I have met lots of network marketer in my local Chamber of Commerce. I am not sure how much success they have had, but I know that one in particular confessed to not having much success. The comment made was that “people looked at them as if they had the plague.” Truth be told, network marketers don’t always have the most welcomed reception, and it’s often their own fault.

The Chamber of Commerce is a great place to network with business owners and others in the community, so it’s a great place for any business owner to network. The key here is to realize that most business owners won’t be interested in what they see as another money making scheme. What they might be interested in is your products or services and this is where you will find success if you play your cards right. I cringe when I hear amateur network marketers throw up their own shield by blurting out these catch phrases:

• It’s an MLM (people don’t like MLM’s)
• It’s network marketing (people don’t like network marketers)
• We are in pre-launch (what does that mean? You can’t really do business with me right now?)
• There is a great business opportunity also (Are you trying to recruit me, or do you really have a product to sell?)
• If you are looking to make some extra money (I don’t know you and I want you to think my business is successful… why would I tell you that?)
• If you want to be a millionaire (that’s why I started my business, are you saying I should join yours instead?)
• If you are sick of what they are doing (We just met, why would I discredit my company by admitting that to a stranger?)

I hope you enjoyed the side commentary, but that’s not far off from what many will think when they hear those kind of things. If they are sincere, they may even say them out loud.

The Key to Success
Sell your product or service and nothing more. Keep in mind, money is made when you sell something, not when you recruit someone.  Treat it like a business and it will pay you like a business (have you heard that one… it’s true!). Make the sale, ask for referrals, and then when you have a referral about ready to purchase, you can go back to the referrer and thank them for the referral. At that time, you can also introduce your referral program by simply saying “Thanks for referring Mary. She, too, is ready to become a customer, so I wanted to let you know about our referral program where we pay people a commission for their referrals. Is that something you are interested in?” If they are, then set up a time to discuss it, if they aren’t close the sale and move on.

You will earn money and you will also earn respect for being a straight shooter.