Is the Company Really Irrelevant in Internet Marketing?
One of the great truisms in the world of Internet marketing goes that the company does not matter when it comes to success online. However, as I think about the nature of attraction marketing and personal branding, I can’t help but wonder to what extent the conventional wisdom is wrong when it comes to such an important piece of the business puzzle.
What I Think Is Really Meant by That Phrase
One of the key principles of attraction marketing states that YOU, not your company, are the key element to Internet success, and as such, people who have mastered the principles of attraction marketing can find success regardless of the company that they join. I think that this is something that is meant to remind Internet marketers that the key to their success is not something that is gained through an extensive effort to brand the company.
In this sense, I think that the attraction marketing “gurus” are absolutely correct. People want to find leaders, not brand names. As someone who ran for public office in 2006 (WV House of Delegates), I can tell you more than anyone the mistake of not putting yourself front in center. (For example, I honestly believed that my ideas alone were enough to win the election, and if I just got my ideas out to enough people, that would win the seat. My campaign pamphlets and website didn’t even include a picture.) I was so bad at tooting my own horn that, even though I mentioned certain things about my biography (such as my status as a veteran), people told me that they didn’t realize that I was a veteran until my newspaper ads ran a few days before the election. Admittedly, my primary goal was not to make money, that was an important lesson in branding myself in other endeavors.
Where “Irrelevant” Can Be Misleading
I do not believe that people who make these statements honestly believe that anyone can make a fortune with any company regardless of whether or not the company is any good, but I do think that it can be very easy to misinterpret these statements about the importance of the company. After all, it is a much better thing to only have to build a business one time if you have turned that business into a success.
I think that most people will understand if something happens beyond their sponsor’s control and a business dies. However, let’s look at this question from another perspective. Imagine yourself as someone who is in business with a top-dollar earner in the world of network marketing. He/she has been an excellent sponsor, and you have a lot of trust for this person. If someone is in a business with someone who has mastered attraction marketing, and he/she tells you that their primary business is wonderful, and you sign up, you are going to see the business as something that has the sponsor’s seal of approval. Then, the business shuts down six months later. You have had some success, so you are disappointed, but you have your list, and you start looking for another company. Then, your sponsor tells you about another great company, and because you trust your sponsor, you decide to join this other company. Then, a few months later, the sponsor decides to change primary companies again. How many of you will follow him/her to the next company? At this point, will you consider his reputation somewhat damaged by constantly hopping from one company to the next? I know I would.
The Perfect vs. The Good
I am here to tell you that there is no perfect network marketing company out there. There are a lot of good ones, and there are a lot of bad ones. There are some companies that will work great for Entrepreneur X, but terribly for Entrepreneur Y, and vice versa. There are also very bad companies that are trying to masquerade as network marketing when they are really something more nefarious. Because of this, I think that it is much better to try to find a good company, with solid leaders, and a compensation plan that is fair. If you do this, you can build a steady business and not have to worry about finding the perfect company or ignoring the company altogether.
Tags: attraction marketing, network marketing, perfect vs. good, primary business
This entry was posted on Monday, August 9th, 2010 at 6:03 pm and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 9th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Nice Steve. I know all of this from first hand experience of over 22 years. Having the confidence to step up and say who we are, put our picture on our website, brochure and out into the world is a big step.
Finding the right company for you is another. We have to join and be with a company that we can be passionate about and this includes the product. Thanks for sharing.
.-= Larry Pollock´s last blog ..WordPress Plugins – An Introduction =-.
August 9th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Hi Steve,
you said a lot of great straight forward things here. There are so many program hoppers out there, you’re right about that. So, that it would be hard to trust them when they seem to be “non-committed” themselves, aside from having to go due to a bad business. Seen lots of those things, many very shady, as far as the gut instinct was feeling during those days. But glad to be a part of something just like you said in the end of your post:
“I think that it is much better to try to find a good company, with solid leaders, and a compensation plan that is fair…..”
Thanks for sharing, it will no doubt help some wake up to following the right things, right people, etc….
Best,
- Joe
.-= Joe Young´s last blog ..Think- Before You Copywrite Or Don’t Copywrite At All! =-.
August 10th, 2010 at 1:10 am
I second Larry’s comment, Steve! You do need to find something that you can get excited about and feel passionate about!
There really is no perfect company, but I do think there are some points that will help someone be successful like choosing a company with consumable products or services in a growing market that leverages the timing and trends.
Great Post.
Heather Stephens
.-= Heather C Stephens´s last blog ..The No Traffic Obstacle- A Beginning Bloggers Guide to Get Over It! =-.
August 10th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Thank you for your reply, Larry! I think that we have to remember that while we lead with ourselves, we must lead people to something of value. If you don’t believe you can do that, that means that it is not the time to settle on a business.
August 10th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Thank you for your reply, Heather! I think that you are right on the money with some of the things to look for in a company. I think that it is about finding a company that is good for the person, although with all of the people working on the same business, our marketing is how we stand out, but it is definitely a balance and we have to lead with ourselves.
August 10th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Thank you for your reply, Joe! I think that there are legitimate times to switch a company, but I think that we have to have a good reason other than “I haven’t had the success I want to yet.” If the fundamentals are there, it will come. If they aren’t, then learn them. If you don’t know enuogh, you can get the skills. If it really is the company, that is the time to move, but it is best to read all of the fine print before making the plunge in the first place, and it will be easier to avoid problems later on down the road.
August 11th, 2010 at 2:06 am
This was an extremely well-thought out article. As someone who teaches beginners how to brand themselves and what You, Inc means, I totally agree with your assessment of the importance of You, inc. I also agree with the notion that the company is irrelevant. It most certainly is important.
If you envision a pendulum, at one point it was swinging out of wack (people only leading with their opp) now it’s tending to swing too far the other way (opp doesn’t matter).
It’s a happy medium. As someone who suffered from tying my brand to my company, I will say that it’s very important to brand yourself- just in case you decide to change opps
Looking forward to reading more from you!
Natasha
.-= Natasha Nassar´s last blog ..How A Newbie Made 11 Million in 30 Days Just Sitting on Her A! =-.
August 11th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Thank you for your reply, Natasha! I know how it can be whenever you have to change companies for one reason or another, but I think that you hit the nail on the head when you said that it really is about a happy medium. My personal approach is to lead with more general things to help people with their business, and then lead to the specific. Still, I know that different people have different approaches, and there are some that have success using different things, and there definitely are times when our company is an indicator of our judgment, which is certainly part of You, Inc.