Are You A Network Marketing Tortoise or Hare?

Remember Aesop's fable of the tortoise and the hare? The hare made a rapid dash at the start of the race then turned around to see the tortoise (named Slow and Steady) moving ever so unhurriedly. So the hare decided to sit and rest because it would be out of the question for the tortoise to catch up to him. Instead of just resting, the hare fell asleep and the tortoise not only caught up with him but passed him by and was the first to cross the finish line. What woke the hare up was the cheering of the fans for the winner, the tortoise.

In my experience, I have observed my share of network marketing tortoises and hares. While most individuals are just that "individuals", there are some character traits that both slow business builders and fast business builders exhibit.

The tortoises tend to build their businesses slowly and methodically?usually adding a representative and then spending a great deal of time assisting that representative getting started properly. Rarely does a tortoise type of representative have to spend extra time retraining one of their new representatives. The rep retention seems to be greater when a tortoise trained representative feels confident about the company, the management and the product(s) as each has been explained in detail.

The hare focuses on quickly building his/her business as rapidly as humanly possible. Usually plugging their new representative into an online training program (which, by the way, are usually excellent) so that he/she can move on to sponsoring another representative. And another one. And another one. Sometimes, depending upon the personality of the "hare" leader, they will curtly respond to their new rep's questions with a "Go back over your online training." Thereby avoiding any time wasting, lengthy discussion. I'm not claiming this is a bad practice since the quality of online tutorials is oftentimes better and more informative than an explanation we may give. However, if the hare type of person gives this response to a new representative with a tortoise personality, this could shake the confidence of the newbie to the point where if he/she received this response repeatedly, the hare would lose this representative.

When I was with Amway, years ago, there was a couple in their 70's who just made it to the Diamond level after having been in the business for over 25 years. We would have probably quit after a month and a half: heck, if we can't make Diamond in 6 weeks, we're out of here. They referred to themselves as the Energizer bunnies: they just kept going and going and going.

Whether you look at yourself a hare or a tortoise, the only way you will not cross the finish line and reach your goal will be if you quit. If, however, you just keep going and going and going...however long it takes?you will reach the financial and promotion level of your dreams.



Andy has been a network marketer for 16 years. Of late, he has focused on mentoring other network marketers over the internet. For more of Andy?s network marketing articles and to find out how he can assist you in building your business, visit his blog: http://www.AndyAcci.com