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Champions Interview With Paula Pritchard
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Paula
Pritchard was pursuing her doctorate degree at Kent State University,
when she decided to attend her first network marketing meeting. Her
first experience was with Amway. Out of a million distributors at the
time, there were approximately 300 Diamonds and above. Paula was the
first single woman in North America to reach Diamond. Today Paula is
known worldwide not only as one of the top network marketers and trainers,
but also as a person of integrity in a very competitive industry.
I know you are going to enjoy this exclusive interview with Network Marketing legend. To your continued
success! |
| CM: |
1. Give us an overview of your Network Marketing career? |
I
was introduced to network marketing when I was teaching at Kent State
University and working on my PhD.
My first networking experience was Amway. Out of a million distributors at the time, I was the first single woman in the United States to reach the Diamond level. After Amway I went on to achieve major success with other network marketing companies. I spearheaded the expansion of four of those companies into Europe, built organizations of over 200,000 people, producing hundreds of millions of dollars in business in over 15 countries. I have been involved in the development of a multitude of network marketing leaders around the world. I have also spent time
consulting and developing training and incentive programs for network
marketing companies. |
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| CM: |
2. How did you become so successful? |
| PP: |
I
was a very good student. I learned from the people who were where I
wanted to be. I taped everything. I transcribed the tapes. I memorized
everything. I became a student of the business and worked at becoming
an expert at the invitation and recruiting. I worked on developing systems
and methods that would stand the test of time and then focused on making
my distributors successful. By focusing on their success, I never had
to worry about my own. |
| CM: |
3. Why do so many people fail in this profession? |
| PP: |
There
are a number of reasons and for each person they are a little different.
The most prevalent are a lack of desire and ambition, the inability
to do the things required to be successful, the perseverance to handle
the pain of rejection and the support, nurturing and guidance of an
upline. |
| CM: |
4. As a veteran in network marketing, what advice would you give the brand new distributor? |
| PP: |
Attach
yourself to a mentor, someone who is where you want to be. Find a great
training system. Become a student of the business. Focus as much time
on personal development as possible because it will always be an ongoing
concern. |
| CM: |
5. How has mental toughness factored in to your success? |
| PP: |
It
has been the difference between success and failure. It has helped me
push through the rejection, the disappointments and the fear that is
part of the journey. It helped me develop a courage and fortitude to
stay the course. |
| CM: |
6. How has the Network Marketing profession changed since you first got involved? |
| PP: |
When
I first started in network marketing we did not have three-way calling,
conference calling or Internet capabilities. Because of the lack of
technology, building a business was much slower and more localized.
We had a lot of face time with our distributors at opportunity meetings,
training and leadership meetings and rallies because everyone lived
within 50 miles of each other. Most of the people we contacted were
people we knew. Today technology has changed the methods of recruiting
and building a business.
I have built businesses
the “old way” and built them the “new way”
using all the new technology and methods and I have found that the
fundamental principles have not changed. Network marketing is still
a business of relationships and trust. The tools you use to build
your business don’t change that fact for people who want to
build a lasting and profitable business. |
| CM: |
7. Can you explain the difference between managing people and leading people? |
| PP: |
It
is the difference between walking the walk and talking the talk. Leaders
lead by example. They do what they tell their people to do. They set
the pace and the speed. |
| CM: |
8. How did you manage to stay motivated in the early days, when you were hunting for business? |
| PP: |
By
staying plugged-in to the events and calls. I was constantly listening
to success stories on cassette, personal development audios and reading
motivational books. I focused on being around people who inspired me. |
| CM: |
9. What is the future of Network Marketing? Where is the profession headed? |
| PP: |
I
think the future for network marketing is very promising. I do believe
we are eventually going to see the pendulum swing back more towards
the middle with a focus on relationship building rather than exclusive
Internet driven recruiting. I do believe Internet recruiters are working
hard at enhancing the relationship side of the business. After all,
network marketing is a relationship business. |
| CM: |
10. Will Network Marketing ever gain the respect of the traditional business world? If so, how? |
| PP: |
I
think it can but I think companies are going to have to play a larger
role in setting the example. Just like traditional business is being
brought under the microscope to be more principle driven and ethnically
sound, network marketing companies will need to do the same. The companies
that last are going to have to lead with integrity and focus on developing
people, not just recruiting them in the front door and hoping they grab
some product as they fall out the back door. Companies need to focus
on leadership development. |
| CM: |
11. What is your opinion about cold market prospecting? What should people do when their warm market runs dry? |
| PP: |
It
has been amazing to me to watch over the years the pendulum swing from
almost totally warm market recruiting to almost totally cold market
recruiting. With the technology available today in Internet Recruiting
you can reach large numbers of people quickly. The issue will be one
of retention. If you can build credibility and a relationship with the
new recruit cold market recruiting can be just as effective as warm
market recruiting.
