A series of articles: The image and the MLM industry. Part two.
Preparations
Before we start creating our own image in earnest, prepare ourselves thoroughly. We already know that worrying about the opinions of others about us is important. We also know that by worrying about all the opinions – we can quickly go insane.
We are already aware of the need to create our new image, and sometimes only the renewal of an existing one. If we are just at this point, we can confidently begin preparations. Let us start with ourselves. There is a desirable objective – as far as possible, of course – an analysis of our current image.
Find out how others see us. People who we trust, and while we know that they will not want to please us. Just ask them how they see us. Do not ask your competitors or customers straighforwardly, because you can inadvertently reveal a soft underbelly.
Acquire information concerning the ways of more effective actions from them. The fastest and most effective way to do this is by talking about the new needs – it is for customers and new challenges – in the case of competition. Each customer will be happy to tell us what he is still missing or what else he would expect.
His opinions are valuable clues to us. If in a brief conversation we hear that there could be a bigger sale a few times (almost always this is the case), then we know that in our refreshed image we should strengthen such traits as confidence, flexibility and diligence.
Of course, the pressure itself will not raise the selling but the client will notice positive changes and become convinced that we listen to him, that in general we are heading in the direction preferred by him. In other words, we will make much better impression on the client. And that's the point in creating the image.
In a conversation with a competitor use a fairly simple trick. You have to provoke him, to praise his recent achievements and successes. When, for example, we congratulate him for some achievements and also with admiration in our voice, we ask: how you did it, buddy! – we have nearly a hundred percent guarantee that this colleague we recite some of his secrets.
Because who does not like to boast at times, especially when the listener is attentive? Of course, only the knowledge of the secrets of a competitor will not improve our image. But it will give us invaluable knowledge about how the competition works, what he draws his attention to, and what he does not.
Knowing these issues we will prepare our own strategy in a better way. Be careful, however, at the same traps. Our interlocutor braggart can look us through – knowing the game we play- and put to the corner. We must remain vigilant and apply the principle of limited trust.
The next step is to outline the scope of preparations for the changes that we want to make in our image – that if we have an image, but it is not necessarily satisfactory for us. In case of newcomers, it is necessary to develop the entire strategy of the image from scratch. What is it?
Basically, this is a set of objectives that we want to achieve. We should know what to expect from ourselves and how we want to be perceived. We have to answer questions like: what I want to achieve in the industry and how I wants to use my image?
Other strategy would be for an ambitious leader who wants to shake the market and make large sums of money, and another – for a person who treats the MLM as a way to moonlight. We aim high, so we focus on the candidate for an ambitious leader. Such a person should, certainly, care about his reputation from the very beginning of his activity.
From the prestige of the leader not only depends the future and success of his own, but also the whole network, which he creates and administers. Such a leader should know what he wants and even if he hesitates sometimes, in no way can he show this. From the outside, he must be considered as a reasonable, well-mannered, intelligent and knowledgeable man.
Not losing the ground under his feet. Balanced and with great reflexes and the so-called gumption – the sixth sense of business. Just a winner. A candidate for such a winner has to write his own image strategy down, starting from the goals that he wants to achieve, means to those objectives and ways of passing the routes.
A true business leader always knows what he wants, that is why our candidate should memorize these goals and the route to achieve them. Not to memorize- learn it by rote!
Because when the CNBC TVN team come suddenly and unexpectedly and they ask such a leader about his goals, ways and means, the person cannot shudder with fear and search his pockets for cards with the objectives, ways and means.
The leader begins specify them to the interviewer, remembering that the statement should be concise and concrete. This is the way the image is created – those few, or at best several seconds in front of the video camera, it will be our whole message. On this basis, the audience will take the measure of us.
If we stammer something awkwardly, the audience will be ready to think: what a fool was taken to the TVN? – we do not want such opinions. Therefore, we learn basic things by heart. Memorize them but do not do it foolishly!
In summary of this paragraph I will refer to the end of my first article about the importance of the image for the MLM industry. I said there that in case of businessmen involved in network marketing hiding incompetence is more visible than in case of "traditional" businessmen.
This results from the MLM industry specificity which has intense interactions in its basis. Lack of skills to take care for our own reputation in this kind of relationships can lead to termination of the relationship and the end of the business. This can happen only in extreme cases, it is obvious.
However, it is worth noting that, unfortunately, we commonly ignore the fact that the opinion about us has a direct impact on our business relationships and achieved successes or sufferred defeats. We ignore this fact and we do not think it over. It could be the primary cause of many flops in the MLM industry.
Face, not a mask.
Let us return to the image strategy building. After determining the objectives, ways and means we should verify to what extent the changes in our image we intend to introduce are compatible with us, our principles, habits and expectations. If they are very consistent – that's great, an do not have to think about this important procedure. What procedure? Let us call it graphically – bending.
Yes, yes. For our new image you will need to bend a few things to make things fit together. It is important for us to know what we can and cannot bend. We can bend habits, sometimes it is even worth bending them. Our own beliefs and philosophy of life – here one should be very careful and, in principle, everyone should decide on their own.
To understand the reasons, let's take an example. A devout catholic respects the rules imposed by religion. If, however, he is an active leader in business and he gets a real opportunity to make a great deal. There is one condition – a dinner, which is during Lent, with alcohol served – then this could be a dilemma for such a leader.
There is no golden prescription for how to proceed. Everyone should consider this issue by oneself and make an independent decision. Someone on the side will say what kind of a problem is it? – for some it will be no problem, but for others it may be impossible to do. There is one more thing. You should not bend your own character to your new identity.
Everyone has some character, we do not have to like all of them. Perhaps we do not even like our own character and maybe we would even like to change it. We can certainly try to do it, but not just because of the fact that we change our image.
If we bend our own character to the ideal and carefully developed image, thus we will begin to build a pyramid of lies and deceit. Unfortunately, people very often confuse image creation with the need to pretend someone else, with the need of continuous lying, cheating and falsification of reality.
Why is it not worth to lie? Because – even kids know it – a lie has no legs. Nobody has such a good memory to lie freely and never get confused. Of course, you can try. But sooner or later it will embarrass us and our business partners and ruin a well-run business.
The new image does not mean having to change ourselves. The new image is only a make-up, making something more colourful, embellishment, favoring exposure of the advantages and qualities that we really do have. Through all these face powders, lipstick and varnishes we have to be visible, because otherwise we will start not to promote ourselves, but someone completely different. Someone who is a stranger to us and who – even worse – may prove to be a stranger also for our customers, business partners and contracting parties. In the process of creating our image it is about something completely different.
What is it about?
Yes, in this paragraph it will be explained briefly and concretely. Well, creating our own reputation, prestige, or, who prefers, a positive opinion, is primarily a continuous effort to be recommended by people. To make people evaluate us and our actions in a positive way.
Public image is not a beautiful coat which will- when we wear it – warm us on a frosty day, and when it keeps us warm, we can quickly take it off it and hang in the wardrobe. Image, whether good or bad, is with us all the time. We do not always feel it and do not always think about it, but it is with us all the time.
Even when we are on vacation, even when we have holidays, even when we sleep and turn ourselves off almost completely. Even then, our image is with us. It is like a social second skin. But, is it really the second one, if it holds us harder than this real one?
The practical ways of creating our own image, and about the instruments and tools for doing so you will read in the third part of this mini-cycle.
An image and the MLM industry, which will be released next week.
The first part of the article is available here:
Marek Łuszczki
