The story so far ....

It's been a very interesting week, and the coming week looks to be even more interesting  .....

First, my thanks to Trevor for an exciting Newsflash - I'm looking forward to reading the Newsletter later this week, and finding out what the guys back at base have in store for us.

Meanwhile my journey of discovery continues. For those who may have missed my last post, I've decided that since the business we are in is called Co-operative Marketing, maybe it would be a good idea to really learn all there is to know about Marketing, take it for test drive, share the ideas with a few people, and, assuming we get some positive results, roll the ideas out across Wikaniko (that's the Co-operative bit ). Several people on the forum asked to be "kept in the loop" - so here goes.

Trevor mentioned in the Newsflash that he and Karen had been in the business over 25 years, as has my wife Jan. Although I haven't been around that long, I've seen the industry change considerably since I first got involved in the mid nineties. But those who came on the training calls I hosted back in the Autumn might remember me saying :-

25 years ago our business was a people business - it still is.

25 years ago our business was a communication business - it still is.

So, I figured I needed to understand three things, people, communication - and how to effectively communicate with people. Last week I watched another presentation that totally changed how I look at things, and gave me the tools and techniques I need. I've been taking them for a test drive for a few days, and up to now I have to say that it has totally changed, not just the way I look at this business, but also the way I look at life itself.

Do you have days when you are totally in the flow ? When everything you need mysteriously unfolds in front of you ? When you effortlessly accomplish everything you set out to achieve, and more ?
Conversely do you have days when you can't seem to put a foot right, and everything you touch turns to rat droppings before your eyes ?

Have you ever watched a presentation where the speaker said all the right words, showed you all the right slides, used all the right body language, and yet you somehow felt uneasy ? Perhaps you've presented the Wikaniko business to someone, done all the right things, yet your prospect just didn't sign, or worse still went off and signed up under someone else ?

Or have you had a fantastic conversation with someone who was really enthusiastic, signed up on the spot, and then did nothing, or cancelled during the 14 days ?

Have you ever wondered why ? Now, I guess Jim Rohn would say - "that's just the way it is ... I wouldn't sign up for that class."

But if there were such a class ... showing how to effortlessly communicate with people, how, rather than spend time and money chasing prospects, have them approach you, and only bring on board those who really, really wanted to work the business .... and actually did ...... would you sign up for that class ?

Last week I learned two things which make up a technique I can put into practice straight away which promises to allow me to do all that, and more. Does it work ? It's looking good so far ..... and goes a long way to explaining why I got some fantastic results in my "conventional job" - even if I couldn't explain why. By the way I found the presentation on the Internet, it didn't cost me a penny, so I'll be taking it for a test drive during February, and assuming it continues to work, I'll be happy to share it with anyone who asks . And if it doesn't work - it has only cost me a little of my time.

Some things have changed of course since Trevor and Karen , and Jan built their huge MLM businesses. The advent of the Internet. I've been studying the concept of Internet Marketing now for a couple of years, and come to some interesting conclusions.

First we need to cut the Internet down to size. Before the Internet, we had the Royal Mail and the Telephone. Now we have E Mail and Social Networking. Before the Internet we had things called libraries and book shops. Now we have the Internet - a huge data storage and retrieval system. They are just tools, and we need to learn how to get the best out of them, just as twenty five years ago Networkers had to learn the best way to use the phone, the post, and the library.

Second we need to understand the change from the Eighties model , what I call "Attrition Marketing" to the 21st century "Attraction Marketing" model. But, a word of caution ...

It seems to me that sometime in the past couple of years, someone, somewhere, who was much more interested in helping themselves, rather than helping others, came up with an interesting idea. When you are building a network marketing team perhaps only one in five will actually get started, and you only earn any overrides on that one person, despite putting in some considerable effort showing all five "how to". What if you could also earn off the other four ? And so the idea of information / expert marketing was born, along with the concept of Attraction Marketing. Whilst there are some good organizations out there, some were / are , IMHO, nothing more than a glorified pyramid scheme. Showing people how to make money, by showing other people how to make money, showing other people how to .... without a "real product" ever moving. You get the picture.

There are of course those who are genuine, and I believe I came across one of those a couple of weeks ago, and it is that material that I am studying.

So, how can you apply this to the Wikaniko business ? First you recognise that learning must come before earning - then brand yourself as an "expert" in your chosen field - some prefer the name "trusted advisor". Remember the other old adage that experts are always lifelong students first - they need to be, because the world around us is constantly changing, and being an expert means always keeping pace with that change, and, in fact, staying ahead of the game. For instance there was an interesting piece in the Daily Mail this week that said that the number of people concerned about global warming has fallen dramatically over the past year or so, and that a lot more people feel that being greener is not as a high a priority.

I've learned this week that to become that "trusted advisor" you need to establish credibility, and also a connection with your intended customer ... and I've also learned the steps needed to achieve this. But I've still much, much more to learn. Like I said, an interesting week lies ahead.

Mitakuye Oyasin

Mike P