How often have we heard it spouted from the front of the room?
"Fake it till you make it."
Over the last 15 years, I've known countless guys who, upon hearing this mantra, have begged, borrowed and stolen money to buy their Armani suits, shoes and belts (whose expensive buckles they are often seen fondling in front of the room).
Some have bought cars totally outside their budgets so they could be seen arriving in style. And of course, they imply clearly that these wonderful toys were the fruits of the business they were promoting.
Has this mantra gone too far?
It's one thing to do whatever you have to so that YOU feel good (and if buying that Armani suit, shoes or belt does it, well then do it.)
But if it's all borrowed money that bought it, or if it came from another source, and NOT from the business you are promoting, is it right to pretend these success symbols came from your business? You know, so as to entice folks to come into the business with you?
Isn't that false pretenses?
In a previous post here, ("Don't Believe the Hype (He Says That's What It Is)" May 28, I reported what a well known entertainment promoter said in his deposition (he was being sued by the people who bought his company based on his misrepresentations).
Mr. Simmons wanted to give a good impression to those who were about to put up their money and time to buy his company, so he wanted the business to "look good" to them.
"Here's how you develop an image for a company," he says in the deposition. "You give out false statements to mislead the public so they will then increase in their mind the value of your company." He explained the difference between his statement on CNBC that his company had done $350 million in sales when in fact it had done $14.3 million like this:
The $350 million "accurately reflected my optimism – or my brand position statement – a good brand positioning statement." And he adds, "I was hoping it would sound good – I was hoping that maybe by that year the gross numbers were there, I don't know."
Would you buy anything from this man?
Cut back to us in network marketing.
How would you feel about coming in to a business based on seeing such "success" flaunted as what they "got", and later find out they hadn't earned a dime – that the "success" they showed you was part of that person's "fake it till you make it" strategy? And you bought in, thinking that it would be easy, too, like it was for our faker?
Do you agree that we should dump the faker philosophy as a recruiting tool?
Perhaps women haven't used it as much as the boys, since they don't tend to brag. But if you do use it, I suggest wiping it from your speaking repertoire. Period.
Evolved males: Dump it.
It's just lying, isn't it? And worse, it's cruel and unusual seduction of some unsuspecting woman (or guy) who needs to believe in something real, and who doesn't have any way of knowing that your story is fake, until it's too late and they've spent their money – and usually more than they can afford.
Would YOU knowingly buy from a faker?
Is that any way to promote goodwill or good word of mouth in our industry?
We can do better, can't we?
Related Articles
"Even Children's Comic Book Makers Do It..."
By: Kim Klaver | 16/10/2006 | Affiliate Programs
Well, in Japan, anyway.
Comic book makers for schoolgirls and boys in Japan offer different fare to boys and girls…so that BOTH groups buy those comics like crazy, not just the traditional boy market.
I'm Not Interested...
By: Kim Klaver | 16/10/2006 | Affiliate Programs
This is the title of a recent piece by one of the industry trainers, Wendy Weiss.
In her article, Wendy suggests getting an "I'm not interested" is because your script or its delivery isn't good enough.
Is This Any Way To Win Friends And Influence People?
By: Kim Klaver | 16/10/2006 | Affiliate Programs
We've all heard the ravings and rantings about how important it is in direct sales, to "relate" – that success must be built on starting and building relationships. Sometimes they call what we do "relationship marketing.
Did You Hear The Story Behind The Story?
By: Kim Klaver | 16/10/2006 | Affiliate Programs
Have you heard the story behind the story? Get it so you don't end up feeling like these two women…
"I don't want to beat myself up because I'm not the big recruiter and didn't fly to the top of the company in 15 months…" And
"I want to
Do People With Scripts Do Better?
By: Kim Klaver | 19/10/2006 | Affiliate Programs
Some people say use scripts when talking to prospects. Others say scripts make you sound stiff and well, scripted.
Some say get a good ice-breaker, and you're good to go.
It's The Gory Story
By: Kim Klaver | 19/10/2006 | Affiliate Programs
Why does prospecting seem to be so hard in our business today?
A skeptical market place is one thing. And that's partly the result of marketers everywhere making promises and more promises that they don't keep.
After I Send My Prospect To The Website, I Never Hear From Them Again.
By: Kim Klaver | 19/10/2006 | Affiliate Programs
Say you're on the phone with a customer prospect, discussing a product that helped you with an achy knee, and they ask to see a website. Where are you sending them?
Go visit that page yourself.
No One--wants To Be Covertly Marketed To...
By: Kim Klaver | 19/10/2006 | Affiliate Programs
So writes Jason Calacanis in this post ( http://www.calacanis.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Nobody can answer this question.
By: JGgotogirl | 11-07-2008
What is the market size in the United States for tactical flashlights? How many are sold each year? How many are sold to police, military, security personnel and other relevant protective services?
