How I Built A Network Marketing Business In Spandex At Midnight

Desire is a funny thing.

It can drive you to do unthinkable, desperate things when it reaches the tipping point. Your judgment can become clouded, and you can suddenly find yourself doing things normal, sensible people just don't do.

I found myself in this position a few short years ago as I pursued my career in network marketing. With the "seat-of-my-pants" move to California to work with my up-line. No money, no friends, and no where to live.

As I desperately searched for a way to find prospects and build my network marketing business, I stumbled across a prospecting/lead generation company that showed distributors how to generate local leads using "sizzle cards."

They were basically bright yellow business cards with a catchy headline and 800 number printed on them. The idea was to just leave them around town, at restaurants, gas stations, banks, car windows, etc, as you went about your day.

People would pick them up. Call your 800 number. Hear a nice 3 minute message full of testimonials, and were then prompted to leave their contact information if they were interested.

"This is perfect," I said to myself...

I cannot afford to spend $300+ a month on leads because I'm so broke I'm having to live on Del Taco and Raman soup. So if I can use these sizzle cards to generate interest locally, I can get some people over to the weekly opportunity meeting, and BAM! Instant network marketing down-line!"

About 10 days later my box of 2000 canary yellow cards arrived, and that evening I hatched my diabolical plan for the network marketing conquest of Temecula CA. (Insert evil villain laugh here).

I spent the next 2 weeks canvassing the town with my yellow sizzle cards.

Around midnight, I'd head out on my bike (use to race in recent years), stuff my spandex jersey pockets full of cards, and then ride all over this small town dropping cards in shopping centers, ATMS, and business parking lots.

The end result of my masterful network marketing campaign...?

Let's just say I was back in Texas a month later in a corporate job... Ouch.

So why did it fail? Simple. I was targeting the wrong people with the wrong message. I was targeting "business lookers," not "network marketers." I was targeting people "who would like to," but who never actually "do."

I wasn't leveraging my time through proper advertising that would get my message in front of hundreds or thousands of people a day automatically.

The "network marketing opportunity" message I was promoting was the wrong message to begin with. Network marketing is a business of advertising and promotion pursued by people who have no idea how to do either, and I was the Poster Boy for that description at the time.

I tell this story because I continue to see people do silly things like this today out of their sheer desire for success. Whether it's posting signs, hanging flyers on cars, or handing out CD's at the shopping mall.

The action is commendable, and the desire will pay off, but there are much smarter ways to market and promote your network marketing business.