Success Story
Network Marketing Has Never Failed Me - Ken Roland of Morinda
When his health forced Ken Roland to retire early from the stress and heavy lifting involved in running the 18-employee company he owned with his wife Mary, the two started looking for a home-based business. "Network Marketing didn't ring good with me," he recalls, "so I wasn't looking for that." Almost in spite of himself, though, he got started with a company because of products he loved, and he has been in the industry ever since. Despite many experiences that would have driven others away, Ken Roland loves the industry more than ever and now enjoys the wealth that Network Marketing makes possible....
I had misconceptions about Network Marketing based on the way people had approached me about it-- it threw red flags. I had seen people get into Networking and last a month or two without success, so I had a preconceived idea that it wasn't for me. I believe those preconceived ideas are still holding back this industry-- we all have to work together to change that.
You'll hear people say, "Oh, the average Networker doesn't make any money." So I ask things that will bring their perception into question. "What do you think the average doctor makes a year? What do you think the average attorney makes a year?" I get them to answer, knowing the statistics myself. "What does it take to be an average doctor? What does it take to be an average attorney?" To even get paid as an average attorney it takes years and years of education. "What does the average Networker who treats it like a profession make?" Way, way more than the average attorneys.
I failed many times because I started off doing things wrong. When I first got into Networking, I tried to sell. Selling is another problem with this industry. People are out there trying to sell their friends, and when their friends turn them down, they feel neglected, throw down the phone, and say, "I'll never do this again."
I learned by trial and error that this business is not about selling. I'd go to my friends and try to convince them about how great something was, and all at once I was selling. Now I'll say, "I'm excited about something that's helping people worldwide, and I think so much of you that I want you to be educated about it. I want to loan you this cassette tape for two or three days, and I'm going to promise you one thing. When I come to pick it up, I'm not going to try to sell you anything, and I'm not going ask you any questions. I just want to educate you." If they're interested, don't you think they will say so? I've experienced the results of this method-- within three years, I built an organization of over 130,000 .
I teach people to quit selling-- don't pound on your friends. Educate them, but don't sell them. We don't mind going to a good movie and telling our friends about it because we're not about to try to sell them a ticket. You see the difference? I share information about our product because I feel like the whole world needs to know about it, but I don't try to sell it and I don't try to sell the opportunity. I'm passionate about this because I think it's the number one problem we're having. We have to quit selling, and we have to start sharing. We have to teach people to treat others the way they want to be treated, and people don't like being sold.
To be successful, people have to truly believe that their reward is going to be worth their effort. When I start somebody off, here's what I say: "I'm going to make some promises to you. I want to make some commitments to you. This is your business, and how far you go with it depends on you. But it's like a two-seated bicycle. You have the handle bars. You're going to guide and direct, but I'll be back here peddling as fast-- or as slow-- as you peddle. If you go four miles an hour, I'll go four miles an hour. If you go 100 miles an hour, I'll try to keep up with you. Is that fair enough? But I'll tell you something, if you decide to go off the cliff, I'm going to jump off and I'll peddle with somebody else. I'll never call you and try to beat you up about doing this. I'm never going to call you and ask if you bought product. I make the commitment that I'll never push you any faster than you want to go, but I'll be here with you anytime and all the time that you're ready to run, okay?"
My keys for success are respect, education, and timing. This business is about education, which inspires motivation. Treat people with respect as you would your best friend-- always, no matter who they are. Don't try to get people to do something. If you educate them, eventually they'll see it.
Look for the right timing for people. Sometimes it's just not the right time in their life for them to get into any kind of business. Maybe they're bogged down with something else, or maybe they're committed with another company. If you find somebody who's committed to another company, leave them alone! Say "stay where you are, I'm happy for you, don't let anybody take you away from it." Isn't that the way it should be? Don't throw dirt. When you throw dirt, you lose ground. Sometimes people say, "Oh, you're in that thing? Oh, this thing is so much better!" You don't have the right to say that.
I use the goldmine story: If somebody calls me all excited about another program, I will commend them for calling me because they're doing the right thing-- to build an organization you have to contact the people you care about. But then I'll say, "Can I ask you a question? If you had the biggest goldmine in the world, I mean the biggest-- you were taking dump trucks in there and you had all your friends with you-- would you look for another goldmine?"
They're going to have to say no. Then I'll say, "Look, it sounds to me like you're excited. It sounds like you might have found your goldmine, but I've already found mine. I've got the biggest goldmine I've ever found." You can't work two or three programs, I'm telling you. There are people out there that try to convince you you can, but they're wrong. I don't know of anybody that can work three or four of these programs. It confuses people. You have to focus.
The best thing about Network Marketing for us is that's it's changed our lives. I have a true saying that we use for advertising: "I went from a financed mobile home to a half-million dollar custom built home completely paid for." I love Network Marketing, because we're seeing people having success in our downline by the thousands. I could give you a list of 200 people whose lives have completely changed. I see it helping people.
I've had many companies go sideways, bankrupt, underneath me, but those were specific situations-- Network Marketing has never let me down.
KEN ROLAND and his wife Mary are top earners in Morinda, Network Marketers of Tahitian Noni juice. They have been involved in the industry full-time for 18 years and with Morinda for three. They live in Sparks, NV.
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Reprinted with permission from Upline, Roland - Success Story - July/August 1999, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com
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