I looked for people that had certain qualifications. The issue for me wasn’t whether they were people I knew or people I didn’t, but rather did they have the qualifications I needed. My approach was always what we could build together never what I could do for you or you could do for me. If I didn't know their qualifications or their desires I became an expert at asking questions. Once I discovered their desire, I offered my opportunity as a means to achieve it. It was as simple as that. Some of your strongest
distributors will be people you never knew. Most of mine came from
warm market and cold market referrals. I have built an entire country
not knowing anyone with just a list of referrals. I used the power
of “ Who do you know?” Anyone interested in building a
large successful network marketing business must become proficient
at cold market recruiting. Make your goal converting cold market to
warm. |
| CM: |
12. Our research shows that most distributors don’t have customers, they are simply consuming the products they purchase. Do you believe that distributors should build a retail sales component into their business? |
| PP: |
This is a hard question
because there is a politically correct answer and yet I think it is a
matter of personal preference. There are some people who enter the business
with a primary goal of making $500 to $1000 per month. They can really
do that all by themselves with just a few customers. Keep in mind it's
always good to have a few customers so as a leader you can set the example
by knowing how to maintain a customer. But you will get customers from
merely showing the business. If you want to build a much larger business,
you need to focus on developing business partners. In the process of showing
the business, some will get involved and some won't. Some of those who
do not will still like the product and consequently become customers.
Exclusive customer development has an income ceiling since there are only
24 hours a day. After all, one McDonald's restaurant can only sell so
many hamburgers in 24 hours then they can’t make any more money.
I was raised on the fact
that network marketing was a lot of people selling a little, therefore
personal consumption sufficed. Anything other than that were direct
sales. Since I have been very successful over and over again, there
has not been any motivation on my part to change that philosophy. |
| CM: |
13. As a profession, what direction would you like to see Network Marketing take in the future? |
| PP: |
As I said earlier,
over the years the pendulum has swung from almost totally warm market
recruiting to almost totally cold market recruiting. I'd like to see the
pendulum swing back towards the middle. I'd like to see warm market recruiting,
based on a clearer understanding, make a comeback. My reasons are simple.
I love network marketing. It has been very good to me and I want to see
it stand the test of time and become the dominant force for good that
it is always been for me. My fear is that the proliferation of cold market
recruiting with lack of relationship building has become a revolving door.
Network marketing is relationships. Without relationships it becomes a
hollow stopover where people come and go with hopes of making a quick
dollar. There is no substance, there is no glue and in time there is no
company. Today, there are more people who have tried network marketing
and left than ever before. And many have left with a negative opinion
of the business.
Yet it is the single most
incredible way to build a solid residual income and at the same time
help other people. The principles behind people helping people and the
benefits it brings to the Free Enterprise System are immense. You change
lives for the better one at a time and eventually you become a force
for good. |
| CM: |
14. If you had to start your career over again, what would you do differently? |
| PP: |
I would take it more seriously from the beginning. I would pick a financially sound company with a track record. I would make sure it had a strong training and support system as well as a leadership development program. Then I would dig in my heels, roll up my sleeves and go to work. |
| CM: |
15. As a highly experienced and successful Networker, what is the single best piece of advice you can offer our readers? |
| PP: |
Attach yourself to a proven mentor with high integrity. Make sure they have been successful more than once so you know that it was not just luck the first time and that they have a proven system and methods that works. Finally, make sure they practice the business principles and ethics that you are comfortable being associated with and exposing your contacts to. |
CM: |
Thanks, Paula! |