Do you have FOMO (or fear of missing out) in your direct selling business? Are you struggling to find prospects and make sales, while all around you high achievers seem to be racing ahead and leaving you behind? Well don’t despair, the solution is easier than you think – duplication is the key, and if you really get it right, you could ditch the FOMO for direct selling stardom!
The modern meme ‘FOMO’ perfectly expresses the feelings of frustration felt when you look at the success of others in the direct selling industry and ask ‘What on earth am I doing wrong?!’ It’s that feeling that there’s a party going on, but you haven’t been invited. Worse still, it’s the best shindig ever and those attending are having the time of their life! So, what do you do? In a word, ‘duplication’! Yes, this is your password into the party and the cornerstone to success in the industry.
Duplication, duplication, duplication
So, what is this ‘duplication’ malarkey, and how can it help? If you’re a recent joiner to the world of direct selling, doubtless you’ve heard the term sprinkled liberally in conversations. However, definitions can be scarce or lacking altogether. Well, put simply, duplication is all about following (or duplicating) a tried-and-tested system for finding prospects and making sales, proven to result in success. In fact, this is not dissimilar to when someone starts a franchise business – Imagine buying into a burger chain, where your customers expect a much-loved product, and the franchisor provides a system to follow which ensures you deliver this. In the same way, when you join a direct selling organisation there will be an established, reliable system of working that ensures success. However, what is important here is that the system must be duplicatable so that, once learned, you will be able to show anyone who joins your team how to replicate it for success. The best of this is that by helping others to achieve success, you all become winners, as most companies will pay you a percentage of the sales of your team too – thus boosting your income!
Don’t go off-piste!
To truly trailblaze your way to the top in direct selling, it’s vital that you learn all you can about the business when you join a company. So, take all the training you can get, or you could find yourself sitting on the sidelines with a bad case of FOMO! Reputable direct selling organisations will have a recognised, duplicatable system to teach you, to set you on the right path. For example, Learning Enterprises Organisation Ltd (LEO), a global entrepreneurship training company and direct selling organisation, provides full training and support, including a helpful ‘Getting Started Guide’, which is issued to new members at its training sessions. This Guide contains an invaluable system to follow to get your business off to the very best start. Referred to as the #LEOSYSTEM, this method of working also has a rather useful, self-defining mnemonic to remember it by – SYSTEM = Saves You Stress, Time, Energy and Money. In fact, if you want to be a front-runner, it’s important that you don’t go ‘off-piste’ with the message you use in your business. Altering or ignoring your organisation’s system for approaching new prospects can be a minefield. At the very least, embellishing the message could make it more complex, less duplicatable and therefore less successful. At worst, if you ignore company guidelines and make false claims about what you can offer, for example, when using social media to promote your business you will fall foul of your organisation and may even find yourself on the wrong side of the law! However, if you learn the approved, duplicatable system offered to you, keep it simple and put it into practice, you could become the next direct selling superstar! After all, why make it harder for yourself, when you can follow a formula proven to build successful businesses?
The sky’s the limit
So, once you’ve got a clear system to follow under your belt, and are confident at using it, you can then teach any new distributors who join your team how to duplicate this and create their own success. By building a strong team and recognising the achievements of team members, your business should go from strength to strength. The old adage that you should ‘lead by example’ is also very true, as others will be more willing to follow (or duplicate) what you do than do what you say and if you walk the walk as well as talk the talk, your words will have more credibility. However, if you want to make a BIG success of your business and avoid the FOMO trap, it doesn’t stop there. By using your initiative, you can find legitimate ways to take your business to the next level. For example, why not seek out extra training from successful high achie
vers in your organisation? It almost goes without saying that if you can duplicate their methods, then the sky’s the limit for your success. Of course, ultimately, success or failure in your business depends on your determination to succeed, which may require you to step out of your comfort zone. It won’t be easy, but few things worth achieving ever are. However, if you put in the work, follow a consistent plan and set yourself achievable goals, step by step you will succeed. This was summed up well by author Robert Collier, when he said: ‘Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.’
So, in essence, with a strong dose of duplication and a pinch of determination, you could ditch those FOMO feelings and become the direct selling star you deserve to be.
