ask Sheridan residents about sitters, they say: "Call Kate." And those parents do.
The local press soon hears about the young entrepreneur and writes a story. A reporter for the local CBS affiliate reads the story, calls Kate, and does a three minute feature on "WE LOVE KIDS" on the six o'clock news. Kate charms and impresses everyone listening - all 170,000 people.
In the entire market that she serves, Kate has built a booming brand.
For about $32 in paint and plywood."
Pretty cool, eh?
But...for most of us, if we put a painted sign in our front yard that says "XYZ distributor", we're not going to have people lining up to purchase our company's products. So what we have to do is brand ourselves, not the company that we represent.
In upcoming issues, I'll talk about the tools to do this (because paint and plywood just aren't as effective for networkers as some other tools they can use).
This week, keep your eyes peeled for brands. When you see a sign, a commercial, or any kind of advertisement, think to yourself "what message are they trying to give? What position are they trying to establish?"
Think like a marketer, not just a network marketer.
Walking this road with you...