Conversely, in college I was the Vice President of Recruitment for the Panhellenic Counsel, which is the governing body for the entire sorority community on my campus. You could say that I directed the activity of all recruitment activities... in other words... sell. But I wasn't selling a product. I wasn't selling anything really. My main purpose was to align our communities with their original higher purpose of education, philanthropy, and community and to SHARE our values with the larger community. We were not in the business of gaining members... we were in the business of living our values and then attracting members who share our values to join us. In the process, we break stereotypes, we change minds, and we change lives. The result of these focuses on values and finding members who share our values skyrocketed the numbers of our entire community as a by-product of living our values; of being good students, good leaders, and good people.
This home-based business building experience reminds me SO much of being in college.... the techniques, the networking, vision.... etc. It's different in that we are selling a product, and that's important to the company obviously, as it is for every company. What isn't clear from simply looking through the "shiny" and perfect marketing materials is that everyone I've met who sells this product is really, really passionate about changing people's lives. It's also interesting to me that 80% of the people who use Isagenix are not sellers... they just love the product. That tells me that people are buying and using this stuff not just to make money, but because it actually works for them. In fact, I'm not sure that this system would work well if you were just in it for the money. People don't like or respond well to people who are "sell-ey." Which is what I'm so afraid of.
Despite the "sell-ey" aspect, I think network marketing might, at it's core, be kind of ... a better business model... because it's more fair. Like... the more you work and the more effort you put in and put in your skills, the more you get out. This work ethic is what I have always used, but I've found that in my jobs, if I really love something and really want to contribute, it's usually given me a negative effect. Maybe someone thought I was over-reaching. Or doesn't think that anything they do or anything about the business could improve. Or I step on people's toes simply by pointing out practices that do not align with company policies. I've gotten fired, actually, from caring too much.
That was the first lesson I learned after college: don't try too hard, because someone will knock you down. This goes against my natural tendencies and my natural work ethic. It's sort of... soul crushing. My need to create and make things better hasn't gone away, but now my task in my corporate America is to find the balance between working too much and too well, and working "just right." It's between making good suggestions and faking that I don't understand things yet. It's really a counter-intuitive. But, it works. That's how you play the game, even though I grew up being taught and retaught throughout school and college that if I just give it my all, I will succeed. I'm not complaining about my job, because it's a good company, great pay, opportunities for advancement, etc. - everything that I need in a job. I just... thought I'd never have the opportunity to be passionate again about work that also provides income. There is this icky stigma attached to network marketing, but really, the users that love the product get the benefit from sharing their stories, recommending product and trying to help others in the same situation.instead of doing it for corporations for free.
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