Where or how could i become a promoter of NYC in Japan and vise versa?
By: euro777 | 11-07-2008
Hello How would one become a promoter of New York City for Japanese people living in Japan. I live in New York, but my wife is Japanese. I also love Japan and love to travel there but i do live in New York. Working as a promoter would be ideal work for me( better than working in restaurant) Thank you all in advance urmas mollerson
PR or Marketing???What is more ...
By: arllyn | 10-07-2008
PR or Marketing???What is more creative????
Scm review
By: anil kumar | 10-07-2008
can rising petrol price can destroy the supply chain management concept
Phorm illegal interception also copyright of websites visited.
By: illegal | 03-07-2008
You have a child with their own computer, this child is not the ISP account holder a webwise page pops up this child spots the name webwise and associates this with the BBC program he uses at school so clicks to allow. This child has just been allowed to alter the T&C of the ISP account while under the age of being allowed to give informed consent, The ISP now is profiling a minor without parental consent, changed the customers T&C without his verifiaction. Would this fall into invaision of privacy since the person consenting was mislead by false advertising yes Phorm selected an alreadyb known and trusted name by children used by the BBC. 1. Would this be breaking the law? 2. Why does the account holder have to verify wioth password to login or even talk to the ISP about anything but a child can change the T&C without any way to verify it is the account holder? 3. Interception of the browser is illegal so how can Phorm suceed without breaking the law? 4.Websites you visit all have copyright you can visit but are not supposed to copy, proccess for material gain this phorm will do who wil pay the website owners for breaching their copyright? 5. Why will phorm not follow the robots.txt for its own instead of googles? 6. With such as google I can delete cookies and any tracking they are doing is stopped, with phorm it is on my connection so can never turn it off 100% have tot ake the word of one person who has no reputation since he has been hijaking browsers illegally for years would you trust this knowing that?
A tide of public awareness?
By: www.mywebusage.com | 02-07-2008
you seem to be confident that these changes are only taking place on a corporate side. I fear that this assumption could be a little shortsighted. How do you propose that advertisers can counteract the rise in public awareness of advertising technologies which were previously operated "under the covers". After all how many people are prepared to stop and talk to marketing or PR enquiries on the high street? when people are given the option they invariably decide to opt-out.How can the "marketing intelligence industry" tackle this rise in "public awareness"?
Q&A Powered by:
More from Kim Klaver
And The Leading Cause Of Stress Is...
By: Kim Klaver | 30/03/2007 | Marketing
"Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it." - Lily Tomlin
Compare two lists of ten ways to cut back on stress.
List #1. Top item: Find An Outlet - A hobby, like fishing
List #2. Top item: Be passionate - About how your work improves people's lives
Which...
The Great Players Of The World.
By: Kim Klaver | 30/03/2007 | Marketing
Doug Rushkoff ("Get Back in the Box") is not the only one who insists that the work one does can and should indeed be something YOU so enjoy that it feels like play - not something to be "compensated for" because it's so dreadful, and so non-motivating that you only...
More Women Giving Up Work Outside The Home
By: Kim Klaver | 29/03/2007 | Marketing
The New York Times reported that women are "stretched to the limit" raising a family and working outside the home, and that they are choosing to stay home more these days, after four decades of marching to work.
"Most of us thought we would work and have kids, at least that...
What Else Could Come Stuck To A Pop Bottle?
By: Kim Klaver | 29/03/2007 | Marketing
So, you're looking for innovative ways to introduce your product and not be just another one of the hundreds out there?
How can you stand out?
Here's a unique idea cooked up by a college student in Australia. She wanted to introduce a new little magazine, and wanted to bypass the usual...
For Love Or Money?
By: Kim Klaver | 29/03/2007 | Marketing
On a call the other night, one gal said she was changing companies because the one she was with wasn't paying enough for amassing customers, which is what she wants to do in her networking business.
She's one of those who likes to find a product she loves, and then get...
Did We Fall Out Of The Box?
By: Kim Klaver | 28/03/2007 | Marketing
In his delightful and thought provoking book, Get Back in the Box, Doug Rushkoff explains how so many American companies have become the faceless, soulless things we love to hate.
When there's no one running the show that loves doing the thing the company is supposed to do best, e.g. make...
How Would You Improve It?
By: Kim Klaver | 28/03/2007 | Marketing
You have ideas. Ideas about what can be done to improve Network Marketing.
For example, what do you think can be done to:
1. Improve its image.
2. Improve the results you are (not) getting.
3. Improve how they pay you.
4. Make it so it's more fun to do it.
5. Attract better people.
These are...
On Language Women Hate...
By: Kim Klaver | 09/03/2007 | Marketing
Even though the business of direct sales and network marketing is made up of 80% women, the language used in front of the room and on websites, in autoresponder emails and everything else from corporate and upline is basically male.
Business as the art of war.
Language such as "We're going to...
Internet 
