Network Marketing Training: How to “Think Outside the Box” to Grow Your MLM Business

Members of my Network Marketing Coaching Programs can ask me for help or advice every week.

I recently got this question from Sabrina, who is one of my Advanced Diamond Mastermind Coaching members from Australia.

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How can a person think out of the box? Does the inspirit come from massive of action or from private information or from talent?

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Importance of Thinking Outside the Box

Learning to think outside the box is not only important to your success in network marketing but also to YOUR life!

Viewing our situations from another angle is what is often called “thinking outsisde the box.”

Often the solutions to our problems are very obvious once we learn to look at our challenges from a different perspective.

I still remember one of the big turning points in my life was listening to Jim Rohn’s classic audio The Art of Exceptional Living where he talked about problems. Before tha audio I always viewed my problems as unique and would have a victim attitude and would say to myself “if it only wasn’t like this” or “why I am so unlucky”… or “I wish I was like him”

That was my mindset and that caused me to be stuck in many of my challenges in life at the time.

But in The Art of Exceptional Living , I learned the big lesson that really helped shaped who I am today. It helped me overcome many challenges and also laid the foundation for my success in network marketing.

I learned that:

“Everyone has problems” and “don’t wish for less problems but wish for more wisdom”

So I learned we can’t control our problems but we can control how we deal with those problems.

All we need is more wisdom and that wisdom will allow us to think outside the box and successfully tackle our problems from an angle that we have not done so before.

That is one of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my life.

Thinking Outside the Box in Network Marketing

There are many ways to do network marketing and often we are exposed to only the way your team or your upline has taught you.

That is a good and also bad thing.

The good thing is that it keeps things simple and duplicatable. It also prevents you from being overwhelmed with information overload and that is VERY important for a new associate to get started fast.

However, the downside to limited exposure to other methods is that it limits the fresh ideas you can have. There are many different ways to do network marketing and each method has its pros and cons.

Different Ways to Be Successful in Network Marketing

One example of “different ways” is how you present to a Gen Y group of prospects versus Baby Boomers. If you are part of a group of young entrepreneurs you probably are very knowledgable and experienced in how to run meetings for younger prospects but not as experienced in knowing how to win the hearts and sponsor someone who is over the age of 50.

There are also different models to become successful. Some successful network marketing businesses are based on sales to doctors while others are focused just on sponsoring, etc.

How to Think Outside the Box

Learning to see things from a different perspective can solve many of the problems that you face and often it can be one simple thing that totally turns your network marketing business around.

So how do you think outside the box?

How do you get great ideas to come out of nowhere?

3 Ways to Think Outside the Box

1) Attend Opportunity Meetings from Different Teams or Companies

A great way to learn is to see how different successful leaders prospect and run their opportunity meetings.

If the person who is running the meeting has achieved some level of success already, you can learn a few techniques that you may have never been exposed to before. This exposure will give you new ideas.

Another amazing place to learn is from business opportunities done by OTHER companies.

Some of the more valuable ideas that I successfully implemented over the years came from attending business meetings from other network marketing companies.

Often when we just attend meetings from your current company, you are exposed to only certain methods and cultures.

But going to other company meetings will give you a bigger picture of the industry and will provide you ideas you can implement to your business.

***IMPORTANT!*** – if you do decide to check out meetings run my other companies make sure you are going there as a “researcher” to study and NOT as a prospect.

You are not there to JOIN but to study!

If you don’t feel comfortable going “undercover” or have ethical issues with pretending to be a prospect, you can do what I do and purchase some products to support that person that ran the meeting. This way, they gave you knowledge while you helped them with some product sales.

Trust me, even if you just buy a few products, they will end the night being very happy!

2) Networking: Meeting Other Distributors

Another resource for great ideas is to meet other distributors in network marketing. By openly sharing and giving value to others, you will also be able to learn from others as well.

The key to this is to “give first” and share. The more you share, the more others will share with you.

3) Self Development

My favorite and best resource for learning how to “think outside the box” is through self development.

Invest in self development and ESPECIALLY in books, audios or seminars that are NOT related to network marketing.

Often we have to take a step back and go outside our familiar area (in this case network marketing) in order to get a different perspective. Familiarity breeds comfort and comfort never challenges us to see things differently. You need NEW and FRESH ideas and the best way is to get them from other industries.

For starters, I read the Wall Street Journal every morning so that I know what is going on in business and often I find great ideas in learning what companies are doing with marketing and sales.

I also personally read a TON of books on businesses that has NOTHING to do with network marketing and see if I can pick up any ideas that I can apply to my MLM business.

Often the BEST ideas in business come from OUTSIDE the industry.

To give you an example of how implementing 1 existing concept from one industry and applying it to a different type of business totally changed an industry was Fast Food and the drive thru.

The Fast Food industry did NOT invent the drive thru.

Do you know where they got that idea from?

That idea was “outside the box thinking” and was borrowed from the banks. For years banks had drive thru where you can just drive up to a teller and make your deposits

One day someone from the Fast Food industry got the great idea to borrow that idea and implement it and the rest is history.

So go read and study!

Go Think Outside the Box Today!

Find out what’s going on in the business world and see if there are any sales or marketing strategies that you can borrow and implement into your network marketing business.

Start applying the 3 ways to think outside the box today.

Not only will you have more success in your network marketing business but you will find it more fun as well!

Comment below and let me know what inspires you to think outside the box.

Sincerely,

Simon Chan

P.S. Many of you have contacted me and enjoy the lessons that I have included in my past blogs.  If you are hungry and want to learn more tips on how to increase your productivity, improve your life and become more successful, I would like to invite you to become a member of Simon Chan Insider’s Circle. For a limited time Membership is FREE. Click Here to learn more.

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