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Six Degrees of Separation
You’ve probably heard this phrase before. There was even a
movie with the same name. But you may not realize how important
the concept can be, especially when you are working to grow your
business.
Six Degrees of Separation refers to the concept that you are
only six people away from anyone else in the world. This is
quite an important concept and one that I have used many times
when I worked as a producer at ABC Television. I used it to
gain access to people that I wanted to interview or wanted
information from; and you can use it to grow your own business
as well. Here is what I’m talking about.
You may think that you have absolutely no connection to a super
star movie actress like Julia Roberts or Harrison Ford. But the
fact is, you do! You know me and I know people who know her.
People who know her very well, like her agent. So, you see, you
are only three people away from Julia Roberts.
This happens all the time. Last month, Laura had a customer in
our office ask her if she knew someone who could manufacture
steel assemblies. She didn’t know them personally, but as it
turns out her cousin is in a related business, so it was easy to
get a good recommendation and a referral.
Most of you know that for years I
owned one of the most proactive and busiest advertising agencies
in Oklahoma. Here’s a little known fact. I never once made a
cold call to get business.
I hate cold calling, so I don’t do it.
I don’t like knocking on doors, so I don’t do it.
I don’t like approaching strangers, so I don’t do it.
But I do like talking and visiting with people. And I usually
find most people enjoy the social aspects of business. I talk
to my friends, and I get them to talk to their friends. It
worked very well. There is no greater entry to business than a
strong referral.
Six Degrees of Separation is a good concept because it reminds
us that our potential is virtually unlimited. We know people
who know other people, who know other people. If you
persistently work with the people you know to reach out to
others, you can expand your business ever so much more
quickly.
This concept becomes even more important in the network
marketing business, such as our
Active 8
Company. People are interested in three things about our Active
8 business:
Is this business for real?
Is the company going to be around for a while and help me get
started? Yes!Active 8 is almost 8 years old now, so we’re going
to be here. Along with all the support you need to be
successful.
Is there a real money opportunity
here for me? We know
that between the fast start bonus, the enroller bonus, team
building bonuses and the down-line generation numbers, that a
person can be fully self-supporting in less than 6 months. Even
if they accomplish the minimum, they can be making over $5,000 a
month in that time. That is incredible for a start up
business...which of course, they would be.
Do I get penalized for not making
sales? Absolutely
not! One of the reasons we designed our company the way we did
(no sales quotas or outrageous monthly minimum purchases) is
because we know that Life happens. You don’t always have control
over what happens with your personal world around you. So we
make sure that you don’t lose commissions or rank just because
your Aunt Thelma needed extra care last month.
It is to your great advantage to help and assist those around
you along the way because ultimately, when you help others, it
comes back triple-fold. Remember, as Zig Ziglar said, “If you
help enough people get what they want, you’ll eventually get
what you want.” And through helping others, you gain
connections to help you in your own business.
Whether you are a plumber, a real estate agent or in a network
marketing business, you need referrals to grow your business.
You don’t always need to knock on doors, do cold calling or
stand in the mall like a carnival barker.
You need to talk to the people you know, and encourage them to
do the same. After all, one of the most fun things about
being in business - is people. So...Network your way to more
business! |
